I gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, why are you doing all this? You’re just a kid. We’re supposed to take care of you, remember?”
She turned to me, her eyes filled with both fear and determination. “I heard Daddy telling Uncle Jack… that if a lady can’t wake up early and cook and do chores, nobody will want to be with her. I just don’t want Daddy to stop loving me.”
Her words stopped me cold.
I reassured her as best I could. “Oh, honey, no. You don’t have to do anything to earn love. Your dad loves you just for being you. And I do too.”
She looked uncertain, but I knew we had to do something. That night, I sat down with Adrian.
“She’s doing all these chores because she thinks she has to earn your love,” I told him. “She overheard something you said and took it to heart.”
His face fell. “I didn’t realize… I was venting about the past. I never wanted her to feel like that.”
“I know,” I said. “But she did. And she needs to hear from you that she doesn’t have to prove anything to be loved.”
The next morning, Adrian was up early—this time to cook.
When Amila walked into the kitchen, her eyes widened. “Daddy? What are you doing?”
“Making breakfast—for you,” he said with a smile. “Because I love you. Not for what you do or don’t do. Just because you’re you.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, hugging her. “You never have to do anything to earn my love. It’s already yours.”
That night, instead of setting her alarm for the next day, Amila asked if we could read a bedtime story together. For the first time in a while, she seemed lighter—more like the carefree little girl she deserved to be.
This experience reminded all of us how powerful our words can be, especially around children. Adrian made a mistake, but he also made it right. And most importantly, Amila knows now that love should never have to be earned—it should always be freely given.
If this story touched you, consider sharing it. Every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and loved—just as they are.