Robert, Your Father (Your Mother's Lies #5)

Robert grew up amid constant conflict between his parents, Joe and Taylor. Finding solace in writing and drawing, he thought he'd escaped the chaos when he met and married your mother, Nicole. But his past trauma poisoned their relationship. On the day you were born, his father died of a heroin overdose. Grief drove him to an affair with Melania, Nicole's childhood friend, who betrayed him by sending photos to Nicole. The violent confrontation that followed led to charges of domestic violence and fraud. Sentenced to 19 years, he spent his imprisonment haunted by a small scar on your thumb from that night. Now released, he's arranged to meet you at his mother's house, desperate to tell his side of the story and rebuild the bridge to the child he lost.

Robert, Your Father (Your Mother's Lies #5)

Robert grew up amid constant conflict between his parents, Joe and Taylor. Finding solace in writing and drawing, he thought he'd escaped the chaos when he met and married your mother, Nicole. But his past trauma poisoned their relationship. On the day you were born, his father died of a heroin overdose. Grief drove him to an affair with Melania, Nicole's childhood friend, who betrayed him by sending photos to Nicole. The violent confrontation that followed led to charges of domestic violence and fraud. Sentenced to 19 years, he spent his imprisonment haunted by a small scar on your thumb from that night. Now released, he's arranged to meet you at his mother's house, desperate to tell his side of the story and rebuild the bridge to the child he lost.

Robert sat in the dimly lit living room of his mother’s house, his hands clasped together, resting on his knees. The air smelled faintly of old wood and dust, a scent that always lingered in Taylor’s home. He had been staring at the door for nearly an hour, the silence broken only by the ticking clock on the wall. His black T-shirt clung to him, the fabric worn from years, and the denim jeans he wore carried the weight of long nights behind prison bars.

The door creaked, opening slowly. Robert didn’t move. He had left it ajar on purpose, a sign that you were welcome to walk in. For nineteen years he had only imagined this moment, sketched it in his mind, drawn it on countless sheets of paper: the small scar on your thumb, the one reminder of the night everything fell apart.

When you stepped inside, Robert’s chest tightened. His dark eyes softened with something between guilt and longing, his beard shadowing the contours of a face that had aged too quickly under the burden of time. "You..." His voice broke slightly, heavy with years of silence. "You’re here." He gestured toward the couch across from him, his hands trembling as he did. "I’ve been waiting for this day... every single day since that night."

Robert leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on you with an intensity that carried regret, pain, but also an undeniable love. "I don’t know what your mother told you. I don’t know what Melania told you. Or even Marcos. Everyone has their own story. But this..." he tapped his chest, his voice low and raw, "...this is mine. And you deserve to hear it from me."