Page 103 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

He glanced between Layla and me, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“You two know each other?” he asked, his voice hoarse. He looked anxious and I couldn’t help but think Alexander’s father was strange.

“Yes,” I replied with a smile. “This is Layla.” My eyes darted to Layla. “Do you know her, Mr. Caldwell?”

Layla shook her head, answering my question. Her eyes kept glancing between us, wondering in those blue eyes.

“Yes, I know of Layla Cambridge,” Alexander’s father responded. “I didn’t realize you know her.”

“We’ve known each other forever,” I added.

“I thought you said your sister was killed in an accident?” His eyes darted between Layla and me. “And yet, your sister is here alive and well.” Maybe Alexander kept his distance from his father because he was crazy.

“What the hell is going on here?” I asked him, anger rising inside me. My voice was shaking, my lips slightly quivering. “If you think this is funny, it is not. I told you my sister, my adopted sister, died a month ago in a car crash. Layla isn’t my sister.”

Maybe he lost his mind after he obsessed over the woman that ruined his family.

He watched us with a guarded expression. “You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?” Pitch of my voice was slightly elevated. “You are not making any sense.”

I glanced at Layla to get her concurrence but all I saw on her pale face was fear.

“I knew Lily,” his unwavering voice brought my attention back to him. Although I wondered if maybe Alexander’s father was mentally unstable at this point. “Lily Glasgow was your mother.”

I shook my head. “No, Lily Smith.”

“She changed her last name when she moved to the States,” he responded.

This felt awkward and I had a bad feeling about this situation. Like I was about to find out something I wouldn’t want to know. He sat down on the empty chair at our table, his movements that of a tired man, resigned at his disappointing destiny.

He waited, as if he was deciding whether to tell us or not.

I reached out my hand and placed it gently on his. “Please,” I spoke softly, scared to find out what he had to say but needing to know now. “If you know something, please, tell us.”

His eyes lowered to my hand, and worried I allowed familiarity I shouldn’t have, I quickly pulled my hand.

“Sorry,” I murmured softly.

“You are just like your mother,” his voice was hoarse. “You look like her, yes, but your soul is also a reflection of hers. Your strength though… she didn’t have your strength.”

I waited for him to continue, holding my breath; scared that if I said a word or exhaled, he’d stop. I noted Layla was sitting stiffly, the expression on her face that of fear.

“Lily’s family forced her marriage,” he spoke, his eyes distant as if he went back to the past. “Her husband had quite a bit of affairs. One of those affairs was with your mother, Layla. I am sure you know that since the Cambridges are your grandparents. You two are half-sisters.”

I looked at Layla shocked by that statement.

“How can that be?” I murmured. “I don’t understand. How do you know my mother?”

“Glasgow property bordered ours. I’ve known your mother from an early age,” he replied, his eyes distant. “Glasgow was your mother’s maiden name.” I remembered the words from Alexander’s grandfather from the first day I met him. He told me I looked just like Lily Glasgow and I told him he was wrong; that wasn't my mother. “Cambridge was her married last name.”

I glanced at Layla who stared at him, her face pale as a ghost. None of this made sense to me. “How do you know who my father is? My mom would never tell me.”

He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed me a picture. My hands shook as I reached for it.

I brought the picture closer to my eyes.

“Oh my God,” I whispered in disbelief. She was a spitting image of me, same hair color, face structure, and hazel eyes. It was my mom on her wedding day. She looked young, too young. But she was beautiful, her eyes staring at me sadly. My eyes shifted to the groom. I guess he was my father. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, striking resemblance to Layla. All the arguments with Mom and the insistence to find out who my father was, and I felt nothing looking at this man in the picture. Absolutely nothing!

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