At My Baby Shower He Celebrated Another Woman’s Child Chapter 27
Caleb also refused to let the child keep a surname she had acquired through a lie.
Outside the courthouse, he said to me, “She shouldn’t have to pay for Sadie’s mistakes.”
“I know.”
I had never hated Clara.
The ones who stole Iris’s name, her nursery, and her life were never a baby too young to speak.
They were the adults who knew I would be hurt and still, step by step, chose to place that child in front of me.
The results of Graham’s disciplinary investigation arrived the same day.
Suspension. A permanent mark on his public record.
Soon after, the firm terminated his partnership.
The managing partner’s memo was blunt:
*Professional standing cannot be used as a tool to harm one’s family, much less as a guarantee to mislead law enforcement.*
He waited for me outside the courthouse, that paper in his hand.
“Nora, I’ve lost my job.”
“So?”
He looked stunned by the question.
“I’m not asking for your sympathy. I just wanted you to know that I’ve been punished.”
“Suspensions end. Jobs can be found.”
I tightened my hold on the wooden plaque in my arms.
“Iris’s life doesn’t start over.”
The light in his eyes dimmed.
“I go to the nursery every day.”
“I repainted the walls, left only the iris flowers you drew. I fixed the wind chime.”
“That is not your memorial.”
I cut him off.
“Don’t use grieving Iris to prove you still have the right to call yourself her father.”
Graham’s face went deathly pale.
“Am I not even allowed to miss her?”
“You are.”
“But your pain is your own. Don’t bring it to me and ask for forgiveness.”
I walked past him, toward June’s car at the curb.
He didn’t follow.
Because this time, there were police officers standing outside the courthouse.
And because he finally understood that when I said no, I no longer needed anyone’s permission.