It was that both Anna and I had been denied choices that should have belonged to us.

I should have been allowed to decide whether I wanted to know William.

Anna should have been allowed to decide whether she wanted to know her biological father.

And I should have been allowed to enter my marriage knowing the truth about the man I was marrying.

Rick had made those decisions for us.

He believed he was protecting something.

Instead, he took away our right to choose.

That became the lesson Anna and I carried forward.

From then on, there was one rule in our home.

No one else would decide our truth for us.

Anna eventually began building a relationship with William at her own pace.

I supported her without forcing anything.

And although our family looked nothing like I had imagined it would on my wedding day, we slowly began rebuilding something more honest.