Chapter 3

The gym at Oak Creek Elementary smelled like floor wax and nervous parents.

I stood near the back bleachers with my phone raised as the principal tapped the microphone.

"First place in the second-grade engineering category goes to Sophie Bennett!"

I cheered so loudly that several parents turned to look at me.

For the first time in weeks, I did not care what anyone thought.

Sophie walked onto the stage and accepted a bright blue ribbon. Beside her sat the bridge she had built from craft sticks.

Ethan had promised to help her with it.

He never showed up.

So Sophie and I stayed awake past midnight, gluing each piece together while she asked me questions about weight, balance, and support beams.

When she received the ribbon, her face lit up.

Then she looked over the crowd.

She searched every row.

When she did not find Ethan, her smile faded.

Ten minutes later, the double doors flew open.

Ethan rushed into the gym, breathing hard.

But he did not look for Sophie.

His eyes went straight to Rebecca, who was kneeling beside a crying Noah in the corner.

Noah's project was a model of the solar system displayed through Sophie's telescope.

It had not won anything.

I watched Ethan hurry to them. He crouched beside Noah, put an arm around Rebecca's shoulders, and wiped the boy's tears.

From across the gym, he looked like a perfect father.

Just not to his own child.

Eventually, he noticed us.

He walked over with Rebecca and Noah behind him.

"Hey! Sorry I missed the awards. Traffic was a nightmare."

Then he saw the ribbon pinned to Sophie's dress.

"First place? That's my girl! I knew that bridge would hold."

Sophie did not smile.

She looked at his empty hands.

"You promised you'd bring flowers."

Ethan's face turned red.

"I know. I'm sorry, kiddo. Rebecca was rushing to get here, and we didn't have time to stop. I'll make it up to you. I promise."

Another promise.

Before Sophie could answer, Ethan glanced at Noah.

The boy was staring at the ribbon.

Ethan cleared his throat.

I knew that tone. Soft. Patient. Reasonable.

It was the voice he used right before asking Sophie to give something up.

"Sophie, sweetheart, you know you're smart, right? You don't need a piece of fabric to prove that."

He crouched in front of her.

"Noah worked hard too, but he didn't get anything. He's having a rough day. He misses his dad. Maybe you could give him your ribbon, just to cheer him up. You're lucky. You still have both your parents. He only has his mom."

My whole body went cold.

"Ethan," I said. "Don't."

He stood and frowned at me.

"Natalie, don't make this into a big thing. It's a ribbon. We should be teaching her empathy, not selfishness."

Selfish.

He called our daughter selfish for wanting to keep something she had earned.

I stepped toward him.

I was ready to tear him apart in the middle of that gym.

Then I heard fabric rip.

Sophie had pulled the pin from her dress, leaving a small hole in the flowers printed across the front.

She walked to Noah and held out the ribbon.

"Here."

Noah grabbed it immediately.

His tears stopped.

Rebecca smiled at Ethan like he had performed a miracle.

"Say thank you to Uncle Ethan and Sophie, sweetheart. Ethan, you always know how to fix everything."

Ethan straightened with pride.

"See? That wasn't so hard. I'm proud of you, Sophie. You did the right thing."

Sophie did not look at him.

She turned to me and lifted her arms.

"Mom, I'm tired. Can we go home?"

I picked her up.

"Yes, baby. We're going home."

I carried her out without looking back.

That night, Sophie fell asleep with the torn dress folded beside her pillow.

I sat in my office and completed the final transfer from my local account.

The office door opened.

Ethan leaned against the frame and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know you're upset about the ribbon," he said. "But I have a surprise that will make up for it."

I waited.

"We were supposed to take Sophie to Disney this weekend, but I canceled the tickets."

My fingers stopped over the keyboard.

"You canceled her birthday trip?"

"I upgraded it," he said quickly. "I rented a huge cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Three days by the river. Hiking, fresh air, family time."

He paused.

That pause told me everything.

"And?"

"I invited Rebecca and Noah. They need to get away, Natalie. The kids can play together. It'll be good for everyone."

I stared at the man I had loved for ten years.

He had taken Sophie's telescope.

He had taken her ribbon.

Now he had taken her birthday trip and turned it into another gift for Rebecca and Noah.

I smiled.

It was not a warm smile.

"A cabin in the mountains," I said. "That sounds unforgettable."

Relief filled his face.

"Right? This is going to be the trip of a lifetime."

After he left the room, I opened the airline app and confirmed our tickets.