“With pleasure, Mrs. Shaw.”
As we stood there in a castle made by parents I didn’t know, warmth spread through my body making me lightheaded. In a space of a few months, I found love, passion, and family. What more could I ask for? Nothing.
I remembered the day Zayne asked me to leave and never come back. He’d hurt me only to hide his love from me.
Then I remembered the day I left Trent’s house after discovering the truth. He’d hurt me only to hide his past from me.
And me, I’d hurt myself by hiding my true self, my true desires.
In a way, all three of us pretended just to make the other happy.
Suitably incognito.
Not just me, or Trent, or Zayne. But all three of us.
They say the truth will set you free. In my case, lies had not only set me free. It gave me life, love, and new memories, I’d never want to forget.
Trent
THREE MONTHS LATER...
“Daddy?”
I turned away from the beam I was hammering and looked at my daughter. She sat cross-legged on the grass in the shadow of the newly-erected tree house I’d finally gotten round to building for her and Nicky. More her than Nicky since he seemed to be preoccupied lately with following Ashrika around the house.
“Yes, Pixie?”
“Do you think mommy will be happy now?”
Frowning, I thought back to the conversation Ashrika and I had a week ago with the kids. I tried to explain the whole twin angle to them but because I’d initially lied about her being a friend, they didn’t understand. Figuring it was best not to confuse them, we told them our plans to marry. I found it strange there were no questions about why she looked like mommy. They’d merely punched the air with an excited ‘yay’ and run off.
So, Neha’s unexpected statement, threw me. I set down the hammer I’d been using to nail the last rung to the ladder on the tree, crossed over to her side and dropped to my haunches. “What do you mean, Pixie?”
She took a moment to lace up the rest of her doll’s dress and looked at me. “You said fairytales don’t come true and mommy said they can if I believe.” She shoved aside her bangs and gave me one of her deep dimpled smiles. “I believed, daddy. I believed so hard and it came true.”
Stunned speechless, I had no idea what to say, or what to think. When I could finally swallow against the lump sitting in my throat, I sat down next to her and palmed her cheeks. “Can you explain to me, please, Pixie how you believed?”
