Chapter 35: The universe must hate me!

Ashley's POV

I felt confused, even more so than I had when I left the hotel. Not to mention the anger that was building up inside me. The feeling of being lied to was overwhelming. I didn't know what to believe in anymore. So many things didn't make sense to me. Why would it make sense when it was just suddenly thrown in my face?

I would have expected anything but this.

"We have an uncle?" Katy asked trying to make sense of the situation. She too was just as confused about the whole thing, even more so than me because at least I had had some kind of forewarning.

"Yes," Leonardo confirmed hesitantly.

My mother's expression remained unchanged, still maintaining her calm and probably giving us a chance to process. Maybe she was just very good at hiding her emotions.

"How come we are poor?" Katy asked, her eyes widening.

I thought that this would be one of the few moments she takes things seriously but apparently, it wasn't.

"It's just some complicated family history, things you wouldn't understand." Mom sighed.

Complicated family history? I was still hung up on the fact that she said she had a brother.

"Why are we supposed to just believe this?" I asked. I eyed both of them, trying to see who would be the first one to break out of character.

"Would you like to see my original birth certificate?" Mom asked.

"You lie to us about everything. You are not exactly the most reliable source." I answered crossing my arms. "Besides, who goes around hiding a brother?" I asked.

"Like I said, it's complicated," Mom answered. She sighed, breaking eye contact, her eyes moving to the carpet. "I'm going to get something for us to drink." She said excusing herself. She walked out of the living room, heading for the kitchen.

I would have expected more than that from someone who has basically lied to us our whole lives.

I still haven't crossed Leonardo off as a potential danger. But right now he seems to be the person I'd probably get the most out of.

All this stress and anxiety was getting to me. I suddenly felt lightheaded. I sat down on the couch, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm myself.

"Are you going to explain what happened?" I asked eyeing Leonardo.

Leonardo sighed before gathering his words to speak. "Well, when your grandparents found out that your mother was pregnant and at such a young age, they weren't too happy about it. They already had so many plans planned out for her." He answered.

"What? Did mom fall in love with some poor guy so your parents decided to disown her because he wasn't good enough?" Katy interrupted.

"No, but he was married," Leonardo answered.

Our eyes widened.

Multiple things ran through my mind. The fact that my father was potentially a married man was at the top of the list. I didn't know how to feel. Was I supposed to be glad that after all these years I finally got something or disturbed that my mother could have very well ruined someone's marriage?

Both Katy and I had the same stunned expression. Our thoughts were disturbed by the sound of shuttered glasses when mom dropped the trail of orange juice glasses.

Mom stared at us horrified, ignoring the broken glasses along with the juice on the floor.

"He wasn't married when we met," Mom answered defensively.

My mind was still processing. I was still hung up on the fact that he was married. The thought of it made me cringe. This was also the closest I've ever gotten to the truth.

"It was a big thing between our families." Leonardo continued. "We..."

"Why don't you leave so that I can speak to my children alone?" Mom interrupted Leonardo.

Leonardo backed away, leaving his story incomplete.

"Why? So that you can keep lying to us?" I glared at mom.

Mom didn't answer or even look at me. Instead, she kept her cold glare on Leonardo who was slowly retreating.

"It's better I get going," Leonardo sighed.

He looked up, making eye contact with me as if in some way he was alluding to my own lie. That was not the point. This was a far more serious issue to deal with. Besides, it didn't plan on lying for the next twenty-five years.

He gave us a small smile as he walked out of the living room. We waited in silence until we heard the loud noise of our front door closing, indicating that he was out of the house.

At this point, the tension in the room seemed to be escalating.

Mom sighed after noticing how obviously pissed off I was. I was not backing out of this one.

"Katy, could you leave me alone to speak to your sister?" Mom asked.

Katy opened her mouth to argue but she quickly stopped. She sighed and then made her way upstairs reluctantly. Knowing her, she'd probably be hiding in a corner somewhere.

Mom sat down next to me, keeping a safe distance between us as she played with her fingers anxiously.

"I know that you are probably very confused about the whole thing." She began.

"It's not every day that you discover that you may have an uncle. The worst part is that I'm not even sure if I believe you." I answered bitterly.

"He's my half-brother, on my father's side." She clarified softly, relaxing her arms. "I was alone and scared for a very long time. My family had cut all ties with me. I had no support whatsoever. I had no idea about anything regarding babies or even how to work since I never had. I had to work and look after you. My past is something that hurts me. I didn't ever want anything from my past life to get to you that's why I never told you." she rumbled.

Was that supposed to be a valid reason for lying to your children?

"And your supposed half-brother abandoned you too?" I asked.

"He was younger than me and also a child at the time. It was not his responsibility to do anything for me." She answered.

"When will you tell me who my father is?" I asked.

Now that I had gotten to know a little bit, I wanted to know all of it. Before, I would have just settled for a simple answer like 'Oh, I'm not sure who your father is.' Or even an 'Oh, I have no idea who he is.'. Instead, she spent my whole life dancing around the issue, always avoiding topics when the conversation became difficult.

This was difficult for me. I felt like I didn't know the other half of who I was. For me to know that she had all the answers but still refused to tell me was even more frustrating.

"I never told you so I could protect you." She finally answered. "I didn't want anything to happen to you." She whispered.

"Protect me from what? What or who are you trying to protect me from? So far the only person hurting me is you." I nearly screamed.

All I ever wanted was a name. That wasn't so difficult. The fact that she was saying all of this to avoid answering made me all the more frustrated.

"When it comes to money, some people are just willing to do the unthinkable. I didn't want those kinds of things or people around you. Besides, he didn't even care." She nearly wept. "He didn't even have the guts to tell me himself that he didn't want to be involved. He sent his driver to do it. You don't need anyone like that in your life." She continued.

"If he is such a deadbeat and he is so terrible, why won't you just tell me his name? That wouldn't hurt you in any way, I'm not a child anymore." I said.

"Believe me, it's better for some things to just remain in the past." She answered. "You are going to be a mother soon. You'll understand what it means to protect your children."

I was having it with the emotional blackmail.

"Maybe everyone runs away because you are such a toxic person," I answered irascibly.

I stood off the couch, grabbing a jacket and anything else I thought was necessary.

To think that after twenty-five years she finally had the guts to tell me. This conversation wasn't getting anywhere. It always ends with silence.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her voice alarmed.

"Far away from you," I answered.

I stormed out of the house, slamming the front door on my way out, not taking a second to look back.

****

The last thing I remember was storming out of the house. I just kept walking aimlessly until I finally snapped out of my thoughts. I had no idea where I was going.

It must have been at least an hour after almost getting bumped by a car that I decided it was time for me to stop.

I sat down on a bench just thinking to myself, trapped in my thoughts and far away from reality.

Ivy arrived about half an hour later. I can't recall exactly when I called her, probably between all the feelings I was feeling.

I felt everything and nothing all at once.

She sat down next to me almost unnoticed and then placed her hand on my shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" she asked after a solid five minutes in silence.

I looked up, staring across the street. And suddenly there was the answer, a bar. The bright neon red letters on the glass windows made the idea even more appealing. Everyone drinks to get rid of their problems don't they? It must be because it works.

I walked across the street without a second thought, urging Ivy, who sounded very hesitant, to follow me.

Stepping into the bar, there were cheers erupting from every direction. More happy people, that only seemed to remind me how unhappy I was.

For a remote bar, it seemed to be packed with soft music playing in the background.

I pulled out a stool, settling myself in at the bar counter. I've only been to a bar once before. I've always thought I was too broke to ever become an addict of any sort so I shied away from bars.

"What can I get you, Miss?" the bartender asked.

"Something really strong that would help me forget all about my problems," I answered.

"I'm sorry, she doesn't get out much. We'll get two vodkas." Ivy interrupted.

The bartender nodded and then carried out our orders.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to a place a bit quieter with preferably less sweaty people?" Ivy asked.

"This is right where I'm meant to be," I answered assertively.

The bartender slammed our two drinks on the counter, two tiny glasses.

I was surprised that that was it. I expected a lot more.

Maybe I should go out a lot more often.

I took a shot of the strong liquor, the fluid running down my throat.

With alcohol tasting this horrible, how was it ever supposed to help anyone feel better?

"I want a whole bottle," I said slamming the glass down.

Ivy looked at me concerned as the bartender nodded at my request.

We started drinking, both of us taking turns taking our shots as I continued to elaborate on my problems. Ivy seemed to have her own love problems too. The name of the guy whom she refused to mention but assured me I had met.

All it took was two shots and I was rumbling out of control. Trying to balance on this stool without so much to support my back was nearly impossible, the liquor was slowly getting to my brain.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go to the bathroom." She announced climbing off the stool.

She pushed her way past the crowd, disappearing into the background.

I began pouring another glass for myself. I had promised myself that this would be my last drink. Any more alcohol and all of it will just empty out of my stomach.

I heard a faint whisper behind me. A guy approached me, leaning on the counter right beside me.

"Hi," He greeted, raising both his eyebrows flirtatiously.

"Hi," I droned, not paying much mind to his presence. I was now contemplating whether to drink or not.

"How about I get you another drink, something more fitting for a lady like you?" He winked.

Although I was drunk, I still wasn't anywhere close to forgetting any of my problems. Maybe he knew something that could help.

"Sure," I answered hesitantly.

Before I knew it, Ivy was back. She cleared her throat, staring at the guy sternly. "You should back off, she is not that desperate or drunk yet," Ivy said.

The guy gave Ivy a cold stare, but Ivy remained firm and aggressive in her stern look, causing the guy to slowly back away. Ivy kept her cold gaze on him until he disappeared again.

"Why would you do that? He was just offering me a drink and he was a bit cute." I mumbled.

I hadn't taken a close look at him but under the dim lights, he seemed okay. I had met worse creeps.

Ivy reclaimed her seat. "In your sadness, you may have also gone blind. I know you are hurt and all that but do you really want to go from Tristan to that guy? Are you sure you want to stoop that low?" She questioned.

She had a point.

"Besides, by the looks of it, it seems like you already had enough to drink." She pointed at the bottle that was nearly half empty. In my defence, she had helped me for the most part and the alcohol seemed not to have affected her in any way.

"You should have a drink with me," I slid the bottle over to her.

"I probably shouldn't drink that much. One of us has to be sober enough to take the other home and we have to make sure neither of us does anything stupid like end up as a one-night stand for some guy who still lives in his mother's basement." She answered.

I stared down at the full glass I was yet to drink as I tried to rethink every bad decision I'd ever made in my life. "I think I'm going to die old and alone, with no one who loves me. Maybe I should have stayed with Waylen, none of this would be happening to me right now." I said.

"Everyone that saw you two together knew that you could do a lot better." She answered. "Maybe you should stop drinking now. It's time for the two of us to go home. We still have work tomorrow. It would be terrible if we showed up hungover." She tried to reason.

"I feel like I don't have a home anymore. I don't think I'll have a job either after I tell Tristan the truth tomorrow. He is going to hate me," I said.

Ivy nearly choked on her breath. "So you are not just sticking with the miscarriage story or a car accident?" she asked.

I sighed. "I feel like I've been deceived my entire life, and I don't ever want to do that to anyone else, or for them to feel the way I feel now. It hurts. I hope he will forgive me. It's the right decision for me to make." I answered. Maybe I wasn't so drunk after all, a part of my brain was still working.

Ivy shook her head in disapproval of my newly found moral compass.

"I think I'm going to move out. Leave and go to a very faraway place where no one knows me so that I can escape all of my problems." I deducted next. I raised my glass to take my final shot.

"You should put that glass down. Do you want me to phone Tristan and tell him that his baby mama is an alcoholic?" she asked.

"I won't be anymore in less than twenty-four hours." I answered.

I'll be jobless and probably ruined.

I couldn't help but laugh at my own misery. Doing the right thing was not going to be easy.

There were loud cheers erupting from the far end of the bar. I couldn't help but look.

Surprisingly, the star of that show and the reason for all the loud cheers happened to be no other than Vincent Montenegro. He was standing right on top of the table as he drank a bottle of hard liquor without taking any pauses. The crowd cheered, clapping their hands in unison as they yelled 'Drink, drink!

Surprisingly, he managed to complete the task in just under two minutes. He raised the now empty bottle in the air, showing his victory as the cheers became even louder.

I'd hate to be his liver.

I didn't want to look at him for too long. He might notice and then I'd be in big trouble. I was supposed to be pregnant.

While turning away from Vincent, my eyes caught something else, perhaps someone.

It was none other than Tristan. HERE! Out of all places in the universe!

Why does the universe hate me this much?

He seemed to have quite an audience around him. There was a group of women around him, focused on the story he was telling them as they leaned in as close as they could, some even flirting. He seemed not to mind any of it. Did he go to bars to pick up women?

Wasn't he supposed to be at a family dinner?

I was an absolute failure in life. I couldn't even do one thing right or really trust anyone. Just when I thought that he was perhaps the only real thing in my life, I was proven wrong once again.

I saw him turn toward me in my direction. I quickly turned away, covering myself with my hair. I held Ivy's hand firmly, so she wouldn't turn around either. Hopefully, he was too drunk to notice.

"Tristan is right behind us," I whispered to her.

Ivy froze. After everything, having him recognize us was the worst thing possible.

Ivy already had a negative encounter with Tristan, so she was not too keen on another meeting, let alone in a place like this.

"We should leave," I told her.

We climbed off our stools. I took the last couple of dollar notes I had left in my pocket and handed them to the bartender.

Trying to remain hidden in a crowded place proved to be easy.

Once I was almost out of the door, I turned around to see if he might have noticed something. He had turned around to continue his conversation with Vincent who had now approached him.

Letting him find out that I was drinking before he found out I wasn't pregnant would turn out to be a double disaster. I couldn't afford any more mistakes.

I may have dodged a bullet, I was already in enough trouble as it was.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading, please comment down your thoughts and vote.

What do you think about her mother's story.