Deathbed Confession

"Now if you're asking about the logistics... well it wasn't difficult. I simply moved a little money from my off shore account and added it to a couple of promises to undercharge for services on specific construction projects to cover the cost.

"Maggie, don't look so surprised. Every person who's ever been in construction has worked with people who claim to know someone who knows someone. The thing is a few of them actually do."

Lizzy gently continued. "When Sam got out of the hospital we all knew he wasn't the same. He was broken physically and fragile emotionally. He lied to my face and swore your affair had ended before he went to Pittsburg. He swore he wanted to work on our marriage if I'd abort my baby.

"I told him since he was sterile I was keeping the child, but agreed to never tell anyone she wasn't his. I also told him if he ever told you I knew, I'd do everything possible to ruin what was left of his life. You see sister, he did love you, but I made sure to emphasize that you would NEVER end up back with him once you learned of his part in your abortion.

"He asked me why I didn't want you or Harry to know. I explained to him if he told you I'd be forced to confront both you and Harry and there was a good chance I'd lose both a sister and a brother-in-law! I told him it wasn't something I was willing to risk because I still needed you both. Reluctantly, he agreed.

"Afterwards, Harry helped me to tie up our finances. We locked up most of Sam and my money so he wouldn't be able to use it to threaten me in a divorce.

"That started several months of hell with us trying to determine if there was any reason to save our marriage. I know Sam still hoped there was, but I knew there wasn't. I was simply trying to figure out what to do next.

"Sam continued to slowly recover from his accident. It was very difficult for him and he was frustrated as he watched my pregnancy continue. After Becky was born, he struggled to even hold her. I think we both realized things would never be okay between us again.

"My problem was I couldn't get over his betrayal, and it was even worse since he'd done it with my sister. To make things even more complicated, I realized I had very strong feelings for your husband by that time. Our revenge affair had ended after the accident. I'd wanted to continue, but Harry still loved you. So we decided to work on our respective marriages until after Becky was born.

"Things for Sam were quickly spiraling downward. His work started falling apart and our marriage was dying. He desperately tried to hang on, but it was a losing battle. Then when Becky was about five months old, Sam figured out who the father was.

"Maybe it was the way Harry looked at Becky or the way I looked at Harry, but Sam noticed and connected the dots. It was then that Sam made a huge mistake. He confronted both of us and threatened to tell you. I'm not sure if it was his ego, his anger, or just plain stupidity, but he began trying to hurt Harry by taunting him. He was bragging about his part in your abortion.

"Whatever small restraint Harry still had up until then completely disappeared. That was the night Sam almost drowned in our bathtub. We told everyone Sam had tried to stand and accidently fallen, but the truth was Harry dumped him out of his wheelchair into the tub."

Maggie stared in disbelief that her gentle husband could be so violent. Harold looked very uncomfortable as he looked guiltily back at his cheating wife.

"I'm not very proud of my actions back then," he said softly, looking embarrassed. "I was filled with a rage I'd always tried to hide from you, but Sam unleashed it that night. Thank God Lizzy was there. She was screaming at me not to kill him as I held his head under the water. She finally got me to come to my senses or I probably would've killed him. Once she'd gotten through to me, I pulled him out of the bathtub.

"He was choking and gasping and crying. I told him one word from him and I'd finish this and make sure it looked like his other ACCIDENT. I could see in his eyes the realization of what I'd just said, and I'm sure he knew I would make good on my threat. After that, things got... well, things got pretty strange."

"Why?" Maggie said in a stunned voice. "What do you mean strange?"

"Well ..." Harold started. "Well after that, we sort of... well—"

"What he's trying to say," Lizzy interjected calmly, "is we restarted our revenge affair. Only this time, I flaunted it in Sam's face!"

"Lizzy, you didn't!" Maggie gasped.

"I sure as hell did! You know he deserved it, you both did. But Harry still loved you and was protecting you so all my rage and pain was aimed at my cheating husband. He begged and pleaded me to stop, but I told him he'd cheated on me for years and I planned to continue for a while. I told him at the end of that time I'd stop and we'd decide if either of us wanted to try and save whatever was left of our marriage.

"I truly believe that hope was the only thing he was hanging on to those last few months. Unfortunately, when I told him I was pregnant again and Harry was the father, he knew we were over.

"Yes, he did know about John. About a week after I broke the news to him, he waited for me to take Becky with me to the store and took his own life. If he hadn't, I'm not sure how our lives would've been different."

"For Lizzy's part," Harold added, "we made sure she and the kids were taken care of. We unfroze her family finances, including Sam's inheritance, which was originally intended for his long-term care. Added to those were the funds I was diverting into my offshore account. Combined, it easily allowed her to stay home with the kids for many years.

"How did I divert the money? Well, that was actually pretty easy. With both of our salaries we certainly weren't hurting financially, so there was never a good reason for you to look too closely. I didn't touch any of your individual investments, but filtered most of mine along with any bonuses and raises into my offshore account. You were so focused on your career you never really asked why my raises and bonuses were so low.

"When Becky and John were old enough to go to school, I arranged for Lizzy to be hired as a consultant by one of the companies I'd worked with. It gave her flexible hours using her degree, and since her pay was supplemented by my offshore account, it was equivalent to a full-time salary. Between that and their inheritance, they were set for life."

"My turn," Lizzy interrupted.

She cleared her throat and threw a sweet smile at Harold. He snorted a muffled laugh and acquiesced.

"With my money matters being taken care of," Lizzy began softly, "it allowed me to focus on the disaster that was my private life. Things became very complicated during my pregnancy with John. Besides my feelings for Harry, his began to change towards me. It wasn't a revenge affair anymore. Harry had begun to care for me more than as a friend."

Maggie quickly looked back and forth between her sister and husband. Her question was obvious. It was on the tip of her tongue but she was terrified to ask it.

"You see, sweetheart," Harold said gently. "I really do understand when you said you were in love with both Sam and I. I found myself doing the same thing. Of course, I would've never allowed myself to fall in love with Lizzy if I hadn't learned about your cheating, first. Regardless, I was now faced with a dilemma.

"I was beginning to care deeply for Lizzy, but I still loved you. Even though you'd torn out my heart with your affair, I wasn't ready to quit on us and throw you away."

Maggie gasped at the bluntness of his statement. She'd never really seriously considered the possibility Harold would've divorced her if her affair had been exposed. Those thoughts had always been quickly dismissed in her mind. Harold's voice drew her attention back to the conversation.

"I think it was hearing you confess your love for me even while you were cheating that gave me some twisted hope our marriage was worth salvaging. Unfortunately, there was no way I'd ever leave Lizzy or the kids, either.

"It wasn't ideal and was probably even cowardly, but I chose to solve the problem by doing nothing. I continued to love you both. I can't explain it, but I've always been so very grateful that Lizzy seemed to accept my feelings. At first, I expected she'd go find someone else after John was born, someone who could love her exclusively—"

"Oh, I tried," Lizzy laughed sadly. "I tried, but my heart kept bringing me back to Harry. So after a year, I told Harry I'd take whatever part of him he could give me. That's when we came up with Jim."

"Jim?" Maggie asked quietly. "Jim wasn't real?"

"Oh, Jim was real," Harold said, smiling, "He was a client of mine from Washington. He owed me a favor and was willing to act like Lizzy's boyfriend the rare times he was in town visiting my company. I know he and his husband thought it was hilarious, him pretending to have a girlfriend!"

"But your visits?" Maggie whispered, obviously both physically and emotionally spent.

"On those occasions Harry was out of town and you were watching the kids, I would join Harry wherever he was and we'd spend some quality alone time. More often than not, though, Harry would come over and we'd spend it as family time."

"The children, "Maggie stammered, "the children knew?"

"No, not at first," Lizzy replied softly. "Oh they knew Harry was acting like a father would. They even began calling him DADDY. We quickly put a stop to that by having them call him HARRY instead. So every time one of them called him HARRY, it was like them calling him DADDY."

Maggie felt her stomach roll and felt very nauseated. She briefly considered the irony that was playing out before her. She wanted to scream, but was too weak, so she watched in horror as the train wreck that was her marriage continued to derail.

"As they got older," Lizzy continued, "they suspected our family wasn't like most. I told them Harry was the father and you and I were like the mothers. That worked for many years until they became teens. Even though they'd already guessed it, we told them the entire truth after their eighteenth birthday. Surprisingly, neither had as many issues as we feared since Harry had always been their Daddy anyway."

"How long did your affair last?" Maggie said weakly as she gathered herself.

Lizzy stared at her dumbfounded. Harold sighed deeply.

"Maggie," he said gently, "it never ended. My love for Lizzy is just as strong, if not stronger, than it was all those years ago. In fact, not to be callous, but we plan on marrying after your death. The kids are looking to legally change their last names as well.

"I'm sorry Maggie. We really had planned on not telling you. We hoped your passing would be as peaceful as possible. Now, that doesn't seem likely."

"Maggie," Lizzy interjected. "I still loved you, even with your betrayal. My betrayal is equally as horrible. You asked if I could forgive you and the answer is YES, but I couldn't forget. Because of that, I justified the things I did back then, things I'm ashamed of. I'm ashamed of how my relationship with Harry began, but not for how much I love him now.

"I love you, Maggie. Even with what you did, I still love you. I also love Harry. In the end, I loved you both enough to share him with you."

"Just like you said earlier, Maggie," Harold added gently. "I love you both. I hope you've had a good life, one full of love and success. I've tried to support your desire for a career and make you feel loved over the years. You asked us to forgive you earlier, and I can honestly say we have, but your affair changed the dynamics of our marriage dramatically. Now the question is, can you forgive us?"

Maggie sat stunned. Her world as she'd known it was crumbling down around her. Things she'd once believed were unshakably true were false. Her heart raced and her breathing was labored as she struggled to wrap her mind around what she'd been told. Then she heard Harold's soft voice drawing her attention.

"Maggie?"

She looked up and stared at her husband and sister. Harold stood behind Lizzy and wrapped his arms around her as her sister wiped any remaining tears from her eyes.

"Maggie," he continued, "I'm sorry you wouldn't listen and chose to air all of this. We'd hoped to avoid all of this. Even so, we realize we've had twenty years to learn to forgive you. You have less than a few weeks. We're going to go into the living room and let you think."

Lizzy stood up and began to follow Harold out of the room. The fact they were holding hands wasn't lost on Maggie. Lizzy turned back towards her bedridden sister.

"Call us if you still need to talk," Lizzy said sadly, "or if you come to any decisions."

Maggie curled up into a ball and wept. Her soul seemed to have been torn out of her body by the pain in her heart. This wasn't the way she expected things to go. The truth in all its ugliness was exposed.

The dying woman was now faced with a harsh dilemma. Could she forgive those who she'd just asked to forgive her? Even more distressing was the realization that in a week or two, it wouldn't even matter.

****

Author's Note: All right, that's my take on the 'soulless bitch confesses on her deathbed' plot. It's one I plotted and began years ago. I took in out of hibernation and toned it down (yeah I actually toned it down!) Is it realistic? Nope! No more or less than what is usually found on here. However, it WAS very therapeutic, at least for me! LOL! Hope you enjoyed.