It was a cold, breezy night, and as the piercing chirps of crickets shrilled through the air, Peggy panicked at the doorstep. “Where’s Alan, and why’s he not answering my call?” she cried. She heated the dinner and returned to the patio to wait for him.

Peggy knew Alan would be late from work. He used to return home at eleven at the max every night, but not beyond that. It was already half past twelve, and Alan had yet to come home. Peggy grew restless and called him again. “Where are you? Please pick up… pick up,” she cried…

“Jesus, darling, what took you so long??” she exclaimed at seeing Alan enter the gate.

“I work overtime… Didn’t I tell you the other day?” he said. “I’m dead tired. Gonna sleep now.”

Alan’s behavior had changed a lot lately. He started coming home late from work on random days, and soon, it became a habit. He paid little to no attention to Peggy and his little son, Tom.

“Oh my God… Who is this boy who looks like Tom?” Peggy was alarmed as she ran after the boy.

The last time when Peggy asked him, Alan was not upfront about his intentions and bluntly told her he was working overtime in the sawmill. But that didn’t make sense to Peggy because Alan’s salary was the same. There was no increment or overtime bonus.

“Is he lying to me? Is my husband seeing someone else?” Peggy was alarmed, but she did not make a scene. She feared it would aggravate the situation. Peggy didn’t want to be all alone again. She had come a long way from living a lonely life to being a wonderful wife and a doting mother to her stepson, Tom. She was not ready to lose everything all at once and relive her past.

Peggy and her ex-husband, Thomas, tried to have a baby for years, but all their attempts were fruitless. She was diagnosed with fertility issues and even tried persuading Thomas to adopt a child. But he refused, and eventually, they divorced. Although Peggy moved on with her new life, Alan’s strange behavior became more suspicious day by day.

He was too exhausted to stay up and spend time with Peggy like before and was already fast asleep when she entered their bedroom. She missed their goodnight hugs and kisses. She wanted to talk, but Alan was not awake to listen. She started missing him more and more, though he was just inches away from her.

Tears welled up in Peggy’s eyes as she lay beside Alan and stared at him, recalling their first meeting that still felt like a dream.

“Daddy, please get me this toy airplane. You promised me you’d get it this time,” Peggy still remembered the way little Tom pleaded with Alan at the supermarket’s checkout.

Alan hushed the boy and shyly smiled at Peggy while she got his items billed. “Sweetie, I’ll get you next month when I get my salary.”

Peggy noticed Tom was on the verge of bursting into tears when his father kept the toy box on the counter. She felt sorry for him, and her heart immediately went out to the little boy when she saw him limping out with his father.

“Excuse me, sir, one minute,” she called out to Alan. “Please give this toy to your son. Let’s not disappoint him.”

Alan was surprised and reluctant. “I can’t take this… I don’t have money to buy it.”

“If I had children, your son would be my third or fourth!” she said, hiding her tears. “But not everybody is blessed with kids… Please let him have it. I have already paid for it.”

Alan could not turn down Peggy’s kindness and told Tom to take the toy from her. “Thank you so much!!” Tom cried in delight. He bid Peggy goodbye and left with his dad.

Peggy thought she would never meet Tom and Alan again. But the next day, she was surprised when they showed up and invited her over for dinner at their old trailer.

With time, Peggy and Alan became friends and started sharing more about each other. As it turned out, Alan’s partner had died during childbirth. His son was born paralyzed, and he sold his house for his treatment. Ultimately, they moved into a trailer, and Alan was delighted his son could at least stand on his feet.

As days passed, he and Tom started visiting Peggy more often. Although she was determined not to fall in love again, she decided to give herself another chance.

After several months of dating, Peggy invited Alan and Tom to move in with her. Although reluctant at first, Alan agreed. Peggy’s life turned into heaven the day she wedded Alan in an intimate church wedding.

Everything was flawless from then onward. From weekend picnics to backyard barbecues, Peggy started living life all over again. It was great, and having Tom around doubled her joy. She instantly stepped into a mother’s shoes and cared for the boy with her heart and soul.

Peggy thought her sorrow had finally ceased, but a new problem arose when Alan started coming home late from work every night. Peggy could not quickly guess what kept him constantly busy all the time.

Several doubts bombarded Peggy as she slowly returned to the moment. “It’s getting late… Tom and I have to leave early tomorrow,” she sighed and dozed off. Tom was participating in an interschool art competition in a neighboring city, and Peggy had to take him there the next day.

If she only knew how that trip would unravel a surprise she was not prepared for.

“Did you pack your coat? It’s pretty cold here….” Peggy asked Tom when they reached a new city where Tom represented his school in an interschool art competition for kids. Since Alan did not have time and was always busy at work, Peggy took a day off and drove Tom to the city.

The competition was halfway through when all of a sudden, Peggy bumped into a boy who looked like Tom’s flawless reflection. She grabbed his hand, assuming he was her stepson.

“TOMMY?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE ART COMPETITION??”

The boy looked puzzled and let go of Peggy’s hand and ran. Peggy was startled at seeing the boy run. He did not limp like Tom.

“Oh my God… Who is this boy who looks like Tom?” Peggy was alarmed as she ran after the boy. She saw him hiding behind a woman and thought she was his mother.

“Hey… hey… I’m Peggy, and I wanted to tell you that…” Peggy shuddered after gazing at the boy closely another time.

“Yes, what do you want?” the woman chimed in.

Peggy snapped to her senses, terrified by the boy’s uncanny resemblance with Tom.

“Er… Your son… He looks exactly like my stepson, Tom. I cannot tell them apart.”

After hearing Peggy out, the woman showed no signs of excitement or surprise. Instead, she startled Peggy even more by asking just one question.

“Are you Alan’s wife??”

“I’m Kiara… and you are??”

Peggy’s face flushed red with shock. Who is this woman, and how does she know Alan? she was startled. Is she Alan’s mistress?

Kiara took Peggy aside and revealed an untold chapter of Alan’s life that would go on to give her the biggest shock of her life she could not fathom.

“How do you know my husband, Alan?” Peggy initiated the conversation.

Kiara fidgeted with her long, black-tinted pointy nails and stared intensely into Peggy’s eyes. “I know that loafer so well,” she began.

“Excuse me??”

“Yeah, you heard that right. Alan was my late sister Sophie’s boyfriend. They met in college, love at first sight, and damn! You know….” Kiara continued, sipping hot chocolate from her cup.

Peggy’s anxiety doubled up as she listened further.

“Alan screwed up my sister’s life. She was fed with a golden spoon, but he gave her a life of rags. He suffered from addiction for a really long time. He got her pregnant, and she died while delivering their babies.”

“BABIES?? BUT ALAN HAS ONLY ONE SON,” Peggy was terrified.

“Who said?” Kiara added in a low, grim voice. “My sister died after delivering twins Tom and Eric. She is not with us today coz of that rogue.”

At this point, Peggy slowly understood why Alan had started coming home late. Kiara’s ill words about him cleared her doubts. But she still did not understand why Tom and his twin brother, Eric lived separately. And when she pressed Kiara for more details, some dark truths came to light.

“After my sister died, I wanted to gain custody over my nephews. I was not ready to trust them with that crazy man. He kidnapped one of his babies and fled the city. I don’t know why he did it. Maybe to threaten me for a ransom… not sure. The police couldn’t find him. Now that I found you, I can easily track him down and sue him for abducting my nephew. Let him rot in jail… that pervert!”

Peggy was frightened Alan would land in jail. She pleaded with Kiara not to do it. “Alan is a different man now. Please, don’t do this to him.”

Kiara frowned and proposed a strange demand if Peggy didn’t want Alan to be arrested. “Send Tom with me… I won’t sue your husband. DEAL??”

“WHAT? Send my son with you? I cannot do that,” Peggy was alarmed.

“Tom or Alan? The choice is yours, my dear. If you send the boy with me, Alan is safe. If not, I have my own ways to send him to jail and take my nephew.”

Peggy was confused, and after a momentous thought, she made a difficult choice.

“Goodbye, honey! Pray that I don’t see your husband again, or I’ll change my mind!” Kiara waved at Peggy and drove past her with Tom and Eric. Peggy was stranded.

What will I tell Alan if he asks for Tom? Jesus, where have you dragged me? It’s all his fault. He made me do this. I trusted him so much, but he betrayed me. He hid his whole life from me. He is a liar… a pervert, Peggy cried as she got into her car and drove back to the town.

A part of her told her she had made a hasty decision, while another part convinced her Tom deserved a better life with his maternal aunt. Peggy knew she would miss Tom to the core. He had filled the void in her life, and suddenly, in a wink, her life was a dark hollow again. Peggy was so confused and afraid about her decision, but she was determined to face it off with Alan.

“I hope he comes clean, at least now. What if he keeps lying to me? I don’t see a prospect of a long-lasting relationship with a cheater like him,” she cried and drove home.

Will Alan confide his past to me? Or will he keep me in the dark? Peggy thought as she arrived home late that evening and saw Alan waiting at the doorstep. He came running to her to hug her but slowed down and froze after seeing her alone.

“Honey, where’s Tom?” he asked, anxiously peeping into the car window. He even assumed his son was playing hide and seek. “Hey, Tommy, come on out,” he called out to his son. It took Alan a couple of minutes to realize Tom was not home.

“Where’s our son? Where is he??”

Peggy interrupted Alan’s anxiety and said: “He is with his aunt, Kiara. I know everything, Alan. Why did you do this to me?”

“Oh, Sh— Peggy, what have you done?” Alan shrieked.

“You should be thankful to me for not letting you go to jail; you cheat. You are an addict, and I know everything about you. I can already guess where you’ve been going every night after work. How did I even blindly trust you… you freak.”

“ENOUGH… I SAY STOP!” Alan yelled at Peggy, startling her. “COME WITH ME RIGHT NOW. YOU’LL SEE FOR YOURSELF.”

Alan grabbed Peggy by her arm and led her back to the car. He stormed into the driver’s seat and speedily drove somewhere.

“Alan, slow down. Please. I’m getting scared… slow down…”

“I am not so freaking awful as you were told. You will see the truth with your own eyes now,” he fumed and drove as fast as he could.

Peggy nodded and could not wait to see what it was. But little did she guess what awaited her.

Minutes later, Alan pulled over near the lake in the woods and led Peggy out.

“See for yourself. This is what I’ve been doing all these days.”

Peggy gaped in shock, standing before an unfinished house and a wooden deck by the lake. “What is this place?” she exclaimed, looking around, astonished by the very appearance of it.

“IT IS OUR FUTURE HOUSE. I WANTED TO SURPRISE YOU AND TOM ON OUR FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. YOU RUINED EVERYTHING. YOU JUST DESTROYED IT.”

Peggy could not believe her eyes. She dropped to her knees and cried as Alan confessed the truth. This time, it was only the truth, and most of it was not what Kiara had told Peggy earlier that day.

“I was an addict. Mind you — I WAS — But not anymore,” Alan began.

“But after Sophie, my ex-girlfriend told me she was pregnant, I changed. I went to rehab, improved my lifestyle, and everything changed. Just a month before delivery, her dad fell ill and died, bequeathing his estate and money to her and the kids.”

Alan could not hold back his tears and started crying as he confessed further.

“My girlfriend’s father didn’t want to leave a dime to Kiara because he knew she would spend everything in just days. I didn’t want a dime from his money, but Sophie insisted on keeping it. But after she died during childbirth, her cunning sister knew to use her motherless nephews in her favor very well.”

“I don’t understand,” Peggy interrupted.

“Honey, Sophie and I were not married. Kiara knew it was her only chance to get her hands on the inheritance passed on to her sister’s sons. She threatened to sue me with a court notice, saying she had enough evidence against me to prove I was a former addict.”

“I could not hire an expensive lawyer like her. I lost every chance to win the right over my kids. One day, she met me and offered me a deal.”

“A deal? What deal?”

“Kiara allowed me to take my son with a congenital disability and warned me to stay away from her and Eric, my other son. I had no choice and took Tom with me, promising her I would not interfere with her or claim her late sister’s inheritance.”

“A month later, she called me to bring Tom. She told me she would not get the second chunk of the inheritance without him because Tom and Eric had equal shares, according to the will. I hung up on her and fled the city with my son. I wanted to protect him from that evil woman.”

“Now tell me… Am I wrong? Did I cheat on you, honey? How could you leave our son with that woman without knowing the other side of the truth?”

Peggy sobbed and pleaded with Alan to forgive her. She couldn’t find a spot to forgive herself. But even in his weakest moment, Alan acted like a wise man.

“It’s alright, honey. Let’s go home now. We will figure it out tomorrow. I will do anything it takes to bring our boys home. You with me in this??”

Peggy hugged Alan and apologized over a hundred times.

The following morning, they hurried to meet Kiara.

“I am sure she would’ve got all the inheritance. She doesn’t need our boys anymore. We have nothing to lose now. We should bring our sons back home at any cost,” Alan told Peggy on their drive to Kiara’s house in the city. But when they got there, things took an unexpected turn.

“I knew you would come to meet me,” Kiara greeted Alan and Peggy as soon as she saw them on her doorstep. “I’m the boy’s aunt, after all.”

As Alan and Peggy looked around for Tom and Eric, Kiara’s evil laughter filled the living room. But they were nowhere in sight.

“Where are my sons? Kiara, where are my boys?” Alan interrupted. “You got your money, I suppose. Now send my sons with me. Please.”

Kiara shrugged and answered as if Alan’s agony and anxiety were nothing. “Don’t worry about the boys. They are fine, and they are having FUN in another place… somewhere safe and far from here!”

“Kiara, what did you do to my sons? Where are they?” Alan begged, only to witness a true, horrific side of the woman.

“I am not sending the boys with you because my stupid father and his stupid daughter tried to make a fool out of me,” Kiara fumed.

As it turned out, Kiara’s late father had bequeathed the entire estate to his older daughter Sophie. And when he found out she was pregnant with twins, he modified the will, declaring her sons as legal successors to her estate. But, to everyone’s shock, he seeded a slight twist.

“The boys will get their inheritance only if they live together in the same house. And the money is paid only in monthly payments. To get it all, I need them both. Did you get your answer? You can leave now.”

Alan and Peggy were left shaken by Kiara’s revelation.

“And I already spoke to my lawyer. Everything’s on my side, Alan. Quit wasting time, and don’t throw your money on a lawyer. You don’t stand a chance to win custody of the boys. NOW GET OUT!”

Alan and Peggy stormed out, puzzled about bringing their children back. To worsen things, Kiara had hidden the boys somewhere.

“Honey, what will we do now? How will we find Tom and Eric?” Peggy panicked.

“We have to hire a good lawyer, but I don’t have money. I spent all my savings on our new house. What will we do now?” Alan panicked.

At this point, Peggy decided to compensate for the heartbreak she caused.

“We will sell my house and hire a lawyer to fight our case.”

“What? Sell your house? No, honey, that is not a good idea. We cannot do that,” Alan refused.

“Honey, please. Let’s just do it. I want our sons back. My house is not important to me, but my family is. We will move into your new house. Please, let’s do this. Let’s bring our sons back.”

“But my house is still under construction. We have a lot of work to do,” Alan argued.

“Alan, please. Listen to me. We can finish that house later. We can live in a corner, but we will still be a family. You and I and our sons…”

They sold Peggy’s house a few weeks later and hired a lawyer. They arrived at the court. Alan and Peggy could not hold back their tears after seeing Tom. It was the first time they had seen Tom since that art competition.

“Daddy…” Tom cried as Kiara grabbed his arm and prohibited him from meeting his father.

“Stay where you are. You are not going to him, is that clear?” she yelled at Tom as he burst into tears. Kiara did not bring Eric to court as she already had custody of him.

The case intensified as Kiara’s lawyer presented more evidence and facts against Alan. He invited a narcologist who had treated Alan to testify against him with evidence of his past struggles with addiction.

As the situation became tense, Peggy and Alan slowly started losing hope of winning. They had hired an expensive lawyer, but to no avail, as every evidence stood solid against Alan.

“Your Honor, how can this man raise his sons well and give them a good life when he and his wife don’t even have a roof over their heads? They sold their house and now live in a trailer but is that enough to raise children? Their birth mother was his girlfriend, not legally his wife, a kind reminder again, Your Honor,” Kiara’s lawyer finished his argument.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the judge as he dropped his pen on the table and looked up at the jury. Will he send the sons with their father and bring sunshine into a heartbroken Alan’s life? Or will he rewrite the fate of the two motherless boys with something entirely unexpected?

The courtroom turned pin-drop silent as the judge revealed his final decision.

“…. I declare that Tom, the late Miss Sophie’s son, will be sent with Miss Kiara, his maternal aunt… The court is adjourned.”

An eerie silence sprawled as Kiara grabbed Tom’s hand and dragged him out of the court.

“Tommy, don’t leave daddy,” Alan rose and ran after his son, tears streaming down his face as everybody painfully watched the dad’s struggle to get his son back.

“DADDY… DADDY, TAKE ME HOME. I DON’T WANT TO GO WITH HER… DADDY… DADDY….”

Tom endlessly waved at his father from the car. Kiara raised the window and ordered her driver to speed up.

“Tommy, my son… come back… Please… come back,” Alan dropped to his knees and burst into tears.

Peggy hugged Alan and took him to the trailer. Their new house was still unfinished, and after facing a heartbreaking defeat in court, they could not find a spot to do anything. They were shattered to bits and pieces. They assumed everything was over, but fate had other plans.

On a Sunday morning two weeks later, Peggy and Alan heard loud bangs on their trailer door. They didn’t want to open it, but when the knocking wouldn’t stop, Peggy got up to answer and froze in shock.

“Who is it, honey?” Alan asked, but Peggy was too astonished to answer. He jumped out of bed and was equally startled when he arrived at the doorstep.

“TOM? ERIC? WHAT ARE YOU BOYS DOING HERE??”

Tom and his brother were standing at the doorstep, panting. They had escaped their aunt Kiara’s clutches, and how they overcame their hurdles to find Alan and Peggy remained a mystery.