Chapter 4 - Adopted
1119 Words
Katherine pov
The engine of my car hummed steadily beneath me, but my mind was anything but calm. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles white, as the familiar streets passed by, each one reminding me of what I had lost.
Back of my mind all I could think of was the one night stand I just had with a stranger and on top of that I had stolen his car.
I needed to face my parents and ask the necessary questions.
I approached my parents' house, and a wave of nausea hit me. The house that was once a symbol of security now felt like a prison. The place I had called home for years felt so unfamiliar, like it belonged to someone else. My pulse quickened, and my heart hammered in my chest.
I had to know the truth. There were too many unanswered questions, too many lies hiding behind every smile, every conversation. I couldn't keep pretending like everything was okay when the foundation of my entire life was crumbling beneath me.
I pulled into the driveway, the tires crunching against the gravel. The house loomed in front of me, almost ominous now. The door to the house was slightly ajar, but there was no sign of my mother.
She wasn’t standing at the door as she usually did when I came home. She wasn’t there to greet me, not with that warm smile. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually felt like I belonged in this house.
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, the cold air biting at my skin. My hands were shaking as I walked up to the door, but I pushed the fear aside. I had to confront them. I had to know why everything had fallen apart and why they hadn’t told me the truth.
As I stepped inside, the house was eerily quiet. My father was sitting in his favorite chair, his expression unreadable, his eyes focused on the floor. He didn’t look up as I entered, but I could feel his presence, heavy with the weight of all the things left unsaid.
“Dad,” I said, my voice sounding almost foreign to me. “We need to talk.”
He didn’t respond immediately. I watched him carefully, waiting for him to acknowledge me. Finally, he looked up, his eyes tired, like he had been expecting this moment for a long time.
“You’re home early,” he said, his tone calm, too calm.
“I didn’t want to wait any longer,” I replied, my voice stronger now. “There’s something I need to know. Something you need to tell me.”
His gaze hardened slightly, and he stood up slowly, as though weighing his words carefully.
“Katherine, you’re not a little girl anymore. You need to understand that.”
“I’m not a little girl, Dad,” I snapped, frustration bubbling up. “But you’ve treated me like one. All these years, you’ve kept me in the dark about everything. What about Felix? What about Diana? Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
He took a deep breath, his eyes falling to the ground again as though searching for the right words. When he spoke, it wasn’t what I expected.
“Katherine,” he began slowly, “there’s something you need to understand about our family. Felix isn’t the only one keeping secrets.”
My stomach twisted. “What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Your mother and I... we’ve kept something from you. Something important.” His voice cracked slightly, but he didn’t look at me. His gaze remained fixed on the floor, as though the weight of his own words was too much for him to bear.
I felt a chill spread through me. “What is it, Dad?”
He finally met my eyes, his expression filled with sorrow. “Katherine, you’re adopted.”
The words hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t process what he had just said.
“No... no, that’s not possible,” I stammered, shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying,” he said softly. “You’re our daughter, Katherine. You’ve always been loved. But your biological parents... they gave you up.”
The ground beneath me seemed to shift, and I stumbled back, my head spinning. My father’s words didn’t feel real. How could they? How could everything I knew about myself—everything I thought I was—be shattered in an instant?
I felt the room close in on me. The walls felt like they were closing in, and the air was suddenly too thick to breathe. I couldn’t look at him anymore.
I turned away, unable to process what I had just heard.
“I... I don’t believe you,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “This can’t be true. This doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s true,” he said, his voice tinged with regret.
“We wanted to tell you. We really did, but the time was never right. You’ve always been our daughter, Katherine. Nothing changes that.”
I could barely focus on his words. The pain was too much, the shock too overwhelming. I wanted to scream, to run away from everything I had just learned. But before I could speak, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out, my hands trembling, and saw the message.
"Stop being a brat and come home. After everything we've done for you, this is how you act? Ungrateful I'm glad you aren't my daughter"
My mother’s words hit me harder than anything my father had just said. She was angry. She was upset, but not because of the betrayal, not because of the lies. She was angry that I was questioning everything.
“Mom...” I whispered, my voice barely audible. "She doesn't love me dad”
I glanced up at my father, who was still watching me with a mixture of guilt and sadness. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed something from him, something to explain why they had kept this from me.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking. “I never wanted you to find out this way.”
I turned toward the door, my legs feeling like jelly. I couldn’t stay here, not with the weight of all these lies hanging in the air.
“Where are you going?” my father asked softly, but I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t look at him. I just walked out, the door closing behind me with a heavy thud.
- Writer
