Diane interrupted.
“I told him he needed to think about his future. We agreed it would be better if the girl stayed with her mother.”
I turned toward her.
“Better for whom?”
She lowered her eyes.
Ben continued.
“I saw Claire only once, when she was a newborn. Then I disappeared from her life.”
I looked down at Evelyn, sleeping peacefully in my arms.
Suddenly, I understood.
“When you saw Evelyn, you remembered the daughter you abandoned.”
He nodded.
“But why throw us out?” I demanded.
“Because I couldn’t face what I’d done. Seeing Evelyn brought everything back. I was terrified you’d discover the truth.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“So instead of telling me the truth, you decided to abandon another daughter?”
He began crying again.
“I’m sorry.”
But something still bothered me.
“Why did you say this wasn’t the baby you wanted?”
