Breaking Walls

“Of course, you know all about it,” I laugh.

I don’t know why I’m laughing. Maybe it’s the cruelty of it all. The burden I’ve carried my entire life, the fear I harbored when I met my mate and wanted to protect us both from the shame and disappointment. It was all for nothing. Rafael’s tone when he spoke was flippant and disinterested. As if my great sorrow was nothing but a trifle annoyance.

“Have you known since the beginning?”

“No. But I figured it out after a while,” Rafael shrugs.

A shrug. That’s what it all amounts to. Years of suffering and shame condensed to a single, insignificant motion.

“And it means nothing to you?” I ask, forcing my voice to remain still and calm. I cannot betray my feelings. I’ll swallow and bury them and pray they become the stone that will carry me to the depths of the ocean once I find my way there.

“What should it mean?” Rafael steps closer.

“What?”

“What should your mother’s actions mean to m