Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) was left stunned in recent EastEnders scenes when she learnt that she had another sister on Albert Square.
She wasted no time in confronting Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) about it, who explained her reasons for keeping Annie’s paternity to herself.
Linda revealed that she believed Annie would have a better future being brought up with Mick as her dad as opposed to her biological father, Max Branning.
She urged Lauren to keep the discovery to herself, as now would be a really bad time for Max to find out.
Viewers know that Linda has been really struggling since killing Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) on Christmas Day, and the return of rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) last October.
All of these situations have led her to fall off the wagon, meaning that should Max learn about Annie being his, Linda could be at risk of losing custody of her to him.
Furious Lauren returned home to discuss the situation with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), who had known the truth since the time of Annie’s birth.
He opened up to Lauren about his involvement in delivering Annie, revealing how strong Linda had had to be during that time.
Following the discussion, Lauren returned to the Queen Vic, where she told Linda that she knew she must be struggling right now, and revealed she wouldn’t tell Max anything unless he asked about it outright.
Satisfied, Linda invited Lauren upstairs to meet her baby sister in adorable scenes.
As Linda introduced Lauren as her sister, Lauren told Annie that that meant she would have a best friend for life, who she could always talk to and laugh with.
The meeting went so well that Annie even asked if Lauren could stay, though Linda pointed out that Lauren lives far away, but assured her that they would see each other again.
Following the meeting, Lauren was in good spirits, until she caught up with Peter Beale (Thomas Law).
Things were already tense between them, given the fact that he had kept the truth about her arrest from her, and they only got worse when Lauren learnt that he had also known about Annie.
Will Lauren ever be able to forgive him?
