Adonis paused, an uncomfortable silence settling in the room as he gave Cara and her father time to process his confession.
The way she stared at him, mouth agape and eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and shock indicated she, in particular, would need a while to-but as her face pulled a look of horror and nose wrinkled, he knew she wasn’t just surprised;
She’s got to be reeling on at least four emotions…
Her face kept contorting and switching within seconds, unlike Miguel, who remained quiet, gazing at him with a calculative expression and steeples fingers.
“I am utterly and completely lost.”
He cocked his head, his lips parting to speak when a dissatisfied pout graced her lips.
“Seriously. Even a scriptwriter wouldn’t add this much twist to his or her story. Why the hell is your family so complicated?”
A soft snort racked out of Adonis when he saw he was right. He felt like a psychic on the seventh plough in the spiritual realm.
First, confusion. Now, annoyance? How many more did she have left?
“You’re going in search of your mother’s son.” Miguel’s deep voice finally commented. It wasn’t a question like Cara’s. Instead, he said the words like he wanted to confirm them.
“True.” Adonis nodded, watching as his father-in-law furrowed his brows.
“You seem so sure that there’s another child out there. I find it hard to believe.” The man admitted. “It has never crossed my mind.”
Cara, who had gone silent-busy piecing the puzzle together, joined in on the discussion.
“Does it matter?” She asked, her voice laced with frustration. “It just means Sarah had another child for Sabestien before she had Adonis.”
She felt stuck.
Why was it that for every maze they conquered, a door to a new one seemed to be waiting to explode in their faces?
Her jaw clenched tightly, and she crossed her arms above her protruding stomach in irritation.
The spontaneous shuffle between emotions would’ve given Adonis a whiplash if he didn’t already know how she was.
Letting out a puff of air, she asked.
“Where’s the third child now?”
“You’re mixing it up, Bel… She had only two children. Tina and the child-the son I’m going in search of I mean.”
Cara’s jaw clenched even more as she narrowed her eyes at her husband.
“You’re making this hard for me to comprehend, Adonis. What are you trying to say?”
“He means Sarah’s not his mother.” Miguel supplied, filling in the gaps.
Honestly, he was just as perplexed as Cara was.
He was sure that Sarah had birthed Adonis. And if he remembered clearly, he knew Dimitri ran a DNA test when his paternity was being questioned.
Then how did Adonis end up at such a conclusion?
“You know,” she continued, just realising, “That also means that you might not be Sebestien’s son as we thought. This is becoming tiring. Where do we go to find your birth father?”
Adonis’s brow twitched in response. It was quick and fleeting yet Miguel caught it. Even down to the slight curl of his lips. He instantly knew something had shifted.
Experience had taught him that much and if it was right this time, then it was going to be something interesting.
Another big variable had sprung up.
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
This was exactly why he hated the mafia.
Twists like these were inevitable and, most times could change the entire course of action. For some reason, he had an 80% guess at what it might be.
Everything finally felt clear to him as he reclined into his seat, stating the words he’d have argued to death a few seconds ago.
“You’re your father’s son.”
Once again, it wasn’t a question. There was no room for argument; he was basically stating what he’d arrived at. Although Adonis didn’t say it out loud, he leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Miguel to confirm he had heard him correctly. The excitement that flashed in his eyes was just a prequel to how he actually felt.
If he had thought the title given to Miguel was unnecessary before, the man had just proven him wrong.
“You’re right.” The smile became more prominent, “He is my biological father.”
That didn’t sit well with Cara whose jaw had dropped at the new turnout, and she didn’t relent in letting it known.
“You… you’re the actual heir? Are you saying we wasted our time searching for nothing?”
Biological? Impossible! She couldn’t believe it. She’d spent the last two months actively protecting his throne and now he’s saying she didn’t need to?
Does that mean all their search had been a waste? The findings? Luca’s sacrifice?
“I can’t wait to see your grandfather again and kick his ass. How could he keep something like this away?” Miguel tutted. “Look at you, behaving exactly like him.”
His latter words evoked a loud laugh from Adonis who strongly disagreed with that theory.
“Nonno (grandfather) seemed to believe I am more hot-headed-
“That would be the biggest lie I have ever heard.” The elderly man laughed. “Your grandfather was the most stubborn and tenacious one among us. He enjoyed unnecessary drama. I believe the toll of prolonged war might have something to do with his leniency.” He sighed with a faraway look-one that told Adonis his grandfather wasn’t the only one whom the tolls of war affected.
Cara couldn’t help but watch the two men as they diffused the conversation like there wasn’t an elephant in the room.
Adonis had just discarded everything they had worked to achieve in the last two months with just one statement, yet they were laughing over nostalgic memories?
Didn’t they understand what it meant? Yes, it felt reassuring and relieving that they wouldn’t have to fight for the throne-most importantly, he wouldn’t have to let his men down, but it still didn’t settle it all.
She threw a glare at the duo, which seemed to have formed a fast-growing friendship.
“Am I the only one confused?”
That earned her curious looks from them.
“Can we bring our attention back to the matter at hand? The news you just shared is not one to be taken lightly. How true is it? How do you know it, and no one else does? How do we prove it?”
So many questions with no answers yet they were giggling like high school girls?
“I’m not the only one who knows of it.” Adonis corrected.
“You’re not?”
“No…” He trailed off as Cara eyed him with doubt.
What other revelation did he have up his sleeves?
As much as she wanted to ignore, she had to ask.
“Who else knows?”
Another word for ‘who would they have to kill?’. She wasn’t stupid and knew how delicate such a piece of news was. It must’ve been hidden for a reason.
But fate was on their side this time.
Adonis shook his head in denial.
“They’re all six feet under.”
Then suddenly, he sat up, all expressions of humour gone-if there were even any, to begin with-on his emotionless face. “I think it’s time we open it all up, once and for all.”