ALESSIA
A week ago…
I had myself dropped off at our house when I boarded a taxi. Pia, one of our maid, was extremely surprised to see me.
“Oh, dear Lord! It’s late at night, dear. Did you run away? And why do you have a suitcase?” she asked as she took my belongings.
“I didn’t run away, Pia. I left there. My husband and I have separated,” I explained.
“What are you talking about, honey? Are you joking?”
“No, Pia. Claude and I really separated, that’s why I came home. I can’t stay at their house anymore.” Pia shook her head in disbelief at what I said.
“Just like what happened with your sister. Just last week, Lia was here. She fled from her husband out of fear. Then the next day, they hurriedly left your Aunt Edith’s place.”
I blinked several times. “What do you mean Lia fled from Mr. Martin?” I asked, confused. “What happened to Lia? Does that old man hurt her?” My poor sister.
“I don’t know the exact details. I just overheard their conversation with your aunt. She is afraid her husband will find out she’s pregnant. So, she thought it best to escape.”
I became even more confused at Pia’s words. Why was my sister afraid? Didn’t that old man want my sister to get pregnant? This was all so confusing.
“Wait, I need to get something.” Pia left, leaving me deep in thought.
When Pia returned, she had a brown envelope and a sealed letter.
“Your sister left this with me. She said to give it to you if you came back here.” She handed me the sealed letter. “And I have almost forgot, your late mother left this before she was gone. She said if anything happens to her and to your father, you need to have this.”
I frowned as I took the brown envelope. I kept switching my gaze between Lia’s letter and the brown envelope. I opened my sister’s letter first.
I suddenly sat down when I read the letter. I held my stomach while staring at the paper I held. The letter stated that my sister was pregnant, but her husband wasn’t the father. That’s why she left home to avoid her husband’s anger. She said she would hide with Aunt Edith.
Shit! She was pregnant too.
Lia and I had similar fates. The only difference was my sister ran away, but I left voluntarily. I didn’t know who was more hurt by what happened. But how did my sister get pregnanted by another man? Did my sister commit adultery?
I closed my eyes as I thought about what happened to my sister. For me, not loving your spouse wasn’t enough reason to have a relationship with someone else. But who am I to judge my own sister?
I knew Lia. She wasn’t promiscuous. In fact, she is quite modest. But how could she engage in a relationship with someone else when she already had a husband? Out of the need of her own body?
I sighed and blinked. I didn’t want to dwell on that anymore. I had my own problems that needed attention.
My attention shifted to the brown envelope. I opened it. My eyes immediately fixed on the document inside. It was a photocopy of a land title. But why was it under Lia’s name? Why wasn’t my name there?
There was a sealed letter along with the titles. I opened it and hastily read its contents.
Alessia,
By the time you read this, I’m probably no longer with you. You must be wondering why your sister’s name is on the land title. It’s difficult for me to do this, but you need to know the truth. I don’t want to take the truth about your identity to my grave.
Your father and I were newlyweds when I received a call from a friend, an OB-Gynecologist at Unity Medical Center. She said she had a patient who prematurely gave birth due to a car accident she was involved in. Her husband and parents died in the accident. Now the patient’s fighting for her life after giving birth. The patient didn’t have any other relatives. My friend thought I might be interested in taking care of the abandoned child.
I hesitated at first. But when my friend called again the next day and said her patient had died, I felt compelled to go to the hospital. I was overjoyed and tearful when I first saw and held you. That’s when your father and I adopted you.
It was a year later when I became pregnant with Lia. But even after your sister was born, my treatment of you didn’t change. If anything changed, it was your father. He didn’t pay much attention to you anymore because we have our Lia. Nevertheless, I tried to make up for your father’s shortcomings.
I know the time will come when we will leave this world. When that time comes, I hope you won’t neglect your sister. We left the company to both of you, you and your sister. But I ask you not to worry if seventy percent of the shares go to your sister and only thirty percent to you. I also hope you won’t be angry if we put the house and land in your sister’s name.
I’m sorry, my daughter. But that’s what your father wants to happen. I hope you understand me, and your father too.
Always remember that I love you very much. I never regretted taking care of you and treating you like my own child. Remember that.
I cried after reading my mother’s letter. Now I knew why my father was cold to me. I wasn’t their real child. I was just adopted.
“What does the letter say that’s making you cry?” Pia asked as she approached me.
I didn’t answer. I just handed my mother’s letter to her.
The old woman also shed tears after reading it.
“There, there, dear. Don’t worry. I won’t leave you no matter what happens. I’m here,” my nanny comforted me.
I sobbed even harder. I hugged the old woman who took care of me and Lia. Somehow, I was not alone because I still had a nanny who wanted to take care of me.
I didn’t sleep much that night because of all the thoughts running through my mind. But I made a decision.
“Pia, let’s pack all my things. I’ll leave,” I said.
“Huh? Are you sure about what you’re saying, dear? What about your studies? And if you leave, who will watch over your house? Lia and Edith aren’t here,”
“Nanny, Mr. Noah and Mrs. Elsie are still here. They can take care of the house for now. Besides, this house isn’t mine but my sister’s. If she’s the rightful heir to Mama and Papa’s properties, this house isn’t mine. Why should I stay when I don’t have any rights here? Besides, Claude’s parents might suddenly visit me. I don’t want them to catch me here.”
I am afraid that Claude’s parents will find out I was pregnant. I didn’t want to use my child as a reason to avoid being completely separated from my husband. But what scared me even more was the possibility that they might take an interest in my pregnancy. They might forcibly take the child from me one day. I didn’t want that to happen, so it was better for me to keep my distance.
With my insistence, I also convinced my nanny to leave with me. I took all my belongings from the said house. I left nothing behind. Although I was grateful for being cared for by my adoptive parents, I couldn’t help but feel resentment, especially towards my father. I had felt his different treatment towards me for a long time.
I also felt embarrassed when I found out that Claude’s parents were sending money to the couple who took care of our house. They were also the ones paying the couple’s salaries. Perhaps all of it came from the earnings of the publishing house my parents left. Even though my sister Lia and I owned the company, I still didn’t want to claim it. The Robinson couple, who took care of the house, also made sacrifices to prevent the business from collapsing. I will revisit it someday when the pain of my separation from Claude is gone. For now, I needed to heal the wounds caused by my husband. I couldn’t face him or his parents anymore. I couldn’t even say if I could forgive Claude for what he did.
Perhaps I could forget my father’s cold treatment when he was still alive more easily than what Claude did to me. It was too painful, deep, and difficult to forget what happened to me.
So I decided to leave while I still had some self-respect left. Even though I was deeply hurt, I will still try to rise, stand firm, and fight in life, especially since there was another innocent life waiting and depending on me.
While I used to be served, I was no longer the queen upon arriving at Nanny Pia’s house. Our status in life is almost equal now. But somehow, we still had a bond between us. So in the following days, Pia did most of the household chores. However, I still tried to help as much as I could, especially by providing money for our daily expenses.
I used my remaining savings in the bank. But once it ran out, I knew I needed to find a source of income. I could work or start a small business to sustain us for a long time. I also needed to prepare for childbirth, especially since the father didn’t know about it.
But even though I am with Pia, I couldn’t help but worry about my condition. I was scared of what might happen if I was not being careful. Just like that morning. I hurried down the stairs because I wanted to get to the bathroom quickly. I missed a step on one of the stairs, causing me to slide down quickly. I ended up sitting on the floor. It was hard for me to stand up because I was writhing in pain.
“Oh, my goodness! What happened to you, dear?” Pia asked as she rushed over to me.