I spun around. Anna stood a few feet away. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress—but also terrified.

“Mrs. Patterson told me she spoke to you,” she said quietly.

“You knew all this time and didn’t tell me?” I demanded.

A nurse glanced over, but I didn’t care.

She swallowed. “Yes. I was going to tell you.”

“When? After the vows?” I snapped. “You were going to let me promise you forever without knowing my… without knowing she was here?”

“Logan, please listen.”

“Why? This was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives. I trusted you, Anna, and you betrayed me.”

Her jaw tightened as she stepped closer.

“I didn’t betray you. I asked you to trust me because I know you, Logan. You shut down when you’re hurting. You run when you’re afraid.”

Her words hit hard. “So you tricked me instead?”

“I protected something fragile. If I had told you a week ago, you wouldn’t have come today.” She glanced at the door. “She doesn’t have much time left. I was afraid that by the time you were ready to face her, it would be too late.”

My anger drained, replaced by fear. I looked back at the door.

“Is it really her? You’re sure?”

Anna nodded. “You should go in… or don’t. It’s your choice. But please, don’t make this about me tricking you. Not now. I know I could’ve done this better, but everything I did was so you’d have this chance.”

My hands trembled as I reached for the handle.

I wasn’t ready—but what if I walked away and never got another chance?

I turned the handle and stepped inside.

The room was quiet. A frail woman lay propped up on pillows. Her hair was thin and silver.

When I entered, she looked up.

Her eyes were my eyes. Same shape. Same color.

“Logan?” she whispered.

My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

“You’re… my mother?”

Tears filled her eyes as she nodded.

I stood frozen at the foot of the bed. “I don’t remember you.”

“I know.”

Her voice broke. “You were just a baby when my parents made me give you up. I didn’t understand what I was signing. I was only 18, and when they told me it was temporary, I believed them.”

She sobbed softly.

“By the time I tried to fight it, the records were sealed,” she said. “I became a ghost to the system.”

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to protect myself. For years, I had told myself I didn’t need anyone.

But she looked at me like I was everything.

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