“No.”
“Engaged?”
“For a while.”
My throat tightened. “And you never thought your wife should know?”
“I wanted to tell you.”
I let out a laugh. “Wanted to tell me… right.”
He looked down.
“Claire and I split when Emily was little. We fought over everything, but I loved my daughter. I had visitation. Then Claire met someone and moved away.”
“With Emily?”
He nodded. “Without telling me.”
I folded my arms. “Couldn’t you go to court?”
“I did. I spent two years and almost everything I had. By the time I found them, Claire had already remarried. And Emily had been told I abandoned her.”
“Did you?”
His head snapped up. “No, I didn’t. I’d never do that.”
“Then why would she believe that?”
“Because she was seven.”
The answer hit harder than I expected.
Mark rubbed his eyes.
