A few hours later, I snuggled up in the couch with a blanket, drinking a nice cuppa in my parents' cute 2-bedroom apartment in Maroubra. It felt ridiculous having a blanket as Sydney was still warm in March, but it was one of the things I did when I felt vulnerable. My mother Ellen brought in a cup of yummy chicken and ham soup. Then she gently wiped the tears off my cheeks with a handkerchief.
Ellen held my hand, looked at me, and spoke gently to me: "Sabina, darling. Tell me what happened?"
"I had a fight with Alex, and I don't know what to do." I sobbed.
"A fight with Alex? But I thought you guys were so good together. What did he do?" Ellen asked.
"He didn't do anything. It's all my fault," I said quietly.
"Now, now, Sabina. Just tell me what happened." Ellen responded in a very understanding tone.
"I haven't told him, mum. I haven't told Alex about my empath powers. You are the only one that know." I said, staring out in the distance while sipping on the delicious soup.
My mum sighed and looked for the right words. After some silence, she replied: "I see, that is an important thing to hide from your husband. Why haven't you told him?"
"I love him, but I am afraid that he would distrust me if he knew that I have the powers to read and change his mind", I replied.
"Well, would you do that to him? As in, manipulate his thinking to suit yours?", Ellen asked gently.
I knew there was no reason to lie to my mother. She was the one who knew me the best, and the only person I had told about my secret. But as much as it pained me to tell her the truth, the truth was even more painful to myself. The fact was, that I had used my supernatural powers to dupe and manipulate Alex, into becoming the person I wanted him to be. "Yes, I have done it to him..." I replied with a faint and guilty voice.
Ellen nodded gently at me and let it all sink in. Eventually, she responded, "Hmmm. I suspected as much. It must be difficult to have such powers and not use it for your own sake."
"Yes, exceedingly difficult. I am happy with Alex, but I feel guilty knowing that I am overstepping my boundaries…" I replied.
"I guess the best thing would be, if you owned up to what you did, and told him everything," Ellen stated with a reassuring voice.
"But, what if he leaves me?" I said with a concerned voice.
"Well, Sabina. I believe that you will be happier on your own, rather than living in a marriage based on a lie," Ellen replied with a heavy heart.
"Would you have been happier, if you had ended up marrying the guy who fathered me, Ma?" I asked.
I saw my mum's face changed; I had reminded her of the guilt that had lingered for all those years. I was the product of her short tryst in Egypt with Marvin Orchard, while she was married to John, my "dad", who never found out that he was sterile, thus unable to father any children. "I am sorry, Ma. I shouldn't have brought it up." I bit my lip and said this quietly.
"It's okay, darling. You're grown up now. It's something I thought about many times throughout the years. I might have been happier ending my marriage, but you needed John to be your father. When you have a child of your own, you'll understand this," Ellen responded.
"Thank you, mum," I replied, and kissed Ellen gently on the cheek.
We sat silent for a while, hugging each other, slowly sipping the tea, and drinking the soup. Eventually, Ellen spoke: "So what was Alex upset about today? What did you do?"
"He was upset that I spent a lot of the charity's money on organising a meeting with Pierre Beaumont, the CEO of the World Bank", I replied.
"Was the money well-spent?" Ellen asked with an inquisitive voice.
"Well, yes and no. Now I know that Pierre Beaumont is evil, and that I need to stop him and the World Bank. But it caused that stir between Alex and me, so in that way, it wasn't." I stated with a calm and confident voice.
"Good luck, super-girl. Dealing with the World Bank is long overdue!" Ellen said, winked at me, and smiled in a motherly manner.
After this, we sat quietly for some time, hugging each other, and listening to soothing meditative music. Eventually, I realised that I had to meet Alex and tell him about my powers. He was my dear husband, and I could not keep him in the dark any longer.