"Richard. His name was Richard. But Jade, why does it—"
I hung up.
I didn't leave my apartment for a week.
Richard called. Texted. Showed up at my door. I didn't answer. Couldn't face him. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw us together, and I wanted to claw my skin off.
Finally, he sent an email.
"I don't know what I did wrong. Please just tell me. Whatever it is, we can fix it. I care about you, Jade. More than I should."
More than he should. Because I'm his daughter. Because biology wrote rules he didn't know he was breaking.
Did he know?