The week flew by so fast and before Nicole could know it was just remaining one day until they return to Florida, she wished she could have more time with him just the two of them but the times weren’t stopping, they spent most of their time indoors making love, without protection, not like they have ever used protection since they started making love, one part of her was always worried she might get pregnant but the greater part of her liked the idea of being pregnant with his child, maybe she was getting too greedy, maybe she wanted to keep him, there was no way Natalie would take her child from her but then what will it be like when Rafael finds out? Would he hate her and the child? Those thoughts crossed her mind a lot that she had wanted to go on pills since she couldn’t tell him he should use protection which might raise questions she just wasn’t ready to answer, but she never used pill before and she wasn’t familiar with any of it and didn’t know much about the pros and cons, so she had given up the thought.
The few times they went out to either see the sunset or just hang out, they ended up coming back and making love again and no matter how many times they did, they just couldn’t get enough of each other, she liked it, liked him wanting her just as much as she wanted him.
Nicole sat at the table in their room, making a stretch of the gift she hoped to give to Rafael, she was going to tell him the truth once they get back to Florida she already made up her mind, she couldn’t keep deceiving him, no one deserves that, especially not the man she loved, it was better to tell him, that’s what one does for the people they love, she owes him the truth even if he ends up hating her, it won’t take up to a day to complete the painting and she was going to tell him and leave the gift behind, she already knew he wasn’t going to be happy with her, already knew telling him will mean the end for them but she had to, she had to do this, do what’s right and be free.
“Natalie? Where are you?”
Nicole heard Rafael call in a rather harsh tone that she hasn’t heard from him before, her heart skipped a beat and she left what she had been doing and went to meet him in the living room.
“Rafael, you are back early,”
“Yes, I am, and I need you to ask you something and you better give me the right answers or you are not going to like me,”
“What is it about?”
She asked sacred she already knew, it might not be.
“Who are you?”
“What? I am your wife,”
“I know that but who the fuck are you and who is the lady in the photo? Which one is which?”
He asked showing her a picture of Natalie, her heart sank knowing this was the end, it finally happened, her worst fear.
“That’s my sister,”
“I know that obviously, which sister is she? ”
“Rafael, I can explain, I promise, I was going to tell you,”
She said willing him to give her a chance to explain, but he took a step back and shook his head, he looked disappointed and hurt, it hurt her too seeing him like this knowing she caused it.
“How could you lie to me Natalie, I mean that’s not even your name, right? how could you and your sister lie to me? How could you do this? We have been married for over two months, I have been living with a stranger that I didn’t even know for two months, all I knew was your name, which they one you are and I have been with you for two whole months, I should have known better, the character change, the not knowing people that you are supposed to know, I mean there were a lot of red flags,”
He yelled as tears welled up in her eyes, this was not how she envisioned him finding out, this wasn’t it, she was going to tell him herself, why now that she decided to tell him herself.
“Are you going to say something to me woman?”
“I am sorry,”
She cried covering her face.
“Sorry? That’s all you are going to say? Sorry? Sorry ain’t gonna fix anything Nata** I mean Nicole, sorry ain’t fixing the fact that you lied to me for two whole months, living under my roof like your sister, how could the both of you think of doing something as devious as this? You played me for a fool and I stupidly fell for your shits, I can’t believe I have been living a lie and planning on starting a family with a lie, did you guys have fun making fun of me? Laughing at me?”
He yelled.
“No we didn’t, that’s not it, we weren’t having fun,”
“What? You guys were lying to me, for two months, what did you people hope to gain from this deity? Do you guys have a fetish? Is this some kind of foul play, where you guys share a man? Which are you right now? Natalie? Nicole? Which one are you bitch?”
He yelled holding his fist up, he was beyond mad, he called her bitch, he has never done that before, not even when they got married and were still on bad terms, she didn’t know how to deal with him like this, hadn’t prepared herself for this.
“Answer me!!”
“I am Nicole,”
She replied bursting into tears, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Who did I get married to and who have I been living with?”
“It’s me, all these while, it’s been me, Natalie ain’t around okay, she left the day you were supposed to be married and I was only supposed to help her keep her marriage for one week but she didn’t come back and I had to continue pretending to be her,”
Nicole revealed, her heart breaking in thousand pieces at the look on Rafael’s face…