Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
I was scared. And worried. And I didn’t know if I could even handle raising a baby on my own.
I was barely making rent as it was on the small internship wage I was getting from King Financial, and I wanted to keep going to college.
The next parts of this story are painful. Painful for a lot of reasons, but mostly, because I let them talk me into something I should’ve never considered.
They told me an abortion was the best way to handle “the situation.” Your mother ensured they would make sure all my medical bills were handled, and that only the best doctor in the city would do the procedure, one she knew well personally. She said she’d make sure I’d be in the best hands and that I was doing the right thing for my future.
The two lawyers insisted I sign an NDA. They told me if I signed it, I would receive financial compensation that would give me a generous start in life.
They dangled the golden ticket in front of my face, but there was only one stipulation—I had to have an abortion and sign an NDA that prevented me from ever talking about Thomas King or “the situation” again.
I don’t know why I did it, but I signed the NDA. I agreed to abort the child inside me. I guess, in that moment, I did it because what they were saying felt like it made sense.
Once I signed the NDA, your mother scheduled my appointment. She even made sure that a fancy black town car with tinted windows and a driver came to pick me up that day. The driver was going to take me to the clinic and take me home after. It was the full five-star treatment…for an abortion.
I got in the car. And I let him drive me all the way to the private clinic your mother had chosen and said was the best in the city.
I got out of the car, and I went inside. I let the nurses prep me for my procedure.
I was there to go through with it. I was there to deal with “the situation.”
And I realized I couldn’t do it.
This baby wasn’t a “situation” to me. It was a baby. My baby.
I left the clinic that day, still pregnant. And because the medical staff are bound by patient privacy laws, they could not discuss my case with anyone but me.
I let the driver take me back home. And when your mother called me the next day to check up on me, I told her everything went fine with the procedure.
The next day, an envelope was delivered to me, and it contained the hush money that had been promised.
I used that money to move out of the city. And eight months later, I had a boy. A beautiful, healthy baby boy I named William.
It’s funny how when a child comes into your life, your perspective on everything changes.
I don’t regret my child, but I regret what I did to you.
I regret that I never once told you the truth.
I am so incredibly sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t even know if you should. I don’t know that I deserve any more kindness from you.
But I do know that you deserve the truth. You deserve to know who you are marrying. You deserve to know what your mother was a part of.
You deserve to have a choice.
I hope the truth will set you free. And I hope what you do with it will change more lives than just yours.
I’ll forever be sorry.
Alexis
“I’m not getting it, Nore.” Josie looks up at me, the letter still in her hand. “What is it you’re seeing other than our snake of a mother and your ex-fiancé forced a young girl into an impossible situation—which is bad enough, by the way?”
“The part about what I do with the truth changing more lives than just mine,” I say with a frown. “What do you… Do you think that means there were other girls they did this to?”
Josie’s face melts in consolation.
“Oh my God.” I cover my hand with my mouth. “You do. You think this wasn’t the first. You think it was just the first time someone was brave enough to speak up…?’
“Norah, I don’t know much about Thomas besides him being an abusive asshole, but I know our mom. And I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
For as long as I can remember, Josie has hated our mother. I truly can’t remember a time when she had something nice to say about her.
“Why, Josie? What did she do when we were kids that makes you so sure? You were always so sure.”
“Norah…”
“What? Just say it.”
“Mom killed Jezzy, Norah. She left her in the tub when she was too little, and she drowned.”