Even though it was fairly chilly outdoors, the garden was still full of vibrant shades of green and red. Thea could not fathom how they had accomplished what they had set out to achieve. Probably some really advanced technology.
Grandpa suddenly started to speak when a tropical tree took Thea’s attention away.
“Thea, would you like to hear a story?”
Thea blinked, nodding confusingly, “Yeah, sure, Grandpa.”
Grandpa smiled and started the story with the disappearance of a girl named Demi.
Thea suddenly became a bit sad as she heard the name. Right, the missing daughter of the Weston family.
Candace had mentioned this to her before. She even said Cody had a crush on that girl when they were all little kids.
Thea noticed the old man’s sadness when he mentioned the little girl. So she suggested, “Mr. Weston, are you sure you want to tell this story? You seem a bit sad.”
Mr. Weston only shook his head, “No, Thea, this is the only story I wanna tell.”
Thea sighed, “Fine. Then how many times have you guys tried to find Demi? She sounds like a really lovely girl.”
“We’ve tried to find her a million times. And now…” Mr. Weston’s eyes lingered warmly on Thea’s face, “We finally found her.”
“Really?” Thea gasped as her eyes widened, “Wow… I’m so happy for you guys. Where’s she right now? Why didn’t you get her home? I heard so much about her, and I really want to know her.”
Mr. Weston’s eyes welled up with tears, “Now, she’s standing in front of me.”
It took Thea a while to register the meaning of Mr. Weston’s words.
“Wait… Me?”
She went pale, “You must be joking, Mr. Weston. How can I be Demi?”
Mr. Weston smiled warmly, “It’s time to call me great grandpa, sweetie. I’m not joking. You were taken away by that flood 15 years ago. Now, 15 years later, you showed up in front of us again. We’re so grateful. God treats us nicely, after all. My life has no regrets anymore, Demi. You have no idea how much I missed you.”
Thea’s brain couldn’t process anything anymore. She didn’t expect to hear a huge secret like this. No wonder everyone had been acting weird lately around her.
No matter what the old man said and how sad he looked, Thea found it hard for her to accept the fact.
Thea swallowed, “Could you guys get it wrong? I mean… You said Demi went missing when she was five years old, right? 5-year-old kids usually have started to remember things. How come I have no memories about any of the Weston House or the flood at all?”
She was just a normal person living in a normal house. Her Mom was a chef, and her dad was a piece of human garbage. Granny was kind, and she could make great pastries.
How could she suddenly become the Missy of the wealthy Weston House?
“We didn’t get it wrong, love,” Mr. Weston sighed, “You are Demi. You and Mia are both Drew’s daughters. We have done the DNA test. The result is solid.”
When did they do a DNA test? How come she didn’t even know?
Thea was in a daze. She couldn’t react or say anything anymore.
She felt like a mess.
****
Cody had been so worried when he was in the house. He doubted Thea could take the fact easily. He didn’t want her to get shocked or devastated.
Everyone in the house seemed to be worried and preoccupied. Cody thus sneaked out of the house and went to the garden. He didn’t actually agree to let Mr. Weston tell Thea the truth so abruptly. But he also knew that Thea had to know this sooner or later.
Besides, the girl always turned out to be tougher than he imagined.
He saw from the distance that Thea and Mr. Weston were sitting on a bench by the lake.
The girl buried her face into her hands, her shoulders slightly trembling as if she was crying.
Cody took a step forward, but he soon contained himself from approaching the pair. This was Thea’s family business, he shouldn’t intervene. But he still felt the strong urge to grab her hand and take her away, far, far away from these issues.
He couldn’t bear seeing her so devastated.
Cody stood there, hands balling up into fists as he took in deep breaths.
After a while, when his breath was finally steady and even, he finally turned around and left the garden.
Thea deserved the chance to sort out her problem by herself. He didn’t want to stick his nose into her business.
He must trust her.
When Thea went back to the house, the silence was cutting.
The roomful of people suddenly turned to look at her. Thea was a bit intimidated. Drew stood up from the couch with his eyes red. He looked like he wanted to say something. Fritzi dropped her gaze, dibbing under her eyes using a handkerchief.
Thea looked around and forced out a smile, “I would be lying if I said this wasn’t overwhelming. It was not your guys’ fault that that flood took me away. But it’s still hard for me to call you two Mom and Dad so soon. So please give me some time. I will try to accept the truth little by little.”
A big smile broke Drew’s face. Fritzi stood up from the sofa and went to hold Thea’s hands, “It’s okay, sweetie. Just take as much as you want. We will wait until you feel comfortable saying that. We won’t even be mad if you don’t call us Mom and Dad. We’re just simply happy to have you back.”
Thea nodded and hugged the woman. And then, she went to Grace and Granny, “Mom, Granny, you two will always be my family. Nothing will ever change that. I love you both so much.”
Grace nodded, and then she burst into tears once again. Thea enveloped both of them in a bear embrace.
Never before had she experienced joy and fulfillment on this level.