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‘No. It’s not about us. It’s about Lucy. You are not going to believe this.’ Sarah pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed Darren the message.

‘What the hell?’ Darren’s mouth hung open like a fish’s.

‘I know.’ Sarah sat down opposite him. ‘What am I going to do?’

‘Sohe never knew?’

‘Looks that way.’

‘All these years he had two kids and he never knew. Jesus, that’s terrible. The poor fella must be demented.’

‘I don’t think he realizes Dylan is his. He just recognized Kelly because she obviously looks like him.’

‘That Gabriel is some bastard, telling him Lucy had the abortion.’

‘Yes, but Tom should never have run away like that. He should have stayed withLucy and then he’d have known she’d changed her mind. He was a spineless git.’

‘I know what he did was really low but, come on, Sarah. Look at it from his point of view. He wasn’t able to have kids, his marriage broke down and then he goes on Facebook and sees his daughter looking back at him. I can’t even imagine what that must feel like. I’d die if I found out I had kids I hadn’t known forseventeen years. I actually feel sorry for him. He’s missed out on their whole lives.’

Darren was right. It must be devastating for Tom, such a shock. But he should never have run away and abandoned Lucy like that. Still, what Gabriel had done was despicable. Lying to his own son about his kids.

‘What am I going to do?’

‘You’ll have to tell him the truth.’

‘Should I call Lucy?’ Sarah asked.

Darren chewed his lip. ‘I don’t think so. Not yet. Tell him that he has two kids – that’ll probably be enough to give the poor fella a heart attack. You’ll have to explain that Lucy thinks he knew about the kids and didn’t care.’

‘What’s Lucy going to say? This will kill her. He did leave her, Darren, whether he knew or not, he left her alone.’

‘But the fact is, he’s their dad and he deservesto know. I’d want to know.’

Sarah nodded. Tom should be told. Oh, God, what a mess. How was she going to tell Lucy?

‘One step at a time, Sarah. Tell him he has two kids. Tell him Lucy thinks he knew all along and that he abandonedthem all. Explain to him that he has to take this really, really slowly.’

Sarah sat down and began to compose her reply.

Dear Tom, this will come as a shock toyou, but you do have children. Lucy couldn’t go through with the abortion and gave birth to twins – Kelly and Dylan (who is the boy standing beside her in the photo). Running away like you did was unforgivable. You left Lucy alone to make all of these decisions. She thinks you know about the kids. She has no idea your father lied to you. Lucy has raised the twins alone and done an incredible job.She will not be happy to know I have been in touch with you. She feels betrayed by you. But I felt you should know the truth. I will not be giving you Lucy’s number. She will not want to hear from you. I realize this is a huge shock to you, but it will be an even bigger shock to Lucy and the kids. They have to be protected from any hurt or distress. You need to think about what I’ve told you and takethis very, very slowly. There are two innocent children involved here who must not be upset. Lucy is my best friend. I will not let you hurt her again. Sarah

Sarah’s hand shook as she pressed Send. She had a horrible feeling things were never going to be the same again.