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.

I pressed my lips together, "I don't even know if this is a silly question, but here it goes: is my father still married to my real mother?"

My uncle froze, which probably happened because I mentioned my mom. Although I didn't know anything about his relationship with Carolien, there was one thing I was sure about: uncle Ruben loved her. Not in a romantic way, of course, but he did. He would've never gotten so enraged at my father and Hendrika if his sister meant nothing to him.

"No. Your parents got divorced two months before he left with Hendrika and you. Your mother was only able to divorce your father because she proved his adultery," my uncle let out a pronounced sigh. "I don't know why, but he and Hendrika are not married as far as I'm concerned."

I just realized I forgot to tell you about my family's religion: they are Calvinists. I don't know much about the details since I'm not religious, but Calvinism is a kind of Protestantism that was very popular in the Netherlands. They believe in Jesus, but are not fond of the Catholic Church's rules.

"Got it. I also have another question..." I swallowed hard, afraid of what I might hear. "What did my father do to mom? I heard you saying he mistreated her."

My uncle gritted his teeth while breathing faster. He hadn't said any words so far and yet I could tell dad didn't treat my mother like a queen. Dad always did everything Hendrika wanted, so I couldn't imagine him mistreating a woman.

"I wish he just mistreated Carolien, but it was much worse than that. In the first few months of their marriage, she told me he was a gentleman, but he started drinking too much after you were born," uncle Ruben closed his eyes for a moment while taking a deep breath. "Maybe it was because he didn't want a girl or couldn't handle being a father... I have no idea, but that's what happened. Your mother told me he always found a reason to hit her."

My eyes widened when I saw tears running down his face. That was the first time I saw a man crying. I thought I'd never see that, but there it was... Honestly, it was a relief to find out there were sensitive men in the world.

Uncle Ruben pursed his lips, "I remember the day your mom told me Govert didn't feel attracted to her anymore and hit her violently because of it. She showed me her huge purple wounds. They were on her neck, arms, legs, back... everywhere! I was horrified."

Two dangerous adults in my home? You've got to be kidding me...

I approached him while gawking. Although my father had never been a great man, I never imagined he'd done something like that. Besides, my heart ached as I observed my uncle. I cared about him. The last thing I needed was to see the only adult who was kind to me upset.

"Now I know what you meant when you said my father and Hendrika were rotten," I looked at the floor for a moment while sighing. "Also, when did Hendrika start being his mistress?"

"I don't know the exact moment it happened, but I know it was a year after you were born although she got pregnant only three years later." uncle Ruben answered, apparently calmer.

I nodded, trying to process all the information. Even though I was aware that almost everything I knew about my family was a lie, the new revelations kept surprising me. Deep down, I knew my uncle was telling the truth, but I couldn't imagine my father being violent.

"That's crazy! I've seen my father drink a lot before, but he has never shown to be violent," I frowned, a little skeptical. "Are you sure alcohol did that to him? Wasn't some other substance?"

My father was no saint, I knew that. He chose to be with a crazy woman instead of my mother, for crying out loud! But violence? He never stooped so low... at least not in front of me. I couldn't imagine dad hitting someone.

"I'm certain. He emptied one, sometimes even two Jenever bottles a day. Your mother showed me," uncle Ruben raised his brows. "Besides, your dad started hating your mom so much after Hendrika came into his life that sometimes he needed no alcohol to be violent."

Even though I hadn't tried Jenever before, I knew it had a lot of alcohol. I gawked. Dad hit Carolien even when he was sober? That only got worse! I wondered what else my uncle had been hiding. Perhaps my father had children with a third woman? Maybe he wasn't even an RNN officer? The sky was the limit.

"This is terrible! I'd rather be living alone with my mom in the Netherlands. I don't want to see my father's face again!" I put both hands on my head while walking from one side to another. "I can't believe he did something like this... Does he even love me?"

My uncle approached me, "Despite all his flaws, I believe Govert loves you. Regardless of his hatred towards your mom, you'll always be his daughter. He probably took you from Carolien when he fled because he couldn't stay away from you."

I chuckled, wondering if dad indeed had kidnapped me because of love. Although I didn't want to believe it, my father probably cared for me. Based on uncle Ruben's words, dad was as cruel as Hendrika, but perhaps there was still hope left for him.

A while later, my father arrived from work and waved when he saw us. He seemed strangely comfortable near the brother of a woman whose life he destroyed. I scowled, feeling myself burning with rage as dad approached. Also, I couldn't help but wonder why my father came back home so frequently. Weren't RNN officers supposed to remain sailing for days? Maybe he was incompetent, I wasn't sure.

Dad smiled, "Hello, Eva and Ruben. Where's Maartje? I thought..."

Before my father could finish his sentence, he suddenly started having trouble breathing and fell to his knees. He was choking. I gaped and ran to him. With his eyes bulging, my uncle instantly did the same. Dad got paler at each second. When my father stopped trying to breathe, he fell flat on his face, crashing against the ground. His body was soft and unconscious. My heart accelerated and sweat flooded my back.

"Help us, please! This man is dying!" uncle Ruben yelled.

Three people approached us quickly. They helped me and my uncle to carry dad home. Luckily, we were only a few steps away from my house, so we arrived in less than a minute. Laurens ran away, I found out all those crazy facts about my family, my father was dying... It felt like my entire world was shattering.

I pointed at the sofa, "Put him here! Quick!"

My uncle and the other men slowly put my father on the couch. Dad could barely move, and he sweated intensely. I knit my brows and put a hand on my mouth, more worried than ever. I positioned my father's head in a way that he could breathe better. He rubbed his hands slowly, still unable to move his legs, arms, or head.

"Take care of him. I'll be right back." uncle Ruben said, quickly heading towards the kitchen.

Even though I was furious at dad, how could I scold him at that moment? He was fighting for his life and I would have plenty time to tell him off after his recovery. My father widened his eyes as if he wanted to scream. I held his hand. Uncle Ruben came back with a glass of water and helped dad to drink it. When my father was done, uncle Ruben put the glass over the wooden table in front of the sofa.

"I'll go find Hendrika," uncle Ruben raised his brows. "You two must stay here!"

Before I had the chance to say anything, my uncle left. I took a deep breath to calm down... who am I trying to fool? There was no way to calm down! My father, despite his cruel actions, was dying in front of me. I hated the fact that there was nothing I could do about it. Besides, I didn't know what caused dad to have that collapse.

I put my right hand on my father's forehead. I started breathing quicker once I realized that he had a fever. Dad could barely open his eyes and got paler at each second. He suddenly started to have shortness of breath again. I bit my lower lip until I tasted my own blood and my chin trembled.

What the hell? Why is dad collapsing?

Dad looked at the ceiling, "Help! Somebody..."

I'd never seen him so scared until that day. He was on the verge of tears. My father moved his head back and forth, gasping desperately. I caressed his arm and got closer.

"Look at me, dad! Don't close your eyes! Uncle Ruben will arrive with mom and Johannes soon, so please hang in there," I held his hands again and forced a smile. "I'm with you."

When I thought my father would choke, his breathing came back to normal. He slowly directed his gaze at me. His sweating increased. I sighed, still thinking about everything my uncle had told me. Although a part of me wanted dad to keep suffering to pay for all he'd done, I knew I couldn't leave him to die regardless of his atrocious mistakes. Despite my father being the real cause of the scars on my back, my stupid heart wouldn't let me harm him in any way.

****

Author's note: