Woman raises the daughter her son abandoned 10 years ago: He returns to find the house abandoned and empty
A man abandoned his young daughter with his mother to go off with his new wife, and when he returned ten years later, he wasn’t welcomed as he expected.
Doris Durán had raised her only son alone after her husband left her when Nicolás was just seven years old. It hadn’t been easy, but by working two jobs, she made sure her son never lacked anything.
At the time, she was thirty years old. She never imagined she would go through the same thing again at age 60. Nor that Nicolás would abandon his own daughter, Paula. It baffled her how much he resembled his father.
Nicolás had married a lovely young woman, Sandra, but sadly she passed away when Paula was just nine years old.
Doris believed her son had felt very lonely, and maybe that’s why he fell madly in love with Diana just a few weeks after his wife’s death. Six months later, they got married.
Little Paula, who had always been a happy and lively child, had suddenly become unusually quiet and withdrawn. Doris preferred to attribute it to the loss of her mother. She believed her son was a good man and wasn’t ready to face the truth.
The summer Paula turned ten, Nicolás asked Doris if she could take care of his daughter for three weeks while he and Diana went on vacation alone.
“Every couple needs some alone time, Mom,” he said. “And Paula has become difficult lately… She doesn’t get along with Diana.”
Doris listened, surprised. “Alright, Nico,” she said. “Maybe a break will be good for all three of you. But if you don’t mind… I think Diana knew what she was getting into. She knew you had a grieving daughter.”
“A grown woman should be able to handle the pain of a small child who’s still trying to cope with her mother’s death and her father’s quick remarriage,” she added.
Nicolás’s face turned red, and he pressed his lips into a tight line—a gesture Doris knew well.
“I should’ve known you’d take Paula’s side!” he shouted. “Diana loves me, she makes me happy, and that’s all that matters.”
“Well, SOMEONE has to be on Paula’s side, and I’m shocked it’s not her own father,” Doris said, wounded. “Your daughter’s happiness should be YOUR priority!”
Nicolás stormed out, but when he returned a week later with Paula and her suitcase, he seemed just as cheerful as ever. He gave his daughter a loving goodbye kiss and hugged Doris.
“I’ll be back on August 27th, Mom,” he said and left with a big smile on his face.
Doris and Paula wouldn’t see him again for more than a decade. August 27th came and went, and Nicolás never showed up. Doris called him, only to find his number had been disconnected.
He never called his daughter again after leaving, though he had occasionally replied to her texts—until the day he was supposed to return. Doris discovered they had sold their house. He had left with Diana.
He had abandoned his daughter with his mother without a word and without caring for her well-being. Doris sat Paula down and said:
“Listen, we’ll be alright, you and me. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. I love you, Paula. And I know your father will come back someday, regretting what he’s done.”
But it would be years before they saw him again. Ten years later, Nicolás drove to his mother’s house. The place looked abandoned. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and the windows were shut tight.
Nicolás knocked on his mother’s neighbor’s door. The woman was surprised to see him and seemed reluctant to give him his daughter’s address. She looked at his shabby clothes and old rusty car.
“Paula got married, and Doris lives with her. Don’t expect the warm welcome the prodigal son got,” she said coldly. She was his mother’s best friend.
