Satisfied, Wendel's voice softened. "Where did you go? Are you coming home for dinner tonight?"
Iris knew he hated the idea of her contacting her birth parents. If he found out she was writing to them, he would never allow it.
So she lied. "I just went to the town market to buy some groceries. I’ll be back soon."
Wendel didn’t suspect a thing and hung up the phone.
Without wasting another second, Iris stepped into the post office and borrowed a pen and a fresh sheet of paper from the front desk.
The original letter she had planned to send contained only polite inquiries about her biological family’s well-being.
But now, she was going to write something entirely different.
[Dad, Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want to marry Wendel Lancaster. Take me with you—I’m willing to go to Nashville.]
She carefully wrote down her address, ensuring her parents would know where to find her.
Watching the postal worker take the sealed envelope away, she exhaled deeply.
For the first time in two lifetimes, she felt a weight lift off her chest.
By the time she got home, it was dinnertime.
Wendel was in the kitchen, cooking.
Meanwhile, her adoptive mother, Stella, sat on the heated brick bed, chatting with Esther—looking every bit like a warm, happy family.
The moment she stepped inside, Stella's expression shifted. "Have you thought about school yet? Did Wendel ask you to work at the factory instead?"
Before Iris could answer, Esther quickly intervened, looking up at her with wide, innocent eyes—like a frightened little rabbit.
"Sis, don’t listen to Mom. I would never dare take your spot at school!"
Her adoptive mother immediately patted Esther’s hand, reassuringly.
"Nonsense. Your father saved our family’s lives. Helping you go to school is the least we can do."
Watching them, so close, so affectionate—like a real mother and daughter—Iris' lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
"Didn't Wendel tell you? I already agreed to his request," Iris replied indifferently.
Hearing this, her adoptive mother beamed with delight. "Oh, our Iris is so obedient. How wonderful! You won’t have to suffer through years of schooling, and you get to marry the man you’ve loved for so long. Even though I adopted you, I haven’t treated you badly, have I?"
From as far back as she could remember, Iris had always known she was adopted.