Page 4 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

“He wasn’t harassing me, I just …”

Okay, I wasn’t defending the guy, but it felt like I was. And that was seriously screwing with my head.

“Aria, I’m just trying to protect you.”

My temper got the best of me as I shouted, “From who? From what?”

“From him!”

“What did he do, Mom?”

“What did henotdo?” she scoffed. “The last thing I want is to have Noah show up out of nowhere, looking like the knight in shining armor who’s come to save the day when in reality, that image of him is an illusion. There are no happy endings in the Hunter family. Mark my words.”

“First of all, I’m not a damsel in distress, so please stop projecting your personal feelings toward him on me. You’re not related to the guy.Iam. I have his last name, after all—not to mention half of his genes!”

“We moved to New York for a reason. A fresh start, new beginnings.”

Yeah, and look how great that turned out, Mom.

“Stop treating me like some little kid and just tell me what happened between you two! I deserve to know!”

My mother stopped putting the groceries away in the pantry and looked at me.

“You want to know the truth?”

I stayed silent and waited.

“Fine. Here it is …” She took a deep breath, and then spoke in the iciest tone ever. “Olivia Hunter is a conniving, manipulative bitch who constantly interfered in my relationship with Noah. She gets off on destroying lives, and she’s responsible for ruining mine. Your father attempted to get shared custody of you when you were younger, but he always failed the court-ordered drug tests.”

I couldn’t believe it. It stung to hear those last five words. “How long ago was this?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mom answered.

“It does to me!”

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “You were five years old.”

“And you kept this from me?”

“What kind of mother would sit down with her toddler and tell them that their father can’t be in their life because he has a cocaine dependency? It wasn’t like a month-long custody battle, Aria. He had a terrible addiction for years! God only knows if he still does.”

“It would have made a world of a difference!” I yelled. “Because at least I would have known he tried! At least I wouldn’t have grown up believing that he never loved me and didn’t want me!” My tears streaked down my cheeks as I stormed out of the kitchen.

“Sweetheart, come back!” Mom shouted after me, but I was too upset to continue the conversation.

I locked myself up in my room and tried to calm down. This was way too much information at once. My mind was reeling. Impulsively, I marched out the door, picked up the phone in the living room, and tried to retrace the call. I needed to hear his side of the story. I was tired of being lied to.

Adding to my unfortunate luck in life, the number was blocked, so I resorted to different resources and immediately hopped online. My sole intention was to hunt him down. But my efforts were fruitless. He didn’t have a Facebook account or Instagram. Nothing.

“Aria,” said Mom, stroking my hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was just trying to protect you. I’m your mother, and I love you. You have to believe that.”

I got up from my chair and noticed that she had tears in her eyes too. It pained me to see her sad like that, so I stepped over my anger and gave her a hug.

“Your father never abandoned you, Mom. You never grew up believing he doesn’t love you. That’s why it hurts so much—because he hasn’t been there for me.” I quietly sobbed on her shoulder.

“I know, darling, I know. I’m so sorry.” She rubbed my back and kissed the side of my head, comforting me through the hurt.

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