* I dont know whether her mom had a name before in this book, so I'll just call her Mary.

Ava's pov

As we were waiting for the door to open, I clutched onto Adam's hand a little harder.

How will I parents be like? How will they react when they see me? Do I have any siblings? If so, what will they be like?

So many questions. Questions to which I had no answer.

I finally heard a fumbling of keys and my breathe hitched at that. The door knob moved and finally the door opened to reveal a tall boy who looked like he was probably 16 or 17.

Should I say something? I looked at Adam who looked at me with a reassuring smile.

"He is your brother. Jay," he lightly whispered.

The boy, who was called Jay just kept staring at me with eyes filled with fright

At that moment, I lightly whispered a small 'hi' to which he replied my slamming the door on my face.

I heard a large scream from the other side of the door and I knew Jay was frightened as hell.

"Who the hell are you?" he screamed.

"Jay," I called out," I'm your sister. A...Sabrina."

"Fuck fuck fuck. Oh my God. There's a ghost here."

I looked at Adam desperately who called out to Jay after that,

"Jay. Remember how they never found Sabrina's body. Because there wasn't a body to be found. She didn't die Jay. She was alive all this time. And now she is back"

After Adam said that, Jay was quite for a while. He didn't reply anything and at that moment a thought popped in my mind. What exactly happened when they thought I died? How was my supposed death like?

But before I could ponder anymore on these thoughts, the door opened and Jay stood in front of me with eyes filled with tears. Although I didn't remember him, I could feel the connection we had. The bond between us.

"Are you...are you really Sabrina?"

I simply nodded in answer and soon as I did that, Jay moved ahead to engulf me in a hug. I knew he was sobbing and for some reason, I couldn't control my tears too as they kept flowing from my eyes.

"I thought...i thought I lost you forever."

"I'm here Jay. I'm here"

-----

Adam explained Jay everything which was there to explain. And although initially Jay was shocked, he slowly came to accept whatever we had told him.

And after all this, I asked him to fill in about our family to me. I expected more from him. I expected him to tell me everything. But he barely spoke about our parents which slightly bothered me

"What about mom and dad? How are they like? Are they home now?," I finally questioned, not being able to keep my curiosity to myself

Adam and Jay shared a look which told me that there was something fishy going on here which I had no idea about.

"Uh mom's gone out for some grocery shopping. She will be back soon. And dad well, he is probably in his room now. He has a slight fever which is why he is probably sleeping. "

"Oh. Well. Can I...can I meet him?"

"I...why don't we let him rest now. Ya"

"But. I think he would want to know if his daughter arrived after two whole years don't you think. I mean...I am ofcourse nervous about meeting him. But still, I want to know him. I want to know my father"

Finally giving in to me, Jay went to go call dad. He thought it was ideal if he went alone to him at first, to explain him whatever was going on as seeing me suddenly might give him a shock too big to bear. And I ofcourse agreed to it.

I was now sitting in the living room sofa, holding Adam's hand in mine, waiting for dad to appear.

I had no idea what kind of relation we had. But whatever kind we did, I was sure he would be glad to see me. After all, no parent would be upset after finding their lost child.

And finally he did arrive where we were standing. He almost looked breathless, as if he ran to come meet me out of eagerness.

Immediately as he arrived, I got on my feet, watching him for a while, not knowing what to say. His eyes were similar to mine. Very similar. His hair was grey at it's root while the rest of his was a deep brunette.

He had a kind expression on his face and I could see clearly how emotional he looked

"Sabrina," he called out.

Not knowing what to answer, I just lightly whispered , "Dad"

He slowly sat in the sofa and I knew he was still in shock.

Looking at Adam who gave me a nod of approval, I walked towards him and slowly knelt at the ground in front of him

"Dad", I called out again. And this time he couldn't control himself anymore. He wrapped his arms around me, as he sobbed and sobbed. I sobbed along with him and I finally felt a sense of completion. I finally felt that I had a real family. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead after which he kept muttering apologies to me

"Dad. It's okay. I am here. You don't have to be sorry"

But something told me that he was sorry for more reasons than I could comprehend. He wasn't sorry because he thought he couldn't save me, he was sorry for other reasons. Reasons I wanted to find out.

"My daughter. My little girl I thought I lost you forever. I thought I lost you and lost any chance to repent for my mistakes."

"Dad what are you talking about?" I questioned slightly moving back from him

"You deserved so much love my little girl. Love that I didn't give you because I was ashamed of my own mistakes."

"Mistakes?"

"Yes my girl. I should've been there for you when you needed a parent's love. But I wasnt"

Confused, I looked at Jay who nodded his head in dismissal. He didn't tell him that I lost my memories. Maybe this was a good thing as he was ready to tell everything to me

Adam, who had given me my space my time , came to sit beside me now. He looked at Dad after which he said,

"Mr.May. I think...I think you should say her everything from the start"

Dad nodded as he started speaking. And what all he said, I definitely wasn't ready to hear it

"I never told you this. I never told this to anyone besides your mom. But I guess it's finally time for me to own up to all my mistakes now.

Jay's mom and I were high school sweethearts. We started going out when we were seventeen. And I was really really in love with her"

I couldn't help but notice how he said Jay's mom instead of just your mom to me. But I didn't point it out

"After high school ended, we had different plans in mind. I moved to a business school in New York. While she was still here, studying in an art college.

At first, we were convinced that we could survive the long distance relationship. But as time went, our relationship got strained which eventually led us to breakup.

I was heartbroken. But after our breakup, I met this woman, who helped me deal with everything I was going on. She went to same business school as mine. Carol. Carol Jensens was her name. She...she always wanted to start a restaurant of her own. I remember

Slowly, I fell in love with her. And I was happy. But she had issues. Issues which I tried to help her with but I couldnt. She...she was a drug addict. I know it was because of everything she had gone through. Growing up, she had abusive parents.

I tried to help her. Trust me I tried alot. But at the end, her love for drugs surpassed the love she had for me. And we finally broke up.

Adam. Your dad. He attended the same business school. He was both mine and Carol's friend.

After finishing business school, I came back home. I didn't like the city. So I moved back here and started my business. Your dad stayed in New York and he worked day and night and built a huge empire after which he moved here too. Wanting to manage his business from a more peaceful area. I wasn't as successful as him, but I still had alot.

And after I came back, I met Jay's mom again. And that spark we had. It returned. We soon fell in love and then we got married.

We were happy at first. But then I don't know how, we started arguing over petty things. I was frustrated. And during that time, I met Carol again.

She said she was better now. And soon we became friends. But as my marriage grew strained, I...I started cheating. I know I shouldn't have. But I felt all my worries go when I was with her.

But soon I got the news which changed my life completely. Mary. She was pregnant. She was pregnant with Shirley. Your sister.

I was so happy. And then I started regretting cheating on her. And so I ended things with Carol. And that pushed her at the edge as she started doing drugs again.

And then she revealed to me that she...that she was pregnant too. I was shocked. I didnt...i didn't know what to do.

Not knowing what to do, I went to Adam's dad for advice. And he told me to come clean to Mary. Which I did.

She was heartbroken. Specially after knowing that...that Carol was pregnant. She wanted a divorce. But then, maybe for Shirley, she gave me one more chance. She told me that if anything like this ever happened again, she wouldn't be able to bear it anymore.

But I was worried for Carol. For the child she was caring. I knew I couldn't let the child grow up with her. Specially since she was back to her old habits.

And so with the help of Damien(Adam's dad) I made her sign a custody paper. She didn't even read the paper. She signed it just because I told her too.

I was more guilty than ever. But Damien reassured me that this was the right thing too. He cared for Carol alot. But he knew too, that she was an unfit mother.

And so after Carol gave birth to a baby girl, I ...I brought her home with me. And that baby girl was you"

My breath hitched as he said that. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to know about all this when I came here at my parents door

"Mary didn't show her anger towards you. She raised you like her own...at first. Everyone knew you both as twins. You looked a great deal alike which is why no one ever suspected.

Carol suddenly disappeared after that and I never looked for her.

Although Mary was good to you, I couldn't...I couldn't make myself show my love towards you. Because seeing you reminded me of what a jerk I was. How I betrayed both Mary and Carol.

But then, everything changed. One night...there...there was a house fire due to a gas leak. We were all escaping. And we escaped successfully.

But you started crying for some toy you had left behind. You and Shirley were so close. That without thinking once, she ran to the fire to retrieve your toy. And that fire...that fire killed her.

And that broke Mary. She blamed you for the death of her own child. And because of this, she hated you."

I didn't know what to say after all this. It was a big revelation. No one knew where my birth mother was and the one with whom I grew up hated me.

I slowly backed away. My cheeks were filled with tears. I was angry at Dad. So angry for what he had done to both the woman he ever loved. Although I couldnt remember it, I was angry at him for not treating me like his. daughter.

"Adam," I called to him," let's go"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I don't want to know anything more. Let's go Adam"

Adam didn't say anything. He stood up and was ready to walk away with me.

But I was stopped by my so called father holding my hand.

"Please. Don't leave. I have already done so many mistakes. If you leave once again, I wouldn't be able to bear it"

"There's nothing here for me to stay."

Saying that I freed my hand from him and walked away with Adam. He pleaded after me, begging me to forgive him, but somehow I just couldn't turn back and tell him everything was okay

I know I should've stayed. Stayed for Jay. Stayed for mom to come back. Although I came to know that she hated me, I didn't blame her. It was all dad's fault.

Adam didn't say a single word as he drove us back. I was silently crying through the entire journey home

And when we finally reached home, Adam walked with me to my room. He didn't talk to me much, thinking I needed space. But I didn't need space now. I needed comfort. From him

As he was about to walk back to his room after placing a kiss on my forehead, I held his hand to stop him

He looked back at me with a questioning glance. And when he did, the past two weeks spent with him flashed in front of my eyes. He showed me love. He gave me what I wanted. The truth.

Not being able to hold myself back anymore, I grabbed his jaw as I joined our lips together. Although he was shocked at first, he happily kissed me back.

Holding onto his belt, I pulled him as close to me as possible. The kiss grew more heated with each passing second. And soon my hand found it's way to the button of shirts.

Just as was I about to open them, Adam moved away from me, leaving me disappointed.

"I...no...we can't do this."

"Why...why not?"

"I'm sorry Bree. We just can't. Not now."

And saying that, he left me all alone