The door swung open abruptly, and there stood Michael, his eyes dancing with a mix of surprise and amusement. “Am I interrupting something? Trying to steal my bride, are you, Oliver?” he chuckled, obviously mistaking the heavy atmosphere for something else entirely.
Oliver looked at Anna, whose eyes were filled with a confusing blend of relief and despair. It was as though she wanted to both escape from and confront the terrible reality Oliver was about to show her.
Oliver hesitated for a moment but then finally said: “Michael, maybe it’s best if you sit down”. The levity drained from Michael’s face, replaced by a look of concern. Whatever semblance of humor had been there vanished, and for the first time, Oliver felt like he had his full attention.
With a shaky hand, Oliver double-clicked the file, displaying the photos side by side on the screen. On the first picture was the picture he had taken of Michael and Anna earlier that day, but on the second was something that he thought would change their lives forever…
“I know you are living a double life Michael”, he finally blurted out, his voice tinged with both conviction and doubt. “I photographed a wedding a couple of months ago, and the groom—well, see for yourself.”
As he turned the laptop towards Anna, he braced himself for her reaction. Would it be denial, shock, or perhaps a shattered heart collapsing under the weight of betrayal? Yet nothing could have prepared him for what came next.
For a moment, Oliver thought he had ruined her life. But just as quickly, Anna burst into laughter, a sound so full and genuine it seemed to cleanse the air in the room. Oliver was perplexed, caught in the whirlpool of his emotions and her inconceivable reaction.
“Oh Oliver,” she managed to say between giggles, “you’ve got it all wrong!”. His brows furrowed in confusion and relief. What did she mean? How could he have misinterpreted the situation so dramatically?
Before he could ask, Anna, still chuckling, produced her phone from her purse. She tapped a few times and then showed him a photo. The mystery unraveled in a single moment.
“That other man is not Michael; he’s Greg, his twin brother”, she said, still laughing. “He got married seven months ago.”
Oliver felt the room spinning around him as a mix of relief, embarrassment, and sheer astonishment flooded his senses. “Twins? But why do they have different last names?” Oliver stammered, still reeling from the unexpected turn of events.