From A Humiliating Bet To The Boss He Can’t Have Chapter 29
When Lily finished, tears finally spilled down her face.
“Mara, I’m sorry.”
“I knew Sloane didn’t like you back then, and I didn’t say anything.”
“When the school removed you from the emergency contact list, I didn’t ask why, either.”
“I thought grown-ups always had their reasons.”
I handed her a tissue.
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“But you took care of me for three years.”
“I chose to take care of you.”
I looked at her.
“Lily, children don’t need to apologize for what their fathers do.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
She gripped the tissue, crying harder.
“Can we still keep in touch after this?”
I didn’t answer right away.
She was no longer the little girl who curled up in my arms with a fever.
And I was no longer the person on call at any hour, carrying all the responsibility and none of the standing.
If we stayed in contact, it could not be because Grant regretted what he had done.
It could not be to patch over what was left of that broken home.
It could only be because she was Lily, and I was Mara.
“Yes,” I said.
“But there are two conditions.”
She nodded at once.
“First, you don’t pass messages from Grant.”
“Okay.”
“Second, if we meet, it’s because you want to see me, not because he sent you.”