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Grace filled Ivy in on her trip with Sage. The two of them had a special bond. Her mother-in-law had been overjoyed to finally have a little girl to spoil.

Once dinner was finished, Grace sat beside her and pulled up her phone to show Ivy the pictures. It was all beautifully documented… from the time they arrived at the airport…

This woman documented everything. Always. This triggered Ivy’s memories.

No fucking way!!

“Hey Mom, you have made me super nostalgic. Can we look at Manny’s baby pictures?”

Her mother-in-law’s face lit up. She clapped. “Of course we can. I’ll have dessert served in the great room. Let me go get the albums.”

As Ivy waited for Grace to return, the feeling that she had grew. Why? Hadn’t anyone picked up on this fact before? She was certain if Manny knew what she suspected, he would have shared it with her.

“Ta-da.” Grace sang as she reappeared with three albums.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” Ivy announced. Grace handed her the first baby book and sat beside her, readying herself to give commentaries. Ivy closed her eyes and inhaled deeply in preparation. She opened her eyes and the album slowly. Her breath caught in her throat.

Grace rubbed her arm. “Are you okay, Darling?”

Ivy could only nod in response. This was the very first album of Emmanuel. The very first picture was of Manny in his crib.

Beneath it was written,

Manny four days old.

It was taken in his nursery. In this house. The next few were of only him. Ivy flipped three pages before seeing a picture of Grace holding Manny. Which was exactly what she needed to see. Yes, everyone was different. Especially after giving birth, but she would bet money that the young woman she was looking at… didn’t just give birth. Ivy gulped. Closed her eyes, then opened them. Searching for the right words.

What if you’re wrong?But Ivy didn’t think she was. If she was correct, she was about to poke the hornet’s nest and reveal a huge family secret.

Taking a deep breath to fortify herself, Ivy asked, “Mom, where are the pictures of when you were pregnant with Manny?”

Because those were photos that Ivy had never seen. Not one. There were many photos of young Grace, Grace and Larson. Their wedding, honeymoon, and travels. However, Ivy had never seen one of a pregnant Grace. Why had it never occurred to her before today?

Grace’s hand shook slightly in her lap. Her face was ashen. God, Ivy hated upsetting this beautiful woman who had been nothing but kind to her. Her mother-in-law closed the album, put it to her side and stood. She walked over to the frosted glass. Ivy doubted she could see beyond into the darkness, but she stood, stalk still, staring out the glass as if she was studying it for some great test. The room was heavy with silence. Ivy didn’t know what to do.

Grace ran her hand over her head, smoothing it. Once, twice. Then she turned to face Ivy. Her laugh was nervous, high-pitched. Then she winked. “Darling, I should have known it would be you who figured it out. After all these years, you would think I would be ready to face this?—”

“I’m sorry?—”

Walking back over to where Ivy sat, Grace shook her head.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, my Darling.” She took a seat beside Ivy and grasped her daughter-in-law’s hand.

“I’m going to tell you all I can. Honestly, I’m not sure where to start. So, I’ll just start at the beginning. When I was sixteen, my parents let me know I was promised to Larson, but they told me I didn’t have to marry him until I was twenty-one. The next year I asked to meet him. He was a nice boy. I figured we would have a good life. Here is the thing. Even at that young age, I very much knew what I wanted. More than anything, I wanted to be a mom.

I can’t remember when I didn’t want a child. The thing was, everyone else would get what they wanted from my marriage to a Scott. My parents had the wealth, but not the connections. The Scotts had the connections, but their wealth was smoke and mirrors. All the other parties involved were going to get what they wanted from this… so I thought I’d get what I wanted too. My parents, of course, were more than willing to allow me to get married at eighteen once they found out I was pregnant.”

A knock at the door interrupted Grace’s musings.

“That must be dessert. Come in Verna.”

Verna came in and quickly set out the dessert tray, and apéritif to go along with it. Then she nodded and was gone.

“Are you ready for dessert?” Grace asked.

“No, I am okay.”

“If you do not mind, I will pour myself some Dubonnet.”

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