Chapter 19 Facade
The Truth
Amber was still crying. Darren hadn’t cheated on her. He’d cheated her. She just needed to hear it from him. What did he take from her, and why?
She was preparing an ambush for when Darren walked through the door. He would not have time to think or react. She had it all planned out. He would be bombarded with a badgering of questions so calculated that he’d be trapped in any number of ways if he tried to back step. He had to tell the truth.
She heard the main first floor door to their apartment building slam shut, its closing mechanism long since broken. Footsteps resounded as someone walked up the familiar stairs to the second floor hallway. Then, the squeak of the hallway door gave away its opening. A muffled pounding could be heard in the hallway, getting louder. Suddenly it stopped.
From the crack under the apartment front door, Amber could see the shadows of two feet, stopped. What is he waiting for? she thought. She heard the key being inserted into the first of three door locks. Then the second. Then the third. As the door began to open, Amber yelled out in a casual tone, “Hi Honey.”
A very surprised Darren stepped through the doorway, looking like he’d seen a ghost. “Amber. You’re home already.” He was holding a dozen roses in his hand. “I thought I’d beat you home.”
She was ready to dig into him, until she saw the flowers. He only bought her flowers on her birthday, and their anniversary. “What’s the occasion? Guilt offering?”
Darren looked a little hurt that she didn’t react more positively. “No, just an ‘I love you’ occasion.”
She paused for a moment. “Sorry, Darren. I appreciate the flowers. You’ve always loved me. I’m just upset. You can’t blame me, can you?”
“No, I don’t blame you. I had no idea that there was anything on the Line about Amy. I’m sorry you had to find out that way, and question my faithfulness to you. What exactly did you find?”
“Darren, don’t act like an idiot,” she said as she took the flowers and found a vase for them. “I already told you I found reference to your Marriage to Freedom arrangement with Amy. You already as much admitted to that. And I’m sorry I had to nose through your stuff, but I found your box of secrets.”
“And after going through all the documents,” she continued, “I stopped wondering who this Amy bi-otch is. I know who she is, Dar.” She stopped, looking for some acknowledgement in his expression.
“Amber, I don’t know what to…”
“Stop it, Darren. Don’t play dumb. You and I both know that I am Amy. It’s all right there,” she said, pointing to the table where all the documents were piled.
“If you didn’t want me to ever find out, Darren, why did you upload that data on my palm screen and why did you keep that box of documents? I was surprised by the clothes I used to wear, though.”
“Okay, Amber, you win. You’re right. You’re always right. You’re too damn smart for your own good, you know that? You’ve opened a Pandora’s Box.”
“Those documents,” he said, pointing to the table, “were kept only so that if you ever found a reason to question me or who you are, I’d have something to back up the story that I’d tell you. So listen to this, Amber, because I only want to say it once. Let it sink in.”
“Yes, you were Amy nearly four years ago. My dad bought you for my eighteenth birthday. But I’m the one who married you, protected you, loved you. And you rejected me over and over again. Rubbed it in my face. I was your friend. I never took advantage of you. You gave me hope that it might turn into something more than friendship, then ran to your girlfriend instead. You said you didn’t like guys, then ended up pregnant. You stabbed me in the heart. I could have sent you back to the commune time after time but I didn’t.”
“Instead, I got help. For you. For us. The 4M treatments transformed your mind. You forgot Amy. You became Amber. We had your name subtly changed so that if you remembered the name Amy it wouldn’t make you suspicious or accidently trigger some memory of your wild ways. We placed you in the family of one of my mother’s friends, the Millers, so that you would think you came from somewhere besides the commune.”
“We planted you in the bar where you supposedly met me for the first time. We used pheromone hypnosis so that you’d fall only for me that night. Continual 4M treatments. It worked, Amber. You became my real wife. My willing wife. That’s all I ever wanted from you, Amber. We took bad girl Amy from you and gave you class and a new life instead.”
“You know what else? We gave you Bryan to keep. Get it? He was supposed to be the second baby to fulfill the Marriage to Freedom obligation. He was the result of your little, wild fling dared by your girlfriend. But as Amber you wanted him, so I made sure you could keep him. We still owe one baby, but I’m working on that.”
“Some of the Line data was supposed to be a smoke screen. But it made you suspicious. Some of the data was real. I was surprised it was there. You’re too damn smart, Amber. You figured it out so easy. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Brains were always your strength. And your looks. I could never resist either, from day one.”
“You know what you told me the first day we met, Amber? You said ‘I don’t like guys, I’m pregnant and I’m into girls. So what are you going to do with that?’ “
“Well, here’s what I did with that,” Darren said, pointing to the table again. “I made you into Amber. And you’ve been so happy ever since. So what are you going to do with it, Amber?”
Amber was quiet. She had a tear running from her eye. “I can’t believe I came from a labor commune.” She paused several moments. “And I never knew there was another baby before Bryan that I gave up.” She paused again. “I can’t imagine not having Bryan,” she said. “Thank you. I’d be lost without you, Darren. I’m sorry I was such a dick in the past. I don’t blame you for anything you did. Sounds like you only helped me come to my senses.”
“I’m sorry I had to tell you all this, Amber. You wouldn’t believe me otherwise.”
After a long pause, she finally said, “Here’s what I’m going to do with all this.” Still teary eyed, she came close to him and gave him a kiss. Then she suddenly stopped and took a step back, smiling slightly through the tears.
“You know,” she continued, “I always thought it was odd that whenever I thought that a migraine headache was coming on I’d go in immediately for a 4M treatment. Yet, I’ve never had a migraine headache in my life that I can remember. So why am I always going in for a 4M treatment?”
Darren shrugged his shoulders. “Hypnosis. And don’t you dare stop the treatments or Amy will return to muck everything up in our lives.”
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