Emily stepped forward half a step. “Don’t you dare,” she said, voice low. “Don’t you dare call boundaries abuse after what you did.”
Richard’s nostrils flared. He looked around, realizing he wasn’t winning the room.
He held up the gift bag again, desperate. “Just let me give it to her,” he said.
“No,” I repeated. “Leave it.”
He blinked. “What?”
“You can leave it at the office,” I said. “But she won’t open it. And you won’t see her.”
Richard’s face went red. “You can’t control that,” he snapped.
“I can,” I said calmly. “Because I’m her father.”
The principal nodded once, decisive. “Mr. Parker,” she said, “please leave the premises.”
Richard’s eyes burned into mine, but he stepped back, stiff.
“Fine,” he spat. He dropped the gift bag onto the counter like it was a threat. “Tell her I tried.”
He stormed out.
The door shut behind him.
Emily exhaled shakily.
I looked at the gift bag like it was contaminated.
Principal Hensley turned to me. “Do you want us to dispose of it?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said immediately. “Please.”
She nodded, no judgment. “Understood,” she said. “And Mr. Parker—if he returns, we’ll treat it as trespassing.”
I swallowed. “Thank you.”
When we picked Amanda up early, she climbed into the car and immediately noticed the tension.
“What happened?” she asked, eyes wide.
Emily turned in her seat and kept her voice gentle. “Grandpa came to your school,” she said. “We told him he wasn’t allowed.”
Amanda’s face tightened. “Did he… want to talk to me?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
Amanda looked out the window, jaw clenched in a way that didn’t look like a ten-year-old.
Then she said quietly, “I don’t want him here.”
The words were small but powerful.
