The Confession (Maupassant)
A man, known for his honesty, passed away and left behind two children, a son and a daughter. After his funeral, the children and their son-in-law, Monsieur Poirel de la Voulte, gathered to read his will.
In the will, the man confessed to a terrible crime he committed when he was 26 years old and living in Paris. He had taken a mistress and she became pregnant. He was unhappy about the situation and secretly wished for the child to die before it was born. However, the child was born and the man found himself trapped in a life he didn't want. He fell in love with another woman and wanted to marry her, but he knew her strict parents would never approve if they knew about his illegitimate child.
One cold December night, the man opened the window in the room where his child slept, hoping the freezing air would kill the baby. He eventually closed the window, filled with guilt and horror at what he had done.
I felt it there in my head, in my heart, in my whole body; it devoured me like a wild beast.
The child became ill and the man sent for a doctor, who diagnosed the baby with inflammation of the lungs. The child eventually died, and the man was haunted by his actions for the rest of his life.
I could not rest quietly in my last sleep did I not make this confession to you from beyond the grave.
After reading the confession, the family decided to burn the pages containing the man's secret. They watched the pages burn and the daughter crushed the ashes to ensure the secret would never be revealed.