Much depends on fate.
Often, people make their own lives 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 often longed for companionship.
When Emily married Thomas and discovered they were expecting twins, she was overjoyed.
“My children will never feel alone—they’ll have each other,” she often thought, warmth filling her heart.
Soon, they learned they were having daughters. Thomas had secretly hoped for a son, but those dreams faded the moment he held little Sophie and Charlotte in his arms. Both girls were beautiful, identical in every way. Thomas marvelled at how Emily could tell them apart by the faintest signs he couldn’t see. For him, it was baffling.
“Emily, I don’t know who I’ve just fed and who’s still hungry,” he’d say, frustrated.
Laughing, she’d place the hungry twin in his arms.
“How do you even tell them apart? It’s impossible! I’m always mixing them up—who’s Sophie, who’s Charlotte?”
But one thing never wavered—his love for them.
The girls grew, and Emily, exhausted from constant care, longed for evenings when Thomas would return from work and relieve her. She dreamed of rest, a single moment to herself.
“I’ve had enough,” she admitted one evening. “I can’t take my eyes off them for a second—they’re into everything! Can’t you take some time off?”
“Emily, you know I can’t. Work’s piled up, and I’m the only one providing for us. I know you’re tired, but I help where I can.”
Thomas did his best—taking the girls for walks after work or playing with them indoors if the weather turned.
One evening, he returned to find the twins wailing while Emily lay passed out on the sofa, reeking of alcohol. He soothed the girls, fed them, and waited until they slept before confronting her.
“Emily, what were you thinking? The girls were crying, and you didn’t even hear them.”
“You don’t understand,” she slurred. “I’m only human—I needed to relax. Try being stuck at home all day, running between the kitchen and the children. I only had a little wine—didn’t think I’d pass out.”
“I believe you, but this isn’t the answer. Wine never solved anything. And what if the girls had hurt themselves?”
He trusted her—she was exhausted. He resolved to help more, hoping it wouldn’t happen again.
But it did. Again and again, he’d come home to find Emily drunk, the girls neglected. She demanded rest, refusing to listen.
“I have two daughters—do you know how hard it is? You’re gone all day while I’m run ragged. I need to unwind!”
Nothing he said got through. By the time the twins turned four, he filed for divorce, hoping the court would grant him custody rather than leave them with their drunken mother.
But the judge ruled differently—one child to each parent.
Heartbroken, Thomas took Charlotte to live with his parents in another city, while Sophie stayed with Emily.
Emily poisoned Sophie against him.
“Thank your father—he’s the one who tore you from your sister,” she’d sneer.
Thomas settled into work, raising Charlotte with his parents’ help. He often thought of Sophie, aching for her.
Charlotte bonded deeply with her grandparents. Though she asked about Sophie at first, time dulled the memories. Love and security filled her days.
Sophie’s life, however, was bleak. Neglected and unwanted, she endured her mother’s drunken rages and the cruelty of her so-called friends. By her teens, she escaped often, sitting alone on park benches, envying other children with loving parents.
At seventeen, she drifted between older men, falling pregnant at eighteen. The man tossed her money for an abortion before vanishing.
When Emily was hospitalised, desperate for treatment money, Sophie saw no choice—she’d ask her father.
Trembling, she boarded the train to his address.
She found a grand country house, immaculate gardens—everything she’d never had.
Charlotte answered the door, stunned to see her mirror image—but weary, worn.
“Sophie! It’s you!” Charlotte embraced her, leading her inside.
Sophie smiled, but bitterness coiled inside.
*She has everything. Why does she deserve it?*
She explained Emily’s state, needing money.
Charlotte wept for them both.
Then Sophie lashed out.
“You and Father abandoned us! He bought you off, took you to some other woman—while we suffered!”
Charlotte gasped.
“That’s not true! We lived with Grandparents. Father never stopped missing you. My stepmother, Katherine, only came into our lives years later.”
The truth shattered Sophie.
Charlotte dressed her in her own clothes, fed her. But temptation struck—Sophie pocketed jewellery and cash.
Guilt froze her at the door. She collapsed, sobbing.
Charlotte found her, tears mingling as they clung to each other.
“I wanted to rob you—hurt you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. This stays between us.”
When Thomas returned, overjoyed to see Sophie, he listened.
“I’ll get your mother help. But you’re staying here. You’ll study—start fresh.”
Years later, both girls thrived. At their double wedding—marrying twin brothers—Thomas made one request:
“Wear different dresses. I don’t want to mix you up on the big day.”
In the end, fate had tested them—but love and forgiveness rebuilt what bitterness had broken.
