Illegally yours.

Chapter Forty Six

TIA'S POV.
I stare down at the folder laid in my palms and flick through the empty files, I reach the end and find a square photograph hidden among them.
I take it out and flip it over, it's of a small girl with her arms wrapped around another woman. The woman seems to be in her late teens around 19 and the small girl around 3 or 4. The title on the back reads 'Grace and Tia'. Why did Grace have a photo of me and her? Especially seen as though I was so young and I had met Grace when I was 7.

I shove the photo back in before Grace can see that I've found it, but it's too late. 

Grace turns around with our cups of tea, however upon seeing me holding the photograph, the cups are released from her grip and smash upon connection with the floor.

"Grace, what is this" I ask, my face screwed up in confusion. My mind was whirling with all different feelings and thoughts. Was Grace my real mum? Or a relative?

"Tia, I understand a lot will be going through your mind right now, but I need you to stay calm and listen to everything I have to say. Please don't make a judgement until the very end! I will not force you to stay throughout it all but I really hope that you will"

I nod and cross my arms.

"Okay, so on the 3rd March 1996, at 2:30 PM I gave birth to a beautiful, innocent child, a beautiful baby girl, my beautiful baby girl. I named her Tianna-Cathryn Lane, my baby girl was you Tia, you are my daughter"

"Please just carry on" I whispered, I was fighting back the urge to cry. I had just discovered that a woman I had called Mother for the past 19 years, and a father I had looked up to and was grieving from his recent death had lied to me. 

"Okay, well when you were three, my mother, your biological grandmother passed away, and I found it hard to cope without her, I never mistreated you but I did become extremely ill. You were placed in foster care for a few months until I had sorted myself out, but by the time I had got help and were getting better, you were five years old. You were starting to become aware of situations and you knew that you were living in a special home and was different to the other children in your class who lived with their 'Mummies and daddies'" Grace took a deep breath, I looked up to see tears falling from her eyes.  

"The family who was looking after you held a meeting, and they decided that you were better off not being with me and staying where you were, and to be truthful I thought it was for the best to-"

"How can you sit there and say that? How DARE you!"I yell angrily. "How can you tell me that not being with my Mum, getting to nineteen years old nearly twenty, without knowing who my real parents were and you think that was for the best?" Tears fell fast and I wiped them away. "Carry on with this bullshit story!"

"Tia this isn't bullshit, I generally believed it would have given you a better life being with another family than being with me"

"All my life Grace, Mum, whatever I fucking call you, I have wished and wished that you was my mum! You were always the one that when we were neighbors, if I fell and hurt myself you'd kiss where I had hurt and made me feel better. You would read me bedtime stories when my Mother was working late, you bought me things, you loved and protected me and I always wished I was your child. Your daughter. Even for just a day, then I find out nearly thirteen years later, that you are my real Mum?"

"Ti-"

"Wait.. does my Mother know who you are?" My heart was slowly breaking in two. 

I felt like everything was getting worse and worse, my on and off famous boyfriend was constantly cheating, the loss of my own daughter through a miscarriage, moving from London to Texas over and over again, the death of my father and now finding out that the woman I called Mother for 14 years, is not my Mother and in reality my 'sweet and fun' previous neighbor is my actual mother.

And the possibility that the woman I called Mother, had known who my real Mother was and had kept it from me was the worst part of it all.

"Yes" Grace whispered

"How long has she known?"

"Since she adopted you March 27th 2006" Grace replied, her eyes no longer seemed kind and her embrace no longer felt comforting, I no longer trusted this women and I wished nothing more than to never see her again.

I got up from the dining chair and put on my coat. 

"Please take this photo Tia, I have loads more, please even if you never want to speak to me again, please know I have never for even a second in my life not regretted my decision to give you away, I have never stopped caring about you or loving you. Please treasure this photo Tia, its the last one we ever took together" Grace whispered, dropping her head.

I took the picture from her hands, gave her a small hug and left.

I decided instead of getting the bus home, I wanted to walk. I needed fresh air to clear my head, I needed to regain my mind and think of what was for my best interests. 

After a long hard think, I decided I was going home. 

Back to London.

Back to Harry.