I looked at my daughter.
“Iris…”
She sat beside me.
“You’re scaring me.”
I reached for her hand.
“The story I told you about your father…”
She waited.
“It wasn’t true.”
Her smile faded.
“What do you mean?”
I swallowed hard.
“He didn’t abandon us.”
Silence.
“He loved you.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
“He never knew where we were.”
I explained everything.
The pregnancy.
The threats.
The letters.
Leaving town.
Starting over.
The fear that had ruled every decision I’d made.
When I finished, Iris stared at the floor.
“I’ve hated him…”
She whispered.
“My whole life.”
“I know.”
“You let me.”
“I thought it would hurt less than the truth.”
She slowly stood.
“I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Ryan finally spoke.
“My father doesn’t know I’m here tonight.”
Both of us looked up.
“He doesn’t know I found the letters.”
“You…found them?”
Ryan nodded.
“My grandparents passed away last year.”
“We’ve been cleaning out their house.”
“In the attic, I found a box.”
Inside were dozens of unopened envelopes.
Every one addressed to my father.
Every one from you.
I covered my mouth.
“He cried.”
Ryan’s voice softened.
“I’ve never seen my dad cry.”
“He kept saying your name.”
Iris whispered,
“Your father…”
Ryan nodded.
“Is my father.”
She looked confused.
Then realization struck.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You’re…”
“My sister.”
The room fell completely silent.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Why Ryan had seemed strangely familiar.
Why his smile reminded me of someone.
Why I’d always felt there was something oddly comforting about him.
Fate had done what I had spent eighteen years trying to prevent.
It had brought my children together.
Thankfully, they had only attended prom as friends.
Ryan explained that after discovering the letters, his father began piecing together timelines and
