“How could you do this, Scott? How can we start our life together with secrets and lies?” I asked, horrified. But I took a deep breath. “Scott, what’s the plan? Are you… wait, are we going to adopt Ella?”
“I haven’t thought that much, Everly. Right now, I just need to take care of her,” he responded and suggested we postpone the discussion. I agreed because I was too tired to continue talking about it, but I went to sleep with a horrible feeling in my gut.
The next day we returned home to Scott’s vast estate with Ella, and settled into a life with her as if something had been decided the night before. I felt helpless, but I had no idea how to change it.
While holding Ella one night, I searched for answers about Scott and his stepsister, Maya’s past. “Scott, if you and your family cut ties with your stepsister, why do you insist on raising her baby?” I asked myself.
Scott’s reluctance to answer infuriated me.
“But she’s Ella’s mother, right? What else do you know about her?” I insisted, with a higher voice.
