LAYLAH
I stormed downstairs carrying the envelope and a broken heart. I slammed open my parents' door with little regard for their privacy.
"Luna what is this behav-" Dad, no, Peter became silent mid-reprove as I threw the envelope on the bed. The pictures holding my truth slid through and scattered all over the white sheets that now mimicked the state of my 'parents'' face. They exchanged a look that confirmed they were privy to some information that I wasn't. I wished they would speak, tell me this was all just a crazy coincidence. However, their lips remained sealed and their eyes seeped guilt and regret.

"Say something!" I cried rubbing away my tears to appear as composed as possible. My grimy hands left long, black streaks across my face but it was the least of my concerns right now.
"Luna, my dear, it's not as awful as it looks, I promise," Amelia whispered. The way she spoke felt more like a question than a statement, like she was convincing herself that she wasn't an awful person for what she had done to me.

"My name in Laylah, that's what my real parents named me," I spat. I knew I was hurting them but it was a pin prick compared to the agony honing inside me. When they still chose to remain silent, I continued, snatching the document from inside the envelope.
"Look here, look at this. You are being paid a hefty stipend every single month to keep me," I dragged a quivering finger against the decrepit paper, "was all of this for money? Was your love paid for well enough all these years?"
"Laylah! That's is no way to speak to your mother!" Peter hollered, "she may not have given birth to you, but she raised you. She's the reason you're standing here, healthy and sane enough to shout at us!"
"For money, huh? It says here, you are to receive a stipend every month from my dead father's account until I am twenty. Were you going to kick me out after that?"

"We would never, you're our daughter. We never did it for the money. All of this money, we spent it on your needs. Needs and wishes that Peter's income couldn't allow us to fulfil," Amelia said taking me by the hands. "Exactly. That Art college you're attending, you think I can afford sending you there on my measly income? This house you live in, within the best residential area of Athensberg, It's all thanks to that money," Peter hissed. Beads of sweat trickled down his beet red complexion.

"Then what about the inheritance the document states. I was supposed to receive it when I was eighteen. My father left it for me so why am I still completely unaware about this," I crossed my arms.
Peter looked like he was about to lose his temper completely when Amelia held up a hand to stop him from whatever he was about to hurl at me next.

"We-we hid all of this from you because we never wanted you think we loved you any less because we...we adopted you. If we told you about the inheritance, we'd have to tell you about the past," she paused to gulp down her tears, "you being here is the result of a tragedy I never wanted you to find out."

"What tragedy?" I croaked. She drew in a deep, shaky breath, her jaw held tight.

"Your father, your real father is Falak Naeem. He and Peter were childhood friends. Always together. Your father and his parents came from Pakistan and settled in Athensberg in the 1980s. His family ventured into a real estate business in Athensberg's early days and from there on, it only grew. He married a beautiful and kind woman from back home, Urwa, your mother," she spoke fast, her eyes refusing to meet mine.

So...I'm from Pakistan. The notion felt alien; I barely knew anything about Pakistan or it's people and it's revelation only made me feel more lost in my identity than it did grounded.
"You were born to them, two years after their marriage. They were so happy to have you Laylah, they loved you so much," she laughed sadly to herself. My chest tightened. They had loved me but I had never loved them. I had never even known that they existed, until today.
Peter had paced to the other side of the bed, sitting with his head hung low while his back faced me. I let her continue.

"Soon after your birth, your mother died. She was a frail little thing. The doctors had warned her, that she may not survive child birth, that she shouldn't try to conceive but she wanted you so much Laylah. She knew how much Falak wanted you too-"
"Is her grave in Athensberg?"
"Yes, I'll take you," Peter muttered.

"Falak went into depression after losing your mother. He was left all alone to take care of his baby. He even contemplated handing over his business to Peter so he could have more time to take care of you. That's when Rose entered his life. Rose was his secretary. Rose had recently escaped an abusive marriage with her son. He was four, maybe five. I can't remember. Your father and her, they understood each other's losses-"
"She didn't enter his life. She seduced him for his money. She's the reason my best friend, is dead,"Peter snarled, finally turning to look at me again.
"Peter! Please, the poor woman is dead. Her whole life was nothing but misery!" Amelia exclaimed. Peter snorted in response.

"What do you mean he's dead because of her?" I strode towards Peter, my heart picking up its pace again. He turned his face away, grumbling to himself.
"They entered a contractual marriage, to give their children the completeness of having both parents. Their relationship was one of close friends, not husband and wife," Amelia resumed, holding up the photo from their wedding, "Rose started taking care of you and she loved you as if you were her own. Falak recovered, surrounded by the warmth of a family again. Her son was a sweetheart too, just like her," she said getting up and making her way to her to her dresser. I followed her.

"Here, I have something that belongs to you," she whispered sliding something into my palm.
It was a necklace with a round, jade pendant. It had a hole in the middle where silver wires were neatly wound around, attaching it securely to the silver chain that felt cold against my clammy palms. I turned it around. It had my name engraved into the speckled jade stone. "Your father had these made for you and her son," she said handing me a similar necklace, this one spelt Rose on its back. Her eyes darkened as she stared at something in her palm. I leaned towards her to see what she was fixated on. It was a crescent shaped jade...no, it was a pendant like mine, but broken in half. I lifted it from her hand, turning it around, squinting to see its owner's name.
hail. The upper half of the pendant was missing.
"What was his nam-"
"Two years later, Rose's maniac, criminal minded ex-husband arrived at Falak's house, looking for her and his son. Falak was not home that night. That drunk bastard. He and Rose got into fight and he...he," Peter's voice fell just as quickly as it had rose.

"He what?!" I cried out. This wasn't the time for them to wallow in sorrow over the past, they had had almost sixteen years to weep over it. If anyone deserved to grieve right now, it was me.
"He murdered Rose in cold blood and disappeared with his boy. Rose had managed to hide you in a closet before she lost her own life in the cruelest way possible. That broken pendant is all that was left of the boy in that house. He was never found," Amelia grimaced.

"Did the police find him? Rose's ex husband," I gripped her by her shoulders.
"Yes, yes they did. Bastard said he was drunk and didn't remember doing any of it. He denied it completely. When asked about the whereabouts of his son, he claimed he knew nothing about it. After committing such a heinous crime, he didn't even have the guts to admit to his deeds," Peter bellowed.
"My father, what about him, he wasn't killed," I asked, a part me wishing he would somehow miraculously be alive, despite the document stating clearly that he had passed away under grave, unforeseen circumstances.

"A few months later, out of the blue, he sold his entire business and hung himself one night. This document, he made financial arrangements for you and left you in our care. We were your God parents after all," Amelia shook her head.

"We didn't have any idea that he...he would go so far. He left you at our place, saying he had a meeting to tend to in the evening and the nanny taking care wouldn't be available. By night, we received a call telling us...he was gone," Peter broke into deep, guttural sobs. He covered his face with his hands as if doing so would mask the fact that he was crying. Amelia hurried over to his side, comforting him, dabbing away his tears.

I bit my lip, holding in another bout of tears that fought to be released. Before I even realised, I had already lost the fight. Thick, warm tears travelled down my cheeks. I fell on my knees, as loud sobs that refused to stay in escaped my throat that burnt with the effort of containing them. They had narrated the past in a few simple words within a few minutes but their burgeoning weight crushed me beneath them.

"How could you hide this from me, I wasn't a child you picked up from an orphanage. I wasn't someone who had been abandoned. You knew my parents. You were their friends. You knew they loved me," I gasped. "You-you-you knew they l-loved me, then how could you e-erase their love and memory completely from my life," I stuttered pitifully as my angry sobs hindered me from speaking.
"We're sorry honey, we really are, please forgive us," Amelia reached for me, pulling away from a crumbled Peter but I zipped away.
"Don't, don't touch me, please," I stumbled back against the door.

I spotted my black purse sitting on a cabinet in the living room and staggered towards it. I threw the necklaces and the jagged pendant and my phone inside and slid it over my shoulder. "I'm going to Sabrina's. I won't be back soon. I need some days away to digest all this," I announced, "please don't follow me out."

"Laylah!" I heard Amelia call out for me but I didn't bother to spare her another look.
I needed to get out of this house built on lies. Every clock tick felt too loud to my ears, the walls seemed to be getting smaller and stuffier, suffocating me. The floor had snatched itself away from beneath my feet and the air felt painfully thick with guilt, sorrow and betrayal. My poor lungs couldn't bear to filter them out anymore.
I stepped outside, finally free from its grasp. The sun had sunk away completely like my heart. The sky was a collection of varying blues. Perhaps if it had been some other day, I would've whipped out my phone to preserve a piece of its beauty in a photo,but today, every part of this world was ugly and twisted to me. If I couldn't find any good in the people who had raised me all my life, then there was no goodness to be found in this world anyways.
I trudged forward, hugging myself. I should've worn something on top of this dress. The evening breeze was merciless against my bare skin. It didn't matter, Sabrina's house was just fifteen minutes away. Twenty if I made a short stop to pet a white cat that had been following me for awhile with curiosity.
No, I don't have time for this. I walked on, ignoring my feline companion. I looked down at my platforms. Had Mom bought these herself, or were they funded through the stipend? Had I been a bratty, burdensome daughter? Is that why they needed extra money to raise me?

I was lost in an overwhelming spiral of questions and doubts when I bumped into someone. As I lifted my head to look up, a cloth was slammed against my nose and mouth, the hand behind it pushing me back until my head hit a wall. A searing pain travelled through my skull from the impact. I attempted to scream for help but the hand had my mouth and jaw locked in its unforgiving grip. The cloth smelt sickly sweet, clouding and slowing down my senses. I pushed out my arms, trying to scratch my attacker as my vision turned hazy. A hand tightened around my neck. I couldn't see who it was. It was too dark; not the sky but my eyes.

I scratched feebly at the gloved hand that gripped my throat. It remained there, unmoving and unfazed, choking out the air and my remaining will to live out of me.