Chapter 2: I should have just left

When Brad and I met, I wasn't looking for love. I was trying to escape, to relax at least for a while. I just wanted to be Linda Middleton – a regular 28 year old brunette. That's it. Nothing special, no secret past. Everyone in my new life would think I was just a normal person.

And then I met him. Brad was fun and energetic. His green eyes glowed when he saw me, and the way his wavy brown hair framed his face made him look young. Being with him was like being a kid – something I had missed along the way. He took me to play miniature golf on our first date, and it was his idea to take Tae Kwon Do together.

I didn't think I would gain anything from the Tae Kwon Do class, but I was wrong. I'd never really had close friends before, so eventually becoming best friends with four of our classmates didn't seem like a possibility. In fact, none of them were even attending the class when we started. But now I am getting ahead of myself.

Looking back, I don't know what I had been thinking. I hadn't planned on staying here. When my feelings became so strong, I should have packed up and left. I should have found someone like myself, like I was supposed to. I didn't need to be emotionally attached to anyone normal. And Brad certainly didn't need to be connected to me and my past. Not that there was anyone left from my past.

I had been in town for seven months, and we had been dating for six of those months when he proposed. It had saddened him that I couldn't give an immediate answer. Of course, he wouldn't understand the reasons behind my reluctance.

Brad had purchased a silver wedding ring with a princess cut diamond.

"To match your Mother's ring," he had said, touching the ring that never left my right hand. It was almost the only truth I had told him about myself. My parents had passed away, and this ring had belonged to my mother.

But Brad didn't understand what marrying me meant. He didn't know the consequences for our children, and I didn't know if he could handle the truth – if he even believed me. There really wasn't any proof easily attained, but I decided that I had to tell him. If this man was going to commit his life to me, then he would know what he was committing to.

I would tell him that I had come here to retire, because I was past my prime, no longer useful. I would have to tell him everything, and hope he didn't try to have me committed to a mental institution. Part of me wanted him to run away, and another part hoped he would understand and stand by me even after he knew my terrible history – my family's history and future.

In order for him to understand, I would have to start at the beginning. But where was the beginning, really?

"Brad," I began. "I have a lot of stuff to tell you. It's all going to sound crazy, so just let me tell you the whole thing before you say anything."

"It can't be that bad…" he replied with a confused but sympathetic smile.

"Oh, don't be so sure," and then I decided I would start at my beginning.