**Diary Entry**
“You brought misery into this family!” my mother shouted at my teenage daughter.
“Mum, you’re back! I’ve missed you so much! Will we be together now?” the girl cried, her voice trembling with hope as she rushed toward her mother.
“No! You’re staying with your gran!” Anna snapped, pushing her away as if the child were a stranger.
Anna had come to visit her daughter in the quiet town of Ashford for the first time in two years. Her voice was icy, her eyes filled with hatred. She had left the girl in her mother-in-law’s care, and this reunion shattered the child’s heart—she had waited so long for her mother’s love.
“Why?” the girl whispered, barely holding back tears.
“Because the day you were born, grief came into this house! Because of you, your father is gone!” Anna yelled, the words cutting into her daughter’s soul like a knife.
Anna and Peter had been inseparable since school. Their love seemed unbreakable—they dreamed of the future, made plans, couldn’t bear to be apart for a single day. They married right after university. Peter worked offshore, earning good money, and soon they bought a house in Ashford. When Anna discovered she was pregnant, Peter was overjoyed. He doted on her, booked the best maternity hospital, and prepared the nursery. Their life was full of promise.
But fate was cruel. A few days after the birth, Anna was due to be discharged. Peter, beaming with pride, decorated the nursery, bought flowers, and set off to collect his wife and daughter. He never made it. A terrible crash took his life. The paramedics and doctors couldn’t save him. Anna was left alone with her newborn girl.
Her best friend came to the hospital, trying to soften the blow. She spun ridiculous stories to distract Anna, but the truth found her at home. Her mother-in-law, Margaret, sobbing, broke the news. Anna, wild with grief, stormed into the nursery Peter had lovingly prepared. She tore at the curtains, flung toys across the room, screaming in agony. Her world had collapsed.
After the funeral, Anna couldn’t bring herself to look at her daughter. Margaret took over caring for the baby. Anna forced herself to tend to the child, but her heart held no love—only emptiness and rage. She held her daughter responsible for Peter’s death, as if her birth had cursed them.
One day, when Margaret came to visit, Anna lashed out.
“It’s her fault!” she sobbed. “She ruined everything! I hate her!”
“Anna, stop this!” Margaret begged. “We have to live for her sake. She’s innocent!”
But the words didn’t reach her. Anna shut herself in her grief, walling off her daughter with hatred.
Two years later, Anna found work. Margaret helped as much as she could, but Anna soon earned a promotion and started traveling for business. She asked her mother-in-law to take the girl permanently. Margaret, who adored her granddaughter, agreed happily. At first, Anna visited, took her for weekends, but the visits grew fewer. Then, she vanished entirely.
Anna sent money to Margaret’s account but never called. The girl, pining for her mother, cried and begged, but Margaret made excuses: “Mum’s away for work. She’ll be back soon.” She even went to Anna’s house, but Anna slammed the door in her face, refusing to speak.
Years passed. Anna showed up at Margaret’s on her daughter Emily’s birthday. She walked in, coldly handed her a gift, then froze as the girl ran to her with hope in her eyes.
“Mum, you’re back! Will I live with you now?” Emily beamed.
“Nothing’s changed,” Anna cut in, stepping back. “You’re staying here.”
“Why?” Emily’s voice quivered, tears welling.
“Because you brought ruin! Your father died because of you!” Anna spat, the words hanging in the air.
Margaret couldn’t take it.
“Anna, stop! How can you say such things to a child?”
Anna turned to her mother-in-law, her expression cold.
“I remarried,” she said flatly. “And I’m pregnant. I’ve come to sign over custody of Emily.”
“You’d abandon your own daughter?” Margaret gasped. “Have you no shame?”
“I can’t love her,” Anna murmured. “Forgive me.”
She turned and left. A notarised document arrived soon after. Emily stayed with Margaret, who became her guardian. When the girl asked about her mother, Margaret stayed silent, unable to tell her the truth. It was only years later that Emily learned her mother blamed her for her father’s death. She cried for hours but never asked again. Her heart, once full of love, was broken forever.
**Lesson:** Some wounds never heal, and not every story has a happy ending. But love shouldn’t be conditional—especially not a child’s love. To reject it is a cruelty time won’t erase.
