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A Cracked Gold Alliance - Source: Shutterstock
A Cracked Gold Alliance - Source: Shutterstock
I spent my regular weekend at my mother's, where my sister, Jane, and Annie also live. It was supposed to be a time of family rapprochement, but it turned into a moment that could have altered my relationship with Annie forever.
A man holding a dog as he stands near a window Source: Pexels
A man holding a dog as he stands near a window. Source: Pexels
Late in the night from Saturday to Sunday, or perhaps it was early Sunday morning, I was half asleep upstairs when I was thirsty. I went down to the kitchen to drink a glass of water, the clouded mind and distant thoughts.
A glass of water on a wooden table - Source: Shutterstock
A glass of water on a wooden table - Source: Shutterstock
That's when I heard Annie on the phone. She didn't talk to anyone -- she was talking to Darin, my ex-wife. Although things ended between Darin and me, Annie still had good relations with Darin, so I wasn't too surprised.
A man who watches a girl speaks on the phone Source: Shutterstock
A man who watches a girl speaks on the phone Source: Shutterstock
From the snippets I collected, it was clear that Darin was expecting a baby with her new husband. I had a pinch at the heart of the news, but it was the words of Annie that set me in my momentum.
A pregnant woman holding her baby bump - Source: Pexels
A pregnant woman holding her baby bump - Source: Pexels
"I told you, I told you," she repeated, with a justification that stung me. "I always knew it was Uncle Raymond the problem. He just couldn't admit it because of his fragile masculinity. ”
A staircase with a metal ramp - Source: Pexels
A staircase with a metal ramp - Source: Pexels
I stood there, hidden behind the stairs, with my heart beating to break everything. Annie went on, ignoring my presence. "He was too afraid to face the truth. You had the intelligence to leave him before it was too late. ”
A man in distress sitting on a couch - Source: Pexels
With the glass of water forgotten, I retired upstairs, feeling a mixture of shock, betrayal and wound so acute that it was almost physical. How could Annie, whom I loved as my own daughter, could she say such things? And about something so profoundly personal and painful?
An elderly mother speaks to her son - Source: Getty Images
Later, as I was about to leave and I was still shaken, my mother and Jane noticed that something was wrong. They insisted that I reply, but all I could do was tell them what I had heard.
A sad teenage girl standing near a window Source: Shutterstock
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