No one had forced me to choose money and status over the woman carrying my child.
I couldn’t blame my father for every choice I had made.
I couldn’t blame Richard for the man I had become.
I needed to take responsibility.
That afternoon, I contacted the academic competition’s director and asked for Marianne’s permission to send a letter to her daughters.
The director refused to provide private contact information.
I respected that.
Instead, I wrote a short letter and asked whether Marianne would be willing to pass it along if she believed it appropriate.
I didn’t mention money.
I didn’t offer gifts.
I didn’t ask for forgiveness.
I wrote only what I could honestly say.
I apologized for leaving.
I acknowledged that I had known about the pregnancy.
I told them I had no right to demand a relationship.
And I said that if they ever wanted answers, I would tell them the truth without blaming their mother.
