My Son Wanted His Fathers Last Name and They Cried When I Agreed Chapter 10
Nathan looked devastated. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I only wanted her to help me find you.”
I’d run out of patience. I tapped my fingers against the desk and asked, “Did the Carters send you? What do you want from me?”
He shook his head. “I came on my own. I know it’s too late to apologize, but I still have to say it.
“I want to change my last name back. I never should’ve changed it behind your back.”
I turned away so I wouldn’t have to look at him.
“Do you know when I decided you were no longer my son?”
Confusion flickered in his eyes.
I fought back the emotions surging inside me.
“Your grandfather raised you. He loved you and Ethan more than anything, yet you couldn’t wait to
humiliate him at his own funeral, all while secretly going by Carter.”
“If I’d known you and Ethan had already changed your last names, I never would’ve let either of you
carry his ashes at the funeral.”
“He cared deeply about the Bennett name and raised both of you to be his heirs. And this was how
you repaid him.”
Nathan’s knees gave out, and he dropped to the floor in front of me.
“Mom, I was wrong! I know that now. I’ll go to Grandpa’s grave and beg for his forgiveness. Please
don’t abandon me!”
I shook my head. “You owe him that apology, but I don’t owe you forgiveness.”
“Even if you change your last name back now, it won’t restore your place in the Bennett family
/trust.”
1
I called security and had him escorted from the building. I also ordered them to keep every member of the Carter family away from Bennett Manufacturing and to call the police immediately if any of them returned.
When the college semester started, Ethan should’ve been getting settled on campus.
Instead, he called me from an unfamiliar number, sobbing.
“Mom, please help me. I can’t afford college. Dad doesn’t have any money, and Grandpa and
Grandma Carter won’t help me. They told me to ask you.”
I reminded him, “Changing your last name back won’t restore your status in the Bennett family
ust. You chose to give that up.”
His crying stopped for a moment.
“But if I can’t go to college, my whole life will be ruined! I’m still your son. No matter how much you hate me, you have to let me finish school!”
I told myself not to give in.
“You’re an adult. I’m no longer responsible for supporting you. You chose to take your father’s name, so he should pay for your education.”
He cried even harder. “Isn’t it enough that I admit I was wrong? I’ll change my last name back right
away!”
“Think of the money as a loan. I’ll pay you back after I graduate!”
At least that sounded reasonable.
After a brief pause, I said, “Your last name no longer matters. I’ll lend you the money, but you’ll sign a promissory note.”
We arranged a time to meet, and I gave him enough to cover his tuition.
His living expenses were his own responsibility. He would have to earn that money himself.
When he handed me the signed note, his voice caught.
“Mom…”
I didn’t spare him another glance as I turned away.
“Don’t call me that. I’m not your mother.”
Before changing their last names, neither brother had considered the consequences.
They thought it was just a name. Changing it would free them from embarrassment and let their father finally hold his head high after more than twenty years of humiliation.
They believed that was all there was to it.
Only after I abandoned them did they understand the truth.
The Carter family couldn’t afford to support two spoiled young men who had grown up in luxury. Their aunts and uncles resented having to house and feed them when they contributed nothing.
That was when Nathan and Ethan finally realized that the Carters‘ supposed devotion had never
been real.
They began to miss Grandpa and Grandma Bennett. They missed the privileged lives they had
enjoyed as members of the Bennett family.
But what difference did that make?
They had known exactly what they were doing.
At the funeral, they had told me themselves that they were adults and had the right to make their
own decisions.
Adults had to live with the consequences of those decisions.
I later heard that Nathan worked hard to put Ethan through college. He covered all of Ethan’s living expenses so his younger brother could focus on his studies.
Walter had spent years avoiding work, so Nathan had to support him too.
Nathan tried to push back. He found Walter a job as a security guard, but Walter deliberately ruined
the opportunity.
After that, Walter simply stayed home and drank every day.
The burden of supporting the entire family fell on Nathan’s young shoulders. He couldn’t even
think about dating or marriage.
At the very least, he had to put Ethan through four years of college first.
Two years later, I filed for divorce in court.
Walter repeatedly refused to cooperate and contested the proceedings, dragging the case out for
more than a year. Eventually, the court finalized the divorce without his cooperation.
On the day I finally regained my freedom, Claire and I went out for dinner at our favorite
steakhouse.
The weather was bitterly cold. Through the lightly fogged–up window, I spotted a thin figure standing on the street, trying to sell gym memberships to young people passing by.
A young woman seemed taken with his handsome face and asked his name.
He hesitated, then answered loudly, “Nathan Bennett. My name is Nathan Bennett.”
Claire followed my gaze and saw him too.
“Mom, should we invite him in to eat with us? It’s freezing out, and it’s already snowing.”
I shook my head. “He’s a grown man. A little hardship won’t hurt him.”
“Ethan will start his internship soon, so Nathan’s burden should ease. If the brothers work hard
while they’re young, they might be able to make something of themselves.”
“Then your grandfather’s efforts to raise them won’t have gone completely to waste.”
Claire pressed her lips together.
“Mom, there’s something I want to tell you, but I’m afraid you’ll be angry. Can you promise not to
get mad before I say it?”
We hadn’t lived together in years, but by now, I knew her well enough.
I waved a hand at her. “If you already know it’ll make me angry, then don’t say it.
She gave up, but I already knew what she wanted to tell me.
She still couldn’t stop worrying about her two younger brothers.
Even though I’d explicitly told her not to, she’d set aside enough money for each of them to buy a
luxury condo.
I’d found the bank cards by accident in her room, each one tucked inside an envelope.
One was labeled [For Nathan].
The other was labeled [For Ethan].
On New Year’s Eve, someone from building management knocked on our door and handed me two
gift boxes.
“Your relatives asked me to give these to you.”
I thanked him, went inside, and opened the boxes.
They looked identical, and both contained the same things.
Each box held a gift card and a designer scarf worth several hundred dollars.
At the bottom were two letters–one from Nathan and one from Ethan.
Nathan’s letter read:
[Mom, I hope you and Claire have a happy New Year.]
Ethan’s letter was longer:
[Mom, I got an internship at a big company, and the pay’s pretty good. Once they hire me full–time,
send you even more money!]
[If possible, I hope Claire and I can go with you next year to visit Grandpa and Grandma Bennett.]
Claire leaned over to read the letters, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.
“Mom, they called me their sister!”
I smiled without answering and looked out the window at the lights glowing in countless homes.
Maybe one day, we’d get our happy ending.
But that day hadn’t come yet.
