Chapter 297
“Melanie is my sister,” she blurted, her voice louder than intended, cutting through the low murmur of the café.
Adam paused mid step and sat back down, staring at Melody.
Melody watched his face, trying to read his expression. But there was no shock. No surprise. He just stared at her calmly as if she had just announced that the weather was nice.
She frowned. That wasn’t the reaction she had expected.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you already know? Did Melanie tell you? Does she already know that we are sisters?”
The questions came fast, tumbling over each other. While on her face, she did not show her panic, but under the table, her hands were clenched. If Melanie really knew everything and had told Adam about it, then her plan would be in a mess.
But, thankfully, Adam shook his head and answered, “I’d already guessed. You said it yourself-you and Melanie look alike. And you’re younger than her by a few years. It was too obvious to be just a coincidence, once you mentioned that you knew something.”
He leaned forward slightly now, his voice steady. “What I want to know is how you found out… and more importantly, what it is you think Melanie doesn’t know.”
Instead of answering him, Melody shook her head and asked,” Can you tell me about Melanie’s family?”
Adam shook his head. “You are the one who called me to tell me something. So, I guess, you need to be the one who should talk.”
Melody clenched her hands again. Why did Adam have to be so direct and short? Could he not just give her a little leeway. All she wanted to do was talk a bit more but instead… Fine. Since she had chose this path, she would take her time.
She sighed and answered him,” Melanie’s parents are dead. I heard her say that to our school Principal.”
Adam nodded, waiting for her to continue and she did,” But…” Melody sighed and looked around and said,” The day you mistook me for Melanie and hugged me… my mother was there at the club, walking around. She met Melanie and… recognised her as her daughter.”
Adam frowned. He’d thought that Melody and Melanie were probably sisters who had been separated as children due to an unfortunate accident…
Melody took a breath, eyes flicking toward the café window, watching the blurred movement of passersby. Then she turned back to Adam and said in a soft voice, “Melanie was abducted as a child. She was four.”
Adam stiffened. He’d met her when she was just five and she was quite well adjusted. But now, someone was telling him that she was abducted just before she met him? How was that possible.
“She’s my sister. And not just in some half-connected way. We have the same parents. My parents are her parents. She is older than my by two years.”
Adam leaned back slightly, brows furrowing. “Melanie grew up with her grandmother. Why would she be with her if your parents were alive?”
“I know,” Melody said quickly. “That’s what she said but I was not too sure if she knew the truth so I did not talk to her directly. She was indeed raised by her grandmother. And the woman probably told everyone that Melanie’s parents were dead. But that’s not what happened.” Her fingers twisted around each other in her lap, knuckles whitening. “She was taken. My grandmother-our grandmother-took her away after an argument with my parents. She just… left. No warning. No contact. They did not even discover that she was taken by her grandmother until it was too late. Never were suspicious about her.
Adam’s expression stayed unreadable, but he said nothing.
“My parents tried everything. Police, private investigators… Nothing. And eventually, after years, they were told to let it go. That she was probably gone for good. But they never stopped hoping.”
Adam said nothing, just watched her, measured and still. “They were so distraught about her loss that they could not even stay in the same house for long and they could not even bear to change anything, hoping to have her come back and remember something of when she stayed there.
“And then,” Melody went on, “a few years ago, I moved back to the city to live here alone because my mother could not dare to. Honestly, I didn’t even know I had an older sister. I had forgotten all about her. So, when I met Melanie, I just casually mentioned her to my mother. She came here…She didn’t tell me her reasons, but she came.”
“I think she meant to look for Melanie on her own, but fate had other plans. That day, when you hugged me…”
Melody paused, hoping that he would remember the time he had held her but he simply gave her an indifferent reaction and waited for her to continue, so she did,”Anyway, my mother and I had gone to the club. And I lost her when she was wandered around, so she stumbled into Melanie. She’d probably planned to look for her, but when she found her, she could not stop herself and started chatting with her.”
Melanie was polite, but… there was no recognition. My mother’s face has not changed much so she had been hoping that Melanie would recognise her. But she didn’t. There was nothing on Melanie’s face.”
Adam looked down for a long second before meeting Melody’s eyes. “So your mother just knew?”
“She felt it,” Melody said. “The way only a mother can. She couldn’t explain it, but she recognised her own daughter. And she came home in shock. But then she suddenly wanted to redecorate the entire house. A house she had not even let a single thing change, was suddenly emptied out.That was when I knew… that something was up. And I confronted her until she came clean and confessed everything. But there is a problem.”
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