That evening, as Arish walked through the front door, he saw his mother, Ms. Adeline, standing by the kitchen table, her face pale and anxious. She looked at him with eyes full of unspoken dread. “Arish, please, sit down. There’s something I need to tell you—a secret I’ve kept hidden for a long time.”

Arish’s heart raced as he saw the distress in her eyes. “What’s going on, Mom? You’re scaring me.”

Ms. Adeline hesitated, her voice trembling. “Arish, there’s something important you need to know. You have a half-sister. When I was pregnant with you, your father, Mr. Allessandro, was with another woman.”

Arish’s eyes widened in shock, his face going pale. “What? Are you serious? I have a half-sister who’s the same age as me?” He struggled to process the revelation, his mind reeling as he looked at his mother in disbelief.

Ms. Adeline nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “Yes, Arish. I found out when I was nine months pregnant with you,” she said, her voice breaking. “I was devastated. I felt so trapped. He had a mistress, and she was also pregnant with his child. I didn’t know what to do. My parents had already turned their backs on me for marrying your father, so I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t go back to them, and I didn’t have the education or skills to support us on my own. So I stayed, even though every day felt like I was drowning.”

She took a deep breath, the memories still raw. "But that was only the beginning. Your father's cruelty escalated, and he began to abuse me daily. The slaps, the punches, the screams...I became numb to survive. But when I found out he was hurting you too, my numbness turned to rage. I knew I had to escape, for your sake and mine. 
I wanted to shield you from his toxic grasp, Arish".

She paused, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m sorry I kept this from you, Arish. I didn’t want to add to your pain or make things worse. And I guess you might have seen his daughter, Aria, at the birthday party today.”

Arish’s face twisted with anger as he hugged his mother tightly. “Mom, you’ve been through so much. You carried all this pain by yourself, and I hate him for it.”

His voice grew harsher. “Even today, I didn’t want to go to that party. He called me so many times, but I refused. In the end, he forced me to attend. And what did he do there? He acted like the perfect dad in front of everyone, just to keep up his fake image. I don’t want anything to do with him, but he keeps pushing, and I can’t seem to say no.”

Arish took a deep breath, his mind racing. “And about his daughter Aria… I don’t think I saw her. Maybe she didn’t even show up. But Mom, I’ve got to ask—why does he drag me to these parties? Maybe he’s just using me for business or something. Or maybe he’s too ashamed to bring his mistress’s daughter to the party.”

Ms. Adeline sighed deeply. “He married his mistress last year. They’re husband and wife now.”

Arish shook his head, disbelief and frustration mixing on his face. “How many more secrets does he have? You know what, Mom? Let’s just stop talking about him. Let’s focus on living our own lives, away from all his lies.”

Later that night, Arish had a nightmare. In his dream, he was a child again, hiding in the cupboard, scared of his dad’s angry shouts. The dream dragged him back to the painful past—his dad’s harsh words, the beatings, and the scars on his back that seemed to hurt all over again. He heard his mom crying and felt completely helpless.

In the nightmare, he felt stuck in a dark, scary place. Every time he tried to get away, he was pulled back, unable to escape the fear from his childhood. His dad’s shadow loomed over him, reaching out as he cowered in the cupboard.

Arish suddenly woke up, gasping for air and sweating heavily. His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt a wave of panic as he looked around his room, struggling to calm his racing thoughts. The nightmare had felt so real, and the fear was still gripping him. Despite seeing that his dad wasn’t there and realizing it was just a dream, Arish felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. He tried to steady his breathing, feeling the lingering dread of the nightmare and the weight of his past pressing down on him.