"You agreed to whatever would help reduce my son's grief!" he shouted. "And now look at what you've done with your hair! You've traumatized him all over again!"
Theo smirked behind his father. "She thinks she deserves her own identity when she's just a stand-in."
Caleb turned to his son. "Go downstairs, Theo. I need to talk to Emma alone."
Theo left, not without a final victorious glance over his shoulder.
"Fix this," Caleb demanded, gesturing to my hair. "Dye it back blonde before dinner. Wear the blue dress Olivia wore to her last birthday. Don't make this day any harder for him."
He slammed the door behind him, leaving me trembling.
I never intended to be in this situation. When Olivia died, Theo had stopped speaking entirely. The therapists said he might never recover from the trauma of losing his mother so violently. Then I visited, Olivia’s identical twin, the aunt he barely knew...and he'd spoken his first words in months.
What started as occasional visits became a desperate plea from Caleb. The therapists suggested that having her around might help Theo process his grief. Caleb had suggested a permanent solution: marriage to give Theo the stability.