Dawning (Dysmorphia Series #3)

The Truth

Florence had thought that being proposed to would hopefully be a once in a lifetime thing, if someone loved you enough to ask you to marry them, they had to be the one right?

But now, for the second time in her life, a guy who she definitely loved was asking her to marry him, scrap that practically begging her judging by the agonised look on his face, she wanted to say yes, marriage would cement their relationship and stop her feeling so insecure all the time, wouldn't it?

But just for once Florence had to put sentiment aside and think about reality, the reality was that this could just be Cole's way of winning her back with no questions asked, bringing her back home happy with a ring on her finger, but how long would their temporary happiness last?

Gently she bent over and took the hand he held the ring in in her own, encasing it inside.

"Cole you know I love you, but I think we need this separation, one day I will gladly marry you, I just don't think today is our day and I'm not going to accept your proposal even if I really want to on the grounds that this all seems really rushed, like you woke up this morning and realised you didn't want to be alone and this was your way to resolve everything without putting any real effort in, a relationship isn't a one way thing"

He looked shocked, and then remorseful, he took her arm and they sat knees touching on Cooper's doorstep.

"Florence, don't for a second think that I only came here because in some twisted way I wanted to brainwash you into accepting my many, many faults I don't want you to marry me just because, I want you to marry me because I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, and it's for that reason that I should probably tell you that I haven't been at work this past month working overtime like I told you..."

She didn't know what to say, what exactly was he admitting to here?

Seeing the expression on her face he quickly elaborated.

"I got my first hint at the fact that everything I'd ever believed was a lie around a year ago, I didn't want to bring it up with you because you had your own problems and we were so happy, but a year ago I received an email, it was from a woman named Jessica Parker, a woman who worked at a Michigan Adoption Agency who said she urgently needed to talk to me, at first I thought it was a scam but something inside me told me this was important, I called her back and what I found out made a lot of things make sense. She told me that twenty-three years ago a woman named Elizabeth Warren gave up her three children, it wasn't a closed adoption if any of the children wanted to find their Mother in the future they wouldn't be prevented from doing so"

Florence's mind was spinning, was Cole talking about himself, was there more to his story than she'd ever considered?

He squeezed her hand.

"Elizabeth Warren was my Mother, my Mother by birth at least, at the age of one me and Chase were adopted by a Mr and Mrs Roberts, they wanted a new life for their two sons so they gave us their surname, usually adoption agencies try and keep siblings together but the Robert's could only take two sons, and at the same time a couple became interested in adopting the girl, Annie"

"Wait..."

Florence had to interrupt him, she could barely keep up with these new facts being tossed her way.

"So you have a sister, you and Chase weren't twins... you were triplets?"

He nodded.