My eyes were swollen with so much crying.
“I heard you and Mark talking in the kitchen,” he said quietly. “Months ago. You told her you were exhausted, that your back hurt at every step. That you didn’t know how much longer you could hold.”
“Lily...”
“So I started doing overtime. I found a lawyer who worked pro bono. I wanted to change my name to yours before my birthday, put the money in a trust fund and keep contributing, so you could stop working so much.”
“So I started doing extra shifts.”
I felt something open in my chest.
“You don’t owe me any of that, honey.”
“I know I don’t owe you anything,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to do it.”
I hugged her and I couldn't hold back anymore. Years of silent fear that one day they would go off simply disappeared from my shoulders.
