Chapter 4: The Letter That Arrived Two Days Before Christmas
Two days before Christmas the following year, Emily found a plain white envelope in the mailbox.
No return address.
Only three handwritten words.
For Noah.
She hesitated before opening it.
Inside was a single folded sheet of paper.
It was from Diane.
Dear Noah,
I don't expect forgiveness.
I don't deserve it.
Every day I think about the afternoon I chose myself instead of you.
There is no excuse for what I did.
The court punished me.
But living with that memory has been the greater sentence.
If one day, when you're much older, you want answers... I'll tell you the truth.
If you never want to see me again... I understand.
I hope you grow up knowing you were always worth protecting, even when I failed to protect you.
—Grandma Diane
Emily quietly folded the letter.
She didn't throw it away.
She placed it inside a wooden memory box.
"When he's old enough," she whispered to Ethan, "he can decide what to do with it."
Ethan nodded.
"The choice should always belong to him."
May you like
For the first time in their lives...
An adult had chosen Noah's future instead of taking it away.
