Page 98 of Mia Amata

“Um, sure. I’ll be here.”

“Perfect. I will see you soon.”

Jacob hung up, standing there pondering what the lawyer would tell him. Josh and Randy showed up, carrying in the sacks of things they had picked up. Seeing Jacob looking so intent, Josh asked him if something was wrong. Jacob shook his head, “I don’t think so. I just had a strange phone call.”

“From whom?” Randy asked. Jacob was putting away the groceries she picked up for him, while she was taking the clothes, she had bought for Jayden out of the bags, starting to take tags off. “Mattie’s lawyer,” Jacob said.

Josh and Randy both stopped and looked at him, “Her what?” Josh said.

“Her lawyer,” Jacob said. “He is on his way over here to read her will.”

“She had a will?” Randy said, as she went back to taking the tags off the clothes. “Apparently. I never knew anything about it,” Jacob said.

“I guess it makes sense,” Josh said.

Jacob looked at him, “How so?”

“Well, if she was running from an abusive husband like the detective said then she might have been worried about him finding her. She would have wanted to leave something for you and Jayden.”

Jacob thought about it as he finished putting groceries away, stowing the sacks. “I guess. The problem with that is, if she left with only the clothes on her back, what could she possibly have to give us? I know she owns the house, so maybe that is it. I wonder now how she managed to be able to buy the house.”

Randy took the baby clothes to the washer and put them in, starting it up. There came a knock at the door, Jacob said, “Well, I hope we get some answers from the lawyer.” He opened the door and let him in.

Jacob introduced the lawyer to his brother and Randy asked if it was OK if they stayed. The lawyer smiled and said, “Mattie thought they might be here and said it would be fine for them to stay if you wanted them to.” They started to take seats at the table when they heard a little fussing from the cradle.

“I’ll get her,” Randy said. She went to pick Jayden up, coming back to the table with her. She sat down, “I guess she just wanted to be included.” Jayden was wide-eyed, looking up at Randy.

Harry looked at them, “Again, I am so sorry to hear about Mattie. She was a very special young woman, I only met with her a couple of times, but it was obvious how much she loved you all. This must be Jayden? Her daughter?”

Jacob nodded, “Our daughter.”

Harry replied, “Of course. Shall we get to it?” Without waiting for a reply, he pulled a manila folder out of his briefcase. “Before the will, Maddie asked that I read you a letter.” He opened the letter and started:

“My dearest Jacob, if Mr.Wilkens is reading this to you, then I assume that Allen has found me and killed me.”

“You would also by now have learned that I was married to him. I am so sorry that I had to lie to you, but I was terrified. The five years that I spent married to Allen were a living hell. He controlled my life, flying off the handle for nothing. I was beaten on a daily basis, usually his punches were to areas that could be hidden by clothing. I can’t tell you how many times I contemplated suicide just to end it all. I came to the conclusion that either he would kill me, or I would, until that last day.”

“I woke up, after having had a severe beating the night before, the worst yet. In the shower, I grabbed the razor, almost slit my wrists, but something stopped me. Maybe I was too much of a coward. Allen dictated my entire world, from what I would wear to what I did with my time. He created what I see in my mind as ‘THE LIST’.”

“It dictated what I would be doing that day. Any detour from that list would result in a beating. This particular morning, he wanted me to go get groceries. He had the list and money waiting for me and told me which store to go to, how long it would take and what time I would get home. He laid my clothes out for me, even makeup which I never was allowed to wear, but this time he had lost control in the beating, so my face was all bruised up.”

“I got to the store, but once I got out of the car, I found myself getting sick. I can’t give you details, but two people came to my rescue. They knew by looking at me that I had been recently beaten. They took me away, helping me to escape.”

“I need you to promise that you will not look for them, as it could put their lives in danger. They are in a similar situation as I was. I cannot tell you how I got the house or the job. I hope you can understand. There is a network of people that help others to escape situations like mine and by giving you details; I would endanger them all.”

“I never expected to meet your family or you. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. I thought there was no such thing as love at first sight, my marriage to Allen almost made me believe that love didn’t exist at all. Then I met Randy and Josh. They seemed so deeply in love my doubts were starting to go away.”

“Randy became my sister by heart, Josh my brother, before I even met you. I love them both with all my heart. Then I met you. The moment I saw you on the path in the woods, I knew. I loved you then.”

“I tried to deny it, tried to fight it. You helped me to realize that I never loved Allen at all. He was… a way to survive. I wanted to be loved by someone, having never been loved before. I was in love with the idea of being in love. The story of my childhood was not a lie. The only thing I kept from you was the fact that I was married. I thought Allen loved me. I was so wrong. I made another bad decision when I married him, I paid for it, dearly.”

“I found out I was pregnant just a couple days after I left him. When I saw the baby on the ultrasound, I knew I had to survive for her. I knew it was a girl from the start. I argued with myself about you, I wanted you to love me so badly because I loved you so much, but how fair was it to you that I couldn’t tell you the truth?”

“Several times, I thought I should let you go, so you could have a real marriage with a woman who was truly free. Then I started thinking that I was not Megan Davis anymore. Megan Davis died in a car accident when it went into a river. I could have the life I wanted with you that I dreamed of. I’m sorry if I wasn’t fair to you, but I hope I made you as happy as you made me.”

“I imagine Randy and Josh are with you as Harry reads this. I just want them to know I never took our friendship for granted. I love them so much. I hope they, as well as the rest of your family, can come to forgive me for my lies. Tell Nora and Donald, Janet and Jack that I love them all.”

“Jacob, I love you with everything in me. You gave me so much happiness and love, I never wanted anything. I hope that our daughter, Jayden Lee, is with you and that she survived whatever happened to me. I know that you will be the best father to her, that you will love her unconditionally. I hope that you can also forgive my lies and eventually tell Jayden about me. Let her know that I love her so much, that I am sorry I had to leave her when I did.”

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