He had also mentioned that she was requesting a meeting with me.
My father had replied within minutes.
Do not allow Adrian to be distracted by this. Handle it quietly. We have already agreed on the terms of the divorce. I will not have that woman using a child to threaten the future of this family.
Richard had responded:
Understood. I will ensure there is no further contact.
I stared at the screen.
My father had known.
Richard had known.
And someone had made sure I never received Marianne’s letters.
But I still couldn’t tell whether they had hidden the truth because they believed they were protecting me, because they wanted to preserve the marriage to Cordelia, or because they feared the financial consequences of a child outside the family.
Whatever their reasons, they had robbed me of the chance to make an informed choice.
I had made my own cruel decision to abandon Marianne.
