Scooping stew and bread into my mouth, I could barely taste it. My eyes lingered on Gemma, who was seated at the other end of the table beside Susie. They were whispering conspiratorially, clinking their spoons together, and there was a warm, satisfied feeling in my chest as I watched her playing like a happy little girl, as she should be.

Sure, my aunt and uncle might be a little strange and old-fashioned … and they cut my daughter’s hair and told her more about my recovery than they probably should have … but at least they had provided her with a safe home while I worked on getting better.

I tried to force myself to relax, to feel gratitude, as I finished off my supper in silence.

But as much as I tried to convince myself that I should feel grateful, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. The house was rundown, and my uncle was strict. But could it be that he was just old-fashioned? And the house was quaint and rural, albeit crumbly and isolated…

No matter how desperately I wanted to feel good about this place and these people, I couldn’t deny my unease.

All I wanted to do was take Gemma aside and talk to her one-on-one. She’d written that letter about hating it here, and I wanted to know why exactly. I wanted to talk to her. To run outside and play, to hold her in my arms and cuddle her like we used to in our apartment on nights before our whole life was ripped apart … to apologize for being gone all these months…

Trust. My uncle’s words from earlier floated back to me as I gathered up my dinner dish and reached for my aunt and uncle’s plates too. He said that I need to earn their trust, which isn’t wholly unreasonable…

“Oh, dear. You don’t have to do that,” Sara said.

“I know, but I want to. You made a lovely meal. The least I can do is wash up.” After I’d cleared their plates, I cleared Gemma and Susie’s too. I was disappointed when Gemma jumped right up and took off back up the stairs with Susie.

At least she’s adjusting well, I thought, as I gently piled the dishes in the sink.

Finn was not her father, but she’d known him and grown close to him over the last two years… A terrible idea, on my part—bringing someone new into our lives.

And she knew he was gone forever.

Initially, I’d thought bringing Finn into our lives was a good thing for both of us. Oh, how wrong I was.