**Two Orphans and One Happy Home—How Fate Set Things Right**
Emily and Sophie travelled by coach to a quiet little village. A short walk from the stop brought them to the address they’d been searching for. The garden was lively, festively set with tables—clearly, someone was preparing for a birthday celebration. The girls paused at the gate, and almost at once, a man stepped out to greet them.
“Are you here for us, then?” he asked with a warm smile. “Who might you be looking for, loves?”
“Are you William Thompson?” Sophie replied.
“That’s me,” he said, raising his brows in surprise. “Are you from the council? Or…?”
“No,” Sophie said, exchanging a glance with Emily. “This is my friend Emily. Em, show him the photo.”
Emily carefully unfolded a photograph and handed it to him. William studied it in silence, then looked up at Emily. His expression shifted before their eyes.
“This is your daughter,” Sophie murmured.
William went very still.
“My… daughter?”
Their story had begun long before this moment. Two utterly different girls, Emily and Sophie, found each other in a children’s home. They arrived on the same day and were placed side by side—both orphans by the choices of adults and cruel twists of fate.
Sophie had lost her mother, a woman who, though not poor, had preferred a life of parties and fleeting romances. She never knew her father, though he sent money dutifully. After her mother’s death, no relatives would take her—just a shabby flat left behind and a path straight to the care system.
Emily had lived with her grandmother. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father… Well, her grandmother knew who he was, but never sought him out. He’d started another family, entirely unaware he had a daughter elsewhere. When her grandmother passed, Emily too ended up in the home.
There, they became inseparable. They befriended no one else—only each other. They fought side by side, stood their ground, and grew closer with every challenge.
After leaving care, they rented a flat together and enrolled in college. That was when the idea took root: to find their fathers.
Sophie’s father was easy to track—his details were on record. Emily’s search was harder. But through old photographs and faded writing on the backs, she pieced together his name. A bit of searching, some questions, addresses scribbled down… and now here they were, riding toward fate.
First was Sophie’s father. A grand house behind iron gates. Their knock was met with a sharp reply:
“He’s not here. Go away.”
At his office, they waited hours. When he finally appeared, his words were brutal.
“I don’t want you. I paid my dues. I have a family—you were a mistake. Stay out of my life.”
Sophie told him exactly where to go, then burst into tears.
“Right,” she sniffed, wiping her face. “Your turn now. Let’s go find yours.”
The address wasn’t hard to locate. The garden was buzzing with celebration—William Thompson was in high spirits. But when he saw the photograph and heard the words, “This is your daughter,” his face darkened, then crumpled with confusion.
“You don’t… look much like your mother. But… there’s something. Will! Fetch your nan!”
“Who’s this?” a teenage boy called from the house.
“Just hurry!”
Out came an elderly woman, spry and bright-eyed.
“What’s all this, then, William?”
“Mum, don’t faint… This is my daughter. Your granddaughter.”
“Good heavens! Really? Oh, what a blessing! Girls, come inside—why stand out here? It’s my seventieth today!”
They were welcomed with open arms. His mother dug out old photos, and there was no doubt left—the same eyes, the same smile, even the same mole.
“We could get a test,” Emily whispered.
“If you like,” William said. “But I already know. You’re ours. And so is Sophie. One granddaughter’s grand—two’s even better!”
Sophie burst into tears again.
“None of that,” his mother chided gently. “Today’s a happy day. William lost his wife five years back—just us women in the house till now. You’ll stay, won’t you? Let’s eat, then tell us everything. You’ll meet the uncles—William’s got four brothers. Youngest is James.”
The celebration was unlike any they’d known. Laughter, stories, embraces. William kept shaking his head.
“How could I not have known…?”
“Meant to be, that’s all,” his mother said. Then, with a wink, “And look—George can’t take his eyes off Sophie. Reckon we’ll have another wedding soon.”
And so it was. A year later, Sophie married George. Emily stayed close, a sister in every way. William became a proper father to them both. And their grandmother? She’d always say, “Two granddaughters in one go. That’s fate for you!”
Sometimes, fate does set things right. Even if it takes a little heartache first.
