Twice The Lies

Chapter Four. Sapphire.

Chapter Four. Sapphire.

Nanny Rosa had escorted me through a long hall with large pictures hanging on both sides of the wall.

“And this here is a picture of Mr. DeLuca when he was seven.” She pointed at another image of a shirtless little boy, alone, standing at the beach, with a toy firetruck in one hand.

“He always wanted to be a firefighter…,” Nanny Rosa added, leaving the rest of her sentence hanging.

I had noticed the sudden drop of excitement on her face, but she quickly hid it with a smile and moved away before I could ask any questions.

There were several other large portraits of Alexander from his early days, but one in particular caught my attention. It was Alexander holding a lady by the waist. His smile alone was enough to tell me that this wasn't just an ordinary lady.

“Who is that? I asked, pointing towards the picture.

“It’s none of your business,” Alexander replied from behind, startling both of us. “It’s time I introduced you to somebody. Follow me,” he commanded.

“Sapphire?” I asked, but he ignored my question and walked away.

***************

We were led through a series of hallways; I wondered how big his mansion really was. Finally, after what seemed like a maze game, we came out into a garden filled with thousands of beautiful flowers, some I had never seen in my entire life.

Alexander stopped and turned to me. “She’s here…in this garden. So, please behave.”

I blinked at the sharpness in his voice. Only if he knew that that’s what I had been doing all along, behaving like someone else.

I looked around, but there was nobody else in the garden except me, Nanny Rosa, and the man I married for my sister.

Suddenly, I heard tiny footsteps from behind, followed by the unmistakable voice of a young girl giggling in excitement.

“Daddy!” This mysterious girl ran into Alex, launching herself into his arms without fear of falling.

I froze.

She just called him DADDY.

My mind flashed to the moment Valeria mentioned something about babysitting. But if Alexander has a child, does that make Sapphire the mother?

Alexander, on the other hand, received this strange little girl with a warmth I had never thought he had in him. All his demeanor vanished.

It was as if the cold man from last night had been replaced with someone else, just like I had replaced my sister.

He lifted her easily with strong arms and kissed her forehead. “Good morning, princess. Hope you had a great time while I was away.”

She giggled when he teased her dark, curly hair that was pulled into two ribbons.

“Daddy, you promised you’d get me a present when you returned. Where is it?” Her face dropped to the ground.

Alexander glanced at me for a moment and then back at his daughter. “Easy, Princess. Daddy brought you something you might like.” He dropped her to the ground and gestured towards where I stood.

I swallowed hard, realizing that I was the present. He just referred to me as ‘something she might like’ in front of his daughter.

The little girl approached me with cautious steps. Her sky-blue dress fluttered behind her as she walked. Recalling Alexander's caution, I slowly lowered myself down to level with hers. Her blue eyes were laser-focused on me.

“Hello” was all her pretty, tiny voice could say.

“Umm… Hi there, Princess,” I stammered, not sure of the right words to use. “How are you?”

Alexander stepped into view. “Her name is Sapphire, and she is my daughter,” he corrected.

My heart melted. “Sapphire? I’m so sorry.”

“Daddy… Is she the new mummy?”

“New mummy?” My breath caught. What happened to the old one?.

Alexander’s jaw tightened just slightly. “This is Valeria,” he said carefully. “And yes… she’ll be staying with us,” he responded with a different answer.

Sapphire stared at me with admiration. “You’re very pretty,” she whispered, and I felt something warm spread through my chest.

“Thank you,” I managed, earning a bright smile from her.

“Do you like flowers?”

I blinked, surprised. “Me?”

“Yeah!” Sapphire held my hand. “My daddy says that flowers can make us happy whenever we feel down and lonely.”

I smiled mischievously, taking a quick glance at Alexander. He had his hands tucked into his pockets as he stared.

“Really? What else does Daddy know about flowers?"

"Everything," Sapphire giggled.

I was taken aback. “Everything?”

She nodded.

I plucked a bright red flower beside me and handed it over to her. “Do you know what this is called?"

Sapphire smiled at me. “That’s a rose flower?”

“That’s right, darling.” I pinched her nose. “How about this one?" I plucked another flower. It had tiny pinkish petals that clustered together to form the flower head.

Sapphire stared at the beautiful flower in my hand. I could see her little mind struggling to identify what species I picked.

Then, out of nowhere, Alexander snatched the flower out of my hand and tossed it away. “You can’t expect her to know what that is.”

I frowned at him. “And I bet you don’t know what species that is.”

Alexander smirked. “That is a Dahlia x hybrida.”

“Wrong!” I hissed.

He blinked. “What? Surely you don’t know much about flowers.”

I stood on my feet. “Well, if you had spared a few more seconds, then maybe Sapphire would’ve learned something new today.”

Alex stiffened. “Don’t you dare…” but before he could finish his sentence, Sapphire cut in.

“Is it Chrysanthemum? ”

We both paused to look at the pair of innocent blue eyes staring up at us. Guilt choked my throat. We had just argued in front of her.

“Hey, dear.” I quickly knelt in front of her. “You’re right. It is a chrysanthemum. You're such a smart little girl.”

Nanny Rosa clapped a hand, breaking the tension between us. “Hey, why don’t we all step inside for breakfast? I’m sure Mummy and Daddy are famished from the long drive.”

Alexander gave me one final stare before walking away, holding Sapphire by the hand. I knew our little argument was far from over.

“Why is he always so stiff? ” I said when I was sure Alexander had disappeared out of sight.

Nanny Rosa let out a deep breath. “Oh dear child, you see, Alexander never had the love and luxury growing up as a child. His dream to become a firefighter died when he watched his parents burn inside a burning car.”

I gasped as a rough image of two parents inside a burning car flashed in my head. “That must've been really terrible for him.”

Nanny Rosa nodded. “Indeed, it was. That's why he doesn't want his daughter to miss out on all the love and attention he never had as a kid.”

“But what about Sapphire’s mother? ”

Nanny Rosa patted my shoulder. “How about we go have breakfast? You'll get your answers at the right time. For now, just don't mention anything about the Chrysanthemum ever again.”

I swallowed hard. There were so many questions running through my mind, and Victoria needed answers… Valeria needed answers as well.