That’s it. One word. No hesitation.
“Okay then.” Elliot slides the papers across the table to her. “There are tabs on the lines where I need you to sign.” Meghan picks up the pen sitting on her right and scribbles her name quickly, not even bothering to read what she’s signing. “Please keep in mind that there is a clause in this contract that you cannot reach out to the child in question before she turns eighteen if you change your mind at any point.”
Meghan just shrugs. “Fine by me.” She flips to the second and third pages, and once complete, slides them back over to Elliot. “Anything else?”
“That’s it?” I bark out. “You seriously aren’t even going to bat an eyelash about giving up all rights to your daughter?”
She scoffs. “I told you when I dropped her off with you, Henley, that I didn’t want to be a mom.” Tossing her hair over her shoulder,she continues. “I’m living my best life. I just got back from a week in Aruba with my new boyfriend, and we’re going to Paris next week.”
I lean back in my chair. “Holy shit. You don’t care at all, do you?”
“She has you now. She won’t miss me in her life if she can’t remember me, and besides, children just drag you down.” She stands from her chair and slings her purse back over her shoulder. “Are we good then?”
Elliot taps the table in front of him as he checks her signatures. “Yup. All good.”
“Great. Good luck!” I stare at her back until she opens the door and disappears down the hallway she walked through to get here.
“Wow,” Elliot says, tapping the stack of papers back into line. “That was way easier than I expected, but it’s probably a good thing.”
The only thing I can do right now is blink as I process what just happened.
She didn’t even hesitate, didn’t even ask me to reconsider.
She just left our daughter without a second thought—just like my parents did to me and Dilynne.
I exhale as the realization hits me. “Fuck.”
“You okay?”
I bury my head in my hands as a montage of my childhood slams into me, and then Carol and Nick pop up—the two people who took us in, cared for us like their own, and loved us when they never had to.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
Launching up from my chair, I straighten my jacket. “Do you need anything else from me?”
“No, but where’s the fire?” His head swivels on his neck.
My throat grows tight. “I just—I need to go.”
“Okay, do what you need to do. I’ll make sure I get you a copy of the papers as soon as possible.”
Racing out of the office, I manage to catch Meghan just as she’s getting in her car. “Meghan!”
“Henley? Did I forget to sign a page, or…”
“Thank you,” I blurt out, partly out of breath.
“For?”
“For giving me my daughter, for changing how I view the world, and for helping me see that the best thing you’ve done for our daughter is leave her life for good.”
She actually seems taken aback by those last few words, but it’s the truth. My daughter will never know the pain of being left behind—because I’ll love her so fiercely there won’t be room for doubt.
Just like Nick and Carol did for me and my sister.
She clears her throat. “Is that it?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Have a nice life.”
