PART 3
Dad took a trembling breath.
“Claire, there’s something about your birth that I should have told you a long time ago.”
I stared at him.
“My birth?”
Ethan moved toward me, but I stepped back.
“Please don’t,” I whispered. “I want to hear this from him.”
Dad pulled out a chair and slowly sat down.
“Your mother and I wanted children more than anything. For years, we tried. We went through doctors, treatments, and disappointments. Eventually, we were told we probably wouldn’t have a child of our own.”
I frowned.
“Dad, I know how long you and Mom waited for me.”
He nodded.
“But there’s something you don’t know. Your mother had a younger sister named Elizabeth. She became pregnant when she was very young. The father disappeared, and she was terrified of raising a baby alone.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“Where are you going with this?”
“Elizabeth was your biological mother.”
The room went silent.
I looked at him, waiting for him to say he was joking.
He didn’t.
“My aunt Elizabeth?”
Dad nodded.
“She gave birth to you. Your mother and I adopted you when you were six weeks old. We raised you as our daughter because we loved you. Your mother wanted to tell you when you were older, but she became ill before we found the courage.”
I gripped the back of a chair.
“No. That’s not possible.”
“I have the papers, Claire.”
I shook my head.
“Why would you hide something like that from me?”
“Because we were afraid you’d stop seeing us as your parents.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You thought lying to me for thirty-five years would make me love you more?”
Dad covered his face.
“I know I was wrong.”
I turned toward Ethan.
“Did you know?”
He nodded.
“How long?”
“Three years.”
My chest tightened.
“Three years? You’ve known who my biological mother is for three years?”
Ethan looked devastated.
“I found out accidentally. Your father asked me to help him repair the attic after a storm. We found a box of old documents. There were adoption papers, letters, and photographs.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Your father asked me to give him time. He wanted to explain everything himself.”
I stared at him.
“And you agreed?”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“By letting me believe you didn’t want to marry me?”
Ethan looked down.
“No. That was something else.”
I felt my stomach turn.
“What else?”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small velvet box.
My heart stopped.
He opened it.
Inside was a beautiful diamond ring.
“I bought this three years ago,” he said. “I was going to propose on our anniversary. But after I discovered the adoption papers, your father told me something that changed everything.”
Dad stood up.
“Ethan, please.”
“No, Robert. She’s entitled to know.”
Ethan turned toward me.
“Your biological mother didn’t disappear, Claire.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“She has been trying to contact you.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Where is she?”
“She’s alive. Her name is Elizabeth. She’s been living in Oregon.”
I shook my head.
“Why didn’t she contact me herself?”
Dad’s voice cracked.
“Because I asked her not to.”
I looked at him.
“You did what?”
“She was struggling when you were born. Your mother and I promised to give you a stable home. Elizabeth agreed. But over the years, she wanted to see you. She sent letters. She sent birthday cards. Your mother kept them.”
“Where are they?”
Dad pointed toward the hallway.
“In the attic. Inside that box.”
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
Thirty-five years of birthdays.
Thirty-five years of wondering why I didn’t look like either of my parents.
Thirty-five years of unanswered questions.
And there had been someone writing to me all along.
“Why now?” I whispered.
Dad looked at Ethan.
“Because Elizabeth is very ill.”
The words struck me harder than anything else.
“How ill?”
Ethan answered quietly.
“She has been diagnosed with a serious heart condition. She recently asked your father to let her meet you.”
I looked at the ring in his hand.
Then at my father.
“So you both knew she might not have much time, and neither of you thought I deserved to know?”
Dad started crying.
“I was afraid of losing you.”
I wiped my cheeks.
“You may have lost my trust already.”
I picked up my suitcase.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Claire, please. There’s one more thing.”
I stopped.
“What now?”
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t wait because I didn’t want to marry you. I waited because I promised your biological mother something.”
I slowly turned around.
“What did you promise her?”
He swallowed.
“To make sure you knew the truth before I asked you to spend the rest of your life with me.”
