Chapter 189

DOUG POV

I woke up with a start in the dark room of my old house. The silence was oppressive, almost suffocating. The air smelled of dust and old memories. I sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my face with my hands, trying to shake off the weight that had been crushing my chest since the night before.

I got up slowly and walked down the hallway like a man in a trance. I stopped in front of the door to the room that had once been Lily’s. I hesitated for a long moment before turning the doorknob.

The room still held pieces of her. The worn-out teddy bear on the shelf, a primary school drawing notebook, old photos taped to the wall. I touched the teddy bear with my fingertips, feeling the soft, faded fur. My heart tightened painfully.

Lily.

My little girl. My baby. My greatest pride.

I sat on the edge of the small bed and let the memories flood over me.

I was a guy in my early twenties, still in college, when her mother showed up with a baby in her arms and said she couldn’t take care of her. I could have denied it. I could have run from the responsibility. But when I looked into those big, innocent eyes, I knew I couldn’t abandon her. I took her in. Alone.

They were brutal years. College during the day, delivery jobs at night, babysitters who disappeared without warning, endless crying at three in the morning. I slept four hours a night at most. I missed classes, missed deadlines, lost friends. In the end, I dropped out of college. I started as a junior salesman at a car dealership. I began from the bottom — washing cars, dealing with rude customers, working weekends and holidays. Lily grew up by my side. I watched her take her first steps, say her first words, smile for the first time. Every one of her achievements was worth more than any diploma I could have earned.

I was so proud of her. So damn proud.

Until yesterday.

Until she said she was pregnant.

The words still echoed in my head like a hammer: “Dad… I’m pregnant.”

I saw everything collapse. All the sacrifices. All the sleepless nights. All the times I gave up my dreams for her. And now she was throwing away the future I had built with blood and sweat because of one irresponsible mistake.

I regretted the way I reacted. Her eyes — surprised, hurt, full of fear — wouldn’t leave my mind. I had been cruel. I had said things a father should never say to his daughter. But the words had already been spoken. There was no going back.

I got up from her room with a heavy chest and got ready for work. Suit, tie, the same ritual as always. I drove to the dealership in absolute silence. When I arrived, I greeted the salespeople with a curt nod and locked myself in my office.

On the desk, there was a photo of her. Lily at about ten years old, smiling with an ice cream in her hand, her eyes shining with happiness. I picked up the frame and ran my finger over the cold glass.

“What have I done, sweetheart?” I murmured. “Where did I go so wrong?”

Someone knocked on the door.

“Boss, there’s someone here who wants to talk to you.”

“Who is it?” I asked, without taking my eyes off the photo.

Before the salesman could answer, the door opened.

Samantha walked in.

She looked impeccable, as always, but her eyes were red and swollen. She closed the door behind her and stared at me with an expression that mixed exhaustion and determination.

“Doug… we need to talk.”

I asked the salesman to leave. Once we were alone, I pointed to the chair in front of me.

“Sit down.”

Samantha sat, crossing her legs. She stayed silent for a moment, choosing her words.

“What you did last night was horrible, Doug. You destroyed your daughter with your words.”

I leaned back in my chair, feeling anger and guilt battling inside me.

“She got pregnant, Samantha. After everything I did for her…”

“I know,” she interrupted, her voice firm. “I know it was hard. I know you sacrificed a lot. But Lily isn’t the enemy. She’s a scared sixteen-year-old girl who needs her father.”

“She threw everything away!”

“She made a mistake. One mistake. But you can’t throw away sixteen years of love and dedication because of one error. You can’t repeat the cycle…”

I stayed silent. Her words hit deep. I poured a cup of black coffee for myself, the way I liked it, and another for Samantha. I watched as she sat across from me. The silence between us was heavy, suffocating, filled with the harsh words that had been thrown the night before.

“You’re still angry,” she said bluntly.

I brought the cup to my lips and took a long sip, trying to control the knot in my chest.

“I don’t know what I feel anymore, Samantha. Anger. Disappointment. Fear. All at the same time.”

She nodded slowly, as if she understood exactly the chaos inside me. And maybe she did. After so many years together, Samantha knew parts of me that even I couldn’t face properly. She knew how much Lily meant to me. Everything I had done… had been for her.

I had given up so much.

College. My friends. My entire youth.

While other guys my age went out, traveled, and lived, I worked until my hands bled to make sure my daughter never went through what I went through. And now…

Now she was pregnant at sixteen.

“She’s just a girl, Doug,” Samantha said softly. “Sixteen years old. Scared. Alone.”

Samantha continued, even gentler:

“Doug… Lily needs you now more than ever. She’s pregnant. And she’s terrified. You need to apologize. You need to be there for her. Lily deserves a chance to do things differently. She deserves the father you’ve always been.”

A bitter laugh almost escaped my throat.

“She didn’t think when she spread her legs and got pregnant. She chose this.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt their weight. But pride stopped me from taking them back.

Samantha sighed, and that irritated me even more because it sounded like pity.

“You, more than anyone, know it’s not that simple.”

I looked away toward the coffee.

“It’s different,” I muttered, even though I didn’t fully believe it myself.

“Is it? You raised Lily alone. I know how much it cost you. I know you gave up your own life for her. But love isn’t just sacrifice, Doug. Love is also understanding.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

Understanding.

I had spent years trying to be the perfect father because I was terrified of becoming like mine. An absent man. Cold. The kind of father who made his own child feel like a burden.

And yet, the first time Lily really needed me… I destroyed her with words.

I lifted my eyes to Samantha.

“And you? You knew and didn’t tell me.”

The hurt came out stronger than I intended.

She didn’t look away.

“I found out in the afternoon. And I was wrong not to tell you. But I’m not the villain here, Doug. I’m just trying to hold everything together while you explode.”

I ran a hand over my face, exhausted.

Maybe she was right.

Maybe I was exploding because I was terrified.

“I don’t know who we are anymore, Samantha,” I confessed. “I used to look at Lily and see my greatest pride. Now when I look at her, I see… disappointment. Shame. Fear.”

“Then stop looking at her as a mistake. Look at her as the girl you raised. She’s still your daughter. And she’s terrified. She needs her father now, not a judge.”

Her words kept echoing in my head.

Father. Not judge.

I stayed silent for a long time, staring at nothing. Feeling everything crushing me inside. The anger. The guilt. The absurd fear of failing Lily the way my parents failed me.

When I finally spoke, my voice came out hoarse.

“I said horrible things to her. I said I would kick her out… and I saw the look in her eyes. It was like I had hit her.”

That destroyed me.

Because I knew that look.

I had once been the boy looking at an adult who was supposed to love me.

Samantha reached her hand across the desk. I hesitated for a second before taking it.

“Then fix it,” she said softly. “Be the father she needs.”

I squeezed her hand, feeling my eyes burn.

“I’m scared, Samantha. Scared of failing her. Scared of failing this baby. Scared that everything I built will collapse.”

“We won’t let it collapse. We’re a family.”

Family.

The word hurt and comforted at the same time.

I nodded slowly. For the first time since last night, I felt the anger losing strength, giving way to something worse… guilt.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “Today. I’ll apologize. I’ll tell her I’m still her father. That I’ll be here, no matter what.”

The relief on Samantha’s face was immediate.

“That’s all she needs to hear.”

I stayed silent for a few more seconds before asking:

“And the baby’s father… do you know who it is?”

She held my gaze calmly.

“She’ll tell you when she’s ready. Right now, the important thing is for her to know that you love her.”

I let out a slow breath.

I got up from the chair and walked over to Samantha, pulling her into a hug. Tight. Necessary. Almost desperate.

I buried my face in her hair and closed my eyes.

“I love you, Samantha,” I murmured. “Even when I act like an idiot.”

I felt her smile against my chest.

“I know. And I love you even when you’re an idiot.”

We stayed like that for a long time.

Two tired, broken adults, trying to keep our family from falling apart.

But we were still together.