Bride behind the mask novel (Marguerite)

The following day at noon, the Goldie family was abuzz with anticipation.

Today was the day Miley was bringing her boyfriend, Robert Fitzgerald, home to meet her parents. She had taken the day off from work especially for this occasion.

Robert arrived at the Goldie household laden with all sorts of gifts and goodies, from fine wines to gourmet cheeses. Miley's parents could hardly contain their excitement; they were absolutely delighted!

They were thoroughly impressed with their prospective son-in-law. He was handsome, considerate, and most importantly, Robert didn't carry himself with the haughtiness often associated with the scions of wealthy families. He knew how to charm his way into their hearts.

Within just a couple of hours after arriving, he had Miley's parents, Edgar and Harriet Goldie, grinning from ear to ear, completely won over by his charm.

After a hearty meal, Harriet loaded the dishwasher with the plates and washed some cherries to take to the living room for dessert. Sensing the perfect moment to broach the subject, Robert cleared his throat and spoke in his gentle, soothing voice.

"Mr. and Mrs. Goldie, I was hoping to discuss something with you," he said.

Harriet, busy offering a bowl of cherries to Robert, nodded and encouraged him to continue, "Go ahead, son."

Robert took a deep breath before posing his question, "I've heard from Miley that the Goldie and the Lockwood families used to be neighbors. I was wondering, about twenty-five years ago, do you happen to know if the Lockwoods ever took in a foster child?"

"You're talking about Yuna Lockwood, aren't you?" Edgar chimed in.

After Edgar and Harriet had returned to Stonebridge City, Miley had promptly filled them in on the recent happenings within the Lockwood family. They were as shocked as anyone to learn that Yuna and Marguerite Lockwood were not actually twins.

While Harriet's response gave Robert a moment of hope that she might know something, she quickly shook her head with a look of regret.

"Young man, I won't lie to you, we don't really know much. We were stunned when we first heard about the turmoil in your family. When Zoe Lockwood was due to give birth, Edgar and I had gone to visit my folks. By the time we returned, Zoe had already delivered-not one, but two babies. They claimed they were twins, although one was significantly smaller, almost like a preemie. But since both babies looked so identical, none of us ever suspected that one was adopted," she explained.

"Preemie?" Robert latched onto the word instantly. His sister had been a premature baby, born a month early and placed in an incubator right away. That preemie had to be his sister.

His voice was urgent, "Do you remember the name of that premature baby?"

The years had blurred the details, and Harriet couldn't recall. She turned to Edgar for help.

Edgar took a sip of his water, furrowing his brow in deep thought before finally shaking his head.

"When the children were born, they didn't have names yet. We did visit the Lockwoods once, but Ablett Lockwood and his wife turned us away. They claimed the children were too delicate and that we might carry germs that could make them sick. Looking back now, they weren't worried about illness; they were probably just afraid we'd uncover their secret.

For a long while after that, the Lockwoods-Ablett and his wife, along with Laverne-were constantly at odds, even threatening to send one of the children away. Eventually, they moved away with Yuna, leaving Laverne and Marguerite to fend for themselves.

As for which one was the preemie-Marguerite or Yuna-we truly don't know," Edgar confessed with a heavy sigh.