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545 Words
But Tom still showed up.
That day after work, I was just about to head to my father’s car when he stopped me in the underground parking lot.
It had only been a little over a month, but Tom already looked disheveled, a shadow of the composed and polished man I once knew.
His eyes were red the moment he saw me.
“Sophia, I miss you so much,” he said, voice trembling.
“Please, just give me one more chance to make up for all the hurt I’ve caused you.”
“After more than five years together, I really can’t let you go. What happened with Charlotte... it’s not what you think.”
“There’s too much to explain in just a few words. Can we go somewhere and talk?”
I looked at the desperate man before me—and felt nothing.
No sorrow. No anger. No longing.
I had finally let him go.
Before I could respond, my father stepped out of the driver’s seat.
“Sweetheart, who’s this?”
Tom froze, then his expression twisted with shock and rage.
Grabbing my arms, he started shaking me uncontrollably.
“Sophia! Two months ago you erased all trace of yourself—you deleted my number and disappeared!”
“Do you have any idea how hard I tried to find you? No one at the address on your ID even knew who you were, and you hadn’t contacted any of your friends!”
“I nearly called the police! But they told me you weren’t in danger—just that you didn’t want to talk to me!”
His eyes grew bloodshot.
“And after everything I’ve done—after all that—you went and found some old guy to be your sugar daddy? You really are just rotten through and through. Ha! A total w***e!”
My father’s face turned crimson.
He punched Tom straight in the face.
“You son of a b***h! I’m her father!”
“She gave you her youth, her love, and this is the kind of insult you repay her with?”
“I was the one who told the police to leave you out of her life. And if I ever see you again, I won’t stop at one punch.”
Watching my father shield me like a fierce eagle made something stir inside me.
When I first told my parents about Tom, they had liked him based on his photo and always pushed me to bring him home.
I asked him once or twice, but he always gave excuses. I was young, and I didn’t press.
Who would’ve thought their first meeting would turn out like this?
Tom stood stunned.
After a long pause, he muttered helplessly, “Dad, I’m sorry. I lost control.”
“I’ve been searching for Sophia nonstop for two months. Seeing her again today... I just panicked. I didn’t want to lose her.”
My father rolled his eyes.
“Don’t call me ‘Dad.’ She dumped you. Move on.”
“Stay away from my daughter.”
With that, he pulled me into the car and sped off.
In the rearview mirror, I saw Tom standing there—motionless.
He looked like an abandoned dog.
- Writer
