Anna’s chest tightened as she finished reading. The letter was like a punch to the gut. In it, her father wasn’t apologizing for anything. He wasn’t admitting to the mistakes he had made. Instead, he was justifying everything—his actions, his decisions—as though she was supposed to thank him for making those sacrifices.
Her father’s vision had always been clear: Ethan, the golden child, was the future. She, on the other hand, had never been more than an afterthought. A pawn in his game. And yet, here was this letter, a final attempt to control her, to make her feel like she owed him something.
Tears stung Anna’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry over this. She had worked too hard to get here, to let the ghosts of her past tear her down.
The room felt oppressive, suffocating. She didn’t need her father’s approval anymore. She didn’t need his permission. She was done.
Anna shoved the letter back into the envelope and slammed the drawer shut, as though that final piece of paper was a relic she could never allow herself to return to. She didn’t need his justification, his excuses, or his so-called sacrifices.
She was finally free.
Her phone buzzed again, this time with a call from her mother. Anna hesitated before answering, but something inside her told her she needed to pick up.
“Anna,” Paula’s voice came through shakily, “I…I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. I’m just… so lost.”
Anna closed her eyes for a moment, letting her mother’s words sink in. She didn’t want to talk about the past anymore. She didn’t want to rehash the mistakes.
“I know, Mom,” Anna said softly. “I know.”
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