Yu Holea bit her bottom lip. "But... what if it’s true?"
Yu Shuchang gave her a gentle smile. "Even if it is, you’ll still be our sister. Nothing would change that."
Yu Sile leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Actually, if it’s true, that’s great news. It ans you’re not Mr. Yu’s daughter. That’s sothing to celebrate."
Mrs. Yu gasped. "Sile!"
But Yu Sile just shrugged. "I’m just saying."
Then, to everyone’s surprise, Mrs. Yu stood up and walked to Yu Holea. Her eyes were wet with tears, but her arms were wide open.
She pulled Yu Holea into a warm, tight hug.
"You silly girl," Mrs. Yu whispered. "Why did you keep all this inside? Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Why did you try to carry everything alone?"
Yu Holea didn’t answer. Her lips pressed together, but the warmth of Mrs. Yu’s hug sank into her heart like sunshine in winter. She slowly closed her eyes and leaned into it.
"I... didn’t know how to say it," she mumbled.
"It’s okay now," Mrs. Yu said softly. "No matter what blood runs in your veins, you’re still my daughter."
Yu Holea’s throat tightened. She nodded against Mrs. Yu’s shoulder.
But when she glanced toward the head of the table, her heart dropped.
Grandpa Yu sat still as a statue. His face was pale, his hands gripping his cane tightly. He didn’t say a word. He just stared at the table with a blank expression.
Yu Holea’s eyes narrowed, her breath catching.
Why did Grandpa Yu look... scared?
Everyone else had sothing to say—sothing warm, kind, or even teasing.
But only Grandpa Yu looked like he had seen a ghost.
And sohow, Yu Holea felt it deep in her gut—
He knew sothing.
Sothing big.
Sothing he didn’t want to say.
She stepped away from Mrs. Yu and stared at him across the table.
The air was quiet again, but this ti it felt different. Heavy. Like sothing important was hiding in the silence.
"Grandpa?" Yu Holea called in a small voice.
Old Mr. Yu stared at her and Mrs. Yu with a guilty expression.
"I might know sothing."
Yu Holea asked cautiously,
"What is it?"
Old Mr. Yu held his cane tightly, his hands shaking a little. Everyone was staring at him now. The room was so quiet that even the sound of the clock ticking felt too loud.
"Our real last na should have been Ou," he said slowly, like each word was made of stone. "Not Yu."
Yu Holea’s mouth opened slightly. She looked around the room, but everyone else seed just as shocked.
Even Mrs. Yu’s hands trembled as she covered her mouth.
"I don’t understand," Yu Holea said. "Why did you change your na?"
Old Mr. Yu took a deep breath and looked down at the table, like he couldn’t face anyone.
"I used to be the young master of the Ou family in the capital. It was one of the richest and most powerful families in the whole country," he said.
"But I... made a terrible mistake. A mistake that cost the family a lot."
He paused, and his voice lowered.
"The punishnt should have been death," he said.
"That’s the rule in the Ou family. But... the head of the family loved . He loved too much."
Everyone in the room listened in silence, not even daring to breathe too loud.
"He let go," Old Mr. Yu continued. "But he made promise sothing. Just one thing. He said the Ou family could ask for anything at any ti, and I would have to give it. No matter what."
Yu Sile leaned forward. "And you agreed?"
Old Mr. Yu nodded. "I had no choice. I left the capital and moved to City S. Changed my na to Yu. With my education, I worked hard and slowly built a business. Eventually, I beca the richest man in the city."
He smiled a little, but it was a sad smile.
"Then I t your grandmother," he said, looking at Mrs. Yu.
"She was kind, simple, and loved for who I was. Not for my money, not for my past. Just . We got married... and then she gave birth to twins."
Yu Sile couldn’t help but interrupt,
"But during her old age, her true colors were out. She loved money...a lot."
Old Mr. Yu glared at Yu Sile, who stuck his tongue out.
Yu Holea’s heart thudded in her chest.
Twins.
A chill crept up her spine.
"I was so happy," Old Mr. Yu said softly. "I thought my past was behind . I thought I had escaped it."
His hands trembled harder now.
"But then... the Ou family called."
Everyone waited.
"They said an enemy had poisoned their family. Made every single one of them infertile. They had no heirs left. No sons. No daughters. No future."
He looked at Yu Holea now, his eyes full of regret.
"They heard I had twins... and they said I had to give one to them."
"I refused at first," Old Mr. Yu said, voice cracking.
"But they threatened . They said they’d put in jail for what I did in the past. They said they’d take the children by force. And worst of all... they said they’d harm your grandmother."
Tears welled up in his eyes now, but he didn’t let them fall.
"I was terrified," he said. "I couldn’t let anything happen to her. So I did the only thing I could."
He looked right at Yu Holea.
"I gave them one of the twins."
Yu Holea’s legs felt weak. Her stomach twisted into a knot.
Old Mr. Yu wiped his eyes and continued,
"I asked the doctors to lie. To say that one of the babies died during birth. Your grandmother didn’t even know... I buried the truth. I thought I could forget it.
Who would have thought that to get the Ou family’s corporation...Yu Lin would sacrifice...his own wife."
Yu Lin was Mr. Yu’s na.
Mrs. Yu, however, looked too stunned to speak. Slowly, she turned toward Old Mr. Yu and asked chanically,
"Do they look the sa?"
"Who?" Old Mr. Yu was baffled by the sudden question.
"Yu Lin and...the one from the Ou family?" Mrs. Yu asked as if her world was crumbling.
"Yes." Old Mr. Yu said with certainty. He had occasionally visited the Ou family to get a glimpse of his other son.
He looked exactly like Yu Lin...except his deanor was gentler, and he was also much more talented in business than Yu Lin.
Mrs. Yu collapsed. Her eyes would be turned red, and she would mutter,
"So that is why...that is why he didn’t rember...I was chasing the wrong person all along..."
Yu Sile frowned, confused. "Mom... what are you saying?"
Mrs. Yu was crying now, her whole body shaking as she sat on the floor. Her voice ca out between sobs, slow and heavy, like each word hurt her.
"I... I wasn’t born in City S," she said. "I ca from a wealthy family in the capital... the Huang family."
Mrs. Yu wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, but the tears kept falling. She didn’t look at anyone. Her eyes seed lost, looking far away, like she was rembering sothing from long, long ago.
"It happened when I was still in university," she said. "I had just finished my classes for the day. My driver was supposed to take ho, but... the car broke down. The driver told to wait while he went to find a chanic."
She paused and swallowed hard.
"I was alone, standing near the car, when a group of hooligans showed up. At first, I thought they’d just pass by. But then... they started walking toward ."
Yu Shuchang sat up straighter. His fists clenched. "What?"
Mrs. Yu nodded slowly, her voice trembling.
"They had this look in their eyes. Like they were going to do sothing bad. I got scared... so I ran. I ran as fast as I could, but they caught .
One of them grabbed my arm, and I... I thought that was the end. I really thought they were going to hurt ."
Yu Holea covered her mouth in shock. Tears were in her eyes, too.
"But then," Mrs. Yu continued, "soone ca."
Her voice softened, a small, sad smile on her lips now.
"He looked just a little older than . Maybe in his early twenties. He was dressed well, and there was sothing calm and strong about him. He fought off those n like it was nothing. He saved ."
She looked up, her face full of pain and longing.
"I rember the way he looked at . His eyes were so kind. He didn’t say much, but I felt safe. So safe. And then... I fainted. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. But he was gone."
Reviews
All reviews (0)