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I trust you’ve received the letters. There isn’t much to say except a simple apology. I knew Andrei and his sister had issues, but I had absolutely no knowledge of her true evil nature; otherwise I would have never let you get on that plane. I wonder if Andrei truly knew who she really was…
In any case, I have something for you. The other letter attached to this one is from Andrei Rusu, your father. I’m sorry I could not hand it to you earlier. Under attorney-client privilege, Andrei had strictly instructed that this letter should never be handed to you unless you somehow discovered the truth about who you really are. There were times I came close to telling you, but then, Andrei was more than my client. He was my friend, and I owed it to him to keep my word.
Forgive me. May you he and you be at peace at last.
Marcus Stanley
Olivia hesitated, her heart beating fast. She flipped over the other envelop, no inscriptions, nothing. Taking a deep breath, she tore open the top, slipping out the letter. The handwriting was familiar—she’d seen it on some of the books in the library.
Feeling Christian’s warm hand on her shoulder, she braced herself and read.
My dear daughter,
If you are reading this letter, it means that you have come to Romania to share your fortune with my undeserving sister and are as kind-hearted as your mother was. But it also means that you have found out the truth and that you have met your aunt Elena. I can only hope that she is not giving you any grief. The death of our parents and being forced to raise me in poverty when she herself was only a child changed her forever. It made her heart cold, her mind greedy and clouded. In my heart, I blame her for the love of my life leaving me, even though my mind tells me no one but myself is to blame.
I might not be able to provide the peace that you deserve, but I do have the answers that might someday lead to it.
When your mother and I got married, we were both very young. I was just starting out with a restaurant in a nearby town. It was a great success, and I was able to open two more in Bucharest. After that, I was constantly busy and forced to take trips away from your mother. I was gone when your mother called me, in panic, her voice terrified and desperate. She said that her and Elena had a terrible argument over money, and that she woke up to the house smelling of gas. The firefighters said the stove had leaked gas all night, and that your mother would be dead if she hadn’t slept with her window open like she always did. With a heavy heart, I have to tell you that your mother accused Elena of trying to kill her.
To this day, I still can’t wrap my head around my sister, but I know for a fact that your aunt Elena is not the kind-hearted and loving person I always wished her to be. If you came to Romania to share the fortune with her, do so and then stay away from her. Knowing what I now know, it was a mistake to doubt your mother. Sweet Maria forgave me those doubts and begged me to sell the restaurants and move far away with her, but, being the young fool that I was, I couldn’t. I was becoming more successful by the day, was blinded by the riches that this world had in store for me. I was growing richer and richer, more powerful and important, until one day, Maria was gone.
Here I’m sitting now, writing this letter, looking back, willing to give it all up, the money, the success, the power, just to be with you and your mother again.
It didn’t take me a whole lifetime to realize what I’d lost, but when this old fool finally saw clearly again, it was already too late. Your mother had remarried, a good man, a man who would call himself your father and act the part as well.
The first time I watched you from the distance coming out of the school, holding your mother’s hand, I knew you were mine. Your hair, your eyes, your smile. You were a Rusu. You had the same strength in your eyes. And yet, you were not mine to claim. What kind of man would I be to destroy what she’d built for the two of you?
The only gift I could give you was to leave you be . . . and leave alone the memory of your mother and American father—the man you had always known as your dad, the one who was there when you blew out the candles on your first birthday cake, the man who held you when you cried over your first broken heart.
And that was not me. I was the bad guy in this drama, the man who reached for the stars, and ended up with full pockets and an empty heart.
Please don’t to be mad at your mother. She did the right thing.
For what it is worth, I love you.
Please forgive an old fool.
Love, Andrei—Dad
Christian had been standing by her the whole time, staring at her in anticipation as she read the letters. He let her have the moment, but held her in his arms when her face flushed and the tears started to stream down her cheeks. He wiped her face with his hand as she looked up at him.
“I finally know who I really am.”
She ripped out the last part of the letter, which saidLove, Andrei—Dad, and took out her necklace, placing the slip of paper into the locket with the picture of her parents. It felt amazing, as if she were finally complete, like a broken piece of a vase, forgotten for years, glued back on.
They heard the thudding of feet and the playful laughter of Christian’s sisters, who’d been playing hide and seek in the hallway—behind the statues of knights. Suddenly, one of the helmets of one of the metal knight statues fell off, banging against the floor with an echoing metallic sound before rolling down the hallways a few feet and coming to a halt right in front the wide-open bedroom door. The knight now looked beheaded, robbed of all its honor and glory. All four of the girls took one look at the headless knight and bolted.
“Hey! Come back here!” Christian yelled after them as his mom hobbled after them. Olivia burst into laughter.
“That’s not funny, Olivia! Last week they knocked a deer’s head off the wall after they decided to throw rocks at it.”
“Because it scared them,” Olivia said with a smile. “It was a little scary . . . and ugly.”
“Maybe so, but—”
“Besides,” Olivia said, “we usually get an hour alone after they get in trouble.” She placed her palm on his stomach
“When you put it that way, I hope they tear this place apart,” he said, closing the door and locking it. He swept her off her feet. She laughed as her cheeks turned red. This was the happiness she’d craved, the family she’d longed to be a part of, and now she had it all.
THE END
