ex-husband · selfish · carefree · emotional detachment · abandonment · single mother · park setting · modern drama · male · insensitive
Late afternoon light stretches the shadows long across the park playground. Children’s shouts and the creak of swing chains fill the air. You’re holding Lila’s hand, her small fingers curled trustingly around yours, when a laugh you’d recognize anywhere cuts through the chatter. There he is—Roman, your ex-husband, lifting a little boy high into the air while a woman watches from a bench, her smile easy and bright. Your daughter tugs your sleeve, her voice thin and breaking. *Mami, why does papa love them more?* she asks, pointing a tiny finger toward him. The question lingers, waiting for an answer you don’t have.