Chapter 28

ANDREA'S POV:

Nothing could match my happiness when I saw my sister. I felt complete. The void I have always felt, the emptiness in my heart, was no longer there. If only our mom was alive to see us today!

I couldn't help the tear escaping my eye at mom's memory. My mom. There was no moment of happiness in her life after her marriage with my so-called father and it worsened when we were born.

"Hey, are you alright?, Adria asked me, her eyes showing the same concern I used to see in my mom's eyes. "I am fine", I said giving her a weak smile. "You just reminded me of our mom", I whispered still looking at her. Her eyes shone on hearing this. A ray of hope passed through them.

"Is she al... is she with us?", she asked choosing her words properly. A sob escaped from my mouth on her question. No! I can't cry. I had to control myself. I had to be strong, not for me but for my sister. "She died.... he .. he killed her", I informed her finally gaining control over my emotions. Adria closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. I could see that she was controlling herself. She is the stronger one amongst us.

"How could he?", she asked looking at her toes. I knew she was trying not to show me her face. "He is a monster, Adria. He does not have a heart. He never loved mom. He never wanted us to exit. I.. I am happy you were away from him. You have no idea what he made me go through. He doesn't deserve to be a father", I burst out. I know that I won't be able to stop now. All I had in my heart had to be thrown out. So I began with the story.

"Mom belonged to a rich family. They had a few luxurious hotels all over the city. Our Grandfather was a decent man. He lost our grandmother while she was giving birth to our mom. Like every other father, he treated mom like a princess. She lived a fantasy life wasn't much aware of the bad world outside. When Grandpa got old he realised that he can't put all the burden on mom's shoulder so he decided to get her married. But as they say, the one you trust the most - hurts you the most. Jake was the son of his best friend. Grandpa trusted them and married mom to him. He believed Jake would support both families. But Jake soon started showing his true colours. He wanted all the wealth for himself and he treated mom like shit. He started investing in the wrong places and doing wrong business. He used to sell drugs illegally in Grandpa's hotels. He even stole a large sum and started his strip clubs. But his main business was supplying escorts to the elites. From which he gained many people as a backup. Still, he wanted more and more. Mom knew about everything but she feared the monster so much that she never dared to reach grandpa and even if she tried Jake never let it happen. But Grandpa was no ordinary man. He eventually came to know about everything. He loved his daughter more than anything so he decided to destroy Jake.....", I paused taking a break as the part which would put a little amount of guilt in both of our heart was about to start.

"Grandpa was determined to put Jake behind the bars but then the news broke out. Mom was pregnant with us. Jake took this opportunity in his favour. He begged and promised Grandpa that he will change at least for the unborn child. Grandpa did not believe him but decided to give him a chance whilst keeping an eye on him. But Jake was cruelly smart. He had it all planned beforehand. He had his best men take care of his work while he stayed clear of it. He also started treating mom nicely and eventually, everyone gave in to his tactics. Grandpa started believing him and so did mom. One day mom got to know that Grandpa passed off in an accident. It was all Jake's plan. But as I said he was too smart to be caught. He planned and showed it as it was an accident. Now, mom was the sole heir of the property... at least that's what Jake thought. Here Grandpa already arranged things to keep Jake away from his money. He had written a will and mentioned that all his property will be given to his twin granddaughters. Yes, mom was 7 months along by that time and grandpa had her checked. He knew that mom was going to have twins and they were girls. So according to the will now the property cannot be given to anyone unless we want so".

"So those are the papers Jake wants us to sigh", Adria said finally letting all the stuff in her brain.

"Yes, and please don't interrupt me. Sorry if I am being rude here but I don't know if I can gather this courage again", I explained to her. She gave e a weak smile and asked me to continue. "The will states clearly that only Mr Jones, grandpa's most trusted man and his best friend or the person prescribed by him can read it. If in future we want to transfer our property to anyone we have to do the same in Mr Jones or his disciple's presence. If both of us or anyone of is not present entire property will be given to the charity. That's what forced Jake to keep us alive. Otherwise, he would have killed us way back. Mom always feared Jake and knew what the demon was capable of. He could kill her. He could kill us. So she made a plan to run away", I smiled remembering moms face when she told me all of her life's story. She only smiled when she was narrating about the time she was away from Jake.

"After Grandpas death Jake was back to his old abusive self. He tortured mom mentally cause he could not do the physical abusive now. Meanwhile, mom was making a plan. With the help of Mr Jones, she decided to run away from her misery and she planned to do it when she was 8 months along. Mr Jones introduced her to a cop, Cain Williams or you can say, Edward Owensby...."

"Dad", Adria gasped when she heard the name.

"Yes, your dad", I smiled at her. She motioned me to continue now even more shocked and interested. "Edward helped mom to leave the city. He was an orphan and our grandparents helped him and other children in his orphanage with their schooling. He was always thankful to them and grabbed the first chance to return the favour. Jack was always busy with his business and other women. The time till he realised that mom was gone already two days passed and mom along with Edward left the place. Edward was the last person Jack could think about, we can say he was not even in the picture which made his search more difficult. Mom couldn't travel more with her 8 months old belly so Edward decided to keep her in the same city till it was safe for her to move. He rented a house in the quiet but rich place which Mr Jones helped him to pay for. And as everyone knows rich surrounding means less relationship with neighbours. It made it easy for him to hide mom. I remember mom telling me that in the beginning Edward only talked with her to ask her if she needed anything but she always caught him staring at her..."

"I bet on that. Whenever we talk about mom dad can never stop rambling about how beautiful and shy she was. Whenever I caused him trouble he told me I was completely the opposite of mom. Mom was the nicest person in the entire existence of human being", Adria said a small smile playing on her lips. "I wish I had met her once", she added her smile now gone and replaced with soft sobs. It made me cry too. I decided to be strong and continue with the story. "You please continue", she then said wiping her tears on her shoulder as our hands were tied to the chair.

"Edward showed mom what true love is. As mom used to say, his love was unconditional. He never told her about his feelings but she could sense it all. She was 8 months pregnant when she ran away with Edward. He took care of her as if the child was his own. He wouldn't let her do any work. Even quit his job to be with her 24/7. When mom was due he arranged for a doctors team to deliver the baby at home. The doctors were his friends from the orphanage and they also kept a check on moms health when she was with Edward. We were born and even our names were decided by Edward. He was so excited and mom loved his choice of names. Their hide was successful for a few more months. Edward finally confessed his feelings for mom and they lived happily, but it wasn't the happily ever after. It lasted only till we were 5 months old and Jake finally found about us"