Sofia let out a bitter laugh. “Compensate me, Alex? How? With a million-dollar check? Do you think you can buy back lost time, sleepless nights, the fears of a single mother? Do you think you can buy the love of a child who doesn’t know you?” Sofia’s voice cracked slightly. “Daniel thinks his father is an astronaut on a very long mission in space. It’s a story I made up to protect him, so he wouldn’t feel the absence of someone who didn’t want to be there.”
“It’s not about the money, Sofia,” Alex replied, trying to sound convincing, though a part of him wondered if his subconscious had played a part in the sudden urge to return. “It’s for Daniel. He’s my son. And for you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what I did, what I said. I was a coward. But I want to make it right. I want to compensate you for everything.”
Sofia let out a bitter laugh. “Compensate me, Alex? How? With a million-dollar check? Do you think you can buy back lost time, sleepless nights, the fears of a single mother? Do you think you can buy the love of a child who doesn’t know you?” Sofia’s voice cracked slightly. “Daniel thinks his father is an astronaut on a very long mission in space. It’s a story I made up to protect him, so he wouldn’t feel the absence of someone who didn’t want to be there.”
The revelation of the astronaut’s story broke Alex’s heart.
His son, believing in a fantasy to justify his absence. He, the tech magnate, reduced to a white lie. The debt he felt wasn’t financial; it was a debt of the soul, a million-dollar debt of love and time.
Read more on the next page >>
For more detailed instructions, please click the button below (>) and follow us on Facebook.
