Chapter 90

Clara's POV

I froze as I struggled to comprehend everything that was happening.

I couldn't have heard right. He was my father.

Sure, I noticed some resemblance between us, but on any other day, I would have just walked past him and not thought anything of it.

I had met him before. But no, It couldn't be him. I pushed the thought away. I must have been mistaken. I was probably just confused and was now making up crazy ideas to make sense of everything. What were the odds of it being him?

Mom looked equally shaken by this as I was. I noticed how her hands trembled.

I couldn't shake off what I had just heard. I was his daughter.

I wonder what her excuse will be this time. Was she going to pretend I heard incorrectly to get out of this? But not this time. I was going to get to the bottom of this.

“Clara," Mom whispered. Her voice nearly broke. "This was not the way I wanted you to find out." She breathed.

So, it was true.

How many other secrets was she hiding from me? At first, we found out we had a secret uncle, and now this.

I tightened my grip on my crutch to keep myself from falling. "Did you ever plan for me to find out?" I found myself saying.

Mom stepped towards me, reaching for my arm.

I blocked her away with my hand.

She paused, staring at me, frightened. "I know how confusing this whole thing must be. We'll talk about this." She said calmly.

I could hardly see as tears welled up in my eyes. I'm sure my head was spinning too.

I had to be strong at this moment. I've waited my whole life to hear the truth, and I was finally going to get the answers I needed.

My so-called father stood silently as he stared at me empathetically.

Father. I still couldn't wrap my head around the world. I had chosen to believe that he just never existed. I still couldn't believe it.

Mom was the first to lead the way to the living room.

I didn't expect the day I finally found out who my father was to turn into an interrogation. I thought it would be much happier and filled with tight hugs.

I sat on the couch as I tried to gain control of my nerves. I felt like my lungs were closing on me. I took deep breaths to calm myself.

"Are you okay? Do you want anything to drink?" Mom asked.

"Are you finally going to explain everything?" I interrupted her.

She seemed hesitant for a second before going on to take her seat. She fumbled with her hands for a while before speaking. "When I got pregnant, it was a very difficult time for me. I was kicked out of the house, and my family refused to have anything to do with me. I was alone. I wrote a letter to your dad about my pregnancy, but instead of getting the support I needed, all I got back was a letter telling me never to call or show up again and with ten thousand dollars for an abortion." She continued.

My breathing nearly stopped as Mom continued with her story. It was a lot worse than whatever horrific story I could have made up in my brain. So why was he here? And after all of this.

"But I never got that letter. I would have been there every step of the way. I regret not having had the opportunity to watch you grow up," he said. I had almost forgotten he was there.

I didn't know what to believe. He felt like a stranger in front of me.

I guess we may never know what happened.

"It's all in the past now." Mom cut him off. Despite everything that happened, I decided to go and see him during that trip I took weeks ago after seeing how much it meant to you." She paused. "I did my best. I never wanted you to lack anything or feel your father's absence. I thought I was doing the right thing by not telling you about him or who he was, but instead, by not telling you, I only made his absence seem even bigger in your life." She paused. "I never told you about anything from my past because I never wanted any of it to hurt you."

"I know we've lost a lot of time together, but I'd love to make up for it, for us, the time we have now, and get to know each other better." My father said, Seeing how we were strangers, it was best to stick to a first-name basis.

"You could have told me about all of this. My whole life, I grew up feeling abandoned and rejected and like a part of me was missing. I always wondered about my dad whenever I saw the other kids with theirs. Every Father's Day, I'd pretend it didn't exist so I wouldn't think about it. I wish you had told me something." I paused.

I painted my mother as the villain who never wanted me to know my father. I would have preferred she had told me. So she wouldn't have to share all that hurt alone.

I still had one final question, the one I'd chosen to ignore and perhaps the most important one. I took a deep breath as I gathered my thoughts. Was I ready for the answer? I've seen you before; where was it?" I asked.

Suddenly, he had a hesitant look. "We met briefly that day at the hotel. With my daughter." He finally answered.

He didn't need to say anything else. I knew it.

Madison's father was also my dad!

Of all things, I was hoping that I would be wrong this time.

"This is too much for me right now. I need to breathe." I said, getting up from my seat.

"Are you sure? We can talk about it." Mom asked.

"I need to process everything," I answered.

I left the room and struggled up the stairs to my room.

This was a nightmare.

I sat in a corner of my room with my back pressed against the wall.

I didn't know how to feel. I couldn't catch my breath or calm down and think clearly.

I thought this would be the happiest day of my life, but now I wish I had never known.

For so long, I felt like I didn't know who I was, and I had so many unanswered questions. I felt like I got everything I asked for, but it was slowly turning into a nightmare.

Would I have ever known if I had chosen to stay in my bedroom? I'm sure she would have preferred to continue hiding things from me.

How would my life have turned out if he had known earlier?

That meant Madison was my...

The thought made me want to vomit.

Thinking about it now, I probably would have been poisoned had he known I was his daughter.

It's no wonder I'm like her. A liar. At least she is good at it.

It sucks being lied to. You probably think you are protecting someone, but it only hurts them. I couldn't stand myself anymore. Derek has been nothing but good to me. He didn't deserve this.

My hands were shaking when I grabbed my phone from my bed.

I needed to speak to Derek. I had pushed away the thought of telling Derek the truth. I had convinced myself that it was for the best and better if he never discovered the fact, but I realised this wasn't fair to him.

"Hello?" Derek finally answered. His voice was calm and soft.

His voice seemed to be exactly what I needed to calm my nerves finally. I found myself breathing steadily again.

"Hi, are you okay?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm fine," I answered frantically. "I just need to talk to you right now about everything..." I answered.

"Listen, I can't talk right now. I'm in the middle of something." He interrupted. "I'll probably see you very soon, though, and I have a surprise for you." He answered.

I was about to yell that this couldn't wait and confess everything I'd done. But he hung up. Without even a goodbye or having a nice day.

I thought he had chosen to maintain his distance because he was still processing and healing from everything. However, this felt personal. Maybe Katy was right; he was avoiding me.

But, if he was ignoring me, should he say that he would see me soon?

Maybe I was overreacting. He might be out of the country for all I know. I thought of calling him back and not having to wait so long to tell him about everything, but then I'd be a bother, and I had already caused enough problems in his life.

There was a loud knock on my door. I was sure Mom wouldn't bother me, at least for a while.

Before I responded, my door swung open.

Instead of my crazy sister walking in as I expected, Layla walked into my room.

She had a wide grin while holding shopping bags in both arms as she struggled to carry everything. "I have good news for you," she sang as she closed the door.

She paused as she stared at me on the floor. "What happened to you? Why does everyone in this house look like someone just died? Are you okay?" she asked.

She placed the bags on the floor before approaching me.

"I'm fine," I answered. With the back of my hand, I wiped tears from my face.

"Anyway," Layla continued. "Right now is not the time to be sad. We have so much to prepare you for." She smiled.

What crazy thing was she planning now?

"I know I'm technically not supposed to say this, but..." she paused. Her smile grew even wider. “Derek is going to propose." She yelled out.