All my life, my mother and I had a PERFECT PRE-CHRISTMAS TRADITION, every December 20th.

"She lied to you to protect you"

of the truth.

He looked down at the chocolate on his lap. "I fell in love with another woman while your mother was pregnant. A colleague... she drove me crazy."

"Did she drive you crazy?" The way she spoke gave me a bad feeling.

"Exactly. When you were born, I lost my bearings. I couldn't handle the pressure of being a father while trying to resist this woman. I never cheated on your mother. I left instead."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Congratulations."

" Congratulations. "

"My life was never really the same after that," he said. "Nothing lasted. Not my work, not my relationships. I was cursed. I tried several times to go back and fix things."

That caught my attention. "What? When?"

"Every two years or so, when I felt things were starting to go wrong, I tried to redeem myself in your mother's eyes."

Every time things started to go wrong.

“My life never really

It was the same after that.

Not because he missed me or regretted leaving, but because his life wasn't working out and he thought we could fix his bad karma.

"And I imagine Mom slammed the door in your face every time."

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