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?"

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

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, you'd better believe I'll demand a lot more than just letting me stay. I'll demand everything I'm entitled to, and I won't

her mouth. "You've got a lot of threats, don't you?" I hissed, my voice dripping with venom. "One would think

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 sure they all know that we

she truly think she could walk

she asked, her eyes watching me carefully. "Who knows? Maybe he left me something.

father's business as his only child, 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 and making claims she had no right

up," I said, my

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

a 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 to be my sister, and threaten me? Scoffing, I reached for my phone, my fingers

my father's estate in the west," I said when he answered. "I want you to look into them. Find out everything there is to

back to the work piled on 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,

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

my security to park the car while I made my way inside. The first

same time, their smiles lingering as they saw me. Seeing 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 was slowly moving on from the pain of my

steal that smile from her, not now, not ever. Even if Maya was my sister, she and her mother had managed to stay hidden all these years, and they could stay hidden for a while longer. My mother had been through

Lily asked, her voice gentle as she pulled

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, closing the distance between us and leaning down to press

smile still in place. "Yeah, I finished

mother, bending down to

was work today?"

usual, but bearable,"

call. "I need to take this," I said, walking away from them, feeling Lily's eyes on me as I left the room. I