Flipping him off as Sadie pulls out of the driveway does little to make me feel better. Once we’re driving down the street, she places her hand on my leg. She remains silent for a few minutes until we get to a stop light. “Kailey?” Her soft voice fills the silence. “I’m not entirely sure I know what’s going on, but whatever it is, Trey was just as surprised as you right now.” Her phone buzzes, and she pulls it out. Texting someone back, she sticks it back in the center console.

“Trey had a daughter.” I decide who the hell cares about keeping his damn secret. “He gave her up for adoption when he was seventeen.”

“Is that what the fight is about?” she hesitantly asks. I’m thankful it’s Sadie with me, instead of Jessa. I’m not even sure Jessa would have let me leave the house.

“There’s no fight because we won’t be making up. It’s over. His daughter is...is...is...his daughter is Chloe,” I admit to her as much as to myself. My voice doesn’t reflect any emotion. I can almost feel the cold swirling within me.

“Oh,” she takes a deep breath and glances over at me. The rest of the ride is complete silence, except for my phone’s consistent buzzing in my purse. I know who it is, and he can go to hell.

We pull into the driveway, and I thank Sadie. “Let me come in. We can talk.” Her hand covers the keys idling in the ignition.

“No, thank you, Sadie. I need to be by myself for a while.” She gives me a huge hug, and I step out of the car to try to figure out how this happened, but not before I spot Trey’s car squealing around the corner. He slams the car into park as he and Brady get out of the doors.

“Seriously, man, you practically killed me,” Brady shouts at him, slamming his door.

Trey pays no attention, running up to me. He has a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that’s still wet from his body, and bare feet. He’s not going to use his charming ways this time. “Kailey, listen to me,” he pleads.

“NO! Get the fuck out of here,” I scream at him.

He gets down on his knees, begging me to talk to him. “Just listen to me god damn it!” he hollers back. Uncle Clyde comes out to see what the commotion is. Sadie and Brady stand by the car confused and shocked by what’s unfolding in front of their eyes.

“You gave her up once, you’ll do it again. How could you think this would be good for her? Hasn’t she lost enough? We’re better without you. She is better off without you. The best thing you did was give up being a part of her life. She doesn’t need to know her birth father was such a selfish manipulative bastard. Just leave,” I say sternly before walking past Uncle Clyde and into the house.

“What the hell is going on?” Uncle Clyde’s deep voice questions Trey.

Slamming the door, I see Aunt Holly standing at the window with Chloe and Tara by her legs. She stares up at me confused as everyone else. Looking at Chloe, I’m not sure why I never noticed it before. The shape of her eyes, the fullness of her lips, and the hair color—identical to his. How fucking blind was I?

“Give me a second, okay?” I tell Aunt Holly and run upstairs. Bursting into Caden and Jen’s room, I go to the back of the closet and find all the paperwork. Pulling out the heavy filing box, I’m thankful for my sister’s organization skills. I collapse to the floor, thumbing through the typed labels, until Chloe’s name appears.

Aunt Holly quietly comes into the small confines and sits down across from me. She doesn’t say anything, just stares at the papers I’m shuffling through. Medical records, kindergarten registration, then BAM, there it is...her adoption records.

My eyes scan the paperwork, praying I could be wrong. Trey can’t be Chloe’s birth father. That the little girl in the picture was a baby that looked just like her, that the dress she was in could be a common one for that year. My stomach drops when I land on the closed adoption reads, birth parent names are blank. Looking at the date of Chloe’s birth, I calculate Trey’s age in my head.

“How could it be?” I say more to myself, but Aunt Holly answers.

“I don’t know. It’s an unlikely coincidence.”

“That’s why you know he found out where she was. I don’t know how, but he purposely sought me out. All these months have been lies.”

She looks over at me and bites her lip.

“What?” I sigh. She wants to tell me something, but is too afraid of my reaction.

“I think you’re wrong. He’s outside talking to Clyde. Brady and Sadie took the kids to the park. He’s confused and devastated. You need to talk to him, hear his side of the story. This might have been one of those crazy stories you hear about on the internet,” she says with a hollow laugh.

“I seriously doubt that. Out of all the people I meet, it’s the birth father of my adopted niece. Give me a break, Aunt Holly.” As I continue to search through the documents, a manila envelope falls out of the folder. There are three envelopes inside. The first is labeled Chloe, the second Mom and Dad, and the third Sweet Girl scrawled across it in Trey’s scribbled handwriting. My shaking hands attached to my trembling body slowly open the first envelope.

Dear Chloe,

I know when the time comes your Dad will give you these letters. I hope you’ll understand the decisions we made about your adoption. Chloe, you are one of the greatest blessings in my life. Dad & I were so honored to be chosen to be your parents. We love you more than we could ever express in words.

Because your adoption was closed we didn't receive any information about the identities of your birth parents. Communication was restricted to go through our adoption counselor. We were told your birth parents did plan to register, so you would be able to contact them when you turn eighteen if you so wished. Dad & I were so thankful for the gift your birth parents gave us that we wrote them a letter to thank them.

Not long after the letter was sent the adoption counselor contacted Dad & me with a request from your birth father. He asked if he could write you a letter. He knew that there was a chance you would never see it, but he wanted to do it anyway. We gave permission, and two letters were forwarded to us. The first was addressed to Dad & me. The second was addressed to you.

After we read your birth father's letter to us, Dad & I made the decision to keep the letter to you private. It was written for you, and should only be read by you. If you’re Dad has given these letters to you, than you must be questioning him. I wish you all the luck on any answers you hope to find. Please always remember, you’re Dad and I love you so much.

I love you forever and always.

Mommy

The second envelope contains a letter from Trey to Caden and Jen. I’m debating reading it. I know these are private words meant for Jen, Caden, and Chloe, but Jen and Caden aren’t here, and I need to make the decision that’s best for Chloe. If it turns out to be true, and Trey didn’t know, would she be angry that I took away her chance to have a father in her life. A man who would be a great father. A man who is a great father already. I pull the letter out of the open envelope.

I wish I knew what to call you, but it seems like Mom and Dad is the best thing. Thank you for sending the picture. It means a lot to me. The adoption counselor said you gave permission to write the baby a letter. I wrote her a letter telling her why her birth mother and I made the decision to place her with another set of parents. It also contains all of the information she could use to find me one day. I know in my heart you will know when the right time is to share the information with her. I only ask that you tell her I do love her very much. Thank you for providing her with the parents she deserves.

I hold the small blue envelope in my hand, at the handwriting I already recognize. An answer is in the envelope that I can’t turn away from. It will change everything with the rip of a paper and unleash a truth none of us could have though possible. As hard as it is to open, I have no choice. So I allow my finger to run along the sealed flap and take a deep breath before my shaking fingers take the piece of paper out.