(Sarah)“Have you no self respect?” he had asked me.I could not believe that Thomas could ever say such a thing. All my life, I had loved him. Thomas and I had been friends ever since I was a young girl. My parents had shipped me off to Denver to live with my Aunt Clara when I was fifteen and I had gone to school with Thomas and Jack.But our families had known each other since long before that. My parents had known Thomas’s parents and had been good friends with his father while he was alive.They had always doted on Thomas. And I could see the appeal. What I did not understand was why both of my parents loved my brother, William, so much more than me.I had flown home after I graduated from high school and barged into my father’s study one time.“How come William doesn’t even have to go to boarding school while I have to live all the way apart from you and Mother in another state?!” I had demanded.My father had put down his cigar and slowly risen from his chair. He had walked up t
(Lydia)“How are you feeling?” Mama asked me, clutching my hand tight as we sat on the sofa in front of the TV room. It had been like this for the past few days: I would come home from work and sit here silently with Mama.“Life has become surreal, Mama,” I said to her, “And not in a good way. I don’t understand why I can’t stop thinking about Thomas. I don’t understand why I keep missing him.”Mama squeezed my hand as my eyes welled up.“But I also can’t forgive him!” I sobbed, “I can’t forgive his cruelty towards me!”Mama put her arms around me. “Shush, Lyddie,” she murmured softly at me.But I could not stop crying.Thomas had been around to see the children. He would come home and play with them for a while every day. But, at those times, I would simply get up and leave.Why did it have to be this way?Mabel and Miles were noticing the tension between us. “Would you like to see what Mabel drew?” Thomas said the other day. The twins looked up at me expectantly.I blinked. “Mabel,
(Thomas)Sarah’s mother stared at me through her piercing gray eyes. “What kind of a ridiculous accusation is this?” she spat, “How could you say such a thing?!”“That’s regrettable,” I said, “I was hoping that we could arrive at some kind of middle ground. I didn’t expect this from you.”“The boy’s lost his mind, Catherine,” her father said to his wife. He turned his stony eyes away and took a puff of his cigar.I took a deep breath and shifted my gaze to the floor. Beside me, Mother’s nostrils flared. “Look, Edward. I came here to talk to you both about this because of the relationship that our families have shared,” she seethed, “Business – family. We’ve always been good friends.”Her gaze turned steely as she clenched her fist. I caught sight of the veins pulsing through the top of her hand. “But if you’re not going take this chance to apologize, I’m afraid we’re going to have to go down another route.”“Another route?” Catherine murmured softly. Her right brow was arched. “Do you
(Lydia)“Your shooting begins today, right?” Ruby asked. She was making paper boats with Mabel and Miles. They were planning to wait for it to stop raining so that they could go outside and sail them in the puddles.“Mommy’s a movie star!” Miles exclaimed, raising his hands up.“Haha, yeah,” I laughed, planting a small kiss on his head.“I’ll be back in the evening,” I told Ruby, putting on my overcoat.I grabbed my umbrella and prepared to leave.But just as I was getting my car keys, the doorbell rang.“Thomas?” I asked, opening the door. This was a strange time for him to come over unannounced.Thomas looked directly into my eyes. He was dripping wet, having run up from his car to the front door.It was pouring outside.“What are you doing here?” I asked him.“I’m here to drop you off at the studio,” he said.“But I—““No, Lydia,” he said firmly, “It’s too stormy for you to go there on your own.”“I don’t—““Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand, “You’re getting late”.***I leaned t
(Lydia)Was it possible to love someone so much that you could forgive any crime that they committed against you? Was it possible that the same person who became the source of so much pain to you could also become the source of such incredible peace and such immense joy?That was how I felt about Thomas.I had always wanted to lead a life of passion. I had always to pursue all that had really meant something to me.Thomas was among those parts of my life. If soul mates were real, Thomas Lombardi was mine. And then there was work.I had always felt deeply passionate about my work, and that is why I had excelled in my career so far. But, unlike Thomas, my career could not hurt me.And that is why I spent the next few days deeply immersed in work.***The first day of shooting was fun.“We’re rolling,” the director had said, signaling for me to begin.My heart was pounding. I had taken a deep breath and stepped up towards Nathan.“Do you know,” I said to him in the British accent of my c
(Thomas)Of all the things in the world, the only one that I had ever chosen with all of my heart was love. I had joined the family business simply because that was what Mother and Father had wanted me to do. And I had been happy to do whatever it was that they wished. I had studied business and built a profitable business.Of all that I had in my life, the only thing that belonged to my soul was my relationship with Lydia.Even in the time that we had spent apart, I had always been intuitively drawn towards her. But I had shoved my gut feelings deep down. I had ignored them.And, now, I was paying the price.I wanted her more than words could describe. That day, when she had thrown her arms around me in the car, I had finally felt that same feeling of peace and joy that I had always had around her.But then, she had pulled away again.It had broken my heart.But Lydia was afraid. I understood.She feared that her heart would be broken again.But just as my intuition had once identif
(Lydia)For the past several days, Nathan had been trying to chat me up – in the cafeteria, during rehearsals, and on set.“We have incredible chemistry,” he said, winking at me.I smiled. “I would just like to be friends, Nathan.”I turned my gaze back towards the sheet of dialogues that I had.“Is there a special guy in your life?” he asked.I looked up at him and chuckled. “Nathan!” I exclaimed, “Stop it! We have to work!”“Where is this guy, then?” Nathan persisted.I shook my head.But later, I had a sinking feeling in my heart. Why, in fact, had Thomas not made any effort towards me in all these days? He was coming to see Mabel and Miles every single day. How come he did not approach me and try to have a conversation with me? Had he given up so easily?By the evening, when we wrapped up for the day, this thought had festered into my mind. It was a devastating idea.“What’s up?” Nathan asked, stepping into the make-up room, “Why are you sitting here all alone?”“Oh, it’s nothing,
(Lydia)“Oh, no, no,” I said, clasping my hands over my mouth.What have I done? I thought to myself.“Thomas!” I yelled, running towards the door. I hurled it open again. He was nowhere to be seen.I ran out into the street and glanced left and right. He was nowhere.I heard a rustle in the bushes but ignored it. I could deal with whatever pest problem that this was later.I darted back towards the house and picked up my bag from the floor. I pulled out my phone and dialed Thomas.“Come on, come on,” I said, “Pick up!”It went unanswered.“Why aren’t you answering the phone, Thomas?!” I exclaimed, agitated.Just then, I heard a car pull up outside.As I dialed a second time and held the phone up to my ear again, Ruby and Jack walked in through the door. They were both chuckling about something. The twins bounced in behind them.“Mommy!” Miles exclaimed, “We went to an adventure park!”“And I sat in a spinning teacup, Mommy!” Mabel said.Ruby turned to look at me and her face fell.“L