Destined to be With You (Original, English Version)

Chapter 6 - Alexis Reed

I realized Alex was trying to compose himself before answering the question. He squeezed my hand and I tightened my hold on him.

"She's my half-sister. Same mom, different dad."

My family was silent as they took this information in.

"Didn't her father object to taking you in?" It was my mom who asked this time.

"Well... her dad died much earlier than mine. We're both orphans when we met."

He started to relax as I felt his grip loosen. His index finger is tapping on my hand rhythmically.

"I see." Dad muttered.

"Alex said you introduced her to your friends yesterday. You kept referring to them as your brothers. Are they that close to you?" As soon as Alena said that, I leaned behind Alex and apologized. He responded by caressing my hand.

It took a while longer before Alex answered.

"It's..." He drew that out. I wonder what he thinks when he's silent.

"...a sort of family secret. I would appreciate it if this won't go outside this house." He looked around my family. I guess he's asking for assurance. When each member of my family nodded to let him know that we'll keep his secrets, he proceeded to tell us that Allen and Axel are his half-brothers as well. Same mom, different dad.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful to our parents... but in a way, the situation was easier to manage between us siblings with all our parents out of the picture. A bit creepy, I know, tragic... that all our parents are dead. But between the four of us, it made us appreciate each other more, treat each other as family, love each other... which I believe wouldn't be the case if any our parents are alive. We would've hated each other, resented each other, blaming each other for having a broken family. When our sister brought us all together, we're one family. From that moment, we grew up together, caring for each other, protecting each other, supporting each other... we're a happy family together."

"And your sister was only two years older than you?" Mom asked.

"Yes. Around sixteen or seventeen. She was already attending university at the time."

"And your brothers?" Mom followed up.

"Axel is two years younger than me and Allen is two years younger than Axel."

"Oh, two-year gaps." Alice noted. Alex gave her a small smile.

"I didn't see your sister yesterday, though." The way his expression changed hurt my heart a little. He had his eyes closed as he tries to marshal his emotions.

"I'm sorry. You don't need to answer." I was afraid she's gone, too.

I pulled his head down on my left shoulder, hiding him from my family. I looked around to see their bothered expressions. He's more fragile than I thought. I've always thought he's a tough character, cold both on the surface and on the inside. That's what we see on the articles. I always knew that was just the façade, though. I just couldn't have expected the truth to be a bit heartbreaking.

"Are you okay?" I asked when he tapped my side to tell me to let go after a few minutes. He laughed when I wiped his tears away.

"I'm sorry. This is embarrassing." He stated after clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry. We really have no right to ask."

"I haven't really cried since I received the news that she went missing. That was... three years ago? I kept telling myself that she's just out there, any moment she'll turn up. This wasn't the first time. How long ago was it? She went missing for two years before, then I saw her at a restaurant. She doesn't remember me. Apparently, she hit her head in an accident and she lost her memories. She was with us for two years before she went missing again. It's practically the same scenario. She had a car accident, hit her head. Doesn't recognize her own husband. She ran away. For some reason. My sister... she has secrets. Her husband knows, but they wouldn't tell the rest of us. Publicly, no one knows we're... related to each other. Me and Axel and Allen and Lee. Lee said it's a way to protect us. We believe her. Oliver, her husband, uh... he's gone to look for her, personally. We've already hired the best investigators out there, still no news after three years. Oliver couldn't wait any longer, he's been restless the few times I visited him. So, I guess it's a good decision for him, to just go and look for her himself. The investigators we hired are all still working on the case, but we're told not to make too much noise out of it. Security reasons, apparently. As for me and my brothers, it was decided that it would be safer to let him go alone. It makes me feel useless sometimes. I feel like I could've done better than just waiting."