//I've not been getting anywhere near as many reads, comment or votes as I used to. I'm going to be finishing this story soon. Will anyone still be interested in a 5 years forward sequel?//
"I've found your father and we're at home. We all need to talk. Home home ASAP." Aria read the text from Ella out loud. I was relieved that Byron had been found, but also anxious to find out what needed to be discussed. For obvious reasons, we seemed to have a lot more family discussions than your average household. I don't recall sitting though one family meeting during the 16 years I lived in England with my previous family.
"We better be getting back, then." I said to Aria as I stood up to collect things together and managed to cram them into my bag. Aria smiled at Ezra before we left the cafe to return home. We walked fast and were home in less than ten minutes.
"I'm glad your home." Byron said to the three of us when we were all seated. Mike has obviously received the text too, as he arrived at the front door seconds after me and and Aria did. "I needed to get out for a while to clear my head. I've had things I've needed to tell you all, but I didn't know how to."
"Is this about how my twin sister managed to adopted by a family thousands of miles away?" Mike asked. It was a stupid question, because there wasn't any other big family issues. Byron gave a quick nod in Mike's direction before talking again.
"You already know that you were born during a vacation in Europe. The truth is, I knew about Nancy's existence. When you two were born, Nancy was unexpected. When doctors realised that there was another baby, they didn't think Nancy would make it. I was told that Nancy had a hole in her heart and her lungs were not working properly. They didn't think Nancy would make it past the age of one month. After Aria was born, Ella began to worry a lot about everything." Byron wrapped his arm around his ex-wife. It was obvious the memories upset him, "Ella would blame herself for everything and not thinking straight, I thought it would be better for her to not know about Nancy. I was told that Nancy would probably never leave the hospital, so I thought it would be best. I also knew that Ella was a twin, but lost her brother at a young age. I didn't want her to get upset about history repeating itself. So, I signed some papers saying that Nancy would be adopted, but I knew that this only meant that you wouldn't be in our care. I had no idea that you were healthy and grew up to be such an amazing young woman. If I had known this, there would be absolutely no chance that I would have chosen to give you up. I know what I did was wrong, and I have regretted my decision every day since I first saw you as a beautiful, talented, wonderful sixteen year old."
Every family member had at least one tear in their eye. I finally had the answers I had been waiting for for so long. Tears streaming down my cheeks, I got up to hug Ella. Then, go Byron's surprise, I went to hug my biological father. I could have detested him for what he had done for me, but I could tell that he thought he was doing what was best for everyone. Everyone makes mistakes, some bigger than others, but all still mistakes.