Eve stared at TC. It was dead silence between them for a few minutes. Eve held her picture of Whitney and stared at it.

“ Rebecca Hotchkiss? You cheated on me with that BITCH?”

” Eve..”

Eve shook her head. “ I’m trying to wrap my mind around this, TC. I knew we were having troubles, and I even accept that you could possibly stray from me as hurtful as that is. But, the likes of Rebecca Hotchkiss? “

“ I’ve known her for years. Since we were teens.”

“ She wanted to throw away your child, and you were going to let her?”

“ What could I have done?”

“ Oh, I don’t know, TC. Come to me, talk to me. “

“  Eve, we were on shaky ground, and the baby was helping us heal.”

” So, you were going to let her give your child away?” TC looked down at the floor.

” Oh my God! You NEVER intended for that baby to be given up for adoption. I know you, TC. You wouldn’t allow her to give up your child. You planned on adopting Whitney, whether we had our baby or not. I remember back then how you would consistently bring up adoption. You were planning it, even then! Weren’t you?!”

TC waited a long time before he answered. “ Yes.”

“ You were going to keep up the lie forever, weren’t you, TC? If Whitney had never gotten sick, you’d never have admitted the truth.”

” I didn’t see…”

” You didn’t see the harm? You didn’t see the point in the truth? Why not, because it didn’t suit your purpose, did it? Wow, that’s what I call a master manipulation, TC.”

“ I…I make mistakes, Eve. I’m not perfect.”

” No, I can see that now. You’re not PERFECT. But, you sure in hell demanded it of me, didn’t you? “

” What?”

” Oh Eve, be the PERFECT wife. Oh Eve, you have to be the PERFECT mother and role model to our daughters. After all, you can have feet of clay, but not your PERFECT wife. Well, I’ve got news for you, TC, I’m not perfect.”

“ Eve, you are to me.”

Eve laughed loudly. “ I am. Well, that shows just how big a fool we’ve BOTH been. It’s time for you to know just how Imperfect I am.”

” I don’t understand.”

” No, you wouldn’t. But, you’re going to. You have a secret to reveal, TC, well, I think it’s time that I revealed a secret of my own. And, it’s a whopper. “

” What are you talking about?”

” I’m talking about THE TRUTH, TC. Something that seems to be in short supply in this house. But, tonight is the night for THE TRUTH, and whatever happens after tonight, we’ll be living no more lies.

I don’t even know how to begin, so I’ll be honest. When I was 18 years old, I met a man, fell in love with him, and had his child. A boy.”

” You….you have a son?”

” I held my son one time, and the doctor came in and told me hours later that he died.”

” Oh Eve. I’m sorry. No wonder the death of our daughter hit you hard. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I..”

” TC, my son didn’t die.”

” But, you said..”

” Yes. I thought for a long time that my son was dead. But, he didn’t die. He’s very much alive. “

“ Do you know where he is?”

” Yes, I do. I found my son through a quirk of fate, and I’ve been working on a relationship with him.”

” Where is he?”

“ He’s here. Living above the garage.”
TC stared at her. “ CHAD? Chad is your son?”

” Yes.”

“ Why didn’t you tell me?”

” How could I tell you, without telling you the entire story. Yes, I lied to you about my background. I did it because, when we met, I would have done anything to be with you, and I knew you expected a certain kind of woman.”

” I’m not that narrow, Eve.”

” Oh, aren’t you, TC? Yes, you are. You had very high expectations, and I needed you so much that I lied because it was the first time I had felt anything in years. I used to be a singer.”

” But, you hate music.”

” That’s BECAUSE my time as a singer was an absolute disaster. I had really bad times. Everything that I was worried about with Whitney singing actually happened to me. “

“ You mean, the fast life? The booze and drugs?”

“ Yes. I did all of it. But, I cleaned up when I found out that I was pregnant.”

“ What about this man? Chad’s father?”

” He abandoned us even before he found out I was pregnant. He couldn’t stand up to family pressure. I was the wrong color for his family.”

” Chad’s father is White?”

” Yes. “

“ Did you love him?”

” Very much.”

” I guess he didn’t love you.”

” It’s not that simple. I think he did love me, but he was weak. Didn’t make the pain any less, thinking he loved me but just couldn’t be depended upon. It hurt like hell.”

“ Do you know where Chad’s father is?”

” Yes.”

” Is…is he in Harmony?”

“ Yes.”

” Does he know about Chad?”

” I told him.”

” I guess he hasn’t changed. He obviously doesn’t want anything to do with Chad.”

“ That’s not true. He does have a wife and family of his own, but that’s not the reason why he hasn’t claimed Chad. “

” Then why? Helping you keep your secret?”

” That, and we’re trying to keep Chad safe.”

” Safe?”

” My son’s grandfather is who stole Chad in the first place. He’s already threatened Chad, and I didn’t know what to do, so I figured keeping quiet is the best course of action – for now.”

“ What about Chad and his father? Are they getting to know one another?”

” No. I haven’t told Chad who his father is.”

” Why not?”

” Because, Chad has a lot of anger towards his father, due to him abandoning us.”

“ That makes sense.”

“ And, I knew that Chad wouldn’t be able to keep calm, or even try and keep it a secret. I wanted to grow my relationship with Chad, and try and fold him into OUR family, TC. I was hoping that by the time I told you and the girls, that you would truly consider Chad a member of the family, and see the truth as a blessing.”

” Eve..”

” TC. I was willing to tell you and the girls around 2 seconds after I told Chad. But, he said no. He didn’t want to be the cause of me losing my family. It’s all he wants, TC. To belong to a family.”

” I know that. It’s all he’s wanted since he began his quest for the truth. He got lucky, Eve. He won in the mother sweepstakes. “ TC looked at the floor. “ Are you going to make me beg?”

” Pardon?”

” Who is Chad’s father? Who is the sonuvabitch that abandoned you all those years ago.”

Eve stared at TC. This was the moment of truth. All the fears she had just seem to melt away, because there was no turning back.

“ Julian Crane.”

TC stood there for a few moments, and then shook his head.

” Pardon?”

” Julian is Chad’s father.”

“ You had a baby with the ONE man that I hate most on Earth?”

” Yes.”

” How could ANY self-respecting woman have a relationship with that asshole?”

” Because I did, TC. It was years before I remotely met you. “

” You had a relationship and a BABY with Julian Crane!”

” And, you broke your MARRIAGE VOWS with Rebecca Hotchkiss! Tell me, which one is worse, TC?”

” I…I can’t believe you! What do you expect from me?”

Eve laughed. “ Expect from you? I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, TC!I really don’t. I’ve lived in so much fear of you finding out the truth, that I don’t know where we go from here. I’m not leaving our marriage, TC. The ball is in your court.

But, know this. I will NOT apologize for a relationship that happened BEFORE I MET YOU. I have a right to a past. I was an adult, and I made bad choices, but they were MINE to make. I will also NOT apologize because I wouldn’t have my son, and I LOVE my son, TC. I will also NOT allow you to bully, or browbeat Chad because he’s Julian’s son. I will protect my son with every fiber of my being.

And, you WILL NOT tell Chad about Julian before I do.

I’m not walking away from our marriage, TC. If this marriage ends, it will be because of YOU.”

TC stared at Eve, and then left the room to the kitchen. When she heard the door slam, she knew where TC was going – to his shed.