55. Sadness And Grief.

[Claire]
"You're sure?" I asked her and she nodded her head.
"She's the one, there's your mother." She said and I stood up horrified.
A lot of memories came to my mind of people saying I had an akin resemblance to my Nana, she always brushed it off saying we had a special connection, we did, we had a special connection but it wasn't just because she was my Nana, it was also because she was my mother.
Why lie to me though?
Why keep it a secret from me?
I never thought anything of it, the same color of hair, the same color of eyes, I rarely saw her hair though because she always had it in a scarf or a hijab because she was Muslim.
I was so shocked I needed some time to process all the information that I had just found out.
"I have to go," I announced suddenly and stood up abruptly.
"Oh dear child, you look so white dear, are you sure you're okay to leave?" She asked, her voice full of concern.
"I'm fine really, thank you for everything, I need to go," I told her and fled the room before I could shed any more tears.
Nana was the one person I relied on the most and the one I felt that I could trust after my father's betrayal but she was in on it as well, they both had deceived me all these years and made me believe that my mother was dead.
Nana was there when I found the letters, she could have told me the truth then but she still preferred to keep quiet.
I did not know which hurt more, her betrayal or my father's. Eve caught me before I could leave the house and she gave me her card.
"Please don't hesitate to call me if you ever need anything, I'm sorry you're going through this child but you just had to know the truth." She said sadly as she shoved the card into my hand.
"Thank you." I gave her a hug and waved to Olga before I left. I did not see her sister before I left and I didn't even want to, it was clear that the woman did not like me.
Jean was in the car like he said he would and when he saw me rushing over, he came out of the car immediately.
When I got to him I collapsed in his arms and the tears I'd been trying to hold back started pouring out.
"She's not my mother, they lied to me, all of but she never told me," I mumbled, crying bitterly.
"It's okay, you'll be fine." He hugged me tighter and then began to brush away my tears. "Don't cry now my dear, it's okay, you're okay."
He helped me into the car and then he drove us back home, he held my hands throughout the ride, I cried for a while, and then I dozed off.
When I woke up again I was already in bed with Jean beside me.
Everyone in my life had betrayed me and lied to me, I couldn't help but wonder if Jean was doing the same to me.
I knew he lived in the palace but he had not once since we started dating taken me to his place. I knew it was probably not allowed but I knew a lot of guys would have tried to sneak their girlfriends in at one point or another.
I looked at him, he was sleeping very soundly and he looked so cute, I couldn't believe that he would ever hurt me like that.
He had taken me to his mother's apartment at the resort and he had also taken me to his grandfather's cabin, he didn't have any other family members so there wasn't really anyone to meet.
He told me about his best friend but we had only talked on the phone. I had never met him in real life. Jean said he had a very tight schedule and so he couldn't go out a lot.
I thought about what to do now that I found out who my mother was until exhaustion hit me and I fell asleep.
When I woke up it was the next morning and Jean was still around, he made me a nice breakfast and stayed around to keep me company.
"Don't you have to go to work?" I asked him.
"No." He replied. "I already informed the Prince and he's okay with it, someone else will cover for me."
"I'm fine really if you have to go, I can call Sophie and Michele over, I already informed them and they'll come over soon," I told him.
"Do you want me to leave?" He asked me, cupping my face in his hands.
I did not want him to leave but I also did not want to get him in trouble at the palace, he had been absent for almost three days and I did not know just how much he wasn't telling me.
"I don't want to but I also don't want to get you in trouble," I told him truthfully.
Besides Sophie still planned to kick his ass so I really did not want her to meet him here.
"Fine, I'll go but if you need me, don't hesitate to call, I'll see you tomorrow." He stood up, pulled me into a big embrace, and pecked me on the forehead.
A few minutes after he left, I heard a knock on my door and I went to answer it.
Sophie and Michele came in and they pulled me into their embrace, I started crying again but they calmed me down.
Michele brought tea while Sophie brought some chocolate and ice cream.
"What a horrible family." She commented after I told them the whole story.
"I knew you'd come here because you were running away from something," Michele added.
"Actually, I was coming to find something, I don't know what to do." I groaned.
"I know what you should do, stop crying, they betrayed you, it's their loss," Sophie said.
"And you said it was Jean who helped you find the woman you thought was your mother?" Michele asked.
"Yeah, he was," I replied.
"Well, I hope you know that that's not an excuse for ghosting you for two weeks," Sophie said.
"I know, I still don't know why he did that but I really can't be mad about that now, I don't know what to do about my family." I sighed sadly.
"It's fine girl, it may be hard at first but you'll get through it, you have us here, we'll always support you." She said,
"Yeah, we don't have any family and we're not doing so bad," Michele added, trying to comfort me.
"Thank you, guys." I moved closer to them and lay my head on Michele's lap.
"Oh, you poor poor girl." He tapped my head softly.
I didn't want them to stay with me overnight and so they left after a while. I took a warm shower and cried during my bath but I promised myself that it was the last time I was going to cry over them.
It was time to handle my business, I was done crying and I was done hiding, I was going to face them and confront them, I needed answers and I was going to make sure that I got them.
The next morning I called my boss and told him that I would like to take a few days off, he was not happy about that but I made an excuse that a family member of mine in America was sick and he gave me a week off.
After that, I called Jean and told him that I'd decided to go to America to confront my father and my Nana. I also wanted to make sure that he would never try to contact me or bother me ever again.
Sophie was ecstatic when I told her and she even agreed to go with me to America and I was thrilled. Michele had to stay though because they couldn't leave their business unattended. Besides, he had a really big client to make up for.
.
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[Narrator]
"What do you think, do you think she's on our side?" Eve asked her sister after Claire left their house.
She had intentionally told the girl the truth but she may have made herself innocent in the story.
"Yes, I think it's finally time to pay that man back in his own coin." Her sister spat out angrily.
"Calm sister." She smiled wickedly. "Our plan is so much more than just paying him back, I will make him rue the day he met me."
"Well I heard he's trying to merge the company with another, just like before, he doesn't think a woman is capable of running the company." Mary grimaced as she spoke.
"The merger will not take place, we can't let it happen, the girl will be our secret weapon against him."
"Mr. Hamilton had better prepare for his downfall." She bragged, laughing wickedly.