My Own Mother Hid Her Wedding From Me, but Nothing Prepared Me for Who She Married

“For all of us. You’ve had so much stress lately. I didn’t want to add more.”

My hands curled into fists at my sides.

“I’m not some fragile child,” I said. “I’m your daughter.”

She looked at me then. Really looked. Her eyes were full of something I didn’t recognize—sadness, maybe. Or guilt. Maybe both.

“Some things you won’t understand yet,” she said.

“I hope one day you will.”