Page 49 of The Forsaken
“Promise.”
“How are you? Really?” Gabe asked as he wrapped Quinn in his arms and gave her a lingering kiss.
“I’m all right. Really.”
“Quinn, about Sylvia…”
Quinn held up her hand. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Well, you should. I’ve had a moment of perfect clarity,” she announced, still smiling.
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
Quinn took a seat at the table and reached for one of Emma’s leftover strips of toast. “Any chance of a cup of tea?”
“Of course.” Gabe poured her a cup of tea and added a splash of milk. She could see the tension in his shoulders and the worried look in his eyes, and her heart turned over. She was so blessed to have a husband who loved her so much and worried about her well-being. Gabe was the only person, besides her parents, whom she’d trust with her life, and the realization overwhelmed her with gratitude.
‘I love you,” Quinn said simply.
“And I love you, but I’m still waiting to hear about this earth-shattering revelation,” Gabe replied with a warm smile.
“When I asked Sylvia why she didn’t want me, she said she gave me away because she couldn’t love me,” Quinn explained. “I was devastated by her answer, but also grateful for her honesty. It’d have made it worse if she’d said she wanted me desperately but couldn’t find a way to make it work. I’d have felt like I missed out on a lifetime with my mother.”
“Yes, I can see that. But how is this relevant?”
“What I realized just now is that the sentiment is not one-sided. I don’t want Sylvia because I can’t love her. You were absolutely right about her, Gabe. I built up my birth mother in my mind, imagining her to be this perfect woman, but in truth, Sylvia is someone I’d never choose to know had she not given birth to me. I don’t trust her, and let’s be brutally honest here, I don’t even like her. Just because I now know her doesn’t mean I have to maintain a relationship with her or allow her to be a part of my life.”
“So, what are you saying? Are you severing ties with her?”
Quinn shook her head. “No, not yet. I will speak to her about what I’ve learned, and if what the Reverend Seaton said istrue, I will look for my sister. But I will no longer allow Sylvia to hurt me, nor will I permit her the chance to be my mother, or a grandmother to my children. She’s lied to me once too often. Sylvia Wyatt can just be someone I know. Period.”
“That’s quite a turnaround from yesterday,” Gabe said, watching Quinn. “What brought this on?”
“Perhaps I’m starting to think more like a mother and a wife and less like a single woman. Sylvia is not a priority for me any longer—you and the children are.” Quinn laid a hand on her belly, smiling as it shifted beneath her hand. “I will not do anything to endanger this baby, or myself. I will approach this new hurdle like a work project rather than a personal quest.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?” Gabe joked. “I’m glad to hear you see sense. That is the best possible attitude I could have hoped for. Will it last?” he asked carefully.
“I think so.”
“What are you not telling me?” Gabe asked as he took a seat across from Quinn and sipped his coffee.
“I want it to be a coincidence, Gabe. I don’t want that baby to be my sister.”
“Really?”
“Gabe, you know how badly I wanted to know my parents and my siblings, but so far, meeting them has been a great disappointment. Sylvia is as wily as a fox. Seth is a good man, but on some level, he’ll always be a stranger to me, and my brothers have been a revelation, to say the least. If I truly have a twin sister, God only knows what she’s like. Just because we shared a womb doesn’t mean we have anything in common or will even like each other.”
“You’re afraid to get your hopes up.”
“I suppose you could say that. Finding my twin, if that’s who she is, would really prove to be an interesting case study for nature versus nurture. Would we be similar because of our genetics, or would we be polar opposites because we grew up in completely different families and circumstances?”
“There’s only one way to find the answer to that question, and I think that perhaps you should wait until after baby Russell is born to start looking for it.”
Quinn nodded. “I think you’re right, but in the meantime, I can start doing the legwork, and the first port of call is Sylvia.”
“I’m coming with you,” Gabe said.
