A thoughtful woman | Source: MidjourneyI looked up at Susie, my throat tightening with disbelief and betrayal.

“How did you find him?” I asked quietly.

She hesitated.

“I found it on the internet a few months ago. I didn’t want to tell you. Not until he knew he really wanted to talk to me.”

My heart broke.

“Do you want to keep talking to her?” I asked after a long while.

“Yes. I want to know why he did that. I want to hear it from his mouth,” says Susie, a tear running down her cheek.

“Okay,” I answered slowly, swallowing my own bitterness.

Two days later, I called Charles. He answered immediately, as if he’d been waiting.

“We need to meet,” I said.

We decided on a café.

The interior of a cafe | Source: Midjourney
The interior of a cafe | Source: Midjourney

He was already there when I arrived.

Older. Thin. His face was lined with exhaustion. His eyes were sunken and dark, as if only regret had kept him awake for years.

He looked normal. Ordinary. A woman looking out the window | Source: Midjourney
A woman looking out the window | Source: Midjourney

“You didn’t just disappear,” I said. “You left her. For 18 years.”

“I know,” he said, bowing his shoulders slightly.

“You could have come back at any time,” I insisted.

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