I took in the nine daughters that my first love left behind, believing I was giving them a future. I never expected they were the ones holding onto a past that would change everything I thought I knew.
I also worked double shifts until my hands bled. At night, I spent time learning how to braid hair from YouTube.
Slowly, we started growing closer, and I was allowed to adopt them.
As time passed, I began to forget that they weren’t actually my biological daughters. I grew to love them more than anything in this world, and I did everything in my power to make them happy.
The years passed, but we remained close, even after they grew up.
I also worked double shifts.
On the 20th anniversary of Charlotte’s death, my babies showed up at my house without warning.
Of course, I was over the moon! The thing is, we hardly saw each other as much as I would’ve liked. We were all together only twice a year, at Christmas or Easter.
To celebrate being together on such a special occasion, I made dinner.
We spent some time remembering their mother. But all evening, I noticed that my daughters sat with strange expressions on their faces. They also barely spoke.
My babies showed up at my house.
I could feel something was wrong, but I didn’t want to spoil such a rare occurrence.
Then suddenly, my oldest daughter, Mia, said, “Dad, there’s something we need to confess. We’ve actually been hiding this from you our whole lives. But it’s time for you to know the truth.”
“What happened? What’s going on?” I asked.
Mia looked at me carefully before answering.
“Mom never stopped loving you.”
Her words gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. The room went quiet.
“It’s time for you to know the truth.”
