Could It Be You? |✓

(19) Guesses - part 2

Emma is confused. She is utterly confused.

To help herself, she has made a few conjectures for why Collin could be a Clark. The options go something like this:

One. She marries a Clark, so their baby boy will obviously inherit that last name. This is straight forward.

Two. Her husband has an affair one year into their marriage and the baby is brought up by a stepfather, whose last name is Clark.

Three. She divorces her husband in a year, and he has a new family, with a stepson named Collin Alexander Clark.

Four. Collin is adopted, and for some reason, kept his surname from somewhere else.

Five. Collin lied.

In any case, every option, other than the first, is complicated. 

The tropical sun beats down on her as Emma lies on a bench facing the sea. The calming sea breeze and lulling waves do nothing to ease her frustrated state of mind, however, as she tries to be a Sherlock Holmes with the mystery. Alice is right next to her, delightfully sipping on lemonade. She behaves like a full-on diva, with her gigantic sunhat, obnoxious shades and black bikini. Since she has sworn off all high-intensity activities for the sake of her baby, she can do nothing else except sun-tan. Emma opted to accompany her like a good sister, while Ethan and Liam have gone off to indulge in water sports. They lie face down on mats, and Emma rests her head on her arms as her mind spins away. 

Emma looks at Alice and ponders how to put her words. There is a crucial piece of information that, perhaps, only Alice can help with. "Do you still have the guest list for your wedding?" she asks.

Alice turns around and frowns. "I'm afraid not... you know I'm terrible at keeping organised. What do you need that for?"

"Just checking some things. Do you recall a Matthias Clark?" She doesn't recall seeing him three years ago, neither did Ethan when she checked last night, but they could have missed him. 

"Who's that? I can't remember off the bat. Even if he's not on the guest list, he could be with a date."

"Right."

Alice raises an eyebrow at Emma, then continues, "You're suspicious. First, you ask me about the most important day of my life, and now my wedding guest list."

Emma knows, too, that she is giving really odd requests.

"Well, maybe I can check for you when we go home. It's probably tucked somewhere in my computer." 

She is thankful that her sister doesn't probe more, because she wouldn't have known how to explain. Coming forth does not sound like the best thing to do. For now, she hopes that if she could get hold of that information, it would shed some light on the situation, and give her some direction.

Matthias Clark. Now, where does she even begin?

He was her crush during university days. It was a story that could have been but which fizzled out not too long after graduation. She has not kept in touch with him all these years, and may she say that it will be absurd if he is to appear in her life within the next few months, set to become the "husband".

Indeed, there is a clock ticking. If Emma is to reasonably walk down the altar within the next ten months - meaning it isn't a shotgun marriage, then she'd have to date the person for at least, say, half a year. That leaves her with four months to cross paths with this supposed "husband" and realistically fall in love with him. That, frankly, isn't a lot of time.

Emma does not understand why, of all people, she has to be the one embroiled in this mess. Knowing the future has its fair share of woes. She is bound by invisible restraints, playing into the hands of destiny with every move, like a pawn on a game board.