This one wasn’t old.
The paper was new. The handwriting unfamiliar.
Dear Mr. Ellis,
My name is Lily.
I think I’m your granddaughter.
My mom, Emily… she passed away last year.
Before she died, she told me about you.
She said you didn’t know about me—but that you were a good man.
I didn’t know what to do… but I found your address.
I hope it’s okay that I wrote to you.
—Lily
My chest tightened.
Lily.
The girl at the funeral.
Everything began to make sense.
Harold had found out.
Recently.
And instead of hiding from it… he had tried to make things right.
At the bottom of the box, I found one last letter.
My name was written on it.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
My Margaret,
Emily was born before I met you. I was young and afraid… and I made the worst mistake of my life. I walked away.
I told myself it was for the best. That I had nothing to offer. But the truth is—I was a coward.
When Lily wrote to me, I realized I had been given one last chance to face what I had done.
But it was too late to ask Emily for forgiveness.
She was gone.
Lily is all that’s left.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I was afraid of hurting you… afraid of losing you.
But I trust you more than anyone.
Please… don’t let my past destroy her future.
She’s just a child. Alone in the world.
If you can find it in your heart… love her.
For me.
—Harold
I don’t know how long I sat there.
Minutes.
Maybe hours.
I cried until I had nothing left in me.
Not just for Harold.
But for the young man he once was.
The mistake he carried for a lifetime.
The daughter he never held.
When I finally stood up, something inside me had shifted.
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