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E lizabeth stared at her father in horror as his words shattered her belief in life.

This cannot be true! This is all falsehood.

“You are lying. I do not believe you,” Elizabeth said, shaking.

“No, we are not. You were not born to us. We took you in with a kind heart, and what have you to give us? Nothing. We must have sent you with the maids,” her mother said with disgust.

Elizabeth felt dizzy.

“No! No! You are lying. Why are you doing this?” she asked, unable to believe them.

“I am not, and it is the truth. All these years, we have withheld this secret to give you a decent living just like the rest of our daughters, and now I realize that you are as ungrateful as your mother. “

My mother?

“Whom are you referring to? If I am not your daughter, then who am I?”

“You were born to my sister Sarah. Do not rejoice in the discovery. Nobody knows who your father is, and you were born out of wedlock, and your birth is a disgrace.”

Elizabeth looked at her mother in shock. She somehow knew Mrs. Bennet spoke the truth; the anger and sincerity in her eyes confirmed it.

She felt her whole world collapse, and all those years of questioning why her mother hated her had a simple explanation: Mrs. Bennet was not her mother. She looked at her father with tears; and all she could see in him was anger.

“Do not look at me like that. You would have been shunned by the world if not for us. But you have lived happily under our protection for so long, and I never thought you would disobey me. But now I realize you can never belong to our family.”

“Stop it! Stop it! Who asked you to raise me? You could have given me away instead of making me a commodity for your financial needs. Where is my mother now?” Elizabeth asked in agony.

Mrs. Bennet let out a low laugh.

“You had plans to see your mother? She died soon after you were born. I am certain she was ashamed to see your face, you were a disgrace.”

Elizabeth could not bear it anymore and collapsed to the floor crying.

Her father reached her and dragged her to face him.

“Listen to me. We are not your parents, and your mother was a characterless woman who brought shame to the Gardiner family. Your uncle also knows this and wanted us to raise you and give you a good life. He didn’t want to do anything with you.

Fanny was pregnant with Jane while your mother birthed you.

We moved from town to Hertfordshire to raise you without any societal scrutiny.

Despite such a horrible past, we gave you a family and a respectable life.

But now I realize none of our sacrifices have rendered fruitful.

You have the same disposition as your mother and do not care about anyone around you. You are selfish and insolent.”

He held her so roughly that Elizabeth’s arms hurt from his grip.

“So be it. Call me whatever name you want to, but I do not care. You say you have given me a good life. What for? To trade me for your well-being? You may have given me a house to live in, but you know you never loved me. All these years, I never understood why. Thank you for enlightening me on this subject.”

“How dare you say that? You had the same dresses as my daughters, masters to learn from, food on the table, and a comfortable home. For someone as worthless as you we spent every penny in vain. What else do you want? Do you know what name the society would have given you?” Mrs. Bennet asked with anger.

“Those are materialistic things. You never gave me your care and love; now I know why. You hated me for something my mother did. You could have killed me for deceiving me so.”

“Look here. I knew the truth had to be told someday, but I had never dreamt it would be so soon. Now that you know this, you can never live with us. You have one choice: marry Mr. Collins and leave,” Mr. Bennet said with authority.

“You have stated that I am not your daughter, then you have no right over me. You cannot make me marry him.”

“Your mother gave custody before she died, and you are not of age yet. You will obey us and be thankful that Mr. Collins knows nothing about your birth. Do you think any man will come forward to claim your hand if the truth comes out?”

Elizabeth struggled and tried to free herself from his grasp. She looked at both of them with disgust.

She could not explain what she felt. Shame, anger, betrayal, and helplessness engulfed her like a storm.

“You cannot force me to do that. As you say, you are not my parents, and my mother is not alive. You have no proof of being my guardian. I will not sacrifice myself to be grateful to you for raising me. I would insult every feeling of love and affection I have had for you if I agree to this trade.”

“You have no choice. Now that you know the truth, you cannot live here. Mr. Gardiner will never take you, and you have no one in this world who will even pity you. You will marry him, and that is my final word.”

“No. I would rather die than marry that man. You have betrayed me in so many ways and have no right to decide anything about my future; leave me alone,” she cried, and ran out of the library.

The rest of the family had already retired. She ran up to her room and collapsed on the floor. Jane was already asleep.

Her world tore apart, as her life at Longbourn was a lie.

All these years, I have called them my parents. They are my aunt and uncle. Oh! God! My mother is dead. Who is my father?

Am I illegitimate?

She could not believe the revelation, and the truth brought her shame. She did not know if she could survive another minute in the world.

“This is a mess,” Mr. Bennet yelled at his wife in the library.

“What can we do? That insolent girl has no gratitude. I could not stand to call her my own all these years. We knew the truth would be out someday, and we no longer had to pretend to love her. She will marry him and leave this place.”

“No, Fanny. I know her; she won’t. She will never accept that man. We would have succeeded if I had been patient and coaxed her to marry him without revealing the truth. Anger got the better of me.”

“What options does she have? She cannot go to Edward. They are in Portugal, and it will be at least two months before they return. Even if she goes to them, she will hear the same story as what we told her.”

“This is a headache, and I do not know what to do.”

“Had you been strict with her, she would have obeyed you. You always had a soft corner for her in your heart, and I am disgusted by it.”

“Enough! No more of the past. We cannot leave this opportunity with Mr. Collins. I have had sleepless nights about your future in case I die. She must marry him, and Longbourn must be with us.”

“Oh! Do not fret, Mr. Bennet. I know a way, and we can easily send her with Mr. Collins within a week.”

“How do you think that will happen?”

“Why? He can compromise her. By the way he has been looking at her; I am sure he will have no scruple in ruining her.”

Mr. Bennet stared at his wife in shock, and she almost expected him to disagree.

He merely nodded his head as he knew they had no other choice.

“We cannot do anything now as Jane is in the same room. Tomorrow, I will make sure all the servants are present to witness it. I will convince Mr. Collins about the task at hand. He will enter her room, and I do not need to guide him on what he should do. It will just be a compromise to the world, and we can marry them here as soon as possible. I am certain her self-respect will not allow her to disclose details about her birth if she wants to have a decent living with her husband,” she said with certainty.

But someone shook with fear and rage outside the library, hearing her mother’s words.

Mary had never left the place and stayed by the door and listened to every gruesome detail about Elizabeth’s past. The ease with which her parents planned to ruin her beloved sister grieved her beyond measure.

She loved Elizabeth with all her heart and knew nothing would change her relationship with her sister.

I cannot let this happen. I cannot let that man ruin her. No matter what they say, she is my sister.

Mary thought with resolve and wiped her tears away.

Mr. Bennet and his wife retired that night without the slightest idea that none of their plans would work the next day.