**Forgive Me, My Daughter**
I heard a mans voice as I stepped out of the building, freezing me mid-step. “Emily, Emmy, wait Ive been waiting for you all morning. I got your address from the childrens home”
“Who are you?” I snapped, glancing at my watch out of habit.
“Im your father, Emmy,” he said hesitantly, offering a tentative smile.
“Youve got the wrong person. I dont have a fathernever have,” I replied coldly before turning away and hurrying toward my car. Outwardly, I kept my composure, but inside, my heart hammered so hard I could feel it in my throat, and my cheeks burned as though Id been standing too close to a fire.
I got in, fastened my seatbelt, and started the engine.
“Emmy, please! Just let me talk”
He rushed toward the car, arms outstretched, but I pulled away, watching in the rearview mirror as he stood there, bewildered, shoulders slumped in defeat.
I stopped at a petrol station, grabbed a coffee, and dialled my husband.
“James, there was some madman at the flat this morning When you take Oliver out, keep an eye on him, alright?” I tried to sound calm, but my voice trembled.
“Em, what madman?” he asked, half-amused.
“How should I know? Just some bloke!”
“Maybe a secret admirer?” he teased.
“Not in the mood, James. Ive left now.”
“Have a good day, love. Dont worryIll keep both eyes on Ollie.”
“Cheers.”
I hung up and rushed to work, my heart heavy all day.
I truly had no father. Logically, he existedbiologicallybut Id never known him. I grew up in a care home, my mother just a blurry memory from early childhood. The staff later told me Id been placed there after she died young from an illness. No relatives stepped forward, so I was shuffled from a temporary shelter to the home.
It wasnt a happy childhoodno ones is, really, in care. But I was luckygood staff, kind people. Most kids had been abandoned or taken from unfit parents. Few had lost their mothers like I had. Part of me always knew she hadnt left by choice. Still, I envied the otherstheir mothers were alive, somewhere. They could hope. I had no one.
By adulthood, Id made peace with it: my father had left when he learned of my mothers pregnancy. Clearly, Id never mattered to him.
“Em, why so glum today?” my colleague Sarah asked at lunch.
“Just tired, I suppose,” I lied with a weak smile.
Truthfully, I couldnt stop thinking about that man. Could he really be my father? Why show up now? The questions buzzed in my head like wasps. But by evening, Id steadied myself. Id lived fine without himwhy let a stranger disrupt my life now? I had a family: James and our four-year-old, Oliver. That was all that mattered.
I drove home, certain the man would be gone. But I was wrong.
“Im back,” I called from the hallway.
“Finally! We were waiting,” James called from the kitchen.
“How was your first day off? Ollie wear you out? Maybe we shouldnt have pulled him from nursery for the month?”
“Nah, we had a grand time. Watching cartoons now. Em that man this morning? Hes your dad.”
“James, dont start”
“He explained”
“I dont care what he said!” I cut him off. “Why even talk to him? Even if he is my father, I dont need him now. Where was he when I was in care? Drop it, James. Im done.”
I barely slept that night, not even with sleeping pills.
The next morning, he was there again.
“Emmy, just five minutes! I didnt know about youI swear!”
“If you dont stop harassing me, Ill call the police!”
I drove off, leaving him standing there, watching me go.
All day, thoughts of him and my mother consumed me. That evening, I heard voices inside. James and that man were at the kitchen table.
“James, have you lost your mind?” I hissed, trying not to scare Oliver.
“Em, just hear him out. David here wanted to talk. He didnt know you existed. You always say everyone deserves forgiveness.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Emmy, dont cry,” David said softly. “I truly didnt know. My motheryour grandmotheronly told me on her deathbed. I loved your mum. She loved me too. But life it wasnt simple. I failed you. Let me explain.”
I sat, defeated, as he spoke.
“I met your mum, Annie, by chance. She worked at a shop near my parents place. We fell in love. Then I was drafted. We planned to marry when I returned. But when she told my mother she was pregnant Mum turned her away. Told her an orphan wasnt good enough for our family. Later, she wrote to me, saying Annie had married someone else. I believed her. I never came back. Only before Mum died did she confessAnnie had a daughter. My daughter.”
I wept silently as he spoke.
“Dont cry, love. Ive no excuses. But please forgive me. Let me stay. I found out you were in care. I found Annies grave. After my parents died, I thought I was alone. Now Ive got you. And a grandson. Ill buy a flat here. My parents houseits yours. By right.”
Later, after he left, James asked, “What now?”
“I dont know.”
“Davids leaving tomorrow to sort his flat. Should we see him off at the station?”
“Maybe.”
The next morning, James, Oliver, and I stood on the platform. I spotted David first. Our eyes met, and for the first time, I smiled at him. He slowed, returning it.
Minutes later, he held Oliver in his arms.
“Ill be back for good in a month. Well sort the house paperwork then.”
“Theres time,” I said softly.
“Forgive me, my daughter,” he whispered again.
I cried. He hugged me, and for the first time, I felt a fathers lovewarm, steady, filling a void I hadnt known was there.
“Id best go,” he said, reluctant.
“Come back soon.”
“I will. Ive been alone too long. Now Ive a family.”
On the way home, I turned to James. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“If not for you Id never have spoken to him.”
“You always say everyone deserves forgiveness.”
“Everyone does,” I agreed, smiling.
A month later, David returned for good. I forgave him, accepted the house, and let him into our lives. He became a constanta grandfather to Oliver, a father to me. Finally, after years of absence, he was home.
