Page 68 of Revealing Mark

Then he realized what that meant and strode over to me. He sat down beside me and hugged me tight. “This changes nothing.”

I nodded, trying to stop myself from tearing up. He held me so tightly it was difficult to breathe, but I let him. He needed this and, in some way, so did I. I felt Sophie’s arms wrap around us and she laid her head against my shoulder.

“I still love you just the same,” she added softly.

“Ditto,” I whispered hoarsely, overcome with emotion and the love for my siblings.

Once we finished, then all the questions came. I told them as much as I knew about my father and what had happened.

“Do you have other siblings?” Matthew asked.

I nodded. “Two older brothers.”

He managed to chuckle. “Just what you need.”

“I know, right?” I found it difficult to suppress my smile.

“What are they like?” Sophie asked, and I told her as much as I could remember.

“I’m sorry you had to go through this on your own.” He touched my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“You guys always treat me like I’m fragile and like I can’t do things on my own. I wanted to show you that I could handle this.”

“I never meant for you to ever feel like that,” Matthew said, bending down on his knee beside me and leveling his gaze with mine. “You’re a little forgetful and absent-minded but that doesn’t mean you’re incapable. There is a difference. And I’m sorry if I ever said or did anything that made you feel that way.”

“Me too,” Sophie added sympathetically. I gave her a teary smile.

“I don’t know what I would do without you two.”

“It’s a good thing you’ll never find out.” And there was my protective brother in big-brother mode as he rose. “Have you decided when you’re going to confront Mom and Dad… Father?”

My genetic father was just a name and an image in my mind, but my dad was filled with memories of love and nurturing. Their dad would always still be my dad even though I might still be mad that he and my mother had been deceitful. I had to acknowledge my father was gone and I would never get achance to meet him or get to know him. That was the saddest part about the whole situation.

So many years had been lost and there was nothing I could do to get them back. It made me angry and resentful. It was impossible to balance my love for my parents and my feelings of betrayal.

I gave a one-arm shrug. “I have to do it soon. I can’t drag this out any longer. I need to know everything so I can start living my life again.”

I let out a heavy breath.

“I can’t believe they kept this from us.” It was still clearly gnawing at Matthew.

“They must have thought they were doing the right thing. They love you and us. I can’t see them doing this if they didn’t whole-heartedly believe it was the best thing for you.” Sophie seemed to be more forgiving. She had this way of giving people the benefit of the doubt, unlike most people who would believe things based on only the visible facts.

Matthew snorted. “Yeah, keeping her real father from her was the best idea.” He looked so mad I wondered if he would be able to understand our parents’ side.

But emotions were still running high. Maybe after some time to think about it he would be able to see past his anger.

I had to admit my relationship with my parents might never be the same, but I wanted to salvage what was left. Being angry and upset when I spoke to them would not do anyone any good. I needed a clear mind with less emotions to be able to speak to them.

“I can come with you when you go to talk to Mom and Dad,” Matthew offered.

“I’ll be there too if you need me?” Sophie added.

I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to do the right thing and confront them on my own but I would be lying if I weren’t tempted to have some backup in the form of my siblings. But Ihad come so far on my own and I wanted to see the rest of it through on my own terms.

Besides, Matthew and Sophie had just found out. They also needed time to work their way through it.

“I think I need to do this on my own.”