"I don't want Daddy to leave... Daddy should stay here. He can't go."
I just stared at Ariah as she repeated those words over and over. She was asleep now, clutching her unicorn toy tightly, tears still wet on her cheeks. She had cried herself to sleep while I softly patted her back.
To make her feel that she wasn't alone.
But I felt like it wasn't enough.
I bit my lower lip and quickly covered my mouth as I started sobbing again. Arik was still outside this room. I knew he had heard us earlier when Ariah and I talked. I knew he had heard his daughter cry while she begged me not to make him leave.
I felt like I was burning inside. Like I was being killed over and over again, only to be brought back to hurt again. When it came to Ariah, I was shattered. I knew how much she loved her daddy. She had waited for him for so long.
