I gave her the details my dad had told me. She nodded and began typing into an old computer. The clacking of the keys seemed to echo in the quiet room.
Minutes passed.
Her frown deepened. She tried again, flipping through a thick binder.
Finally, she looked up, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any records of you here.
Are you sure this is the right orphanage?”
My stomach dropped. “What? But… this is where my dad said I was adopted from.
I’ve been told that my whole life.”
Matt leaned forward and peeked into the papers. “Could there be a mistake? Maybe another orphanage in the area?”
She shook her head.
“We keep very detailed records. If you were here, we would know. I’m so sorry.”
The room spun as her words sank in.
My whole life suddenly felt like a lie.
The car ride home was heavy with silence. I stared out the window, my thoughts racing.
“Are you okay?” Matt asked softly, glancing at me.
“No,” I said, my voice trembling. “I need answers.”
“We’ll get them,” he said firmly.
“Let’s talk to your dad. He owes you the truth.”
When we pulled up to my dad’s house, my heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else. The porch light flickered as I knocked.
It took a moment, but the door opened.
My dad stood there in his old plaid shirt, his face creased with surprise.
“Hey,” he said, his voice cautious. “What are you doing here?”
I didn’t bother with pleasantries. “We went to the orphanage,” I blurted out.
“They don’t have any record of me. Why would they say that?”
His expression froze. For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he sighed heavily and stepped back. “Come in.”
Matt and I followed him into the living room. He sank into his recliner, running a hand through his thinning hair.
“I knew this day would come,” he said quietly.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, my voice breaking.
“Why did you lie to me?”
He looked at the floor, his face shadowed with regret. “You weren’t adopted,” he said, his voice barely audible. “You’re your mother’s child… but not mine.
She had an affair.”
The words hit me like a punch. “What?”
“She cheated on me,” he said, his voice bitter. “When she got pregnant, she begged me to stay.
I agreed, but I couldn’t look at you without seeing what she did to me. So I made up the adoption story.”
My hands trembled. “You lied to me for my entire life?
Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his shoulders slumping. “I was angry. Hurt.
I thought… maybe if you believed you weren’t mine, it would be easier for me to handle. Maybe I wouldn’t hate her so much. It was stupid.
I’m sorry.”
I blinked back tears, my voice shaking with disbelief. “You faked the papers?”
He nodded slowly. “I had a friend who worked in records.
He owed me a favor. It wasn’t hard to make it look real.”
I couldn’t breathe. The teasing, the orphanage visits, the comments about my “real parents” wasn’t about me at all.
It was his way of dealing with his pain.
“I was just a kid,” I whispered. “I didn’t deserve this.”
“I know,” he said, his voice breaking. “I know I failed you.”
I stood up, my legs shaky.
“I can’t do this right now. Be sure that I will take care of you when the time comes. But I can’t stay,” I said, turning to Matt.
“Let’s go.”
Matt nodded, his jaw tight as he glared at my father. “You’re coming with me,” he said softly.
As we walked out the door, my dad called after me. “I’m sorry!
I really am!”
But I didn’t turn around.
Source: amomama
