Chapter 495 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“You are no longer curious to hear everything?” Aaron asked curiously.

“Of course, I am. But my curiosity can not be more important than what you want. I wouldn’t want to break your trust merely to satisfy my curiosity. Asking you to tell me your secrets when I know that I wouldn’t be able to keep it away from Benne, would be wrong. I promised to be honest with you, so I have to tell you,” Celsie said easily, and warmth filled his heart as he looked at her, impressed by how she was putting her concern for him above everything else.

“You are so purehearted Celsie,” Aaron said, glad that she was the one who had been in his bedroom that night and not anyone else.

“Thank you,” Celsie said with a warm smile.

“Would you like to have a glass of juice? Or perhaps red wine? I read somewhere that it’s good for the heart,” Celsie offered, and Aaron gave her a nod as he returned her smile.

He watched as she walked over to Harry’s mini bar to get them wine. She poured red wine into a glass for him, and a nonalcoholic wine into another glass for herself before returning to join him.

“Here,” she said as she placed it in front of him and sat down.

“Thank you, Celsie,” Aaron said quietly as he picked up the glass and took a sip.

Neither of them said a word to each other for some time, and after a while Celsie glanced at him, “I don’t mean to pry, but I suggest you tell Harry about whatever it is you are hiding from him before he finds out some other way,” Celsie advised.

“How would you react if you were Harry and you found out that you have been lied to all your life?” Aaron asked, and Celsie pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“It depends,” she said with a shrug.

“On what?” Aaron asked curiously.

“For me it depends on the intention. Why did you lie? Why couldn’t you tell me the truth. Surely I’d be hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth, but if your intention was purely out of genuine love for me, no matter how angry I get, I will come around. Because you matter to me,” Celsie said, thinking about how hurt she had been by Benne’s lies, but also how it had been easier to forgive him when she focused more on his intention not the action.

“I lied to him about his mother. His mother is not dead. Sara walked out of our lives days after she gave birth to Harry,” Aaron said after a while, and Celsie’s eyes widened slightly at that piece of information.

“What?” Celsie asked, and Aaron gave a nod.

Although she had briefly suspected that, but had dismissed the thought because it didn’t make sense. Hearing Aaron admit to it greatly surprised her.

“I couldn’t tell Harry about it. I was abandoned by my own mother and I know best how much damage such a knowledge can do to a person’s heart and self-esteem. I didn’t want that for my son,” Aaron explained, and this time Celsie felt her heart break for him.

“The daughter I spoke about in my sleep was Harry’s twin sister. I was told she died at birth, but I never got to see her body,” Aaron said, before picking up his glass again with trembling hands and raising it to his lips.

Celsie’s eyes filled with tears as she watched him, “I’m so sorry,” Celsie said softly as she began to put the pieces together.

She could now understand why he was asking for his daughter, and why he kept pleading with Sara in his sleep. She could understand his pain and tears. Those had been tears of a heartbroken man. Tears of a man who had just lost a daughter, been abandoned by the woman he loved and was forced to raise their baby boy alone.

“She said she never wanted to have anything to do with us. She wanted to pursue her modelling career. Now she is dying and wants to see Harry,” Aaron said, and this time Celsie reached across the table as she had done before and took his hand.

“Did she tell you why she wants to see him?” Celsie asked softly.

“Do I need to know why? Tell me honestly, Celsie. Am I wrong for not wanting to tell Harry about her, or not wanting her to be a part of Harry’s life in any way?” Aaron asked, and Celsie shook her head.

“No. You are not wrong. Still, Harry has a right to know and to decide whether or not he wants her to be a part of his life despite what she did,” she said apologetically.

“But he is never going to forgive me if he finds out I lied to him all these years,” Aaron said as tears gathered in his eyes.

“Don’t say that, Aaron. He will. You raised him better than that. You did a good job raising such a fine and intelligent son. I’m sure all you need to do is sit him down and explain the details to him. Harry will understand why you had to lie to him,” Celsie assured him.

“What if he never understands? Am I also going to lose my son because of Sara? Losing his sister was enough. Do I have to lose Harry too?” He asked as a tear slid down his cheek, and Celsie sniffled as she went to embrace him.

“You should have some faith in him. You will never lose him to her. I won’t allow it. Benne won’t allow it,” she promised fiercely as tears rolled down her cheeks while she tried to console him.

As Celsie held him, she thought about what Aaron had just revealed and her heart broke for both father and son. She couldn’t begin to imagine how Aaron was going to be able to hold such a conversation with Harry.

How was he supposed to start? She didn’t want to imagine how shocked Harry would be or how he would react. For someone like Harry who hated being lied to, it was obvious that things was going to be tough for them in the nearest future, and she could understand why Aaron felt so scared. It wasn’t going to be easy in any way. Neither her nor Benne was going to be able to tell Harry about this. Harry needed to hear it directly from his father.

“Harry has to hear it from you. We can’t let Harry find out about it from her or any other way. Because then it would be your word against hers,” Celsie said after a while as she returned to her seat.

“What do you suggest I do? I was hoping to hold off on telling him the truth until he is in a stable relationship. Harry has always taken my words about my relationship with his mother to heart. He has high expectations when it comes to love. I fear that he might be disappointed and change his mind about it after he gets to know the truth,” Aaron said, and Celsie shook her head.

“Whether he is in a committed relationship or married won’t make any difference when he finds out the truth. If he chooses to walk out of such a relationship he would do so without second thoughts, and if he chooses to remain with his partner because he is too much of a gentleman to walk away, he will be resentful and unhappy. I think it’s best you tell him the truth now so that he can face it before he gets involved with anyone,” Celsie advised, and then she paused when she remembered her conversation with Jade a while ago.

Was it possible that it was all related? If there was one thing she had come to learn in this past weeks, nothing was mere coincidence. Everything happened for a reason, and if for some reason Jade was suddenly asking for the picture of Harry’s supposed late mom, then something was up.

She looked at Aaron curiously, “Just now I heard snippets of your conversation with Jade. I suppose you were both talking about Harry’s mom?” She asked, and Aaron gave her a nod.

“Yeah.”

“Is she really an orphan?” Celsie asked curiously.

“That was what she told me back then, but I don’t know how true it is. Although after she left I started to doubt her story but I had no desire to look into it,” Aaron said, and Celsie nodded.

“Did Jade tell you why she was suddenly asking about her?” Celsie asked, and Aaron sighed.

“She said she knows someone who looks a lot like Sara,” Aaron explained, and Celsie looked at him curiously.

Knows? Not saw? So she knew the person it wasn’t like a random stranger who she had just run into? Celsie mused.

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