3

Your real parents were deranged people. They were miserable drunkards, and they are dead!" Nina spat.

Giselle's heart dropped.

She let out a breathless scoff.

"You are not a Dawson. Your name is Giselle Harrison. You don't share even a drop of our blood."

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"That explains your ridiculous behavior. A Dawson cannot bring shame to the family like you brought to yours. You are nothing but a dirty, filthy cheap whore!"

"Nina!" Terry interjected.

"What?!" she snapped at him.

Giselle looked at him, her voice trembling. "Dad, is...is this true?"

"He is not your dad," Nina replied sharply.

Giselle's heart ached painfully as she maintained her gaze on her father.

He heaved a sigh, the expression on his face confirming Nina's words. They were not her parents.

Giselle let out a breathless scoff of disbelief. Her heart felt weak.

"I am sorry, Giselle. But it is the truth. You are not our daughter," he said, causing her to place a hand on her chest as more tears poured from her eyes.

"Your parents died in a very fatal car accident. They drove in a drunk state, and it led to their death."

Her heart felt like it might explode.

"Nina and I had no kids then. We decided to adopt you because we thought we would never have children of our own."

"But we thought wrong," Nina added. "We actually had two: Alex and Lucy, whom you call your younger siblings. They are our only lovely and adorable kids, who are far better and more responsible than you will ever be."

Giselle shook her head in disbelief.

"You are such a disgrace, Giselle. All I wanted was to get rid of you. Luckily for me, the universe brought that broke man to ask for your hand in marriage. Terry and I didn't hesitate to give you to him. We needed to be free of your burden."

She let out a breathless scoff.

Nina smirked. "Yes, darling. You are nothing but a burden to us. If it wasn't for my constant convincing, Terry would have continued funding your education."

Giselle arched her brows.

"I mean, why would he spend our hard-earned money on a stranger? You are a stranger, Giselle."

Her heart clenched.

"You are nothing to us. We have our two children to care for. Lucy needs her master's degree, and Alex has to go to college. Spending money on you would be foolish of us."

Giselle let out a breath.

"Nina, that's enough," Terry said.

"Congratulations on your divorce, Giselle," Nina mocked, ignoring him. "You are now a divorcee at twenty-two. How nice."

"Eva," Terry began.

"Shut up, Terry," she snapped.

He heaved a sigh.

"Now get yourself, and that trash with you out of my property before I get you arrested for trespassing," Nina said, pushing Terry further into the house.

"Hey," he said as she grabbed the doorknob.

"Get out of my property, cheap slut!" she spat and slammed the door hard, making Giselle flinch.

Giselle let out a breath.

She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Her head hurt so badly.

They were lying.

This was not happening to her.

This.....

Her phone rang. She took the call with shaking hands and placed it to her ear.

"Giselle," Cameron's excited voice came through.

"Cameron," she called, sniffling.

"I got a scholarship to study abroad. Can you believe that?!" Cameron squealed happily.

"Wow."

"Finally, I am going to be a doctor!" she exclaimed.

"Wow.... Cameron. That's great. Congratulations," Giselle said, feeling the ache in her heart.

"Thank you, girlfriend. Can I call you right back, please?" Cameron hung up before Giselle could respond.

She felt cold instantly.

Giselle grabbed her luggage and began walking away as her mother's harsh words echoed in her mind.

Time passed, and she had been walking for almost an hour into the cold night.

She decided to settle along the street with some homeless people.

Giselle sat on the ground, sobbing silently as she thought about her life.

How worthless it had turned out. It was terrible.

She had no money.

Or any place to go.

Cameron had been her last hope, but her line was not going through!

What was she supposed to do now?

Placing her hand on her belly, she recalled her baby.

"Hang in there, sweetie. Mummy will take care of you."

She sniffled as she rested her head against the wall.

---

MONTHS LATER

Giselle took a bite of her sandwich, ignoring her dirty hands that left stains on it.

She hummed to the glorious taste as she rubbed her palm over her enormous bump.

Looking at Mary, her aged street savior, she saw her eating her sandwich as well.

It had been months since Giselle got kicked out of her home and months since she last saw Xavier. She had been in this particular spot on the streets with Mary, and not a day had passed without her thinking about him, wondering where he was and what he was doing.

Sometimes she fantasized about seeing him there. She prayed every day to see him and gain his forgiveness. She prayed for her life back. She prayed for her baby.

Her belly had grown so big and heavy that she could hardly stand.

Not to mention how awful she looked. The dirt and smell were unbearable. That was what one got from living on the streets. The past months had not been easy, but thanks to Mary, she hadn't lacked food. She thought her baby would be fat when he or she came out.

She couldn't wait to see them.

But she worried about this place. She didn't want to raise her child on the streets. Every day she prayed for a miracle. She prayed to raise her baby in a little apartment.

She wasn't asking for too much.

Just a room.

And a simple job to support herself. That would be more than enough.

Mary handed her another sandwich. Giselle smiled at her, nodding in thanks as she brought the sandwich to her mouth.

Suddenly, something moved in her belly.

She froze.

It happened again.

"Ah!" she let out a scream.

Another sharp and painful sensation hit her.

"Ah!"

Mary held her hand.

Next, Giselle felt something liquid rolling down her legs.

Oh God.

Her heart sank into her stomach.

Her baby was coming.

Her heart pounded as she looked at Mary with wide eyes. Mary was looking at her worriedly.

"M.....my baby," Giselle managed to say.

Mary's face twitched.

Giselle experienced another painful contraction.

"Help!" she screamed loudly, drawing people's attention.

"My baby! Please!" she yelled.

Some people rushed to her aid and helped her up.

Another severe contraction hit her.

"Ah!" she screamed louder. The pain was unbearable. Everything felt blurry. Next, she was placed in a tricycle.

She struggled with the pain until they reached a nearby hospital. The nurses placed her in a wheelchair and took her into the ward.

She screamed all the way.

They laid her on a bed as she continued to scream loudly. She saw a doctor with a face mask walk in as the nurses prepared everything.

Her baby was coming.

The time was here already.

But she was not ready for it.

"AHH!" she screamed harder.

"You have to push, ma'am," she heard the doctor say.

She screamed louder than ever.

"Again, ma'am. Push again!" the doctor urged.

"She smells so bad," one of the nurses said, making Giselle look in their direction despite her painful situation. They stood away, covering their noses.

"Push, ma'am!" the doctor urged again. He alone didn't seem irritated by her smell and appearance.

Giselle screamed louder, pushing her baby as hard as she could.

"Yes, yes, almost there," she heard the doctor say.

She screamed harder, sweating and panting relentlessly.

Then she heard a cry.

She gasped.

"It's a boy," the doctor announced, standing up from between her legs with her naked, blood-stained baby boy in his hands.

She let out a breathless but happy laugh.

Her baby. He was so adorable. He was......

Another contraction hit her.

What was happening?

"Ah!"

The doctor handed her baby to the nurse and moved back in between her legs.

What was happening to her?

"We have another one coming, ma'am!" he said loudly, making her heart drop.

Another.....?

"Ahhhhh!!!!!" she screamed through the agonizing pain. It was more painful than the first.

"Again! Push!"

"Urghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

She heard another cry.

The doctor stood on his feet and held another baby in his hands.

She was dumbfounded.

"It's a girl," the doctor said.

Giselle was a panting mess as she looked at the crying baby in his arms.

"Congratulations, ma'am. You have beautiful twins," he said.

She let out a helpless breath.

God, twins?