"Go on mummy," urge Eleanor. "Who is our father?"

"Your father is alive and lives here in Baltimore. His... his name is Shawn Hudson."

Eleanor and Elvis exchanged startled glances.

Although he had guessed his relationship with them, it still came as a huge shock to Elvis and Eleanor, especially, when their mother outrightly revealed who their father was.

Kathleen, amidst her tears, felt a sense of relief after finally offloading the huge burden from her heart.

’So that man is truly our dad,’ Elvis mumbled to himself. He didn’t have to expend his energy finding proofs or clues any longer.

To Elvis it was not much of a revelation as he could associated the man’s face in the news with the name and didn’t press further.

But the same could not be said of Eleanor whose brow puckered in a frown. "Shawn Hudson? Have we seen him before?"

"I don’t think so." Kathleen was more relaxed discussing him with the children once the mystery around him had been unraveled.

"Are you going to let us meet him?" Eleanor asked,hesitantly. She knew she shouldn’t be asking this but one couldn’t really blame her. As a child she couldn’t hide her curiosity.

That was a question Kathleen wasn’t sure she could answer now. Because the moment Shawn knows about the children she should just kiss her peaceful days goodbye.

Moreover she wasn’t sure if he would not want to take them away if she refused to move in with him and the children.

Elvis’s gaze never left their mother’s face as he responded to Eleanor.

"We don’t have to meet him. It is enough that we know who he is, we don’t need to acknowledge him since he abandoned us."

Eleanor pouted, not satisfied with Elvis answer. "But I still don’t know what he looks like."

Of course Eleanor didn’t understand what Elvis meant since she hasn’t gotten the recent update.

He was yet to tell her that the name of the man they had seen with their mother in the news was the same as the one their mother had just mentioned as their father.

When they got back from the park yesterday they were both too tired to do anything else and retired to bed immediately after dinner.

"You will find out soon," Elvis informed her comfortingly. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Kathleen cast Elvis a curious glance but he looked away almost immediately.

With his evasive look, she began to suspect something. Is there anything he is not telling me? Does he know something already?

But when she thought about it thoroughly, there was no way he would have known about Shawn before now.

She was certain neither her parents nor brother would tell them anything about their father without her permission.

One the other hand, Eleanor was ignorant of the turbulent thoughts going on in her mother’s mind and continued to press. "Is it that our father doesn’t want us, that is why mummy is keeping us from him?"

Elvis glared at his sister with displeasure.

"I’ve told you to relax Eleanor. Do you want to upset mummy and make her feel sad?" he scolded.

Why can’t she exercise a little patience? He was still going to explain everything to her later but she couldn’t wait.

"Eleanor darling, you must not think that your father doesn’t want you," Kathleen said softly, her tone coaxing but at the same time laden with inexplicable emotions.

Kathleen decided not to say more than that for the time being.

They drove home in silence, everyone engaged in their individual thoughts and emotions.

When they got home everywhere was quiet as Kathleen had given the servants the day off and Jason had left very early in the morning to hang out with Cheryl since their time together was hijacked by Kathleen yesterday at the park.

********

In the cozy ambiance of Cheryl’s apartment, soft music played in the background as they shared a quiet afternoon together.

With warm, dim lighting and the scent of scented candles wafting through the air, they lounged comfortably on the couch, cuddled up in each other’s arms.

As they enjoyed their intimate moments, Jason gently broached a serious topic. "Cheryl, I’ve been thinking a lot about Janice lately.

"What about her?" She had a vague idea what he wanted to talk about but she didn’t want to be too forward.

"Her relationship with Shawn." Jason tucked a strand of hair behind Cheryl’s ears. "She’s been carrying this weight for so long, and I don’t know how to lighten it for her."

Cheryl nodded, her eyes reflecting understanding. "I’ve noticed it too. But there’s nothing anybody can do about it. It’s a decision she has to make herself."

Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair. "There’s a lot of unresolved tension between them and it’s getting tougher for Janice by the day."

"What do you mean? As far as I can see Shawn has been trying his best to get through to her, but Janice can’t still let go of the past. She is clearly suffering from all the hurt and suppressed emotions."

"Exactly my point. The problem is that Shawn is not helping matters. And as long as she continues to interact with him, her life is not safe."

Cheryl’s brow furrowed in a frown. "Can you be more specific and stop beating about the bush? Did something happen that I don’t know about?"

"She got into an accident and only survived by a sheer stroke of luck. Even her car is a total write off."

At Jason’s words, Cheryl jumped up with a start. "What?! When was that?"

"Three days ago," Jason frowned when he suddenly did not feel the warmth he was getting from her closeness.

"Three days ago was ... Thursday," she counted back.

"That was the day of the court hearing. But she was with me throughout," she said with a pensive look then suddenly remembered that Kathleen had left at some point after getting a call from Shawn.

"Did she get into an accident on her way to meet Shawn? How come nobody told me about it until now?"