Mamahaha

Upon receiving news of my father's death from my mother, I returned home after a two-year absence for the funeral. This was my first meeting with my stepmother, as my father had married her while I was away at boarding school. My father, born into wealth but profligate, had been married four times. Upon opening the door, I saw a woman who bore a striking resemblance to my biological mother. I felt a childish impulse to seek comfort in her embrace. Viewing my father's body, a casualty of a riding accident, I questioned what had drawn either woman to such a man. The following day, my grandfather sent a carriage; with our home mortgaged, he offered to provide for us. Unbeknownst to me then, he had a further motive: lacking male relatives, he intended to adopt me as his heir. My stepmother and I thus relocated to his estate.