CHAPTER 16: CHAPTER 16: ADOPTED

After the test was over, Aiden left the hall alongside Julian.

They walked quietly through the corridors and out into the open air. Julian didn’t say a word, his expression distant, as if his mind was still lingering on everything that had just happened in the hall.

The silence stretched between them all the way back to their hostel building. Only when they stepped into their shared apartment did Julian suddenly break into a smile, his whole face lighting up.

Aiden gave him a curious look. "Are you okay?"

Julian grinned wider. "I’m fine. I’m just... happy for you. Who would have thought you’d turn out to be so outstanding? And those three bloodlines of yours—so potent. It’s incredible."

Aiden sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I can’t say I share your excitement. Honestly, I think this has only made my life more complicated. Tell me—how did I go from being a regular human to... whatever that was? I just don’t get it."

Julian shrugged lightly. "Don’t stress about it. You’ll see—one day you’ll realise how great it is to have powers. You’ll never want to let them go."

"I hope so," Aiden replied with another sigh.

"I know so," Julian said firmly. Then his expression brightened again. "Right now, though, I’m just happy. Do you know what I’m happiest about? The fact that we can actually train together. I really hope that in the end you’ll end up as a witch. Then we could be a powerful witch duo. Wouldn’t that be perfect?"

Aiden cracked a small smile. "And what if I don’t want to be a witch? Or what if I don’t end up as one?"

Julian’s eyes went wide, his face almost horrified. "No. You must end up as a witch. I’ll pray for it."

That made Aiden chuckle despite himself.

But the smile faded quickly as another thought entered his mind. "To be honest, I still don’t understand where my bloodlines even come from. My parents are clearly human, so how did they give birth to someone like me?"

Suddenly, a troubling possibility struck him. His eyes widened in alarm. "Wait... am I adopted? What if my mom and dad aren’t my real parents?"

Julian stepped forward and knocked him on the head—not too hard, but enough to make Aiden flinch.

"Ow! What was that for?" Aiden complained, rubbing the sore spot.

"Stop scaring yourself," Julian said flatly. "Sure, your hair and eye colour are different from your parents, but I can still see their features in your face. Remember that video call we had with them? I could tell right away—they’re definitely your parents."

Relieved, Aiden patted his chest. "Good. I thought I was about to have a real crisis there."

"Then stop jumping to wild conclusions," Julian replied with a smirk.

Aiden’s brow furrowed again. "Okay, but if they are my real parents, where did my bloodlines come from? I’m almost certain they’re human."

"Why not just ask them?" Julian suggested. "Maybe there’s something they haven’t told you."

Aiden shook his head quickly. "I can’t just go to them and say, ’Hey, Mom and Dad, are you secretly supernatural entities?’ They’d think I’d lost my mind."

"They wouldn’t think that if they actually were," Julian countered.

"Yeah, but what if they aren’t?" Aiden said. "I’d end up scaring my poor mother half to death. She didn’t even want me coming to this school in the first place. She’d probably try to pull me out immediately if she thought the school was making me believe I was something I’m not. And if the school refused to let me leave, she’d go crazy. And Julian, believe me when I say this—you don’t want to see my mother crazy. That woman is a classic nut job."

Julian laughed. "So what do we do then? If you can’t just ask them outright, is there another way?"

Aiden sighed again. "I don’t know. But I’ll try to figure something out."

Julian nodded in understanding. "Alright. Since we don’t have anything scheduled this week anyway, I’m going to my room to sleep."

"Alright," Aiden said.

Julian started towards his room. "I’ll call you when it’s lunch time."

Aiden nodded again. Julian was almost through his door when Aiden suddenly thought of something. "Wait! Julian—before you close the door— I’m planning to walk around the school later to familiarise myself with it. Can you come with me? You can point out anything I should know."

Julian peeked out, looking half amused and half sleepy. "Fine, fine. We’ll do that. But right now, I’m going to sleep."

With that, he shut his door.

Aiden stood there for a moment, shaking his head. "Why do you like sleeping so much? It’s not like you’re pregnant," he muttered to himself.

That thought made him laugh quietly. "How can a guy even get pregnant?"

Still chuckling, he headed to his own bedroom. He needed to call his mother.

After Aiden stepped into his room, he closed the door quietly and sank onto his bed. His phone lay on the desk nearby, but he didn’t reach for it right away. Instead, he sat there, staring at the floor, trying to work out the best way to ask his mother the question that had been gnawing at him since his conversation with Julian.

How could he possibly bring up something like this?

Mom, are you secretly supernatural? No, that sounded ridiculous.

Or maybe, Hey Mom, did you happen to pass down some magical bloodline to me? Even worse.

He ran through scenario after scenario in his head, and every single one sounded stupid. Ten minutes later, his brain felt like it was starting to overheat.

"Forget it," he muttered to himself. "If I keep thinking about this, I’m just going to give myself a headache. I’ll just call her and... ask."

He grabbed his phone, took a deep breath, and hit the call button. The ringing tone hadn’t even finished twice before the call connected.

"I thought you’d forget to call your mother again today," came his mother’s voice—warm, teasing, and just a little scolding.

Aiden smiled in spite of his nerves. "How could I ever forget to call the most beautiful woman in the world, who also happens to be my mother? Is that even possible?"

There was a short pause before he heard her laugh. She was clearly flattered. "Flattery already? You must want something," she joked. "So, how’s the school treating you? I hope it’s not too hard on you."

Without thinking, Aiden nodded, then caught himself. She couldn’t see him through the phone. "I’m fine, Mom. Really. In fact, I think I’m adapting pretty well."

"That’s good to hear," Ophelia said warmly. "I knew you’d be fine. You’ve always been quick to adapt to new situations, so I wasn’t all that worried."

Aiden didn’t quite believe that. His mother worried about him over the smallest things—there was no way she’d been totally calm about him going to a new school, especially this school. But he didn’t call her out on it.

Instead, his voice grew more serious. "Mom, I need to ask you something. And I need you to be completely honest with me. Please... don’t get angry, okay?"

On the other end, Ophelia must have sensed his change in tone. Her own voice lost its playful lilt. "Alright. Ask me whatever you want."

Aiden inhaled slowly, then gave himself a silent pep talk. You can do this. Just say it.

"Mom," he began carefully, "have you been hiding anything from me about our family?"

Her reply was quick and casual. "Nope. I’m not hiding anything from you. Why? What makes you ask that?"

He shifted on the bed, feeling restless. "Mom, I really need you to think about this. Is there anything at all? Something I should know about our family—maybe something from your side, something you’ve kept from me?"

There was a pause. Aiden frowned. "Mom? You’re not saying anything."

He heard her sigh softly before she spoke again. "There’s... one thing."

His heart rate jumped. "What is it?" he asked quickly, almost tripping over the words.

"I don’t think it’s important," Ophelia began, "but... you should know that I’m adopted."

Aiden froze, his eyes widening. "What? Wait—how? Why? I thought Nana was your mother. How are you adopted?"

There was a moment of silence before she answered. "I didn’t know either, not at first. I was already in my twenties, already dating your father, when I found out. That’s when I learned that Nana isn’t my biological mother."

Aiden leaned forward on his bed, his grip on the phone tightening. "How did you even find out? And who told you? Was it some kind of mistake?"

Ophelia’s eyes didn’t waver as she answered, "No, it wasn’t a mistake. I heard it from your grandmother herself. And if you’re wondering how I found out, it started when I overheard my mom and dad talking one day. They were saying something about being my guardians. I didn’t stay to listen—I stormed in and demanded answers. But instead of explaining, they stopped talking and kept apologizing. That’s when they finally told me the truth—that they weren’t my biological parents. I was adopted. They had kept it from me all this time, thinking it was best I didn’t know."