Page 27 of Tito
I raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I will have to have a talk with him. Like…he may not realize it but once Julianna and Romeo get married, Deacon will be family.” I then paused to stare at her. “The same as when you and I get married.”
Her mouth popped open in shock.
I chuckled and reached over to close it with my finger under her chin. “Get used to the idea because that is where we are headed, sweet Valen.” I grasped her hand again to tug her along the path.
When we got to the house, Julianna and Romeo were on the front verandah. Julianna still looked upset.
Valencia held my hand as we made our way up the wide steps. She paused and stared at Julianna.
“You found out, didn't you?” Julianna asked.
I sucked in a breath as this would be hard on Valencia too, as she would have to be the one to tell her.
“Yes,” Valencia nodded at her. “The birth certificates were real and correct. I’m sorry.”
Julianna bit at her lip as tears instantly showed in her eyes. “So, they lied to me.”
Valen looked away. She probably didn’t want to be the one to tell her… yes, her so called parents lied to her.
Romeo put his arm around Julianna’s shoulder.
Julianna held herself together as she kept her eyes on Valencia. “Do we even know what our names were at birth?”
Valencia nodded. “After you asked me that earlier, I checked and the certificates cite one of us as being…” She paused and shook her head. “Juliet.”
“L-like in Shakespeare?” she asked.
Romeo shook his head. “Wow, that is fate. But I listened to the Walkers when they were here and Olivia was obsessed with Shakespeare lore. Hence, the name Ophelia.”
“Then my name…” Valencia paused. “The certificate says it is Valentina.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and said, “So Valen is your name. So there is that.”
Nodding, Julianna said, “I guess we have that much clarity. But we do not know who our father is or was?”
Valen let out a heavy breath. “No, we don’t. I’m unsure who would know that. O is gone as you know.”
“Deacon might know,” Romeo suggested.
“Oh, my God!” Julianna cried out. “He might know because—” Her voice broke on a sob. “He’s my brother!”
Romeo wrapped her up in his arms and tried to soothe her, “Calm down, baby. Just breathe, ok?”
Suddenly, Valencia stepped closer and tugged on a lock of her red hair.
Julianna raised her head up as tears stained her face. She stared at Valencia.
“Get yourself together,” Valencia scolded her. “So you were lied to. We both were. You’re a grown woman now. Stop acting like a child. When I met you, I saw a mirror image of myself. Only I could see how smart you are. Far smarter than I am. I also saw strength and confidence which you leant to me as I grappled with lie after fucking lie. None of this changes who you are now or what you’ve become. Do you hear me? What was done in the past doesn’t make or break your future.”
Julianna stared at her, then reached up to swipe her tears away. “You’re right. I’m sorry for—”
Pressing her fingers to her sister’s lips, Valencia told her, “You shouldn’t be sorry. You had wonderful people that raised you with love and they were good to you. And look at what you’ve accomplished. A freakin’ high class lawyer.” Valencia stepped back and added, “So don’t be sorry. You are the same person that you were before we got this news.”
Julianna blinked at her as what she said sunk in. “Wow! You can even litigate. You are my sister!” She laughed-cried and grabbed her up into a hug.
Romeo and I just stood there as they embraced.
Both girls rocked back and forth a little and hummed in sync.
