Sophie’s eyes flicked up to me. I kept my face still.
“I left because I was selfish. Daniel told me I deserved a life that wasn’t bottles and crying and bills. I wanted to believe him, so I did.”
Then Claire paused, and her voice changed.
“Six months after I left, I tried to come home.”
My heart stopped.
Emma turned to me. “Did she?”
“No,” I said. “Never. I’d have remembered.”
But Vanessa had written to me, the letter said, begging to come back. Two weeks later, a reply had arrived. She had kept it all these years. It was here, folded in the box.
I opened it with hands that didn’t feel like mine.
My name was typed at the bottom.
Vanessa – You made your choice. The girls don’t need you. They don’t even know you. Stay with Daniel and leave us alone. If you ever contact them again, I’ll make sure they know exactly what kind of woman their mother is. – Mark
