Chapter 34

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.

I dropped the envelope on the table like it burned me. My fingers were trembling. My breath caught in my throat, like I was choking on air. My vision blurred as more tears flooded my eyes. I was shaking, my hands, chest, and lips were all trembling. I was falling apart right here in this hospital room.

Benjamin picked up the paper with unsteady fingers. His eyes scanned the words. Slowly. Like he was hoping the letters would rearrange themselves into something different. Into something less cruel.

His head fell back, hitting the wall behind him with a soft thud. But there was nothing soft about the pain in his eyes. Nothing soft about the way he held that result like it had just ripped out his heart.

It was positive.

Benjamin’s father… is my father.

Benjamin is my half-brother.

No. No. No.

God—why?

I couldn’t breathe. My lungs forgot how to work. My whole body felt like it was