I turn to leave, but Seb grasps my shoulder. "Just hear her out, will you?" he murmurs.
"And why should I do that? She’s hidden something so big…something life-changing, from all of us, but especially me. Do you understand what it means to realize that you had a soul-brother, a life-mirror to yours alive but having never had the chance to meet him until now?"
"I know how it is to have a brother I never knew about." He tilts his head, "I can’t claim to understand how it is to have lost a twin only to find a triplet, but I know how it is to lose a brother I loved, and to find I may have a chance of gaining back another," he peers into my face, "so trust me when I say that you want to listen to this or you’ll regret it forever."
I hesitate, then nod. "Okay," I pivot and face Nonna, "You have five minutes to tell me what happened, and if you hide anything from me this time—"
"I won’t," she raises a hand, "I promise. Will you have a seat now?"
50
Christian
I gaze through the glass partition that separates me from my triplet. After listening to Nonna, I had walked out of the waiting room and run into the doctor who’d operated on my brother. He’d ushered me into the room adjoining the recovery room, where the man who looks very much like Xander lays on a bed.
His eyes are shut, his skin is pale, and the white sheets of the bed he lays on are a stark contrast to the darkness of his hair. I take in his features again; that familiar high forehead, the patrician nose, the square jaw… All so similar to Xander, and yet, not. For one, while Xander was more on the slender side, this man is far more bulked up. Also, something about the shape of his face is a little different. Like he’s Xander, but with subtle changes woven into his features. He’s Xander, but not, for my twin is dead. He's never coming back, and this…
This man will never take his place. Whoever he is… He is a stranger. One who tried to kill me… So, why the hell did he step in front of Theresa to protect her? I am not sure. I hear a sniff and turn to find her standing next to me.
"He’s going to wake up," she says with quiet determination as she presses her palm into the glass partition, "he has to wake up." Her gaze burns with an inner light that borders on the verge of obsession. Uh-oh.
"Theresa." I touch her shoulder, and she blinks as if coming out of a daze. She inclines her head in my direction without taking her gaze off of the unconscious figure.
"Theresa?"
"Hmm?"
"You know he’s not Xander, right?"
"What?" She whips her head around in my direction. "Of course, he is Xander; why would you say that he isn’t?"
"But he isn’t, Theresa," I say gently. "Xander’s dead, Theresa, he—"
"Don’t say that," she whispers fiercely. "Don’t talk about him as if he’s gone because he’s not." She jerks her chin in the direction of the sleeping figure. "He’s sleeping right there; can’t you see?"
I blow out a breath. This is going to be so much more complicated than I had anticipated. When he wakes up—and he is going to wake up—he is going to be faced with people who want him to take Xander’s place… And that is not a comfortable situation. Just having a twin and often being mistaken for him becomes tiresome very quickly. And this man, whoever he is, is no doubt going to be expected to pick up from where Xander left off. Hell, much as I see him very much as a stranger and don’t want to think of him as Xander, every time I look at him, I can’t help but see Xander.
I roll my shoulders. "He’s not Xander, Theresa; can’t you see that?"
"Yes, I can. Of course, I can." She whips her head around in my direction. "You think I’m delusional to see Xander in this…this stranger who took a bullet for me, don’t you?"
"I…" I hold my hands up, "I am only saying the truth."
"The truth is that despite loving your wife and marrying her, at the first sign of conflict, you lost your balls and decided to turn your back on her."
"Now hold on," I growl, "you don’t know what went on between me and Aurora."
"Oh yeah?" She tosses her hair over her shoulder. "I know that she loves you and that you adore her. When you guys are in the same room together, you can’t take your gaze off of her and yet… You ran from her. You’re still running from her; from the chance of finding true love, the kind that I thought I could have with Xander. And you?" She looks me up and down. "Your wife is still here, and yet you waste time over stupid semantics, and waste the opportunity you’ve been given. If only you were in my shoes, you’d know just how much of an ass you’re being right now."
"Excuse me?" I narrow my gaze on her. "You’re distraught. I understand that you’re not thinking clearly."
"Oh, I am thinking much more clearly than you." She turns back to stare at the unconscious man on the bed. "I know that my only chance of happiness lies with this…this stranger. Someone who I don’t know, and yet, who I feel a connection with. Someone who didn’t know me, and who put his life on the line for me. Someone who has the face of the love of my life and with whom I’ve been given a second chance. One I don’t intend to waste... Unlike you."
"What are you trying to say?" I scowl.
"What she means is, what are you still doing here, Christian?" Seb stalks over to join us.
"What do you mean?" I shoot him a sideways glance. "I’m waiting for him to recover consciousness."