A single woman decided to find adoptive parents for her unborn baby boy, only for them to give him up after his birth for a selfish reason. Years later, they regretted their decision and learned a painful lesson about their upbringing. Annika was only 22 years old when she found out she was pregnant. She and her boyfriend had only started dating and hadn’t gotten their first jobs straight out of college. When her boyfriend found out she was with child, he left her without hesitation.
“We barely know each other,” he told her. “I’m not ready to become a father. I’m sorry, but I think we should break up.” Annika was devastated. She felt completely alone and had no money to raise a child on her own.
As much as she wanted to keep the child, she knew she wouldn’t be able to give him a comfortable life. So she decided to find adoptive parents for him. With help from the internet, Annika found a young, wealthy couple that wanted to adopt her unborn child. They met in person, and Annika felt at ease with them. She knew her son would live a good life with them, so she consented to them adopting him.
Throughout the pregnancy, the couple made sure Annika had everything she needed. They gave her weekly food allocations and money for her prenatal vitamins and accompanied her to her doctor’s appointments. “Whatever it is you need, if it’s for the baby’s welfare, just let us know. We’ll be right there,” the adoptive mom, Kira, told Annika. The couple came through with their promise until they finally saw the baby’s face.
“You deceived us,” Tony told Annika. “How could you not tell us something so important about the child? We cannot take him home.” Annika couldn’t help but shake as the couple confronted her. “What do you mean?
What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is the child biracial?” Tony asked. Realizing that they were angry because her son had tanned skin, she hesitantly nodded, apologizing for failing to mention it during their previous meetings.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think my child’s race would matter to you,” she cried. “I can’t have a child that doesn’t have the same skin tone as me. My friends will make me the laughing stock of the group,” Tony told Annika. Kira echoed her husband’s sentiment, saying no one would believe that the child was theirs because their skin tones did not match.
They left Annika at the hospital shortly after the confrontation and never returned. Annika cried throughout her entire stay at the hospital. She didn’t know what to do, and she didn’t want to leave her son at the orphanage. “I want you to go to a loving home, not have you picked up whenever someone pleases,” she whispered to her son. When it was time for them to be released from the hospital, Annika made a brave decision to keep him.
“I can’t promise you all the best in life, but please know that Mama will try,” she said, embracing her son whom she named Jason. Through the years, Annika worked two jobs to provide for Jason. Although they lived simply, they were happy with what they had and spent all their free time together. Jason grew up to be an intelligent and kind young boy, thanks to Annika’s hard work and Jason’s perseverance. To give them a more comfortable life, he studied hard and eventually got a college scholarship at a good school.
He took up journalism and had a gift for it. After graduation, Jason landed a job as a prime-time news anchor at a famous television station. He was good at what he did and often received accolades for it. Whenever he received an award for his work, Jason always acknowledged his mom for it on air. “I would like to thank my selfless mother, Annika Stevens, who sacrificed so much just to raise me and provide me with the best education.
Mom, you’re my inspiration, and I will forever be grateful to God for making you my mom,” he said. Little did Jason know that Kira and Tony, who once refused to adopt him, were watching the broadcast of the awards show. When they heard Annika’s name, they realized Jason was the son they turned down. They knew they had made a big mistake. Jason could have been thanking them on live television and not Annika.
“That could have been us. Who would have thought he would have become a world-class journalist?” Kira said. “Tell me about it. Look at that boy, Nathan,” Tony told his son.
“We were supposed to adopt him. You should be grateful that you had everything handed to you. He had to work for what he has now.” Their son, Nathan, grew up with everything he could possibly want and need. Kira and Tony were not present in his life, and in place, they gave him a credit card he could max out on the things he wanted.
This ended up taking a toll on Nathan as he grew up to be spoiled and entitled. He didn’t feel the need to study because of his parents’ wealth, and at the age of 26, he remained jobless. “If you adopted him, he’d still end up like me. You raised me to be this way,” Nathan rolled his eyes. While his mother raised him to be that way, children become who they are based on their upbringing, and you’re responsible for that.
While Kira and Tony were offended by Nathan’s harsh words, they realized that he was telling the truth. Only after they heard this did they come to the realization that they were the only ones to blame for what happened to their child.
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