Page 42 of The Breaking Point

Dr. Claudia nods once, then turns to him. “Aiden, can you tell us about the day your son was born?”

I expect the usual excuse. I expect him to brush it off again. But he doesn’t.

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on the floor.

“Kate’s due date was right at the start of summer. I begged my professors to let me take my exams early. Most of them agreed. One didn’t. He was a nightmare. He made me his errand boy. I was running copies, proctoring other students, grading assignments. I was scared to push back because if he failed me, I’d have to repeat the whole term.”

He pauses, presses a hand over his mouth, then continues.

“The day Kate went into labour; I had just turned off my phone to take that exam. It was one of those long, final ones. No breaks. No distractions. When I turned it back on and saw all the missed calls and messages, I didn’t even stop to think. I borrowed my friend’s car and drove straight to the hospital.”

He looks at me, searching for something. “By the time I got there,” he says softly, “Jack had already been born.”

Dr. Claudia turns toward me. “Kate, how did Aiden missing your labour affect your relationship?”

I do not look at him when I answer. My voice is quiet, but it carries.

“I had to do it alone,” I say. “My grandmother had stepped out to sign the paperwork to move me to maternity when Jack started crowning. I remember reaching for someone’s hand, anyone’s, but there was no one. Just the nurse, the pushing, the burning, and then… silence.”

I pause, breathing through the tightness in my chest.

“In that moment, it hit me how alone I really was. And when they placed Jack on my chest, I made a promise. That no matter what, he would never feel the way I had felt in that room.”

I finally look up, locking eyes with Aiden.

“So if I was possessive,” I say, slow and deliberate, “it was never about control. It was to protect my children.”

He flinches, but recovers. “Our children,” he says.

“That’s the thing,” I say, heat rising in my throat. “They becomeourchildren when it’s convenient for you. But I’m the one who does the hard work. I’m the one who stays up, who remembers the appointments, who shows up for the things nobody sees.”

Aiden shifts in his chair.

“I didn’t abandon my child and come back when it was easy,” I add, my voice tight.

His eyes flash. “I never abandoned my children.”

“I didn’t mean…” I trail of because I don’t know what I meant.

Dr. Claudia steps in gently but firmly. “Kate, you weren’t talking about Aiden just then. Who were you talking about?”

I hesitate. My throat catches before I say it out loud. “My parents.”

Aiden throws up his hands. “Not this again.”

Dr. Claudia’s tone sharpens. “Aiden, this is Kate’s time.”

I breathe in, deep and shaky. “When I was sixteen, my parents left me with my grandma and flew off to travel the world. They said it was temporary. A sabbatical. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But they stayed gone for years.”

“They came back,” Aiden says, his voice tight.

I lose control for a moment. “Well, they didn’t come back forme!” The words echo in the room. I don’t apologize. I just lower my voice and keep going. “They came back because they realized the only grandchildren they would ever have were growing up without them. They came back because it was convenient. And I’m supposed to what, just welcome them back like they didn’t leave? Smile at birthday parties and send them holiday photos?”

“They didn’t leave you at a fire station,” Aiden mutters. “They still called. They gave you a cushy life with an amazing grandma and a monthly allowance. That’s not abandonment.”

Dr. Claudia turns to him now, her voice calm but pointed. “Aiden, why are you so quick to dismiss Kate’s pain?”

He crosses his arms. “Because I was abandoned. My dad left when I was ten. He didn’t call, didn’t write, definitely didn’t send any money. I had to get a job just so I could buy things my mom didn’t think were essential, including taking you out. That’s abandonment.”

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