Sadi left the nursery and met Connor in the entrance. “Connor,” Sadi said. “I’m so sorry for what happened…”
Connor held up a hand. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” He sat down heavily on the hallway bench. “I just feel like… if I could just remember everything… somehow this would be alright.”
Sadi nodded. “I know it’s frustrating. Luke is having a hard time dealing with everything but I can’t believe he acted like he did.”
Connor remained silent. Sadi looked at his defeated posture. She felt his genuine distress and sorrow. Suddenly she had an idea. “Connor! Luke has all the photo albums from when you were growing up and there’s pictures on his computer from when you were older. Maybe you should look through them. Maybe it would help you remember something.”
“That’s a great idea!”
Connor followed Sadi into the family room. She got out the photo albums and brought them, spreading them across the coffee table.
“Look at these tonight if you want. It may be best that you don’t try and talk to Luke until the morning. I’ll let him know you’re here and I’ll make sure he goes right to bed.”
“Thanks again Sadi… for everything.”
Sadi excused herself. She collected Luke from his study and forced him to follow her back to the bedroom. She could tell he was torn between having it out with Connor and apologizing, but she insisted he wait until morning when he could think rationally, which of course she meant to formulate a rational apology.
Sadi laid beside Luke, long after he had fallen asleep. They had made love for the first time since Connor had come to stay at their house. Luke was wild, possessive, and dominant in a way he had never been before. It had scared Sadi slightly, the way he touched her as if he were going to lose her. She thought about Connor looking at those photo albums. That picture he had of her in his wallet. That same feeling of unease crept up. God, she needed everything to go back to normal. She needed her husband back as much as he needed to get the brother back he had lost.
Chapter 9
Sadi was awakened by the sound of the bedroom door creaking open. She sat bolt upright in bed, alarmed that there was someone in their room. The shadowy form turned on the light and Sadi was surprised to see Connor standing in the doorway. She was about to say something when Connor came forward, lunging at Luke who was fast asleep beside Sadi.
He started yelling and screaming, dragging Luke awake, raining down blows on his brother.
Sadi screamed at Connor to stop, but he seemed like a man possessed. He was yelling something unintelligible the entire time.
Luke came fully awake and managed to fend off some of Connor’s blows and even land a few of his own. The two brothers wrestled at the side of the bed, finally collapsing on the floor, rolling around, punching each other anywhere they could land blows.
From down the hallway Sadi heard Katelyn’s cries. “Stop it!” Sadi screamed. She was frozen in bed, wondering what on earth was going on. It seemed like the entire world had gone completely crazy.
Sadi finally was able to force herself to throw back the bed covers. She stared at the two men in shock. They had seemed to finally come to an impasse. Connor had Luke pinned to the floor.
“You bastard! You stole my life, you stole my home! You stole Sadi! I remember everything!”
“You’re the crazy bastard!” Luke yelled. “I didn’t steal anything from you. You didn’t want it in the first place!”
“Luke! Connor!” Sadi yelled, approaching the brothers cautiously. She could hear the baby screaming and her nerves were almost shot. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Connor looked at her with such a depth of longing, of sadness, it stopped Sadi’s heart.
“You tell her Connor!” Connor said.
Sadi shook her head. “Someone tell me NOW!”
“This is Connor,” Connor said, pointing at Luke. “He stole my life. He pretended to be me. He married you, took my house. He took everything while I was gone.”
Sadi felt shock wash over her. It couldn’t be true. She looked at Luke, saw the shadow in his eyes, the guilt that lay there plain as day. Suddenly it all made sense. How Luke was seemed so different after the bombing.
How he seemed so wary and guilty and on edge after Connor had been found. The picture in Connor’s wallet. God, how could he have done it? He had pretended to be his brother and married Sadi. He had lied to her this entire time!
Sadi shook her head. She felt hot tears starting to well up and choke her so she ran out of the room. She grabbed the baby out of her crib, bundled her up and placed her in her car seat. Sadi carried a sleeping Connor Jr., who had somehow managed to block out all the commotion, in one arm, the baby in her bucket seat in the other.
She rushed out of the house, not even bothering to get dressed. She grabbed her purse and her car keys. She ran out to the garage, locking the door from the inside behind her. Luke would never find the keys. She had them placed in the key box but she doubted he even knew where that was. They had never locked the garage in their lives.
Sadi placed Connor Jr. in his car seat and attached the baby’s bucket seat to its base. She got in the SUV, ignoring the furious pounding on the garage door. She locked the car doors then opened the overhead door opener.
As she was backing out both brothers tried to stop her, but she refused to slow down. She really didn’t honestly care if she ran one of them over. She knew they would get out of the way if they were smart, but judging from what they had just done, she very much doubted either of them had any intelligence.
Sadi backed down the driveway, ignoring Luke and Connor, who stood off to the side to let her pass then ran after her. She floored the gas pedal and took off down the street. She refused to look behind her.
Chapter 10
Sadi drove until common sense finally took over. God where was she going to go? She had no close friends who she could walk in on in the middle of the night. She had no siblings. She felt truly alone for the first time in a long time. She did know one person whom she could go to. It was a risk but it was either that or a hotel. Sadi knew what her first choice was.
She drove across the city, back to the little blue and white house with the cute porch and the perfectly tended flower gardens. It was the middle of the night. Sadi considered how foolish she was being before she even got out of the SUV and rang the doorbell. Sadi stood there and run her hands until Christine opened the door, bleary eyed from being awoke in the night.
“I uh…. I wasn’t sure where else to go,” Sadi stammered, seeing Christine’s eyes widen in surprise when she took in Sadi’s nightgown, messy hair, and frantic wide eyes.
Christine took a step back and opened the door wide. “Come in,” she said.
“I have the kids in the car. Just let me get them.”
“I’ll help you.”
Christine stepped out of the house in her pajamas as well. Sadi picked up a still sleeping Connor Jr. and Christine got the baby. Once they were inside again, Sadi took a deep breath. She leaned against the closed door, Connor still in her arms.
“I have a spare room. You can put him on the bed. I don’t have a railing, but I’m sure if we put some pillows on the edge, he won’t fall out.”
Sadi nodded, thankful for anything at that point. To her shame, hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she laid Connor Jr. on the bed then placed his sleeping sister beside him. Sadi glanced down at her children. Two sleeping angels. They had no idea of the turmoil that Sadi was going through. She would do anything to keep it that way, would go to the ends of the earth to protect her children.
“I think I should make some tea,” Christine said. Sadi had to smile. Only a true tea lover could believe that tea would fix everything.
Sadi had to admit she did feel better after a mug of chamomile tea.
“I need to tell you why I’m here,” Sadi whispered, facing a very tired, very worried Christine from across the table. “I don’t know what’s going on
in my life anymore. I don’t know what is true and what is a lie.”
Christine nodded even though she had no idea what Sadi was talking about.
“Luke and Connor, they’re identical twins, which you know. I was engaged to Luke at the time of the bombing. I found him in the hospital after it happened and Connor was missing. I married Luke six months later.
We have two kids…. everything was going so well, except that it was all a lie. I gave Connor some photo albums tonight in hopes that it would help him remember something…. It turned out he did.
He remembered everything, including the fact that he wasn’t Connor. He came into our bedroom in the middle of the night, screaming at Luke, beating him, accusing him of stealing his life, his home, me. Connor said that he was really Luke. Luke didn’t say anything. I didn’t know who to believe. It was like the whole world went crazy and I just had to get out. I took the kids and I left….”
Christine’s eyes had become very wide towards the end of Sadi’s story. Without saying a word, she got up and put the kettle on again.
“I’m sorry, I know I’ve only met you a couple times, but I really had nowhere else to go except for a hotel. I just need some time and space to think.”
Christine nodded. She came over and wrapped Sadi in a huge hug. Sadi had never felt such love and warmth radiate from a stranger before. No wonder Connor- Luke- god, no wonder the brother she hadn’t married said he loved this woman.
“You can stay here as long as you want,” Christine said. “I promise I won’t let Connor into the house. I don’t think either of them would think to look for you here.”
“You’re probably right. I’m sorry again to just barge in here in the middle of the night like a crazy person. Except that’s exactly how I feel right now. My mind is a mess.”
“Why don’t you get some sleep?” Christine said, placing her hand gently over Sadi’s. “Sometimes things seem better in the morning.”
Sadi nodded. She accepted a blanket and a pillow and curled up on Christine’s couch, since her babies were asleep in the spare bed. Sadi closed her eyes, replaying all the night’s strange events over and over in her mind. She doubted she would be able to find sleep, but finally sheer exhaustion claimed her and she drifted off.
Sadi was awakened by Katelyn’s crying. She sat up on the couch, totally panicked. She had no idea where she was for a second but then she remembered everything. She stumbled towards the spare bedroom. Katelyn was wet and hungry, and Connor was crying as well.
Sadi realized she had no diapers and no formula. She glanced around the room, and panicked for a moment before Christine appeared through the front door. She had bundles of diapers in her arms, as well as formula, bottles, and everything else she needed for the two children.
Sadi cried then. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“It’s alright,” Christine said, placing a hand gently on Sadi’s back. “I work with kids so I’m familiar with what to buy. I hope everything is okay.”
Sadi knew Christine didn’t just mean the things she had bought. “It’s fine,” she assured her, looking through the bags. “I really have no way to thank you for this.”
Christine smiled. “That’s alright. I really don’t mind. I’m glad you’re here, though I wish it was under better circumstances.”
Sadi and Christine changed both babies. Christine took Connor to the kitchen to find something for him to eat while Sadi mixed up formula and fed Katelyn.
Chapter 11
Towards the middle of the morning Christine took the kids into the living room and gave Sadi some privacy in the kitchen. Sadi grabbed her cell phone, which she had turned to off, out of her purse. She switched it on and watched as the missed calls and texts loaded. Holy. Fourteen missed calls. There was text after text from Luke. Or Connor. Sadi sighed. From her husband, whomever that was
Sadi texted back. TELL ME IT ISN'T TRUE.
She waited for a response. She could tell that her husband was typing something.
COME HOME.
That was all he wrote. No denial. Nothing. Sadi debated with herself. She didn’t think she should go home yet, but she also couldn’t stay at Christine’s.
Finally she decided she wasn’t ready to face anyone yet. She needed a couple more days to think and to figure things out. Was her whole life a lie? The man she married, the father of her children, hadn’t been who Sadi thought he was. Or had he? The two brothers had been fighting and it was impossible to tell what was true and what wasn’t. It was possible that Connor was just confused about everything, wasn’t it? That Luke really was Luke and had been all along? Sadi had a sinking feeling, deep in the pit of her stomach, that Connor hadn’t been wrong. That she had been tricked and her marriage, her happiness, her life, everything, was a lie.
***
When Sadi finally walked through the door of her house, she wasn’t sure what she would find. She had waited a couple days to clear her head before finally texting Luke- or whoever he was- that she was coming home to talk. She had left the kids with Christine and driven over here, no small amount of trepidation mounting in her chest.
He was waiting for her, sitting rigidly on the sofa in the family room.
“Why? Why did you do it?” Sadi whispered as she sat down on the couch opposite Luke. Or Connor.
At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “Sadi-“ he reached for her hand but she wouldn’t give it. She retreated further back into the couch, shrinking away from his extended arm. She saw the wounded look cross his face but she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want him to touch her.
“It’s true what Luke said. I am Connor. I have been Connor this entire time.”
Sadi let out a strangled cry of outrage. She wanted to jump up and leave but something kept her rooted to her seat. She had to find out why Connor had lied, had stolen his brother’s life, and her. It just didn’t make sense.
“Why?” Sadi asked again.
Connor sighed. His shoulders sagged and he clasped his hands in front of him, over his knees. It was a pose Sadi recognized well and that thought sent a shiver up her spine.
“I had to do it Sadi. When the bombing happened and I found out they hadn’t found Luke yet…. I always loved you Sadi. From the first moment I saw you. And believe it or not, it was me you saw first. Not Luke.
I was jealous that he was the one you chose to love. He didn’t deserve you Sadi. He didn’t love you at the end, right before the bombing. He was cheating on you. He was going to break it off. After the bombing, when I found out that my brother was missing, I thought of this crazy scheme. That I would pretend to be him. That I would say my name was Luke and that maybe, just maybe, I could make things right with you. That I could have the chance to love you I had always wanted.
I thought if they found Luke I would just say I was confused. That I must have hit my head in the blast. And I would remember I was Connor and things would continue on as before. But if he wasn’t found… I wanted you to be loved Sadi. Loved and cherished and looked after.
I wanted to give you the life you deserved to have with my brother. So I did it. I have been ashamed of myself all these years. I’ve lived in fear that one morning I would wake up and it would all disappear. All of it. Because the real Luke returned.”
Sadi didn’t know what to say. She stared at the floor, trying to blink back the rapidly gathering tears. Luke had been cheating on her? She knew their relationship had been rocky, but she thought she was the only one who had been unhappy enough to want to break things off. The bombing had changed all of that. Mostly because Luke had changed so much. It all made sense now. All the weird little things she had noticed afterwards. How different, how tender, how amazing Luke was. Luke hadn’t changed at all because he hadn’t even been Luke. It had been Connor the whole time.
Sadi wasn’t sure how angry she was. No matter what had happened this was the man she had married, whatever his name was. He had loved her for three years now. He had shared
her bed, given her children, stood beside her when she was screaming with the pain of labour, nursed her and the children when they had been ill, held her when she cried, and celebrated her dreams.
That Connor had tricked her made Sadi so angry she didn’t know how she could ever forgive him. But part of her wanted to try. She had children with him. Children who loved and adored their father as much as she did.
What Connor had done was so wrong for so many reasons. When Sadi glanced up she could see the sorrow in Connor’s eyes. She could see regret. He glanced away before she could study him further.
“Sadi, if you can, please try and forgive me. We can get through this. I promise.”
“What about your brother?” Sadi asked harshly. “You stole his life. We are living in his house and have been for years! I was his fiancé, Connor!”
“I know.” Connor hung his head. “I know, Sadi. It was wrong. It was so wrong. Please, try and forgive me. I know it will take time…”
Sadi studied Connor’s bent head. She knew she loved Luke after the bombing more than she had ever loved Luke before it. She had no doubt that she had loved Connor far more than she had ever loved his brother, and that she still loved him now.
Sadi stood up. She moved over to the couch where Connor was sitting. She placed a hand on his back lightly, as if she were almost afraid to touch him. He looked up at her. His eyes were different than before. There was something in their depths that she couldn’t quite read.
“I will try and forgive you,” Sadi whispered. “I still love you, Connor. Even after everything. We have children together. I can’t just throw away all the years we had or believe that they were a lie just because your name isn’t Luke.”
Connor nodded. When Sadi put her arms around him he was rigid and stiff. Something just felt different.
Sadi pulled away and looked into Connor’s face. “What’s wrong?” She whispered.
“Nothing,” Connor said.
He leaned forward and kissed Sadi. It was a passionate kiss, full of longing and regret and sorrow but it felt different as well. Sadi had been kissed every day by Connor for almost three years and something was off.
Twin Deception: A BWWM Billionaire Romance Page 7
