I Accidentally Saw My Pregnant Daughter with My 48-Year-Old Best Friend at a Restaurant

I always believed the quiet would become easier once Mia left. No more arguments at night or doors being slammed, yet the silence was overwhelming. The final argument echoed in my thoughts—Mia, in the living room, saying she didn’t require my approval to date.

“I’m not letting you meet my boyfriend, Dad,” she replied, icily. “I am 18 years old.” “I’m finished allowing you to dictate my actions.”

In a fit of anger, I told her to go if she was going to behave like an adult. She indeed did. The door shut hard behind her, and something within me shattered. I couldn’t comprehend why she was so unappreciative after everything I had done for her.

Weeks later, as I passed a café close to my workplace, I heard her laughter. I stood still when I saw her, expecting and seated with Joshua, my best friend for two decades. My heart raced with fury. Joshua, a married man with children, was sitting uncomfortably close to her.

Instinctively, I burst in. “Mia, are you expecting a baby?” “And what about him?” I shouted, capturing the focus of everyone. “Is he the guy you always wished I wouldn’t meet?”

“Please, Dad, stop,” Mia begged. “It isn’t how it appears.”

Joshua stood there, raising his hands in defeat, yet my anger intensified. I blamed him for betraying me—betraying Mia. Then, amidst the turmoil, he stumbled and struck his head on the ground.

The café fell quiet. I remained paralyzed, guilt surging through me while Mia called out for assistance. An ambulance showed up, and after several hours, I found myself in a hospital waiting area, my anger swapped for apprehension. Mia clarified that the baby wasn’t Joshua’s, as she had been in a relationship with a guy named Dylan, who abandoned her when she became pregnant. Joshua had welcomed her, aided her, and provided her with support when I had distanced myself from her.

“I apologize, Mia,” I said,