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For a long moment, neither spoke. Richard studied her face — and suddenly he saw it. The familiar tilt of her eyes, the faint dimple in her cheek, the kindness he’d once seen in Grace.
“I applied under my married name,” Maria said softly. “I never planned to stay. I just wanted to see you once… but then I met the twins. And somehow, I couldn’t leave.”
Richard stood slowly, his throat tight.
“I failed your mother,” he whispered. “But I won’t fail you.”
Maria cried quietly against his shoulder, years of silence and loss finally melting away.