Page 9 of The Guardian

“Carlos and Rain call him Sir Henry,” Maya spoke up.

Alex nodded. “And that means he has been knighted.”

I laughed as I finally let go of Gabriela’s arm. “No, they call me that as sort of a nickname.”

Hope stood from her chair and slowly took a few steps over to her mother. “These babies…” She pointed at Gabriela’s belly. “They will be our brother and sister?”

Gabriela halted and her face went a bit pale as she asked, “How did you know?”

Hope shrugged. “You have a big belly. That means you are um…” She looked sorry that she ever asked the question now.

Reaching out, Gabriela grasped her hand. “No…How did you know that I am having twins.”

Hope looked confused. “I just thought…”

“She thinks all mothers are going to have twins,” Maya filled in her answer as she laughed a little. “I suppose that would be natural.”

Gabriela laughed and squeezed Hopes’ hands. “No, not all mothers have twins. Most just have one baby. It seems I will now have two sets of twins.”

“So will you send them away too?” Alex asked Gabriela.

The kitchen went very quiet.

Gabriela went still and her lips trembled.

“Alex, that…” Maya tried to help the subject but her voice faded away.

“I never sent you away,” Gabriela’s voice shook as she explained the truth, “You were taken from me as soon as you were born.”

I sat quietly and felt like the room had become heavy with darkness. Like I could almost feel Santiago’s ghost screaming his rage. I shivered a bit and tried to shake it off. I glanced over at Maya.

She visibly shivered too as if she felt the same vibe.

“Why didn’t you come and get us?” Hope asked her.

“I could not find you. But I want you both to know that I never wanted to be parted from you.” Tears now rolled down Gabriela’s cheeks as she couldn’t hide the grief she still suffered with. “A very cruel, very bad person took you away from me. I know you may not understand any of it. And I get that. But you need to know one thing…I loved you. I always loved you both. I dreamed all the time that I would get to be with you again.”

“I am sorry that they believed this,” Maya said. “The aunts told them that was what happened. I could never argue with it as I never knew what the history really was.”

Hope cried and told Gabriela, “I-I’m sorry.”

Gabriela took her hand again then reached up to swipe her tears away. “Don’t be. None of this was yours or Alex’s fault.” She looked over at him as well. “But we are together now and you are going to be happy here. You will see. We are finally reunited and we will be a family.”

I smiled and looked over at Maya.

Tears filled her eyes again.

I know she really cared about these kids, but she seemed to be so sad. This girl had something going on and I felt like maybe it had to do with her own family. It wasn’t any of my business though. Yet, I found myself wanting to help her.

Gabriela smiled at Hope then at Alex. “So, do you want to see your rooms?”

The twin teens stared at her with astounded expressions.

“O-our rooms?” Alex asked.

Nodding, Gabriela replied, “They are next to each other, so don’t worry. You won’t be far apart.”

“Wait…” Alex interjected. “We each get a room each?”