Elizabeth’s life changed forever when she got a phone call thirteen years ago. Michael, her husband, had died in a vehicle accident, but that wasn’t the only bad thing that happened. Michael spoke to an officer on the phone who told him that another woman had died in the accident but that his twin girls, who were just two years old, had lived. Elizabeth was three years old and didn’t know about it until that morning. In a matter of seconds, all she thought she knew about her life and her marriage was gone.
She adored a man who lived two lives for ten years. She was trying to get pregnant and grieving the loss of her babies, while he was secretly starting a new family. Elizabeth was stung severely by the betrayal, but when she saw the little girls at his funeral, afraid and holding on to one other with no one else to care for them, she didn’t hesitate. Even though she was upset, she stepped forward.
She told the social worker, “I’ll take them,” and even though she was going through a lot, her voice was steady.
People who knew her well thought she was crazy. Why take care of the kids of a father who lied so much? But Elizabeth didn’t conceive of them as memories of sadness. She saw something pure. She felt they may grow better, and maybe even she would.
Adopting Emma and Sophie wasn’t easy. The system didn’t trust it. The girls were quite sad. Elizabeth was dealing with her own emotional problems. At first, the twins carefully moved around her, thinking of themselves as guests at a stranger’s house. They spoke at night, wondering when she would ultimately kick them out.
But Elizabeth never changed her mind. She fed them, calmed them down, threw them birthday parties, and put them to bed every night. She made mac and cheese taste great while she didn’t have much money. She learned their favorite songs, read them stories before bed, and loved them with all her heart.
As they got older, she knew she had to tell them the truth. She sat them down and informed them about their past, including the accident, the betrayal, and the long, hard route that led them to her door. She was honest and nice, but she had no idea how they would react.
They were really mad.
They believed that all they had done in their lives was a lie. Their real father cheated on them. Their mother had died in an affair. How about Elizabeth? She was the one who raised them, not because she had to, but because she couldn’t have her own kids.
“You only took us in because you were lonely,” Sophie added.
Emma cried and said she was sorry, but she wasn’t in love.
The next few years were hard. Teenagers are strong. The girls pushed each other’s buttons, shouted, and said terrible things. But Elizabeth stayed. She kept coming, no matter how much their words hurt.
Then, as soon as they were sixteen, she arrived home and found that she couldn’t get in. “We’re adults now,” said a message taped to the door. We need some space. “Live with Grandma.”
There was a suitcase on the porch.
She stood there for an hour, heartbroken and confused, before getting in her car and driving to her mother’s house. For a week, there was no sound. She got texts on her phone, but never from them.
She pondered over everything again. Did she do something wrong? Did they do it right? Did they genuinely love her, or was she just a replacement?
On the sixth day, the phone rang.
“Mom?” Emma’s voice was soft. “Can you come home?”
Elizabeth ran back, not sure what would happen. But she couldn’t breathe as soon as she walked in.
The house had been thoroughly cleaned, painted, and decorated. A shock.
The twins stepped out of the kitchen with enormous smiles on their faces. They yelled, “Happy late birthday!” “We’ve been working on the gift for months.” “Working after school and saving every penny.”
They set up a home office for her with lavender walls, new curtains, and a picture of the three of them from the day they adopted her.
“I’m sorry,” Sophie murmured. “We had to lie to keep you out.” We wanted it to be perfect.
“You gave us a home when we had nothing,” Emma murmured in a hushed voice, tears in her eyes. “We didn’t know how to say thank you.” So we did show you.
At that moment, Elizabeth felt like everything was back to normal. The pain. The lack of certainty. It was worth all the years of worry.
She held them close and spoke with a lot of feeling.
“You were never an issue. Not a comfort. You have always been my daughters. And I shall always be your mother.
They realized this since love doesn’t always come from blood. Sometimes, heartbreak makes it stronger, and every choice to stay confirms that.