Chapter 4 Veil of Identity

# Chapter 4: Veil of Identity

The morning after Julian's sudden appearance found me pacing my cottage, my head pounding from both the hangover and confusion. Derek had driven me home in silence after the party, promising to explain everything today. My calls to Julian went straight to voicemail, each unanswered ring increasing my anxiety.

A knock at the door startled me. Derek stood there, his usual confidence dimmed, dark circles under his eyes suggesting he'd slept as poorly as I had.

"May I come in?" he asked.

I stepped aside wordlessly, arms crossed protectively over my chest as he entered.

"Maya, I owe you an explanation," he began, remaining standing as if anticipating the need for a quick exit.

"You think?" My voice came out harsher than intended. "Julian appeared out of nowhere last night. He saw us... How did he even know where I was?"

Derek ran a hand through his hair, a gesture so reminiscent of Julian that it made my chest ache. "He didn't come looking for you. He came looking for me."

I stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Julian and I..." Derek paused, seeming to struggle with his words. "We know each other."

"Know each other how?" I demanded, though a sickening suspicion was already forming.

"We've met before," he said evasively.

"Stop playing games, Derek. Last night, my husband walked in on me kissing a man who looks eerily similar to him, in a town he had no reason to be in. I deserve the truth."

Derek sighed heavily, sinking onto my sofa. "You're right. But the truth is complicated."

"Try me."

"Julian and I grew up in the same circles. Our families knew each other."

The explanation seemed plausible but insufficient. "That doesn't explain why you never mentioned knowing my husband, especially after I've spent days talking about him."

Derek's eyes met mine, challenging. "Would you have spent time with me if you'd known?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, then caught myself. "I mean... it would have been inappropriate."

"Exactly." His smile held no humor. "And I wanted to know you, Maya. From the moment I saw you walking on that beach, I was drawn to you."

"So you deliberately hid your connection to Julian?" The betrayal stung. "Did you know who I was before we met at the café?"

Derek hesitated just long enough for me to know the answer.

"Oh my god," I whispered, sinking onto a chair across from him. "This whole thing was planned. The 'accidental' meeting, the friendship... was any of it real?"

"Everything between us was real," Derek insisted, leaning forward. "My feelings for you are genuine, Maya."

"How am I supposed to believe anything you say now?" I stood up, needing distance from him. "I want you to leave."

"Maya, please—"

"Leave, Derek. Now."

After he left, I collapsed onto the sofa, trying to make sense of everything. The resemblance between Derek and Julian, the convenient timing of our meeting, Derek's intimate knowledge of the town... None of it felt coincidental anymore.

On impulse, I grabbed my phone and opened my photo gallery. Among the pictures I'd taken during my stay were several of Derek. I zoomed in on his face, studying it alongside my memories of Julian. The similarities were undeniable, but I'd attributed them to coincidence. Now, I wondered if there was something more sinister at play.

I spent the day alternating between calling Julian (still no answer) and researching Derek online. His photography website seemed legitimate, featuring the same stunning images that hung in his home. Social media showed a well-traveled man with friends around the world. Nothing suspicious, nothing to suggest deception.

As evening approached, my phone finally buzzed with a text from Julian: "Checking into Bayview Inn. We need to talk. Room 212."

My heart raced as I prepared to meet him. What would I say? How could I explain my actions? And most importantly, what was his connection to Derek?

The Bayview Inn was a modest hotel on the edge of town. I knocked on room 212 with trembling hands.

Julian opened the door, his expression guarded. He'd clearly come straight from work, still wearing a dress shirt though he'd discarded his tie and jacket. He stepped aside to let me in without a word.

"Julian, I—" I began, but he held up a hand.

"Before you say anything, I need to know: how long have you been seeing Derek?"

"I'm not 'seeing' him," I protested. "We met here by chance. He never told me he knew you."

Julian's laugh was bitter. "By chance? Maya, nothing about Derek happens by chance."

"What does that mean?" I asked, frustration building. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

Julian paced the small room, his movements agitated. "Did he tell you anything about himself? His background? His family?"

"He's a photographer. He travels a lot. He has a place here in Bayview." I hesitated. "This morning he said your families knew each other."

"That's one way of putting it," Julian muttered.

"Stop being cryptic!" I demanded. "Just tell me the truth!"

Julian stopped pacing and faced me directly. "Derek is my brother."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "Your brother?" I repeated stupidly. "You don't have a brother. You told me you were an only child."

"I was raised as an only child," Julian corrected. "Derek is... he's been estranged from the family for years."

I sank onto the edge of the bed, trying to process this revelation. "Why didn't you ever tell me about him?"

"Because it's complicated. My parents—our parents—they essentially erased him from our family history." Julian's voice was tight with emotion I rarely heard from him. "After what happened in college, they decided it was better that way."

"What happened in college?"

Julian hesitated. "Derek had... issues. Behavioral problems. He was brilliant but unstable. When his actions threatened my future, my parents made a choice."

The vagueness of his explanation frustrated me. "What kind of choice?"

"They offered him a deal: financial support for life if he stayed away and didn't associate himself with the family name. He took it."

I tried to reconcile the charming, passionate man I'd come to know with Julian's description. "He doesn't seem unstable to me."

"He's very good at appearing however he needs to appear," Julian said darkly. "He always has been."

Something about Julian's tone made me uneasy. "How did you know I was with him last night?"

Julian's expression hardened. "I didn't come here for you, Maya. I came because my father's assistant spotted Derek in Bayview last week. Given our history, I needed to make sure he wasn't planning something."

"Planning what?" I asked, increasingly confused.

"Derek has made it his mission to... disrupt my life whenever possible. It's a game to him."

A horrible suspicion formed in my mind. "Are you saying he sought me out deliberately? To get back at you?"

Julian's silence was answer enough.

"No," I shook my head in denial. "The way he looked at me, talked to me... it wasn't an act."

"Derek has always wanted what I have," Julian said quietly. "From the time we were children."

My mind was racing, trying to piece together this new reality. "You're twins," I said suddenly, the resemblance finally making sense. "Identical twins."

Julian nodded. "Yes."

"Why hide that from me? For five years of marriage, you never once mentioned having a twin brother!"

"Because Derek is dangerous, Maya!" Julian's calm facade cracked. "Not in the obvious way, but in how he gets inside people's heads, makes them question everything they thought they knew."

I thought of Derek's intense gaze, his uncanny ability to see past my defenses. "I need proof," I said firmly. "Show me something that proves what you're saying."

Julian pulled out his phone, scrolled through it, then handed it to me. The photo showed two young men in graduation caps and gowns, arms around each other's shoulders, grinning widely. Unmistakably Julian and Derek, perhaps twenty-two years old. They looked happy, close.

"That was the last day we were anything like brothers," Julian said quietly. "A week later, everything fell apart."

I handed the phone back, my mind reeling. "I need to talk to Derek. I need to hear his side."

"That's exactly what he wants," Julian warned. "To come between us."

"You did that all by yourself," I snapped, years of frustration bubbling over. "You checked out of our marriage long before Derek appeared."

Julian flinched as if I'd slapped him. "Is that why you were kissing him last night? To punish me?"

"No!" I protested, then more quietly, "No. It happened because for the first time in years, I felt seen. Desired. Alive."

"With my brother," Julian said flatly. "My twin brother who has spent his entire adult life trying to take everything I care about."

The implications of his statement hung in the air between us. After a long moment, I asked the question that had been forming since Julian's revelation.

"If what you're saying is true, if Derek deliberately sought me out..." I took a deep breath. "Does that mean he doesn't actually care about me? That everything between us has been manipulation?"

Julian's expression softened slightly. "I don't know, Maya. Derek is complex. His feelings for you might be real, but his motives are suspect."

I needed to know the truth. Rising from the bed, I headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Julian asked.

"To talk to Derek."

"Maya, wait—"

But I was already gone, determination propelling me forward. I needed to confront Derek, to see his reaction when I questioned him directly. I needed to know if I'd been nothing but a pawn in some twisted game between brothers.

When I reached Derek's beach house, I didn't bother knocking. I tried the door and found it unlocked, striding in with my heart pounding.

Derek was in his living room, a glass of whiskey in hand. He didn't seem surprised to see me.

"Julian told you," he said. Not a question.

"Why didn't you?" I demanded.

Derek set down his glass and approached me slowly. "Would you have given me a chance if you'd known I was Julian's brother? His twin?"

"You lied to me," I said, backing away from his advance. "You manipulated me."

"I withheld information," he corrected. "I never lied about my feelings for you."

"How can I believe anything you say?" I turned away, but my eyes fell on his desk. A folder lay open, papers and photographs spilling out. One photo caught my attention—Julian and me on our wedding day.

I moved toward it before Derek could stop me. The folder contained newspaper clippings about Julian's business success, photos of us at various events, even a copy of our wedding announcement.

"What is this?" I whispered, horror growing as I realized the extent of Derek's obsession. "Have you been stalking us?"

"Research," Derek said, his voice unnervingly calm. "I needed to understand."

"Understand what?"

Derek took my shoulders, forcing me to face him. "What he has that I don't. Why everyone always chooses him."

I pulled away violently. "You're insane."

"No, Maya," Derek's eyes burned with intensity. "I'm just the version of him you never got to see. The side he keeps hidden. The truth."

My phone buzzed in my pocket—Julian calling. Derek's eyes flicked to it.

"Go ahead," he said with a cold smile. "Answer it. Run back to him. But remember how alive you felt with me. Remember what it's like to be truly wanted."

I backed toward the door, suddenly afraid of the stranger before me. "Stay away from me."

As I fled into the night, Derek called after me: "You can't hide from the truth forever, Maya! I am the side of him he never wanted you to see!"


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