My Daughter’s Prom Date Was the Boy Every Girl Wanted – But When He Brought Her Home, He Said, ‘You Have 5 Minutes to Tell Her the Truth, or I Will’

Gina looked at me. “I knew Anthony had a daughter. I didn’t know she was the girl my son was taking to prom.”

“I didn’t know Ryan was your son, either. I’m sorry.”

“But you knew Anthony was still out there,” she said. “Iris didn’t.”

Iris looked at Anthony. “Did you know about me?”

“Did you want me?”

“Yes,” he said, too quickly to be anything but true.

Her face crumpled. “Then where were you?”

Anthony swallowed. “I missed visits. I took jobs too far away. I told myself I was paying bills, but I was tired and angry. Your mother made it hard, Iris, but I let hard become impossible.”

Iris looked between us.

“So both of you chose your pride over me?”

Neither of us answered.

We didn’t have to.

“I spent my whole life thinking one of you didn’t love me,” she said. “And the other one let me believe it.”