He Raised Her Like His Own, She Chose the Wrong Man

Lost Love Chronicles

Author :-  Ammatyzer  She was nineteen and believed love should feel exciting. He was calm, steady, and stayed when everyone else left. This is a powerful multi-POV audio story about choices, betrayal, and consequences — told through the voices of a mother, a father who didn’t share blood, and a daughter who learned too late what real love looks like. When passion destroys stability and truth arrives years later, the cost is paid in silence, regret, and second chances that may never fully heal. 🎧 Best experienced with headphones. Disclaimer: ⚠️ This audio story contains mature themes including family conflict, betrayal, and personal consequences. Intended for mature audiences. ________________________________________ #Storytelling #LifeChoices #EmotionalDrama  Check Out Patreon Page For More Stories https://www.patreon.com/c/LLCandLRC

Transcript

00:00:00Hello and welcome to Lost Love Chronicles.

00:00:03Dear listeners, a big shout out for Ametizer for sharing this story.

00:00:07Now let's begin the story from Martha's POV.

00:00:09When I was 19, I thought I knew everything.

00:00:12I stood behind the counter of a small convenience store in a mid-sized American town,

00:00:16counting weeks until I would start college as a history major.

00:00:19I had a plan, graduate, move out, study hard, become someone.

00:00:24My parents were proud.

00:00:25My dad would say, you've got a good head on your shoulders, Martha.

00:00:28Don't waste it.

00:00:30Then Gregory walked in.

00:00:31One, Martha, 19, and Gregory.

00:00:34The bell over the door rang, and in he came.

00:00:37Maybe 22, guitar slung over his shoulder, shirt half-buttoned, hair in a deliberate mess.

00:00:43He smelled like cigarettes and cheap cologne, but his eyes had that dangerous kind of light

00:00:47in them.

00:00:48Freedom, carelessness, adventure.

00:00:50He leaned on the counter and grinned.

00:00:52Hey, beautiful cashier, he said.

00:00:54Can I get a chocolate bar, a pack of smokes, and maybe your number?

00:00:58I rolled my eyes.

00:00:59I don't smoke, I muttered.

00:01:01Yeah, I shouldn't either, he laughed.

00:01:03But someone's gotta be the artist in this dead-end town.

00:01:05Name's Gregory.

00:01:06I play in a band.

00:01:08With him, I felt like I could step out of the neat little box everyone had put me in.

00:01:12Responsible daughter, big sister, future college student.

00:01:16He didn't ask about my GPA or my major.

00:01:18He asked if I'd sneak out at midnight to walk by the river.

00:01:21If I liked dancing in the rain.

00:01:23I fell in love.

00:01:24Or at least I thought I did.

00:01:252.

00:01:26Martha, 20.

00:01:27Pregnancy and abandonment.

00:01:29I was still 19, almost 20, when I sat on the edge of the bathtub, staring at two pink

00:01:34lines on a pregnancy test.

00:01:35The world suddenly shrank to a small plastic stick in my hand.

00:01:39I called Gregory.

00:01:40We need to talk.

00:01:41I said.

00:01:42It's serious.

00:01:43You sound like you're pregnant.

00:01:44He joked nervously.

00:01:45I stayed silent.

00:01:46No way, seriously?

00:01:48We met at a coffee shop not far from the strip mall.

00:01:50My hands shook so hard I locked them together under the table.

00:01:53I'm pregnant.

00:01:54I finally said.

00:01:55It's your baby.

00:01:56Martha.

00:01:57He dragged a hand through his hair.

00:01:59Then we need to take care of it.

00:02:00What do you mean take care of it?

00:02:02I asked, though I already knew.

00:02:04You know, he said quietly.

00:02:05Abortion.

00:02:06We're too young.

00:02:07You've got college.

00:02:08I've got my music.

00:02:09We can't destroy our lives right now.

00:02:11Something inside me froze.

00:02:13I'm not killing my baby.

00:02:14I said, more calmly than I felt.

00:02:16Our baby, he corrected quickly.

00:02:18But, seriously, this is not the right time.

00:02:21Think about it.

00:02:22I already did.

00:02:23His jaw tightened.

00:02:24Then do whatever you want, he snapped.

00:02:26Just don't drag me into it.

00:02:28Later, at the hospital, after the birth, he signed the birth certificate like he was signing

00:02:32for a delivery.

00:02:33He didn't even look at me.

00:02:34Within days, his phone went dead.

00:02:36No messages.

00:02:37No help.

00:02:38Nothing.

00:02:39I was 20 when I became a mother alone.

00:02:413.

00:02:41Naming Sophia, Martha's Choice

00:02:43In the hospital room, holding my newborn daughter for the first time, the weight of

00:02:48my decision came crashing down on me.

00:02:50Her face was wrinkled and red, her little hands opening and closing like she was already

00:02:55reaching for life.

00:02:56The nurse asked, do you have a name?

00:02:58I did.

00:02:59I had been thinking about it secretly, long before I admitted it to myself.

00:03:03Her name is Sophia, I said, with a PhD.

00:03:06Wisdom.

00:03:07I didn't tell anyone, but I chose that name on purpose.

00:03:09I wanted my daughter to have what I clearly lacked at 19, wisdom.

00:03:14To be thoughtful, responsible.

00:03:15To see through charm and recognize what really matters.

00:03:18I couldn't give her a father, but I could at least give her a name that would call her

00:03:22to something higher.

00:03:23My mom was supportive, but tired.

00:03:25My dad went quiet.

00:03:26You were supposed to go to college, Martha.

00:03:28Mom would say while folding baby clothes.

00:03:30This is not what we dreamed for you.

00:03:33Dad would just ask, how's the baby?

00:03:35And sometimes, more stiffly, did you think about maybe starting classes later?

00:03:39Next year, maybe.

00:03:40How?

00:03:41I'd answer.

00:03:42I'm working part-time at the store, barely sleeping, and I've got a newborn.

00:03:46The lecture halls turned into grocery aisles.

00:03:48Notes and textbooks turned into shopping lists and vaccination schedules.

00:03:524.

00:03:53Martha, 21.

00:03:54Sophia, 6 months.

00:03:56Meeting Derek, 26.

00:03:58I was 21 when Derek walked into the store.

00:04:00He looked different from Gregory from the very first second.

00:04:03Late 20s, maybe 26.

00:04:05Button-up shirt.

00:04:06Neat hair.

00:04:07A bit of tiredness in the eyes that comes from actually working a full-time job.

00:04:11Can I get a bottle of water, a sandwich, and that big chocolate bar?

00:04:14He asked.

00:04:15For yourself, or for a friend?

00:04:17I teased.

00:04:18For some guys at the office, he laughed.

00:04:20But I'd like to pretend it's all for me.

00:04:22I'm Derek.

00:04:23I work over at the manufacturing plant, engineering side.

00:04:26We made small talk about traffic, prices going up, the ridiculous weather.

00:04:30There were no wild sparks.

00:04:31No big lines.

00:04:33Just warmth.

00:04:34Safety.

00:04:34Before he left, he hesitated.

00:04:36Listen, he said.

00:04:38This might sound crazy.

00:04:39But, would you have dinner with me sometime?

00:04:41Just you and me.

00:04:42No rush.

00:04:43No pressure.

00:04:44My mom's voice rang in my head.

00:04:46Settle down.

00:04:47Think about your child.

00:04:48Okay, I said.

00:04:49But I need to tell you something first.

00:04:51Another day.

00:04:52We exchanged numbers.

00:04:535.

00:04:54First date.

00:04:55Martha, 21.

00:04:56Sophia, 7 months.

00:04:58Derek, 26.

00:05:00We met at a small family restaurant.

00:05:01I felt out of place in my best simple dress.

00:05:04Too young to feel this old.

00:05:05You look nice, Derek said when I came in.

00:05:08Grown up.

00:05:09Not a girl.

00:05:09We talked.

00:05:10About his work designing production lines.

00:05:12About safety protocols.

00:05:14About how he liked things to make sense.

00:05:16About my part-time job.

00:05:17My abandoned history plans.

00:05:19After a while, I took a deep breath.

00:05:21Derek, I need to tell you something.

00:05:23I have a daughter.

00:05:24She's 7 months old.

00:05:25Her name is Sophia.

00:05:27Her father left.

00:05:28I braced for the usual mail response.

00:05:30That's complicated.

00:05:31I'm not ready for that.

00:05:33Derek looked at me honestly.

00:05:34That must have been really hard, he said.

00:05:36Being that young and going through it alone.

00:05:39I was stupid, I whispered.

00:05:40You were young, he corrected.

00:05:42I'm 26.

00:05:43I see things differently now than I did at 21.

00:05:46I'd like to meet her someday.

00:05:47If you're okay with that.

00:05:49I frowned.

00:05:50You're not scared off by the fact that I'm a mom?

00:05:52What scares me, he said quietly,

00:05:54is how many guys my age think life is all about themselves.

00:05:57But you, you did something incredibly brave.

00:05:59That night, I came home lighter.

00:06:01My mom was waiting in the kitchen.

00:06:03Well, she asked.

00:06:04Older than me by 5 years, I said.

00:06:07Calm.

00:06:07Grown up.

00:06:08She just nodded.

00:06:09I could see relief in her eyes.

00:06:116.

00:06:12Derek becomes dad.

00:06:13Martha, 22.

00:06:15Derek, 27.

00:06:16Sophia, 2.

00:06:17The first time Derek met Sophia, she was around a year old,

00:06:21standing unsteadily in her crib, chewing on a stuffed bear.

00:06:24Hi, Sophia, he said, a little awkward.

00:06:26I'm Derek.

00:06:27He offered her his finger like a handshake.

00:06:29She grabbed it with her tiny fist and squealed.

00:06:32I'm afraid I'm gonna drop her, he laughed as he held her.

00:06:35If you do, I'll kill you.

00:06:36I joked.

00:06:37My parents saw the age difference and actually appreciated it.

00:06:40It's good, my mom said once in the kitchen.

00:06:43He's more mature.

00:06:44A man who's actually grown up knows what he wants.

00:06:47Less than a year later, we moved in together.

00:06:49Me at 22.

00:06:50Derek at 27.

00:06:52Sophia at 2.

00:06:52A small rented apartment in a safe neighborhood, but it was ours.

00:06:56At night, I'd hear Derek from the next room, reading or inventing bedtime stories.

00:07:01Once there was a dragon who was scared of the dark.

00:07:04Daddy more.

00:07:05Sophia would insist.

00:07:06The first time she called him daddy, his eyes filled with tears.

00:07:10Later that night, he said to me,

00:07:11You know, I don't need to be her biological father to be her dad.

00:07:15I hugged him.

00:07:16In that moment, I really believed nothing would ever tear us apart.

00:07:197.

00:07:20Engagement and wedding.

00:07:22Martha, 26.

00:07:24Derek, 31.

00:07:25Sophia, 6.

00:07:27Derek proposed when I was 24.

00:07:29We were in the kitchen, Sophia asleep in her room.

00:07:31He washed the dishes, I dried them.

00:07:33Martha, he said,

00:07:34Have you ever thought about us, being a real family?

00:07:37Officially.

00:07:38I turned.

00:07:38There was a ring in his wet, soapy hand.

00:07:41That is the most impractical proposal ever.

00:07:43I laughed through tears.

00:07:45Of course I have.

00:07:46Two years later, we were married.

00:07:47I was 26, Derek 31, Sophia 6.

00:07:51Daddy, fix your tie.

00:07:53She yelled at him before we left.

00:07:54Coming.

00:07:55He answered, kneeling to her height.

00:07:57How do I look?

00:07:58Like a prince, she said seriously.

00:08:00My dad came up to me at the reception, his eyes shining.

00:08:03You chose well, Martha, he said.

00:08:05This is a good man.

00:08:06He was right.

00:08:07I would only fully understand how right much later, when it was too late.

00:08:11My father passed away a few years after that.

00:08:13My mother took it hard, but she always kept a soft spot for Derek.

00:08:17Even later, when everything fell apart.

00:08:198.

00:08:20Back to school.

00:08:21Martha, 28 to 33.

00:08:23Derek, 33 to 38.

00:08:25Sophia, 8 to 13.

00:08:27I was 28 when Derek came home from work with that look in his eye.

00:08:31I got promoted, he announced.

00:08:32And a raise.

00:08:34That's amazing, I said.

00:08:35You deserve it.

00:08:36And I think you deserve something too, he replied.

00:08:39I want you to go back to school.

00:08:40To study history.

00:08:41Like you always wanted.

00:08:42I laughed.

00:08:43I'm almost 30.

00:08:44I have a kid and a job.

00:08:46I'm 33, he shrugged.

00:08:48Life isn't over.

00:08:49I'll take care of Sophia.

00:08:50We'll manage.

00:08:51So I went back to college part-time.

00:08:53In lecture halls filled with 20-year-olds, I felt both old and weirdly young again.

00:08:58At home, Derek, now in his mid-30s, was my anchor.

00:09:01He did grocery runs, helped Sophia with math, came to my small presentations like they were

00:09:06major conferences.

00:09:07Five years later, at 33, I became a licensed history teacher.

00:09:11He was 38, proud as if he'd just watched his own child graduate.

00:09:15At the little celebration we held, my mom hugged me tight.

00:09:18I'm so proud of you, she whispered.

00:09:20And of Derek.

00:09:21He's been your rock.

00:09:22She was right.

00:09:23But I didn't hold onto that truth long enough.

00:09:269.

00:09:26Stable life.

00:09:27Growing restlessness.

00:09:29Martha, 35-37.

00:09:31Derek, 40-42.

00:09:33Sophia, 14-16.

00:09:35By the time I was 35, my life looked perfect from the outside.

00:09:39I was a high school history teacher.

00:09:41Derek, in his early 40s now, had a solid position as an engineer.

00:09:45We had a house in a safe American suburb, a reliable car, health insurance, vacations

00:09:50once a year.

00:09:51Sophia was a smart teenager aiming for top universities.

00:09:55Weekend trips out of town, dinners in casual restaurants, movie nights at home.

00:09:59This is our happy, ordinary life.

00:10:01Derek would say, wrapping an arm around me on the couch.

00:10:05Om hom.

00:10:05I'd respond, my eyes drifting somewhere past the TV.

00:10:09The maturity that once attracted me.

00:10:11His predictability, his careful planning, his refusal to play games, started, in my restless

00:10:17mind, to feel like boredom.

00:10:19The 5-year age gap, the fact that he was now over 40 and I was in my mid-30s, became my

00:10:24excuse.

00:10:25He's too settled.

00:10:26Too adult.

00:10:26He doesn't understand the need for excitement anymore.

00:10:29Most nights, lying next to him as he slept peacefully, I stared at the ceiling in thought.

00:10:34Is this it?

00:10:35No surprises?

00:10:36No wild adventures?

00:10:38Just routine.

00:10:39Instead of gratitude, something ugly grew in me.

00:10:42Entitlement.

00:10:4310.

00:10:43Sophia's Teenage Rebellion.

00:10:45Martha, 37.

00:10:47Derek, 42.

00:10:48Sophia, 16.

00:10:50By 16, Sophia had grown tall, strong-willed, and fiercely intelligent.

00:10:55She dyed her hair, tried different styles, dreamed big.

00:10:58One night, she stumbled home drunk around 2 a.m.

00:11:01Derek, 42, exhausted but steady, was waiting in the living room.

00:11:06Sophia, do you know what time it is?

00:11:07He asked calmly.

00:11:08I'm almost an adult, Dad, she slurred.

00:11:11I can make my own decisions.

00:11:12You came home drunk, he said.

00:11:14We were worried.

00:11:15That's not okay.

00:11:16She rolled her eyes.

00:11:17Stop acting like my prison guard.

00:11:19You're not my real father.

00:11:21Silence fell like a stone.

00:11:22I know who I am, he said quietly.

00:11:24I'm the one who raised you.

00:11:25A few days later, she came to him in tears.

00:11:28I'm sorry, Dad, she whispered.

00:11:30I didn't mean it.

00:11:31I know, he replied, running a hand through her hair.

00:11:34But words can wound.

00:11:35Remember that.

00:11:36I listened from the hallway.

00:11:38I should have been grateful.

00:11:39Instead, part of me resented that their bond seemed deeper than mine with either of them.

00:11:4411.

00:11:44Gregory Returns.

00:11:46Martha, 37.

00:11:47Sophia, 16.

00:11:49Derek, 42.

00:11:51Soon after Sophia's 16th birthday, my phone pinged with a new message on social media.

00:11:55From Gregory.

00:11:56Martha, I know it's been many years.

00:11:59I'm ashamed of what I did.

00:12:00I'd like to see my daughter at least once and apologize.

00:12:03If you'll let me.

00:12:04That name hit me like a ghost from another life.

00:12:06That evening, I told Derek.

00:12:08He put his paperwork down.

00:12:09What does he want, he asked.

00:12:11A meeting.

00:12:11An apology.

00:12:12I don't know.

00:12:13He sighed.

00:12:14Sophia is 16.

00:12:16Old enough to decide.

00:12:17But we need to be honest with her.

00:12:18We sat her down in the living room.

00:12:20Honey.

00:12:21I began.

00:12:22Your biological father reached out.

00:12:24The one who left?

00:12:25She asked.

00:12:26Yes.

00:12:27He says he regrets it and wants to apologize.

00:12:29To meet you.

00:12:30And what do you think?

00:12:31She asked, looking between us.

00:12:33People make terrible decisions.

00:12:35I said.

00:12:35But they can change.

00:12:37Your father?

00:12:38He was immature, lost.

00:12:39That doesn't mean he's a monster.

00:12:41He's a good person who did very bad things.

00:12:43Derek added calmly.

00:12:45The choice is yours.

00:12:46After a long pause, she said.

00:12:48Okay.

00:12:49I'll meet him.

00:12:50But I don't know if I can forgive him.

00:12:5112.

00:12:52Meetings with Gregory.

00:12:53Martha, 37-38.

00:12:56Sophia, 16-17.

00:12:58The first meeting took place at a casual restaurant.

00:13:00Gregory had aged.

00:13:02Early 40s now.

00:13:03Lines around his eyes.

00:13:04But the same easy smile.

00:13:06The same magnetic charm.

00:13:08He was humble.

00:13:09Apologetic.

00:13:10But still knew how to make people feel special.

00:13:12Hi, Martha.

00:13:13He said gently.

00:13:14Hi, Sophia.

00:13:15Sophia sat across from him.

00:13:17Arms crossed.

00:13:18I don't remember you.

00:13:19She said bluntly.

00:13:20All I know is that you left.

00:13:22You're right, he answered.

00:13:23And I don't expect forgiveness.

00:13:25I just wanted to say I'm sorry.

00:13:26Truly.

00:13:27Over several meetings, he listened to her.

00:13:29Praised her grades.

00:13:30Her interests.

00:13:31He laughed at her jokes.

00:13:33Admired her ambition.

00:13:34With me, he reminisced about the old days.

00:13:37Late night walks.

00:13:38Stupid adventures.

00:13:39Something dangerous started to grow in me.

00:13:41I compared.

00:13:42Gregory.

00:13:43Still the young soul.

00:13:44Spontaneous.

00:13:45Reckless.

00:13:46Emotional.

00:13:47Derek.

00:13:47A 40-something engineer.

00:13:49Careful.

00:13:50Methodical.

00:13:50Quiet.

00:13:51In my restless heart, a lie took root.

00:13:54Responsibility is boring.

00:13:55Passion needs chaos.

00:13:5713.

00:13:58The Cyprus trip.

00:13:59Martha.

00:13:5938.

00:14:00Derek.

00:14:0143.

00:14:02Sophia.

00:14:0317.

00:14:03The idea of a vacation with Gregory came up almost casually over coffee.

00:14:08It'd be nice to spend more time together, he said.

00:14:10Not just an hour here and there.

00:14:12A vacation?

00:14:13I suggested, half-joking.

00:14:15Sure, he shrugged.

00:14:15Why not?

00:14:17I went home, opened my laptop, and typed, Cyprus vacation package.

00:14:21I booked it.

00:14:22Paid.

00:14:22I was 38.

00:14:24I knew better.

00:14:25Or should have.

00:14:25I only told Derek afterward.

00:14:27Hey, what?

00:14:28He asked, disbelieving.

00:14:29A vacation?

00:14:30With him.

00:14:31Sophia needs time with her father.

00:14:33I said sharply.

00:14:34It's important for her.

00:14:35And who am I then?

00:14:36He asked softly.

00:14:37Instead of answering that real question, I attacked.

00:14:40Don't be dramatic.

00:14:41You don't even have vacation time then.

00:14:43Martha.

00:14:43This is not about vacation days, he said.

00:14:46This is emotionally very risky.

00:14:48For you.

00:14:49For her.

00:14:50You're overreacting.

00:14:51I cut him off.

00:14:52It's already paid for.

00:14:53I didn't want his mature, 43-year-old perspective.

00:14:56I wanted the flatteries of my own selfishness.

00:14:5914.

00:14:59Cyprus.

00:15:00The affair.

00:15:01Martha, 38.

00:15:03Sophia, 17.

00:15:04Cyprus was sun, sea, and a carefully curated illusion.

00:15:08Gregory was the fun parent from day one.

00:15:11I'm not gonna nag you on vacation, he told Sophia.

00:15:14Sleep when you want.

00:15:15Eat what you want.

00:15:16We're here to enjoy.

00:15:17No chores.

00:15:18No rules.

00:15:19No curfews.

00:15:20He showered her with praise.

00:15:22You're brilliant, he'd say.

00:15:23Talented.

00:15:24Beautiful.

00:15:25I'm so proud of you.

00:15:26Her eyes shone.

00:15:27She soaked it in like a plant long deprived of sunlight.

00:15:30With me, he was charming in that same old way.

00:15:33Remember when we drove to the lake at 2 a.m.?

00:15:35He laughed.

00:15:36We almost landed in the ditch.

00:15:37I remember.

00:15:38I laugh back.

00:15:39We were idiots.

00:15:41Evenings on the balcony.

00:15:42Cheap wine.

00:15:43Old stories turning into private jokes again.

00:15:46One night, he put his hand on my shoulder.

00:15:48I always regretted leaving you, he whispered.

00:15:50You were the only one who really understood me.

00:15:53I could have said, if that was true, you wouldn't have disappeared for 16 years.

00:15:57Instead, I said, I missed you too.

00:15:59Soon, the line was crossed.

00:16:01Fully.

00:16:02Physically.

00:16:03Emotionally.

00:16:04I cheated on my husband.

00:16:05In full awareness.

00:16:06Sophia saw us cuddling.

00:16:08Kissing.

00:16:08Finally, you're together.

00:16:10She smiled, posting pictures captioned.

00:16:12True love never dies.

00:16:14To Derek, we sent one photo from the airport on day one.

00:16:18Then silence.

00:16:1915.

00:16:20Confrontation and Derek leaving.

00:16:22Martha, 38.

00:16:23Derek, 43.

00:16:25Sophia, 17.

00:16:26After three weeks, we came home.

00:16:28The next day, Derek sat at the dining table with printed screenshots of Sophia's social media

00:16:33posts spread out in front of him.

00:16:35Me and Gregory on the beach.

00:16:36Our arms around each other.

00:16:38Our lips locked in one.

00:16:39Martha, he began, voice steady but tired.

00:16:42I want to hear it from you.

00:16:44Does this mean you're with Gregory now?

00:16:46Before I could answer, Sophia stormed into the room.

00:16:48Why are you stalking my account?

00:16:50She snapped.

00:16:51Mom and I have the right to be happy.

00:16:52Sophia, I'm just asking a question.

00:16:55Derek said.

00:16:55This concerns all of us.

00:16:57She scoffed.

00:16:58At least Gregory knows how to have fun.

00:17:00He's probably understands mom better than you ever did.

00:17:03Mom told me so.

00:17:04My stomach dropped.

00:17:05A stupid, intimate comment I had once shared with her in a moment of reckless oversharing

00:17:10had become a weapon.

00:17:12Sophia.

00:17:12I hissed.

00:17:13What?

00:17:14It's true.

00:17:14She shot back.

00:17:16Derek looked at me.

00:17:16A 43-year-old man whose entire family was crumbling in front of him.

00:17:20Did you really say that?

00:17:21He asked quietly.

00:17:23I could have said, I'm sorry.

00:17:24I could have broken down, confessed, begged forgiveness.

00:17:28Instead, I threw the final grenade.

00:17:30You're not her father.

00:17:31I spat.

00:17:32You have no right to interfere in our lives.

00:17:35That was it.

00:17:35The line we could never uncross.

00:17:37He stood up, walked to the bedroom, and packed a small bag.

00:17:40At the door, he said, I love you, Martha.

00:17:43And I love Sophia.

00:17:44But I'll never force anyone to stay with me.

00:17:46He left.

00:17:47Quietly.

00:17:48No drama.

00:17:49Just an ending.

00:17:50Three days later, he returned with a couple of friends to collect the rest of his things.

00:17:54Sophia was waiting.

00:17:55Good afternoon, sir.

00:17:56She said coldly.

00:17:57You'll finally have peace.

00:17:59So will I.

00:17:59I'll finally get my real father back.

00:18:02Gregory stood in the corner, phone in hand, recording.

00:18:05You ruined my life.

00:18:07Sophia screamed.

00:18:08You took me away from my real dad.

00:18:10Sophia.

00:18:11Derek tried, but she cut him off.

00:18:13Shut up.

00:18:13I hate you.

00:18:14And then she spit in his face.

00:18:16I stood there and said nothing.

00:18:17I didn't tell her to stop.

00:18:19I didn't defend him.

00:18:20I didn't even defend the truth.

00:18:21She ran to Gregory and hugged him.

00:18:23Derek left without looking back.

00:18:25Later, the video appeared online, captioned.

00:18:28My daughter finally came back to me.

00:18:3016.

00:18:31Divorce.

00:18:32Martha, 39.

00:18:33Derek, 44.

00:18:35Sophia, 18.

00:18:36Two weeks later, I received a notice from a lawyer's office.

00:18:39Pre-divorce negotiations.

00:18:41I don't want revenge.

00:18:42Or even justice.

00:18:44Derek said at the meeting.

00:18:45I just want peace.

00:18:46We agreed.

00:18:47Assets split 50-50ths.

00:18:49I kept the house with Sophia until she finished college, after which I would either sell it

00:18:54or buy out his half at current market value.

00:18:56Until then, I would cover all maintenance and property taxes.

00:19:00And child support?

00:19:01I asked sharply.

00:19:02For Sophia?

00:19:03Derek's lawyer answered, cool and factual.

00:19:06Legally, Derek never adopted Sophia.

00:19:08Her biological father, Gregory, has the child support obligation.

00:19:12Derek has none.

00:19:13I had assumed the man who had parented her for years owed us, morally and financially.

00:19:19I hadn't realized how much I had taken his goodness for granted.

00:19:22Three months later, the divorce was finalized.

00:19:25Derek wired half of our savings to my account.

00:19:27Signed over occupancy rights of the house.

00:19:30My responsibility now.

00:19:31He didn't fight.

00:19:32He just let go.

00:19:3317.

00:19:34Marriage to Gregory and collapse.

00:19:36Martha, 39-40.

00:19:38Gregory, 42.

00:19:40Sophia, 18-19.

00:19:41Gregory moved in almost immediately.

00:19:44I was 39, he about 42, Sophia, just out of high school.

00:19:48He convinced me to give him full access to my accounts and house documents.

00:19:52We're married now.

00:19:53We should trust each other.

00:19:54In a small civil ceremony at the courthouse, we got married.

00:19:58My mom came, her face tight.

00:20:00I sat.

00:20:01My dad was gone by then.

00:20:02He might have said something that would have shaken me awake.

00:20:04My mom just whispered,

00:20:06Are you sure, Martha?

00:20:07Yes, I said stubbornly.

00:20:09I love him.

00:20:09After the wedding, Gregory changed rapidly, or finally showed his true self.

00:20:14He didn't work.

00:20:15Brought buddies over.

00:20:16Loud music.

00:20:17Beerkins everywhere.

00:20:18No sharing in bills.

00:20:20No real responsibility.

00:20:22Soft.

00:20:22He'd call out.

00:20:23Clean up after us, will you?

00:20:25You're young.

00:20:25I'm tired.

00:20:26From what?

00:20:27She dared to ask.

00:20:28You don't work.

00:20:29Watch your mouth, he snapped.

00:20:31I'm your father.

00:20:32Show some respect.

00:20:33The cool dad, mask slipped and revealed an entitled, manipulative man-child.

00:20:37My teacher's salary, and what was left of Derek's savings covered everything.

00:20:41Gregory never put in a dime.

00:20:4318.

00:20:44Pregnancy.

00:20:45Violence.

00:20:46Disappearance.

00:20:47Martha.

00:20:4740.

00:20:48Sophia.

00:20:4919.

00:20:49Two months after the wedding, I found out I was pregnant again.

00:20:53You sure it's mine?

00:20:54Gregory sneered.

00:20:55Of course it is, I said.

00:20:56Great, he scoffed.

00:20:58More problems.

00:20:59You know, if you'd had an abortion back then, my life would have been so much easier.

00:21:03He looked straight at Sophia.

00:21:04If your mother hadn't kept you, I wouldn't have had to deal with any of this.

00:21:08You're a parasite.

00:21:09Sophia burst into tears.

00:21:11What are you saying?

00:21:12Dad, she choked.

00:21:14He struck her, leaving her frozen in shock.

00:21:16Stop whining.

00:21:17I lunged toward him.

00:21:18Gregory, don't you dare.

00:21:20Sit down, he hissed.

00:21:21Or you'll regret it.

00:21:22A few days later, he packed some clothes and disappeared.

00:21:2619.

00:21:27Theft.

00:21:27Threats.

00:21:28Arson.

00:21:29Martha.

00:21:2940.

00:21:30Sophia.

00:21:3119.

00:21:31Shortly after he vanished, I discovered our accounts had been emptied.

00:21:35Every last dollar, gone.

00:21:37The money Derek had left, my savings, everything.

00:21:40At the bank, they checked.

00:21:42The transactions were authorized with two-factor authentication.

00:21:45They said, if you suspect fraud, you'll need to file a police report.

00:21:49So I did.

00:21:50The officers were professional, but distant.

00:21:52They took my statement, explained the process, but I could feel their silent judgment.

00:21:57Another woman who trusted the wrong man.

00:21:59A few days later, Gregory called from a blocked number.

00:22:02Drop the charges, he said.

00:22:04Give the money back, I replied.

00:22:06You stole from your own family.

00:22:07I don't owe you anything, he laughed.

00:22:09Consider it payment for the time I wasted with you.

00:22:12If you don't back off, you'll regret it.

00:22:14I refused to withdraw the complaint.

00:22:16Two days later, our house burned down.

00:22:18Everything was gone.

00:22:1920.

00:22:20Hitting rock bottom.

00:22:21Martha.

00:22:2240-41.

00:22:23Sophia.

00:22:2420.

00:22:24We moved in with my mom.

00:22:26Dad was already gone.

00:22:27My mom, older, weaker, but still with that stubborn love, took us in.

00:22:32I was pregnant, jobless, homeless.

00:22:34Sophia was drowning in shame and anger.

00:22:37At school, my nerves were shot.

00:22:39One day, when a student mouthed off and refused to follow instructions, I lost control and slapped

00:22:44him.

00:22:45The principal called me into his office.

00:22:47I have to let you go, he said.

00:22:48Effective immediately.

00:22:50And you should be grateful I'm not pressing charges.

00:22:52This could have been a criminal case.

00:22:54At home, everything exploded.

00:22:55You ruin everything.

00:22:58Sophia yelled.

00:22:58The house, your job, my life.

00:23:00I lost everything too.

00:23:02I tried.

00:23:03I want my dad back, she screamed.

00:23:05Gregory.

00:23:05I asked horrified.

00:23:07No, she shot back.

00:23:08Not my sperm donor.

00:23:09My real dad.

00:23:10Derek.

00:23:11Those words cut through all of my self-justifications.

00:23:14She was right.

00:23:15Sophia fell into depression.

00:23:17Then narcotics.

00:23:18The straight A.

00:23:19A student with big dreams became one of the worst performing kids at her school.

00:23:23College dreams went up in smoke with the house.

00:23:2521.

00:23:26Desperate legal attempt.

00:23:28Martha, 41.

00:23:29Derek, 46.

00:23:31Sophia, 21.

00:23:33Desperate, I filed a motion in court to modify the divorce terms.

00:23:37I wanted spousal support and financial help for Sophia from Derek.

00:23:40My client, my lawyer argued, has significantly lower income.

00:23:44She lost her job, is pregnant, and for years Derek functioned as a father to Sophia.

00:23:49He earns much more.

00:23:50There's a moral duty here.

00:23:52Sophia, 21 now, testified in tears.

00:23:55Derek was the best dad I could have asked for, she said.

00:23:58He was always there.

00:23:59I betrayed him.

00:24:00Mom manipulated me into embracing Gregory.

00:24:03For a moment, I thought, maybe the judge will be moved.

00:24:06Then Derek's attorney played the video from Gregory's social media.

00:24:10There was Sophia, screaming at Derek that he wasn't her father, calling him names, spitting

00:24:14in his face.

00:24:15Gregory filming.

00:24:16Me standing by, not intervening.

00:24:18The judge looked at us with open disgust.

00:24:21Motion denied, he said firmly.

00:24:23In full.

00:24:24You both need to accept the consequences of your choices.

00:24:27The court is not here to erase the moral cost of your own decisions.

00:24:30That sentence echoed in my head for years.

00:24:3322.

00:24:34Gregory caught.

00:24:35Court orders and reality.

00:24:37Martha, 41 to 42.

00:24:39In time, the justice system did catch up with Gregory.

00:24:42The police located him out of state.

00:24:44He was tried in absentia for financial fraud and failure to pay child support.

00:24:48Then arrested when he finally appeared.

00:24:50The court ordered.

00:24:51Full repayment of the stolen funds with interest and payment of all overdue and future child

00:24:56support for Sophia.

00:24:58Theoretically, it was a victory.

00:25:00Practically, it came too late for much of the damage.

00:25:03But eventually, after appeals and paperwork, money began to arrive.

00:25:07Slowly, in chunks.

00:25:08Not as much as we'd lost emotionally, but financially substantial.

00:25:12I went to my mom's small kitchen and stared at the bank statement showing the transfer.

00:25:16I need to give this back to Derek, I told her.

00:25:18He left so much of this behind.

00:25:20It's his.

00:25:21My mom.

00:25:22Older now.

00:25:23Having buried her husband and watched her daughter crash and burn.

00:25:26Nodded.

00:25:27It's the right thing, she said.

00:25:28I arranged a meeting with Derek's lawyer, who contacted him.

00:25:32Derek, now working in the US but often abroad on high-end contracts,

00:25:36agreed to receive the reimbursement.

00:25:38When we met briefly in the lawyer's office, I pushed the documents and funds toward him.

00:25:42This is yours, I said.

00:25:44It should have always been yours.

00:25:46He looked at the paperwork, then at me.

00:25:48I appreciate that, he said quietly.

00:25:50Really?

00:25:50Then he added something I didn't expect.

00:25:52But I don't want it.

00:25:53I blinked.

00:25:54What?

00:25:55I wanted to go to Sophia, he said.

00:25:57All of it.

00:25:57For a new start.

00:25:58Derek, you don't have to.

00:25:59I know I don't have to, he interrupted gently.

00:26:02I'm choosing to.

00:26:03Use it to help her build a life.

00:26:05That's the best use of this money.

00:26:07I walked out of that meeting both humbled and shaken.

00:26:09Again, his quiet generosity stood in brutal contrast to Gregory's destruction.

00:26:1423.

00:26:15New hard start.

00:26:17Martha, early 40s.

00:26:18Sophia, early 20s.

00:26:20I found a job at a grocery store.

00:26:22The same kind of place where I'd met both Gregory and Derek.

00:26:25Full circle, but in the most ironic, bitter way.

00:26:28I lived in a small rented apartment in the US with Sophia and my new baby, Gregory's child.

00:26:33We were paying off, bit by bit, the court-ordered share of the burned house to Derek.

00:26:38Even though he'd just redirected what Gregory had finally been forced to repay.

00:26:42Sophia, with her grades in ruins and no savings, didn't go to college.

00:26:46She ended up working as a cleaner.

00:26:48Ironically, in the very manufacturing company where Derek had once built his career.

00:26:53Every corridor she mopped had once echoed Derek's footsteps.

00:26:5624.

00:26:5710 years later.

00:26:58Martha, 50.

00:27:00Derek, 55.

00:27:01Sophia, 30.

00:27:03About 10 years passed.

00:27:04I was close to 50.

00:27:06My hands were rough from work.

00:27:07My face showed every bad decision I'd made.

00:27:10One afternoon at the store, a family walked in.

00:27:12A man, an Asian woman, and a boy around 10.

00:27:15They were speaking Japanese with a mix of American accents.

00:27:19The man came to the register.

00:27:20I looked up, and my heart stopped.

00:27:22Derek, I whispered.

00:27:24He was older now, around 55.

00:27:25A little gray at the temples, some wrinkles, but the same steady eyes.

00:27:30Hi, Martha.

00:27:31He said kindly.

00:27:32This is my wife, Iko.

00:27:33And this is my son, Ken.

00:27:35He emphasized my son.

00:27:37Gently.

00:27:37Not cruelly.

00:27:38Just clearly.

00:27:39I see you're doing well.

00:27:40I said, fumbling for my words.

00:27:43Yeah, he nodded.

00:27:44Life's good.

00:27:45I heard about the fire.

00:27:46I'm sorry, Martha.

00:27:47I gave him the short version of the last decade.

00:27:49His wife, Iko, listened quietly.

00:27:52Her expression a mix of pity and reserve.

00:27:55She didn't owe me anything.

00:27:56Not sympathy, not understanding.

00:27:58And yet she listened.

00:27:59And Sophia?

00:28:00Derek asked.

00:28:01She works.

00:28:02I said.

00:28:03As a cleaner.

00:28:04In your old plant.

00:28:05He thought for a long moment.

00:28:06I'll forgive the rest of the house debt.

00:28:08He said finally.

00:28:09There's no point in you paying that forever.

00:28:12Derek, that's not necessary.

00:28:13I protested.

00:28:14I know, he said.

00:28:15But I want to.

00:28:16Then he added.

00:28:17If Sophia still wants to study.

00:28:19And she can bring her academic standing up enough to get in somewhere.

00:28:22I can help cover tuition.

00:28:24No promises beyond that.

00:28:25But, if she's willing to work.

00:28:27I'm willing to help.

00:28:28He scribbled a new number on a scrap of receipt paper.

00:28:31And slid it across the counter.

00:28:33Give this to her, he said.

00:28:34It's my current cell.

00:28:35Tell her.

00:28:36She can call if she wants.

00:28:37No pressure.

00:28:38He left with Ico and Ken.

00:28:40I stood at the register.

00:28:41Holding that small piece of paper like it was made of glass.

00:28:4425.

00:28:45Rebuilding with Derek.

00:28:47Martha.

00:28:4750.

00:28:48Sophia.

00:28:4930.

00:28:49That night.

00:28:50I told Sophia everything.

00:28:52She almost grabbed the number from my hand.

00:28:54Mom, give it to me.

00:28:55Please.

00:28:56She dialed immediately.

00:28:57Hands shaking.

00:28:58Hello.

00:28:59Came his voice.

00:29:00Dad.

00:29:00She said.

00:29:01And broke into sobs.

00:29:02It's me.

00:29:03Sophia.

00:29:04Martha.

00:29:04He asked surprised.

00:29:06No.

00:29:07It's it's Sophia.

00:29:08You're Sophia.

00:29:09There was a pause.

00:29:10I held my breath.

00:29:11Sophia.

00:29:12He said softly.

00:29:13I'm glad you called.

00:29:14I'm so sorry.

00:29:14She cried.

00:29:15For what I did.

00:29:16For what I said.

00:29:17I don't deserve anything from you.

00:29:19But I.

00:29:19I've missed you every day.

00:29:21I have your picture as my phone wallpaper.

00:29:22I'm happy you built a good life.

00:29:24I don't want to ruin that.

00:29:25I just needed you to know.

00:29:27They talked for a long time.

00:29:28I heard bits and pieces.

00:29:29I was the one who spit in your face.

00:29:31She said.

00:29:32I replay that video in my mind all the time.

00:29:35I hate myself for it.

00:29:36You were a kid.

00:29:37He answered.

00:29:38And you were manipulated.

00:29:39That doesn't excuse it.

00:29:40But it explains it.

00:29:41They agreed to meet.

00:29:4326.

00:29:44First reunion.

00:29:45Two families.

00:29:46One table.

00:29:47We met at a cafe downtown.

00:29:48Derek arrived with Iko and their son, Ken.

00:29:51Sophia and I sat at a table near the window.

00:29:54Hi.

00:29:54Sophia said when they approached.

00:29:56Her voice trembled.

00:29:57Hi, Dad.

00:29:58Hi, Sophia.

00:29:59He said, smiling gently.

00:30:01You've grown up.

00:30:02They talked about her job, his work, Iko's life between the US and Japan, Ken's hobbies.

00:30:07Iko spoke in accented English.

00:30:09Kind but cautious.

00:30:10At one point, she said something in Japanese to Derek.

00:30:13He translated.

00:30:15She says, if you want to try going back to school, we can help financially.

00:30:18As long as you do your part, studying, making up credits.

00:30:22We'll handle tuition if you handle the work.

00:30:24Sophia nodded.

00:30:25Tears in her eyes.

00:30:26I'll accept, she said, on one condition.

00:30:29What's that?

00:30:30Derek asked.

00:30:31That someday I'll be able to repay you.

00:30:33Somehow.

00:30:34I don't want to just take from you again.

00:30:36He smiled.

00:30:36The best repayment, he said, is what you do with your life.

00:30:40That's enough.

00:30:41At the end, Sophia and Ken played together for a while.

00:30:44He was about 10, half Japanese, half American, curious and bright.

00:30:48Are you my sister?

00:30:49He asked in halting English.

00:30:51Sophia burst into tears.

00:30:53Maybe a little, she said.

00:30:54In a way that matters.

00:30:56As they left, she knelt to his height.

00:30:58Ken, she said, always respect and love your dad.

00:31:01There is no better man in the whole world.

00:31:03I know that now.

00:31:05I watched Derek put a hand on Ken's shoulder.

00:31:07I could tell the boy understood more than his limited English allowed him to say.

00:31:1027, step-by-step, Sophia's new life.

00:31:14With Derek and Ico's financial help and her own hard work, Sophia slowly pieced her academic

00:31:19record back together.

00:31:21Community college first, then transfer.

00:31:23Late night studying, tutoring sessions, small steps.

00:31:27Naturally, she decided to study engineering.

00:31:29Years later, she graduated with a degree.

00:31:31Not the Ivy League dream she once had, but a solid university and an honest diploma.

00:31:36Derek attended the graduation.

00:31:38So did Ico and Ken.

00:31:40My mom came too.

00:31:41Older, slower, but proud.

00:31:43She was quietly happy to see Derek with a stable life and to see that he and I had at

00:31:47least a civil, even warm, connection again.

00:31:50This is what I prayed for, she whispered to me.

00:31:53Not that you'd get him back, but that he'd be okay and you two wouldn't be enemies.

00:31:57I'm glad his life is good.

00:31:59He deserves it.

00:32:00And I'm glad you can talk without hate.

00:32:02She was right.

00:32:02By then, the sharpest edges of my regret had dulled into something else, a sober acceptance.

00:32:0828.

00:32:09Sophia's Relationships, Choosing Differently

00:32:11In the years that followed, Sophia met several men.

00:32:15The first one was loud, funny, impulsive, so much like a younger Gregory that it made my

00:32:20skin crawl.

00:32:20He's exciting, she admitted.

00:32:22But every time something serious comes up, he disappears.

00:32:25I feel like I'm 17 again.

00:32:27I don't want to live that story twice.

00:32:28The second was career-obsessed, always busy, always on.

00:32:33He liked the idea of having a smart girlfriend, but not the reality of sharing life with a full

00:32:38human being.

00:32:39He's brilliant, she told Derek over a video call.

00:32:42But I think he wants an assistant more than a partner.

00:32:44Derek didn't criticize.

00:32:46He just asked the same question again and again.

00:32:48How do you feel when you're with him?

00:32:50Stable or unstable?

00:32:51Safe or on edge?

00:32:53Then she met Michael.

00:32:54A few years older than her, he worked as an engineer at a manufacturing company.

00:32:58Just like Derek once had.

00:33:00He wasn't flashy.

00:33:01He didn't shower her with grand gestures.

00:33:03He just showed up.

00:33:04On time.

00:33:05Consistently.

00:33:06He listened.

00:33:07He thought before speaking.

00:33:08He followed through.

00:33:09Mom.

00:33:10She said one evening.

00:33:11This is weird.

00:33:12What is?

00:33:13He reminds me of Derek.

00:33:14Not in how he looks.

00:33:15In how he is.

00:33:16The calm.

00:33:17The way he thinks about the future.

00:33:19The way I feel when I'm with him.

00:33:20How is that?

00:33:21I asked.

00:33:22Like when I was a kid and fell asleep knowing dad was in the next room.

00:33:26She said.

00:33:27Safe.

00:33:27When she told Derek about Michael, he smiled on the screen.

00:33:30That sounds like a man who knows who he is, he said.

00:33:33That's good.

00:33:3429.

00:33:35Sophia's wedding.

00:33:36Derek walks her down the aisle.

00:33:38Michael proposed when Sophia was in her early thirties.

00:33:41She called Derek as soon as she could.

00:33:43Dad?

00:33:43She said.

00:33:44Voice trembling.

00:33:45I said yes.

00:33:46I'm happy for you, he answered.

00:33:48And proud of you.

00:33:49There's something I want to ask, she said.

00:33:51Something big.

00:33:52Ask, he replied.

00:33:53I want you to walk me down the aisle.

00:33:55There was a long silence.

00:33:57I imagined Derek, mid-fifties now, sitting somewhere in his neat, quiet house.

00:34:02Realizing that despite everything, his daughter still wanted him in the role he had always quietly

00:34:06filled.

00:34:07It would be an honor, he said at last.

00:34:09If Michael and his family are okay with it.

00:34:11And your mom too.

00:34:12Yes.

00:34:12I'll do it gladly.

00:34:14The wedding took place in a simple church.

00:34:16Not unlike the ones in so many American towns.

00:34:18On the day, Sophia stood by the entrance in her white dress, hands shaking.

00:34:23I approached and adjusted her veil.

00:34:25You look beautiful, I whispered.

00:34:27Thanks, mom.

00:34:28She smiled, eyes wet.

00:34:29You too.

00:34:30Derek came up behind us.

00:34:31Older now, with gray hair, but standing straight.

00:34:34She's stunning, he said.

00:34:36You did well, Martha.

00:34:37With your help, I answered.

00:34:39A few minutes later, he turned to Sophia.

00:34:41You ready?

00:34:41He asked.

00:34:42My hands are shaking, she admitted.

00:34:44So did mine the first time I picked you up, he smiled.

00:34:46And we got through that, didn't we?

00:34:48We'll get through this too.

00:34:50She took his arm.

00:34:51I watched them walk down the aisle.

00:34:52My daughter and the man who had raised her, side by side.

00:34:55The sight cut deep and healed something at the same time.

00:34:5830.

00:34:59One sentence in Japanese.

00:35:01At the reception, I watched Aiko from across the room.

00:35:04For weeks, I had practiced one sentence in Japanese.

00:35:07Broken into syllables, replaying online recordings again and again until I could say it without

00:35:12stumbling.

00:35:13Finally, I walked over.

00:35:14Aiko, I said softly.

00:35:15May I talk to you for a second?

00:35:17She nodded politely.

00:35:19Slowly, carefully, in Japanese, I said.

00:35:22I'm jealous of you.

00:35:23But I'm glad you're both happy.

00:35:24All of this could have been mine.

00:35:25Don't screw it up.

00:35:27You have the best man in the world only because I was the stupidest woman in the world and

00:35:31couldn't recognize a real diamond.

00:35:33She stared at me, surprised, then deeply moved.

00:35:36She looked at Derek, then back at me, understanding more from my tone and eyes than from my accent.

00:35:41She took my hand, squeezed it gently, and said something soft in Japanese.

00:35:46One simple, kind phrase.

00:35:48I didn't understand the words, but I understood the message.

00:35:51Not hatred.

00:35:52Not contempt.

00:35:53Something closer to compassion.

00:35:54My mom was at the wedding too.

00:35:56Older, friulier, but luminous with quiet joy.

00:35:59At one point, she leaned over to me and whispered.

00:36:02I'm glad Derek's life turned out well.

00:36:04He deserves it.

00:36:05And I'm relieved you two have a good relationship now.

00:36:07I can die in peace, knowing there's no bitterness between you.

00:36:11Thirty-one, dancing as friends.

00:36:13Later that evening, after Sophia's first dance with Michael and her second dance with Derek,

00:36:18someone from the guests called out.

00:36:20Now how about a dance for the bride's mom and her ex-husband?

00:36:23All eyes turned toward us.

00:36:24I froze.

00:36:25Then I looked at Derek.

00:36:26He extended his hand, calm and unhurried.

00:36:30Dance with me, Martha, he asked.

00:36:31As friends.

00:36:32As friends, I echoed.

00:36:34We moved slowly across the dance floor.

00:36:36No tension.

00:36:37No hidden romantic hopes.

00:36:39Just two people whose fates had once been intertwined.

00:36:42Now connected mainly by shared history and a daughter they both loved.

00:36:46I'm sorry.

00:36:47I whispered at one point.

00:36:48For everything.

00:36:49All of it.

00:36:50I know, he said.

00:36:51I've known for a long time.

00:36:52Let's just live the rest of our lives, okay?

00:36:54In peace.

00:36:55He wasn't promising to forget.

00:36:57But he was allowing both of us to live without constant punishment.

00:37:00Thirty-two, a new Derek.

00:37:02A few years later, Sophia gave birth to a baby boy.

00:37:06Mom, she said on the phone.

00:37:08Her voice full of shaky joy, he's here.

00:37:10He's healthy.

00:37:11I rushed to the hospital the next day.

00:37:13She lay there, pale and exhausted, but glowing.

00:37:16Michael next to her.

00:37:17Calm, silent rock.

00:37:19She cradled a tiny bundle in her arms.

00:37:21What's his name?

00:37:22I asked.

00:37:23She looked at me with a half smile.

00:37:25Derek, she said.

00:37:26It couldn't be anything else.

00:37:28Later, when she called Derek to tell him, I was there to hear his voice.

00:37:32Dad, she said.

00:37:33You have a grandson.

00:37:34His name is Derek.

00:37:35Silence.

00:37:36Then his voice, rough with emotion.

00:37:39That means more to me than you know.

00:37:41Some months later, Derek and Ico came to visit the States with Ken, now a teenager.

00:37:46We all gathered at Sophia's place.

00:37:48Little Derek toddled around the living room, chasing after Ken.

00:37:51The older boy laughed and, in his slightly broken English, shouted.

00:37:55Come on, cousin.

00:37:56Let's go.

00:37:57He treated him like family.

00:37:59No complicated definitions needed.

00:38:01Just natural acceptance.

00:38:02I watched the scene.

00:38:03Derek in his late 50s.

00:38:05Ico.

00:38:06Teenage Ken.

00:38:07My grown daughter Sophia.

00:38:08Her husband Michael.

00:38:09Steady.

00:38:10Kind.

00:38:11So much like Derek.

00:38:12And little Derek.

00:38:13Named after the man who had truly been her father.

00:38:1533.

00:38:16Full circle.

00:38:17The name Sophia.

00:38:19Sometimes, in the quiet of my small apartment, I go back to that day in the hospital when

00:38:23I was 20, holding my newborn daughter and choosing her name.

00:38:27Sophia.

00:38:27I had said back then.

00:38:29Wisdom.

00:38:29I wanted her to have what I did not.

00:38:31The ability to see beyond charm.

00:38:33To recognize what is solid and true.

00:38:35To choose well where I had chosen badly.

00:38:37I failed, over and over.

00:38:39I chose Gregory.

00:38:40I betrayed Derek.

00:38:42I almost destroyed both my own life and hers.

00:38:44And yet, in the end, it was Sophia who lived up to her name.

00:38:48She saw who Derek really was and called him dad again.

00:38:51She learned to choose a husband who resembled Derek in character, not Gregory.

00:38:55She named her son after the man who had quietly, steadfastly loved her.

00:39:00She allowed herself to forgive and to be forgiven.

00:39:02I lost my chance at that kind of life with Derek.

00:39:05That was the price of my foolishness.

00:39:07But watching my daughter build a wise life, true to the meaning of the name I gave her,

00:39:11became, in a strange way, my redemption.

00:39:14My mom, before she passed, said to me,

00:39:16You were foolish, Martha.

00:39:18But you raised a wise daughter.

00:39:20Let that be enough now.

00:39:21I don't know if it will ever feel like enough.

00:39:23The ache of regret doesn't vanish.

00:39:25But when I see Sophia standing beside Michael, with little Derek in her arms,

00:39:29and Ken calling him cousin, with Derek and Ico nearby, at peace, I see something else too.

00:39:35Wisdom, finally, in the next generation.

00:39:38And I remember the moment I first whispered that name in a hospital room,

00:39:41hoping, without really believing, that my daughter would become what her name meant.

00:39:46She did.

00:39:47Sophia.

00:39:47Wisdom.

00:39:48Even if it had to grow out of my worst mistakes.

00:39:50Now, from Derek's point of view.

00:39:52The early years with Martha and Sophia, the breakup in Japan,

00:39:56the wedding scene with the dance with Martha,

00:39:58Sophia gradually returning to calling Derek, Dad.

00:40:01Derek and Ico talking about Martha's Japanese sentence,

00:40:04and the growing relationship between Derek's son Ken and Sophia's son Derek,

00:40:08little Derek, plus Derek's interactions with Michael.

00:40:11One, a store, a cashier, and a different life.

00:40:14I didn't plan to change my life that day.

00:40:16I just wanted a bottle of water, a sandwich, and a big chocolate bar.

00:40:20I walked into a small convenience store near the industrial plant where I worked as an engineer.

00:40:25I was in my mid-twenties, tired, with my head full of specs and deadlines.

00:40:29Behind the counter stood a young woman, 19 or 20.

00:40:32Tired eyes, hair pulled back quickly, wearing a cheap name tag that said,

00:40:36Martha, hi.

00:40:38I said, dropping my stuff on the counter.

00:40:40That's all.

00:40:41For yourself or for your office buddies?

00:40:43She asked, a little dry humor cutting through the fluorescent lights.

00:40:47You got me.

00:40:47I smiled.

00:40:48I'm Derek.

00:40:49I work at the plant down the road.

00:40:51Martha, she replied.

00:40:52I work here.

00:40:53Obviously.

00:40:54I laughed.

00:40:55She cracked a half smile.

00:40:56I kept coming back.

00:40:58At first, by accident.

00:40:59Then, intentionally.

00:41:01We talked about traffic, rising prices, stupid customers.

00:41:04Anything but the things that really hurt.

00:41:07Eventually, she told me a little more.

00:41:09I was supposed to go to college, she said one day.

00:41:11History.

00:41:12That was the plan.

00:41:13What happened?

00:41:14I asked.

00:41:15She took a breath.

00:41:16I got pregnant, she said.

00:41:17He left.

00:41:18I decided to keep the baby.

00:41:19So, now my plan is to survive.

00:41:22She said it like a joke.

00:41:23It wasn't.

00:41:24What's her name?

00:41:25I asked.

00:41:25Sophia, she replied.

00:41:27I gave her that name on purpose.

00:41:29It means wisdom.

00:41:30I wanted her to be wiser than I was.

00:41:32That stuck with me.

00:41:33I asked her to dinner.

00:41:34She warned me she had a baby and a complicated life.

00:41:37I know, I said.

00:41:38I'm not scared off by the word complicated.

00:41:40We went anyway.

00:41:412.

00:41:42Meeting Sophia

00:41:43When I first met Sophia, she was about a year old.

00:41:46Martha's apartment was small, full of the mess that comes with a baby.

00:41:50Toys on the floor, bottles in the sink, little socks everywhere.

00:41:53Sophia stood in her crib, gripping the bars, with big, watchful eyes.

00:41:58This is Sophia, Martha said, a mix of pride and apology in her voice.

00:42:03Say hi, baby.

00:42:04Sophia looked from her to me.

00:42:05Hi, Sophia, I said.

00:42:07I'm Derek.

00:42:07I held out my finger like a handshake.

00:42:09Instead of shaking it, she grabbed it and squealed.

00:42:12I'm afraid I'm going to drop her.

00:42:14I joked when Martha handed her to me.

00:42:16If you do, I'll kill you, Martha said.

00:42:18Sophia settled into my arms like it was the most normal thing in the world.

00:42:22For me, it wasn't normal at all.

00:42:24It was disarming.

00:42:25That night, walking back to my rental room, I thought, maybe I don't have to wait for

00:42:30some perfect future to be a dad.

00:42:32Maybe it's already happening.

00:42:333.

00:42:34Moving in, becoming a family.

00:42:36After a few months of dating, I suggested something more permanent.

00:42:39It makes sense, I told Martha.

00:42:41We can share rent.

00:42:42I can help with Sophia.

00:42:43I'm not going anywhere.

00:42:45I want to build something with you.

00:42:46She hesitated.

00:42:47She'd been abandoned before.

00:42:49But in the end, she said yes.

00:42:50We moved into a small apartment in a quiet neighborhood.

00:42:54We didn't have much, but we had each other.

00:42:56I bought a crib, a used sofa, a cheap dining table.

00:42:59She brought over boxes of baby clothes and books she still hoped to read someday.

00:43:04The first night, we all slept in the same place.

00:43:06We sat on the floor, eating takeout from cardboard boxes.

00:43:10Sophia crawled between us, grabbing at noodles.

00:43:12Careful, kid, I said, gently moving the box.

00:43:16You don't have teeth for that yet.

00:43:17You like her, huh?

00:43:19Martha asked.

00:43:19A lot, I said.

00:43:21It wasn't glamorous.

00:43:22It wasn't a movie.

00:43:23It was better than that.

00:43:24It was real.

00:43:25For the first time she called me dad.

00:43:27One morning, when Sophia was about two or three, I stood in the kitchen making coffee

00:43:32before work.

00:43:33She tugged at my pant leg.

00:43:34Derek.

00:43:35Derek.

00:43:35She chirped.

00:43:36We taught her my name.

00:43:37Martha was cautious about dad.

00:43:39She didn't want to confuse or hurt anyone.

00:43:42What is it, kiddo?

00:43:43I asked.

00:43:43She dropped a Lego.

00:43:45I bent down, picked it up, and handed it back to her.

00:43:48Thank you, daddy.

00:43:49She said casually.

00:43:51Turning back to her game.

00:43:52I froze.

00:43:53What did you say?

00:43:54I asked quietly.

00:43:55She looked up, puzzled.

00:43:56Daddy, she repeated.

00:43:58Martha, standing in the doorway, had heard it too.

00:44:00You don't have to correct her, she said.

00:44:02She decided.

00:44:03Something settled inside of me that day.

00:44:05There was no ceremony, no paperwork, but it felt like the most serious promise I'd ever

00:44:10made.

00:44:11Five.

00:44:11The invisible work of love.

00:44:13The years that followed were full of things no one ever posts videos about.

00:44:17I taught Sophia how to ride a bike, running behind her, lungs burning, refusing to let

00:44:22go of the seat.

00:44:23When she finally managed on her own, she turned and yelled.

00:44:26Dad.

00:44:27Look.

00:44:27I'm doing it.

00:44:28I helped her with math, drawing pizzas, and dividing them into slices to explain fractions.

00:44:33If you cut it into four pieces and eat one.

00:44:36I said, what is that?

00:44:37One-fourth.

00:44:38She answered with a grin.

00:44:40I showed up for her school plays, no matter how small her part was.

00:44:43I clapped like she'd just won an Oscar.

00:44:45I sat by her bed when she had a fever, offering water, checking her temperature, whispering.

00:44:50It's okay.

00:44:51I'm here.

00:44:51I drove her to theater practice, waited in the parking lot with my laptop open, finishing

00:44:56specs, and afterward, always asked, how did it go?

00:45:00Did you have fun?

00:45:01That's what fatherhood looked like for me most days, showing up, saying the same reassuring

00:45:05things over and over, being boringly reliable.

00:45:08I didn't realize then how easy it would be for someone louder, more exciting, to step in

00:45:13and call all that nothing.

00:45:15Six.

00:45:15The first big wound.

00:45:17Teenage years hit like a storm.

00:45:18You don't understand anything.

00:45:20Sophia shouted one night.

00:45:22She was sixteen.

00:45:23I was in my early forties.

00:45:24To her, I might as well have been ancient.

00:45:26She came home drunk around two in the morning.

00:45:29I was waiting on the couch.

00:45:30It's two a.m., I said.

00:45:32We were worried sick.

00:45:33I'm almost an adult, she snapped.

00:45:35I can do what I want.

00:45:36Being an adult means accepting consequences, I replied.

00:45:40Stop controlling me, she yelled.

00:45:42You're not even my real father.

00:45:43The words hung in the air like smoke.

00:45:45I could have yelled back.

00:45:47Who do you think changed your diapers?

00:45:48Paid the bills?

00:45:49Showed up to your recitals?

00:45:51Instead, I swallowed the hurt and said.

00:45:54I know who I am.

00:45:55I'm the one who raised you.

00:45:56That doesn't change because you're angry.

00:45:58She slammed her door.

00:45:59A few days later, she came to me.

00:46:01Eyes red.

00:46:02Dad?

00:46:03I'm sorry, she whispered.

00:46:04I didn't mean it.

00:46:05I know, I answered.

00:46:07Words can hurt, though.

00:46:08Try not to use them like weapons.

00:46:10We hugged.

00:46:10I thought we'd pass the worst.

00:46:12We hadn't.

00:46:13Seven.

00:46:14Gregory returns.

00:46:15Martha told me about him one evening.

00:46:17Gregory reached out, she said.

00:46:19He found me online.

00:46:20He wants to meet Sophia.

00:46:21Says he regrets everything.

00:46:23Wants to say sorry.

00:46:24Gregory.

00:46:25The man who had gotten her pregnant at 19 and vanished.

00:46:28The reason she'd raised Sophia alone before I came into the picture.

00:46:32He wants to see her now?

00:46:33I asked.

00:46:34Yes.

00:46:35We sat with Sophia in the living room.

00:46:37Martha told her the truth calmly.

00:46:39I let Martha lead, then added.

00:46:40People can change.

00:46:42But what he did was serious.

00:46:43You have a right to be angry.

00:46:45And you have a right to meet him.

00:46:46The choice is yours.

00:46:47Sophia hesitated, then nodded.

00:46:49Okay, she said.

00:46:50I'll meet him.

00:46:51Once.

00:46:52I could have said no.

00:46:53I knew all the risks.

00:46:54But I also knew.

00:46:56Keeping her from meeting him would just push her toward him harder.

00:46:58So I said the only thing I thought I could honestly say.

00:47:01Whatever happens, I'm still here.

00:47:03I just didn't realize that.

00:47:05For a while, she'd choose to be somewhere else.

00:47:07Eight.

00:47:08The slippery shift.

00:47:09After the first meeting, she was full of him.

00:47:11He's funny, she said.

00:47:13He gets me.

00:47:14He says I have his sense of humor.

00:47:15His eyes.

00:47:16He wasn't there for your fevers or math tests.

00:47:19I thought.

00:47:20Out loud, I said.

00:47:21I'm glad you had a good talk.

00:47:22Just remember he's human.

00:47:24With flaws.

00:47:25You're just jealous, she shot back.

00:47:27I wasn't jealous.

00:47:28I was scared.

00:47:29But I didn't correct her.

00:47:30Everything escalated with that trip to Cyprus.

00:47:33Martha told me only after she'd booked it.

00:47:35Sophia and I are going to Cyprus with Gregory.

00:47:37She said.

00:47:38He doesn't have vacation time.

00:47:40You don't either.

00:47:40So?

00:47:41A family vacation?

00:47:42I asked.

00:47:43Without the man who's been in this family for nearly 20 years.

00:47:46You're overreacting, she said.

00:47:48It's important for her to know her real father.

00:47:51I wanted to scream.

00:47:52Then who have I been all these years?

00:47:53Instead, I packed a bag and went to a friend's place for a while.

00:47:57They went.

00:47:58I stayed.

00:47:59I got one picture from the airport.

00:48:01After that, silence.

00:48:02When they came back, everything we'd built was already cracked.

00:48:05The confrontation, the admission of the affair, the scene where Sophia spat in my face while

00:48:10Gregory filmed.

00:48:11It all happened fast.

00:48:13I took my things and left.

00:48:14I heard her say.

00:48:15I'll finally have my real father.

00:48:17I told her.

00:48:18I love you.

00:48:19And walked out with spit still drying on my cheek.

00:48:22That was the day my role in that household ended.

00:48:24But that wasn't the day my love for her ended.

00:48:26That didn't end.

00:48:279.

00:48:28Running to stand still.

00:48:29Alone in a new apartment.

00:48:31With no pictures on the walls and no toys on the floor, I did the one thing I knew how

00:48:35to do infinitely well.

00:48:36I worked.

00:48:37I threw myself into projects.

00:48:39I came in early, left late.

00:48:41During an acquisition by a multinational corporation, I ended up under the microscope.

00:48:45Your performance is outstanding, the new manager told me.

00:48:49We're expanding to Asia, Japan, South Korea.

00:48:52We need someone like you there.

00:48:53I had no family keeping me in that town anymore.

00:48:56The people I'd called wife and daughter had built a life around someone else.

00:48:59So when the formal offer came, relocation to Japan, promotion, a path to a senior role,

00:49:05I said yes.

00:49:06It felt like leaving a graveyard.

00:49:0810.

00:49:08Tokyo, Iko, and a different kind of love.

00:49:11Japan was a whole new alphabet, literally and figuratively.

00:49:15Suma Mason, I muttered constantly.

00:49:17I bowed too much, or not enough.

00:49:19I misused honorifics.

00:49:20But the company set up language and culture classes for us expats.

00:49:24That's where I met Iko.

00:49:26Konnichiwa, she said bowing.

00:49:28My name is Iko Tanaka.

00:49:29I teach Japanese language and culture.

00:49:31Please call me Iko Sensei.

00:49:33She wasn't flashy.

00:49:34She was calm, precise, and unexpectedly kind.

00:49:37I slaughtered basic phrases.

00:49:39Ohayo gozaimasu, she taught.

00:49:41Ohayo gozaimasu, I mangled.

00:49:43You don't sound stupid, she told me when I apologized afterward.

00:49:46You sound new.

00:49:47New is okay.

00:49:48Effort is important in Japan.

00:49:50We ended up talking after class more and more.

00:49:52She taught me not just grammar, but concepts.

00:49:55Senpai, Kohai, senior, junior.

00:49:58The importance of face.

00:50:00Why you don't directly contradict your boss in a meeting.

00:50:03When I finally shared my story, with Martha, with Sophia, with Gregory, she listened without

00:50:08judgment.

00:50:09Your daughter was a teenager, she said.

00:50:11Teenagers are crazy everywhere.

00:50:13Easily influenced.

00:50:15Your ex-wife wanted excitement.

00:50:16You gave stability.

00:50:18Stability is not boring.

00:50:19It is rare.

00:50:20It was the first time anyone had ever said that to me.

00:50:23Over months, the line between teacher and friend blurred.

00:50:26Then the line between friend and something more.

00:50:28When she told me she was pregnant, she braced for anger.

00:50:31Instead, I felt something like gratitude.

00:50:34I want this baby, I said.

00:50:36I want us.

00:50:37I won't disappear.

00:50:37In a quiet cafe, breaking Japanese tradition, she asked.

00:50:41In Japan, usually the man asks.

00:50:44But will you marry me?

00:50:45Yes, I said.

00:50:46I would have asked if you hadn't.

00:50:47Our son, Ken, was born a few months later.

00:50:51For him, I was dad, from his very first breath.

00:50:54No one could take that from me.

00:50:55Eleven, a different father, a different son.

00:50:58Being Ken's father was healing, without erasing the scar.

00:51:01When I looked at him, I wasn't thinking, he'll replace Sophia.

00:51:05Nobody could.

00:51:05I was thinking, I know what can go wrong.

00:51:08I know how fragile this is.

00:51:09I won't take a single, ordinary day for granted.

00:51:12At the same time, my work in Asia grew.

00:51:14With Ico's help, understanding Japanese hierarchy and how to keep everyone's face intact, I navigated crises.

00:51:21When headquarters pushed too hard, I learned to say to our senior engineers,

00:51:25Nakamura-san, I respect your experience.

00:51:28Can you advise me how to adapt this plan?

00:51:30In return, they treated me with respect.

00:51:32I noticed it in the way they approached me.

00:51:34The way they bowed heads when greeting me.

00:51:36And when some people started adding, Sama instead of, San.

00:51:39Nobody called me Gaijin anymore.

00:51:41They stayed.

00:51:42We found compromise.

00:51:43I was promoted to CTO of the Asian division.

00:51:46Money followed.

00:51:47A lot of it.

00:51:48House outside Tokyo.

00:51:49International school for Ken.

00:51:51Frequent travel.

00:51:52But with every new zero in my account, one thing became clearer.

00:51:56Money doesn't fix the look in your daughter's eyes when she says,

00:51:59You're not my real father.

00:52:00It doesn't rewind time.

00:52:02If anything, it made me more determined not to waste whatever chances I might still get.

00:52:0712.

00:52:07Back to the US.

00:52:08And back to Martha.

00:52:10One day, I told Ico,

00:52:11I want you and Ken to see where I grew up.

00:52:13Where my old life was.

00:52:15You should know that part of me, too.

00:52:17Will it hurt?

00:52:17She asked.

00:52:18A little, I admitted.

00:52:19But I think I'm ready.

00:52:21In the US, we walked streets I'd walked as a much younger man.

00:52:24We passed stores like the one where I'd met Martha.

00:52:27I walked into one without really planning to.

00:52:29The bell rang.

00:52:30Behind the counter stood Martha.

00:52:32Older.

00:52:32Worn.

00:52:33But still, unmistakably herself.

00:52:35Hi, Martha.

00:52:36I said.

00:52:37Derek.

00:52:37She whispered.

00:52:38We weren't lovers.

00:52:39We weren't enemies, exactly.

00:52:41We were two people with a long, complicated, shared wreckage between us.

00:52:46She told me, haltingly, what had happened.

00:52:48How Gregory had come back and swept them up.

00:52:51How she'd gone to Cyprus with him.

00:52:52How I'd left and she'd married Gregory.

00:52:55How he'd stolen all her money.

00:52:57How he'd hit Sophia and then vanished.

00:52:59How the house had burned down.

00:53:00How she'd lost her job after hitting a student.

00:53:03How Sophia had fallen into narcotics and lost her academic future.

00:53:07She didn't excuse herself.

00:53:08She didn't beg either.

00:53:10I listened.

00:53:10Then I told her about Japan.

00:53:12About Ico.

00:53:13About Ken.

00:53:14When I heard that Sophia was cleaning offices in my old company, I felt a deep ache.

00:53:18Not of ownership, but of.

00:53:20I know what she could have been.

00:53:21Martha asked about the house.

00:53:23I know I still owe you for half its value.

00:53:25She said.

00:53:25I have nothing.

00:53:26But I haven't forgotten.

00:53:28I'll forgive the rest.

00:53:29I said.

00:53:30There's no sense squeezing you for money you don't have.

00:53:32You've paid enough in other ways.

00:53:33We talked about Sophia.

00:53:35About how she'd been manipulated.

00:53:37About how she blamed herself too.

00:53:39If she still wants to study.

00:53:40I said.

00:53:41And if she can get her grades high enough to be admitted anywhere.

00:53:44I'll pay for it.

00:53:45Tuition.

00:53:46Books.

00:53:46Fees.

00:53:47I can't give back what's gone.

00:53:49But I can offer that.

00:53:50Martha stared at me.

00:53:51Why?

00:53:51She asked.

00:53:52Because she's my daughter.

00:53:53I said simply.

00:53:55Even if the law never said so.

00:53:56I wrote my number on a scrap of paper and slid it across the counter.

00:54:00Give this to her.

00:54:01I said.

00:54:01Tell her.

00:54:02No pressure.

00:54:03If she wants.

00:54:04She can call.

00:54:05Thirteen.

00:54:05The call.

00:54:06It didn't take long.

00:54:07Not weeks.

00:54:08Not months.

00:54:09That very evening.

00:54:10My phone rang.

00:54:11A US number I didn't recognize.

00:54:13Hello.

00:54:14I answered.

00:54:15Dad.

00:54:15A voice said.

00:54:16It's me.

00:54:17Sophia.

00:54:17There was a long pause as if she was waiting for me to correct her.

00:54:20Don't call me that.

00:54:22Sophia.

00:54:22I said quietly.

00:54:23I'm glad you called.

00:54:24What came next was a rush of words and sobs.

00:54:27I'm so sorry.

00:54:28She cried.

00:54:29For everything I did.

00:54:30For what I said.

00:54:31For spitting on you.

00:54:32For choosing him over you.

00:54:33For hurting you.

00:54:34I don't deserve anything from you.

00:54:36But I've missed you every day.

00:54:37I have your picture on my phone.

00:54:39I'm happy you have a life.

00:54:40I'm happy you have a family.

00:54:41I don't want to ruin that.

00:54:43I just needed you to know.

00:54:44I was deeply hurt.

00:54:45I told her.

00:54:46I won't lie about that.

00:54:47But I never stopped loving you.

00:54:49Mom said you might help me with school.

00:54:51She said.

00:54:52Once she could breathe again.

00:54:53I don't.

00:54:53I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything.

00:54:56Especially after.

00:54:57Everything.

00:54:57But I also don't want to keep living the way I've been living.

00:55:00I don't owe you.

00:55:01I said.

00:55:02I'm offering.

00:55:02There's a difference.

00:55:04If you're ready to work.

00:55:05I'm ready to help.

00:55:06She cried again.

00:55:07Softer this time.

00:55:09She whispered.

00:55:09Dad.

00:55:10It had been years since I'd heard that word from her.

00:55:12Without poison around it.

00:55:14Hearing it again.

00:55:15Didn't erase the old memory of her screaming.

00:55:17You're not my real father.

00:55:19But it shifted its weight.

00:55:20We talked almost an hour.

00:55:21By the end.

00:55:23We had a plan.

00:55:24She'd work on her grades.

00:55:25Meet with an academic counselor.

00:55:27And I'd cover costs once she was accepted somewhere.

00:55:29Before hanging up.

00:55:30She said again.

00:55:31Good night dad.

00:55:32That dad was small.

00:55:34Tentative.

00:55:35But it was real.

00:55:3614.

00:55:37Re-learning dad.

00:55:38Over the next months and years.

00:55:39Dad started to slip more naturally into her speech.

00:55:43At first.

00:55:44It was mostly in comments like.

00:55:45Dad.

00:55:46I bombed this exam.

00:55:47Dad.

00:55:47I passed this one.

00:55:49Dad.

00:55:49Can you look over this essay?

00:55:51We talked regularly.

00:55:52Sometimes about classes.

00:55:53Sometimes about nothing.

00:55:54I never demanded she call me that.

00:55:56I never said.

00:55:57You have to say it to prove something.

00:55:59I just answered whenever she did.

00:56:01The more she used it.

00:56:02The less it sounded like a borrowed word.

00:56:04And the more it sounded like the one that had always fit.

00:56:06For me.

00:56:07Every dad.

00:56:08Was a summation of all the small things from years ago.

00:56:11The bike.

00:56:12The math.

00:56:13The fever nights.

00:56:14They didn't get erased the day she spit in my face.

00:56:17They also didn't get vindicated the day.

00:56:18She called me dad again.

00:56:20They just.

00:56:20Finally had somewhere to land.

00:56:2215.

00:56:23Meeting Michael and Ken's cousin.

00:56:25By the time she met Michael.

00:56:26Sophia had already made it back into a degree program.

00:56:29It wasn't an elite school.

00:56:30But it was honest.

00:56:31It was hers.

00:56:32On a video call from Japan.

00:56:34She told me.

00:56:35I'm seeing someone.

00:56:36His name is Michael.

00:56:37He's an engineer.

00:56:38He's steady.

00:56:39Thoughtful.

00:56:40Boring in the best way.

00:56:41Boring is underrated.

00:56:43I smiled.

00:56:43He reminds me of you.

00:56:45She said.

00:56:45Not in his face.

00:56:46In how I feel when I'm with him.

00:56:48Safe.

00:56:49That was all I needed to hear.

00:56:50I finally met Michael in person when Iko, Ken, and I traveled to the US again for Sophia's

00:56:55wedding.

00:56:56He was a bit younger than her.

00:56:58Calm.

00:56:58With that engineer's habit of thinking for a second before speaking.

00:57:02Nice to finally meet you.

00:57:03I said.

00:57:04Shaking his hand.

00:57:05It's an honor, sir.

00:57:06He replied.

00:57:07Then.

00:57:08Catching my eye.

00:57:09He corrected himself.

00:57:10Derek.

00:57:10We sat together for a while before the ceremony.

00:57:13Just the two of us.

00:57:14I'm not here to test you.

00:57:15I told him.

00:57:16Sophia's been through enough tests.

00:57:18But I do want to know one thing.

00:57:20Anything, he said.

00:57:21Do you understand what you're taking on?

00:57:23Her past.

00:57:24That whole mess.

00:57:25It doesn't disappear when you put on a ring.

00:57:27He nodded.

00:57:27I've heard it all, he said.

00:57:29From her.

00:57:30From your side.

00:57:31Too.

00:57:31A little.

00:57:32I know I can't fix the past.

00:57:33I'm not trying to be a hero.

00:57:35I just want to build an ordinary, good life with her.

00:57:38Day in, day out.

00:57:39I believed him.

00:57:40Not because of what he said.

00:57:41But because of how he said it.

00:57:43Without fanfare.

00:57:44Without defensiveness.

00:57:45Ken, my son with Ico, met Sophia's little boy.

00:57:49Also named Derek.

00:57:50Though everyone called him little Derek, to keep things straight.

00:57:53They hit it off immediately.

00:57:54Come on, cousin.

00:57:56Ken shouted in rough English.

00:57:57Let's play.

00:57:58They raced around the reception hall, weaving between tables, as if they'd known each other

00:58:02forever.

00:58:03Watching them, I felt something I hadn't allowed myself to feel in a long time.

00:58:08Uncomplicated joy.

00:58:0916.

00:58:10The wedding and the dance.

00:58:12The wedding itself was small by American standards.

00:58:14Bigger than most Japanese ones.

00:58:16Simple church.

00:58:17White dress.

00:58:18Nervous smiles.

00:58:19Standing at the church entrance with Sophia on my arm.

00:58:22I could feel her trembling.

00:58:24I'm scared, she said.

00:58:25That's normal.

00:58:26I told her.

00:58:27I was terrified the first time I held you.

00:58:29I thought I'd drop you on your head.

00:58:30You didn't, she said, smiling weakly.

00:58:33And we made it this far.

00:58:34I replied.

00:58:35We'll make it down this aisle too.

00:58:36As the music started and everyone stood, we walked together.

00:58:40With each step, the image of that old video, her screaming at me, spitting in my face, faded

00:58:46just a little behind this new picture.

00:58:48That same girl, now a woman, choosing to let me walk her towards a better future.

00:58:53At the reception, there was a moment when the DJ's voice boomed.

00:58:56Now the bride and her father will share a dance.

00:58:59I took her hands.

00:59:00We moved slowly.

00:59:01Thank you, she said quietly.

00:59:03For everything.

00:59:04For not shutting the door forever.

00:59:06I didn't do it for a reward.

00:59:07I answered.

00:59:08I did it because I'm your dad.

00:59:10That doesn't stop being true when things get ugly.

00:59:12Dad, she said again.

00:59:14And this time the word carried all the years between.

00:59:17Later, someone, maybe a cousin, maybe a friend, called out.

00:59:21Now how about the bride's parents share a dance?

00:59:23The room looked at me and at Martha.

00:59:25I glanced at Ico.

00:59:27She smiled and gave a tiny nod.

00:59:28It's okay.

00:59:29I walked over to Martha and offered my hand.

00:59:32Would you like to dance?

00:59:33I asked.

00:59:34As friends, she said quickly.

00:59:36As friends, I agreed.

00:59:37We danced.

00:59:38Slowly.

00:59:39Not like lovers.

00:59:40Like two people who had once shared everything and now shared a grown daughter.

00:59:44A wrecked past.

00:59:45And a thin, fragile piece.

00:59:48I'm sorry, Martha whispered.

00:59:49For all of it.

00:59:50I know sorry isn't enough.

00:59:52It's something, I said.

00:59:53We can't change what happened.

00:59:54But we don't have to keep stabbing it into each other every time we meet.

00:59:57You deserved better, she said.

01:00:00I have better now.

01:00:01I replied, glancing at Ico and Ken across the room.

01:00:04And so do you, in your own way.

01:00:06You have Sophia.

01:00:07Her son.

01:00:08This second chance.

01:00:09When the song ended, we let go.

01:00:11Not resentfully.

01:00:12Not clingingly.

01:00:13Just appropriately.

01:00:1517.

01:00:16Martha's Japanese Sentence.

01:00:17Later that night, as the evening wound down, Ico came to me with a thoughtful look.

01:00:22Martha spoke to me.

01:00:23She said.

01:00:24Oh.

01:00:25I raised an eyebrow.

01:00:26In Japanese, Ico continued.

01:00:28The pronunciation was interesting.

01:00:30But I understood.

01:00:31What did she say?

01:00:32I asked.

01:00:33Ico repeated it.

01:00:34First in Japanese, then in English.

01:00:37She said.

01:00:37I'm jealous of you.

01:00:39But I'm glad you're both happy.

01:00:40All of this could have been mine.

01:00:41Don't screw it up.

01:00:42You have the best man in the world only because I was the stupidest woman in the world

01:00:46and couldn't recognize a real diamond.

01:00:49I exhaled.

01:00:49That sounds like her.

01:00:51I said softly.

01:00:52How do you feel about it?

01:00:53Ico asked.

01:00:54Angry?

01:00:55Flattered.

01:00:55Neither.

01:00:56I answered after a moment.

01:00:58Sad, maybe.

01:00:58For what could have been.

01:00:59Grateful, too.

01:01:00For what is.

01:01:01Do you regret choosing me?

01:01:03She asked, very quietly.

01:01:04I turned to her.

01:01:05No.

01:01:06I said firmly.

01:01:07I don't regret choosing you.

01:01:08I regret a lot of things I did before.

01:01:10But standing here, with you and Ken, watching my daughter dance with a good man.

01:01:15This is more than I ever thought I'd get.

01:01:17You were never my consolation prize.

01:01:19You're my miracle.

01:01:20She smiled then.

01:01:21A small, relieved smile.

01:01:23I was worried, she admitted.

01:01:25That being here, with her, would make you wish for another life.

01:01:29I had that life, I said.

01:01:30I know how it turned out.

01:01:31I don't wish for it back.

01:01:33I'm just glad some of the damage could be patched for Sophia.

01:01:35Eighteen.

01:01:36Two boys in one name.

01:01:38In the years after the wedding, our visits to the U.S. became less chaotic and more like

01:01:42family get-togethers.

01:01:44Little Derek grew.

01:01:45Ken grew, too.

01:01:46They treated each other like cousins.

01:01:47No labels needed.

01:01:49Hey, Ken.

01:01:50Watch this.

01:01:50Little Derek would shout, showing him a new skateboard trick.

01:01:54Careful.

01:01:54Ken would answer, sounding a bit too much like me.

01:01:57You'll break your arm.

01:01:58Even when we were back in Japan, they'd video chat.

01:02:01Lots of, can you show me your room?

01:02:03And wow, you have that game, and next time you come, we'll go to the park.

01:02:07Michael and I would sit together sometimes, watching them.

01:02:10They're good kids, he'd say.

01:02:12Yeah, I'd agree.

01:02:13They've got strong mothers.

01:02:14And at least two halfway decent dads between us.

01:02:17We laughed.

01:02:18The pain of the past never fully vanished.

01:02:21Martha still had hard days.

01:02:22Sophia still battled guilt sometimes.

01:02:24I still had moments when that old video would flash in my mind.

01:02:27But seeing our sons, mine and hers, race each other through the backyard,

01:02:31yelling and laughing, did something I didn't expect.

01:02:35It made the future louder than the past.

01:02:3719.

01:02:38Freedom and Responsibility

01:02:39Sophia's name means wisdom.

01:02:41Martha chose it when she was 20, hoping her daughter would be wiser than she'd been.

01:02:46It took time, and a lot of suffering.

01:02:48But in the end, Sophia lived up to her name.

01:02:51She chose a man like Michael, not like Gregory.

01:02:54She chose a steady life over chaos.

01:02:56She chose to call me dad, again, not because I demanded it, but because, in her heart,

01:03:01that was the word that fit.

01:03:03I learned something too.

01:03:04Being a father isn't a legal status.

01:03:07It's not a trophy you win, or a title you can shout louder than anyone else.

01:03:11It's what you keep doing when.

01:03:12The teenager says you're not her real father.

01:03:14The internet laughs at your humiliation.

01:03:16The life you built burns down metaphorically, or literally.

01:03:20It's what you do when you have every reason to harden your heart, and still decide not to.

01:03:24In the end, I didn't get back the years I lost.

01:03:27Martha, and I didn't get a second marriage.

01:03:29What I got instead was, a wife who values quiet goodness over fireworks, a son who knows

01:03:34me as his dad from day one, a daughter who, step by slow step, found her way back to calling

01:03:39me dad, a grandson who carries my name, and my hope that his life will be better than any

01:03:44of ours were at his age.

01:03:46That's enough.

01:03:47More than enough.

01:03:48Now, Sophia's point of view.

01:03:50Sophia's story didn't begin with betrayal.

01:03:52It began with a man she called dad.

01:03:54I never knew a world without Derek.

01:03:56Some of my earliest memories are of him standing in the doorway of my bedroom in our small apartment,

01:04:01leaning on the frame, pretending to be a big, scary dragon.

01:04:05Rawr.

01:04:05He'd say quietly, not to wake the neighbors.

01:04:08I'd squeal, daddy, stop, and then beg, one more story.

01:04:12He'd sit on the floor, back against the wall, and read or make something up.

01:04:17To me, that was just what dad meant.

01:04:19The person who was always there.

01:04:21It took years before I realized the story was more complicated than that.

01:04:25One, growing up with questions.

01:04:27I must have been seven or eight the first time I asked mom.

01:04:29Did I look like daddy when I was a baby?

01:04:31She froze for a second.

01:04:33Just a second.

01:04:34Most kids would have missed it.

01:04:35I didn't.

01:04:36Well, she said carefully.

01:04:38You've always been yourself, Sophia.

01:04:40That's not an answer, I said.

01:04:42Even then, I wanted facts.

01:04:44Do I look like him or not?

01:04:45You have his seriousness, she replied.

01:04:47His eyes when you concentrate.

01:04:49That was true.

01:04:50When Derek read instructions or fixed something, his face went still, focused.

01:04:54Mom said I had the same, concentration face.

01:04:57But I also noticed little things.

01:04:59My hair was darker than his.

01:05:00My skin tone a bit different.

01:05:02At school, kids would say, you don't really look like your dad.

01:05:06At ten, I overheard a fight they thought I couldn't hear.

01:05:09Mom's voice, sharp.

01:05:11He's her father in every way that matters.

01:05:13Derek's, calm but pained.

01:05:15But he's still out there, isn't he?

01:05:17He.

01:05:17Someone else.

01:05:18That's when the question started to live with me.

01:05:20Who is my real father?

01:05:22Two.

01:05:23Two fathers.

01:05:24The knowledge without the face.

01:05:26Later, when I was older, Mom sat me down.

01:05:28I want to tell you something, she said.

01:05:30You know Derek is your dad.

01:05:31But biologically, your father is someone else.

01:05:34Biologically.

01:05:35I repeated, testing the word.

01:05:37He and I.

01:05:38We were together before, she said, looking down.

01:05:41When I was very young.

01:05:42He left.

01:05:43Derek came into our lives later.

01:05:45He chose to stay.

01:05:46He raised you.

01:05:47He loves you.

01:05:48That's what really counts.

01:05:49What's his name?

01:05:50I asked.

01:05:51Gregory.

01:05:52Where is he?

01:05:52I don't know, she said.

01:05:54He disappeared after you were born.

01:05:56He never paid child support.

01:05:58Never called.

01:05:58Legally, he still has obligations.

01:06:00But I don't know where he is.

01:06:02So my real dad is Derek, I said.

01:06:04Yes, she said, and smiled.

01:06:06I remember going to my room and lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

01:06:10There were two truths fighting in my mind.

01:06:12Derek wasn't my biological father.

01:06:14Derek was my father.

01:06:15Both were true.

01:06:16I didn't know yet which one would matter more.

01:06:193.

01:06:19Derek's quiet certainty.

01:06:21What I didn't know was this.

01:06:22Derek was always there.

01:06:23When I was sick, he took off work to stay with me.

01:06:26When I fell off my bike, he didn't say, toughen up.

01:06:29He said, that must really hurt.

01:06:31Cleaned my scraped knee and told me about a time he'd fallen off a ladder.

01:06:35When I got a good grade, he was the one who lit up inside.

01:06:38Even if he didn't yell and cheer the way some parents did.

01:06:41Mom called him low-key proud.

01:06:43But I felt it.

01:06:44He taught me math when I cried over fractions.

01:06:46He came to my school place, sat in the second row, and filmed my three lines like I was the

01:06:51star of the show.

01:06:52He remembered the names of my friends.

01:06:53He drove me to theater group.

01:06:55Sat in the car grading reports he'd brought from work.

01:06:58Then asked afterward, how did it go?

01:07:00Did you have fun?

01:07:01Did you learn something?

01:07:01I never doubted he would show up.

01:07:03That was the foundation of my childhood.

01:07:05Even when I learned about Gregory, I didn't imagine him as dad.

01:07:09He was more like an empty shape, a missing puzzle piece labeled DNA.

01:07:13Derek was the picture.

01:07:15Four.

01:07:15Adolescence.

01:07:16Anger.

01:07:17And that night.

01:07:18Then I turned 16 and, like a cliche, decided I knew better than everyone.

01:07:22I came home drunk one night.

01:07:24It was late, past 2am.

01:07:26The room was spinning.

01:07:27The hallway light was on.

01:07:28Derek was sitting on the couch, still in his work clothes.

01:07:31Sophia, he said.

01:07:33Do you know what time it is?

01:07:34I'm almost an adult, I slurred.

01:07:36I can make my own decisions.

01:07:38You came home drunk, he said evenly.

01:07:40We were worried.

01:07:41This is not okay.

01:07:42Stop controlling me.

01:07:43I snapped.

01:07:44You're not even my real father.

01:07:46I saw the pain in his eyes like a physical thing.

01:07:49Eyes I shared when I was angry or focused.

01:07:51The silence that followed was heavy.

01:07:53I know who I am, he said softly.

01:07:55I'm the one who raised you.

01:07:56I stumbled past him into my room, slammed the door, and cried for hours, partly from

01:08:01alcohol, partly from the echo of my own cruelty.

01:08:04A few days later, sober and ashamed, I went to him.

01:08:08Dad.

01:08:08I said.

01:08:09Yes.

01:08:10He looked up from some technical drawings.

01:08:12I'm sorry.

01:08:12I whispered.

01:08:13I didn't mean it.

01:08:14I know, he said.

01:08:15But, Sophia, words can hurt.

01:08:18Don't throw them around carelessly.

01:08:19Not with people who love you.

01:08:21I know, I repeated.

01:08:22But I didn't fully know yet.

01:08:24I would learn much more painfully later.

01:08:265.

01:08:26When Gregory appears.

01:08:28After my 16th birthday, mom told me Gregory had made contact through social media.

01:08:33He says he regrets everything, she said.

01:08:35Wants to meet you once.

01:08:36To apologize.

01:08:38We sat in the living room, Derek quietly listening.

01:08:40What do you think?

01:08:41I asked.

01:08:42People do terrible things, mom said.

01:08:45They can also change.

01:08:46Your biological father was very immature.

01:08:48That doesn't excuse him.

01:08:50But it means maybe he isn't only what he did then.

01:08:52He's a good person who did very bad things, Derek added.

01:08:55The decision is yours.

01:08:57How do you feel about it?

01:08:58I asked Derek.

01:08:59He took a deep breath.

01:09:00I don't have the right to forbid it, he said.

01:09:03You're old enough to choose.

01:09:04But I do worry.

01:09:05Not because I'm afraid of losing you, he paused.

01:09:08But because I'm afraid you might get hurt.

01:09:10I want to meet him, I said finally.

01:09:12But I need to know you.

01:09:13Won't disappear if I do.

01:09:15He looked me straight in the eyes.

01:09:16I'm not going anywhere, he said.

01:09:18And I believed him.

01:09:196.

01:09:20Meeting my biological father.

01:09:22I remember the first time I saw Gregory like a scene from a movie, one I'd imagined a thousand

01:09:26times.

01:09:27He sat at a table in a casual chain restaurant, hair slightly graying, but still with that

01:09:31musician charm.

01:09:33You see in older guys who never really grew up.

01:09:35He smiled when we approached.

01:09:37Hi, Sophia, he said.

01:09:38You've grown up.

01:09:39I sat across from him, mom beside me.

01:09:42I don't remember you, I said.

01:09:43I know you left.

01:09:45Mom told me.

01:09:45You're right.

01:09:46He said, not protesting.

01:09:48And I'm sorry.

01:09:49I was a coward.

01:09:50I wasn't ready.

01:09:51And now you are.

01:09:52I pushed.

01:09:53I've changed, he said.

01:09:54I've been thinking about you for years.

01:09:56I just didn't know how to reach out.

01:09:58I'm not asking you to forgive me.

01:10:00I just wanted to see you.

01:10:01He asked about my school, my hobbies, my plans.

01:10:04He complimented my intelligence, my humor, my looks, especially anything he thought connected

01:10:09to him.

01:10:10You've got my sense of humor, he said.

01:10:12And my eyes.

01:10:13Except he didn't.

01:10:14Derek and I shared the same deep, serious gaze when we concentrated.

01:10:18Gregory's eyes were different.

01:10:20But it was flattering to have someone so focused on me.

01:10:22For a girl at that age, compliments from a stranger who's supposed to be important are

01:10:26intoxicating.

01:10:27I left that first meeting feeling split.

01:10:29Part thrilled.

01:10:30I have a cool biological dad.

01:10:32Part guilty.

01:10:33Is this betraying Derek?

01:10:34But Derek wasn't there.

01:10:36Gregory was.

01:10:37That difference started to matter.

01:10:387.

01:10:39Slipping away from the safe harbor.

01:10:41We saw Gregory a few more times.

01:10:43He told funny stories.

01:10:44He joked with waiters.

01:10:46He called me baby girl, like we had some natural bond that just needed dusting off.

01:10:50Mom laughed with him like they were back in their 20s.

01:10:53It was unsettling and seductive at the same time.

01:10:55I started seeing Derek differently.

01:10:57He came home tired.

01:10:58In work boots.

01:10:59Carrying grocery bags.

01:11:01He asked, how was your day?

01:11:03In a quiet voice.

01:11:04Gregory, on the other hand, burst into places like a firework.

01:11:07At that age, fire looked more interesting than steady light.

01:11:11When mom told me about the Cypress trip, just her, me, and Gregory, I didn't think about

01:11:16Derek alone in our quiet house.

01:11:18I only thought.

01:11:19Exotic vacation, with my new dad.

01:11:22My mom, freedom.

01:11:23I abandoned Derek emotionally long before he left physically.

01:11:268.

01:11:27Cypress.

01:11:28The illusion of being chosen.

01:11:29On Cypress, the days blurred into sun and sea and no rules.

01:11:33Sleep as long as you want, Gregory said.

01:11:36We're on vacation.

01:11:36I'm not going to be some strict parent.

01:11:39No curfew.

01:11:40No chores.

01:11:41No questions about homework or plans.

01:11:43He bought me drinks.

01:11:44Try this.

01:11:45He said once.

01:11:46Offering me weed in a rolled joint on the balcony.

01:11:49You're an adult.

01:11:50I trust you.

01:11:51To me, it felt like a sign of respect.

01:11:53Like he saw me as an equal, not a child.

01:11:55We talked late into the night.

01:11:57He praised my taste in music, my opinions, my deep soul.

01:12:01For the first time, I felt like my biological father chose me.

01:12:04Not just by accident of DNA, but by actually wanting to be around me.

01:12:08Wanting to laugh with me.

01:12:09Wanting to be my friend.

01:12:11I ignored the small alarms in my mind.

01:12:13His lack of questions about my future, his vague answers about money.

01:12:17The way he talked a lot about his regrets, but didn't actually take responsibility.

01:12:21I posted pictures of us.

01:12:22Laughing.

01:12:23Hugging.

01:12:24Kissing mom.

01:12:25True love never dies.

01:12:26I rode under one.

01:12:27It just finds its way back.

01:12:29I didn't send anything to Derek except one photo at the airport.

01:12:32I sent the rest to the internet.

01:12:34In my head, I told myself, he'll understand someday.

01:12:38He knows I need to find myself.

01:12:39He understood more than I wanted to admit.

01:12:41And he knew I was walking away from him, one small step at a time.

01:12:45Nine.

01:12:45The spit and the video.

01:12:47Back home, I was drunk on a cocktail of sun and affirmation.

01:12:50When Derek confronted mom about the photos, I didn't give him a chance.

01:12:54You don't get to judge us.

01:12:55I snapped.

01:12:56Mom and I have the right to be happy.

01:12:58Sophia, I just want to understand, he said calmly.

01:13:01At least Gregory knows how to have fun.

01:13:04I yelled.

01:13:04He probably understands mom better than you ever did.

01:13:07Mom told me.

01:13:08I watched his face crumble.

01:13:09I had taken private, intimate pain and weaponized it.

01:13:13Did you really say that?

01:13:14He asked mom.

01:13:15She lashed out at him and said the one thing that ultimately broke everything.

01:13:19You're not her father.

01:13:19You have no right to interfere.

01:13:22A few days later, when he came back with friends to take the rest of his things,

01:13:25my anger burned hotter than my shame.

01:13:27Good afternoon, sir, I said.

01:13:30Finally, you'll have peace.

01:13:31I'll finally have my real father.

01:13:33Gregory filmed from the doorway, silent, eyes gleaming.

01:13:37You ruined my life.

01:13:38I screamed.

01:13:39You kept me away from my real dad.

01:13:41Sophia, Derek began.

01:13:43Shut up.

01:13:44I hate you.

01:13:44And then I did it.

01:13:45I spat in his face.

01:13:46The second the saliva left my mouth, a cold clarity washed over me.

01:13:51But I forced myself not to show it.

01:13:53I ran to Gregory and hugged him like a hero.

01:13:55He posted the video with the caption,

01:13:57My daughter finally came back to me.

01:13:59Hundreds of strangers in the comments called me brave, emotional, loyal.

01:14:03They didn't know what I had just destroyed.

01:14:0510.

01:14:06Living with my choice.

01:14:07The honeymoon with Gregory didn't last long.

01:14:09Living with him was nothing like being with him on vacation.

01:14:12He didn't work.

01:14:13He didn't pay bills.

01:14:14He brought friends over to drink and be loud.

01:14:17Clean this up, he told me.

01:14:18You're young.

01:14:19I'm tired.

01:14:20I started cleaning beer bottles off the same kind of couch

01:14:23where Derek used to sit reading manuals.

01:14:25Why don't you look for a job?

01:14:27I dared to ask once.

01:14:28I don't need some soul-sucking 9 to 5, he said.

01:14:31I'm an artist.

01:14:32Mom was exhausted.

01:14:33I was exhausted.

01:14:34The house was messy.

01:14:35Money was tight.

01:14:36Every chair, every lamp, reminded me of Derek

01:14:39and the fact that we had thrown him out like trash.

01:14:42Then mom got pregnant.

01:14:43Gregory was furious.

01:14:45That's not my kid, he snapped.

01:14:46Probably your ex's or someone else's.

01:14:49I didn't sign up for this.

01:14:50And then one day, in a fight, he looked at me with rage and said,

01:14:54If your mother had just gotten an abortion back then,

01:14:57my life would have been better.

01:14:58You're nothing but a burden.

01:15:00The words hit like a physical blow.

01:15:02For all his talk of finally having my daughter back,

01:15:04that was how he really saw me.

01:15:06When he slapped me, it was almost a relief,

01:15:09something concrete to match the invisible hits.

01:15:11A few days later, he left.

01:15:13Took the money.

01:15:14Left us with nothing.

01:15:15The man I'd spit in Derek's face for, humiliated my mom for,

01:15:19burned my bridges for disappeared.

01:15:21Derek's absence was my doing.

01:15:22Gregory's absence was just who he was.

01:15:25That's when the question, who is my real father,

01:15:28stopped being theoretical.

01:15:2911.

01:15:30Collapse and regret.

01:15:31The house burned down not long after.

01:15:33The investigation dragged on.

01:15:34Everyone knew it was probably Gregory or someone connected to him,

01:15:38but proving it was another story.

01:15:40We ended up at my grandmother's tiny place.

01:15:42Mom lost her job after hitting a student.

01:15:44I slid into narcotics.

01:15:46Not hardcore at first.

01:15:47Painkillers.

01:15:48Weed.

01:15:49Anything to blur the sharp edges.

01:15:51My grades crashed.

01:15:52College vanished as an option.

01:15:54I worked as a cleaner in the same kind of industrial plant where Derek had spent years building a career.

01:15:59Every corridor I mopped could have echoed with his footsteps once.

01:16:02The thought alone made me sick.

01:16:03Mom tried to change the divorce settlement to get money from Derek.

01:16:07In court, I testified, crying, about all the good he had done for me.

01:16:12Then Derek's lawyer played the video.

01:16:14Me, spitting in his face.

01:16:16Screaming that he wasn't my father, that I hated him.

01:16:18The judge looked at us like we were something under his shoe.

01:16:21Petition denied, he said.

01:16:23You must accept the consequences of your own choices.

01:16:26I wanted to scream that I was 16, stupid, manipulated.

01:16:29But I wasn't a child anymore.

01:16:31Legally, morally, I had to live with what I'd done.

01:16:33Twelve.

01:16:34The call ten years later.

01:16:36About ten years later, Mom came home from her shift at the store, looking strange.

01:16:40Like she'd seen a ghost.

01:16:42I saw Derek today, she said.

01:16:43At the store.

01:16:44With his wife and son.

01:16:46My heart started racing.

01:16:47What?

01:16:48I asked.

01:16:49My voice came out too loud.

01:16:50He looks good.

01:16:51She continued.

01:16:52Happy.

01:16:53He wrote down his number.

01:16:54He said, if you still want to study, and you can bring your grades up enough, he might help.

01:16:59His number, I said.

01:17:00Do you have it?

01:17:01Now.

01:17:02She handed me a crumpled receipt, with a phone number scribbled in blue ink.

01:17:05My hands were shaking so much I could barely dial.

01:17:08He picked up on the second ring.

01:17:10Hello, he said.

01:17:10Dad, I whispered.

01:17:12It's me.

01:17:13Sophia.

01:17:13There was a pause.

01:17:15Sophia, he said.

01:17:16I could hear the emotion in his voice.

01:17:18I'm so sorry.

01:17:19I blurted out, crying before I could stop myself.

01:17:22For everything.

01:17:23For what I said.

01:17:23For what I did.

01:17:24I.

01:17:25I don't deserve anything from you.

01:17:27I just needed you to know that I've missed you.

01:17:29Every day.

01:17:29I have your picture as my phone wallpaper.

01:17:31I'm happy you had the strength to leave and build a life.

01:17:34I don't want to mess that up.

01:17:36I just wanted to say I'm sorry.

01:17:37And that I love you.

01:17:39Still.

01:17:39We talked for a long time.

01:17:41He didn't make it easy.

01:17:41But he didn't make it impossible either.

01:17:44I was deeply hurt, he said.

01:17:45But I always loved you, Sophia.

01:17:47I never stopped.

01:17:48When we hung up, my eyes were swollen.

01:17:51But for the first time in years, I felt something like hope.

01:17:5413.

01:17:54Seeing him again.

01:17:55We met at a cafe a few weeks later.

01:17:57Mom came with me.

01:17:58Derek came with his wife, Iko, and their son, Ken.

01:18:02Hi, I said.

01:18:03Hi, Dad.

01:18:04Hi, Sophia, he answered.

01:18:05He looked older, gray at the temples, but still like himself.

01:18:09We talked about neutral things at first.

01:18:11Their life, my work, Iko's family in Japan, Ken's school.

01:18:15At some point, Iko said something to Derek in Japanese.

01:18:18He translated.

01:18:19She says, if you still want to go to school, we can help with the money.

01:18:22As long as you work hard and do what you can.

01:18:25I'll accept, I said.

01:18:27But only if I can pay you back someday.

01:18:29Somehow.

01:18:29I don't want to just take from you anymore.

01:18:31The best way to pay me back, Derek said, is to do something good with your life.

01:18:36We all knew that no amount of repayments would fix what I'd done.

01:18:39But that offer, in his condition, planted a seed.

01:18:42Ken, their son, played with my hands for a moment.

01:18:45Then asked in hesitant English.

01:18:47Are you my sister?

01:18:48I cried then.

01:18:49Not just for what I'd lost, but for what, miraculously, I hadn't lost entirely.

01:18:54Maybe a little, I said.

01:18:56In a way that matters.

01:18:57Later, when we said goodbye, I knelt to look Ken in the eyes.

01:19:01Listen to your dad.

01:19:02I told him.

01:19:03And love him.

01:19:04You won't find a better one in the whole world.

01:19:06I promise you.

01:19:07I knew what I was talking about.

01:19:0814.

01:19:09Relearning dad.

01:19:10Rebuilding with Derek was an instant.

01:19:12It was awkward at first.

01:19:13I didn't know how much I could say, how much I was allowed to ask.

01:19:17But slowly, it became real again.

01:19:19He checked in on my classes, sent me links to resources for the subjects I struggled with,

01:19:24wired money for tuition directly to the school.

01:19:26When I had a bad exam, I texted.

01:19:28I messed up.

01:19:29I'm sorry.

01:19:30He replied.

01:19:31You're allowed to stumble.

01:19:32Just don't quit.

01:19:33The word dad came back slowly.

01:19:35First in texts.

01:19:37Thanks, dad.

01:19:37Then in phone calls.

01:19:39Hey, dad.

01:19:39Every time I said it, I expected him to flinch, to remind me of the spit, the hateful words.

01:19:45He never did.

01:19:46That didn't erase what I'd done.

01:19:48But it made it possible to live beyond it.

01:19:50That's when I began to understand something that would shape the rest of my life.

01:19:54Being a father isn't about whose DNA you carry.

01:19:56It's about who carries you when you can't walk on your own.

01:19:59Gregory was my biological father.

01:20:01Derek was my real one.

01:20:0315.

01:20:03Michael.

01:20:04Quiet, steady love.

01:20:05I met Michael at work, after my life had finally stopped spinning.

01:20:09He was a few years older than me, an engineer at a manufacturing plant.

01:20:13He was the opposite of Gregory in almost every way.

01:20:16He didn't enter rooms loudly.

01:20:17He noticed if someone was tired and offered to cover a shift.

01:20:21He remembered details and followed up.

01:20:23He liked good coffee, old rock music, and fixing things that were broken.

01:20:27Our relationship didn't start with fireworks.

01:20:29It started with,

01:20:30Hey, I got you this espresso.

01:20:32You looked dead this morning.

01:20:33And,

01:20:34I fixed that squeaky hinge in your locker.

01:20:36It was driving me crazy.

01:20:38Small, thoughtful things.

01:20:39No grand speeches.

01:20:40No wild declarations.

01:20:42I was terrified to trust again.

01:20:44Terrified that I would repeat my mother's mistakes.

01:20:46That I'd choose another Gregory, in a different costume.

01:20:49So I paid attention.

01:20:50When something went wrong at work, did he blame everyone else?

01:20:54No.

01:20:54He owned his part.

01:20:55When I had a bad day, did he vanish?

01:20:57No.

01:20:58He asked,

01:20:59Do you want advice, or just someone to listen?

01:21:01When we disagreed, did he raise his voice?

01:21:04No.

01:21:04He suggested we take a walk.

01:21:06I told Derek about him.

01:21:07He reminds me of you.

01:21:08I said over the phone.

01:21:10Not how he looks.

01:21:11How it feels to be around him.

01:21:12How's that?

01:21:13Derek asked.

01:21:14Like being safe?

01:21:15I replied.

01:21:16Like I can breathe.

01:21:1816.

01:21:18His proposals and small things.

01:21:21Michael didn't propose with a grand,

01:21:22kneel down at a restaurant moment.

01:21:24His proposals came in little gestures,

01:21:27far before he ever brought out a ring.

01:21:29Like the time he bought a second toothbrush and left it at his place.

01:21:32Why?

01:21:33I asked.

01:21:33So you don't have to bring yours every time?

01:21:35He shrugged.

01:21:36I figure, you're not going anywhere.

01:21:38Or when he handed me a spare key.

01:21:40It's just in case, he said.

01:21:42Not a big deal.

01:21:43It was a big deal.

01:21:43Or when he added me as emergency contact at his doctor's office,

01:21:48and texted me a screenshot with.

01:21:49Seems about right.

01:21:50Each of these felt like tiny, quiet engagements.

01:21:53Not, I want to impress you.

01:21:55But, I choose you, again and again, in ordinary ways.

01:21:59The real proposal came one evening at home.

01:22:01Nothing dramatic.

01:22:02Just us.

01:22:03Take out containers on the table.

01:22:05My hair in a messy bun.

01:22:07His shirt slightly stained with coffee.

01:22:09He slid a small box across the table, almost shy.

01:22:12I've been choosing you in small ways for a long time, he said.

01:22:15Now I want to do it officially.

01:22:16Every day?

01:22:17For the rest of my life.

01:22:18Will you marry me?

01:22:19I looked at the simple ring.

01:22:21No giant diamond.

01:22:22No flash.

01:22:23Just something honest.

01:22:24Yes, I said.

01:22:25It felt like stepping into sunlight after a long winter.

01:22:28Later, I told Derek.

01:22:30He doesn't knock me off my feet with drama.

01:22:32He grounds me.

01:22:33And every little thing he does means more than any grand gesture.

01:22:37That's a good sign, Derek said.

01:22:39Real love is usually quieter than fireworks.

01:22:4117.

01:22:42The aisle.

01:22:43When I asked Derek to walk me down the aisle, I wasn't sure he'd say yes.

01:22:47I knew what I'd done to him.

01:22:48We were on a video call.

01:22:50I'd been talking about wedding plans.

01:22:51The dress.

01:22:52The venue.

01:22:53Guests.

01:22:54Then I took a breath.

01:22:55Dad, there's something I want to ask you.

01:22:57Ask, he said.

01:22:58I want you to walk me down the aisle.

01:23:00He looked at me for a long moment.

01:23:01I'd be honored, he said finally.

01:23:03If Michael is okay with that.

01:23:05Michael was the one who suggested it.

01:23:07I replied.

01:23:08He said.

01:23:08If he's your dad in your heart, he should be the one to give you away.

01:23:12On the day of the wedding, I was shaking.

01:23:14Not from fear of marriage, but from the weight of what that walk symbolized.

01:23:18As we stood at the entrance, Derek looked at me.

01:23:21You okay?

01:23:21He asked.

01:23:22I'm scared, I admitted.

01:23:23That's natural, he said.

01:23:25I was scared the first time I held you.

01:23:26I was terrified I'd drop you.

01:23:28I didn't.

01:23:29And we got this far.

01:23:30We'll get through this, too.

01:23:31We stepped forward.

01:23:32Each step felt like stitching back together something I had torn years before.

01:23:3618.

01:23:37My true father.

01:23:38At the reception, I danced with Derek.

01:23:40Not as a little girl on his shoes, but as a grown woman who finally understood what being

01:23:45a father meant.

01:23:46I'm so sorry for everything.

01:23:48I whispered as we turned slowly to the music.

01:23:50He nodded.

01:23:51I know, he said.

01:23:52We can't change what happened.

01:23:53But we can decide who we are today.

01:23:55You're my dad, I said.

01:23:57Not because you had to be.

01:23:58Because you chose to be.

01:24:00And you're my daughter.

01:24:00He replied.

01:24:02Always have been.

01:24:03We weren't erasing the scars.

01:24:04We were learning to live with them without letting them define us.

01:24:0819.

01:24:08Naming my son.

01:24:09When my son was born, holding him in the hospital bed, I thought about names.

01:24:14I thought about Gregory.

01:24:15About how exciting he'd seemed.

01:24:17How empty the excitement ultimately was.

01:24:19I thought about all the years he hadn't been there.

01:24:22How.

01:24:22When things got hard, he ran.

01:24:24And I thought about Derek.

01:24:25The quiet presence.

01:24:26The steady arms.

01:24:28The math help.

01:24:29The late nights at the theater.

01:24:30The heartbreak I had caused him.

01:24:32And the forgiveness he'd offered anyway.

01:24:34His name is Derek.

01:24:35I told the nurse.

01:24:36Later, when I called Derek, I said.

01:24:39Dad.

01:24:39Meet your grandson.

01:24:40His name is Derek.

01:24:42Silence.

01:24:42Then a broken, soft laugh.

01:24:44Thank you, he said.

01:24:45That.

01:24:46That means more than I can say.

01:24:48When Derek and Iko and Ken came to visit.

01:24:50Ken.

01:24:51Now a teenager.

01:24:52Ran around with little Derek.

01:24:53Chasing toy cars.

01:24:55Come on, cousin.

01:24:56Ken shouted.

01:24:56No one had to explain how everyone was related.

01:24:59The labels didn't matter.

01:25:01The love did.

01:25:0120.

01:25:02Answering the question.

01:25:03When I look back now on my life, that original question, who is my real father, has a very

01:25:09different answer.

01:25:10Biology gave me Gregory.

01:25:11DNA linked us, yes.

01:25:13He gave me life in the most technical sense.

01:25:15But he never really wanted it.

01:25:17He never really chose me.

01:25:18Life gave me Derek.

01:25:19He chose to get up at 5 a.m. for early shifts so he could pick me up from activities.

01:25:23He chose to spend his evenings teaching me algebra instead of watching sports.

01:25:28He chose to still be there for me after I betrayed him in the worst possible way.

01:25:32When I stand in my kitchen today, watching my son Derek play on the floor, and Michael

01:25:36walks in with a small, thoughtful gift.

01:25:38My favorite tea because I mentioned I'd run out.

01:25:41I see the thread.

01:25:42Real love is not about who sets your world on fire for a moment.

01:25:45It's about who shows up, over and over.

01:25:48Even when the fire has gone out.

01:25:49Even when you've given them every reason to walk away.

01:25:52My mother named me Sophia, Wisdom, hoping I would have what she lacked at my age.

01:25:57I didn't start out wise.

01:25:59I hurt people who didn't deserve it.

01:26:00I believed lies that cost us dearly.

01:26:02But in the end, I chose.

01:26:04A husband who loves like Derek, not like Gregory.

01:26:07A life built on small, steady choices.

01:26:10And a name for my son that honors the man who truly was, and is, my father.

01:26:15So if you ask me now, who is your real dad?

01:26:17I don't hesitate.

01:26:19My real dad, I say, is Derek.

01:26:21Dear listeners, we have reached the end of the story.

01:26:24In the comment section below, do let us know what you thought about the story.

01:26:28Also, in case you haven't checked our Patreon page, please do.

01:26:31The link is in the description box.

01:26:32Don't forget to like, share and subscribe.

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