Gemini of the Shifter Realm

Chapter 28 Admission or Confession?

Zoe Lawson P.O.V

Theodore's demeanor had shifted dramatically. The room was enveloped in a heavy silence, mirroring the emotional chasm that had grown between us. His usual desperate attempts to control the situation had faded, replaced by a melancholy that seemed almost foreign.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, my voice laced with concern. My heart ached as I looked at him—this shadow of the person I once thought I knew so well.

He shook his head, and the depth of his despair left me breathless. Slowly, I crossed the room to him, settling beside him on the bed. "I wanted to kill myself today," he whispered, his confession hanging in the air like a dark storm cloud.

The shock hit me like a physical blow. What had driven him to such a dark place? Our tumultuous relationship had always been fraught with tension, but this revelation pushed us to the edge of an emotional precipice. I was left grappling with the sudden and unexpected turn in our already twisted narrative.

As Theodore's words lingered, a swirl of confusion, compassion, and profound sadness enveloped me. I reached out, my fingertips lightly tracing the contours of his cheek. He placed his hand over mine, holding it as though it were a lifeline in the turbulent sea of his despair. What had once been a familiar and comforting touch now carried an undercurrent of anguish.

"If you keep this child," he said softly, "I can never return to my family. As much as I want to be away, I can't help but feel at home with you." His confession revealed the internal conflict tearing him apart, the weight of his words settling like a heavy fog in the room.

"I would rather not live than to live this life," he continued, his voice muffled as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. The warmth of our tangled emotions was a bittersweet solace amid the turmoil. "That's why this is so important to me."

"I don't want to resent you," he admitted, his plea resonating with the raw vulnerability beneath his hardened exterior.

Tears welled up as I closed my eyes, holding him close. The struggle between the forged life growing inside me and the love I felt for him was an insurmountable chasm. No matter how hard I tried, his pain seemed to eclipse my own.

I whispered soothing words into his ear, my heart breaking as I grappled with the decision before me. The idea of hurting him felt like a betrayal, but the weight of his suffering was unbearable. My internal conflict reached a crescendo, and with a heavy sigh, I made a heart-wrenching pledge.

"Fine, I'll do it," I said, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

Adrian Tepes P.O.V.

"Where is Mom?" Vanity's voice was a whirlwind of curiosity as she ran towards me, her small form settling on my lap. Her innocent question was a stark reminder of the delicate balance I was trying to maintain.

"Your mom left when you were just a tiny baby," I answered, the lie tasting bitter and heavy on my tongue. Each word felt like a weight I was forced to bear, knowing how far removed the truth was.

"Dad?" she asked, her innocent eyes wide and searching.

"He left with Mom," I replied, crafting a fragile narrative to shield her from the harsher reality. The lie hung between us, delicate and fragile.

"Why?" Her gaze was filled with sadness and confusion, her innocent heart struggling to make sense of the world around her.

"They just weren't ready for you," I said softly, trying to soften the blow. "Why isn't having Uncle Adrian enough for you?" I added with a playful pout, hoping to divert her attention. She responded with a sweet kiss on my cheek, a gesture so genuine it brought a heartfelt smile to my face.

"I drew," she said proudly, shifting the topic with the kind of casual innocence only a child could possess.

"You made a drawing?" I asked, feigning surprise as I saw her excitement bubbling over.

"You want to show it to me?" I prompted, and her eager nod was all the encouragement I needed.

"Okay," I said, lifting her gently down. With the speed of a vampire, she dashed to retrieve her artwork and presented it to me with a flourish.

"Let's see what we've got here," I said, taking the drawing and studying it with a seriousness that mirrored her own excitement.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I observed the depiction of Vanity and me holding hands. It was a simple, yet heartfelt illustration. But what caught my attention was another figure – a boy, similar in height to Vanity.

"Who is this?" I asked, my finger pointing to the mysterious boy in her drawing.

"That's my brother," she replied with a beam of pride that was almost too pure. Her words revealed a new layer of her world, a layer I had carefully kept concealed.

Zoe Lawson P.O.V

The weight of my lies pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket, each breath more difficult than the last. I yearned to free him from the illusion of a child that didn't exist, the lie that distorted not just his reality but my own identity. This wasn't who I was—or who I wanted to be—a liar, entangled in shadows of my own making.

Every day after he left, my tears were my only company. The ache in my heart matched the burden of my conscience, gnawing at me as I questioned the choices that had led me here, to this dark precipice. How had I let things spiral so far out of control?

"I'll follow you." His voice cut through my thoughts, startling me. His unexpected offer to accompany me to the clinic pierced the silence—a misguided gesture, perhaps born from a misplaced sense of duty. I shook my head, my resolve hardening.

"I don't want you to," I insisted, my words heavy with the weight of what lay between us. The thought of him sitting there, waiting for me, was unbearable. It would only make our impending goodbye more excruciating.

"Will you call me right after you're done?" he asked, his tone a mix of concern and a lingering uncertainty that twisted the knife deeper.

"I'll see," I murmured, unable to meet his eyes.

Before I could say anything more, my phone buzzed with a text. It was Madison, Kayla's sister. Kayla was my another close friend. "Has my sister contacted you?"

My heart sank. "No, we were supposed to meet yesterday, but she didn't show up," I replied, a sense of dread building inside me. I knew Kayla was caught in the grips of an abusive relationship. I had tried to help her, tried to pull her out, but she seemed trapped, paralyzed by fear and unable to break free. With everything going on in my own life, I hadn't been able to focus on her the way I should have. Now guilt clawed at me.

"I'm going to her place. Meet me there." I texted Madison.

Fear twisted in my gut. I dialed Kayla's number, my hands trembling, but the call went straight to voicemail. Again and again, I tried, the silence on the other end becoming more deafening with each attempt. I could feel panic rising in my chest.

The last message Kayla had sent to Madison kept playing in my mind: "If I'm found dead, it's because of him." Her words were a chilling reminder of the reality of her situation, and I knew time was running out. I was torn between my own looming decisions and the urgency of Kayla's situation.