PART 5

The first months after Lucy was born were the hardest months of my life.

Not because of the sleepless nights.

Not because of the endless diaper changes.

Not because I was learning how to care for a tiny human who depended on me for everything.

Those things were exhausting.

But they were also beautiful.

The hardest part was learning how to separate the man who hurt me…

from the father my daughter deserved.

Because those were two different people.

And I had to learn how to see both clearly.

Adrian kept his promise.

He moved into a small apartment fifteen minutes away.

Not the expensive place he once would have chosen.

Not the luxury building with the rooftop pool and concierge.

A simple apartment with old wooden floors, a small kitchen, and a balcony barely big enough for two chairs.

The first time I visited to drop off Lucy’s things, I noticed something strange.

There were no excuses.

No bottles of alcohol.

No reminders of Rachel.

No attempts to make me feel guilty.

Just a clean apartment.

A stack of parenting books.

And a calendar covered with appointments.

Pediatrician visits.

Diaper schedules.

Work meetings.

Father-daughter time.

He was trying.

Not because he expected me to come back.

Because he finally understood that being a good father wasn’t something he could promise.

It was something he had to prove.

Rachel left the company two weeks after the baby shower.

I heard about it through Mariana.

Apparently, the investigation had become bigger than anyone expected.

The company discovered that Adrian and Rachel had been manipulating reports to hide their relationship.

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