Ocean Storm (Queen of Piracy Duology #1)

Chapter 7: What's going on?

One day had gone by since dad and uncle Ruben went out for a drink. Neither of them said a word about it, so I assumed it didn't go well. Actually, I'm lying because it probably went terribly wrong. How can someone keep calm when close to a guy who broke your sister's heart, took her daughter, and loved a woman who flogged your niece? I'm no angel, but there's no way Hendrika was right in mistreating me. I even told her I loved her sometimes although I wasn't sincere, so only God knew what was wrong with my stepmother. There was also another thing that wouldn't leave my mind: the ugly truth about my family. After I heard those terrifying things two days ago, I couldn't think of anything else. All the crazy facts wouldn't leave my mind: Carolien de Vries was my birth mother, dad abandoned his wife, Johannes was only my half-brother... I felt like my head was about to explode. My feelings were a real mess that day. Besides, I had the weird sensation I somehow knew everything the conversation between Hendrika and uncle Ruben revealed. Don't get me wrong; I'm not a mind reader or anything. I just mean that I always felt there was something off with my family.

It was late afternoon. While my father was at work and Hendrika went out with Johannes, I was alone at home. I knew Maartje and uncle probably lived in a ship, but I had no idea where they docked it, so there was no way I could find them. At that moment, my real desire was running away from home, robbing all of Hendrika's jewelry to take revenge on her, and leaving a goodbye note to Johannes since he had nothing to do with that mess. Honestly, I didn't have the guts to run away and that was why I couldn't leave. As I sat on the first step that gave access to the entrance, my uncle approached me. I frowned as I realized Maartje wasn't with him. I stood up and took a step back.

"Hi, Eva. How are you doing?" my uncle asked, biting his lower lip.

Does he know that I heard everything? Well, I don't care. I'll say it anyway.

"I'm not fine, that's for sure! How can I be?" my eyes bulged as I walked from one side to another. "My world fell apart yesterday when I listened to your conversation with my mother... well, stepmother, actually."

He gulped. I narrowed my eyes at uncle Ruben and he remained silent for a minute. I wasn't sure whether he had intentionally let me hear all those insane truths somehow. Anything could be possible.

"So, you heard everything... By the way, Maartje listened to the conversation as well," my uncle sighed and glanced away. "She's angry at me because I hid the truth from you, so she decided to stay on our ship."

I bit my lower lip and stared at my toes. Although we hadn't known each other for long, my uncle should've told me the truth before. I hated it when people lied to me. He knit his brows as if noticing my sadness.

He approached me, "I'm so sorry I lied to you, Eva... Trust me, I wanted to tell you everything, but I didn't get the right chance to do it. I apologize that you had to find out the truth like this."

I nodded, a little less upset than I was before. Honestly, I wasn't furious with my uncle because he had a point. He really hadn't had any opportunities to talk to me about that subject. The only reason I found out about everything was because I'd heard his conversation with my stepmother.

"It's fine, uncle. I'm also sorry for eavesdropping. I just want to ask you some questions that remained unanswered," I raised a brow. "Is that okay?"

I don't regret eavesdropping at all, but let's hope my uncle believes I'm a good girl.

We started walking together around the neighborhood at that moment. I analyzed uncle Ruben's face as I waited for his response.

"No worries. It's definitely okay!" his lips curled into a weak smile. "I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability."

I took a deep breath, recalling the revelations about my family. I wanted to know if Johannes had also discovered everything, but there was no way to find out. It would be unfair to hide the truth from my brother; however, I couldn't tell him because he was just a kid.