Page 54 of Twisted Fate

“Come on in, hun,” Darla greeted when she opened the door. “Charlie, your daddy’s here,” she called into the house. My little girl came careening around the corner, and I bent to scoop her up as she dove into my arms.

“I missed you, munchkin,” I croon, holding onto her tightly. I choked back the emotion clogging my throat and blinked away the burning in my eyes. The events from earlier had me tied in knots, the prospect of Delilah taking Charlie from me igniting a fear I’d never known.

“I missed you too,” she proclaimed, and some of the tension eased out of me. She pulled away and looked over my shoulder expectantly. “Where’s Delilah?” she asked, and I fought to school my features.

“She, um, well,” I began, not knowing how to answer. I should’ve prepared better for this, come up with a viable excuse on the drive over, but I’d been too lost in my thoughts. “She wasn’t able to come.” It was a lame explanation, but I didn’t know what else to say.Your nanny is a fraud who was just trying to replace your mother, and I had to kick her out of my housewas a little too harsh to tell a four-year-old.

“Why not?” she whined, and guilt prickled my skin. I’d never lied to my daughter before, and I was loath to start now, but I didn’t see any other choice. I couldn't tell her the truth.

“She’s not feeling well. I don’t think she’ll be around for a while.” I hoped the warning would ease some of the pain of not being able to see Delilah going forward.

I felt Darla’s gaze on me and looked up to see her studying my face, her brow pinched in contemplation. She knew something was up, but I couldn’t talk about it with her. The wound was still too raw, and I didn’t want to add salt to hers. She was still mourning too, and I didn’t want to add to her anguish by revealing that the woman she vouched for, the one she suggested becoming Charlie’s nanny, had betrayed me so deeply.

Charlie let out a groan of disappointment as I helped her into her shoes. I tried to avoid Darla’s watchful gaze when I stood, but she drew closer, placing a hand gently on my arm.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, but I couldn’t meet her gaze. I nodded, unable to form words, but still pushing the lie.

“Did something happen?”

“I can’t talk about it right now,” I said, keeping my voice low so Charlie wouldn’t hear me as she slipped on her jacket.

“Okay.” She dropped her hand and stepped back, giving us enough space to open the door and leave. The heavy feeling in my chest refused to ease, and I rubbed my hand over the hard bone protecting my heart. Little good it did against the woman who broke it. I was in love with someone who didn’t exist, and now I had to mourn losing her too.

* * *

A few days later,there was a knock at my door. The pounding grew louder and more intense as I neared. To my surprise, it was Darla, and she looked madder than a hornet. “What did you do?” she demanded, hands planted on her hips when I opened the door.

“What are you—” I began to ask, but she wasn’t having it.

“I got a call from my sister last night,” she seethed, pushing past me to step inside. I closed the door behind her with a wince. I could guess what that call was about. “Care to explain why you treated poor Delilah the way you did?”

Wait. What?

“Me?” I asked incredulously, pointing to myself dumbly. “She stole Sarah’s necklace and was going to wear it on an outing with our daughter. You should be just as horrified as I am!” Her expression turned mournful, and I instantly regretted my words as guilt washed over me.

“I’ve known Delilah her entire life. She wouldn’t do something like that. It was just a misunderstanding,” she insisted.

I scoffed, “Is that what she told you?”

“Shedidn’t tell me anything. But her mother told me everything.” She gave me a pointed look, and my blood ran cold. Did Debra know about us? Was she aware that I’d been sleeping with her daughter for the past three months? Worse, did Darla know? I looked like the world’s biggest asshole at the moment.

“Darla, I—”

“Don’t,” she warned, her eyes shutting briefly as she gathered her composure. “I don’t need to know your reasoning. It’s none of my business who you … choose to spend your time with,” she added, choosing her words carefully. My stomach twisted with shame. All the remorse I felt when Delilah and I began our relationship came flooding back, suffocating me under its unrelenting weight. “But itismy business when you hurt someone I love.” Her chin quivered, and tears misted in her eyes. I couldn’t imagine the pain and grief this was stirring up for her. I didn’t want to add to her pain, but I wouldn’t sugarcoat the truth for her either. Delilah was her family, and she loved her, but that didn’t change what she had done.

“She stole Sarah’s necklace,” I repeated, my voice softening.

“No, she didn’t,” Darla insisted, shaking her head, her defeated tone matching mine.

“How can you say that?”

“Because my mother gave Delilah the same necklace.”

My stomach sank as cold dread curled in my chest. “What?”

“She had a habit of buying all the girls in the family the same thing at Christmas. Emily has the same necklace and so does my brother’s daughter, Katelyn,” she explained, her eyes filling with compassion. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I knew Delilah didn’t take Sarah’s necklace because she has the same one.”

“So why can’t I find it?” I challenged, grasping at any reason to keep Delilah as the villain in this story. If what Darla was saying was true, then I had to face the reality that I’d fucked up majorly. I would have to acknowledge the fact that I had no grounds for the accusations I’d hurled at Delilah and that I’d hurt an innocent woman.

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