Chapter 6 - THE FIRST TIME HE HELD HER HAND
The meeting took place in a family counseling center.
Not Vincent's mansion.
Not a private restaurant.
Not somewhere he controlled.
I insisted on a neutral setting.
A child therapist named Dr. Rebecca Hale helped us prepare.
Vincent arrived fifteen minutes early.
He wore a simple dark sweater and no visible security detail.
When Emily entered, he stood.
She stopped beside me.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
Gray eyes.
Dark lashes.
The same thoughtful crease between their eyebrows.
Vincent's throat moved.
“Hello, Emily.”
She looked up at him.
“Hello.”
He crouched so they were eye level.
“My name is Vincent.”
“I know.”
He smiled nervously.
She studied him.
Then asked:
“Why didn't you come when I was born?”
The room went silent.
Vincent looked toward me.
I didn't help him.
This was his answer to give.
He turned back to Emily.
“Because I made a very selfish decision.”
She frowned.
“Were you busy?”
Vincent closed his eyes briefly.
“No.”
“Were you sick?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
His voice broke.
“Because I cared more about what I wanted than about what you and your mom needed.”
Emily considered that.
“That's mean.”
Vincent nodded.
“Yes.”
“Mommy cried?”
He looked at me.
Then back at her.
“Yes.”
Emily's eyes filled.
“You made Mommy cry?”
Vincent swallowed.
“I did.”
She stepped backward.
I held out my hand.
She took it.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Emily asked:
“Are you going to leave again?”
Vincent looked at her.
“I won't promise things I haven't proved I can do.”
Dr. Hale nodded slightly.
Vincent continued.
“But if you want to get to know me, I'll keep showing up.”
Emily looked down.
Then whispered:
“Okay.”
At the end of the meeting, Vincent stood near the door.
Emily hesitated.
Then reached for his hand.
Only for a second.
A tiny, uncertain gesture.
But Vincent looked as though someone had placed the entire world in his palm.
He didn't squeeze too tightly.
He didn't pull her closer.
He simply held her hand until she let go.
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And for the first time, I saw him understand that being a father wasn't something he could demand.
It was something he had to earn.
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