Chapter 19 - 19

Morgan's POV:

"Morgan?" Dad called after me. I pretended not to hear him, making my way up the stairs to my room. "Darling please, say something."

Say what? What does he want me to say?

I walked up the stairs and got to my room. He followed behind me, keeping a safe distance between us as if he was afraid of what I would do. Well actually, it was nothing.

I felt numb. I couldn't think about anything but getting to my room and crashing in bed.

I locked the door to my room, made a beeline for my bathroom and took a cold shower.

He's joking, right? And that girl, she's joking too, right?

After my shower I dressed in a loose shirt an went to bed. Tomorrow morning I'll sort my thoughts out. As for now, I don't think so.

******

The atmosphere that hovered over the breakfast table was nothing short of tensed. I ate my breakfast of oats and fruits, occasionally helping the twins with their own food. Dad sat at the head of the table, watching me with cautious eyes. And that girl sat beside him, oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"Mommy, Who is that?" Cole whispered, his eyes moving to the girl.

"Eat your food honey," I said with a small smile. "Once you're done, you both can go to the pool."

"I don't want to swim." Miranda cut in. "I have an art project, can you help me with it?"

"I can help you with it!" The girl said. I turned to her. She had a wide smile as she looked at Miranda. "I may not look like it, but I'm a very good artist."

"Thank you," I said pointedly. "But we'll be fine."

"You're an artist?" Miranda asked, her eyes sparkling. "Can I see what you paint? Are you really that good?"

The girl laughed shyly and nodded. "Yes, after breakfast I'm sure I can show you."

"Awesome!"

I felt betrayed. I looked at the girl, my face hard as stone. If She noticed the cold look I was giving her, she didn't show it.

"Morgan," Dad called softly. "You haven't said anything."

"Not in front of the kids, dad." I said without looking at him.

Truth was, my heart was hammering. If this girl is my sister, like actually related to me, then dad has a lot of questions to answer. Questions I don't want to ask.

I'm an only child. I'm the heir of Rosewood. It's always been just me. And even after my mother was gone, dad never took any women.

Well, perhaps he did and I just wasn't aware of it.

I lost my appetite.

The twins finished first and ran off to the pool even though Miranda had said she didn't want to swim. That left the three of us at the table.

"Morgan," Dad called again. It crossed my mind to get up and walk out. I looked up and met his eyes. "Can you please say something?"

"What do you want me to say, dad?" I asked. "You drop the biggest bombshell of my life on me, at least give me time to process it."

"Oh, you didn't know about me?" The girl asked. I turned to look at her. "I know all about you! I don't know why..."

"Sabrina," Dad called. "Please, let me talk to Morgan."

"Okay!"

"Darling please, you have to understand"

"You kept such a secret form mom! And you pretended....you pretended to be in love!"

"I loved your mother."

"Yeah bull shit! What kind of love was that if you kept something this huge from her?"

"Morgan, I understand you're upset. Yet I will not tolerate that tone of voice you're using."

"Oh so now you have a problem with my tone?! You know what, dad, you should have kept your little secret to yourself. Why did you even bother telling me?"

"You deserved to know." He said calmly. He turned to Sabrina and smiled warmly at her. "I have two amazing daughters. I'm not getting any younger, and I'd like to die with less regrets."

"You're not dying anytime soon, daddy." Sabrina said and held his hand. "You still have a long life ahead of you."

I felt sick to my stomach.

My father, the man I looked up to as my hero. He could do absolutely no wrong in my eyes. And yet...this is the kind of thing he does?

An arranged marriage? And a kid from another woman? How do I even begin to process this now?

"Morgan," Sabrina turned to me. "Don't worry, we have plenty of time to get to know each other better."

I wanted to throw my bowl of oatmeal at her face. "Fuck you." I rose to my feet and left.

Get to know each other better? Over my dead body.