She looked at me over a pair of sunglasses.
“Mark,” she said coolly.
Before I could respond, she stepped past me and walked into the apartment as if eighteen years had never happened.
Her eyes moved slowly around the room, lingering on the sewing table covered with fabric and sketches.
Then she wrinkled her nose.
“You’re still living like this?” she said loudly. “Still stuck in the same little hole?”
Emma and Clara had already stopped sewing.
“Dad,” Clara asked quietly, “who is that?”
I took a breath that felt heavier than it should have.
“It’s… your mother.”
The room fell silent.
A Mother They Never Needed
Lauren’s voice changed immediately, becoming sweet and theatrical.
“Girls! Look how grown up you are!”
Emma tilted her head slightly.
“We’re blind,” she said calmly. “Isn’t that why you left?”
The blunt honesty made Lauren pause for a moment before she forced another smile.
“I’ve thought about you every day,” she said.
Clara didn’t hesitate.
“We haven’t thought about you at all.”
Pride filled my chest so strongly it almost hurt.
Lauren cleared her throat and pulled two garment bags from behind her.
“I came back because I have something for you.”
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