Day out at the beach - it is a date darling~ [Braelyn/Francis]

‘What in the world was he talking about?’

The thought barely processed through her mind before Francis said his “reintroduction” and then, all thought process slowed to a near complete stand still. Cousin? Her? Surely there was a mistake, which this was some joke that she certainly was not sounding funny, certainly….

Bonnefoy. Now why was that name familiar? She had heard that name before, a long time ago, but se couldn’t remember. Taking a step back away from Francis, a cautious edge creeping into her eye as a shade of memory seeped into her mind’s eye. It was many years ago, not long after her father had died. Her mother had been arguing with someone by the main door and the young Braelyn had crept to peer over the railing of the main staircase and she remembered seeing her mother speaking with a woman, and her mother called her “Bonnefoy”.

That was it, all other remnants of the scare memory had been lost in time and she couldn’t think of any Bonnefoy family she or her family knew. But cousin? Even if she began to consider that what this man was saying as truth, it was impossible. She knew all her family because they were all on her maternal side and her father had had no family save for her mother rand herself.

Braelyn was beginning to form some retort back to Francis, concerning the health of his imagination and sanity, when a cold trickle of fear dripped down her spine. What if he was telling the truth? That would mean, he knew more about her than she would have liked.

Braelyn’s eyes went wide. Taking another step back away from him, she forced her expression into something harder and said, “You are lying,” before turning on her heel to stride away from him; she wanted to run but she didn’t want to be that foolish.

Francis could tell he scared her with that outright confession - it was like rattling the cage of a poor animal, badly and pretty violently. Maybe he should have approached the topic a little more gently, though it's a bit too late now. Given how much Braelyn seem to want to deny whatever he had just dropped on her, maybe it wouldn't even by too late to go back on his word and admit (falsely, now that's a new one) that it was all just a bad joke. But really, who jokes about such things with a serious face under these circumstances.

He called out in a slightly louder voice at her receeding back, "Did you know your father had a sister? Éléonore Leveque."

And he added, almost as if to himself, "I'd rather it be a lie too really,"

Once more his words sent a cold chill down her back and his time she had the gut feeling that he was in fact telling the truth, that this man whom she’d just met, was her blood relative. The reality that he must of known this from the moment they met strung deep and a slight frown breached her lips. Another hurt originated came from her chest, the realization that her mother must have kept her father’s family from her on purpose; though Braelyn wasn’t surprised that her mother was capable of such a thing.

She half faltered in her step, but she did not stop, when he spoke, not disrupting the high, proud height of her chin as she continued onward. It would seem that once again, her family had betrayed her even when she thought she’d found her happiness here in the States. The day seemed to have gotten noticeably dimmer, though there was yet to be in cloud in the sky.

Her attire and bag’s purpose were no longer needed; she was going home… she needed to make a few calls. Walking up form the beach back onto the sidewalk, not once did Braelyn look back.