Chapter 2
808 Words
The words hung in the air.
Impatience flickered across Declan's face as he wrenched his arm free from Trina's outstretched hand, then turned on his heel to leave, the other child clutched tight in his arms.
I hurried forward.
I wrapped my arms around Trina first, then stepped straight into Declan's path, blocking him. "Declan, what is the meaning of this?"
He never expected to run into me here, much less that I'd returned to the country without telling him.
For a long moment, he froze solid in his tracks, his eyes blowing wide with utter disbelief when they landed on me.
After what felt like an eternity, he tightened his hold on the child in his arms and spoke in a low voice. A flicker of uncharacteristic guilt seeped into his tone.
"You... how… how are you back here?"
As he finished speaking, something seemed to click in his head. His head snapped up, and his gaze locked on Trina, who was standing beside me still wiping away tears.
"She's... Trina?"
At his question, I tugged the corner of my mouth into a bitter, empty smile. My eyes dimmed, and no trace of warmth reached my gaze.
Trina was five years old already, and he still couldn't even recognize his own biological daughter.
"Declan, aren't you going to explain this? You—"
I never even got to finish my sentence. Several cars screeched to a halt right outside the restaurant entrance, and a crowd of people piled out one after another.
When I spotted the woman at the front of the group, I froze. Searing pain flooded my eyes and chest.
"Long time no see, sister."
It was Westlyn.
My half-sister.
It was her and her mother who'd torn apart my once-happy family, who'd driven my mother to her death, and locked me up in a mental institution.
When our eyes met, and I saw the open challenge glinting in hers, every terrible memory from the past came flooding back all at once.
My whole body started shaking uncontrollably.
"Why are you still standing out here? It's freezing cold." Westlyn slid her hand into Declan's like she'd done it a thousand times, her voice thick with sweet affection.
Before I could get another word out, she spoke up first, loud enough for every single person gathered there to hear her clearly.
"My sister, Declan told me everything. You're dead set on clinging to him. You'd even throw everything away to be his mistress. But Declan and I have a baby together now. Stop clinging to him. Declan and I are married now. Are you really going to follow in your mother's footsteps and be the roadblock standing in the way of other people's happiness?"
In an instant, every eye in the crowd turned to me. People started muttering among themselves, every word laced with curses and insults thrown my way.
I clenched my fist so hard my nails bit into my palm, then turned my head to look at the man standing right beside Westlyn.
My voice came out quiet and steady when I asked, "Declan, is this true?"
But before Declan could even open his mouth to answer, my daughter ripped her hand out of mine and snatched the marriage certificate right out of my pocket.
Before anyone could react, Trina darted forward, grabbed Declan’s hand tight, and choked out through her sobs. "Daddy, didn’t you already marry mommy? Why do you have a baby with another woman? Did I do something to make daddy angry? Look daddy, this is you and mommy’s marriage certificate. Mommy always keeps it right next to her in her pocket!"
Westlyn pushed forward, ignoring Trina’s frantic, thrashing struggle as she wrenched the marriage certificate out of her small hands from Trina and flipped it open.
The very next second, she held the document high and shook it right in my face, her voice dripping with sneering mockery, "Sister, you really have no shame at all, do you? This marriage certificate is obviously fake. How much longer are you going to keep lying to yourself? Look, there isn’t even an official stamp on it!"
Once she finished talking, she pulled a real marriage certificate out of her own pocket and held it out to me with a smug grin.
"Here, take a look. This is what an actual legitimate marriage certificate looks like. Oh, and by the way, I recorded the whole day when Declan and I got our license at the civil affairs bureau. Go on, enjoy the show." With that, she held her phone out to me next.
The video of their wedding license appointment was already pulled up on the screen.
In the video, Declan was beaming with pure happiness.
That bright, happy grin burned so sharp against my eyes I could barely hold back my tears.
- Writer
