My Daughter Was 15 When She Finally Looked Me in the Eye and Whispered, “I Don’t Tell Dad When I’m Hurting Anymore. He Says I Only Do It for Attention.” The Next Afternoon, I Checked Her Out of School and Drove Her to the Hospital Without a Word to My Husband. Halfway Through the Scan, the Technician Went Completely Quiet.

A bit later, Paige asked the question that had been hiding underneath everything else.

“Do you still love Dad?”

I looked at the blank television screen across from her bed.

“I’ve loved him for a very long time.

But loving him doesn’t make what he did okay.

And loving someone doesn’t mean letting them hurt you.”

She thought about it for a minute.

“I love him too.