Page 27 of Revelation (Love Isn't What It Seems 3)

“I don’t understand,” my sister told him. “So my father got my mom pregnant, and he was cheating on her at the same time with Layla’s mom?”

“Henry Cambridge raped your mother, Livy.” A sharp gasp left my lips. I narrowed my eyes on this man. This was never mentioned anywhere, any article I read. “Nobody but Lily and I knew it,” he added.

The shattered silence all around us was deafening. Our piece of shit father was a rapist too. No wonder something was wrong with me. No wonder nobody wanted me. I stared at Livy and Alexander’s father, the images of my childhood rolling through my mind. But those didn’t resonate with me as much as all the moments with Livy and Lena. Those were my happy memories.

“I’m sorry. I have to go.” Livy stood up abruptly, her chair falling onto the ground. She sped away from us.

“Livy,” I called out to her. But she didn’t stop. She started running, trying to escape all her ghosts. I couldn’t blame her but part of me hurt. The unreasonable part of me felt left behind to fend for myself. I should be used to it. My mother left me to fend for myself while drowning in liquor. I had to fend against my grandparents' cruel words. And now the blackmailer.

“Are you alright, Layla?” I startled at the man’s voice. It was Alexander’s father. I forgot he was still here.

“Yes.” I had been alone most of my life. I didn’t need anyone. But even as the thought appeared, my heart hurt. “I have to go too. Bye.”

I left him without a backward glance and strode in the opposite direction that Livy left. I walked the streets without seeing or noticing anyone.

Alone.

I have always been alone. Lena and Livy made me feel part of a family, for the first time in my entire life. And now I’d lost it because I was too much of a coward to tell Livy that we were half-sisters, that I knew who her father was. Self-disgust and self-hatred rose within me; those two have been familiar emotions for such a long time. I should have been used to them by now but I wasn’t.

I roamed the streets, the sound of the busy city a background noise as I walked towards my place. It would take me hours to get there, but I had nobody or nothing to go to. So it didn’t matter. It was better than sitting at home, alone in the house that wasn’t even mine. It was my grandparents. It wouldn’t surprise me if one day even the oxygen I breathed belonged to them.

I glanced up at the skies. The sky was blue, the day bright, but to me it appeared gloomy. I expected grey clouds and thunder to match my mood. It was almost worse when the day was beautiful. It made it appear the world was happy while I struggled with a depressing mood.

I’ve got to get my thoughts out of this damn hole.

I headed to cross the street when a car horn startled me. My head snapped in its direction, the vehicle never slowing down. I barely had time to blink. It would have hit me straight on, if not for a saving hand that pulled me back.

“Slow the fuck down.” A man’s voice that sounded strangely familiar shouted after the car.

“Maxim?” I stared at Liberty’s brother-in-law in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“Jesus, Layla. You almost got hit.” He was right. I was completely out of it and never saw the car coming. A second car accident was sure to end me, right? “Are you alright?”

I shook my head but answered, “Yes.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “Everything is so fucked up.”

He glanced around. “Where are you headed?”

“Home.”

“Okay, lead the way.”

“Maxim, you don’t-”

“We can walk together or I’ll walk behind you,” he continued firmly, taking my hand into his. “Either way, I am following you home to ensure you get there safely.”

A strange sensation warmed my chest. Nobody had ever walked me home before, not even Brian.

He gently pulled me along, crossing the street hand in hand. The next few minutes we walked in silence. Anyone else would have asked questions but not Maxim. I liked that about him. Even silence with him was comfortable.

“Thanks,” I finally broke the silence, risking a side glance. He watched me, a slight worried expression on his face. I hoped it wasn’t for me. He didn’t need my worries. On a heavy sigh, I tried to explain. “My lunch with Livy didn’t go well.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s my half-sister,” I murmured. “I’ve known it all this time but never had the courage to tell her and now-”

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