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When my father hugged me again, it felt like there was a finality to it, so I wouldn’t let go. He kissed me on both cheeks and tried to pull away again. I couldn’t let go and kept hauling him back.
“I need your cell number, Dad.”
“I can’t give it to you, Amy.”
“You have no choice. Either we’re in this together, or you’re running away from me again, and this time will feel much worse than the last.”
“It isn’t safe for us to be together.”
“What about your grandchild? Are you running from them too?”
“Oh, Amy, that’s not fair.”
The tears rolling down his cheeks were not forced. I saw heartfelt pain in my father’s expression as he stared at me wide-eyed and deeply upset. He must have known there was a good chance I was pregnant because my surrogacy deal with Victor was well-reported. If Dad hadn’t guessed or heard rumors of my confirmed pregnancy, he now knew for sure that he would soon be a grandfather.
“Mom would be so proud of you, Amy.”
“She’d be proud of you too, Dad.”
“Do you think so?”
“I know so. She would want you, me, and my baby to be together.”
“The world thinks I am dead, Amy.”
“Have you committed any crime?”
“No.”