Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 260

You probably got the lowdown from Silas by now. Shirley threw down some terms, wanting you out of the Galeana family. She and Emma wanted a legit spot in our family, I was backed into a corner and had to make a cruel call.

Sweetheart, I always believed in you. I was just too weak, so you had to shoulder the crap that you weren’t supposed to. You had to go solo and leave your hometown. I knew your aunts and uncles would look after you, so I didn’t dare to set foot in B City, scared that I’d lose it the moment I saw you. I have no clue what kind of mess you got tangled up in, the unknown freaks me out. All I could do was to get you out of A City, hoping you could have a good life elsewhere.

The words on the paper didn’t make much sense, Ines was just writing down whatever popped into her head. She was in deep pain, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

I let your mother down, and I let you down. I'm officially saying sorry. I wanted to be a good husband, but life's a bitch. I wanted to be a good dad, but I flunked it, I failed to make your and Emma’s life beautiful.

Looking back, my self-proclaimed success in life was nothing. I let too many people down, especially the people I loved the most. I used to think Shirley was just a penny pincher, but boy was I wrong! This woman's heart was black. We had a hell of a fight after she saw my will. That's when I found out that nothing happened between us that night, she lied! She even altered Emma's birth date. She was up to no good since she arrived in A City, besides barging into our place, she engineered all sorts of chances to run into your mom, even showed her pictures of my every visit to Emma.

I guess your mom was waiting for an explanation from me all this while. But I didn’t make a move, and she lost hope, choosing to leave in such a way.

Baby, your dad was a stubborn fool, always aiming for the top. But once I got there, I realized it was lonely as hell. I lost the people I loved, the person who was supposed to be by my side.

I’m not trying to justify myself by saying all this. I just had these words bottled up for too long and it was suffocating. So, I’m letting it out this way, because I want to tell you, I always loved you. In fact, when I found out I had lung cancer, I wasn’t sad or anything. I was relieved because I could finally go find your mom, without being seen as weak or pitied. That's why I initially refused treatment.

The only thing I couldn't let go of was you and Emma. Just as I was about to fetch you from B City, you came back on your own.

On top of that, you got hitched. Back then, I was super anxious, scared that you’d end up with a good-for-nothing like me. Luckily, Ethan turned out to be a trustworthy guy.

Hope lit up my heart again. I wanted to see if you could stay happy, so I agreed to go to the States for treatment.

When I heard the news that you and Emma were both expecting, I was euphoric! I couldn't wait to see my grandkids being born, to hear them call me "grandpa". You and Emma are like a mirror reflecting me, showing both my good and bad sides. Emma reminded me of my younger self, feeling inferior and always ready to fight whenever her background was brought up. And you, you’re confident, more like me when I was on top of my game.