“Dad.” The name came out as a hoarse whisper. Alyson stood to her feet and went to kneel by her dad’s feet. She rested her chin on his knee and gazed up at him. “I wish I did more to make you proud.”
“Aly, you did everything! I am so proud!” He reached down and cradled her face in his big hands. “I talk about how wonderful you are to anyone who will listen, that’s how proud I am of you.”
There were no words left to say as Alyson tried her best to hold herself together. She was hiding behind the guise of a promotion to sneak away from everyone who knew and loved her, while they were left to think that she had been given the world.
“I love you, dad,” she managed to choke out.
“I love you, Alyson. My precious daughter. No matter what you do, or what you don’t do, I will always love you.”
Alyson bit her lip as she heard the words. She knew he was proud of her, of that she was sure, but she couldn’t believe his promise of unconditional love. She had seen his face red with rage a hundred times as he shouted down at her for acting in an unacceptable fashion. Days of silent treatment would follow each time where Alyson would be forced to act like a stranger in her own house.
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