I always thought the silence would get easier. After all, wasn’t peace what I craved after Mia moved out?
A man deep in thought | Source: Midjourney
No late-night arguments, no slammed doors, and no biting words she hurled like spears. But the quiet wasn’t peaceful. It was deafening.
The last argument replayed in my mind more often than I cared to admit. She had stood in the middle of the living room, her arms crossed, defiance written in every line of her posture.
“I’m not introducing my boyfriend to you, Dad,” she’d said, her voice like ice. “I’m 18! I don’t need your permission to date.”
A man arguing with his daughter | Source: Midjourney
“I’m your father,” I had snapped. “I have every right to know who you’re spending time with.”
“No, you don’t! You just want to control everything! That’s all you’ve ever done!” Her voice had cracked on the last word, but she didn’t back down. “I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m done letting you treat me like one.”
My response had been harsher than it should have been.
A father and daughter arguing | Source: Midjourney
“Fine. Go ahead and act like an adult, Mia. But don’t expect to live in my house while you do it.”
Her eyes had gone wide, tears brimming but not falling. “If that’s how you feel,” she said quietly, “then I’ll leave.”
And she had. Just like that. The sound of the door slamming shut behind her was the loudest noise I had ever heard.
A furious man | Source: Midjourney
Something inside me broke when I realized she wasn’t coming back. It didn’t make sense. I’d done everything possible to keep her safe and ensure she would succeed in life… how could she be so ungrateful?
These thoughts haunted me as I walked past an open-air eatery near my office. So, when I first heard that familiar laugh, I thought I was imagining it. Then I heard it again.
I looked up and spotted her instantly. Mia was sitting in a booth inside the café, one hand resting on her rounded belly as she chuckled.
A laughing woman | Source: Midjourney
My breath hitched, and the world narrowed to that one undeniable detail: she was pregnant. My Mia, who used to climb trees and scrape her knees, was going to be a mother.
And sitting across from her, leaning in far too closely, was Joshua, my best friend for 20 years. Joshua, my confidant, who held my secrets and knew my fears.
Joshua, who had a wife and kids, who should’ve known better. My heart slammed against my ribs, and a roaring filled my ears, drowning out the café’s gentle hum.
A furious man | Source: Midjourney
