One

Ten years ago

Tiffany escorted her last gate out of their gate. With light footsteps and wide smile, she skidded her way back inside their house. Her smile went wider when she saw her parents sitting in their living room and taking a rest, she walked her way towards them and pushed herself in between them before turning her body towards her mother and sweetly hugged the middle aged woman, shortly after that, Tiffany turned to her expectant father and gave the middle-aged man another warm hug too.

“Did you enjoy your party, Princess?”Her father asked her with a smile.

It was Tiffany’s eighteenth birthday and her parents had thrown her a huge party at their mansion. Tiffany playful smirked at her father which made the older man chuckle at her expression.

“Do you really have to ask, Daddy? Of course, I did! It was the best birthday ever! Thank you so much! Daddy, Mommy!”

Tiffany smiled gratefully to her parents before giving both of their cheeks a sweet kiss.

“I’m really lucky that I have you two as my parents! And really could not ask for more! I love you so much Mommy, Daddy!”

Tiffany possessively linked her arms to her mother while contentedly leaned her head to her father’s shoulder.She was truly happy and content with her life right now, Tiffany was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the sudden quietness around her.

“Princess?”Her father gently called her in her pet name again.

“Yes, Daddy?”

Tiffany raised her head from her father’s shoulder and looked up to him expectantly. But as soon as she saw the sadness and uncertainty in her father’s face, Tiffany suddenly grew worried.

“Daddy, is there something wrong?”Her father answered her with a simple shake of his head before smiling albeit to her.

“There’s nothing wrong, Princess. But your mother and I have something to tell you,”

Tiffany had never heard her father talked so seriously like this and it suddenly made her feel so nervous. She sat up with her back straight as she keeps on shifting glances at her parent’s sad faces.

“What is it, Daddy?”Tiffany carefully asked her father and upon hearing her question, her father made a very fake cough to lessen his own nervousness.

“You know that we love you so much, right my princess?”

“Of course, Daddy and that’s why I love the two of you so much too. You two are the most important people in my life!”

“And you are also the most important to us. You are the most perfect daughter in our eyes. You’re the kindest and most obedient daughter any parent could ever ask for. Never once you give me and your mother a headache. That’s why we’re so happy and proud that you’re our daughter. And we can’t thank God enough for giving you to us.”

Tiffany felt touched with her father’s very emotional words, her dad was the most emotional one in their family and the most affectionate too, he always showers her and her mom praises and endearment whenever and wherever he feels like it.

“What is this, Daddy? Why are you and Mommy suddenly being so emotional?”

Tiffany smiled teasingly at first to her father before tightening her embrace on his arm. She let out a hallow laughter in order to mask the growing nervousness she’s feeling in her heart. She knows that whatever this might me, it was probably something so important.

“Sweetheart, there’s something your Daddy and I wanted to confess to you for a while now.”

Upon hearing the word confess, Tiffany instantly felt nervous, she shifted her eyes from her mother to her father, silently asking what’s happening. She heard her mother took a deep breath as she felt her father’s hold on her hands tightened.

“Mommy, what is it? You’re making me feel so tense…”

“After we tell you what we’re about to say, promise us, Tiffany, that nothing will change. Nothing will ever change…”

Tiffany turned her head back to her father when the older man suddenly spoke. And her father’s words just make Tiffany even more nervous than she already is. And like the good daughter that she is, Tiffany obediently nods at his parents.

“I promise, Mom, Dad.”

“Thank you, princess.” Her father gave her a smile in gratitude.

After that, Tiffany saw her father gave another look at her mother before the older woman nods her head back at her father who let out a defeated and sad sigh.

“Tiffany, it’s about time you get to know the whole truth. Tiffany… you’re adopted…”

Tiffany’s eyes widened in shock as the words of her father registered in her brain. She can’t believe that of all things that her parents could possibly tell her, they choose to tell her this. Although Tiffany knew that they didn’t exactly chose this, but still, she can’t believe it, more like her brain is slowly functioning right to understand the new revelation.

“What? You can’t be…” She suddenly sat up but was immediately stopped, this time by her mother’s hands.

“Yes, sweetheart… We’re sorry if we need to tell you about this today but we can’t think of any other right moment to tell this to you…”

Tiffany saw the soft pleading eyes of her mother and her heart slowly begins to melt.

“But we love you… we love you as our very own. I’m sure you know that and that you felt that… Tiffany, my child… if we can, me and your Dad would have just take this secret to our grave but what would that make us? And what it might cause to you? We know that we can’t take away your right to know of the truth about yourself.” Tiffany could only stare at her mother’s hands that were tightly holding her own hands.

But Tiffany’s mind failed to listen to the other things her mother told her. Only one thing was etched in her mind. She’s only adopted. She’s not a real Hwang.

“Nothing will change, Tiffany. You’re our daughter. You’re the child that we’ve been waiting for and keep on praying for to arrive to us and when you finally arrived. You have no idea how happy you made us, Tiffany. Your existence completed us. You made us a family.” Tiffany looked up at her father with teary eyes as she found herself listening to his emotion filled words once again.

“And the moment you smiled brightly at your Mom while your little hand tightly gripped on my finger, that’s when I knew, that’s when we knew, that you’re our