After my wife Emily’s funeral, I returned home feeling completely empty. I didn’t even take my coat off. I walked straight to our bedroom and collapsed onto her side of the bed, still wearing my shoes. The room felt strange without her.

The house smelled like it had been cleaned too much, a mix of leather polish and casseroles. Emily’s sister, Jane, had been cleaning while I was at the hospital. Everything seemed too perfect, too bright, and it hurt. I missed the mess, the normal chaos of our life.

I walked into the bedroom and noticed how everything was neat, even the bed. Jane had made it with perfect corners. The fresh sheets didn’t smell like Emily anymore; they only made the emptiness worse. I muttered to the empty room, “This isn’t real. It can’t be.”

My eyes landed on our engagement photo on the nightstand. It was silver-framed, catching the light. I grabbed it, needing to be closer to the happiness it captured. As I held the frame, I felt a bump behind it. Without thinking, I opened the frame and something fell out onto the floor.

I froze. It was a photo of Emily in a hospital bed, holding a newborn wrapped in a pink blanket. I stared at it, confused. Emily and I had never had children, so whose baby was this? I turned the photo over, and there, in her handwriting, was “Mama will always love you” and a phone number.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I knew I had to find out more. I picked up the phone and dialed the number. A woman answered, and I hesitated. “My name is James. I found a photo of my wife with a baby, and this number…” The woman on the other end responded softly, “I’ve been waiting for this call.” She told me her name was Sarah, and that she had adopted Emily’s daughter.

It turned out Emily had given up a baby years ago, a child I never knew existed. Sarah explained how Emily had been terrified to tell me. She didn’t want to lose me. I was left in shock, but Sarah offered to introduce me to Lily, the daughter I never knew I had. The next day, I met Lily, and I saw so much of Emily in her—her eyes, her smile. It felt like meeting a part of Emily I’d never known.

As I sat in the café with Lily, I realized the love Emily had for both of us, and the secrets she kept to protect her child. I promised Lily that I would always be there for her, just as Emily had wanted. That night, I placed the hidden photo beside our engagement picture and whispered to Emily, “You did good, Em. I’ll take care of her, I promise.”