Her Secrets

32. Secrets Come Unravelled

3 month later: Asher's pov

Three months had passed since Mia left the hospital, met her mother, and went into therapy. Therapy for both her mental and physical health. She was doing well. At least Asher believed she was doing well, the indicator being that she had been talking, smiling, and eating more. The majority of those she hadn't done in so long. He had almost forgotten what it looked like on her, what it sounded like, and how it felt to have a sister who was seemingly "normal". But what was normal now anyways? So much had changed. Too much.

Mia knew the truth about her family. At least that was what they had led her to believe. At least Asher had. For once, Benjamin and Christian had given her the truth in its entirety. That was not the case for Asher. He didn't give her the entire truth about her mother. He never had lied to her like that. He used that to conclude that she wouldn't stay angry at him forever. It made lying to her easier. After all, he did it out of love. He didn't want her to feel as if she was unloved or cursed with four sets of parents that secretly hated her.

He felt awful for lying but seeing her upset about the family, in her mind that she lacked, he wanted her to feel like she had something that was hers. Even if it was a lie. It was what she needed to fully recover. She needed something positive, not additional pain and devastation.

Three months later is when he decided to tell Mia the truth. She had once demanded that she get the truth about everything. Reluctantly, he was going to give it to her. This truth was important but he knew once he told her, there was no turning back. This would either help her recover or it would completely shatter her.

The woman who visited her had lied. It wasn't that she wanted to, it was Asher who paid her to lie. Through heavy research on Mia's mother, he found that she lived in a homeless shelter and was a drug addict. He didn't want Mia to feel that her entire life was turned upside down. She desperately wanted to hear from her mother. He didn't want her to feel like nothing ever went right, so he paid the woman just enough to get out of that place, clean herself up, and put on a show for her daughter. Make her feel as if she cared regardless of the fact that she couldn't care less. Most of that money wasn't even his, it belonged to Chris.

Days after Mia was first released from the hospital, and Christian was actually home now that she was, he noticed the missing money. In a frantic search, he talked about going to the police. Asher couldn't take that guilt, so he spilled.

Christian was furious, and threatened to kick him out. However, the only thing holding this family together was being together. He knew that, and he wasn't going to risk ruining Mia's recovery. Christian didn't even want her knowing anything about what Asher did out of fear.

Mia was holding it together after she got out of the hospital and finished physical therapy two months later. She was getting better by the day, learning to trust again. He knew this would shatter her.

However, the guilt was gnawing at Asher's mind, heart, and soul with every waking minute. He had to tell her or he wouldn't survive. He wanted to tell her calmly instead of in a fit of anger. With the way anger ran through their veins, a trait received from their father, he knew it was only a matter of time before she found out in a horrible way.

He knew where Christian stood on the matter so he'd be damned before he told her with him around. It was mid-day and their oldest brother had been at work since early this morning. He made up his mind; he was going to tell her.