As my mom got can.cer, my dad chose another woman and disappeared….

Daniel squeezed my knee beneath the table. Dad stayed quiet, distracted by his phone.

Three days later, Dad gathered us in the living room.

“I’ll keep this short,” he said. That alone should have warned me. He didn’t sit. He stood by the door, already halfway gone.

“I’ve been seeing someone,” he admitted. “For a while.”

Maya gasped. Sophie climbed into Mom’s lap. Liam stared at the floor.