Thomas,
If anything happens to me, please make sure Claire grows up knowing she was never abandoned.
Her biological father has made his choice, and I cannot force him to become the man our daughter deserves.
But I don’t want her to grow up believing that his absence means something is wrong with her.
Please tell her that I loved her. Tell her that I fought to stay. Tell her that the day she was born was the most beautiful and most painful day of my life.
And if she ever asks who her father was, don’t protect his reputation at the expense of her right to know the truth.
My hands began to shake.
“Who was he?”
Thomas looked toward Evelyn.
She slowly nodded.
“His name was Daniel Collins,” he said. “He was not married to Margaret. He left town before you were born, and we lost contact with him.”
