**The Illusion of Deception**
Emily had spent her whole life immersed in music, working at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Since childhood, it had been her mother and the pianonothing else mattered. At twenty-eight, she was unmarried, having briefly dated a fellow musician, but their paths divergedtoo much talent, too many separate worlds.
Then, three months ago, she met James. A solicitor, hed approached her in a café near the academy where she sat alone, unwilling to return to her empty flat. Her mother had passed away recently, and the silence at home was unbearable.
“You look rather sad,” James had said, sipping his tea. “My names James. And yours?”
Shed smiled faintly. “Emily.”
Since then, theyd grown close. James often stayed over and had even proposed, but Emily hesitated.
“I cant say yes yet,” she admitted. “Im still grieving Mum.”
Her mother had raised her alone. Emily had never known her fathernever asked, sensing her mothers discomfort. Now, with her gone, the loneliness weighed heavily. Sometimes, she wonderedshould she try to find him?
“I dont even know if hed want to see me,” she confided in James.
Emily had lived a sheltered life, blissfully unaware of household matters. Bills, paperworkher mother had handled everything. “Youre too detached from the real world,” her mother had chided. “What will you do when Im gone?”
But life had a cruel way of teaching lessons. Her mother fell ill suddenly, and by the time they saw a doctor, it was too late.
“She never complained,” Emily wept.
“Perhaps she was protecting you,” the doctor said gently.
James was sharp. The first time he visited her flat, he noticed the expensive paintingsthough Emily paid them no mind. Shed grown up with them. But James knew their worth.
In the evenings, she played the piano, preparing for concerts, while James listenedor pretended to. Hed already realised Emily had assets worth securing. Rifling through her mothers documents, he found mention of an aunt, Margaret, who lived in Scotland. He resolved to marry Emily quicklyshe was the sole heir.
Her reluctance frustrated him. She barely knew him, and something about his urgency unsettled her. Still, he persisted, sensing her longing for a father.
One evening, he announced, “We have guests tonight. Lets pick up champagne.”
“Guests?”
“I found your father.”
“James, really? Here in London?”
“Yes.”
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. James answered, and Emily saw a tall, dark-haired man.
“My daughter,” he said, embracing her. “Youre beautiful. Im Robert.”
Her middle name was indeed Roberta.
“Your mother and I parted ways before she knew she was pregnant,” he explained.
Seizing the moment, James interjected, “Robert, with this happy reunion, may I ask for Emilys hand?”
Caught off guard, Emily faltered.
“If James loves you, I give my blessing,” Robert said warmly.
From then on, Robert visited often, though he revealed little about his past with Emilys mother.
Emily sent a wedding invitation to Aunt Margaret, who arrived early to help. One evening, the doorbell rang.
“We took the train,” Margaret said, embracing her.
Meeting James, she studied him carefully. Later, Emily confided, “James found my fatherRobert.”
Margaret exchanged a glance with her husband. “Trouble, dear.”
“What trouble?”
“Your fathers name wasnt Robert. It was John. Your mother invented your middle name. John Edwardshe was the dean at your music college.”
Emily paled. “John Edwards? My piano professor? Then who is Robert?”
“Well ask James tomorrow. Why this charade? And have you claimed your inheritance?”
“No, but whats there? Just the flat”
“Emily, wake up! Your mother left a fortunethose paintings, a bank account. Our parents divided everything between us. Youre not poor. And since weve no children, youll inherit from us too.”
Emilys world tilted. Why had James rushed the proposal?
“Does John know about me?”
“No. His mother arranged his marriage to another woman, though he loved your mother. When he saw her with a child, he assumed shed moved on. She never told him.”
That evening, James faced his reckoning. Emily cancelled the wedding, packing his things. He left without protest, knowing hed been exposed.
“I feel relieved,” she admitted. “Something always felt off.”
The next evening, Margaret announced a guest.
“Who now?” Emily asked warily.
When the doorbell rang, Margaret returned with John Edwards.
“My God,” he murmured. “You look just like me. Forgive meI never knew.”
They talked late into the night. Emily learned she had a half-brother, a soldier stationed abroad.
“Youre the one who inherited my love for music,” John said proudly.
Emily laughed. “I always wondered where it came from.”
In time, she grew close to her father and his wife, even meeting her brother.
A year later, she married William, an economics professor and the son of Johns old friend. Hed fallen for her instantly.
At the wedding, Margaret and her husband beamedWilliam was steady, reliable.
Emily had learned lifes hardest lesson: not all kindness is genuine, but true family finds you in the end.
