Unspoken Truths

• chapter 4 •

The next morning, Karen woke up feeling as if the weight of the world was pressing down on her chest. She lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, replaying the events of the last few days over and over again in her mind. Everything felt surreal, like she was living in someone else's life, a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. The laughter and joy of their anniversary seemed like a distant memory now, a cruel illusion shattered by Zara's arrival.

She finally forced herself out of bed, her body heavy with exhaustion and stress. As she made her way to the kitchen, she could hear hushed voices—Drew and Kierra, no doubt. She paused at the entrance, taking a moment to brace herself before stepping inside.

Kierra was standing at the counter, her face tight with anger, while Drew sat at the kitchen table, his head bowed. They both looked up as Karen entered, the tension in the room palpable.

"Mom, why didn't you tell us?" Kierra's voice was sharp, her eyes blazing with frustration. "I had to hear from some random person at church that I have a sister now? What the hell is going on?"

Karen felt a stab of guilt. She hadn't had the strength to tell Kierra and J. Drew everything last night. After Zara arrived, she had been too overwhelmed to have another painful conversation.

"I'm sorry, Kierra," she said softly, rubbing her temples. "I just... I didn't know how to tell you. Everything happened so fast."

Kierra crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing at her father. "And you," she spat, "how could you do this to us? To Mom? You had an affair, and now we have a sister we've never even met? What were you thinking?"

Drew looked up at her, his face etched with regret. "I wasn't thinking. I was selfish, and I made a terrible mistake. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm going to do everything I can to make this right."

"Make it right?" Kierra scoffed. "How? By pretending like everything's okay? By forcing Zara to live with us like some unwanted guest?"

Karen's heart ached at the venom in Kierra's words. She couldn't blame her daughter for being angry, but it hurt to see the family she had worked so hard to build falling apart.

"Kierra, please," she said gently. "Zara is not responsible for any of this. She's just a child who's lost her mother and has nowhere else to go. We have to be there for her, no matter how difficult it is."

Kierra's eyes softened slightly, but she still looked furious. "I know it's not her fault, Mom. But I'm angry, and I don't know what to do with that. I feel like our whole family is falling apart."

Karen felt tears well up in her eyes, but she blinked them back. "I feel that way too, baby. But we have to try to hold it together. For Zara, and for ourselves."

Kierra looked at her mother, then back at Drew, shaking her head. "I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can look at you and not think about what you did."

Drew's face crumpled with pain, and Karen's heart broke for him, even though she was still so angry and hurt. She stepped forward, reaching out to her daughter. "We'll get through this, Kierra. I know it seems impossible right now, but we have to try. We have to try for the family we have left."

Kierra's eyes filled with tears, and she looked away, her shoulders shaking with the effort to hold back her sobs. Karen pulled her into a hug, feeling her daughter's pain as acutely as her own. They stood there for a long time, holding each other, while Drew watched from the table, his face pale and drawn.

The sound of footsteps interrupted the moment, and they all turned to see Zara standing in the doorway, her expression guarded and uncertain. She looked at the three of them, her eyes narrowing as if she could sense the tension in the air.