Chapter 237
0237
(James POV)
“Evelyn is your half-sister,” I said softly.
Lily stared at me silently for what felt like forever…. and then she sat down in the chair again… and started
laughing.
“I did not know that I could laugh so hard at a time like this. Thank you, James.”
“Lily?”
“That was a really good joke. I almost believed you.”
“Lily, my love, I am not joking,” I said seriously.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Of course, you are. Evelyn and I look a lot alike. I look just like my mother. There is no
way
that
my mother had another pup and did not tell us. She worshipped Stephanie largely because she
was having so much trouble having a pup back then.”
!
I took both of Lily’s hands in my own. “Sweetheart, you do look a lot like Margie. I agree with you on that.
But you also look a lot like your dad, too.”
Lily stopped laughing.
“You aren’t seriously suggesting what I think that you are suggesting, are you?”
I frowned. “I am so sorry, Lily. I know this is hard to hear.”
“James, I love you and I trust you… but seriously. This isn’t funny. You must have misinterpreted what you
saw.”
“I don’t think that I did.”
“Okay, well then maybe Andrew just assumed that Evelyn and I were sisters because we are
doppelgangers.”
“Haven’t you wondered why you and Evelyn look so much alike?”
“No. Doppelgangers are a thing. You do not have to be related to someone to look like them.”
“Lily”
She turned and looked at Brady and Dr. Hyder. “Dr. Hyder, Brady… back me up here. Evelyn grew up in your
pack. Brady dated her for years. You would have known if she was my sister, and you would have told
Dr. Hyder came closer, knelt on the other side of Lily, and put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting
way.
“Evelyn and her parents did not move to Black Moon until she was eight years old. They moved here from Andrew’s pack. Evelyn’s birth certificate listed her parents as her parents and I did not question it further.”
Lily smiled and looked at me triumphantly. “See? Evelyn is not my
“I think she is,” Dr. Hyder interjected.
“WHAT?!?!?”
sister.”
“I am sorry, Lily. I know how hard it is for you to accept this. Even after everything that you have learned and everything that has come to light, I know you have continued to adore him and put him on a
pedestal,” I said softly.
I watched Lily’s face. She was continuing to struggle to come to terms with this latest revelation.
“So what are you saying? That my mother didn’t really miscarry Tyler? That she somehow secretly carried that pregnancy to term and gave birth to a girl?”
I took a deep breath.
“No, Sweetheart. I am saying that your father cheated on your mother, and that Evelyn was born as a
result of that affair.”
Lily jumped out of her chair. “No, he would never do that. My father loved mun
He would never cheat on her.”
“Sheila claims that she slept with your father too.”
He still loves her.
“Sheila claimed a lot of things! She also said she slept with you and we both know that never happened.
That it could not have happened!!!!”
Charlotte stood up and approached Lily. “Lil’, maybe it is true. I mean, it would make sense.”
Lily turned to Charlotte with tears in her eyes. “No Char, it would not make any sense at all! How could my father not only cheat on my mother, but also hide a secret pup from her and his family for almost three
decades?!?!?”
“I don’t think he knew,” I explained. “Andrew only knew because he heard his dad talking about it with his alpha one day. Evelyn’s mother fell pregnant with Evelyn three years before she met who Evelyn believes to be her father. It had been sort-of an open secret in the pack that Evelyn’s mother h ooked up with Beta Robert. When she fell pregnant, the alpha confronted her mother about the rumors and she confessed to
he prohibited him from ever coming back to their pack. The day that Andrew heard the alpha talking to his father, the alpha was debating whether to lift the ban now that so many years had passed and Evelyn’s
mother had moved away.”
“It still does not explain why Evelyn and I look so much alike. I get my hair and eye color from my mother.”
“Several years ago, your father and I were having drinks with several other buddies,” Dr. Hyder said slowly. “During the conversation, the topic of cheating came up. Your father made a rather interesting observation. I did not think too much of it at the time, but it somehow always stuck with me.”
“What was it?” Lily asked hesitantly.
“He said that you can tell a lot about the reason that a male cheats based on what his mistress looks like. If his marriage is troubled, he will look for someone who looks nothing like his wife. She will be younger,
have a different body type, have different coloring.
to prove
On the other hand, if his mistress looks like his wife, the cheating was for a very different reason. Maybe
prove. the male was drunk, maybe he was desperate for an heir, or maybe he felt like he had something to Whatever the reason was, if he gravitates towards someone who looks like his wife, it means that in his
mind, his wife is still the ideal female.”
Lily wiped a few tears off of her cheeks. “What are you saying?”
“Evelyn’s mother has the same hair and eye color as your mom.”
I could feel Lily’s heart breaking. She stared back and forth between me, Dr. Hyder, and Charlotte. Then.
she ran out of the office.
I followed after her. She got all the way to her old bedroom before she turned and collapsed against the door, I sat down beside her and wrapped her in my arms. She cried against my chest, letting it all out.
“My life is a f&&ing telenovela,” she whimpered.
1
I laughed. “I know. Mine feels like one too right now. But remember what you told me earlier. Our families do not define who we are. Your future is with me, and mine is with you, and I promise we are not going to live the crazy way our parents did. Our story will not be a telenovela; it will be H&&mark.”
Post Views: 29