In the hospital delivery suite, she was told her newborn hadn’t survived. Years later, she discovered her son was living with his biological father’s family.

June 4, 2026 Dear Diary,

I have loved Cressida since our days at primary school, and we always spoke of one day walking down the aisle together.

My mother, Angela Phillips, who runs the maternity ward at StMarys Hospital, never approved of my choice. She had long favoured a nurse called Christina and was convinced I would be better off marrying hershe was popular with both the staff and the patients, and she came from a long line of doctors.

After I finished school I went straight into medical school, while Cressida enrolled in a college of modern languages, aiming to become an EnglishFrench translator like her mother and grandmother. Our classmates decided to celebrate our graduation by retreating to my familys cottage in the Lake District.

We lingered there for almost a month, reluctant to leave the fresh air. Yet the new term was about to begin, and we had to ready ourselves for lectures.

One crisp autumn evening Cressida turned to me and said,

Phil, Im pregnant. How will you take it?

Why, what else would I do? Ill whisk you straight to the registry office, I replied with a grin.

Im not exactly light, you know, she warned.

A tough nut? I used to wrestle at school. Youre still as light as a feather to me, I joked, delighted.

But what about our studies?

About the studies, love, youll need to postpone them for a year after the baby arrives.

Ill switch to distance learning, like my mum did. She had me at nineteen and managed everything. Lets agree, Philafter were married youll move in with us, keeping a respectful distance from my mother. Ive known for ages shell never accept me; shes a force of nature.

Only for your peace of mind, love, I agreed.

Cressida and I lodged our marriage licence at the register office and then went our separate ways. Later that night there were guests at Cressidas flat. A friend of her fathers arrived with his wife and their son Albert, a sixteenyearold who looked much older.

Back at my own house I broke the news to my parents, urging them to begin the wedding preparations.

Angela, furious, paid an unexpected visit to Cressidas parents that evening, hoping to cause a scene. She rang the doorbell repeatedly, but no one answered. The family were setting the dining table and music played in the background, masking the bells chime. Albert, who was taking a shower, was bewildered by the silence. He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the front door.

My mother stared in confusion for a moment, then remembered the phone in her hand, hit record, and began filming the hallway, focusing on Albert in his towel.

Are you here to see MrsBennett? Albert asked, not understanding why she was filming.

Not any longer, Angela replied, hastily descending the stairs.

Later she showed me the clip, emphasizing how long it had taken Albert to answer.

Do you recognise that hallway? Its still a mystery who Cressidas child is with.

I get it, Mum. You were rightshe isnt the one for me, I muttered.

I sent an angry text to Cressida, then switched my phone off. She could not reach me, yet she still came to my house despite the late hour.

From her window, my mother watched Cressida approach. When she saw the girl, she rushed to the hallway herself, flung the door wide, and refused to let Cressida inside, stepping out onto the landing.

What do you want from Phil? Hes already in bed. And you, playing both sides? Keep seeing other men, you twofaced creature, my mother snapped, then slammed the door shut and returned to her flat.

Cressida, bewildered, began to weep on the stairwell. After a while she went back home. In the kitchen, my motherinlaw, Margaret Bennett, was washing up when her tearstricken daughter collapsed into her arms.

Sweetheart, whats wrong? The weddings near; you should be happy.

Mum, theres nothing left for us except the fact Im carrying his child. It seems his mother stirred up trouble after she learned wed applied for marriage, Cressida confessed, showing the angry message Id sent.

If Phil behaves like that, hell keep obeying his parents. God has kept him from you. Well raise the child ourselves, Margaret tried to comfort her.

After the fallout with me, Cressidas pregnancy was fraught. She was rushed to the maternity ward while both her parents were at work. The baby was delivered under anaestheticthe only safe optionbut the doctors later told her the infant had been stillborn.

The paperwork released the tiny body to the parents, who buried him themselves. Cressida remained in the ward, missing the funeral service.

In the weeks that followed my parents sold our house and moved away.

Its for the best, love. Youve had enough trouble with Phil, and hell just walk past you with that smug look, Margaret said.

I hope Ill forget him sooner, Cressida replied.

Eight years later I was working as a junior doctor at a small clinic when Cressida appeared at the reception.

Why are you back in my life? Ive long since moved on, she said coldly.

Im sorry, but tragedy has brought me to you, I answered.

Thats a strange excuse, Phil. Your mothers a tough one; go to her with your problems. Ive no time for you. Please leave my office, she snapped.

I beg you, Cressida, hear me out. It matters to you too. Ill wait at the café across the street after work, I pleaded.

Ill only come out of curiosity, she muttered, turning back to her screen, signalling the end of the conversation.

That evening we met again outside the clinic.

Im sorry, Cressida, but my son is ill and needs a donor.

Youve got the wrong address, Phil. Your mother has more resources in this area, I replied.

Weve been waiting and no donor has come forward. Im even trying to sell my flat. Youre a mother; you have a better chance of helping our boy.

Is this a joke? Our child was stillborn. My parents buried him.

Hes alive now, eight years old, I whispered.

How? she asked, stunned.

Remember when we filed our marriage licence? I reminded her.

Youll never forget my nasty message, she retorted.

I repeated the tale my mother had told me about what shed seen in the flat that night.

Cressida explained who Albert was, and I turned pale. I still loved her, and I had never remarried. She, too, remained single, fearing another loss.

Phil, tell me what your mother did, Cressida urged.

When you were in the maternity ward, my mother was there. She saw you being wheeled down the corridor to the operating theatre. She guessed, halfandhalf, that the child might be yours. The tests confirmed paternity, but she refused to let you keep the boy. Im to blame for agreeing to that. My resentment toward you haunted me, and perhaps God punished usour son Sergey is now ill.

Lets go see him. Test my compatibility; if Im not a match, he must share my blood type.

My blood type is Onegative, I said. Yours is?

Im Apositive, she replied.

My hands trembled as we entered the paediatric ward and I saw Sergey for the first time.

Sergey, Ive finally found our mother. Weve been lost for years, but kind strangers have led us together, I said, while Cressida stood speechless.

Mom, Ive been waiting for you. I imagined you exactly like this, even though we never had a photo of you, he whispered.

My dear boy, everything will be alright. Im here and will do everything to make you healthy, Cressida wept, embracing him.

The doctor said my son needs a sibling donor, not a parent donor, I added.

A match was foundCressidas blood was compatible. Sergeys treatment succeeded, and we lifted the weight from his shoulders. With the money from selling my old flat, I paid the clinics bills in full. Now we all live together in a modest terraced house with Cressidas parents.

Cressida, forgive me. We must marry, and you should have another child. Our son will be stronger with a sibling donor, I told her.

Ive read about it, Phil. For the sake of our children Ill do anything, she replied.

We married, and besides Sergey we are now raising two more childrena son and a daughter.

*Lesson*: letting bitterness fester only poisons the heart; forgiveness and responsibility are the only paths to true peace.