Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 569

"Unhealthy?" I asked, looking back at him in shock. "What do you mean by that? Sparrow, you have no idea how much Tasha means to me."

"I do know," Sparrow stepped a little closer. "She means so much to you that you would give up your life for her without a second thought. Am I right?"

"Yes, I would," I told him, not backing down at all. "Every time I look at Tasha, I see Lynette's face. Before Lynette dyed her hair, she used to be blonde. Honestly, I think Lynette was even more beautiful than Tasha, but the family resemblance is right there."

Sparrow nodded slowly. "Hmm. So between Tasha and Lynette, who do you love more?"

A gentle smile touched my lips. "That's easy. Lynette. Always Lynette. But Lynette isn't in this world anymore, and Tasha is her only child. Nobody else alive will ever understand how much Lynette suffered after she lost Tasha. Nobody except me, because I watched it happen with my own two eyes."

Sparrow remained quiet, listening carefully to every word.

"Lynette wasn't just my big sister," I told him, looking out into the night. "She was a mother to me. My idol. My role model. Our parents were poor, but Lynette always worked hard to make something of herself. She went to school, gave it everything, and started her own company at a very young age.

She was brilliant. Unfortunately, she fell in love with a monster, and back then, she had no idea how evil he really was. If Lynette were still alive and running her company today, I'm sure it would have grown into one of the biggest companies in the world."

"Really?" Sparrow asked. "So what happened to her company?"

"It was all lost because of me."

"Did she let a twelve-year-old child take on that kind of task?"

"At first, she thought I was just talking like a kid," I said. "Until life dealt us another terrible blow. We found out Lynette was sick with leukemia."

Sparrow's eyes softened with rare sympathy. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"Her life was filled with so much pain," I said, my voice hardening. "It felt unfair. Once she realized she was running out of time, she had no choice. She wanted to look for Tasha herself, but she feared she wouldn't live long enough to do it. So she started training me to take her place and we searched for Tasha together."