Mending her shattered soul

4- Who is lying?

Ethan

I knew she could not follow through with her threat with such a gift!

Show me what you will do now, Ms. Wilson!

I cannot but smirk when I see Sawyer’s reaction, and my amusement grows as I observe her trying to keep a grim expression on her face, only to fail miserably. It's almost as if her big, expensive blue eyes are saying something different.

Sawyer finally gives in and laughs, playfully hitting me on the chest with the back of her hand.

“Well played, Mr. Harrison. You win this round, but just this round. You will not make a habit out of it!”

She lets out laughing.

I am taken aback by her sudden lightheartedness. I forgot how adorable she looks when she laughs. It's almost like catching a glimpse of the old Sawyer, who used to come to our house with Chloe and prank us all.

The girl I met yesterday was a far cry from the Sawyer we knew. The resentment and anger in her voice were palpable when she was talking to me, or should I say, when she was yelling at me.

To be fair, we deserve her hate. In her eyes, we abandoned her friend and her baby. Which is technically true, but the situation was more complicated than that. Our uncle had provided us with damning photos, eyewitnesses, and even some of Chloe’s closest friends had confirmed that she was having an affair with Richard.

But regardless of the evidence, what both Chloe and Sawyer said to Trevor and me during our last face-to-face meeting, seven years ago, always resonated with Trevor. Despite the evidence, he was adamant about believing Chloe, and our uncle and I had to bring him to his senses. He was far too deeply in love with her and needed to think straight.

In the end, I had to make a deal with him. A deal just between the two of us: he would stay away from Chloe and I would do a secret paternity test after she gave birth to her baby.

I think I managed to get the samples for the paternity test when Stella was between twelve to fourteen months old. And the results were a shock to all of us. She was indeed Trevor's daughter.

On that day, Trevor was consumed with anger and stormed into our uncle’s office, shouting at him and blaming him for missing out on the first year of his daughter’s life.

I remember my uncle’s reaction. Always composed and sure of himself. He argued that Stella being Trevor’s daughter did not mean Chloe did not have an affair.

“Trevor, son. Listen to me. The evidence was consistent with the eyewitnesses’ testimony. Chloe cheated on you. This is a fact that you cannot change. Even if the baby is yours, she cannot be trusted. This woman was after your money. Do not forget that.” our uncle argued.

“Still, the baby is mine. She should be in my life now! This evidence cannot be disregarded either, uncle!” Trevor shouted at him.

“You cannot bring her into your life, Trevor! Do you know what kind of scandal this would create? You will destroy everything your father and I built! Our reputation is essential to our business. You cannot forget that your father's health is fragile. The fact that you have a hidden child, even worse, a child with someone so beneath us, someone that is after your money. This will kill your father as well. Do not forget his health is so fragile. And what do you think Chloe will do when this becomes public news? She will play the victim and then go after our money. Destroying what little we would have left from the first wave of the scandal.”

“If she were after our money, she would have already gone public with the story. She would have sued our asses by now!”

“You i***t. Do you think she hasn't done so because she is innocent? She hasn't done it because I threatened her. I told her I would retaliate and hurt every single human in her life if she dared to talk about this to anyone.”

“When did you meet her?” Trevor asked.

“This is not important, son. Now you must promise that you will not get in touch with her. Ever. I cannot guarantee that your father will survive this scandal. Stella’s existence is a secret among the three of us. Understood!?” our uncle said sternly.

At the time, I understood my uncle’s perspective. Our father’s health was declining, and such a scandal could be catastrophic. Moreover, the impact on our business would be undeniable. We work with conservative families. And lastly, Chloe is not that innocent after all, especially if, as our uncle claimed, he had to threaten her to back down.

Again, to calm Trevor down, I proposed an alternative back then. No direct contact with Stella or her mother. But I will have a private investigator keep an eye on Stella and provide us with videos and pictures of Stella. That way, Trevor could stay informed about his daughter's life. And to avoid any temptation from Trevor’s side to go back to Chloe, the updates were exclusively focused on Stella. No news was tracked or shared about the mother.

Now that I see the happy trio in front of us, laughing and cuddling the puppy, I am not sure if we made the right decision. Trevor missed six years of his daughter’s life, and that's a considerable loss!

Although Chloe appears pleased, I am concerned about the side glances she keeps giving Trevor. I'm not sure if we can trust her. Not sure we can trust either of them. The reports we got back then were clear; both girls were talking about manipulating Trevor into marrying Chloe to gain access to our family's wealth.

I suspect that Trevor could easily fall back in love with Chloe. I am not even convinced that he has stopped loving her. He had not pursued any other women since Chloe left. No hook-ups and no serious relationships. I am convinced he still has feelings for her. And that is why I will not let him meet with Chloe alone! I should stay nearby to monitor and control the situation.

I notice that Stella is talking to me.

“Excuse me, princess, what did you say?”

“Uncle Ethan, I was asking you what is the puppy’s name?” she says.

“It does not have a name yet. It is your puppy now, so why don’t you name him? Any suggestions?” I reply.

Stella taps her nose, thinking.

“Hmm… What should I call you puppy?”

She looks cute, focused on finding the perfect name if she were solving a complex math problem.

“Oh, I have an idea! How about we name the puppy “Happy”! Because today is the happiest day of my life!” she exclaims excitedly, jumping up and down.

“Happy.. mmm. That is a fantastic name princess.” I reply, clearing my throat. I bet this is the happiest day in the lives of all my family members as well.

I turn around to see if there is a place to sit, and I see Sawyer wiping away tears. Although she might be a gold digger, I know she genuinely loves my niece; there is no doubt about it!

“Oh my God Chloe, those tea sandwiches are delicious!” my mum says, stuffing her face with the savory bites prepared by the girls.

“This is Sawyer’s work. She is the cook in this house.” Chloe replies, laughing and giving Sawyer a loving look.

“Yes, Sawy is the best cook ever! All customers that taste her food say so.” Stella proudly adds, taking a bite of a cupcake.

“Sawy?” I look at Sawyer, teasing her.

“Oh, shut up!” she retorts playfully.

Sawyer moves to the table to grab a sandwich, but Trevor interrupts her.

“You work in catering? I thought you were studying to become a pilot?” he asks her.

Sawyer freezes on the spot. I cannot see her face, as she has her back to me, but it is obvious that this question affects her. She stops mid-air, her hand suspended in the air as if she were aiming for the scones right before he asked her the question.

It lasts a few seconds, perhaps unnoticed by everyone, but Chloe did notice as she is looking all worried at her friend. Trevor noticed as well, because he gives Chloe a wondering look, trying to understand what happened.

Finally, Sawyer grabs her scone and answers, “I was not good enough, so I changed my career path.”

She walks back to the fireplace and stands beside me. I scrutinize her intently, searching for clues to understand why such a seemingly innocuous question affected her so deeply.

Her answer, however, does not make sense. I distinctly remember she was on scholarship and consistently received perfect grades.

“Yes, she is a cook in the morning, and in the afternoon, she picks me up from school then we both work from home. I do my homework while she writes complicated things that no one else knows how to do” Stella adds while taking another bite in a cupcake.

We all turn our attention to Sawyer once again, eagerly waiting for her to clarify this peculiar job.

She lets out a deep sigh before finally saying, “I am a freelancer. A content marketing freelancer.”

Her answer only raises more questions in my mind, but before I can ask them, Stella changes the subject by asking my brother:

“Oh, Daddy I kept all your postcards and some of the gifts. Do you want to see them?”

Postcards? What postcards? He never communicated with Stella in any form … What is she talking about?