As Ben Doyle sliced the steak on his plate and took the first bite of the tender meat, a clinking sound broke the pin-drop silence in his gigantic mansion. He picked up the TV remote and tuned in to the state news channel, as he always did.

Every evening, Ben ate dinner alone while he watched the news because he didn’t have a family. His ex-wife, Cindy, had left him years ago and taken their only daughter, Leah, with her because he was a nobody back then.

At the time, Ben was working odd jobs and trying to start his own business, but all of his endeavors were failing. Cindy wanted a good life and was done with him and his struggles, so she divorced him and married a rich man.

Ben’s finances were not stable, and he couldn’t win Leah’s custody, but he loved her and sent her gifts on her birthday every year.

Years later, when Cindy’s husband received a work transfer and the couple relocated to a different state, Ben lost touch with Leah. He tried calling Cindy to find out where she was, but Cindy didn’t return his calls or texts and even forbade Leah to have any sort of communication with him whatsoever.

All alone and with nobody to love him, Ben’s only focus became his work. He worked day and night until he became a millionaire. But though he had money, fame, and a comfortable lifestyle, Ben didn’t see the point in all of it when he didn’t have people to love him.

He arrived home every evening and there was no one to welcome him. He ate dinner alone while watching TV, then went to bed, woke up the next morning, and returned to work. This was not how he had imagined his life to be…

That day, while Ben was watching TV, the news channel was running a report on women empowerment. The reporter had interviewed women from different strata, including the underprivileged, and Ben was not interested in watching any of it.

“Is that all they got to show us now? Don’t they have something better to report?” he grumbled as he picked up the remote to change the channel. But then he stopped.

He stopped because he couldn’t believe his eyes and the fact that the reporter’s next interviewee was his daughter.

“Good Lord? Leah?” Ben’s eyes teared as he watched the report, which mentioned his daughter was living in an old trailer with her twin babies.

Family is the biggest strength.

“What – what is she doing there? How can she just—” Ben noted Leah’s address flashed at the bottom of the screen, and the next moment he knew, he was in his car, feeding the location into Google Maps.

What was Leah doing in town? Didn’t she move with Cindy to a different state? Why was she in such a terrible condition? Ben felt like his head would explode with his countless questions. He drove as fast as he could, and moments that seemed like hours later, he was right in front of the trailer.

It was evening, and he couldn’t see the trailer very well owing to the darkness, but he could still make out its shabby condition. His tears didn’t stop as he knocked on the door.

A couple of minutes later, Leah answered the door and was shocked to see him. “Dad? Oh, God! What happened to you, and how did you —”

Ben hugged Leah tightly. “What happened to you, Leah? What are you doing here? Why didn’t you contact me if you were struggling?”

Leah pushed him away. “Enough, dad! You were the one who walked out on us. Don’t you remember? Mom told me everything. You never wanted us because you loved your business and career. What’s the point of it all now?”

“Is that what Cindy told you?” Ben was shocked. “Do you really believe that?”

“Of course, I believe mom. She was always by my side when you weren’t!”

Ben shook his head. “If you give me a chance to explain myself, I want to tell you that it’s not the truth, honey. It’s not….”

“Are you sure? Where were you all these years then?”

Ben sighed. “Can I please take a seat before I start? I’m exhausted.”

Leah opened the door wider without uttering a word and let him inside the trailer. Ben spotted the twins sleeping in an old bed in the center of the small space, and he felt terrible.

“Before I tell you my side of the story,” he said, sitting on a stool. “I hope you take all those negative things about me out of your head. The truth is, Leah, when you were 10, your mother relocated to a different state with you. She never allowed me to contact you. Every year, I would send you gifts, and—”

“Gifts?” Leah interrupted him. “What gifts?”

Ben sighed. “So she didn’t let you have those presents… Here,” He showed her pictures on his phone. “Every small memory about you is saved on my phone — the pictures we took, the presents I sent you, everything. I look at it whenever I miss you. I used to send you gifts every year, but after you relocated to another state, I couldn’t reach you. I found out about you while watching the news today. But, honey, what happened to you? What exactly are you doing here?”

At this point, Leah’s tears knew no bounds. She had been wrong about her father. “I’m so sorry, dad. Mom died a few years ago…cancer…and after that, my stepfather married someone else. I was dating a guy who brought me here after promising that we would start a family here and that he would get a good job. We did start a family, but he abruptly left us one day and never returned. This is the only way I could survive on my own. I work as a tailor to support my girls….”

Ben held her hands in his. “Listen, Leah, we can’t change what happened in the past, but we can make our future better. You and your children are coming with me! I can’t let my daughter live like this, please. You don’t deserve this….”

“I don’t know what to say, dad. I’m so sorry. Perhaps I should have made an effort to get in touch with you. I am so so sorry….”

“It’s okay, honey,” he said, hugging her. “I love you no matter what!”

“Love you too, dad. And I’m sorry again….”

After Leah moved in with Ben, he offered her a high position in his company, but Leah refused. She was inspired by how Ben made a name for himself, and she wanted to do it too. She thanked him for his support and that he gave her shelter and became the best grandad to his twin daughters.

Leah wants to make Ben proud, so she’s learning business basics from him while working part-time as an intern at his company. But whatever happens in the future, whether Leah makes it huge in life or not, she and Ben are finally happy, and the twins have a devoted grandfather. That’s all that matters. After all, at the end of the day, nothing feels more precious than a happy family.

What can we learn from this story?

• You can’t hide the truth forever. Despite Cindy’s best attempts, fate brought Leah and Ben together, and Cindy’s huge pot of lies was shattered.
• Family is the biggest strength. Ben was a millionaire with no dearth of riches, but he knew how incomplete life felt without a family. Thankfully, he reunited with Leah and got the family he yearned for.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an old millionaire’s young widow who had a spooky encounter during his funeral.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com