Page 126 of Oblivion

“Penelope, I haven’t told you this because it was irrelevant until now. Paul and I argued after you left on your birthday. He admitted that he knew about my affair many years ago, so he’d played up his shock to make me look like the bad guy. I’m not going to go into how many women he’s slept with over the years, but I will say that I don’t regret what I did. Not when I made you.”

Despite love blooming in my heart, I needed answers.

“Who?” I whispered. “Please, just tell me who it was. After everything he’s put me through, I need to know. Iwantto know.”

Mom opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it closed. Nausea gathered strength with each passing second.

“Bunny.” James’ one word removed my focus from Mom.

When I looked at him, my heart hit my stomach.

It was all there in his expression, as plain as day, laid out openly for me to see. Affection. Acceptance. Raw honesty that ached in my soul.

“What?”I breathed out in disbelief.

Mom subtly nodded and her eyebrows gathered at the center. “It’s true. James and I…”

Shock hit me square in the chest. I burst into tears as every loving memory of James and Lizzie fell into place with crystal clarity. It all made sense now. They’d treated me like their own child because I… I… Iwas.

My voice shook despite being barely audible. “I don’t understand. All this time, you’ve never said anything. Either of you.”

Mom and James shared a look, and then James sat on the couch again.

“Penelope, many years ago, I was reckless. Long story short, your mom and I had one night that led to a bad pattern of, well, you know. It was fleeting and only lasted a couple of months, then ended when your mom fell pregnant. I let sleeping dogs lie, knowing you could have been my baby, because I accepted that Paul would always be your father no matter whose body you came from. I watched you grow knowing you were in safe hands, and was thankful I still had an important role in your life.”

“But youliedto me,” I exclaimed through a sob.

A hint of desperation filled his expression. “Only to protect you. I hated that we had to, but it was for the best.”

“The best?” I cried. “He had me kidnapped, tied up in a random hotel room, and then confined to an apartment with the man I met in Vegas.”

“Youwhat?”Mom exclaimed, competing with James adding, “No one could have predicted that.”

I shook my head in dismissal. Mom’s outburst was inconsequential compared to the bigger problems we were wading through.

A fresh wave of sorrow hit to see Aunt Lizzie in her chair, crying quietly into the sleeve of her sweater.

“Did Lizzie know?” I asked.

James nodded. “Not long before you were born, I found my person.”

He smiled and lovingly reached for my aunt’s bent knee. His touch stayed there, anchored by her hand resting on top of his and rubbing.

“When things got serious between us, I confessed there was a chance you were my biological child. Lucky for me, she loved me enough to stick around,” he joked, before growing serious again. “When we couldn’t have kids of our own, we were just so grateful to haveyoudespite never knowing for sure if you were mine or Paul’s. Until now.”

I fell silent, stunned speechless by the truths unraveling around me. They wove deeper than I ever thought and sliced through the illusions of my happy childhood in a loving home. My parents’ affairs barely scratched the surface of the secrets our family held.

I swallowed back more tears, hating how my throat ached and my nose stung. Adult life wasn’t meant to be like this. My world wasn’t meant to be burning to the ground.

I looked into James’ moisture brimming eyes. “So, you’re my dad?”

He pressed his wavering lips together and nodded. “Seems so, Bunny.”

My face crumpled without me being able to stop it. All of the uncertainty over the last five months lifted, yet left me clutching at the frayed strings of reality just to try and save myself from falling off the side of the universe.

James crossed the room in three large strides, and pulled me to my feet. I swayed in his arms, legs barely able to find strength as he murmured caring words into my hair.

“You’re the best goddamn thing that has happened to this family. I didn’t think I could love you more than before, but once again, you go and prove me wrong.”

---