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"Sounds like she has them on standby."
"She does. It's her weapon of choice. She loves collecting evidence that would ruin someone." He took a sip of his drink again judging by the sound of the ice clinking against the glass. "Sophia and I, we've always had this connection that Joy could never break, no matter how hard she tried. I love Sophia and have loved her since the moment I met her. That will never change."
I grew quiet, feeling bad for my dad and Sophia. The longing in his voice for a love with my real mom curled around my heart like a wet piece of satin and saddened me. Joy may have been the only mother I've ever known, but now a lot of things that happened over the years made sense. She may be married to a multimillionaire and want for nothing, but she is still, and clearly will always be, the other woman. I'm sure that had to harden her heart.
Dad continued. "After living with Joy for so long and seeing her for who she really is, I needed to know what she was up to, so I hired a PI myself. I knew she wouldn't find much on me, other than being with Sophia."
"Did you find anything on her?" I clutched the phone in my hand, unblinking as I waited for his answer.
"I found out a plethora of things she was hiding, including offshore bank accounts."
"I can't believe I never knew any of this."
"You weren't supposed to
know."
Fair enough. "I take it Joy won't bother being tested for me."
"She doesn't know about it yet."
I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about that.
"Maybe that's a good thing." I licked my dry lips. "I know I don't know her all that well, but do you think Sophia will be open to being tested?"
"It may not seem like it because you don't really know her, but Sophia will do anything for you. She's just a little sensitive right now after hearing about your illnesses. It brought back memories of her sister." He paused. "Sometimes when I look at you, all I see is Sophia," he admitted. "You guys could pass as sisters."
I choked back my emotion. Sophia once told me I looked like her sister. "Where does she live now?"
His voice dropped to a low, quiet tone after another long pause. "North. A few towns over."
My jaw took a dive, heart flailing into my stomach. My real mom lived a few towns over, and I never knew. I couldn't stop the questions from flying out of me.
"Does she ever ask about me?"
"All the time, sweetie. All the time."
I blinked long. "Does she still want to see me? Has she ever asked?" I held my shaky breath as I waited for his response, terrified of what he would say.
"She has asked about seeing you…" I could tell he was thinking carefully about his words before he spoke them. "I know Sophia would love to see you again one day, but I told her it would need to be up to you. She completely agreed."
I let out a long and heavy sigh, trying to wrap my mind around the last couple of days. From Kova saying I needed to start with my mother if I wanted answers, to being diagnosed with kidney disease and lupus, to effortlessly being able to talk to my dad about my real mom, I had so many questions left that I wasn't sure I'd ever get my thoughts in order to ask all of them.
"Does she have other children?"
"No. She didn't feel it was fair to bring other children into this world when she couldn't have you."
"Why didn't she fight to have me as I got older and she got better?"
"She didn't want to disrupt your life, so she stayed away thinking it was best for you. Looking back and realizing how Joy treated you, how I traveled a lot for work… You have to understand, Adrianna, I thought I was doing what was best for our family. I thought I was doing what was best for you. For that, I will forever be sorry."
Each word he spoke chipped away at my heart. He was filled with remorse, and I didn't want that for him. Up until Easter, I’d loved my life, even if I did feel like an outcast at times.
"Dad, don't dwell on it. I don't. I'm okay, and everything turned out just how it was supposed to. I've always been a firm believer that if something is meant to be, it will find its way. Things happen for a reason, and sometimes that reason makes no sense other than to just cause heartache and absolute destruction. Maybe this was how it was supposed to go."
"You are wise beyond your years, you know that?"
"Debatable." I laughed. "So, there's a reason why I was asking about her."
