I decided to wait. Nearly an hour later, when he came out of the room with a woman, I rushed forward.

The woman turned at the sound of my voice. In that instant, my world shattered—it wasn’t a stranger. It was my own mother.

She blushed and turned away, avoiding my eyes, while my father stood motionless, unsure of what to do.

I couldn’t speak. Why my mother? Why here?

Seeing my confusion, my father pulled me aside, sighed, and finally confessed a truth I never imagined:

“Your mother… is actually not my legal wife. For more than 40 years we’ve lived as husband and wife, but without papers. I already had a legal wife before… and now she’s back, demanding her rights. To protect your mother and you, I had to rent a temporary place, hiding as though we were guilty…”