The True Love

THE MOTHER'S SECRET

The next day Ella went to the address in the text. An old cafe on the other side of town. A woman in her 40s was waiting. She had Ella’s eyes.

"I’m your mother’s best friend, Aunty Rupa," she said. "Before she died, she made me promise to tell you this if you ever had to choose between David and Yury."

Ella’s hands shook. "Choose? What do you mean?"

"Because one of them is not just your friend," Aunty Rupa said. "David is your mother’s brother’s son. Your cousin."

The world stopped.

Ella couldn’t breathe. "That... that’s not possible."

"It is. Your mom and her brother had a fight and cut contact. She never told you because she wanted you to have a normal childhood. With both David and Yury."

Ella ran out of the cafe crying. She called David first. No answer. She called Yury. He picked up on the first ring.

"Yury, I need you," she sobbed.

He was at her house in 15 minutes. She told him everything.

Yury went pale. He had known David’s family for years. Why didn’t he see it? The same last name. The same eyes.

"So what now?" Yury asked quietly.

Ella looked at him. "I don’t know who I’m supposed to choose anymore. Or if I’m allowed to choose anyone."

Just then, David texted both of them: "We need to talk. Now. At our old school."