I had assumed it was an ordinary youthful disappointment.
I looked at the next page.
I learned later that Joseph’s family had taken him away and told him I had deceived him. They said I had been seeing another man. They showed him letters that had been altered and messages I had never written.
He believed them.
I tried to reach him, but his family blocked every attempt.
Months passed. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
I named him Daniel.
The paper slipped from my hands.
Mr. Reed caught it before it reached the ground.
I couldn’t breathe properly.
“No,” I whispered.
He said nothing.
I shook my head.
“My mother is Margaret Carter. She gave birth to me. I have a birth certificate. I have photographs of her holding me in the hospital.”
Mr. Reed waited until I looked at him.
“Eleanor asked me to tell you that your adoptive parents loved you very much. Nothing in her letter changes that.”
