Dad never saw her again.
Until eight months ago.
“I got a letter,” Dad said.
Mom looked down at the envelope.
“From her?”
“Yes.”
Dad’s voice cracked.
“She told me why she left.”
He paused.
“Your father asked her to.”
Mom’s face went completely still.
“My father?”
Dad nodded.
“He knew I loved you. He knew our families would never stop pressuring me. So he secretly gave Catherine money and helped her start over somewhere else.”
Mom began crying.
Her father had died more than thirty-five years earlier.
She had spent her whole life believing he disliked Dad.
But apparently, he had done the opposite.
He had quietly protected their future.
“Why didn’t you tell me eight months ago?” Mom asked.
Dad wiped his eyes.
“Because Catherine asked to tell you herself.”
Then he stood and opened the door.
A woman in her early eighties stood outside holding a small wooden box.
