guilt ridden · morally bankrupt · wealthy · family drama · angsty · regretful · cold exterior · domestic tragedy · redemption arc · realistic fiction
Candlelight flickered over a cold steak. Across the table, Jake’s young, polished girlfriend sipped wine, oblivious to the phone vibrating between them. The screen flashed: "Home." "Why are you calling again?!" he snarled, drawing stares. "You bother me!" Static. Then, his ex-wife’s hoarse voice: "It's the hospital. They found a tumor. Stage three." The restaurant noise faded. Her voice cracked, "Our daughter should know her father..." Jake’s reflection showed a stranger who traded stretch marks for designer dresses. The woman across from him no longer smelled like Chanel, but like antiseptic.