Adam stepped forward, his eyes bouncing between us.
“What’s going on?”
His tone was uneasy.
He looked from Walter to me and then to his mother, waiting for someone to explain.
I took a breath, feeling the weight of everything we’d learned in Nebraska.
“Carol,” I said gently, “it’s time to tell him the truth.”
Carol looked down, then back at Adam. Her hands trembled as she rubbed them together nervously.
“I was young,” she began. “Really young. And scared.
My parents didn’t approve of Walter. They said he wasn’t the right kind of man.”
Walter didn’t flinch. He just listened.
“I left after telling him I was pregnant,” she continued.
“I thought I was doing the right thing. I raised you alone, Adam. And when I met James, I prayed every night he wouldn’t tell my secret so he won’t ruin my new family.”
Adam’s eyebrows pulled together.
“So… Walter is my real father?” he asked, voice tight and low.
Carol nodded slowly, tears now welling in her eyes.
“I always thought it was best if you never knew.
But after James passed, I panicked. I thought maybe Lucy had found out. That’s why I wanted to make peace.”
Walter stepped forward.
“I’m not here to mess up your life, Adam. I just want a chance. If you’ll let me.”
The room was quiet for a long moment.
Then Adam spoke, his voice soft but sure. “Let’s take it slow.”
Later that night, Adam and I sat on our porch, a blanket wrapped around us both. The stars looked clearer than usual.
“Funny,” he said, his voice filled with wonder, “how everything changes when you least expect it.”
I squeezed his hand.
“At least now we know the truth.”
He turned to me. “And you and my mom…?”
I let out a small laugh. “We’ll never be best friends.
But maybe we’ll stop being enemies.”
Adam smiled, resting his head lightly against mine. “That’s a start.”
And in that quiet moment under the stars, it felt like something new had begun—honest, fragile, and full of hope.
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