We were stunned when our 19-year-old daughter confessed she’d been secretly dating a 43-year-old man, twice divorced and old enough to be her father. We begged her to end it, but she refused. Then she dropped the real bomb: she was pregnant. My husband lost it and threw her out that night. We thought we’d hit rock bottom, until the police called a week later, asking something that made me burst out in tears directly...
Sarah packed her things soon after, tears in her eyes as she left. The corridor felt colder as I watched her go. She moved in with that man, leaving the house filled with silence and a gaping hole in our lives. Every corner of the house reminded me of her. Mike and I found ourselves arguing more, the tension building up like a storm. I kept hoping she’d come back, realizing it was a mistake.
Mike couldn’t sit still. One morning, I found him staring at the window, lost in thought. "I need to see her, Emily," he said, grabbing his keys. He started following her, hoping to sneak a look into her new life. Each day, he'd return with stories of fleeting glimpses: Sarah crossing a street, the back of her head in a café. It wasn't much, but it was something for Mike to hold onto.