Chapter 79: The Last Visit

Scarlett visited Richard once more.

She did not take Isabella. Some wounds did not deserve access to innocent beginnings. Alexander drove her to the prison but waited outside, respecting the choice as he always did now.

Richard looked thinner behind the glass. Prison had removed the last performance of authority from him.

'You look well,' he said.

'I am.'

His eyes filled. 'And the baby?'

Scarlett paused. 'Healthy.'

Richard nodded, tears gathering. 'I am glad.'

She believed him. That was the painful part. Richard's love had not been entirely false. It had simply been too weak to protect anyone.

'I did not come to punish you,' Scarlett said.

His hand trembled against the table. 'Then why?'

'Because I had a daughter, and I understood something. A parent does not need to be perfect. But they must choose the child when it matters.'

Richard closed his eyes.

'You did not choose me. You did not choose my mother. I cannot change that, and I will not spend Isabella's life carrying the weight of your failures.'

A tear slipped down his cheek. 'Do you forgive me?'

Scarlett looked at him for a long time.

'Not fully. Maybe not ever. But I release myself from waiting for you to become the father I needed.'

Richard broke then, silently.

Scarlett felt sadness, but not responsibility.

Before leaving, she placed one photograph against the glass. It showed Isabella in the rose garden, laughing in Alexander's arms.

'Her name is Isabella Grace,' Scarlett said.

Richard touched the glass near the photograph. 'Your mother would have loved that.'

'Yes,' Scarlett said. 'She would have.'

She left without looking back.

Outside, Alexander stood beside the car.

'Are you all right?'

Scarlett breathed in the cold air.

'Yes. I think I finally am.'

He opened his arms, and she went to him.

Behind her, the prison doors closed.

Ahead of her, home waited.