Mike meets Oscar as a scared five-year-old “clinging to his mother, Lauren,” after her husband Rick abandons them. Mike never tries to replace Rick but slowly becomes the father Oscar relies on—teaching him small life lessons, easing his fears, and creating the sense of home he never had. When Lauren dies, Mike promises to raise Oscar “as his own,” and he keeps that promise for fifteen years.

Their bond holds strong into Oscar’s adulthood, until his wedding approaches and Mike “receives no invitation.” At first he hopes it’s a mistake, but the silence shows it’s not. On the wedding day he keeps busy, still wishing someone would tell him he’s wanted there.

Instead, Rick appears and reveals that Oscar was told Mike “pushed him out years ago.” Rick says he reconnected with Oscar online and that Oscar’s aunt helped make him look like the victim. Mike is crushed to learn Oscar believes he manipulated their relationship, even though he never once spoke badly about Rick. When Rick leaves, Mike sits alone, feeling the pain of a past rewritten without him.

Later, Mike finds an old photo album he once made for Oscar and adds a letter explaining the truth and his love. He leaves it at Oscar’s home, hearing nothing for weeks. Then Oscar shows up holding the album. Seeing the memories, he realizes his anger was misplaced.

Oscar apologizes and invites him to a small second ceremony at home, where he introduces Mike in the photos simply as “his dad,” proving their quiet, steady love endures.