My throat tightened.
‘This is… this is your father,’ I finally managed to say.
Rory’s eyes widened and he turned to Vance.
‘You’re my father?’
Vance stepped forward, his voice rising.
‘Yes, I’m your father! I had no choice, son! I had to leave you, or you would have died. It’s all her fault!’ He pointed his finger at me.
My legs buckled.
‘Vance, what are you talking about?’ I stammered. ‘I raised him. I did what you never did.’
Vance’s face contorted with anger.
‘You never gave him the money I sent you! I trusted you, and you took it all for yourself! I was left with nothing!’
Rory looked from one to the other, his features hardening.
‘Is that true?’ he asked quietly.
I couldn’t believe my ears.
‘Rory, no, he’s lying! He never sent any money. He left you with me and disappeared!’
Vance’s voice grew even louder:
‘I was trying to get back on my feet! I worked, sent money, and she kept it all for herself! She destroyed me!’
Rory’s hands clenched into fists.
‘So that’s why you abandoned me? Because you were supposedly sending money?’
Vance nodded, a wild gleam in his eyes.
‘I had no choice, son! I had to leave. But now I’m here. I’ve come to make things right.’
I couldn’t breathe. My worst fear was coming true — losing Rory because of the lies of a man who had abandoned him so many years ago.
‘Rory, please,’ I whispered. ‘You know me. You know I would never do that.’
Rory was silent for a moment. Then he turned to Vance, his voice calm but firm.
‘No. I don’t believe you.’
Vance blinked, stunned.
‘What?’
‘I don’t believe you,’ Rory repeated louder. ‘You didn’t send money. You didn’t try to come back. You left me at her door, and she raised me. She’s the only mother I’ve ever known.’
Vance’s face turned pale.
‘But I’m your father…’
‘You’re not my father,’ Rory interrupted him in an even voice. ‘You’re just a man who abandoned me. She never did.’
Vance stood silently, as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word.
‘You need to leave,’ Rory said coldly. ‘You don’t belong here.’
Vance’s shoulders slumped, and without another word, he turned and left. The door closed behind him, and the house fell silent again.
I stood there, trembling, not quite understanding what had just happened. Rory turned to me, and for the first time in many years, there was warmth in his eyes.
‘You’re my real mum,’ he said quietly. “I’m sorry I never told you that before, but it’s true. And I’m grateful to you for everything. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Tears filled my eyes as I reached out and hugged him tightly. These were words I never thought I would hear.
After a while, Rory pulled away, smiling slightly.
‘There’s something else.’
‘What is it?’ I asked, wiping away my tears.
He took a deep breath.
‘I bought a house by the sea. It’s for you and Dad. I want you to live there, to have something of your own. I’ll pay for everything.’
I looked at him with my heart overflowing.
‘You… you did this for us?’
Rory nodded.
‘It’s the least I can do.’
And for the first time in a very long time, I felt like I had truly found my son.