Liam took a deep breath. “But I want you to understand something. The next time I knock on this door, I won’t have cake. I’ll be your biggest competitor in the business world.”
He paused for a moment, not to create drama, but to allow the truth to sink in.
“And I will defeat you. Not because I hate you… but because you forced us to do it ourselves.”
A young man talks to an older man | Source: Midjourney
He then turned and walked back to the car.
He went upstairs and quietly closed the door, as if nothing had happened. But everything had.
“I forgave him,” he said in a barely audible whisper. “Now it’s your turn, Mom.”
Mother and son talking in the car | Source: Midjourney
My throat tightened. I couldn’t speak. My eyes blurred as I looked at the boy next to me.
No, not a boy.
Man.
A man who grew from the pain that was meant to break him.
And I realized, with pride and painful relief, that we had accomplished what many said we could not do.
We did it.
