“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.
She pulled away again and studied him. Connor refused to look at her.
“Connor,” Sadi said, grabbing his face between her hands. “Look at me. What you did was dishonest and it was awful. But it doesn’t change the past three years. I can’t pretend like none of it happened. Like we don’t have two beautiful children as a result of our love. Do you remember on our honeymoon when I told you I was pregnant? How happy you were? How scared I was? I can’t pretend like all of our memories aren’t real.”
Connor hesitated but then he allowed a small smile. “Yes Sadi, I remember when you told me.”
Sadi wound up and slapped him hard on the face. She stood up from the couch, looking for something to throw at him. There were only a couple sparkly throw pillows so she picked those up and hurled them at him, one after another.
He put up his arms, trying to fend them off, looking at Sadi like she had lost her mind.
“Luke!” Sadi screamed. “I know you’re Luke! I didn’t tell you I was pregnant on our honeymoon. I told you weeks after we were back!”
Luke put up his hands in self defense. Finally, as Sadi was looking around frantically for something to hurl that would do more damage than a pillow, he came and took her hands, forcing her to stop. She fought against him, scratching his face in the process.
She froze when she saw the angry red line running down his cheek. Luke froze as well.
“At least I can tell you apart now,” Sadi hissed. She took a step backwards trying to calm her breathing. “Why would you trick me again? What is wrong with you two?”
Luke shrugged, breathing heavily as well. “We needed to see which one of us you really loved Sadi. I know that you loved me before the bombing and I needed to see if there was something still there. But I know there isn’t now. What I said was true. I was cheating on you Sadi. I didn’t want to- I hated myself for it. I just- I panicked. I wasn’t ready to get married but I didn’t know how to tell you. I thought I was going to hurt you terribly.”
“So you decided to cheat on me,” Sadi said dryly. “Why did you even come back here, Luke? I’m not some experiment that you and Connor can just toy with. Did you think you were just going to pick up where we left off three years ago? If you didn’t love me then Luke, why would you love me now? In fact, just last night at dinner you were saying that you loved Christine. What about her Luke? Did you even consider her feelings in all of this? There is nothing between us Luke. Absolutely nothing.”
Sadi saw the hurt that came over Luke’s face. The regret that was there. “I did love you Sadi,” he said. “At one time…. I’m sorry, this was a terrible idea. You’re right. I had no right to come back. You may have married me in name, but your heart belongs to Connor.
I don’t know why we needed to see proof of who you really loved. Part of that was his idea, like he needed to know for sure that you would never leave him for me now that you know who he really is.”
“Why would either of you think I was that stupid! Just because Connor tricked me into thinking he was you didn’t mean I didn’t have doubts. I just thought that the bombing had changed you. Made you want to be a better person and live a better life. You changed for the better and I gave you the benefit of the doubt because I wanted to love you, Luke. I don’t know how I could have been so wrong.”