16 CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I opened my eyes and groaned. My head hurts so much. James was staring right at me. I gave a weak smile and he returned it with a fake one. Is something wrong? "She's awake" James said softly without looking away. I tried to sit up but the pain in my head didnt let me. I hissed in pain. "Calm down and stay still" Dave said. Everyone gathered around me. By everyone I mean Mum, Dad, Dave, Mira and James. "What happened?" I asked. "You dont remember?" Mira asked. I shut my eyes trying to remember what happened and I did. "Its not true right?" I asked, scared of the answer. "We're sorry, princess" dad said. I looked at mum and she was already crying. They lied to me. I cant believe my whole life was big a lie. "You knew about this, right? What am I even saying, of course you knew." I said to Dave who looked away. "I want to be alone" I said my voice breaking. No one made a move to leave. "Please" I pleaded. Everyone turned to leave but I held James hand to prevent him from leaving. Mum and dad kept apologising as they left. I burst into tears as the door closed. "Please dont cry" James pleaded.

"They could have just told me" I said in tears. I was sitting up with my back resting on the headboard. James sat beside me with his arm across my shoulders for support. "You think it's easy to tell your daughter that she's adopted? They love you so much that they couldn't bring themselves to tell you" James said. "Right. Yet they kept it away from me for 18 years. They could have just told me the truth" I said. I was beyond hurt. I cant believe i was never part of the family, yet they didnt tell me. "They had their reasons for keeping it away from you. You should know that they would never hurt you intentionally" James said. So, all along i am a Smith. The only heir to Smith Empire. Was James also aware? "Trust me. I didnt know until today" he said. Not wanting to speak again I kept quiet resting my head on James shoulder. "You should hear them out" James said. "For now, I dont want to" I said and closed my eyes. My heart hurts, the people I call my family are in no way related to me. What happened to my real family? Did they abandon me? Or are they dead? "You're crying again" James said using his thumb to wipe the tears away. "Everything will be alright" he said and kissed my forehead.