Out of the Shadows: Tilla’s Brilliant Second Life

Chapter 535 Surprised

If anyone had stepped into the room at that moment, they would have sworn without hesitation that Kyla was the Jensons’ true daughter, the one lost nearly two decades ago.

Tilda, sitting in her place, would have looked like the spare, the unwanted girl taken in to fill a void until the real one returned. And now that the cherished child had come back, the stand-in no longer seemed to belong.

The thought burned so deeply that Tilda’s nose stung and her chest swelled with emotions she could hardly hold in. Dane and the others caught sight of her brimming eyes, and alarm raced across their faces.

“Tilda, what’s wrong? Did we push too far? I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”

There was nothing more unbearable than a woman’s tears. And hers, most of all, because she had become their greatest treasure. Rain jabbed a finger toward the others, his voice sharp. “This is on you three. She said she was full, but you wouldn’t stop piling food onto her plate. Now look, she’s upset.”

Mystro and Liam shot back in unison. “Don’t even start blaming us. You were handing her food too. We all did it, so we’re all guilty. We should all apologize.”

Sitting closest, Dane leaned forward and gently brushed her hair back, his touch tender and full of worry. “Don’t be afraid. Those aren’t sad tears. You’re crying because you’re happy, aren’t you? You’re glad to be here with all of us and Rain, together at one table. This is the kind of joy you never thought you’d get to feel.”

Her voice grew soft, almost fragile. “For so long, I thought this kind of happiness would never belong to me. But it’s here now, real and warm. I think God must be watching over me after all.”

Once, she had cursed life for being so cruel. Other children had parents and simple, loving homes. Her birth parents, along with her seven older brothers, had left her with nothing but coldness and scars.

But hate no longer weighed on her heart. She had finally found her rainbow after the storm. The road to this moment had been long, bitter, and full of pain, one she had walked at the cost of her very life. And yet, in the end, fate had shown her mercy. It had given her a second chance. It had stripped away the lies and taught her what family truly meant. It had led her straight to the people who would love her as their own.

The brothers exchanged glances, their expressions soft and full of feeling. “We feel the same,” one of them said. “Meeting you, Tilda, is the best thing that’s ever happened to us.”

Rain nodded hard, his voice breaking. “Yeah, Tilda, I almost lost myself for good, but you saved me. Meeting you is the greatest gift God ever gave me.”

Dane reached out again, his fingertip brushing away the tears from her cheeks. Tilda drew in a deep breath, her lips curving into a smile through the shimmer in her eyes. “Alright. Tonight is a holiday. We shouldn’t drown in emotions. Let’s raise a glass instead.”

She opened the bottle of ’82 Lafite she had been saving and poured a measure for each of them. “No matter what comes our way, we’ve survived so much together. Now we’re here, side by side, celebrating. I hope every year brings us the same joy, the same warmth, the same health and happiness.”

“Cheers!”

Their glasses met with a crisp ring, and laughter broke out around the table. Every face shone with happiness. The loneliness, the pain, and the weight of old wounds melted away. What remained was a circle of people bound together by ties no one could tear apart.

After a few rounds, Tilda’s cheeks turned a soft pink. She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes tender as she watched her seniors and Rain tease and argue like children. She started to get misty-eyed. She wished the clock would stop. She wished the moment could last forever. It was perfect.

After dinner, she stayed with her brothers and Rain, half-watching the holiday program on TV while they talked about everything that had happened lately. She laughed that the show was so dull, saying even the worst streaming service had better scripts. Rain yawned so wide his eyes watered, stubbornly fighting sleep only because everyone else was still awake. By the time the closing song ended and the clock struck midnight, the night had already slipped into memory.

Her phone buzzed. One by one, messages arrived right on time. Una. Andy. Jude. Each sent her the same greeting, “Happy holidays.” She answered each in turn with a quiet reply, “Happy holidays.”

When she came to Jude, she typed, “How was your dinner? Hopefully it wasn’t too unpleasant.”

His answer came. “It was fine. Except Uncle Ryan’s family was a complete disaster. They didn’t even show up. Tilda texted, “Daphne is dead. Preston’s in the hospital. Rebecca fainted. And Ryan still didn’t appear.”

Jude replied, “Things went so wrong he had to handle the Sunlight Plaza mess before Grandpa exploded. He’s terrified of losing his position. To him, power and money will always matter more than anything else. Losing a wife means nothing.”

Tilda’s reply cut sharp. “Your family really is cold. Something so awful happened, and your grandfather and the others still sat down to dinner like nothing was wrong.”