Everything inside me shattered in an instant and I let out a hollow laugh that had no humor whatsoever.
“This is crazy,” I said, looking at her as if she had just destroyed my entire reality.
“At first, I didn’t recognize you when we met,” she rushed to explain, desperate to make me understand. “I only saw a kind, intelligent young man who deserved better, and I grew fond of you before I noticed the similarities.”
He admitted that months later he had someone discreetly investigate, and eight months before the wedding he had confirmed the truth: that I was his biological son.
“Eight months ago, and you still married me?” I asked, my voice rising despite myself.
She lowered her head in shame and whispered that she had tried to push me away, but had failed because she hadn’t been able to let go completely.
I hated her sincerity because it didn’t leave me with a simple way to label her as evil without also seeing her pain.
“And what is security for?” I demanded, trying to regain some control over the chaos in my mind.
“It’s to protect you from Richard,” she replied, her expression tense. “If he finds out who you are, he’ll try to use you.”
The revelation hit me like a physical blow, because it meant that, without knowing it, I had entered a dangerous situation that had been brewing for decades.
“And the woman who raised me? What about her?” I asked, my voice barely steady.
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