He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 13
I heard her call “Mommy” from outside the room.
I ran in. She still had an oxygen mask on, one small hand reaching for me.
“Mommy, I’m not dizzy anymore. When do we go back to the cafeteria?”
The nurse beside her turned away, wiping at her eyes.
I took Maisie’s hand and pressed my forehead against the back of it.
The door to the room opened a crack.
Derek stood outside, not entering.
Maisie saw him and shrank back.
“Mommy, why does he keep coming?”
“He’s worried about you.”
“But he wasn’t worried before.”
Derek heard her. His throat worked, but no sound came out.
I tucked the blanket around Maisie.
“You can come in and talk to her,” I said to him.
He looked as if he hadn’t expected the invitation.
He walked slowly to the foot of the bed and stopped, keeping his distance.
“Feeling a little better?”
Maisie blinked.
“Mommy says you’re my dad.”
Derek stopped breathing for a second.
“Can I call you Derek first?” she asked. “Because before this, you didn’t even know my name.”
He opened his mouth, but it took him a long moment to say her name. “Maisie.”
“Mm-hm.”
“I’d like to get to know you again.”
Maisie looked at him.
“You said Mommy was a liar. And you wouldn’t give the doctors money.”
“That was my fault.”
“You’re not a stranger. You’re my dad.” She paused. “But I don’t like you.”
As the words landed, the color slowly drained from Derek’s face.
I didn’t intervene. She had every right to say how she felt.
A long time later, Derek answered in a low voice, “Then I’ll wait. I’ll wait until you’re willing to know me better.”
He took a small box from his pocket, set it at the foot of the bed, and then stepped back.
“This is for you. It isn’t worth much. If you don’t want it, that’s okay.”
Inside was an old silver bracelet, engraved on the inside with a Weston family date.
I recognized it at once. It had belonged to his grandmother.
When I was pregnant, he’d taken it out of the safe and told me our child would wear it one day. After that, he never mentioned it again.
Maisie didn’t touch it.
And I didn’t hand it back.