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I felt my heartbeat quicken, my mind racing to make sense of what I’d heard. Jennifer might\u00a0tell\u00a0me? Tell me\u00a0what? I tried to shake it off, telling myself there must be an explanation. But as I listened, my pulse only pounded harder.\n\n\n
“It’s just\u2026 so hard to keep things under wraps,” Richard continued. “I don’t want Marla to find out\u2026 not until it’s ready.”\n\n
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\n\nA serious suspicious woman\n\n\n
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I froze, clutching the countertop. What wasn’t I supposed to find out? What could he possibly be keeping from me? I strained to hear, but then his voice dropped lower, and I couldn’t make out the rest of his conversation. A few moments later, he ended the call and started walking toward the kitchen.\n\n
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I turned back to the stove, my mind whirling. I stirred the pasta with more force than necessary, trying to act normal as Richard stepped in, looking pleased.\n\n
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\n\nA smiling man looking at his wife cooking\n\n\n
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“Smells good in here,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.\n\n
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I forced a smile, my hands gripping the spoon. “Thanks. Almost done.” My voice sounded strange to my own ears, and I felt my smile falter as his words echoed in my head:\u00a0I’m afraid she might tell Marla\u2026 It’s hard to keep things under wraps.\n\n\n
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\n\nA woman cooking with a forced smile\n\n\n
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Later that evening, after we’d tucked Jennifer in, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I needed answers. I found Richard in the living room, browsing through some paperwork, and sat down across from him, hands clasped tightly in my lap.\n\n
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“Richard,” I began, my voice steadier than I felt, “I overheard you on the phone earlier.”\n\n
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\n\nA couple having a serious talk\n\n\n
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He looked up, raising an eyebrow, a mix of surprise and\u2026 something else crossing his face. “Oh?” he said, clearly caught off guard. “What did you hear?”\n\n
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I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. “I heard you say that Jennifer might\u2026 tell me something. And that it’s hard to keep things ‘under wraps.'” I met his gaze, my heart pounding. “What are you hiding from me?”\n\n
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\n\nA sad serious woman hugging her knees\n\n\n
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For a moment, he just stared at me, his face a mixture of confusion and worry. Then, as understanding dawned, his expression softened. He set his papers aside and leaned forward, reaching for my hand.\n\n
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“Marla,” he said gently, “I’m not hiding anything bad. I promise.” His grip on my hand was warm, reassuring, but it didn’t settle the knots in my stomach.\n\n
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\n\nA frustrated man\n\n\n
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“Then what is it?” I whispered, barely able to meet his eyes. “What don’t you want Jennifer to tell me?”\n\n
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Richard took a deep breath, his face breaking into a sheepish smile. “I didn’t want you to find out because\u2026 well, I was planning a surprise for Jennifer’s birthday. With my brother’s help.” He squeezed my hand, looking slightly embarrassed. “I wanted it to be a big deal, a special first birthday with us.”\n\n
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\n\nA serious man talking on his couch\n\n\n
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I blinked, not quite processing his words at first. “A surprise party?” I asked slowly, the tension in my chest easing just a bit.\n\n
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He nodded. “I wanted it to be perfect for her. I thought we could show her how much we care. That she’s part of our family now.” He smiled, looking a little relieved. “I knew Jennifer might say something, and I was worried she’d ruin the surprise.”\n\n
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\n\nA surprise party for a small girl\n\n\n
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A wave of relief washed over me, though I felt a strange pang of guilt. Here I’d been imagining\u2026 well, I didn’t even know\u00a0what\u00a0I’d been imagining. “Richard,” I whispered, lowering my head, “I’m so sorry. I just\u2026 I thought there was something wrong.”\n\n\n
He chuckled softly, brushing his thumb over my hand. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it. You were so stressed after the adoption process, so I took all the planning upon myself. It’s a surprise for both of you!”\n\n
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\n\nMan and woman holding hands\n\n\n
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I nodded, trying to let go of the doubts that had taken hold of me. “I think Jennifer’s just\u2026 protective,” I said, trying to explain. “She doesn’t know what to expect, and when she told me not to trust you\u2026 I guess it just got to me.”\n\n
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Richard gave a thoughtful nod. “She’s a sensitive kid. I think she’s still finding her way.” He looked at me, his expression earnest. “We’ll just have to make sure she feels safe and loved. All three of us.”\n\n
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\n\nA happy couple talking on the couch\n\n\n
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The next morning, as I watched Richard gently help Jennifer pick out her breakfast cereal, I felt my heart lift a little. He looked over at her with so much patience, and even though she barely glanced up, I could see the trust slowly building between them.\n\n
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I walked over and joined them at the table, my hand resting on Jennifer’s shoulder. She looked up at me, her eyes calm, and a small smile crept across her face. It was as if she could sense the new peace between us, as if some unspoken worry had finally lifted.\n\n
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\n\nA happy family playing together\n\n\n
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Liked this story? Consider checking out\u00a0this one: Chelsea and Peter were planning their dream wedding when everything suddenly fell apart. Chelsea came home one day to find her belongings packed in suitcases and Peter gone without explanation. As she tried to understand what happened, shocking secrets and betrayals came to light.\n\n
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This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.\n\n\n
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0A month after adopting Jennifer, she looked up at me with wide eyes and whispered, “Mommy, don\u2019t trust Daddy.” Her words echoed in my mind as I began to wonder what secrets my husband could be hiding. A small girl I looked down at Jennifer’s small face, taking in those big, watchful eyes and […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6022"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6025,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6022\/revisions\/6025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}