Chapter 6

Claire spent more than half of the flight sleeping off all the acohol that she had during the wedding reception, While Henry worked on his laptop during the better part of the trip. It was strange, how different they both were and how they seemed to just fall into two separate routines.

When they arrived at Bora Bora, Henry had gently woken Claire up as they got ready to land. She looked out the window and gasped. Claire, being a travel blogger had surprisingly not been to Bora Bora before, she had thought it overhyped at one point but then looking out the window, she could understand why people were willing to spend a large chunk of their life-savings just to make a trip to Bora Bora. It was really like a little piece of heaven on Earth – she didn't know how else to describe it.

Henry seemed to be just as mesmerized but more quiet about it as they both looked out the window.

They had barely said anything of note to each other during the trip and ever as they arrived in Bora Bora, they didn't say anything to each other.

Henry could sense the excitement on Claire's face as the plane descended through the clouds. As they broke free of the last cloud, a magnificent vista awaited them: a massive multi-coloured lagoon bordered by lush green atolls, the fringes of which broke the waves from the open ocean, and a mountainous island in the middle crowned by steep lofty peaks.

What a sight!! Claire thought.

The airstrip was on one of the atolls, which meant that they had to take a boat to where they were heading. They were met at the arrivals hall with more garlands and ushered to a waiting boat.

Their luggage was taken care of, Claire's luggage had been packed last minute. Two of her cousins had assisted in buying some new clothing and beachwear for her and packed it up while the reception was ongoing.

They were whisked away into the lagoon to the resort, the Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island. The boat ride to the resort was nothing short of stunning. The colours of the lagoon and the shape of Mt. Otemanu kept changing as they sped along.

Awesome. Claire thought.

They were greeted at the resorts pier by the lovely Rebecca and a guitarist who also doubled as the resorts bouncer and were served ice cold Tahitian beer. Henry promptly refused his but Claire didn't hesitate to start drinking hers.

"It's lovely." She said and Henry nodded.

She sighed as she rolled her eys, did he plan on ignoring her throughout the rest of the trip?

She thought as she got a good look at him. He was wearing a beach shirt and cargo shorts, the sun seemed to hit his face and hair in a way that made him look golden.

"'I know we don't like each other that much but we can at least try to be cordial throughout this entire trip."

Henry paused and then nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry if I seem to be a little distant. I have a lot on my mind."

Claire nodded, she had seen him working on the plane. It could have been work related stress.

"Is it work?"

She asked and he nodded.

"That...amongst other things yes."

Claire shrugged as she put on her sunshades.

"We're in Bora Bora now. It's a vacation, you should take some well deserved time off, honeymoon or not."

Bora Bora was quite beautiful. Claire couldn't quite put her foot on why exactly it was, maybe it was the mix of the lagoons breathtaking shades of turquoise, aquamarine, sapphire, emerald, fluorescent green and electric blue – she could spend a day or two there just trying to get her mind around the myriad of colours; the impressive rock face of Mt. Otemanu that towered over the whole lagoon; the crystal clear water and pristine white sandy beaches; the low-rise resorts that gave the place a very exclusive feel with their idyllic thatched roof overwater bungalows; the constant scent of frangipani and tiare Tahiti the national flower that was used for almost everything; and the fact that they were in the middle of the South Pacific!

While Claire admired the resort, Henry sorted out their reservations.

He came back later a few minutes later.

"I took the liberty of getting us separate bungalows, I know you'd very much like your own space."

He said as he handed her her keys and a tour pamphlet. It contained a list of activities that they would be doing daily.

"I'm still next to you in case you need anything."

He said and Claire nodded. She didn't mind if they spent the whole vacation apart, in fact she was very much content with exploring the whole island on her hand and documenting it for her blog. The freedom of it all, she loved the sound of it.

She smiled at Henry.

"Thank you."

The little bungalow had a large bedroom and bathroom; a living room with a coffee table which featured a glass floor, making it possible to see the fish in the clear water below; and two decks, an upper deck in the shade and a lower deck with deck chairs and steps which led down to the water, Claire could imagine going snorkeling right off the deck and an outdoor shower.

As excited as she was to explore she was also really tired and would very much like to rest. She picked up her phone and scrolled through her notifications, more than half of them were filled with congratulations, from friends who didn't know she was getting married, to her socials buzzing with excitement at the news with a lot of peple being confused as to why Charlotte wasn't the one who got married. She didn't care, her parents had a publicist for all that who would clean up whatever mess that Charlotte had made, it wasn't her problem to worry about.

Her father on the other hand had gifted her  one of his property for her business, something that she had been requesting for months and he had also sent a fat check into her account that had her grinning from ear to ear.

After about an hour of scrolling through social media, Claire settled in her bed to sleep and fell asleep.

Henry had been working to distract himself. The events of the last two days had been deeply troubling. He had been in his room, getting prepared for the wedding when his mother had broke the news to him. He had laughed it off and called Charlotte, she didn't pick up. He had sent her a text the night before their wedding.

It had read.

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you think we're moving too fast but the past few weeks with you have been amazing. I love you Charlotte.

That was the very first time he told her that he loved her and he regretted it deeply, more than anything in the world. He had been staring outside the window, wondering where it had all gone wrong, trying her number every second that passed till his father came to announce to him that the wedding was still on.

How? Why?

Charotte was missing! He had screamed. His father didn't care, he cared more about preserving the family name than facing the embarrassment that came with calling off the wedding.

Several calls were being made to locate Charlotte and get her back in time for the wedding, Henry was too weak to protest. He left everything for his parents to handle. He was too shattered to even care.

Then his father walked back in his room with a smile on his face.

Charlotte's twin sister would take her place.

He was grinning from ear to ear, as if that was really a solution to his broken heart, as if that would be enough to mend the damage that had been done.

And when Henry was still downcast, his father had walked up to him and patted his back.

"Have you really fallen so hard for her? Don't worry, her sister looks just like her, you'd barely even notice."

"They're all the same anyways."

His father muttered as he walked away.

As if that would help, as if it was any consolation that her sister would be the splitting imagine of Charlotte, as if that would mend his broken heart.

They were not the same person.

The very moment he laid his eyes on Claire that was the very first thing he noticed.

They were not the same.