CHAPTER 2: The Truth His Mother Tried to Bury
The moment Damien’s mother appeared, the atmosphere shifted.
Her heels struck the marble floor too fast, too desperate—like she was running from something that had already caught up with her.
“Mara,” she said sharply, her voice trembling despite her attempt to sound controlled.
My grip tightened around Ethan and Noah’s hands.
Damien didn’t look at her. His eyes stayed on my children—as if looking away might make them disappear.
“What is this?” he finally asked, voice low and broken. “Mom… what is going on?”
She ignored him.
Her gaze locked on me instead.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said under her breath.
I let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “That’s funny. I could say the same to you five years ago.”
A flicker of panic crossed her face.
Damien stepped closer. “Five years ago? What does that mean?”
Silence.
Heavy. Crushing.
Noah shifted beside me. “Mom…?”
I knelt slightly, brushing his hair back. “It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t okay.
Nothing about this moment was okay.
Damien’s mother took a shaky breath. “Damien, please. Not here.”
But he was already looking at the boys again, his voice breaking.
“Tell me the truth, Mara.”
The words hung between us like a blade.
I stood slowly.
“You want the truth?” I said quietly. “Then stop letting other people speak for you.”
Damien flinched.
I continued, each word sharper than the last.
“Five years ago, I told you I was pregnant. You didn’t ask a single question. You handed me money and a way out. That was your choice.”
His face tightened. “I didn’t—”
“You did,” I cut in. “And I left.”
A long silence.
Then Noah spoke, innocent and unaware of the storm.
“Mom… is that man my dad?”
The entire world stopped.
Damien staggered half a step forward.
His mother suddenly looked like she couldn’t breathe.
And I realized something—
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She wasn’t just afraid of the truth.
She was afraid of what came with it.
