"Let's go get some ice cream now," said Harvey, stretching his arms.

"Why did you actually call me over?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"For the projects. Why else?" Harvey raised his eyebrows in reply.

"I find that hard to believe," I said.

"Why so? We only worked on the project, didn't we? No pranks, no nothing," said Jamie.

"That is what's making me suspicious," I said. "This is so unlike you both. No pranks, no teasing, not even a pickup line."

"You miss the old us, don't you?" smirked Harvey.

"Yes, I mean no. Why would I? Thats absurd. I was just saying," I rambled.

"Yeah right," smirked Harvey.

I made a face and stood up, saying, "I'll go get the ice cream."

"There's no ice cream at home. I meant the parlour, Frozen Delights," said Harvey.

"The one owned by your dad? After what happened last time, I am a bit hesitant to go back so soon," I said, giving Jamie an annoyed look.

"It's okay," said Harvey, waving his hand as if dismissing my worries. "Charlie is a pretty decent guy. He has known us since we weren't even born."

"And you too," Jamie turned to face me. "Uncle told us that Charlie was good friends with your uncle."

"He didn't even recognise me," I said.

"He sold his house and went abroad when we were six. He recently came back. But I'm sure he remembers your cute little kiddy face," said Harvey, getting up from the sofa.

'Uncle's old friend, huh?' I thought. 'It's time to get some answers.'

"Where did he go to?" I asked, curious.

"England," replied Harvey, going towards the front door. "He married an English woman."

"Why is he back now?" I asked, following him.

"I'll answer all your questions in the car," said Harvey grabbing his car keys from the table beside the door.

"So, about Charlie," I reminded Harvey as soon as we were in the car.

"Why are you so curious?" asked Harvey, starting the car.

"No reason", I said casually.

"He and his wife divorced last summer. So old Charlie came back," said Harvey.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know," said Harvey. "Why are you nosing in their business?"

"I was just asking," I replied defensively. In fact, I wanted to know as much as I could about him before questioning him about my uncle.

"Don't ask him that," said Harvey.

"I know, I'm not an idiot," I rolled my eyes.

"I beg to differ," he replied.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Very original," countered Harvey.

"Just concentrate on your driving," I snapped.

"I'm talking with my tongue. Which isn't used in driving," he said.

I didn't reply and turned to look out of the window.

'This is it! You can ask Charlie about your parents,' I told myself.

'But what if he doesn't know anything?' My not so optimistic side spoke.

'He must know something. Like when were you adopted, even if he doesn't know how your parents died,' my optimistic side was not ready to back down.

"Seriously? Are you out of good comebacks today?" asked Harvey, surprised that I was not arguing with him.

I didn't reply.

He shrugged and started a conversation with Jamie.

'This is your very first chance, Mary. And it may be your last. So, don't blow it,' I told myself.

"We're here," announced Harvey, pulling me out of my thoughts.

~~~

"What would you like to have?" the waitress asked us politely.

"I'll have a Strawberry Delight," said Harvey.

"Same here," said Jamie.

"Miss?" the waitress turned to me.

"Chocolate Delight. Right?" Jamie gave me a questioning look.

"No, I think I'll have a Blueberry Delight," I mused.

"Ha ha," Harvey teased Jamie.

"She had the chocolate one last time," said Jamie.

I nodded.

"But this time, I wanted to try something new," I said.

"You haven't had a blueberry sundae before?" asked Jamie.

"I haven't," I replied.

"Here you go," said the waitress, placing our orders in front of us.

I dug my spoon into my sundae and instead of eating it, I licked it gingerly.

"What are you afraid of? It's not gonna bite," Jamie said, grinning.

I kept staring at my spoon.

"Get it? Bite?" Jamie laughed at his own pun.

"Come on! What's up with you both?" he asked when he didn't get an answer.

"Nothing," I sighed, shoving the whole spoonful into my mouth.

"Harvey, what's up with you? What's on Mary's face?" asked Jamie. "Stop staring at her. You are creeping me out."

I looked up to see that Jamie was indeed right. Harvey was staring at me. I touched my face self consciously.

"Why are you getting creeped out? It's her face, not yours," replied Harvey.

"Still!" Jamie said. "Mary don't you like your sundae?" He turned to me.

"No," I said, poking my sundae with my spoon.

"We can exchange," Harvey offered.

"No," I said.

Jamie slammed his hand on the table. I jumped.

"What has gotten into you both? Mary why are you not being your annoying self? And Harvey why on earth did you offer to give up your favourite sundae for her?" Jamie growled.

"Can I not be civil?" asked Harvey.

"To her? No," Jamie gave him an annoyed look and turned to me with a questioning one.

"I have stomachache," I said.

"She's lying," said Harvey. "She's nervous about something. That's why I was staring at her. Trying to figure it out."

"What's there to be nervous about?" asked Jamie.

"I don't have any money to pay," I said, even though I knew that we didn't have to pay for anything here.

"Liar," Harvey said at once.

"You keep out of this," I hissed at him.

"Is this something about Jamie"? asked Harvey.

"Of course not," I scowled.

"Then what do you mean by 'you keep out of this'?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"I meant that it's none of your business. And it's not Jamie's either. Both of you, just don't bother me. Let me enjoy my dessert in peace," I said, stabbing my sundae with my spoon.

Jamie opened his mouth to say something, Harvey shook his head and Jamie closed his mouth again.

I quickly gobbled up my sundae, without enjoying a single bite.

"I have to go see Charlie, about the names of the sundaes," I said, getting up.

They looked at each other and shrugged.

I went to the manager's office at the back of the shop. I stood in front of the door, my heart racing. I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans, took a deep breath and knocked loudly.

The door opened and I saw Charlie looking as serious as ever.

"How may I... Ah! You are the girl that came with Mr. McDonald the other day," he said, smiling.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you," I said solemnly.

"Sure, come on in," he stepped aside to let me in.

"I wanted to ask you something," I said.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"Do you know who my parents are?" I blurted out.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I meant, I am adopted. My name is Mary Jenkins. Jenkins is actually my uncle's name. Brandon Jenkins. Harvey told me that you knew him. My aunt has always been mysterious about my past, and my uncle died when I was only eight. I don't know who my parents are... were. I need to know something about my past. Please," I pleaded.

"Mary, I remember you. Such a sweet kid you were," he said.

"Uh, thanks," I said.

'Can you just stick to the topic?' I mentally screamed at him.

"So about your parents. I actually know nothing about them," he said.

"Nothing?" I asked, still a bit hopeful.

"No," he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't think they lived here."

"How did I end up here then? Did my parents know that they were going to die and brought me here? Or did aunt and uncle, or any one of them go where ever the heck I lived and brought me here? And why are they so mysterious about it? Why can't they just tell me who I am, where I am from, how did my parents die? Heck, they don't even tell me their names," I yelled, getting angrier by the second.

I hadn't even realised when my hands had curled into fists.

"Calm down, Mary," Charlie patted my shoulder.

I pushed his hand away, roughly.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Don't. Just don't!" I ground my teeth.

"It's okay," he tried to placate me, yet again.

"It's my right to know," I brought down my fist on the surface of the table.

"Maybe it's not in their power to tell," he said.

"Did my uncle not know the name of his brother?" I growled.

"His brother? Brandon was an only child," said Charlie.

"Then how is he my uncle?" I growled, again.

"I don't know what story they have told you, but I'm pretty damn sure that he was an only child," he said.

"Tell me everything you know about my uncle... that man," I said, pursing my lips.

"We were neighbours. And we were pretty close. But that was way before you came into the family. I went off to university, and when I came home in the summer vacations, Brandon was not the same. He had changed. A lot. Not just his appearance. Everything. He was nineteen then. I heard he had gotten into some shady stuff, and I asked him. He said whatever he did was none of my business. He even stopped talking to me. When I tried to talk to him, he threatened me to stay away. I started avoiding him too then."

"Years passed, and the next thing I know, I get an invitation from him, inviting me to his wedding. I attended the ceremony. It was pretty decent. After your uncle got married, he let go of some of his haughty ways and even apologised to me. We became friends again, but it wasn't same as before."

"About two years after his marriage, he found you. He just told me that you were his adopted daughter. I knew that you called him uncle, but I thought that your aunt was your blood relative. I never knew you called him uncle because you had been told that he was your dad's brother," Charlie smiled a sad smile at me and patted my shoulder again.

The information was too much to process. The people I thought were related to me by blood, were actually not my family. I mean, I wasn't even legally adopted. According to all my documents I am my aunt and uncle's daughter.

"Thanks," I whispered before getting up with a heavy heart.

'Why did aunt and uncle lie to me? Why didn't they just tell me the truth? That I wasn't related to them. Why did they treat me as a family member if I wasn't one?' I was lost in thoughts as I exited the office.

I was about to turn the corner when I heard my name being mentioned.

"...Mary's life hell?" I heard Jamie say. "I thought you loved it."

"I know I like to annoy the hell out of her. But I'm not heartless, dude. She's not normal nervous. Something's up. Something big. What I don't understand is, how did it suddenly happen?" Harvey's voice grew fainter as he moved farther.

I peeped around the corner and saw that they were heading back to our table. They must have come out of the men's room just as I was about to turn the corner.

I walked dully to our table, where Harvey and Jamie stood with the waitress.

"You are walking like a zombie," commented Jamie.

I gave him a hard look before slumping down on my chair.

"Do you want something else? Or should we go back home?" asked Harvey.

"Let's go," I said, getting up.

Jamie grabbed my hand and tugged me enthusiastically towards the glass door. Harvey tipped the waitress and followed.

"Drop me off at my house," I said to Harvey.

"But my project isn't complete yet," said Harvey. "Plus, you left all your things at my house."

"I don't care. I want to go home," I said.

"Fine, we'll finish it tomorrow," he said.

No one spoke for the rest of the way. I leapt out of the car as soon as it came to a stop outside my house.

"Bye," I heard Harvey and Jamie yell in unison.

I barged into the house and saw my aunt sitting on the living room sofa, reading a business magazine. Lily and Margaret were sitting beside her, watching TV.

"Why did you people tell me that uncle was my dad's brother when he was an only child?" I barked at my aunt, completely ignoring my cousins.

Aunt jumped, "Mary, you scared me. What are you talking about?"

"Don't act dumb with me," I said angrily. "I know everything."

"Everything?" she whispered, standing up, glancing nervously at her daughters.

"Yes," I said, hoping that she would let something slip.

"Well, I would like to hear that everything," she said, composing herself and sitting back down.

"Uncle is not actually my uncle. I'm not related to you," I said.

"That's it?" she asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Margaret turn off the TV.

"Yes," I said. "But I demand to know everything."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you. But I was jealous and selfish back then. After Brandon died..." she gulped.

After all those years, she still couldn't talk about him without struggling to hold in her tears. My hard expression softened a little. I waited for her to continue.

"After he died, I wanted to tell you. But there was no point in telling then. But now you want to know," she stopped, stood up and came to me.

"I do. It's my right," I said firmly.

"Yes, it is. And I'm sorry for keeping this from you all along," she said, holding my hand in her's. "The truth is that Brandon was not your uncle, he was your father."

Lily gasped.

I was dumbfounded.

It felt if the world stopped revolving.

I had a dad, and all along I thought he was dead.

I had a dad, and I lived with him for eight years like an orphan.

I had a dad, but I had nobody to call dad.

And now I couldn't. Because he was dead. He died without telling me anything. Without letting me call him dad. And I hated him for that with all my heart.

"And my mom?" I choked, snatching my hand back from aunt's.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Brandon just brought you home in the middle of the night and said that you were his daughter. He didn't tell me anything else. I asked him to keep it a secret."

"Why?" I demanded, holding back my tears.

"I was young and I was jealous at the thought of any other woman in his life. Even if it was two years ago. I didn't want to consider you as his daughter. I'm sorry," a tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it off.

Her apology increased my anger.

"You! You kept me away from my dad," I yelled.

"According to your documents, you are his daughter. Our daughter. He treated you like one too," she said.

"Documents my foot! I couldn't call him dad," I yelled.

"Is this all just about calling him dad?" she asked, extending her hand to me.

I jerked back as if her touch was venomous.

"You don't know how much I wanted to call someone dad. How much I used to fantasise about it," my tears were threatening to fall.

"I'm really sorry. I wanted to tell you after he died. I really did. But then I thought it would complicate things for you. I thought it was better to keep things simple. I changed after he died. I stopped being jealous of you. I treated you like my own daughter. You know that," she said.

"Liar!" I hissed. "You are always mean to me."

"You never accepted me as a mother because you knew I wasn't your's. I admit I was a bit mean to you before Brandon's death because he was so close to you, but after that I considered you same as my other children," she said softly.

"You have the audacity to suggest that I'm the one at fault here," I said, shaking with anger.

"I'm not saying that. You are letting anger cloud your judgement. Think with a calm mind and then let me know how I was unjust to you after Brandon's death," she said.

I just shook my head, unable to say anything because of the tears that clogged my throat.

"I know that I'm at fault, but I hope that one day you'll find it in you to forgive me," she said, trying to take my hand in her's again.

"I won't," I said, snatching back my hand.

I saw hurt flash in her eyes before I turned on my heels and left the room, letting my tears flow free.

Author's note:

Chapter dedicated to @AimanShoaib.

Because the chapter resembles your character. It's complicated but the most important chapter of the book. And because I miss you c:

This was the most difficult chapter to write in any book ever!

I kept up all night writing this and I was angry at Charlie for not knowing how to deal with Mary.

I was angry at her uncle for not telling everything to someone before he died.

I was angry at her aunt for not telling Mary what she knew.

I was angry at my hair because it was brushing my face and it started itching.

I was angry at my mind which was exhausted.

And I was angry at the time for passing so quickly.

So practically, I was seething :D

I snuggled into my blanket when mom's alarm rang, and she woke me up after two minutes for Fajr.

Ah well, it's done now, and I'm satisfied with it. I hope you are too.

We can't say Mary's aunt is mean to her just because Mary says so. We should always know the other side of the story. Which is explained in the next chapter.

Question of the update, history or geography?

My answer, I'd rather study three subjects combined than either one of them. Let me know your answers in the comments section.

Vote (it only takes a second), comment, share.

Stay blessed.

See ya!