Chapter 14

ANNA

They usher me into the living room. It’s like stepping back in time—nothing’s changed in four years. The couch is still that same ugly blue-and-white striped one. The table is the one my grandmother left my mom.

I settle onto the couch and James sits next to me, his hands enveloping mine. I glance at him and manage a smile. He gives me a reassuring nod, a silent promise that everything will be okay. I need that.

“I see you two are back together,” my dad spits out.

“Seriously, Peter? That’s your main concern?” I retort, rolling my eyes. “That’s not why we’re here.”

My mom takes a seat, placing her hands on her knees with the grace of a queen.

~Yeah, right.~

~

“Get on with it,” she says.

“Alright. I need our medical history. The whole thing. That includes ~all~ family members,” I tell them, cutting to the chase.

“Why?” Peter asks.

“Because the doctor needs it,” I reply, blunt as ever.

“They need it to make a diagnosis,” I add, hoping to appeal to his sense of reason. For a fleeting moment—just a split second—I think I see worry flicker in his eyes, but it quickly morphs into a smirk.

“What’s wrong?” my mom asks, her voice laced with concern.

“That’s not your concern. I just need the information.”

“I want to know why, Anna,” she insists.

I can feel myself wavering. These are the people who raised me. But I don’t want to tell them. They’ve lost that right in my eyes.

“She said it’s none of your business,” James interjects, his voice stern.

“Shut up, James. This doesn’t involve you,” Peter snaps.

But I can’t help but smirk. “Actually, it does,” I say.

“How so?” Ruby asks.

I roll my eyes at her.

“Because the diagnosis is for his daughter. Our daughter,” I tell her, squeezing James’s hand.

Her eyes widen and she gasps, her hands flying to her mouth. “You have a daughter?”

I roll my eyes again. “That’s usually what happens when you get pregnant. You have a baby,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Whore,” Dad spits at me.

“Don’t you dare!” James roars, leaping to his feet. He’s struggling to keep his cool.

“She’s only ever been with me, before and after our daughter. I’m sure even you’ve had more bed partners than her. So what does that make you?” he retorts, his voice icy.

My dad swallows hard. I tug on James’s arm, pulling him back down next to me on the couch.

Dad turns to me. “Only you.”

He opens his mouth to say something else, the same look on his face that he had when he called my daughter Satan’s child.

He’s about to say something about my daughter.

“Don’t you dare!” I scream at him. I lunge at him and my mom recoils. I jab my finger into his chest. Tears are streaming down my face, but I don’t care. I’m in full mom-mode and no one is going to stop me.

“My little girl—my baby—is sick! I need that damn history to save her! You do good things for everyone else but me!

“We’re talking about your granddaughter here. An innocent three-year-old.”

“What does she have?” Mom asks again.

I roll my eyes at her. “If we knew, I wouldn’t be here, would I?!”

“So they don’t know,” she concludes. I shake my head.

“Well, we’ll have to call Rebecca,” Mom says.

“Why?” I ask, my irritation flaring.

“Because…” She sighs, but there’s no emotion in her voice.

“She’s your biological mother. We adopted you,” she says.

I’m stunned.

She leaves the room and I collapse back onto the couch.

JAMES

Anna slumps back onto the couch, her face buried in her hands. Tears are streaming down her face, her sobs echoing through the room. I pull her against my chest, trying to soothe her.

This is too much for her. Anna doesn’t get emotional. It’s just a fact—Anna doesn’t do this. She’s the strong one between us.

She’s adopted. The people who chose her as their child kicked her out. Now she has to face her birth mother—her aunt! The one who didn’t help her.

And on top of everything, our daughter is sick.

I need to call my father. If I remember her aunt correctly, she’ll deny everything and make a scene just for the sake of it. She won’t want anything to do with Anna—or the truth.

We need those answers, even if they won’t give them to her. I’m determined to force their hand.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her. But I know it won’t make a difference.

She’s still sitting in the same position she was in ten minutes ago. When Anna is shocked, really shocked, she freezes. It’s like talking to a statue. Nothing goes in, nothing comes out.

“Where are you going?” Peter asks me.

“To check on my daughter,” I reply, purposely not telling them her name.

I think Anna would want me to keep that to myself, considering how they’ve treated her.

“Something you should’ve done years ago,” I mutter under my breath.

I step outside and dial my dad’s number. It rings three times before he picks up.

“What happened?” he asks immediately, his voice serious. I lose it.

Tears stream down my face as I process what I’ve just witnessed—the woman I love, ~my one and only~, going through something so tough. This isn’t her—she’s always been stronger than this.

I sniffle, then say, “Just come over. Anna—she’s adopted. They didn’t exactly break the news gently. We need to find some answers, Dad.”

I’m so grateful to have such amazing parents. I’ve always known I was fortunate, but right now, I feel truly blessed. Blessed that they’ll stand by me no matter what.

“Grandpa!!” My little girl’s voice rings out over the phone.

“Hold on, sweetheart. Daddy’s on the phone.”

~Oh, great~...~seriously??~

“DADDY!!!” she yells. I can almost see my dad wincing at her high-pitched scream.

“Wow, she’s got some lungs. I didn’t really think that one through,” he admits.

“No kidding. Just get over here. Bring Mom and Liv with you. The car seat’s in the hallway. Just come, Anna is—” I stop, sighing heavily.

“She needs us. Her birth mom is on her way,” I finally say.

“Just so we’re clear, who is it?” he asks.

“Aunt Becca,” I tell him. I’d told him years ago what Becca was like. A real piece of work...

“Damn it, we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks.” I hang up and return to my girl.

I walk back into the living room. Anna is still sitting in the same spot. Her head is buried in her hands and she’s silent. Her mother is sitting across from her, looking worried but doing nothing.

“Anna,” I say, moving towards her.

“A?”

She lifts her head to look at me.

~That’s progress~.

Her beautiful brown eyes meet mine, and her lower lip quivers.

“I’ve got you,” I assure her, pulling her onto my lap.

“You couldn’t have broken the news to her gently?” I ask Ruby, my voice laced with anger.

“Why would we?”

I roll my eyes, as if this wouldn’t be a huge blow to her under normal circumstances.

“She’s dealing with a lot. Our daughter is sick—this should have been a brief conversation. Get the answers and go home.

“This is just too much. Plus, she has classes on Monday. It’s a lot,” I try to explain, not that I should have to.

~Or should I?~

“Classes?”

I roll my eyes at Ruby. “That’s what you took from all that? Yes, classes. She’s graduating in a few months.”

Her father looks surprised. “How?”

I smirk. “By working her ass off,” I tell them, glaring. “You don’t know the first thing about her.”

They start to say something else, but the doorbell interrupts them.

I gently set Anna back on the couch as her mother stands up.

“I’ll get it,” I tell her. She just nods, probably too stubborn to do anything else. When I catch her eye, though, she does seem a bit worried. I think.

I can’t really read her face right now. Normally I’m good at picking up on people’s emotions, but right now, I just feel numb.

I open the door to find my dad, mom, and Olivia on the doorstep. I crouch down to hug my little girl.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi!” she replies, hugging me back.

“Mommy’s not feeling well. Can you be quiet?”

“Oh no! I’ll help.” She takes my hand, looking around curiously as I lead her to her mom.

As we enter the room, everyone’s eyes are on the small girl beside me. Everyone’s, that is, except Anna’s. She’s still sitting there, frozen.

“Oh my,” my mom murmurs. I just nod.

Olivia lets go of my hand and approaches her mom. “Mommy?” she asks, but Anna doesn’t respond.

Ruby looks at Olivia, tears in her eyes. But they’re not tears of sadness—they look more like tears of anger. Olivia coughs a little, and Peter’s and Ruby’s faces register shock.

~So they do have feelings.~

~

~That was just a small cough, they don’t even know what she usually sounds like.~

I guess it’s starting to hit them. Olivia climbs onto the couch and snuggles under Anna’s arm to hug her.

“Oh, Lovebug,” Anna murmurs. She hugs Olivia tightly, pulling her closer.

“Momma, are you okay?” Olivia asks, smiling broadly. Anna nods, and Olivia wipes away her tears.

~I knew this would help her.~

~

Olivia turns to me, her big green eyes shining and a wide smile on her face. “See Daddy, I helped. Momma is all better,” she declares, clearly proud of herself.

“I see, princess. You did great! Can I get a hug too?”

Anna lets her go and she crawls over to me, jumping into my arms. I hold her close, kissing her forehead.

“I love you,” I tell her, pressing my forehead against hers.

“I love you too, Daddy,” she replies.

“Why are you guys here?” Anna asks my parents.

“James called us. We’ve been here for fifteen minutes. You were zoning out again,” Mom explains.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s a lot to take in,” Mom says.

“Well, that’s the understatement of the year,” I remark, making them chuckle.

“So who is this?” Ruby asks Olivia. Liv turns to her with a bright smile.

“Hi!” she greets Ruby, who waves back.

“I’m—” she starts, but Anna cuts her off. I’m so proud of her.

“Don’t, sweetheart,” Anna cautions her.

“Strangers?” Olivia asks, and Anna just nods.

“Good girl,” I praise her.

“Mommy’s pa—” Peter begins, but Anna cuts him off.

“DON’T!” she yells, her voice echoing in the room.

“You forfeited that right four years ago!” The fury in Anna’s voice is palpable. This is the Anna you should be wary of. No one, absolutely no one, gets between her and her child. She’s in full-on mama bear mode.

~Tread lightly, or you’ll regret it.~

~

Peter tries again, “We’re still—”

“No. You’re not,” she interrupts, her voice seething with anger.

“You lost that right. I’m the one who decides who’s a stranger and who isn’t to ~my~ daughter.”