“‘I wanted to give it to him myself, but I couldn’t do it. I’m not even sure I should.’ We hugged, and she left. After that she only called a couple of times. One of those times was to tell me she’d had a baby girl—Sophie.”
“I was happy for her. She’d settled in the next county over. I kept meaning to visit, meet the baby, see how she was doing.”
“But you know how life goes. Jealous husband, too many little kids underfoot—getting away wasn’t easy. Then about a year later I got the call. She had died. I went to the funeral, helped pay for things, tried to make sure she got a decent burial.”
“The little girl was sent to state care, of course. It was awful. She cried for her mother till she was hoarse.”
“I almost took her in myself, but my husband put his foot down. Said it was either our family or somebody else’s child. That’s the story. But I’ll tell you this—Natalie loved you, Gene.”
“I’d stake my life on the fact that there was never another man. And yes, I still have that envelope. It was meant for you all along.”
“At first I thought about bringing it to you. But then I heard you were getting married, and I figured there was no point reopening old wounds. You had a whole different life by then, and there wasn’t any room in it for Natalie.” Eugene’s hands were shaking.
He took the yellowed envelope from her and asked, “Tonya, all these years—and you never opened it?” She looked offended.
“Are you kidding? Natalie and I both grew up in the system. You learn fast not to touch what isn’t yours. If it’s not addressed to me, I don’t open it. Simple as that.”
“Look at it. It’s sealed exactly the way she left it. After she died, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away, but I wasn’t going to read it either.”
Eugene hugged her hard. “Thank you, Tonya. Really. You have no idea what this means to me.”
Back in the quiet of his car, he opened the envelope with trembling fingers. Out fell the same photographs he had once thrown in Natalie’s face—and a letter written in a small, careful hand. He began to read.
“My dear Gene,
At first I was furious with you. I may even have hated you for a while for your blind jealousy. But I need you to know the truth: I never betrayed you.”
“There has never been another man in my life, and I doubt there ever will be. I kept hoping things would cool down and we could talk like adults and work through it. But then one day Olivia showed up at my room with your mother.”
“They told me to pack my things and disappear from your life and from this city. They said that if I refused, the fake photographs would be the least of my problems. They threatened to have men hurt me and throw acid in my face.”
“I was terrified because they were not joking. They also said, ‘He’s going to marry Olivia anyway. That’s already settled.’ So I assumed you knew all about it and had simply been using me until something better came along.”
“You can’t imagine how much that hurt. Why would you do something so cruel? Goodbye, my love. In spite of everything, I still love you. Always, Natalie.”
By the time he reached the end, Eugene had lost all composure. He gripped the steering wheel and wept openly. “What kind of fool was I?” he said into the empty car. “How could I fall for something so cheap?”
“How could I humiliate the one woman I loved without even trying to get the facts? And Olivia—what kind of person does that?” It was all there now: the breakup, the night with Olivia, the marriage that followed. His mother had orchestrated the whole thing.
And he had played his part like a willing fool. “I’m not spending one more day under the same roof as that woman,” he said aloud. “But first she’s going to hear exactly what I know.”
The worst part was the finality of it. Natalie was gone. She had died carrying that hurt, never hearing the apology she deserved. Then another thought hit him. Finality? Maybe not. What about Sophie?
He was now almost certain the little girl was his daughter. Furious, Eugene stormed into his large, elegant home. Olivia was lounging in a silk robe on an ottoman, flipping through a luxury catalog.
She barely looked up. “You’re late,” she said. “Long day in the operating room?” Eugene was in no mood for games.
“You have no idea what kind of day I’ve had. So let me save us both time: I’m filing for divorce. We have no children, and I don’t expect a fight over property.”
“We’ve been strangers from day one, and I want nothing more to do with the biggest mistake of my life. Especially now that I know what you and my mother did to Natalie. I know everything.”
“Tell me something—how do you sleep at night? Did it never bother you? Why did you threaten an innocent woman and plant those fake photos? For what?”
“It wasn’t love. You never loved me. So why?” Olivia’s face twisted with anger, and she jumped to her feet…
