Page 60 of Devil in Disguise

“What are you saying, Danny?” My voice was flat, devoid of emotion. Numbness was preferable to the torrent of feelings threatening to overwhelm me.

“The woman Sinclair’s been looking for all these years, Thena Hartley—she is your birth mother. Only she didn’t know.”

“How is that possible?” The question was almost irrelevant.

The weight of the truth settled on me, crushing.

“Because she went into labor early and had to have an emergency C-section. She didn’t know she was carrying twins.”

“I have a sibling?”

His revelation didn’t bring relief, only a deeper sense of isolation.

“A sister, born five minutes before you.” Danny’s voice was quiet, almost apologetic. But there was no apology that could undo the torment raging inside me.

That sick motherfucker knew all this time and didn’t fucking tell me. He let me believe that my mother died at the Trick Pony. The room spun as I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself. I thought of the life I once had, the pain I’d endured and the darkness that had consumed me all because of Sin and his sick, twisted fucking games.

“Why?” The word escaped my lips, a broken whisper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Danny’s gaze dropped to his beer bottle, his silence a confession in itself.

“You knew,” I continued, my tone hardening. “You knew, and you said nothing.”

“I’m sorry, Dante,” Danny said, his voice rough with emotion. “I thought I was protecting you. I thought if you knew the truth, it would destroy you. I never imagined Sinclair would—” His voice caught, and he cleared his throat. “I never imagined it would come to this. I should’ve told you. I’m so sorry.”

“Dante, what else are you feeling?” Haizley asked.

Haizley looked at both of us, trying to help process my emotions, but my anger remained, a smoldering ember in my chest.

I knew Danny had his reasons, but that didn’t make the betrayal any easier to accept.

Each day that passed without resolution felt like a chasm widening between us, threatening to swallow the life we’d built together. I wanted to forgive him, to bridge that gap, but the hurt was a tangible thing, blocking my path. Hours turned into days and still, we danced around each other, our once easy companionship strained and stilted. I avoided conversations, shared spaces, unable to bear the weight of his unspoken words. It was as if we were strangers, each lost in our own private hell, unable to find our way back to each other.

The silence was suffocating, yet neither of us seemed capable of breaking it.

Then, last night, as I lay awake in our bed, Danny’s side cold and empty, the realization hit me.

This wasn’t just about his secrets, or even my anger.

It was about the very foundation of our relationship, the trust that had bound us together.

I knew, in that moment, that if we were to have any hope of moving forward, I had to confront the truth head-on. I had to give him a chance to explain, to really hear him out, even if it meant facing my own fears and insecurities.

“I feel like he doesn’t trust me.”

“And how does that make you feel?”

“Hurt,” I admitted. “Danny is the love of my life. I want to be his everything, the person he confides in the most, but he doesn’t. There’s this wall between us, almost as if he’s two different people. I want all of him. The good and the bad.”

“I’m trying to protect you,” Danny muttered.

“I don’t need your protection!” I yelled. “I need your trust. I can’t be with someone I don’t trust, Danny. We’ve already been down this road when I kicked you out of my apartment for going behind my back. I’ve been lied to my whole life. I won’t stay with a partner who lies to me.”

“I didn’t lie.” He sighed. “I just didn’t tell you.”

“It’s the same damn thing!”

“Alright.” Haizley sat up and firmly said, “Dante, take a deep breath and calm down. I want to hear from Danny.”

---