‘You disappeared,’ I said. ‘I gave birth to your children, and you vanished. You have no right to talk about fate now.’
‘I was 23,’ he justified himself. ‘I panicked, Ellie. Three babies… I couldn’t breathe.’
‘Do you think I was breathing easier?’ My voice trembled. ‘You left me with three newborns. I didn’t have the luxury of panicking.’
He rubbed his chin, then squeezed out:
‘I need £5,000.’
The audacity of his demand took my breath away.
‘Do you really think you can come back after twelve years and ask me for money?’ I replied. ‘You never even tried to see your children.’
‘I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t on the brink,’ he insisted.
‘You don’t even know what it means to be on the brink,’ I said. ‘You’re just a coward.’
I left.
With trembling hands, I called Greg. By the time he arrived, Adam had disappeared, but something was waiting for me on the windscreen.
A wet piece of paper with a message:
‘Pay me or I’ll tell the truth about that night. About our breakup. You don’t want to dig, Ellie.’
Greg read the note and turned pale.
‘He’s bluffing,’ he said. ‘And even if he’s not, we’re not giving him a penny.’
‘We’ll go to the police,’ he added. ‘You drive.’
The officers took us seriously. Adam already had a few minor offences on his record. The word ‘blackmail’ was left in the hands of the police.
A week later, Adam was arrested.
When we entered the courtroom, his wrists were in handcuffs.
‘So, you finally decided to come,’ he muttered.
‘Do you really want to play this game?’ Greg asked coldly.
‘You and Greg were already together,’ Adam spat out. ‘That’s why I left.’
‘You left her alone in the delivery room,’ Greg said calmly.
We left without looking back.
We never told the children about his return. They know he left. But, most importantly, they know what it means to stay.
Adam gave them life.
Greg gave them everything else.
And I realised one thing: people who stay show it with their actions, not their promises. And sometimes what you thought was the biggest disaster in your life becomes what leads your life in a better direction.