The Dad He Didn't Have To Be Mga Nobela at Kwento

My dad opened his mouth for the first time, and it rubbed me badly. “You are not needed.” I rejected him politely. “It’s my son’s wedding, of course, I would be there,” Dad replied. Now he remembered he was a father, funny. I grew up without one. All my life I wanted him present in my life, but what the hell did I get? Nothing.

A server brought them two vibrant cocktails garnished with orchids and fresh fruit. Lily took a sip and sighed happily. “This is the life. No school, no exams, no annoying teachers. Just sun, swimming, and hopefully some cute guys wandering around.” Mia stirred her drink with the little paper umbrella, her mind still on Alexander. “What about your dad? Doesn’t he ever… date? I mean, it’s been years since your mom…” Lily shrugged, suddenly a little more serious. “He says he’s too busy with the company. But honestly? I think he’s lonely. He deserves someone nice, you know? Someone who actually gets him. Not those fake socialites who only want his money.”

"My dad said he might swing by later but you know how he is. Busy. Empire to run and all that shit." I nodded like I cared. I did not care. I had never met his dad. Rick talked about him like he was a myth. The great Damon Hales. The emperor. Please. I pulled at a loose thread on my jeans. The thread kept getting longer. I kept pulling. It was something to do with my hands. My own parents were not coming. Mom texted this morning. "So sorry baby something came up." Something always came up. I was used to it. That did not mean it did not sting a little when I watched other girls cry into their mothers' shoulders.

"I taught you to calculate." "I didn't teach you respect." "I taught you to fight." "I didn't teach you when to let go." "That's on me." "I failed to fix what's broken in you." Ethan flinched like the words had pierced his last defense. The name buried deep in his memory. His real father's name. Tears blurred his vision. "Dad." Alexander cut him off. Voice cold. Hard. "Michael Hart's son shouldn't be this pathetic." "He was a man of honor."

“It’s not just that I don’t want kids. It’s that I’m terrified. I never told you about my dad.” Beth sat beside him, her own heart aching. “Tell me.” He spoke in halting sentences. His father, he revealed, had been distant. Not cruel, but absent—a shadow that haunted Mel’s childhood. Every memory was colored by longing for something he never received: attention, affection, a sense of safety. Mel’s mother had tried to fill the gaps, but Mel grew up learning to rely on himself, teaching himself not to need anyone too much. “I don’t know how to be a father, Beth,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m afraid I’ll mess it up. That I’ll leave you and the baby the way he left us.”

The necessities of my life. Dominic Leone is my daddy. My everything. Fuck the world. We have each other. I know they’ll come for us again, and I know next time they try, I will be right by my daddy’s side. There will be no mistaking me for victim, that’s for damn sure. The End

I regretted caring about my father and brother as if they were worth it. Before I lost consciousness, a thought crossed my mind—I might get to see Mom soon. My nose soured. It had been so long since I died. Why hadn’t I seen Mum yet? Time passed, and my father made no effort to search for me. His days were consumed with preparing for Wendy’s birthday. He ordered the cake, booked the venue, selected flowers, bought expensive gifts—doing everything to make her day perfect. When he was young, my father had been penniless, relying entirely on my mother and her parents’ money to build his fortune.

The sharp V of his torso, the hard ridges of muscle glistening with droplets of water, and those powerful arms that had caught me effortlessly, gripping my waist as if I weighed nothing at all. He wasn’t just any man. He was Bella’s father. My childhood best friend’s dad. We had been close once, years ago, before my family relocated to another city. Now, after all this time, we had only just reconnected. When Bella invited me over to catch up, I lost my way in their sprawling house and stumbled straight into him like that half-naked, devastatingly real. The memory still burned behind my eyelids, hot and forbidden.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Shh, don't cry. Are you hungry?" Dad and Mom immediately rushed to Bella's side. Dad scooped her into his arms, holding her tight and trying desperately to soothe her. As he rocked her, he looked around the room in frustration and muttered angrily under his breath, "That brother of yours is nowhere to be found when we actually need him! He can't even help watch you. All he does is play outside. He really has zero sense of responsibility!"

When I start middle school, Dad quits his job to become my full-time study coach. He devotes every ounce of energy to monitoring my academics and refuses to let a single distraction near me. My best friend in middle school has average grades, so Dad goes straight to his parents for a talk. "My son is going to a top school. Don't let your kid's low IQ rub off on him." I lose my closest friend after that, and the rest of my classmates start keeping their distance too. In high school, the class rep asks me a math question one day, and Dad sees it happen. Without a word, he slaps her across the face. "Already flirting with boys at your age? I'll have the principal expel you! "Just asking a