UNCONTROLLABLE TEARS

CHAPTER 4 The Unexpected Dinner

A few days later, Dad received a phone call from Grandpa.

I was sitting quietly in the living room when I heard him answer.

"Hello, Dad."

I didn't pay much attention at first.

Dad listened for a while.

Then he said, "Tonight?"

There was a short pause.

"Alright. We'll come."

He ended the call and looked at me.

"Maya."

I looked up.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Get ready. We're going to visit Grandma and Grandpa tonight."

I stared at him for a moment.

"Tonight?"

"Yes."

I nodded slowly.

"Okay."

I didn't tell him that I didn't really want to go.

I never felt completely comfortable around Grandma and Grandpa.

They were never openly mean to me.

Not when Dad was around.

They smiled.

They asked how I was doing.

Sometimes Grandma would touch my hair and tell me I had grown.

But there was always something I couldn't explain.

Whenever I visited them, I somehow felt like I was standing in a place where I wasn't completely welcome.

Maybe it was the way Grandma's smile disappeared when Dad wasn't looking.

Maybe it was the way Grandpa barely spoke to me unless Dad was beside me.

I was only ten, but I noticed things.

Still, I didn't want Dad to think I was being difficult.

So I simply went upstairs to get ready.

---

That afternoon, Richard and Vivian were already preparing for the evening.

They knew Edward would come.

They also knew Maya would come with him.

Elizabeth and Suzita were already there.

Vivian looked at Elizabeth.

"Everything is ready."

Elizabeth nodded.

She glanced toward the door.

"So he's bringing her?"

"Of course," Vivian replied.

Elizabeth's expression remained calm, but something inside her tightened.

She had never liked Maya.

From the moment she became pregnant with Suzita, she had blamed the little girl for part of the situation she had found herself in.

In her mind, Edward had been forced to keep her and Suzita hidden because of Natalia and Maya.

If Maya had not existed, Elizabeth believed things would have been different.

She could have had Edward openly.

She could have been the woman standing beside him.

Instead, she had spent years waiting.

She had been given a child but not the place she believed should have been hers.

And she had never forgotten it.

Still, she knew better than to show her anger.

Not yet.

She smiled when Vivian looked at her.

"Don't worry," Vivian said. "Everything will be fine."

Elizabeth nodded.

"I know."

---

That evening, Dad and I arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

As soon as we stepped inside, I noticed that there were people I had never seen before.

I looked around the room.

There was a woman standing near the sitting room with a little girl beside her.

I didn't know who they were.

They weren't people I usually saw whenever I visited Grandma and Grandpa.

I looked at Dad.

He had stopped walking.

His face had changed.

He stared at the woman for a few seconds as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Dad?"

He didn't answer me.

The woman looked at him.

"Edward."

Dad finally spoke.

"Elizabeth?"

I looked at the woman again.

So her name was Elizabeth.

But why did Dad look so shocked?

He turned toward Grandma and Grandpa.

"What is this?"

Grandpa remained calm.

"Come inside."

Dad didn't move.

"You invited us here for dinner."

"And you came."

Dad looked back at Elizabeth.

Then his eyes moved to the little girl standing beside her.

The little girl was holding Elizabeth's hand.

Dad's expression became even more serious.

I looked between them, confused.

"Who are they?"

Dad looked down at me.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then Grandma stepped forward.

"Maya, come and greet our guests."

I looked at her.

I didn't move.

I didn't know these people.

Grandma smiled.

"This is Elizabeth."

I looked at the woman.

She gave me a small smile.

"Hello, Maya."

"Hello."

My voice was quiet.

"And this is Suzita."

The little girl looked at me.

She was quiet too.

I gave her a small nod.

"Hello."

She didn't answer.

Grandma smiled again.

"You two will get to know each other soon."

I frowned.

What did she mean?

Then Grandpa spoke.

"Edward has something to tell you."

I looked at Dad.

He looked uncomfortable.

"Dad?"

He swallowed.

"Maya, there are some things you need to know."

My heart began beating faster.

Grandpa spoke before Dad could continue.

"Elizabeth is your father's partner."

I looked at Elizabeth.

I didn't understand.

"What does that mean?"

Grandma answered.

"She is the woman your father has been seeing."

My eyes widened.

I looked at Dad.

He didn't deny it.

I felt something inside me break.

I remembered the argument I had overheard between my parents before Mom died.

Is there another woman?

Mom had asked that question.

Dad had lied.

Now I understood.

I looked at Elizabeth again.

Then I looked at the little girl beside her.

"Who is she?"

Nobody answered immediately.

I looked at Dad.

"Dad?"

His eyes were already filled with guilt.

Elizabeth gently placed a hand on Suzita's shoulder.

Grandpa finally spoke.

"She is your father's daughter."

I stared at him.

"What?"

Dad immediately stepped toward me.

"Maya, listen to me."

I shook my head.

"She's your daughter?"

Dad looked down.

"Yes."

My lips began to tremble.

"But..."

I looked at Suzita.

"Then who am I?"

Dad's face changed.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I was your only daughter."

"You are my daughter."

"Then why is she here?"

Dad tried to take my hand.

I pulled it away.

Grandma sighed.

"Maya, don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."

I looked at her.

I didn't understand why she sounded annoyed.

"I'm just asking."

"Your father has made a decision," she said calmly. "You should learn to accept it."

I looked at Dad.

"What decision?"

He closed his eyes for a moment.

Then he said quietly,

"Elizabeth and Suzita will be coming to live with us."

I stared at him.

The room suddenly felt too small.

"But Mom..."

My voice broke.

"Mom just died."

Dad's eyes became red.

"I know."

"You said it was just us."

"I know, Maya."

"Then why are they coming?"

Dad stepped closer.

"I didn't want you to hear it this way."

"But you knew?"

He didn't answer.

Tears filled my eyes.

"How long have you known?"

Dad looked away.

I understood from his silence.

I took a step backward.

Grandma looked at me.

"You should be happy that your father won't be alone."

I stared at her.

"But I'm not ready."

She smiled faintly.

"You are a child. Adults make these decisions for you."

Something about the way she said it made my chest hurt.

I looked at Grandpa.

He didn't even look at me.

Then I looked at Elizabeth.

She was still standing quietly.

But I could see something in her eyes.

I didn't know what it was.

Maybe it was dislike.

Maybe I was imagining it.

I couldn't tell.

Elizabeth looked at me and smiled again.

"Don't worry, Maya. We'll get along."

Her voice sounded kind.

But somehow, I didn't feel comforted.

I looked at Suzita.

She was just standing beside her mother.

She hadn't done anything to me.

She was only a child.

But knowing that she was my father's daughter made everything feel strange.

I looked at Dad again.

"I don't want another mother."

His face fell.

"Maya..."

"I want Mom."

Dad reached for me.

I stepped away.

"I want Mom!"

My voice became louder.

Nobody spoke.

I turned around and ran.

"Maya!"

I heard Dad call after me.

I ran through the front door.

I didn't know where I was going.

I just wanted to get away.

I heard footsteps behind me.

Dad.

He was coming after me.

"Maya, wait!"

I kept running.

Then I heard Grandma's voice behind him.

"Edward!"

Dad stopped.

"Let me go after her."

Vivian grabbed his arm.

"Let her go."

"Mom, she's upset."

"She's a child. She'll calm down."

"She's crying."

"She'll come back."

Dad looked toward the door.

"I can't just leave her."

Vivian's voice became softer.

"Edward, you have to trust us."

Dad stared at her.

"Trust you?"

"You have a lot to deal with right now. Your company. Your family. Your daughter's future."

Dad's expression changed.

Vivian continued.

"If you keep running after Maya every time she gets upset, she will never learn to accept the changes in her life."

Dad looked outside again.

For a moment, I thought he would ignore her.

But he didn't.

He slowly lowered his hand.

And I kept running.

---

I didn't know where I was going.

My eyes were filled with tears, making everything blurry.

I wiped them with my hands.

"Mom..."

I missed her.

I wanted her.

I wanted to go home.

But I didn't even know where home was anymore.

I kept running until I reached a quiet street.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.

I stepped onto the road without looking.

Then I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching.

I froze.

Someone suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me backward.

The vehicle passed quickly in front of us.

I fell onto the ground.

For a few seconds, I couldn't move.

Then I started crying again.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up.

A boy was standing in front of me.

He looked a few years older than me.

Maybe thirteen.

He had a worried expression on his face.

"You almost got hit."

I stared at him.

I couldn't speak.

He crouched down.

"Are you hurt?"

I shook my head.

He looked at my scraped knee.

"You're bleeding."

I looked down.

There was a small cut on my knee.

I started crying harder.

The boy looked confused.

"Why are you crying?"

I wiped my face.

"I want my mom."

He became quiet.

"Oh."

He didn't know what to say.

For a moment, he simply sat beside me.

Then he picked up the small hair clip that had fallen from my hair.

"Here."

I took it from him.

"Thank you."

He nodded.

"What's your name?"

I hesitated.

"Maya."

He looked at me.

"Maya."

He repeated my name quietly, as though trying to remember it.

Then he asked,

"Where do you live?"

I pointed vaguely behind me.

He looked in that direction.

"Should I take you home?"

I shook my head quickly.

"No."

He looked at me again.

"Why?"

I didn't answer.

I didn't know how to explain it.

Home didn't feel like home anymore.

The boy didn't ask again.

He just sat there beside me while I cried.

And for the first time that evening, someone had stopped to make sure I was okay without asking me to accept anything.

I didn't know it then, but I would remember that moment for a very long time.