A Secret She Carried

14

BENNETT stared at her with wide eyes, he didn't know whether she was bluffing or was she telling the truth. And if it was the truth, why would she lie about it? He could see the guilt in her eyes and he couldn't figure out whether it was about the lie she was telling now or the truth she had been hiding for all these years.

"But you said you didn't have a family." he blurted out as he finally snapped out of his thoughts. "I lied to you Bennett. I had to." he took a step back shaking his head. "Why Sapphire? Why did you lie to me ? Why did you let me believe that you were an orphan?"

"I didn't have a choice Bennett. I didn't have a choice." she cried out making him roll his eyes. "Really Sapphire? What were you afraid of? Me, or your pathetic brother?" letting out a heavy breath she answered. "I was afraid of losing you Bennett. I was afraid that they would hurt you."

He laughed humourlessly, "And from when did you start caring about me ? The last time I remember you didn't even bother to tell me about my own sons." she stared at him in disbelief, did he really think that she didn't care about him?

"Yes Bennett, I did care about you. Why are you so surprised? " she asked wiping away the freshly formed tears. Bennett stared at her with a blank expression on his face. He didn't know what was he supposed to reply to that. So he just remained silent letting her to continue.

"You know Bennett, I had been a prisoner in my house all my life. Ever since my mom walked out, my Dad never let me out of his sight. He was scared that one day I would do the same to him. So he home schooled me and made sure that I didn't get out of the house."

"I don't understand anything." Bennett replied staring at her with the same confused look on his face. "Don't talk just listen." she insisted. He nodded, "So what happened to your Mother?" he asked, "She fell in love with our chauffeur." she replied looking down at her feet.

"She left us Bennett, me and my brothers. I was five. I still remember that day, Dad had found her with Roger in their bed. He was so angry that day. He kicked her out of the house not even giving her a chance to explain. It wasn't like it was going to change anything."

"That day our entire family fell apart. Dad was completely broken, but he never let anybody know what he was going through. Jason was fifteen and also the only one who understood what exactly was going on. Where aa Logan and I had no idea what had happened."

"It took me years to understand what exactly happened and I still don't understand why she did that. I mean, she loved my Dad then why did she cheat on him? Jason said she never loved him. The only reason she stayed was for me. And maybe that's why he never let her see me for almost sixteen years."

Bennett stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. But she didn't. She just stood there blankly staring at the distance. "What's wrong?" he asked as he gently cupped her face. She looked so broken that it hurt him to see her like that. "What happened Sapphire?"

"It was all a lie Bennett, every thing was a lie." she blurted out as more tears rolled down her cheeks. She walked up the fountain that proudly parched at the centre of the elegant garden, and sat down on the white marble seating. "What do you mean by it was a lie?" he asked in confusion as he watched her intently. "They lied to me Bennett. She never cheated on him Bennett. He made it all up."

"But why? Why would he do that? And how did you know that?" he asked as he sat by her side. "The night before I left to Boston, I heard him talk to someone on the phone. He thought I didn't hear anything, and I let him believe that. That night Logan was out of town and I had nobody to talk to. So I called Jason."

"Jason and I were never close. It's not like I didn't love him or care about him. I just didn't like the way he blindly followed my Dad's orders not caring whether it was right or wrong. All he ever cared about was pleasing Dad and being his perfect son."