That mattered to Aaron.
He refused to let the truth turn the parents who raised him into
villains without evidence.
“They loved me,” he said.
“I believe you.”
“And what happened to you was wrong.”
Both could be true.
PART 26 — THE WORST CONVERSATION
Natalie and Aaron met with a therapist specializing in unexpected
biological-family discoveries.
Eventually, they decided their marriage could not continue.
Watching them make that decision broke something inside me.
They had loved each other honestly.
They had built a home.
Shared friends.
Anniversaries.
Plans.
Then a secret created before either of them could speak destroyed the
future they thought they had.
Natalie told me:
“I don’t know how to grieve someone who’s still alive.”
Aaron answered:
“Neither do I.”
PART 27 — JESSICA’S CRUELTY
Weeks after the discovery, Natalie came to my house.
She looked exhausted.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“I need to apologize.”
“For what?”
“The pool.”
