chapter 41: The Sour Truth

Autumn
As soon as I got out of the washroom, Ian pulled me on the bed along with him.
"Tell me whatever you said before going inside was because you were angry." He scanned my face to search for any expression.
Didn't he pull the same stunt on me? Now, he would know what I felt.
"No, Ian. I meant what I said. Get the divorce papers ready. I will go away from here. Maybe, to a place where no one can find me."
He placed my hands on his chest. "You don't mean it. You are lying."
I wanted to laugh at his reaction. He was scared to death. However, I maintained a straight face. "I am not lying. I will leave you."
"The fuck you are!" he grumbled. "You aren't leaving me. I won't let you."
"Well, it's not your choice. The six months will be completed after three days. Then, according to the contract, it's my decision whether I want to stay with you or not."
He gaped at my response. When I realized that six months were about to end soon, I couldn't believe it. How did we survive so long without killing each other? How did we end up falling in love?
I admired him, looking at his blue orbs. Those attractive orbs always pulled me towards him.
"You cannot leave me, Autumn. I love you."
Who knew I would hear those three words from his mouth? I could hear it forever now. It was a soothing melody for me.
I pressed my lips, preventing myself from answering. He should be punished for his actions.
A knock on the door made me jump off him. I ran to open the door and saw Simon. He smiled, saying, "Autumn, your parents want to talk to you before they leave for the Netherlands."
I rolled my eyes. "What do they want, Dad?"
"Whatever they say, just listen to them quietly and calmly at first. Then take a decision, okay?"
I nodded.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Ian spoke standing behind me.
Before I could say something, Simon said, "You need to come with us. Your mom is waiting to give you an earful and I need some answers too." Ian groaned at that response.
"Where are they?" I asked Simon.
"In the garden."
Without wasting any more time, I sauntered towards the garden. My parents were sitting on small couches and I joined them.
Mom was still crying, while dad had a hard expression on his face.
"What did you want to say?" I said a little bit rudely.
Dad's eyes fell on mine. He placed his hands on mine. I could see his eyes getting watery. I started to panic. Dad was being emotional, something I thought I would never see. "It's something very important. We hid it from you for a long time. Now, it's time to tell you the truth."
"Dad, what is it? You are scaring me." I could hear my rapid heartbeats. Mom sobbed.
Dad let out, "I had a twin brother, Marco. We lived together. He married Rosalie's best friend Suzanne. We were a happy family. Marco wanted to rule the Shadow, but he had lung cancer. When we got to know, it was already too late."
"Where is this going? Why are you telling me this?"
"Suzanne was pregnant at that time. Marco couldn't rule the gang because he knew he would die soon. So, he handed it over to me. I was never interested in the Mafia. I wanted to handle our fashion industry only. Before dying, he told me that he wished his child to rule the gang, even if it was a girl."
"Your dad had to handle both businesses," mom said in between. "Suzanne was miserable after Marco's death. She started falling into depression. She used to cry continuously. She wanted to die."
"That's bad," I let out, not knowing what else to say. I didn't even know where this conversation was going.
"We tried to explain to her to live for the sake of the child. But she said that she would kill herself after giving birth to the baby and she didn't go against her words. She handed the baby to us and shot herself with the gun. She died in front of us," Dad's voice broke at the end.
"And who's the baby, dad?" My heartbeat was faster than before. Mom and dad gave me a look, a look that screamed that I was that child.
"No..." I removed my hand from dad's. "You are lying. You are my father. Whatever happens, it won't change. You both are my parents. I am not adopted. I cannot be adopted. I-"
Tears sprinkled out of dad's eyes. "Honey, I had to be hard on you. I was scared I would lose you. When you used to cry, it reminded me of Suzanne while she was falling into depression. She used to cry nonstop. I feared that you would be like her and might kill yourself one day."
"We were just being over-protective," Mom spoke between her tears. "I couldn't blame Cruz because his emotions were justified. We didn't want to lose you. You were our only hope."
"I didn't come from you." I looked at Mom. I had her red hair and Dad's green eyes. They were my parents. "I have your hair, Mom. I have dad's eyes."
"Marco and I were identical twins."
"But what about Mom's hair? Natural red hair is the rarest of all."
Mom answered me, "I dyed it so that you would never question why I didn't have any similarity with you."
I was unable to believe them. I grew up with them. No matter how much I hated them, they were my parents.
"Is that why you didn't conceive another child? Am I the reason?"
If this was the reason, I would drown myself deep in the sea. The thought of me being a reason why they couldn't start a real family would kill me.
They instantly shook their heads. Dad said, "Your mom was pregnant, but she had a miscarriage. She could never conceive after that. It was not due to you, honey. You are our child."
"To be our child, it's not necessary to give birth. We raised you. You are my daughter." Mom pulled me into a hug.
Tears poured through my eyes. They were always being reasonable. I was the one thinking of them as the villain. Parents always thought the best for their children and my parents did the same. They were afraid to lose me.
"I am so sorry, Mom." Then I hugged Dad. "I am so sorry, Dad. I thought you were the villain. But now I can say, dads, are always the heroes in the eyes of their daughters. You are my hero."
Dad patted my back. "To fulfill Marco's wish, I made you join the mafia. He wanted you to be the most powerful gang leader in the world."
This was why dad never forced me to get into the fashion industry. He wanted me to do what I wished in my life. He let me run my own restaurant. He had no option but to force me to join the mafia. But he never complained when I told him that I wanted to run the restaurant. Rather he helped me a lot.
"Whenever you used to read storybooks, we stopped you because we thought it might lead you to depression. Suzanne would bring some depressing and sad-ending storybooks and read all day while weeping," explained Mom.
"Both of you are the best parents in the world! I am the worst daughter one can ever get."
Dad wiped my tears. "You just didn't know the truth. Besides, you always listened to me. You are the best daughter we can ever get." He looked at his wristwatch. "It's time to go. We will be late. Stay happy with Ian. I have no problem. Wherever your happiness lies, it will make us happy."
I grabbed his hand. "Please, don't go. I promise I will never be angry at you. I am sorry for whatever I said to you beforehand. Please, don't leave me."
Mom smiled and patted my head. "We are always traveling, you know that dear. It's not because we are angry with you. We were planning this tour from before and we preponed it. We will always call you from there and meet you after we return."
"But-" Mom didn't let me finish my sentence.
"No ifs and buts. Here, take this." She handed me a heart-shaped pendant. I opened it and saw a family picture in one part. "This is us with Marco and Suzanne. Look, how happy we were."
I was looking at my biological parents for the first time. Life was really weird. After living them for twenty-five years, now I learned that they weren't my biological parents.
At another part of the pendant, I saw a family picture of the Becketts. "Together, this pendant holds your family. Always keep it with yourself." I smiled at Mom.
"It's time to go, Rosalie. Come on," Dad announced as we got up.
"Thank you for everything." I hugged them before they walked away.
Why didn't I ever realize that I was so lucky? I got the best parents without even knowing it. My soulmate was beside me since we were in diapers, yet I never noticed.
It was all about perspective. I used to think from my viewpoint only. I never thought from their point of view. If I did, life would have been easier for me. I wouldn't have struggled that much.
I could sense the familiar presence behind me. Ian wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his chest. Without saying a word, he caressed my hair. I closed my eyes and listened to his irregular heartbeats. I still had an effect on him. Some things would never change, I smiled at that thought.
"We will meet them every day after they return. Don't worry. Dad told me everything."
I hummed in response. When something popped in my mind, I smirked. "Who said we will be together after they return?"