290 What if I Didn’t Belong There?
Evelyn pushed the photograph across the table toward Finley,
The moment Finley touched the photograph, hisposure began to falter.
His hand trembled as he lifted the picture, his gaze fixed on the two women frozen in time.
For the first time since entering the room, Finley Morgan looked truly shaken.
“Madison…” he murmured. He traced the outline of his cousin, Evelyn’s mother’s face with his finger, as though doing so might bring her back to life. “She looks just like her mother”
“Yes,” Evelyn said softly. “They were both so beautiful.”
She smiled faintly, though her eyes felt warm.
Reaching into her bag again, Evelyn pulled out a small gold frame. Inside was a faded photograph of two six–year–old children standing in front of a two–story house. Time had dulled the colors, but the expressions remained clear.
“And I found this in my mother’s belongings,” Evelyn said, cing it on the table.
“For years, I thought it was my mother and her brother or her friend. But now I understand… The picture must be my grandma and her twin brother.”
Finley stared at the image, his breath catching.
“That’s her,” he said. “And that’s her twin brother, my father,” Finley said. His eyes glistened as he looked back up at Evelyn. “We have this picture too. It’s still hanging in your great–grandparents‘ house.”
Her heart skipped painfully to hear that.
“You need to meet them, Evelyn,” Finley continued. “They’re still alive. Not as strong as before, but they’re here. They’ve waited their whole lives without knowing what happened to their daughter.”
Her hands went cold.
Meet them.
The words echoed loudly in her mind.
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<b>290 </b>What if I Didn’t Belong There?
She had spent years searching for answers, yet <b>now </b>that <b>the </b><b>door </b><b>was </b><b>open</b>, <b>fear </b>rushed in alongside relief. What If meeting them changed <b>everything</b>?
“I don’t know if I’m ready, Evelyn admitted softly. Her voice trembled <b>despite </b><b>her </b>effort to sound calm. “I’m worried they won’t ept me. I don’t want <b>to </b><b>disrupt </b>anyone’s life or open old wounds that should have stayed closed so they could <b>be </b>healed.”
Finley listened without interrupting, his expression gentle and patient.
When he finally spoke, his voice carried a quiet sincerity. “Evelyn, please understand something. We have been searching for Aunty Giselle for years. Not to me her. Not to question her choices. We just wanted to know she was alive. Or if not, then at least to find her family.”
He paused, letting his words settle. “Finding you is not a disruption. It is something we have hoped for.”
Evelyn’s hands sped tightly in herp.
She understood what he meant, truly. If she were honest with herself, she had wanted this too. That longing was the reason she had dared to take the DNA test in the first ce. Yet now that the truth was right in front of her, it felt overwhelming.
The Morgan name echoed in her mind. Powerful. Influential. Intimidating. And her grandmother had once been part of it.
“I’m scared,” Evelyn whispered. “What if I don’t belong there?”
Finley’s gaze softened even more. “Your great–grandparents deserve to know that their daughter left something beautiful behind. And you deserve to know where you came from, Evelyn. Blood does not disappear just because time has passed.”
Silence stretched between them, heavy but not ufortable.
Evelyn stared at the table, her thoughts tangled with memories of her past. Then slowly, she lifted her head.
“Yes,” she said atst, her voice steadier. “I will meet them.”
Finley’s smile widened, filled with gratitude. “Thank you, Evelyn. Thank you for trusting us.”
Then, almost hesitantly, he added, “And… I would also like to meet your husband. If possible. Can I see him? I wanted to introduce myself to him officially as your uncle…”
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290 What if I Didn’t Belong There?
Evelyn blinked in surprise. She had not thought that far ahead. But considering <b>Finley </b>already knew Axel, she didn’t have a reason not to allow them to meet.
She nodded lightly. “Yes. You can meet him.”
Meanwhile, outside the hospital.
Axel sat in the back seat with Oliver perchedfortably beside him, one arm loosely around his son’s small shoulders.
The hospital entrance stood right in front of them, ss doors opening and closing as people came and went.
Each time the doors slid apart, Axel’s attention snapped toward them.
Nearly an hour had passed.
He checked his phone again. No messages. No missed calls. Nothing. Not even any emails from Evelyn.
Axel exhaled slowly, forcing himself to remain seated.
More than once, he had been tempted to step out of the car and go inside, to find her and make sure she was alright. But he restrained himself. This was Evelyn’s moment with her family.
Oliver, however, had far less patience.
“Daddy,” he said, swinging his toddler legs, “why don’t we just go down there and follow Mommy?”
Axel nced at him and smiled faintly. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Buddy. Because we would then disturb Mommy, and she is meeting someone important.”
“How important?” Oliver tilted his head. “More important than me?”
Axel chuckled softly. “Buddy, I can assure you, no one is more important to Mommy than you. Even I, I am less important than you…”
Oliver considered that, seemingly satisfied, until another thought struck him. “Then how about we go buy donuts?”
“Donuts?” Axel raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Oliver nodded eagerly. “There’s a very delicious donut inside the hospital.
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290 What if I Didn’t Belong There?
Mommy always buys it for me. With sugar on top and delicious cream inside”
Axel nearlyughed out loud. Of course, Evelyn had bribed him with pastries when they visited this ce.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” Axel said gently.
“Why not?” Oliver frowned. “I promise I’ll share.”
Axel opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He wanted to say that too many eyes were watching, that someone might take photos, that it was safer to stay in the car. But how did one exin that to a four–year–old without making his still–simplistic view of the world moreplicated and heavy?
He ruffled Oliver’s hair instead. “How about we let Uncle Liam buy them for us?”
Oliver’s face lit up instantly. “Okay!”
Axel leaned forward and nced at Liam through the rearview mirror. “Can you get some donuts? The kind with sugar on top.”
Liam grinned. “On it, boss.”
As soon as Liam stepped out, Oliver leaned closer to Axel, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. “Daddy, why do I already miss Cloud and Browny?”
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<strong>Olivia Harris</strong> is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy novels. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia’s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.