Chapter 28- Thea

**Thea**

I waited for the others to leave before I let go of the breath I felt I had been holding in since this man, my father, had entered the room. I got up slowly, making sure the weight of my hurt would not make my legs buckle from underneath me, and moved to the side of my fathers’ chair. His head was still in his hands, but as I sat down, he looked at me.

“Thea, I am so sorry, even after all these years whenever I speak of your mothers passing the old wound is ripped open once more.”

I placed my hand on his. It was damp from tears. “I understand, I just…I need more answers, why was I abandoned?”

He took a deep breath to compose himself. “As I said earlier, if my people had found out about you, you would have been killed instantly. Taking you back wasn’t an option. But neither was running away with you. They would