Much depends on fate.
Often, people themselves make their lives difficult and unbearable, but in time they realise the need to forgive, understand, and love. Then everything falls into place, and life becomes easier. Emily had no brothers or sisters. An only child, she sometimes longed for companionship.
But when Emily married Thomas and discovered they were expecting twins, she was overjoyed.
*My children will never feel lonely—they’ll always have each other,* she often thought, warming her heart.
Soon, they learned they’d be having daughters. Thomas had secretly hoped for a son, but those dreams faded quickly. Lily and Sophie captured his heart completely. Both were beautiful, nearly identical, and Thomas marvelled at how Emily could tell them apart by the faintest details he couldn’t even see. It frustrated him endlessly.
*Emily, I can’t tell who I’ve just fed and who’s still hungry,* he’d say, and she’d laugh, guiding him to the twin he’d missed.
*How do you even tell them apart? It’s impossible. I keep mixing them up—who’s Lily, and who’s Sophie?*
But his love for them never wavered. As the girls grew, Emily, exhausted from caring for them all day, counted down the hours until Thomas returned from work to give her a break. She dreamed of rest, of a moment’s peace.
*I’ve had enough of this,* she snapped one evening. *I can’t take my eyes off them for a second—they’re into everything. Why don’t you take some leave?*
*Emily, love, you know I can’t just take time off—there’s too much work. I’m the only one providing for us. I know you’re tired, but I help where I can.*
And he did. After work, he’d take the girls out for walks or play with them indoors if the weather was bad.
One evening, he came home to find them wailing—Emily was asleep on the sofa, drunk. He calmed the twins, fed them, and waited to speak with her later.
*Emily, what were you thinking? The girls were crying, and you didn’t even hear them.*
*You don’t understand. I’m human too—I need to unwind. Try being trapped between the stove and the children all day. I only had a little wine—I didn’t think I’d pass out!*
*I believe you, but this isn’t the answer. And the girls need watching—what if they’d hurt themselves?*
He trusted her, but it happened again. And again. Emily demanded relief, drowning in exhaustion. No amount of reasoning helped. By the time the twins turned four, Thomas filed for divorce, hoping to keep them away from their mother’s drinking.
But the judge ruled differently—one child to each parent. The girls wept as they were separated. Thomas took Sophie and moved to his parents’ house in another town. Emily kept Lily.
She poisoned Lily against him.
*Thank your father for tearing you from your sister,* she’d sneer.
Thomas found work, and with his parents’ help, life settled. Sophie grew close to her grandparents, thriving in their love. Meanwhile, Lily’s world darkened. Emily’s drinking worsened, and her flat became a haven for strangers who treated Lily poorly. She often sat alone in the park, watching happy families, wearing hand-me-downs, remembering her father and sister.
At ten, she begged Emily to let her live with them.
*Mum, I want to go to Dad and Sophie. I miss them.*
Emily, half-drunk, scoffed.
*Oh, now you remember him? He left us for another woman. He bought Sophie dolls, promised her everything, and she believed him. Now she regrets it—she wishes she were here with us.*
Lily imagined Sophie trapped, miserable, with a cruel stepmother. She hated her father, burying the thought of him.
Years passed. Sophie turned eighteen, studying at university. She lived with her father and stepmother, Charlotte—a kind woman who treated her as her own. They built a business, moved into a countryside home, and Sophie wanted for nothing.
Lily, at seventeen, bounced between older men. By eighteen, she was pregnant—until the man paid for an abortion and left. She watched Emily waste away, helpless. When her mother was hospitalised, Lily finally sought her father, begging for money.
She found the house, stunned by its grandeur. Hesitating at the door, she faced Sophie—her mirror image, radiant and well-dressed.
*Lily! It’s you!* Sophie embraced her, pulling her inside.
Lily smiled, but bitterness festered.
*She has everything. Why?*
She explained Emily’s condition. Sophie wept for them both.
*You both left us. Dad chose some other woman and took you. Now he can pay for Mum.*
Sophie, shocked, told the truth.
*There was no other woman. We lived with Gran and Grandad. Dad never stopped thinking of you. Charlotte came later.*
Lily reeled, realising the lies.
Their parents returned the next day. Thomas, overjoyed, promised to help Emily.
*Stay with us, Lily. You’ll go to college.*
Time healed. Both girls graduated, and soon, Thomas fretted over their weddings—Lily and Sophie were marrying twin brothers.
*Just wear different dresses,* he begged. *I don’t want to mix you up on the big day.*
