ElianaI awoke with my throat so dry and burning up, my head still heavy, and my muscles sore. Slowly, I pulled myself up, grunting like a wounded animal. I smiled briefly when I noticed that I was in Nick's shirt, with no bra beneath, just my favourite red panties. My memory was still fresh, and the wound in my heart that my mother's actions had caused was still bleeding."Nicholas," I called, breaking into a series of coughs as I looked around for him. Thoughts about how lucky I was to have such a loving man ran through my mind side by side with those of my mom."Nick?" I pushed the comforter off me, draped my legs over the edge of the bed, and then stood on the fluffy, soft area rug. When I didn't get a response, I decided to go downstairs for a glass of warm water and find something to eat while at it. Dragging my feet along the hallway while looking at the eye-catching art, I caught a familiar voice."Mom?" I whispered to myself, furrowing my eyebrows, wondering what she was doin
NicholasOn Monday morning around 11, I stood in front of my office, hands inside my pants pocket, as I looked at the sky. Something about how dark the clouds were brought about dread inside me. It was almost as if they were predicting something bad to happen. I wasn't much of a believer when it came to nature signs, but in that particular moment, I could feel my heart beat accelerate.I barely heard the door being opened as Allan walked in and silently stood beside me. For a few minutes, he uttered no word, and that is how I knew something was wrong somewhere. He always started conversations when it came to us, and whenever he had little to say, I knew it indicated a problem somewhere."I take it you sent someone to Sander's residence?" I broke the silence without turning to look at him. My muscles were tense beneath my button-up shirt, and they only got worse when he delayed answering me.He cleared his throat first, then answered, "she wasn't there." My heart just sunk."But there
ElianaDorian, Rachel, and I tiptoed inside Robert's house after climbing through the kitchen window, which, luckily for us, had been left open. I had called them immediately after Nicholas left for work and told them everything that had happened. Rachel, being the crazy one as usual, suggested we snoop around my mom's things and see whether we'd find my father's documents. I was up for it, because losing my father's house wasn't something I was just going to sit and allow. So innocently, I called Robert and asked him where he left, citing that I wanted to visit him and mom and talk."Where do we even begin?" Rachel whispered while munching on an apple she had picked up from the kitchen counter."Why are you whispering dumbass? There is no one home." I laughed at her."Why are you tiptoeing and we are alone? Dumbass," she reiterated with her mouth full, using my words against me."We don't have time to eat, Rae; they could be back any minute." Dorian pulled her towards the L-shaped st
Nicholas"Nora Smith and Marya Sanders are the same person," I whispered, the reality of the matter sinking in while my body unfroze. Instead, my fingers began shaking as waves of shock ran through me with such uncontrollable intensity."And she is no doubt using her stepson to eliminate Eliana. She is behind it all," Allan added, while my eyes remained glued on the impostor my brother had married. How was he going to deal with it? How would he survive such a fucking painful revelation? I could relate given what Brittany did to me, but while I was young and stupid, Rob was mature and in love with Nora.I had trusted his decision to marry her, but it seems he didn't run a thorough background check on her. Otherwise, he would have noticed that something was wrong with her."How will I tell Eliana and Rob? Where will I even begin knowing it's going to break the hearts of the people I love?" I dropped the photo on my desk and buried my face in my shaky hands. My mind at that moment was sa
Eliana"Eliana." Someone was shaking me, but I couldn't make out who it was between Rae and Dorian. It was almost as if my mind and my senses had travelled into another dimension. My eyes didn't blink, staring at the passport photo on the licence until they started burning, moisture filling them.Slowly, I stretched my hand and picked it up, mouth open."It can't be," I whispered. She had a different eye and hair colour and looked much younger, likely in her late teens or early 20s, but it was definitely her. Every single thing on the paper was printing out a side of her that I couldn't even comprehend.The licence was obviously from Utah State and not Indiana, and the residence was some street I wasn't familiar with. Who are you, mom? I thought out loudly, squinting my eyes."Maybe it's her twin sister," Rachel mumbled, and the tiniest part of me wished that she was right."Shut up, babe. This is not a guessing matter," Dorian chastised, steadying me when I stumbled backwards, my upp
Nicholas"Let her in," I told Reyna, my secretary, after she called, saying that Eliana was outside. I didn't know whether to get mad or happy because it was dangerous for her to even step foot outside the gates of my house now that we knew what her mother was capable of. I was happy because she was safe, and I had missed her even though I had made love to her before I came to work."She lied." That was the first thing she said when she got inside, a large envelope in her hands."She fucking lied to me, Nick," she hiccuped, using her left hand to wipe her tears furiously. Without wasting time, I shot up from the seat as she went around the table, dropped the envelope in it, and threw herself into my waiting arms."What happened, love? Why are you crying?" I squeezed her tighter into me when she broke out into a loud sob. Even though I had no idea what she was talking about, I could feel her pain in her cries and her hiccups. Her shoulders shook as I carried her onto the office couch a
ElianaA wave of acid welled up from my stomach as it contracted into a tight ball. I turned my head around, my gaze darting around the room, trying to process every bit of Nick's words. I didn't know whether to continue sobbing, scream, run to my mother for more explanation, or just sit there."Sanders." I tested the name on my tongue, trying to make out whether I had heard the name before. Then my eyes dropped on the driver's card on Nick's hand, and that is when it hit me. Every doubt I had and every hope about the young woman's photo on the driver's card not being mom, was washed away when Nick revealed mom's past. Like Rachel, a part of me had hoped that maybe it was my mom's twin sister that I knew nothing about."Marya Sanders," I whispered, blinking rapidly as my spine tingled, but not in a good way."H-ow?" I stammered for the umpteenth time that day, closing my eyes as my head throbbed."She managed to hide her past all these years," Nick said, while I bent over, putting my
Nicholas"What do you mean you are not coming?" I asked Rob via the phone, looking at the time on my wrist watch. It was a little after 7 p.m., and he was supposed to have arrived already."My wife needs me right now, sorry." My curiosity arose."Is everything okay?"He sighed, "Not really. Nora's turning the entire house upside down, looking for something she claims was stolen.""Something?" I pressed."She won't say what was taken, but she's screaming, saying it's a matter of life and death." Sure enough, I heard her annoying screeches in the background as she shouted at my brother to help her look."Well, maybe she just misplaced whatever she's looking for." I shrugged, but deep down, I knew she must have been looking for her documents."Have you called the police?" I intentionally asked, wondering whether my brother was questioning why she wasn't telling him what was taken."She's refusing." She screamed again, this time around, leaving my ears ringing."I'll make it up for today's