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“Here you are. I was worried,” Chiara says. “Are you okay?”
Startling me awake, I rub the sleep from my eyes. “I must have fallen asleep in here.”
Picking up the phone, I see no missed calls, no messages.
I throw it aside, and it bounces a few times over the lounge chair. After I shower and change, I find Chiara and my uncle in the living room.
“I had a long talk with Hayden. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go with her?”
I am pretty sure there are two types of caged birds. Those who dream of escaping, but even if they get the chance, they stay, and those who take the chance and never look back. I would be caged if I didn’t realize I was. But I am, we all are.
“Yes. I choose him. I choose my life with him. But I need more time to get through to him. Chiara…”
“I will be fine,” she assures me.
Uncle Hayden looks back at her and says, “My man will have your passport and money for you. You’ll leave tomorrow night.”
She nods. This is her only reaction. I thought she would jump up and down with joy by now.
I open my mouth to ask her if she’s okay when my uncle says, “I can’t postpone our talk. I have to be in the air shortly.”
I eat in a hurry and follow him to his office. His entire desk is filled with letters. I recognize my mother’s writing and my eyes well up. I miss her so much. Sobs rip through my throat and he hugs me.
When I calm down, he asks, “Something to drink?”
I nod, and he pours two tumblers of amber liquid. We move to the sofa, where we face each other.
The liquid burns my throat but leaves a warming note behind.
He taps the arm of the couch, his eyes focused on me.
“I am not your uncle.”
“What?” I screech, thinking I don’t even know this man, but I trusted him. I am so stupid. I jump to my feet, fully in panic mode.
“Sit down, Aurora, and stop being afraid of me.”
“Is that a command?”
Hayden just points to the couch and I slump right back in.
“I don’t understand. I thought you—”
“I am your brother.”
My thought process just got obliterated. On repeat, the sentence plays in my head. How can that be? A nervous energy ripples through my body. My hand shakes so bad the liquid sloshes over. I gulp it down in a feeble attempt to calm down.
“What?” I lift my eyes to his, his face carved in stone, revealing it’s not a joke. I have another brother. This is a lot to process.
“Half-brother. Your mother got pregnant with me when she was young. She gave me away.”
“My mom would never do that.”
His hands grip the armrests, a forlorn look etched into his features. “You would be surprised what people are capable of doing.”
No, no, no. I shake my head and he says, “I really don’t have much time.”
