Romance

My Daughter And I Left My Fickle Husband

by Crackling Fireworks

When I came home after a three-day business trip, my daughter ran straight into my arms with a bright smile."Mommy, I've been really good while you were gone. Look how clean I kept the house."Too clean.The trash can was full of empty soup cans and bread wrappers.I pulled up the footage from the living room security camera.The first night, Sadie sat alone on the couch watching TV until she fell asleep, then slipped off the couch and landed on the floor.No one was there to help her. She got back up on her own, grabbed a pillow, and curled up on the floor to sleep.The next morning, she stood on a little step stool, trying to reach the kettle in the kitchen. The kettle was too heavy for her. Hot water spilled across the table and burned her hand.She jerked it back, then ran to the bathroom and held it under cold water. She didn't cry once.On the third day, she came down with a fever.On the footage, she sat holding a thermometer and looked straight into the camera."I think Mommy can see me. I'm a little warm, but I'm okay. You don't have to worry."Then she found the fever medicine herself, broke a tablet in half, and swallowed it.Three days.Three whole days.Gavin Halstead hadn't come home once.I checked his social media and found a post from three days earlier, tagged at a seaside resort.Celeste Rowan had written, "Thank you, Mr. Halstead, for taking Millie to see the ocean. She had so much fun."I saved the security footage to a flash drive.Then I crouched down, pulled Sadie into my arms, and buried my face against her shoulder."Sweetheart, you don't have to be alone anymore."From now on, wherever Mommy goes, you're coming with me. Just you and me. We don't need Daddy anymore."

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