Ruby (Landry 1)

Daphne was sitting on the sofa, looking surprisingly

subdued. Daddy stood in front of her, his hands on his

hips, looking much stronger. I gazed from him to

Daphne, who shifted her eyes from me guiltily. "I told Gisselle the truth," I said.

"Are you satisfied now?" Daphne fired at

Daddy. "I warned you she would eventually destroy

the tender fabric that held this family together. I

warned you."

"I wanted her to tell Gisselle," he said. "What?"

"It's time we all faced the truth, no matter how

painful, Daphne. Ruby is right. We can't go on living in a world of lies. What you did to her was bad. But what I did to her was even worse. I should never have

made her lie, too."

"That's easy for you to say, Pierre," Daphne

retorted, her lips trembling and her eyes unexpectedly

tearing. "In this society, you will be forgiven for your

indiscretion. It's almost expected for you to have an

affair, but what about me? How am I to face society

now?" she moaned. She was crying. I never thought

I'd see tears emerge from those stone cold eyes, but

she was feeling so sorry for herself, she couldn't

prevent it.

In a way, despite all she had done to me, I felt

sorry for her, too. Her world, a world built on

falsehoods, on deceits, and propped up with blocks

and blocks of fabrications was crumbling right before

her eyes and she couldn't stop it.

"We all have a lot of mending to do, Daphne. I,

especially, have to find the strength to repair the

damage I've done to people I love."

"Yes, you do," she wailed.