From the kitchen, water ran.
“He chose his new life.”
“Please,” I whispered. “Let me tell her tomorrow.”
“She already lost tonight,” he said. “You just don’t want her to know why.”
“She’s my daughter. You don’t understand our life.”
“And Anthony is my stepdad. Gina is my mother. This isn’t just your secret anymore.”
The faucet shut off.
Ryan stepped closer.
“You have five minutes.”
“What?”
“She’s my daughter.”
“Five minutes to tell her the truth, or I will.”
“Ryan, please.”
“She deserves to hear it from her mother,” he said. “But she deserves to hear it tonight.”
Iris came back holding a glass of water.
She stopped in the doorway. “Why does it feel like I walked into the middle of something?”
Ryan took the glass from her, but he did not drink.
“Because you did.”
Iris looked at me. “Mom?”
“Ryan, please.”
