I was standing in the middle of my living room, cardboard boxes scattered around me, each one a piece of the life I was leaving behind. I folded the last of my clothes, my mind wandering to the new chapter I was about to start with Eric.
He wasn’t perfect, but he was steady, a man who had stitched together the torn pieces of my heart. The empty spaces that my ex-husband, Tom, had left behind were gradually filled with Eric’s quiet strength and his unwavering support.
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The knock on the door jolted me out of my thoughts. It was firm, insistent, and oddly familiar. I wiped my hands on my jeans, feeling a strange unease creep into my chest.
Who could it be at this hour?
I wasn’t expecting anyone.
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I walked to the door, my heart drumming a little faster than usual. When I opened it, I felt the world tilt slightly on its axis.
“Tom?”
There he was, standing on my doorstep, looking like a ghost from a life I had tried so hard to leave behind. His hair was messier than I remembered, his face etched with lines that hadn’t been there before, and his eyes…
Those eyes were filled with a sorrow that I couldn’t quite place.
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“Linda,” he started, his voice rough, almost cracking. “Can I come in?”
I hesitated, my hand tightening on the doorknob. That was the man who had torn my heart out and stomped on it without a second thought. Yet, here he was, asking for something.
For what, exactly?
Against my better judgment, I nodded and stepped aside, allowing him into the space I had almost packed away.
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Tom walked in slowly, looking around as if searching for memories, his gaze lingering on the half-packed boxes.
“Moving?” he asked, though the answer was obvious.
“Yes, moving into my boyfriend. Tom, what do you want from me?”
The mention of another man seemed to hit him like a punch. He winced slightly, then quickly masked it with a weak smile.
“That’s… that’s good. I’m glad you found someone.”
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There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. It stretched on, filling the room with a tension that had been absent for years.
“Linda, I… I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need to be. I know I don’t have the right to ask you for anything after what I did, but… I need your help.”
He looked at me with desperation, that only comes from sheer hopelessness.
“The woman I left you for… she’s gone. She died two weeks ago.”
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He looked away, ashamed.
“And I… I have a daughter now. Ava. She’s just a little girl, Linda, and I’m all she has. But I can’t do it alone. I thought I could, but I can’t. I need you.”
The man who had shattered me was now standing in front, asking for help—for his daughter’s sake. The irony wasn’t lost on me.
“Why me, Tom?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why come to me?”
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“Because I know you, Linda. You have the heart for this. I don’t know anyone else who does.”
I could feel the ground beneath me shifting, the life I had carefully rebuilt starting to tremble under the weight of his words. Everything in me wanted to slam the door in his face, to tell him to find someone else.
But there was a small voice inside, a whisper of the woman I used to be, the one who had once loved Tom fiercely, the one who had dreamed of a family. And that whisper made me pause.
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I looked at him, at the broken man he had become, and felt the gravity of the decision before me. I had finally found peace, and now, with one knock, Tom had brought the chaos back into my life.
But this time, it wasn’t just about me. There was a child involved who didn’t deserve any of this.
The child I had dreamed of for years, the one Eric could never give me.
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“I don’t know if I can do this, Tom. But… I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you, Linda. That’s all I can ask for.”
I watched him walk away, the door clicking softly behind him, and knew that nothing in my life would ever be the same again.
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***
I decided to meet with Tom. Deep down, I knew the past wouldn’t let me go so easily. It was like a shadow that refused to fade.
The café was quiet. I had chosen a table near the window. My hands fidgeted with the napkin on the table as I waited.
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When the door opened, and Tom walked in, I felt a bit nervous. But then I saw her.
That was Ava, with her wide, innocent eyes and tiny frame, clinging to Tom’s hand. She looked up at me.
“Hi, Linda.” Tom guided Ava to the seat across from me and then sat down himself.
“This is Ava.”
“Hello, Ava,” I said softly. “What a wonderful dress you have. You look like a fairy.”
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She gave me a tiny wave, her fingers curling shyly.
As Tom began to speak about the difficulties he faced raising Ava alone, I found it hard to focus. My eyes kept drifting to Ava, who was playing quietly with a small toy.
She was sweet, so innocent, and there was something about her that tugged at the deepest parts of my heart.
The thought of being a mother stirred something inside me that I hadn’t felt in years. It was a longing that had never truly gone away.
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“This could be a second chance for us, Linda. A way to rebuild what was lost.”
Before I could respond, Tom placed Ava in my arms. The moment she settled against me, I felt a connection, a warmth that spread through me like a wave.
I looked down at Ava, her tiny face so trusting, and felt tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.
“I… I need time, Tom,” I finally whispered. “I need time to figure this out.”
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Later I called Eric.
“I just need some time, Eric,” I said, trying to hold back the tears. “I need to figure things out.”
As I hung up the phone, I realized that nothing was simple anymore.
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***
The days after our meeting at the café felt like a whirlwind. I spent more and more time with Ava, trying to see if I could truly consider Tom’s proposal. She was such a sweet child.
We played games in the park, and baked cookies in Tom’s kitchen, and every moment spent with her tugged at my heart.
Could this really work? Could I be the mother she needs?
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One afternoon, while Ava and I were drawing together, she looked up at me with those big, innocent eyes.
“Are you going to be my new mommy?”
The question caught me off guard.
“I’m not sure yet, sweetie. We’re just spending time together right now.”
“I like being with you,” she said sincerely.
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My heart ached at her words.
I like being with you too.
I thought that, but didn’t say it out loud. Instead, I just smiled at her and handed her a new crayon.
But despite these moments of connection, there was something that gnawed at me. Tom was too eager, too desperate for me to agree to this arrangement.
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One evening, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Tom had gone out to run some errands, and the house was eerily quiet.
Ava was asleep on the couch and I was left alone with my thoughts.
What is he not telling me? Why is he pushing this so hard?
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The questions swirled in my mind, refusing to let me rest. Before I knew it, I found myself standing outside Tom’s office door.
I hesitated, my hand resting on the doorknob.
“What am I doing?” I whispered to myself.
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I needed answers. My eyes scanned the room, searching for… what? I didn’t even know.
Then, I saw a drawer slightly ajar in his desk. Without thinking, I pulled it open.
There it was, in black and white—an inheritance tied to Ava’s guardianship that could only be fully secured if Tom had a partner!
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This isn’t about giving Ava a mother. It’s about money!
When Tom came home later, I was waiting for him in the living room. The documents were spread out on the coffee table, clear evidence of what he’d been hiding.
“Tom,” I called out as he walked in. “What’s this? Were you ever going to tell me the truth?”
His face went pale.
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“Linda, it’s not what you think…”
“You know what I think?” I cut him off, my voice rising.
“These papers say it all, Tom. You were using me to secure Ava’s inheritance, weren’t you?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The look of guilt in his eyes was all the answer I needed.
The room fell silent. I felt the tears welling up, but I refused to let them fall. I had to get out of there.
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I grabbed my phone and dialed Eric’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Panic started to creep in.
What if I’ve lost him too? What if this mess with Tom has ruined everything?
As I stood there, the phone pressed to my ear, I realized just how much Eric meant to me. He was the person who made me believe in love again.
“Eric, please call me back,” I whispered into the phone. “I need to talk to you… I’m so sorry.”
Hanging up, one thing became clear: I needed to fight for what truly mattered, and that was Eric.
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***
As the taxi sped through the city, the memory of saying goodbye to Ava replayed in my mind. Her tiny hand was clutching her dress, her confused eyes searching mine.
“I have to go, sweetie,” I whispered, fighting back tears.
“But remember, you’ll always be special to me.”
Leaving her felt like tearing my heart in two, but staying could drag me back into the darkness I’d fought so hard to escape.
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As the taxi sped through the rain-soaked streets, I frantically sent Eric dozens of texts.
I’m coming. I’m so sorry. I was so foolish. Please, let me explain.
When the taxi finally turned the corner to his street, I saw him.
Eric was standing in the pouring rain, a bouquet of white roses in his hand—the kind I loved.
He was soaked through, yet there he was, waiting like he always had.
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