Prioritizing Jessica
This guilt drove him to spoil Jessica and prioritize her needs over mine. He lavished her with gifts and attention, constantly trying to make up for his perceived failures.
Every overlooked birthday and missed weekend with me was a result of this buried remorse. While I was yearning for his love and approval, he was preoccupied with alleviating his guilt.
Understanding this didn’t lessen the hurt, but at least it started to make sense why things had always been this way.