On our wedding night, Scott wanted us to be close, but I gently told him I was too exhausted. He seemed to understand, gave me a soft kiss, and we both tried to sleep. But just after midnight, I was jolted awake by the bed moving—and when I turned, what I saw made my blood run cold.
There was Scott, kneeling by the bed… cradling a baby.
“Scott?” I whispered, stunned. “What are you doing?”
He looked caught off guard. His eyes darted like he was searching for the right words. Then he murmured, “Everly, this is Ella.” He swallowed hard. “She’s my niece. My stepsister, Maya… she’s gone. I found out about Ella a few weeks ago.”
I sat up slowly, trying to wrap my mind around what I was hearing. “A few weeks ago?” I echoed, the words tasting strange in my mouth.
Scott looked down, guilt written across his face. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid you’d back out of the wedding if you knew.”
My heart pounded. “You hid a whole baby from me? On our wedding night?” I asked, barely able to comprehend what was happening. Then I steadied myself. “Scott, what exactly is the plan? Are you adopting her? Are we?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know yet. I just… I couldn’t leave her. She’s all alone now.” He begged to put the conversation on hold, and I was too tired to keep fighting. But I went to sleep with a knot in my stomach I couldn’t ignore.
The next day, we returned to Scott’s estate with Ella in tow—as if there had been no decision to make. As if it had already been made for me. I felt like a passenger in my own life.
That night, holding Ella in my arms, I couldn’t keep the questions in anymore. “Scott, if you’ve been estranged from Maya, why are you so determined to raise her child?”
He avoided my gaze. That only made me angrier.
“She is Maya’s daughter, right? What are you not telling me?” I asked, more forcefully.
Scott finally answered. “Everly, it’s not about Maya. It’s about Ella now. She’s innocent. She needs us. She doesn’t have anyone else.”
But as he spoke, I couldn’t shake the feeling there was more—something unspoken hiding beneath the surface.