Laws Of Siblinghood

Chapter 18

"Dad?" I asked as I entered the study. Carmen was with me.

"Hmm." He looked at some papers on the table.

"I need to talk to you."

"I'm listening."

"About mom."

He finally set down the papers and looked at me.

"What about your mom?" He asked.

"Why did she leave us? Why did you guys get divorced?" I asked taking a seat across him.

"I've told you before. Things were not working out between us." Dad told me what I'd been hearing for the past fourteen years.

"The truth, dad. Carmen told me you didn't tell me the whole truth," I said.

"He should know the truth. It's affecting him more than you think." Carmen supported me.

"This will not change anything." Dad began but I cut him off.

"It will. It matters to me. Dad, if you're worried that you'll be brainwashing me then let me tell you. I am an adult and I can understand what's right and what's wrong." I told him firmly.

I looked at Dad and realized he was looking old. Dad was a handsome guy but over the years he just kept looking older because of stress and overworking. In his early forties, Dad looks like he's fifty. He used to look tired. Always tired. Tired of everything. But he looked different now. The spark in his eye which I'd last seen when I was seven was back. He smiled more. He laughed more. He was happy. Carmen made him happy and I loved her for that.

Dad removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What exactly do you want to know?" He asked.

"The whole story. From the start," I answered.

"I should go. Give you some privacy." Carmen started to get up but dad stopped her.

"There's no need. Stay." Dad told her. Carmen looked like she wanted to argue further but seeing the pleading look in Dad's eyes, she stopped. Dad began the story.

"Your mom's parents and my parents were good friends. They both owned businesses and knew each other well before that. Evelyn and I knew that our parents were friends but we had never met each other. There were some summers when our parents left us in summer camps and went on a vacation together."

"The summer after Evelyn's junior year, she was sent to camp again. By that time, I was already in college and had no need to go to Summer camps. I went on a trip with my friends from college. In the camp, your mom met Ryan Adams. He was the new guy in town and Evelyn, being who she is, decided to welcome him."

So Mom knew Ryan well before dad and her marriage. The story dad told me earlier was different than this version.

"She talked with him frequently and did assignments with him in school. She hung out with him during and after school. They fell in love. None of their friends knew about their relationship. They had to keep it a secret since Evelyn's parents would have never approved of Ryan. His parents were not rich and did not have a very good background. His dad was a taxi driver and his mom was a waitress. Ryan's uncle went to jail for theft."

"When one of Evelyn's classmates found about the secret relationship, he ratted them out to Evelyn's parents. Your grandparents were furious. They didn't approve of their daughter dating. They were going to fix an arranged marriage for your mom. The Richardson family had a high reputation in New Orleans. Their daughter dating someone like Ryan had tainted their reputation and no one from nearby would have agreed for Evelyn's hand in marriage."

"That's when they decided to fix Evelyn's marriage with me. I had just passed out college and was going to help my parents run a successful company. I had a massive fortune waiting for me. In their minds, it was the best thing possible. My parents accepted the offer and told me that I had to marry her. Your mom had no other choice. Her parents threatened to kick her out of the house and disown her if she didn't marry me. She would have asked Ryan for help but her parents anonymously donated a huge sum of money for Ryan's college admission. The Adams were poor and couldn't afford to send their son to a good college. They immediately sent their son to college before Evelyn had the chance to contact him."

"Evelyn had to marry me. It was after the marriage that I knew that she loved someone else. If I knew that before, I would have never agreed. But what was done was done. I thought that maybe Evelyn and I could learn to love each other. I thought that having a child would change things between us."

"It did lift her mood. She loved you more than anything. She was very happy to have you. Her behavior with me also changed. We became friends. All because of you. I thought that it would be enough. I thought things would be good and it was all good until you were six."

"What happened when I was six?" I asked.

"Your mom met Ryan again. For seven years, your grandparents had done everything in their power to keep Ryan away from Evelyn. Finally, he had found his way to Evelyn again. I knew she was meeting Ryan again but I didn't say anything to her. I was waiting till she came to me. She did come to me but to say that she wanted a divorce."

I expected Dad to look sad or at least upset. He just looked tired. He had been looking tired for a long while. I never noticed it much. It was only since Carmen came along that he looked better. He looked happy.

"What did you do?" I asked him.

"I argued with her. For the first time in seven years of our marriage, I yelled at her and she yelled back at me. It was... bad. She was hell bent on getting a divorce. I had no choice but to agree. My only condition was that I get to keep you. She agreed. That's the whole story."

"Mom cheated on you?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I am perfectly happy with my life and she is happy with hers." Dad looked at Carmen. "I don't regret my choices, Zack."

"Thank you dad. For telling me. I needed to know it."

Dad hugged me. It had been years since we'd hugged. I felt like I was seven again. When I was crying because Mom left us and Dad was trying to calm me down. He had always been there for me.

Just as we pulled away, Ray barged into the room looking for Carmen.

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked looking embarrassed.

Carmen gave her a glare which said obviously.

"I wanted some snacks." Ray said innocently.

"I'll make some snacks for everyone." Carmen said and went out of the room with Ray, leaving Dad and me alone.

"You know when I was nine, I wanted you to marry Ms. Green," I said.

"I had my suspicions. You kept arranging ways for us to meet," dad smiled.

"I'm glad you married again. Your marriage has made you happier."

"From what I've seen Zack," dad said.

"It's made us happier."

Author's Note

Your views guys? The story is coming to an end. There are only a few more chapters left. Thank you for giving your time to read my book. It means the world to me.

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