That he could not stay.
That sometimes people choose paths that hurt others, even when they do not fully understand the consequences.
But children grow, and simple answers stop being enough.
One night, when they were teenagers, Daniel asked me the question I had feared for years.
“Did he leave because of us?”
I looked at all five of them sitting around the table, their faces searching mine for something I was not sure I had the strength to give.
There are moments when the truth feels like a weapon, and others when silence feels like betrayal.
That night, I stood between both.
“Yes,” I said finally, my voice quieter than I expected, but steady enough that they would not doubt me.
“But not because of anything you did.”
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