. Scott’s attempt to answer only increased my frustration.
“Stop lying, Scott! In that photo, you’re with a pregnant woman, smiling and happy. How can you say you’re impartial?” I shouted.
He sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “Okay, you’re right. It’s Maya, Ella’s mother. Even though my family cut off all contact with her, I saw her secretly… and helped her,” he confessed.
“Why did you hide it?” “Why did you lie to me?”
“I was afraid. I was afraid you’d leave if you found out the truth. I wanted you to love Ella, to see our future in her… without getting caught up in the complications of her origins,” Scott replied.
“Scott, again, how can you build a life on secrets and half-truths?” I asked, crossing my arms. “I need your honesty, for Ella’s sake, for ours.”
He nodded and was surprised by my next suggestion.
“Maybe we should consider putting Ella up for adoption,” I said tentatively.
“Adoption? Everly, that’s unthinkable. Ella is my responsibility,” Scott argued.
“Maybe you should find her a loving foster home. Someone might be a better mother than I could…”
He interrupted, saying, “Is this your way of testing me? Do you think I married you just to have a mother for Ella?”
See continued on the next page
