I told my daughter where the money went

Dear Delyara, During gambling addiction, I emptied part of the savings account intended for my daughter’s university costs. In recovery, I focused first on stopping gambling and paying bills, but shame kept the theft secret. My counselor told me recovery without accountability would leave the most important relationship built around a lie. Last year, I told my daughter. She was nineteen. She cried, shouted, refused to speak to me for weeks. I deserved the anger. We created a written repayment plan with a financial adviser, and I have been paying into her account every month while continuing treatment and blocking all gambling access. Today, I made the final payment. She messaged, “Received.” Nothing more. Later, she called and asked if I wanted coffee this weekend. Sobriety did not earn automatic forgiveness. It gave me the ability to stop hiding the harm and continue repairing it even when nobody promised the relationship would return.