Keeping Secrets

Chapter Twenty-Five: We Are Family

“Is everything alright, Sergio?” Paqui asked her youngest son when he came back into the living room, he had been gone for a little while and she could see that something had happened while he was gone.

Maria looked at Sergio, she was hoping that Lily had done her part to make sure that everything went to plan; they needed the money to pay back Carlos’s gambling debt before the people he owed money too came looking for him.

Sergio shook his head and signalled for his mother to leave the room, he was furious and he wanted to speak with Maria before he chucked her out of his home; he couldn’t believe that this was happening to them.

Paqui furrowed her brow and left the room, she had no idea what was going on and she hoped that someone would tell her what was going on when she was out of the room.

“You thought you could use Megan to get to me,” Sergio snapped making Maria stare at him, she tried to remain calm wondering what had brought this on; she wasn’t about to admit that he was on to her.

Maria stared innocently at Sergio, she couldn’t allow Megan or her fiancé to slip through her fingers; she had worked hard to get here.

“I don’t care how much money your husband owes… you’re not getting a penny from us,” Sergio spat making Maria frown as she realised that Lily had told them why they were here.

Maria hadn’t thought that her fifteen year old daughter would rat her out like that; Carlos would be furious about this and would surely wish to punish Lily when they got home.

Paqui stepped back into the room after hearing what had been said and having been told by her daughter what had happened; she couldn’t believe that Maria thought that she could get away with this.

“How dare you come back into your daughter’s life just to get money from her,” Paqui said furiously, she felt horrible for Megan and she wished that there was some way that she could make this better.

Maria paled a little at the fury that was Paqui’s face, she hadn’t thought that she would be found out and now that she had she was stuck in a house full of angry people.

“I don’t understand… Megan always been a lovely girl, she’ll help anyone,” Maria argued as if it would make any difference for what she had planned to do; Sergio looked like he wanted to kill her, he couldn’t believe that Maria thought that Megan would just hand over the money like that.

Sergio opened his mouth to argue when he heard Megan step into the living room, he didn’t want her involved in this especially when she was pregnant with the twins.

“I help those I care about,” Megan said stepping into the room, her hand rested on her swollen stomach; Sergio moved to stand next to her not wanting her to get stressed out.

Maria stared at her daughter, who had a frown set on her face; Sergio moved to try and get the brunette to leave but Megan shook her head.

“I don’t see you for eighteen years… and you think you can just step back into my life as if nothing happened. You walked out… you left us; as far as I’m concerned, you aren’t my madre,” Megan said finally opening up about all the anger that she had bottled up since her mother had walked out on her.

Sergio couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face; he knew this had been a long time coming, Maria stared at her daughter unable to take in what she had said.

Sergio sensed that Maria wasn’t going to go without a fight, he didn’t know why she seemed to think that anything good could come from this; she wasn’t going to get any money from the couple.

“I think it’s time you left…” Sergio said firmly, he glared at Maria making it clear that she wasn’t welcome and she had never been; he had to think about Megan and their twins right now.

Maria nodded as she picked up her bag and shouldered it, she didn’t know what Carlos would do when he learned that they weren’t going to get any money from her older children.

“Very well… Lily!” Maria said moving to the front door wanting to head home, she wasn’t going to take what would happen when Carlos discovered how much their daughter had cost them.

Megan closed her brown eyes and squeezed Sergio’s hand, she couldn’t allow her sister to go home with Maria; she feared what would happen if Lily did.

“Lily stays here,” Sergio said decisively making Megan looked at him; she was grateful for what he was doing for her sister and she wasn’t going to fool herself into thinking that he wasn’t doing this for her.

Maria stared at him before shaking her head, she couldn’t allow that to happen and Lily wasn’t old enough to leave home yet; she wouldn’t let her daughter go.

“Lily stays here or I inform child services that she is being abused,” Sergio threatened, he knew how much the blonde meant to Megan and that was the reason he was doing this.

Sergio wanted Megan to have a family and Lily was a part of that, it was just a shame that Maria had come into their lives like she had after all these years.

Lily watched her mother, she was glad that Sergio wasn’t throwing her out as well; Carlos and Maria would beat her when they found out what she had done.

"Very well… it was nice to see you Megan,” Maria said before she turned on her heel and walked out of the house, Megan closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief as Sergio pulled her close.

***

Lily stared at her older brothers, she couldn’t believe they had welcomed her like Megan had; Marcus, Adam and Karl were disgusted with what Megan had told them about their mother.

“So it’s settled… you’ll come live with me and Rory,” Karl said, the two had moved into an apartment after they had stopped speaking with their father; Lily looked at her older brother surprised.

Lily knew she had nowhere to go and that while Megan and Sergio had said that she could stay with them, she didn’t want to intrude especially with twins on the way.

“Are you sure?” Lily asked looking at Karl and then Rory, who both nodded at the blonde who smiled at them; they loved the idea of having another sister.

Sergio grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of Megan’s head, he wrapped his arms around her wishing that they could be like this all the time.

“What was that for?” Megan asked making Sergio smiled at her kissing her again, he ran a hand through her hair as he pressed another kiss to her lips; he was glad that Maria had left them in peace.

Sergio shook his head, he didn’t know what he would do if anything ever happened to Megan and the twins; he wanted to protect them and he would do anything to stop them from being hurt.

“I love you,” Sergio murmured, his fingers brushing through her hair and he wished that he could protect her from everything but he knew that he couldn’t; but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try.

It would be only a few more months before the twins arrived and Sergio was determined to ensure that Megan and the twins had everything that they needed.

“I love you too,” Megan said smiling, she kissed Sergio hoping that they wouldn’t hit anymore bumps in the road; she wanted everything to run smoothly now and everything would be perfect when the twins were born.