“Tiffany?” I called at the same time Nikita called, “Lucy?!”

“Tiffany?” Nikita stared at me, narrowing her eyes at me. “Who's Tiffany?”

“It’s so great to finally meet both of you again. Nikita, you’ve grown so much.” Her hand brushed against Nikita’s shoulder. 

“Don’t touch me.” Nikita rolled her shoulder from Tiffany’s touch, frowning. “What the heck? Why are you back?”

“I told you to expect me.” She smirked down at me, lifting an eyebrow. “Why do you look so shocked to see me? At least you can identify me again.” She snickered. The sound of her voice made it seem like my eardrums were being pierced with a blade. 

“How do you two know each other?” Nikita asked. 

“Oh, that’s a topic for another day, sweetheart.” She attempted to touch Nikita but her hand was slapped away.

“If you dare lay your finger on me again, I promise to burn you alive.” She threatened. 

“Oh. You're still feisty?’ 

“Nikita, let's go.” I grabbed Nikita's hand. 

“You’re leaving already? Oh no, don't do that.” The corner of her lips perked upwards. 

“I have nothing to say to you. Stay away from me.” I started pulling Nikita away. 

“Oh, really? You have nothing to say? Well… I've got so many things to say. I’ll definitely speak to you later, in person. You had better not play smart with me, Teressa.” She yelled behind me. 

I could feel my fists tighten. Why was she here again? What did she mean? Oh gosh. Why did she have to come to me in Nikita's presence?

“You’re hurting me!” Nikita snapped when we got out of the store, yanking her hand from my grip. “How do you know Lucy? Why are you calling her Tiffany? Why did she call you Teressa? Who is Teressa? What's going on?” She asked at once . 

“Stop asking me questions!” I let out a frustrated sigh, raking my hand through my hair harshly. 

“I’ll stop asking questions when I receive an answer. How can you possibly know Lucy? There isn't supposed to be any connection between the both of you. Is it related to what Sherri was saying or what Indy said? Are you hiding anything?”

“Nikita, stop!” I snapped. “Get into the car and stop asking me questions!” I pulled the car door open harder than normal, surprised that it didn’t break from my harsh treatment. I got into the car and Nikita followed suit. 

“You’re just so terrible!” I was startled by Sherri’s outburst. 

“Can you just shut up?!” Mike barked at her when his fury-filled eyes landed on us. I just realized that we had interrupted a patently heated argument. With a huff, Mike turned around to sit straight then started the car and drove off. 

The drive was more frustrating than ever. I was stuck between Sherri trying to hide her tears while mumbling words she knew only Mike could hear, and Nikita whispering endless questions to me. I wanted to scream and jump out of the car but I just shut my eyes tight and covered my ears till we got home. 

“You’re so annoying!” Sherri snapped and was the first to leave the car. 

I wanted to ask what was going on, but my problems felt way bigger at the moment. 

“You’ll have to answer my question someday.” Nikita's impatience was so annoying. 

I got out of the car and she followed behind me till we were inside.

“Would you at least let me know how you know Lucy?” She frowned, holding me back. 

“Nikita. Can’t you just forget it?”

“How can I forget it? It's only making me feel suspicious.”

“What’s going on here?” Tristan asked, drawing my attention to his presence on the couch. 

“Oh. It’s—” 

“It's your wife.” Nikita cut me off. 

“What did you do to piss her off?” he asked her, rising to his feet and dropped his phone on the couch. 

“What did I do? Why would you assume I'm at fault here?” Her frown intensified.

“Okay. What's wrong?”

“You need to ask Hazel that question. We had a nice day together till it was time to return home and I suggested that we buy new clothes at the store. It was going great until we bumped into you wouldn't believe who,”

“You’re so dramatic. Who?”

“Lucy!”

“Lucy?” his eyes were squinted at me now. “Okay?”

“Hazel called Lucy Tiffany. Lucy was on and on about how great it is to meet me again. That isn’t strange, but she also said it was great to see Hazel again. Hazel became uncomfortable; Lucy warned her to not pretend and said she was going to talk to her later. The weirdest thing is that Lucy was also calling her Teressa. What the hell is a Teressa?” She was panting. 

“Hazel,” Tristan advanced towards me and stopped in front of me, peering into my eyes like he was trying to read them. I could feel my body vibrating under his gaze and my palms became sweaty. 

“Listen Tristan, Tiffany— Lucy—”

“Who is Tiffany?” He demanded. 

“I already said—”

“You lied.” He cut me off. “You lied to me last time about Tiffany, that’s obvious. Didn't you say you’re ready to trust me? Please Hazel, speak to me.” He cupped my face. 

A headache formed at the back of my head and made it seem like it was pounding. I stared between Nikita and Tristan with eagerness reading on both their faces. I couldn’t keep these secrets with me forever. I had to tell him to save myself from future problems. This was going to be another step. My heart was pounding really hard in my chest. 

“Hazel,” he called gently, holding my sweaty hands. “Just speak. Be calm.”

I nodded, exhaling deeply. “Tiffany is my sister.’”

“Your sister?” they asked in unison. 

“There’s your Dad and now your sister? Why didn't I know about this before?” he didn't look pleased to figure out this new truth. 

“Because I didn't want you to know.” 

“Why not? Is there anything else aside from her being your sister?”

“Uh…” I could feel my heart beating faster again. 

“Don’t lie to me again, Hazel. The last time, you lied about who Tiffany is and you even lied about your school.” A frown formed on his face. “How can I even be certain this isn't another lie?”

“It’s not a lie. Tiffany is my step-sister, my father’s daughter. She was a major reason for my life problems. Because she betrayed me, I didn't feel the need to mention anything about her. And I didn't lie about my High school to you.” A line formed between my brows. 

“Oh really? You didn't lie about your high school?”

“No. I didn’t. Then what is it? What's your high school?”

“It's Saint Hou— sorry, I mean Bandon High.” 

“See? You forgot it and were just about to lie about your high school?”

“I didn’t lie about high school. It’s Bandon High.”

“Hazel, I'm not that foolish. I made my research but you were never a student there.” He lashed out. 

“You made your research?” I frowned harder, balling my hands into fists. “So you didn't trust me? You still made your research?”

“I trust you, but I have my suspicions. I couldn’t completely trust that you weren’t lying to me.”

“Wow, Tristan, Wow! Why would you even want to do your research?”

“Hazel, I feel like there's still a lot you're hiding from me.” 

“So what? Yes, there's a lot. How on earth am I supposed to tell you everything?” I hollered. 

“Because we're married. What don't you understand? If you don't trust me, then who should you? Didn’t you already agree to let me know everything? Why do you insist on scaring me and making me feel like I’m making a stupid mistake? What exactly is it that's holding you back? You wouldn't even let Katie interfere because you're not ready to tell me anything!” It was obvious that he was pouring out his long-held frustration. 

“Tristan, just leave me the fuck alone!” I barked and turned around when he pulled me back immediately. Tears began to roll down my face. 

“Don’t just leave.” I couldn’t tell whether his tone expressed anger or calmness or sadness; I just wanted to leave his presence, to be alone and cry my eyes out in regret that I was ever Teressa and couldn't just be happy. 

“Let me go, now!” I demanded, struggling to pull my arms out of his grip.

“Will you both stop?” Nikita's voice was croaky like she was uncertain of what she was saying or doing. 

“I don't want us to—” He was interrupted by his phone that started to ring. “Please don't leave. We need to talk.” His voice was calm this time, washing away every emotion in me. He let go of me to answer the call. “What do you want?” he gruffed. From the way his eyes widened, it alarmed us that something was wrong. “What? How?!”