Sad Revelations

**Kael**

I felt utterly stunned as it had never crossed my mind that my mother could have another child besides me, let alone a younger daughter.

"I am very tired, my son," her appearance truly mirrored the truth of her words. "But I can't leave you in the dark about some facts from my past."

"Thank you, Mom," I clapped, applauding her gesture in a cynical tone. "I can see that, finally, you've decided that I deserve some consideration."

I was upset, disappointed, and saddened by the unexpected news. I tried to control my emotions, but it was challenging, as I had been deceived for so many years.

"Please, listen to the story I have to tell, and then draw your conclusions, Kael," my mother spoke with an acidic tone.

Her change in attitude contrasted with the sensitive and vulnerable woman she had become in the past year, making me question her motivation. Was she escaping from reality, feeling guilty about something she did in the past? My mind was filled with assumptions.

"I'm all ears," I decided to cooperate, after all, I genuinely wanted to hear my mother's version of the events before seeking the real truth of this story.

Mary hesitated to begin speaking, glancing toward the hallway where Ryan was still standing, apparently in shock.

"Come here, Ryan," I called out, trying to bring him back to the present. "We have a rather interesting story to hear."

"Who is he?" the woman, or rather, my "sister," asked, directing the question to my mother.

"Someone who's going to sit here and listen with me," I said in a tone that brooked no argument, patting the spot next to me on the couch.

Ryan quickly took the seat I had indicated, but my supposed sister didn't like the idea and cast a glance at my mother, trying to make it clear that she would prefer Ryan not to stay with us.

"Sweetie," my mother began to say, "I know you feel insecure, and I understand perfectly your difficulty in trusting people, but Ryan is someone we hold in high esteem, and I would like him to stay with us and listen to what I have to say."

I felt immense relief hearing what my mother said and how she said it. It was like finally having someone back who had been absent for a long time. Mary had always been a decisive person and never let herself be influenced by anyone, so it had been painful to see her for months in a completely different state of her nature.

Her words also intrigued me and piqued my interest even more in hearing the story behind all of this.

"Okay, then," the woman agreed, sighing resignedly.

My mother seemed relieved by her acceptance of the decision, at least from my perspective. She invited her to sit on the other couch, across from where Ryan and I were now seated.

"We're waiting," I said, feeling impatient due to the delay.

"First, I want to properly introduce Maira, your sister, and my daughter," my mother said affectionately, pointing to the woman sitting next to her.

"I can't yet say it's a pleasure to meet you, Maira. But I sincerely hope it will be," I said rather rudely, I admit, but I was extremely upset.

"I need to tell you some details that you're unaware of, son, but they will clarify a lot for both of you," my mother finally spoke, but I could tell she didn't like what I had said. "I was only seventeen when I met Patrick..."

"Patrick Mitchell?"

I immediately interrupted her because it was very hard to believe that their story was so old, and I did not know of it.

"Yes, Kael. The very same," my mother confirmed, looking genuinely sad.

"Let Mary speak, Kael," Ryan interjected. "The subject seems difficult enough without you hindering her."

I could have protested against my assistant's words, but he was right, and all I could do was comply with the request. I simply gestured with my hand for her to continue with her story.

"We fell in love at first sight, but my father didn't accept our relationship, and it was all very difficult for both of us."

"Why didn't my grandfather approve of your relationship?" I asked, interrupting once again and receiving disapproving looks from everyone in the room.

"Patrick's family was poor, and he was still very young, and my father didn't like the idea of his only heir dating someone without prospects, according to his prejudiced words," she explained. "But we continued to meet in secret until one day, unexpectedly, my father arranged a fiancé for me and gave me an ultimatum: either I married Antonio Graham, or he would kick me out of the house."

Considering that Antonio Graham was my father, I deduced that my mother had chosen the easier path and did what my grandfather wanted. She confirmed this by saying she married him but never completely forgot about Patrick.

When I was just five years old, my father realized that my mother didn't love him, and they separated. He went to live with a mistress in Australia, where he had several hotel businesses in Sydney. However, they never officially divorced. A few years later, my father died of a stroke at the age of forty-six, and his entire fortune was divided between the woman he lived with for a few years, me, and my mother.

My father was twenty years older than my mother, and when this happened, I was only nine years old, while she was thirty-one, still very young. She managed to invest the money we inherited very wisely, doubling its value.

Now, I awaited the rest of the story, keeping quiet. I glanced briefly at my newly discovered sister, analyzing her profile once again and trying to understand where I recognized those features.

"Do you remember the summers you spent with your father in Sydney?" She asked this time, and I simply nodded. "During one of those summers, when you were seven years old, I reconnected with Patrick, who had become a successful businessman, and we got involved again."

"Now that he was well-off, Dad accepted our relationship, but Patrick was engaged to Guilhermina Fontes, a woman twelve years older than him with a fortune that had been in her family for generations, which even made my father envious."

"My father didn't care about that fact, as long as Patrick could get Guilhermina to negotiate some contracts with his company, and that was easily accomplished."

"You don't remember this story because it was exactly during one of the summers when you were with your father. That year, you asked me to stay in Sydney and study there, promising that you would come the following summer. Even though I was sad and missed you, I accepted your wish. It was during that time that I became pregnant, and Patrick decided it was time to end things with Guilhermina."

"We were happy, and everything was going well with the pregnancy, but when I went to the hospital, things got complicated. What was supposed to be a smooth delivery became high-risk, and we found out they were twins."

"Twins!?" Ryan and I asked at the same time.

"Yes, twins," my mother confirmed.

I needed a few seconds to digest yet another shocking fact, feeling truly incredulous and disoriented. But I soon remembered that Patrick was also the father of Rachel and Sarah, who were twins, and that made a bit more sense to me.

"So, I had a twin sister?" Maira asked what I was about to question, making it clear that she also did not know the fact.

"I believe you have a twin brother," my mother corrected her, and I heard Ryan emit a surprised noise.

"And where is this brother?" it was my turn to ask.

"Let Mary tell the rest of the story," Ryan intervened once again. "Because there's more, isn't there?"

"Yes. Now comes the worst part." If my mother seemed sad before, she was now completely desolate. "Due to complications during childbirth, I was in a coma for a few hours, and when I woke up, I was informed that my children had not survived the difficult delivery."

There was a collective gasp of surprise because both, Ryan, and Maira were shocked by this unimaginable information.

"So, you didn't know that I had been put up for adoption?" Maira asked, sounding emotional.

"No, my dear," my mother confirmed, now in tears. "I could never have done that to my children."

Maira was also shedding some tears, and they both embraced in a moment that revealed a lot of love but also great pain. When they managed to compose themselves, my mother recounted how both she and Patrick believed in that, and as they were deeply shaken by the news, my grandfather took care of everything, including the funeral and burial of the babies.

They ended up drifting apart again, unable to overcome the loss of the babies together, and Patrick returned to his fiancée, marrying her a few months later. More than fifteen years later, they reunited, and that's when they started having an affair, a part of the story I knew very well. Still, all of this was tremendously shocking to me.