I had spent fourteen years telling myself the past was finished. Garrett left when Theo was nine, and I let my son believe his father had abandoned him. I never told him about the affair or the man who died before I knew I was pregnant. When Theo discovered the records, he did not want me at his graduation. He had found the truth a week earlier and could not look at me. Marlowe gave me the pages because she believed a child should not inherit a secret.

That night, I found Theo in the parking lot and told him everything. I told him about the affair, the man who died, and the lie I had allowed Garrett to carry. I had watched my son blame his father for leaving when I knew another truth. Nothing could make what I had done smaller. Theo listened. When I finished, he said he needed time. I understood. I had taken fourteen years.

Then Garrett arrived. Theo had called him after seeing the records. Garrett admitted he had suspected the truth for years but never taken a test. He had decided biology was not what made Theo his son. He had raised him, loved him, and carried the doubt alone. The man I had called the villain had carried a secret too, but he had chosen not to make Theo carry it. Click continue reading below for Part3