had been raised elsewhere.
But Maren had never been adopted.
Tessa raised her herself.
After Tessa died the previous winter, Maren discovered Adrian through an old letter among family records.
She contacted him just as I entered the most anxious stage of my own pregnancy.
“So you decided to lie to me?”
“I decided to wait.”
“Those are not the same thing.”
He lowered his eyes.
Then he admitted the part that hurt most.
The “business trips” had been visits to Maren.
He had helped with her rent, bought a
