𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟒.

Jorja's Pov
I couldn't help but burst into an uncontrollable laughter after staring at her for some time. The other customers around our table inside the cafe looked at me as if I were a mad woman, drawing their attention towards us. As I kept laughing, I threw my head back and my shoulders moved along with me as I took in what she were telling me.

Eventually, my laughter morphed into warm tears streaming down my cheeks, and I found myself crying with a smile still etched on my lips. "Twin sister? This must be some kind of twisted prank, right?" I managed to say through my choked-out laughs as Marie looked at me as if I had lost my mind. I probably did lose it, but that wasn't important right now.

This simply couldn't be reality. My entire existence had been dedicated to scouring every possible lead for even the slightest clue of my origins. My holidays were spent alone, marred by pain and confusion, pondering the whereabouts of my kin, their identities, and the reasons behind my abandonment to a harsh system. And now, as a grown as woman, the revelation that I might actually have a twin sister emerges?

"I promise, it's not a prank. These are our newborn photos directly from the hospital. I've been looking everywhere for you, and so has our mom. Y-you can't imagine how much we've wanted to find you." Marie's voice was a hushed tremor. The mere mention of our mother, a woman I had never laid eyes on, set my legs trembling with a nervous rhythm.

I just gazed at her, disbelief washing over me. "We? You mean you and this woman, you've been searching for me as a pair? Are you actually saying she chose to keep you and discard me like I was fucking worthless?" I couldn't help but scoff, a deep ache settling in my chest, now knowing for sure that I had a sibling who was held onto while I was cast aside.

"Jorja, she was young, reckless, and the thought of handling twins must have been overwhelming, right? Could we maybe cut her a bit of slack—"

"Can you even imagine how that felt? Spending holidays in foster care, with human beings I didn't even know, while you were with a caring family. How can anyone just choose to give up one of their own kids like that? Are you listening to what you're saying? How are you defending that?" I asked, my tone of voice etching higher and higher.

Before I responded once more, I halted, inhaling deeply to brush away the tears streaking my face. "I endured so much for as long as my memory serves. Night after night, I cried, lying on the lower tier of a bunk bed beside a stranger. I spent my life feeling like I deserved that, like I was nothing. But now, I see that wasn't true. I didn't deserve any of that. I just didn't."

"Jorja, I'm truly sorry for the pain you've endured. It's unimaginable to me, the weight of your experiences. But I'm confused—are you implying that I'm at fault? Remember, I was only an infant then, with no control over those events," Marie said. I shook my head, turning my gaze from her, realizing she hadn't grasped a single word I'd said.

Maybe I'm the smarter sister.

"You've closed your ears to my words, but I'm not surprised. I don't hold you responsible; I'm simply stating that my past was unjust. Your role as my child's educator doesn't bridge the gap between us. Our conversation is limited to matters concerning Soléigh," I stated, as I gathered the photographs from the table and slid them into the envelope.