Alethea

My breath catches in my throat as my eyes widen in shock. I don't know how to feel—should I be happy that the woman who’s cared for me all these years is my mother? Or should I be angry that she’s kept this secret the entire time? How am I supposed to reconcile this?

I turn to her, with a trembling voice. “You’re joking, right? You said you didn’t know anything about me.” I shake my head in confusion

Selena looks like she wants to say something, but then she closes her mouth again.

I take a step closer, my heart pounding. “You had three years to tell me,...