“Please do,” I respond.
“You can call me Samuel. Hell, let’s all go by our first names,” Sam says, following it with a chuckle. “Now that the introductions are finished, Andrea will share the purpose of this meeting.”
I turn my attention to Andrea. Her hands are resting in her lap and she appears to be at ease, unlike me. She clears her throat before starting.
“First off, I want you to know how sorry I am your mother was killed. You are so young to have lost her.”
“Thank you.” My response is strained as I hold back my emotions.
“Thank you,” she says with purpose, “for reaching out to Samuel and agreeing to come here today. Several years ago, my late husband found out he had a deadly form of melanoma. He went on a spiritual retreat when treatments were no longer an option for him.” Andrea’s voice cracks as she speaks. “When he returned, he was a different man—a much-improved version of himself. He began a quest to make amends with those he’d wronged in his life.”
I glance at Sin, my boyfriend, and reach for his hand. Steadying my heart, I continue to listen to Andrea.
“Thomas confessed to having an affair with your mother, Marie. He told me she had no idea he was married until you came along. He said how he treated your mother was the biggest regret of his life.”
Tears begin to form in my eyes and the old lump in my throat returns. I try to hold back the tears and turn toward Margaret to see how she’s fairing. Our watery eyes match, but hers are filled with tender regret for herself, my mother, and me.
“Here, Harlow and Margaret.” Sin pulls a couple tissues from a wooden container sitting on the corner of the desk. He hands them to us and we wipe away our tears.
“Thanks, Sin,” I say, and Margaret echoes.
“Believe me. I understand,” Andrea speaks in a comforting tone.
She doesn’t hold anything against me. When she looks at me, there’s nothing cold or contentious in her gaze. Her actions are just the opposite, kind and understanding. I am not a threat to her, nor an ugly reminder of her husband’s infidelity. She has fully forgiven Thomas, and I want to hear more—understand him and try to follow in Andrea’s footsteps of forgiveness, if it’s possible.
“He paid your mother twenty thousand dollars in hopes she would forget him and end her pregnancy. Even going so far as threatening to ruin Marie’s mother financially if she didn’t do as he wanted. He needed to hide the affair from me.” Andrea pauses and looks at Margaret, who is crying so hard, her shoulders are shaking.
“For what it’s worth, Thomas cried when he shared this part with me. He said he needed to find Marie, but he never heard from her again.” Sin hands out another round of tissues and Andrea pauses my father’s story while we try to compose ourselves.
“There’s no need for you to take a DNA test, Harlow. Frankly, you’ve been through enough. I am convinced, after discussing this with Samuel, you are Thomas’ daughter. Thomas set aside three hundred thousand dollars for Marie, if she was ever located. He would’ve left more money if he had known about you. He truly thought Marie didn’t have you, since he never heard from her. I think he wondered though, if you were a possibility.”
I can’t process what I’m hearing. Three hundred thousand. Would’ve left more.
“But, Marie is gone,” Margaret says through her tears. “What does this mean to Harlow?”
“It’s very simple. As the executor of the trust, I handle where the money goes and to whom. The money he left for your mother, Harlow, will be transferred to an account of your choosing.”
“Wait, you are giving me three hundred thousand dollars? Like, today?” I turn to Sin and he nods, a soft smile on his handsome face. Now my tears are not from pain of Andrea’s words, more from overwhelming disbelief.
“Sin, this means I can afford college.” He gets up out of the chair and brings me to my feet. I collapse in his arms as he embraces me.
“It does. Yes, it does,” he says in the sweetest voice, while holding me tight. “Maybe even to a school in say, New York City.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Sin
Harlow and I are having lunch with Margaret at a restaurant in downtown Park Ridge. Nothing too fancy; I’m saving that for tonight with Harlow. I leave for New York in the morning, so I made reservations for the restaurant on the ninety-fifth floor of the John Hancock building. I bought her a sexy red dress yesterday for her to wear tonight and lick my lips remembering how fucking awesome it falls over her curves.