Köhler Lies and Deception Book 11 of The Köhler Series

Lies and Deception

Elijah knew he needed sleep, but it was hard knowing his father was in ICU, and he couldn't stop thinking about how his twin deceived them. He was pissed and somewhat hated her for doing so. Melody knew she could tell him anything, and he wouldn't judge, but she felt she couldn't trust him with her secret. Eli knew something was up, but she insisted everything was fine. He should have pushed her more, but they had promised each other that they would give space when needed. He shouldn't have listened, but he didn't want to upset her.

It was unbelievable she would do something like this. How could she ever believe they would hate her? She was always there when they needed her; why couldn't she see they would do the same for her? Eli's thoughts were running wild, and every time he shut his eyes, he saw his sister's body in his arms. She was dead... he knew she was dead. There was no faking it. He needed to know how she did it.

They knew why, but he didn't believe it was the true story. It wasn't the first time someone in their family fucked with the enemy. Therefore, he knew it was more to the story. Still, that wasn't his concern; Elijah wanted to know how she had done it. How did she make it seem so real, and why did she traumatize him? For months, he was seeing her everywhere he turned, and it made him think he was going crazy. Only he wasn't because he was sure it was her he was seeing. Why did she feel the need to make him feel crazy?

Elijah couldn't lie around and wait for answers. He needed to know them now as he sat up quickly and looked over at his sleeping wife. She's been a trooper through all of his bullshit, and he hated to make her worry more about him. Still, he quietly left the bed and went to the bathroom to shower. Once he was done, he went back to his bedroom and found Zakiya sitting up in bed.

"Baby, you hadn't slept since she came back. It's not good, and I—"

"Don't want me to go crazy again. Ja, I know what you think, but that's not going to happen. I need to talk to my twin."

"Elijah, it's three in the morning. You're honestly not about to go wake her in the middle of the night, are you?" With a sigh, Eli walked into the closet and dressed. He didn't care about the time, and he knew Melody didn't sleep at night unless she changed, but that was something he was about to find out.

"Elijah!"

"Kiya, go back to bed. I'm not going to start an argument; I only want to talk to her. One-on-one because I need to understand what happened. I went through hell after she left. I need to sort this out with her and have a sober mind while doing it. My Dad is lying in fucking ICU, and they are telling us he may not make it... I need to go."

He couldn't think about what could happen. Elijah needed to focus on his sister and do something he had never done, which was to pray. Losing it again wasn't an option. Therefore, he left his home and went straight to the house where his sister was staying, knocking on the door, but he wasn't expecting a man to be on the other side.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man looked taken back, but he chuckled to himself, stepping to the side. Only he wasn't going into the home until he told him who the hell he was. He may have been in his sister's home, but Eli wasn't trusting the fool for shit. "Naw nigga, I asked you a damn question. And what are you doing in my sister's home?"

"I take it your sister hadn't told you about me. I'm Ephraim Huang—Melody's boyfriend." Elijah laughed, but he stared, making him realize he was telling him the truth. "Damn, I thought you were kidding. You do know she's married, right?"

"I'm well aware—"

"Good, now where the hell is my twin?" Ephraim stood there for a moment before sighing and asking him to come in. Eli thought he was going to get Mel until he heard a child whining. Curiosity caused him to follow the sound into the room finding Ephraim picking up a toddler.