“Got it, Mom!” His voice bounced through the house, steady and warm.
David sipped his coffee, smiling at Anna. “Thirteen years,” he marveled. “Seems like yesterday he arrived on our doorstep.”
Anna’s heart felt full. “He’s the greatest blessing we ever received.”
Just then, a knock at the door made them pause. Ethan answered it, and when Anna saw who stood there, her breath caught—Lily. After all these years, Lily had returned, poised and polished, yet carrying a heavy look of regret.
Ethan glanced between Anna and Lily, curiosity bright in his eyes. Anna gently asked him to head upstairs, promising an explanation later. Once alone with her sister, Anna’s voice was cool but curious. “Lily, why now?”
Lily’s façade cracked. Tears welled as she confessed, “I made a terrible mistake. I wasn’t ready to be a mother before, but I am now. I came to bring my son home. I can give him a better life—more opportunities than you ever could.”
Anna’s heart clenched. It was too late for material promises. Ethan reappeared, having heard enough to piece together the truth. His voice was steady and clear as he addressed the woman who claimed to be his birth mother: “Home? This is my home. These are my parents.”
Lily tried to persuade him with talk of bigger houses and better schools, but Ethan stood firm. “You don’t know me,” he said. “Mom and Dad do. They’ve always been here. Family isn’t about having the best things. It’s about love. I already have the family I need.”
Faced with her son’s unwavering loyalty to Anna and David, Lily’s bravado crumbled. She acknowledged the life Anna and David had built for him. “He’s a wonderful kid,” Lily said softly, before slipping out the door, sadness trailing in her wake.
As the door closed, Ethan turned to Anna and David, voice subdued. “I don’t understand why she left me.”
David gently placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Some mistakes can’t be undone,” he said quietly. “But you’re with us now, and we’re not going anywhere.”
They embraced, a family bonded not by blood alone, but by choice and devotion. Anna blinked back tears, touched by Ethan’s strength. And in that moment, she carried a secret joy inside her—she was pregnant, an unexpected miracle. Their family would soon grow, yet the love that anchored them was already whole and complete.