Chapter 26 - DUNCAN’S APOLOGY
Duncan’s first real apology arrived eighteen months after the slap.
Not from prison.
Not from court.
Not through a plea.
A letter approved by our parenting coordinator.
I read it first.
Sable,
I have apologized for “losing control.” That phrase protects me.
Good start.
I did not lose control in one instant. I spent months trying to control everyone around me.
Better.
I lied to the woman I planned to marry.
I lied to lenders.
I lied to you about what I could take.
I used fear of property loss to make leaving seem impossible.
I treated the pregnancy as a problem because it made the clean future I wanted harder.
Then:
I cannot say I intended the baby to die, because I did not. I can say I knew striking a woman at thirty-eight weeks pregnant could cause harm and I did it anyway.
There.
Precise.
No minimizing.
Then:
I am ashamed that part of me cared more about the consequences after you fell than whether you were safe.
That matched the room.
Then:
I am not asking you to forgive me or increase parenting time. I will follow whatever process is required.
I cried.
Not because I wanted him back.
Because truth, when it finally arrives, confirms how exhausting lies were.
I did not answer personally.
Through coordinator:
Letter received.
That was enough.
May you like
His future relationship with our child would depend on years of behavior.
Not one good page.
