I grew up in an orphanage, where I was raised by strangers. I never thought that one day my biological parents would find me. And then it happened – they contacted me and asked me to come to them, promising that I would never lack anything again. They said that they were very rich now and could give me everything I needed for a happy life.

But what did I say? I refused their offer, and here’s why.

Since childhood, I dreamed that when I grew up, I would create my own life, find my own path. I never thought about my parents, because the pain of their absence was too great. Although I did not know the whole story, I guessed that they simply abandoned me, as happened to many other children. Only pain and resentment remained inside me.

Now I have long been an adult. I have my own family, although my life has not been perfect. I am divorced, but my husband and I have a child, and unlike my parents, I have not abandoned my child. I do everything to give him the love that I myself did not receive. Even despite the separation, my child receives paternal care, because my ex-husband also tries for him.

When my biological parents offered to return to them, I could not. Material goods will not replace what was lost. I told them that my life was already built, and now I myself give my child the love and support that they once could not give me.