Chapter: Chapter 28
↓ Transcript
Lachlan: I dinna understand why Louise didna tell me about you.
Emily: Me neither. And how could she then lie about it? To her whole family? I mean... ...
Ella: I've been thinking about that, actually.
Emily: Oh?
Ella: I've been remembering... when we talked about it. She didn't want to tell you. I talked her into it. Well, I thought I did. We - we argued. At length.
Lachlan: So she explained?
Ella: It's because you were so young, and she didn't know what you'd say if you knew. She felt like it was her decision to even have the baby - Emily - and... well, I would never call it a whim, because you can't make a decision like that lightly, and she didn't, but she'd never intended to keep Emily and then she decided to. But it wasn't her plan, and it definitely wasn't yours, and she didn't want to force her decision onto you. I thought it was wrong for her to have your baby and not tell you about it, but she thought it would be worse to tell you.
Lachlan: How?
Ella: Well - this was her reasoning if I remember - if you agreed, and wanted to be a part of Emily's life, she thought it'd be a burden you didn't deserve. You were barely twenty, you didn't have a job, you were still living at home, and home was on the other side of the planet. She didn't want to move to Scotland, and she doubted you'd move to Australia, so if you wanted contact it'd be difficult. She didn't want financial support, because she knew she didn't need it and you couldn't afford it.
Lachlan: ...
Emily: Me neither. And how could she then lie about it? To her whole family? I mean... ...
Ella: I've been thinking about that, actually.
Emily: Oh?
Ella: I've been remembering... when we talked about it. She didn't want to tell you. I talked her into it. Well, I thought I did. We - we argued. At length.
Lachlan: So she explained?
Ella: It's because you were so young, and she didn't know what you'd say if you knew. She felt like it was her decision to even have the baby - Emily - and... well, I would never call it a whim, because you can't make a decision like that lightly, and she didn't, but she'd never intended to keep Emily and then she decided to. But it wasn't her plan, and it definitely wasn't yours, and she didn't want to force her decision onto you. I thought it was wrong for her to have your baby and not tell you about it, but she thought it would be worse to tell you.
Lachlan: How?
Ella: Well - this was her reasoning if I remember - if you agreed, and wanted to be a part of Emily's life, she thought it'd be a burden you didn't deserve. You were barely twenty, you didn't have a job, you were still living at home, and home was on the other side of the planet. She didn't want to move to Scotland, and she doubted you'd move to Australia, so if you wanted contact it'd be difficult. She didn't want financial support, because she knew she didn't need it and you couldn't afford it.
Lachlan: ...
