Becoming Strangers Again by Lily

RYAN

I must have misheard her I had to have. There was simply no possible way my father, the man I had always looked up to and respected, would have done something so reckless, so deceitful. The notion that he could have cheated on my mother, fathered a child outside of their marriage, and then kept that child a secret for so many years-it seemed unthinkable. It was like my brain refused to process the idea; it fought against it, rejecting it as absurd.

"I know this is a lot to take in," she said, her voice calm and even. "I didn't want to tell you anything. My mother didn't want to, either. We've been avoiding this for as long as we could, but we're at a point now where we can't afford to stay silent anymore. We can't be homeless."

I looked at her, disbelief and anger churning inside me. "What's your name again?" I asked, my tone sharp and unforgiving.

"Maya," she answered without hesitation.

"So you expect me to believe this story you've come here to tell me?" I demanded, my voice tight with barely contained rage. "You expect me to believe that my father-my father-cheated on my mother with your mother? That he had some secret affair and you're the result of it?"

She shrugged, a casual gesture that infuriated me even more. "I'm not asking you to believe me," she said, her voice almost too calm, too indifferent. "I'm not asking you for anything other than to listen. I'm just stating the facts as they are. Your father did cheat, and I am the product of that affair. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you."

Maybe she was telling the truth, maybe she wasn't-how was I supposed to know? Either way, it hardly mattered. My mother was already grieving, her heart shattered by my father's sudden death, and I would do whatever it took to protect her from any more pain. I wouldn't let anyone come into our lives and hurt her more, especially with a sob story like this. Not now, not ever.

"Alright, let's say, just for a moment, that I decide to humor you," I said, intertwining my fingers and resting them on the table between us. I leaned forward, my gaze locked on her. "What exactly is it that you want?"

"Don't sell the house," she said without missing a beat.

I stared at her this young woman sitting in front of me with such boldness-and I couldn't help but chuckle. It was such a small request, but it felt loaded.

"Your mother doesn't have to know about this," she continued. "All you have to do is not sell the house. Just let my mother and me continue living there. That's all I'm asking."

The smile I had on my face-tight and far from genuine-slowly faded. "That sounds an awful lot like a threat to me," I said, my voice low and cold.

She shook her head, her expression sincere. "It's not a threat. I'm just asking you to let us stay where we are. I'm not demanding anything more." Her eyes moved over me, studying me carefully. "You're this agitated just because I asked you not to sell one property. What would you do if I were to ask you for something more? If I were to demand that you will me some of his estate?"

my teeth clenching together in a desperate attempt to hold back my frustration. "I'd pull

"What is this, a DNA match between me and you?" she taunted, leaning forward, her gaze growing darker and more sinister. "If we do this DNA test, and it turns out positive,

my anger rising with every word that came out of her mouth. "You've got a lot of threats, don't you?" I hissed,

nonchalance maddening. "Well, now, this is a threat. If you refuse, I won't just ask for some properties. I'll take the DNA result to every news outlet I can find, and I'll make

truly think she could walk into

her eyes watching me carefully. "Who

and there hadn't seemed to be any rush to read the will. It was something we'd get to when we were ready, but this woman-this stranger-was pushing herself into our lives

up," I said,

softly as she rose from her seat. "No need to kick me out I'm already leaving." She grabbed her purse, her eyes meeting mine one last time. "Think about what I said. Don't sell the property." With that, she turned and walked

long moment, the events of the last few minutes playing over and over in my mind. Did a random woman seriously just walk into my office, claim

in the west," I said when he answered. "I want you to look into them. Find out everything there is to know, and

my desk, but no matter how hard I tried, my mind kept drifting back to the conversation with Maya. If she really was my sister, it was only a matter of time before my mother found out. Blackmail was a vicious cycle, one that I had no intention of getting caught in. It was like stepping into quicksand-the more you struggled, the deeper you sank,

***************

was driving them to the airport myself. I pulled up to the house, handing the keys to my security to park the car while I made my

my mother smile like that-so bright, so full of joy-made me realize just how much Lily's presence was helping her heal. She

had managed to stay hidden all these years, and they could stay hidden for a while longer. My mother had been through enough. She didn't need to face

Lily asked, her voice gentle as she pulled me out

blinked, refocusing on them. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, closing the distance between us

in place. "Yeah,

down to kiss

work today?"

as usual,

away from them, feeling Lily's eyes on me as I left the room. I stepped into our bedroom, closing the door behind me before