love has many names, part 2

"You weren't his daughter," said her mother, exhausted by illness, and even though she was weak, her daughter saw the sparks of hatred she'd seen for 23 years of her short life whenever her mother looked at her. Amelia remembered perfectly how the words had stuck in her mouth and couldn't even deny that it was impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!! Her mother's words echoed in her ears as if each letter were falling to the ground.

"Hehe," she laughed, her voice hoarse from coughing. "Were you speechless? Poor child, you were always so naive, and as you can see, even your dear father lied to you," she said with a touch of irony

. "Did he... did he know I wasn't his daughter?"

"But of course, he's a terrible fool. It's enough that he accepted you as his own daughter, but he also singled you out among his own children, a fool a thousand times over

. "Don't insult him, you hear me, never dare again," she screamed. "He doesn't deserve this and never did, and yes, he may have been a fool, but only once, when he decided to become your husband

." Mother paled. Amelia never opposed her, even though she treated her the worst of all children. Her daughter always doted on her for even the slightest praise, even a little bit of love, warmth. The woman was frightened, looking at her daughter, who, as she only now noticed, was already a grown woman. She coughed violently and curled up on the bed like a little girl.

"Who is my father, with whom...who did you cheat on him with?" she screamed, not caring about her mother's condition. "

I...I don't...I don't want to...I can't..."

I asked for the last time. My mother coughed heavily .

"Who the hell is that? Or maybe there were so many of them that you don't even know which

one, Amelia, calm down...ugh,ugh." It was increasingly clear that my mother was feeling worse and

worse. "Who the hell is

that?" It was, it was...God, I can't, it will destroy his...ugh...his family...ugh...

life..." "Could you do that to me? Could you do that to your own daughter and husband? Did you ruin our lives, poisoning us for so many years to protect him? I can't believe what I'm hearing...you're so ordinary...I don't even know what to call you!" "Who is that! Amelia is gone?" She held on nervously, feeling like she was about to explode, about to explode.

-This...

-Yes?

-It's Jerzy

-What Jerzy, I don't know the answer...

-Jerzy Ad...

-Mom, finish, finish, please!! But she didn't finish, she died. She died hating them and taking revenge on her daughter for the last time.

Amelia didn't know any Jerzy A. She contacted her mother's friends, but no one remembered a man by that name who had been her mother's friend, let alone her lover some 24 years ago. After a while, she stopped thinking about it because she didn't have time for it. Her mother, as she suspected, left her nothing, even though she had enough to divide. Amelia didn't intend to fight for her own because she believed she would only waste time and money. She had to leave the house, which had been given to Damian, her older brother. She started renting the cheapest apartment possible, not far from the university where she studied, and found a job. She moved out of the house not long after her mother's death. She wasn't too sad; she felt like a stranger there, there was no trace of the only resident she loved. Even the study occupied by her father was quickly converted into a guest room. As if a sixth such room was needed. This house, she thought. She didn't turn to anyone for help, even though she sometimes needed to support herself, find an apartment, and pay for her studies, which she had to switch to part-time studies. Who could she turn to? Her only family were her siblings and Uncle Jurek. She couldn't dream of the former, and Uncle Jurek, well, he certainly had too many problems of his own. Besides, she hadn't known him long... Suddenly, the train's braking snapped her out of her reverie. "Well, this is the last station in Kaków, and we can go now," she thought. After a moment, a young man, her age or at most two years older than her, entered her compartment. He was so tall that he had to bend down to enter. He had dark brown hair that appeared black until the sunlight hit it.

"Good morning," he said, smiling pleasantly. "

Good morning," Amelia said, turning to the window. She watched the people who had come to see off their loved ones. "No one saw me off," she thought miserably. Some waved, others cried, and couples who didn't want to be separated hurriedly blew last kisses. Suddenly, she jumped up from her seat, started squealing, and opened the compartment window. She didn't realize how much she had surprised the newly arrived passenger.