Chapter 4: The Person Who Kept Them Apart
“The person who told me to keep you away from Derrick was…”
Celeste stopped speaking.
Amara stood beneath the bright afternoon sun, still wearing her black graduation gown and gold stole. The cream-colored envelope trembled in her hands. Beside her, Derrick watched his former wife struggle to finish a sentence that should never have been difficult to say.
“Was who?”” Amara demanded.
Celeste glanced toward the graduation stage. Students were gathering for photographs, parents were embracing their children, and the announcer was asking everyone to remain seated for the final presentation.
“Not here,” Celeste whispered.
“You keep saying that.”” Amara's voice cracked.
“You said that when I asked about the letters. You said that when Dad tried to visit. You said that every time I wanted to know why he wasn't around.””
“Amara, please.””
“No! I want one honest answer from you.””
Derrick stepped between them, not to shield Amara from her mother but to give his daughter room to breathe.
“Celeste, tell her.””
His ex-wife looked at him with an expression he had not seen since the final months of their marriage. It was the look she used whenever she believed he had cornered her with a question she could not answer.
“You have no idea what you're asking me to reveal,” she said.
“Then explain it.””
“Some things are more complicated than you think.””
Derrick shook his head.
“You've had eighteen years to make them simple.””
For a moment, Celeste's eyes filled with tears. She looked almost sincere.
“I was scared.””
Amara stared at her.
“Of Dad?””
Celeste didn't answer.
“Were you scared of Dad?”” Amara repeated.
“No.””
“Then who?””
Celeste pressed her lips together.
Before she could respond, a woman approached them carrying a large bouquet of yellow roses. She was in her early fifties, dressed in a cream blazer and navy trousers, with a graduation program tucked beneath one arm.
“Amara, sweetheart,” she said gently.
“They're getting ready for the family photographs. Is everything all right?””
Amara turned.
“Ms. Brooks, can I ask you something?””
The woman, her high school guidance counselor, immediately noticed the envelope in Amara's hand and the tears on her face.
“Of course.””
“Do you remember Marcus Reed?””
The bouquet slipped slightly in Ms. Brooks's hands.
Derrick noticed.
So did Celeste.
Ms. Brooks looked toward Celeste before answering.
“Where did you hear that name?””
Amara held up the envelope.
“My mother has been hiding letters from my father. His name is written on one of them.””
Ms. Brooks took a slow breath.
“I see.””
“You know him?”” Derrick asked.
The counselor carefully placed the bouquet on an empty chair.
“I knew of him.””
“What does that mean?”” Amara asked.
Ms. Brooks looked uncomfortable.
“It means I don't think this is a conversation we should have in the middle of a graduation ceremony.””
Celeste seized the opportunity.
“Exactly. Thank you, Lorraine. I've been trying to explain that.””
But Ms. Brooks didn't look at Celeste.
She looked directly at Derrick.
“Did you ever receive a certified letter from the family court when Amara was little?””
Derrick frowned.
“No. Why?””
“Because I remember a dispute over visitation. There was a claim that you had voluntarily given up your parental rights.””
Derrick's face went pale.
“What?””
Celeste immediately interrupted.
“That was years ago. It has nothing to do with today.””
“Did I give up my rights?”” Derrick demanded.
“No,” Celeste said.
The answer came so quickly that everyone fell silent.
Derrick stared at her.
“Then why would anyone claim I did?””
Celeste looked away.
Ms. Brooks folded her arms.
“I remember hearing that the paperwork never went through. But I was not involved in the case, and I don't know what actually happened.””
Amara's fingers tightened around the envelope.
“Mom, did you tell people Dad abandoned me?””
Celeste's silence was answer enough.
Amara stepped backward as if her mother had physically struck her.
“All those years,” she whispered.
“You told everyone he didn't care.””
“I was trying to protect your feelings.””
“From what? The truth?””
Celeste reached for her daughter's hand.
“Amara, I love you.””
Amara pulled away.
“Then why did you make me believe my father didn't love me?””
For the first time, Celeste had no prepared response.
Derrick looked down at the envelope again. The handwritten warning seemed darker beneath the sunlight, each word a deliberate attempt to erase him from his daughter's life.
He had come to graduation hoping for a photograph.
Now he was discovering that someone might have built an entire childhood around a lie.
Ms. Brooks glanced at the final line on the envelope.
“Marcus Reed,” she murmured.
“I haven't heard that name in years.””
“Who is he?”” Amara asked.
The counselor hesitated.
“Someone who worked with your mother on a family services project. At least, that's how I remember him.””
Celeste's head snapped toward her.
“Lorraine, stop.””
Ms. Brooks stiffened.
“I'm not accusing anyone of anything. But Amara deserves to know why her father's letters were returned.””
Celeste stepped closer.
“You don't know what happened.””
“Then tell us.””
The two women stared at each other.
Derrick had never seen Celeste look so uncertain.
Finally, she turned toward Amara.
“There's something you need to understand about Marcus.””
Amara waited.
“He wasn't just someone who helped me.””
“Then what was he?””
Celeste's eyes moved toward Derrick.
For one terrible second, Derrick thought she was about to reveal something that would change his understanding of their entire marriage.
Instead, she whispered, “He was the person who convinced me that your father would eventually destroy your life.””
Amara's face tightened.
“Why would he say that?””
Celeste swallowed.
“Because he knew something about Derrick that I didn't understand until it was too late.””
Derrick stepped forward.
“What did he tell you?””
Celeste opened her mouth.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen, and every trace of color disappeared from her face.
The caller's name was displayed in bold letters.
*MARCUS REED.*
Amara saw it.
Derrick saw it.
And before Celeste could silence the call, Amara reached toward the phone.
“Answer it, Mom.””
Celeste backed away.
The phone continued ringing.
“Answer it,” Amara repeated.
“Put him on speaker.””
Celeste looked at her daughter, then at Derrick.
Finally, with trembling fingers, she accepted the call.
A man's voice emerged from the speaker.
“Celeste, tell me you didn't let that girl open the envelope.””
Derrick stopped breathing.
May you like
Because the man on the phone sounded terrified.
And he knew, without understanding how, that Marcus Reed had been expecting this day for eighteen years.
