Page 5 of The Stranger in the Mirror

“Good night, sister,” she says, and clicks off.

When I get home, I go to the bedroom to change from my linen pants and silk blouse into cozy sweats. I sigh as I sit downto look through the binder. I turn the cover and see dividers with their subjects written in Blythe’s neat handwriting:Bridesmaids & Groomsman’s Gifts, Bands, Favors, Flowers, Invitations, Photographers, Venues. She’s thought of everything. As I turn to the section on attendants’ gifts, a leaden feeling descends in my stomach as I realize that the only person I feel close enough to ask to be a bridesmaid is Hailey. In two years in Philadelphia, I’ve yet to make any close friends outside of Gabriel and his family.

The first brochure is from Tiffany and has pictures of lovely bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and charms, the least expensive of which is $300. I don’t make much at the photography store, so it’s all way beyond my budget, and even though Blythe and Ted have offered to covereverything, I want to find a way to pay for this one part myself. There are more brochures from other stores, most I’ve never heard of. The last one features Lladró figurines of bridesmaids, brides, and grooms.

I flip to the back of the brochure, and my eyes are drawn to an image of two girls on a bench, one with her arm around the other’s shoulder. My hand begins to tremble and I drop the pamphlet as a memory explodes in my brain. I’m sitting in a dark room and can only make out shadows around me. I’m next to someone, my arm around her, and her shoulders are shaking. “Shh, he’ll hear you,” I warn her, needing her to be quiet. “Don’t do it,” she whispers, “You can’t do it.” I disentangle myself from her, and then feel around under the mattress until my hand closes around something hard. A gun. I tighten my hand around it, and I hear a different voice, coming from somewhere else, saying, “Kill him, you have to kill him.”

The sound of my phone ringing shocks me back to the present. I gasp for air, pushing a damp strand of hair from my forehead. In a daze, I get up and grab the phone from the kitchen counter.Gabriel’s name is on the screen. I exhale and hitend. I can’t talk to him right now. I close my eyes, trying to recapture the memory, but it’s gone. The only thing that remains is a feeling of rage so strong that before I realize what I’m doing, I throw the phone against the wall with such force that I know before looking at it that the screen is completely smashed.

− 5 −

Julian

Julian set down the plate of sugar cookies in front of his daughter. He broke a piece from one and popped it into his mouth. He’d followed Cassandra’s recipe, but they still didn’t taste the same. Nothing was the same. Sighing, he grabbed his mineral water from the counter and leaned against the kitchen island.

“Thanks, Daddy,” Valentina mumbled, her mouth full.

“It’s finally stopped raining,” he said. “Shall we do something special?”

Valentina looked at him, her eyes wide. “Can we go to the American Girl doll store? Please?”

He gave her an indulgent smile and nodded. He knew he spoiled her, but she was such a sweet child, and after everything she’d been through, he would do anything to make her happy. “Do you have a particular doll in mind?”

She gave him a solemn nod. “I want a Truly Me doll with green eyes like Mommy’s and mine. And dark hair like we have. That way I won’t forget her.”

It took everything he had to conceal the pain her words caused him. He held his arms out, and she ran into them, hugging him tightly. When they pulled apart, he lifted her chin gently and looked into her eyes. “You won’t forget Mommy, sweetie. I promise. We look at her picture every night before we say a prayer for her.”

Valentina’s lower lip trembled. “Why did she go away? Doesn’t she love us?”

This was something new. Even though they had talked aboutCassandra’s disappearance many times, Valentina was precocious for seven, and the older she got, the more questions she asked.

“Of course she loves us. She’s trying to get back to us. You just have to be patient and wait.”

Valentina scowled. “Don’t want to wait. It’s not fair.”

Julian had noticed that her usually sunny disposition had changed recently; she was becoming moody, even argumentative, at times. He squeezed her hand. “I know, princess.”

He wondered if he was doing her more harm than good by keeping hope alive. He still paid a detective a hefty monthly sum to keep looking. But he couldn’t, he wouldn’t, believe that Cassandra was dead. He would intuitively know if she were gone from this world. He wouldn’t believe it unless he had proof. She was out there somewhere, and he would bring her home someday. He was sure of it.

***

After he put Valentina to bed that evening, Julian walked over to Cassandra’s dressing table, opened the drawer, and took out her leather journal. He’d found it after she’d gone. The detailed log she’d kept of their lives together made him feel closer to her, and reading her words gave him comfort, as though she were still with him. He sank into the armchair next to the bed and opened it to the first page, which he’d read many times by now.

Julian asked me to marry him! He took me to Ricard’s for dinner. He ordered their most expensive bottle of champagne. It only took a moment for me to see the diamond sparkling at the bottom of the crystal flute. The ring is a perfect fit—of course—just like Julian. It feels as though my life is finally taking a turn in the right direction. He’sbeen my rock and my safe place these last few months, but I never dreamed he felt about me the way I do him. I’ll finally have a real family of my own. We talked about children, and he told me he wants them as much as I do. It’s time for me to leave the painful past where it belongs and look ahead to a bright future.

He sighed and closed the book, the tightness in his chest increasing. How beautiful she had looked that night. He’d spent weeks planning the proposal, down to the smallest detail. He hadn’t known what she would say, but the look in her eyes when she saw the ring told him all he’d needed to know. And unlike that of so many couples he knew, their love hadn’t diminished over time, but had only grown deeper with each passing year.

He stood and walked out of the bedroom and toward Valentina’s room. Slowly opening the door, he peeked in to check that she was sleeping. Her raven hair fanned out on the pillow, her porcelain skin unblemished, even in sleep she looked so much like Cassandra. The resemblance was a comfort and a curse at the same time. He stepped quietly into the room and stood by the bed, gazing at her.

“Don’t worry, my sweet. I’ll bring her back. Everything is going to turn out fine, I promise.”

− 6 −

Blythe

Blythe looked across the table at her son, the crushing love she felt for him washing over her. He’d come over for their customary Sunday dinner. From the time Gabriel and Hailey were small, she and Ted had made a commitment to keep Sunday sacrosanct. The weekdays may have found them running in a million different directions with sports, activities, and other commitments, but Sunday was reserved for family. Church in the morning, Sunday brunch at the club, and a home-cooked meal on Sunday evening, one that the children helped to prepare as they got older. The contentment that she usually felt sharing this meal with those she loved best in the world, though, was overshadowed by a nagging worry.

Her gaze traveled to Addison, and the familiar tug-of-war inside her resurfaced. She and Gabriel were clearly very much in love. He’d fallen hard and fast for her, and Blythe couldn’t deny that she seemed kind and caring. She was a beautiful young woman, too, with her pale skin and eyes the color of fiery emeralds—the complete opposite of the blond, blue-eyed Darcy, who had been his serious girlfriend until he met Addison.

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