**”Could this cruel woman, who looks like a cornered beast, really be his mother?”** Her words”You were the mistake of my youth”echoed in his ears.
Alex knew only one thing about himself: he had been found screaming from hunger and fear on the doorstep of a children’s home. His mother, perhaps clinging to some shred of conscience, had wrapped him in a warm blanket, tied a woolen scarf around him, and placed the wailing bundle inside a cardboard box. She likely hadn’t wanted him to freeze.
There was no noteno name, no birth date, no hint of who he was or where he came from. But clutched in his tiny fist was a large silver pendant in the shape of the letter “A”his only inheritance.
The pendant was special, not mass-produced, but a custom piece bearing a jewelers mark. Investigators used this clue to track down the reckless mother, but the trail went cold. The jeweler who had crafted it had passed away in old age, and no records of the piece remained.
And so, the boy was officially registered: Alex Unknown. Another ward of the state.
He spent his childhood in the orphanage, longing for parental love, dreaming of the day hed find his mother and father.
“Something terrible must have happened for her to leave me like this,” he often thought. “Shell come back for me one day.”
When he turned eighteen and left the orphanage, his caregiver gave him the pendant and told him its story.
“So, she wanted me to find her?” Alex asked.
“Maybe. Or perhaps you just grabbed it off her neckbabies do that. After all, there was no chain with it, just the pendant in your fist.”
The state provided him with a small flat. He enrolled in college, graduated, and found work at a garage.
***
He met Emily by accidentthey collided on the street. Or rather, they bumped into each other first, sending her fashion magazines tumbling from her arms. Then, as Alex scrambled to pick them up, their heads clashed with such force that stars danced in their vision.
They sat there on the pavement, laughing through tears as passersby stepped around them. That was the moment Alex knew he was in love.
“Let me make it up to you,” he said. “Join me for coffee?”
To her own surprise, Emily agreed. There was something endearing about his clumsy charm, something almost familiar.
“You know, Alex,” she said within minutes, “I feel like Ive known you forever.”
“FunnyI was just thinking the same.”
They became inseparable, texting and calling constantly, always in tune. If Alex cut himself at work, Emily would call moments later, asking if he was hurt.
“Youre me, and Im you,” Alex once told her. “Youre my destiny. I just wish I could introduce you to my parents. I dont have any.”
“But you have me,” Emily said. “And I know my parents will love you.”
***
“Your boyfriends from an orphanage? Have you lost your mind?” Margaret, Emilys mother, clutched her chest and sank into her leather armchair. “Theyre all troubled, unsocialized!”
“Mum, Alex is kind and funny! You cant judge everyone the same!”
“Shes right,” her father, James, a retired officer, cut in. “Meet the lad first before you decide whether to clutch your pearls.”
“James, we didnt raise her to marry someone with no family! What if his parents were criminals?”
“Well find out when we meet him,” James said firmly.
Margaret stormed off, slamming her bedroom door.
James winked at Emily. “Well manage.”
***
On the appointed day, Alex stood at Emilys door, polished and nervous, with two bouquetsone for Emily, one for her motherand a cake.
Beaming, Emily led him inside. “Mum, Dadthis is Alex!”
James shook his hand. Margaret accepted the flowersthen went deathly pale. She stood frozen before forcing a smile.
“Forgive me, Im just a bit flustered.”
Over dinner, she eyed his pendant. “Thats a unique piece. Not something youd find in shops.”
“Its all I have from my mother,” Alex said. “I was found holding it.”
Margaret didnt speak another word all evening, pushing peas around her plate while James bonded with Alex over football and fishing.
“Fine young man,” James said after Alex left.
“Fine?” Margaret shrieked. “No manners, no grace”
“Margaret, have you lost it? Whats he done?”
She turned to Emily. “Break up with him. Now.”
***
Alone, Margaret panicked. She snatched an old photo from the bookshelfher younger self, wearing the same pendant.
“So, I didnt lose it,” she muttered. “That little wretch tore it off me.”
She hid the photo. “James and Emily mustnt see this.”
That night, she resolved to talk to Alex and make him leave.
“Emily, I behaved badly,” she lied the next morning. “Id like to apologize to Alex. Give me his number.”
Unsuspecting, Emily handed it over.
Margaret called immediately. “Alex, can you come over?”
An hour later, he stood at the door. Margaret, red-eyed, led him inside.
“We need to talk. Swear youll never tell Emily or James.”
Alex nodded, dread coiling in his stomach.
“Alex, Emily is your sister.” She showed him the photo.
“Mum?” Alexs voice cracked. “And Dad?”
Margaret shook her head. “James isnt your father. We were dating, then he left for military school. I was young, foolish. Then I got pregnant, and the man left me. I told James the baby died, left you at the orphanage, and married him when he returned.”
“And me?” Alex whispered.
“You were a mistake. Unwanted. Leave. Dont ruin my family.”
Alex stood frozen.
“Goodbye, Margaret,” he finally said.
“Ill tell Dad everything!” Emilys voice rang out.
She stood in the doorway, eyes blazing. “I thought you were a good person. Youre vile.”
***
“Sorry, sis,” Alex murmured, tears falling as he turned away.
He ran blindly, wanting to vanish. Days later, he enlisted, shipping off to a conflict zone.
James and Emily saw him off. James gripped his shoulders. “Come back safe, son. Were your family now.”
Emily hugged him. “We love you, brother.”
For the first time, Alex felt warmth in his chest. He had a father, a sister. Only now, he loved Emily as more than family.
Margaret was left alone. James divorced her, disgusted by her cruelty.
Yet she still blamed Alexfor appearing when he wasnt wanted. Again.
