I sat there and watched as Griffin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Are you going to say what’s wrong? What are you talking about, you with my family?” I asked him, wondering what the nerves were all headed to. I waited for him to respond, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Have you lost your tongue, Griffin?” I was already getting slightly angry at how suspense-filled he was making the whole conversation.
“Your father and my mother… Well… They were married.” Griffin stuttered, and I felt everything stop in my head.
It was like I could not come around to understanding what he had just said. I tried so hard to make sense of what he just said, but when it didn’t make sense to me, I started to laugh. It was too hilarious.
Even though it was a dicey joke, I have to admit that it was really funny.
“You can quit playing now and tell me what it really is,” I said, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes.
“I am not playing. Your father lived a double life. It was not even about me. I don’t know how he managed to convince my mom to stay quiet, he would always come around for long intervals at a time. I didn’t even know that he had another family until I came home from school one day and met Mom slumped from the ceiling. I called him, and he rushed down to our home. He arranged for her to be buried, and I was brought here.” He said, and I saw tears well up in Griffin’s eyes for the first time since I’d known him.
I did not know what to think, it was obvious that Griffin was serious about what he was saying.
“Why did you not tell me all these years? I thought we were really close?” I asked him, unsure of whether to trust him or not.
Even though he seemed very sincere, I was too shocked to think about the next possible line of action. If only Pandora were here, she would have known what best I should do in a situation like this.
“Your father made me swear an oath never to tell you and that if I did, he would have me thrown out on the streets as punishment for lying.” He said and I could see how deep that memory had hurt him to recount.
“Why are you just telling me now, then?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. All these years, I have been wrestling with myself whether to tell you or not. It doesn’t make any difference. I love my life, and I am very content with it.” He tried to reassure me, but my mind was in a mess.
“This is quite a shock. I was not expecting this at all.” I said.
“We can go for a DNA test to make things clearer. I don’t mind if that would prove to you that I am telling the truth” he added.
“We will. I will have that arranged and done privately. If you truly are, you will be placed in your rightful position as son of the Alpha.” I said, and I began to doubt if that was a good decision. I did not want to have to kill Griffin if he ever challenged my throne.
“I won’t, Alpha. I will not challenge your throne” he said, as if he had read my thoughts. The coincidence caught me off guard and I shifted nervously in my seat.
“Was that why mom treated you that way? Did she know your true identity?” I asked, the pieces of one of the biggest puzzles in my life slowly coming together.
“Yes. She found out one night when your dad and I were having a conversation in his study. She had heard us arguing from the passageway and stood outside the door to eavesdrop. She was a really good woman. She did not deserve that.”
“My mom admitted that the relationship was a mistake and your father had been drugged at a party. He was set up by a female business associate and he needed relief. It was her first time, and she gave him willingly to save his life. She did not know him either, so it was neither for money nor title.” He explained I noted that he loved his mom so much that he tried not to soil her name as a homebreaker.
“So what happened? How did the baby come about?” I asked him.
“Well, she got pregnant from that first time and refused to contact him. He saw her by mere chance when he came back to thank the woman who had saved his life and reputation that night. He met her already seven months pregnant.”
“He did a DNA to confirm that the pregnancy was his and forced my mother into marrying him. My mom was never one that wanted to get married, so she was not bothered by suitors. It was quite a convenient arrangement. They agreed not to tell me the real circumstances behind my birth, so I do not feel bad about it.” He explained meticulously.
I listened to him with rapt attention, slowly understanding that I might not have known my father as I thought I did.
He had a whole family somewhere and had still managed to keep his other home together. I wished he was still alive, so I could ask him why he had not just come out plainly to tell us.
I would have understood, I am sure Mom would have as it was not his fault that what had happened, happened.
But he had lied to us, and that was why Mom was so angry with Griffin. He was suffering the consequences of a sin that he did not commit.
“Why did your mom kill herself then?” I asked because she had seemed quite happy and very content with the life that she had.
“I don’t know that. I have tried all I can to investigate, but everything has always led to a dead end.” He said sadly.
“You suspect she was murdered?” I asked him.
“Yes, I suspect she was murdered by your mother.” He said quietly, and I looked at him, my eyes blazing in fury.
“What the fuck!” I yelled.