The entire room fell silent.
At first, it seemed that no one had a problem with what Shayla had just said—at least, that's what I thought.
"I have a problem with the abortions," my supposed mother began, her voice filled with rage. "Why would you murder an innocent baby, Ronald?! Hell no! I know I didn't give birth to a murderer!"
I was speechless, my face dropping in shock. Anna was so ashamed that she couldn't lift her gaze. My supposed mother held her head in pain, as if Shayla's words were bullets piercing her mind. My father held her close while looking at me with disgust—he was so appalled he couldn't find the words.
"Right under your nose, Marcus! How could you not have stopped them?" she continued, tears streaming down her cheeks.
At that moment, my hatred for Shayla boiled over; I wanted to silence her permanently, but I feared she might expose the sins of last night.
I remained calm.
"It's not murder, Mum. I wouldn't want my child born into these circumstances," Anna sobbed, fiddling nervously with her dress.
"Don't call me 'Mum'! You understand?!" My supposed mother yelled at Annah as she continued to cry in my father's arms.
Suddenly, a heavy slap landed across my cheek. I lifted my head slowly, only to see the traitor—it was my fake mother. Why would she slap me? She's the one with the most sins here, yet she dares to judge me?
"You are equally filthy!" I spat. "I wonder how many abortions you've had for that old wretched lover of..."
"Shut the hell up!" she shouted, cutting me off.
"You've been having sex with Anna all this time?" she continued, her voice rising. "Don't you know that's an abomination?"
"Don't you ever hit my son or yell at him again! You hear me?" That was my dad, cautioning her with a loud voice.
"It's our son, Marcus! And his actions were abominable…"
"Stop pretending you devilish snake!!" My father raged, rising to his feet. "He is mine and Alexa's son, and you are Alice! I won't tolerate any more of your behaviour, understand?!" His finger was pointed directly at her face.
He then turned toward me, and my heart skipped a beat. "It's normal to be attracted to your cousin; it's not an abomination. BUT! Abortion… that was risky. You should have consulted an adult…"
"NO, you don't get it, Marcus!" my fake mother yelled again.
"You don't interrupt me when I'm speaking, Alice!" My dad's voice was fierce. "I think it's high time you left. Go pack your things and get out…" His tone was final.
I couldn't bear to look my dad in the eye. I truly adore him; he's always understanding and cautious. But I can't help but wonder how devastated he will be when he finds out about my atrocities of last night.
I didn't really care about my fake mother finding out anymore. She would be kicked out soon anyway! And as for my real mother, I hardly cared about her emotions, considering she had been away for 11 years. I could barely recall my emotional connection with her.
Even though I had grown fond of my fake mother, I currently loathed her—her deception and wickedness were heartbreaking.
But right now, I could go to the depths of hell to ensure my dad never finds out that I had been with his beloved Alexa.
"I'll leave!" my fake mother, Alice, spat. "But for the record…" She continued, "Anna is not my daughter."
"What?! I don't understand!" Anna exclaimed, staring blankly at Alice, who was supposed to be her mother. But I guessed there was still a darker truth.
Wait!
If Alice is not Annah's mother, then???
Before I could turn toward her, I heard the sound of the door slamming shut right before my eyes—Alice had fled the building.
My dad was already dialling the police, his hands trembling profusely.
My supposed real mother, Alexa, meanwhile, had broken down into shudders... she literally collapsed.
"I don't understand!" I muttered.
"You never understand anything, do you? Why are you so slow?!" Shayla spat, her wicked little face full of disgust.
"What is that supposed to mean, Shayla?" Anna was on the verge of breaking down; her voice was hoarse.
"In simple terms… You are not our cousin. You are our blood sister!"
My ears rang!
Wait! My mind had already told me this, but my naive self refused to accept it.
Shayla's last statement echoed in my head, repeating over and over… 'You are our blood sister… blood sister… blood sister...'
I'm a logical person, and I don't accept truths without proof. Someone has to explain how my supposed mother, Alexa, wouldn't know she had given birth.
"Just because Alice said she didn't give birth to Anna doesn't make her our blood sister! Anyone else could have given birth to her!" I ranted.
Shayla hissed, shaking her head. "You are so naive," she sighed.
"It was Alice who stole our baby, Marcus!!" My supposed mother sobbed, her face pale and red. "You will not get away with this, Alice," she whispered under her breath, tears escaping from her eyes. "I'll make sure you rot in jail, Alice!" she cried.
I froze as I watched my world crumble before my eyes!
The nickname "Ronald the Goat" has never held a literal meaning for me until now. I'm not just a goat—"I'm a freaking piece of shit!" I yelled, slamming my fist into the ground and shattering the tiles.
Then came that spiteful, venomous voice of Shayla: "You are not a piece of shit… You are the entire shit, my brother!"
I didn't even realise how I suddenly lunged from my squatting position to face Shayla. I grabbed her neck with my large hands and pressed her against the wall.
"Let me go, Ronald!" she shouted, gasping for air.
I'd rather die than let her go. "You little witch!" I cursed. I pulled out my pistol from my pocket, ready to take her life, until my father's words stopped me.
"I don't know where you got that pistol from, Ronald. But the police will be here soon. I'm currently heading to their headquarters to offer my help in tracking Alice. While I'm away, if anything happens to Shayla—even a single scratch—you'll see the beast in me," he said calmly as he walked away.
"AND! Annah… Ronald… I'm highly disappointed in both of you!" he finally said, slamming the door behind him.
"But you were cool just a while ago! How was it our fault when we didn't know we were blood siblings?!" I tried to defend myself, but he was gone.
Shayla was coughing badly. I had released her neck, but the damage was done. I would have done more, but I wouldn't dare cross my dad.
My head is spinning though. How am I supposed to deal with the fact that I've slept with both my biological mother and sister?
I can't imagine what my dad would do if he found out about what I did with his beloved. I need to find a way to silence Shayla as soon as possible—maybe uncover some dark secret of hers. Because, as it stands, I don't think this girl is a child anymore. She's far beyond her years.