I KNOW WHO I AM

Suffocating the room with its increased gravity was the realization that it hung heavy in the air. Ejay's thoughts raced over the possible ramifications of his mother's unintentional revelation. He felt as though a sharp piece of glass had penetrated his being, causing the already delicate fabric of his being to shred.

"You are telling me... all this time, that—Mr. Azzua—had been sending money for my upkeep?" Ejay's voice quivered with a potent mix of disbelief and despair.

Hellen, her eyes brimming with remorse, nodded hesitantly. "Yes, Ejay. He wanted to ensure you were taken care of financially."

Ejay staggered backward, a tumultuous storm of emotions brewing within him. The revelation tore through his carefully constructed understanding of his own life, unraveling the web of deception that had shrouded his past.

"But why? Why didn’t I know about that money?” Ejay's voice trembled, his heart pounding with a sorrowful realization.

“Because I did not want you to know about it. I never touched a dime of it. To me, you were priceless. No money could compensate for the damage they had done.” She explained calmly.

“How much was it? What was his price for me?” Ejay asked.

“He used to send 300,000 every month.”

Ejay walked past his mother, words rolling out of his mouth so freely that he could not even hold them back. “Such a generous amount, huh! He could have just given me a name and kept his money to himself.” He turned around to face his mother again, asking for more explanations.

Hellen's gaze faltered, and her voice choked with emotion. "He... he already had a family, Ejay. He couldn't bring you into his life. He didn’t want to.”

A surge of anguish washed over Ejay, drowning him in a sea of betrayal and abandonment. His chest tightened, the weight of his father's rejection pressing down on him like an unyielding force.

"So, I was just a secret, a burden he didn't want to acknowledge?" Ejay's voice cracked, a deep ache resonating within his words.

Hellen reached out, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He just could not jeopardize what he and his now wife had. He cut us out for his family to avoid causing pain to Joy.”

“And you decided to add more pain to me by keeping me in the darkest shades of all these horrible lies. Wow, Hellen! How could you?” Ejay spoke with so much bitterness that radiated from his cold gazes to meet her mother's guilty conscience.

“I did not want to cause you any pain, Ejay. Believe me.” She faintly pleaded for his understanding, which seemed like a distant hope. His heart had turned cold, or it had been ripped off a long time ago. He happened to be the only living creature without a heart. Only any of the latter could explain why he seemed so unmoved by his mother’s constant plea for forgiveness and understanding.

"Pain? You think keeping me in the dark spared me pain?" Ejay's frustration boiled over. "I found out the truth on my own, and it shattered me into a million pieces. It ripped me apart. Silence hung heavily between them, a palpable barrier of regret, resentment, and years of unspoken truths.

"You have every right to be angry, Ejay," Hellen whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "But please try to understand. I was young and terrified. I thought I was protecting you, but I see now how wrong I was."

Ejay's anger began to ebb, replaced by a hollow ache. "Are you proud of what you and that cursed family have done to me now, Mom? In my thirst to level up that family and finally have a way to crash them, I turned into a murderer. I kill people, and that is not changing.”

She shook her head, trying to say anything to justify her actions, but no words came out. Her mouth had become barren after seeing the loathing and disapproval in her son’s voice.

The bitter truth seeped into Ejay's consciousness, tearing down the remnants of hope that lingered within him. His father's distant care, shrouded in secrecy, was a hollow consolation in the face of his undeniable rejection.

The revelation plunged Ejay into a dark abyss of sorrow and betrayal. The years of longing and the unanswered questions all culminated in this heart-wrenching moment of truth.

"I never asked for any of this, you know." Ejay whispered a long decade of utter deadly stare challenges, his voice barely audible, his spirit crushed by the weight of his father's choice.

Ejay struggled to process the tornado of revelations and his pent-up rage. Even with their heavy dose of remorse, his mother's explanations did little to ease the years of deceit he had to endure at thirty years of age.

“But there is nothing that we can do at this point, Ejay. We just have to let things be.” His mother spoke after a while.

“Those are your words and thoughts, not mine. I am not like you to take things seated down like I have no rights at all. I know who I am. I know what I deserve.

“What do you mean?” His mother asked out of oblivion.

"The damn inheritance? That multi-billion fortune." Ejay's voice pierced the heavy silence, his eyes boring into Hellen's, demanding answers. "The wealth, the legacy that should have been mine from the word go. I am just supposed to sit down and watch his beloved son have it all."

Hellen hesitated, her gaze shifting uneasily. "Ejay, that's... complicated. I didn't want it to define your life. It shouldn’t even be now. It is there, yes; you are his first son in reality, but things are different."

"Define my life?" Ejay's incredulous laughter echoed through the room. "You thought keeping me ignorant was better? Is denying me what was rightfully mine for my own good? Well, then watch how I will prove to you and that cursed family that I am not just some piece of shit that can be tossed aside and kept hidden like some kind of bad omen."