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Chapters (60)
  1. CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR LEIGH RUSSELL
  2. Glossary of acronyms
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
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  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
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  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
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  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
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  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
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  55. 52
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  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. Acknowledgements

Geraldine frowned. ‘Before you get carried away, in your own interest as well as my own, I have to ask you the obvious question. Are you positive the baby’s yours? Ian, I’m not saying he’s not, but either your wife lied to you before, when she told you the child was someone else’s, or else she’s lying to you now trying to pass someone else’s baby off as yours. Whichever is true, she’s behaved badly, to put it mildly. You must see that. Given how untrustworthy she is, you ought to at least insist on a paternity test. That’s not to say you shouldn’t take care of the baby regardless of whether you’re his father or not. Bev is still your wife, until the divorce is final, and whatever happens, the baby deserves to have parents who will take care of him. But in any case, you have a right to know if he’s yours or not, and so does his biological father if he’s not yours. That’s all I’m saying. And if he is yours, whatever happens between you and his mother, he has a right to be a part of your life.’

They both knew that more lay behind her words than she would ever admit. She had learned as an adult that she had been adopted at birth, and her quest to find her birth mother had been a long and painful process.

‘Don’t hate me for saying it, Ian,’ she begged. ‘Being a parent gives your child a lifelong claim on you. I’m thinking of the baby as well as you. He has a right to know who his parents are. Every child needs to be offered the chance to know their parents, when it’s possible. And if this baby is yours, Bev is making that chance possible. You don’t have the right to take that chance away from your child.’

She thought of Daisy who would never know her father, and felt an overwhelming sadness.

‘You know I want to be with you,’ Ian interrupted her thoughts with a twisted smile, ‘but this changes everything. It’s all so complicated. I wish she’d never come back into my life! But you’re right, I need to find out the facts and then –’ He gave Geraldine a troubled look. ‘I don’t know where we go from here. I just don’t know.’

‘You have to find out the truth about the baby’s paternity before you can make any decisions about what to do. That way there’ll be no more surprises to deal with.’ Geraldine stood up. ‘I think you’d better go now.’