*Chapter One*
The Chain Begins
The citizens of Harmony, Maine all seem to be normal people living peaceful, average lives in what seems to be the quietest little town in the state. But if you look more closely and get to know them better, you'd know that there's more to them than anyone can think. They have hidden deep dark secrets of the past that still haunt them day after day, but they would never show them for fear that all the lives of those close to them would collapse and the relationships between them would be destroyed. Little did they know that one single letter had the power to change the lives of everyone in Harmony, whether to fulfill a divine destiny or a disastrous fate.
Kay and her friends were all just hanging out at the Book Café when Miguel and Charity walked in, hand-in-hand, lovesick smiles plastered on their faces. Kay scowled at the happy couple that was obviously deeply in love. 'Ugh! I just can't stand that little Miss Perfect cousin of mine all over the man of my dreams. But that certainly won't last for long, because deep down inside he loves me, and I've loved him all my life! As soon as I execute a brilliant plan, Miguel will be mine .' she thought to herself with an evil gleam in her eye. Simone saw this and her eyes narrowed when she wondered what her best friend could be up to now. Jessica rolled her eyes at her scheming sister, but she figured that even though whatever plan she had in store for Miguel and Charity could be no good, she knew it would never work, since none of her sister's evil plans worked anyway. Reese was puzzled by his love's devious expression, but figured that it was only his own imagination. They all greeted Miguel and Charity and continued their conversation.
At the Youth Center, Sheridan was finishing up her last community service hours, and even though she wouldn't want to admit it, she really felt pretty sad, because she wouldn't be around Luis anymore, even though they hated each other's guts. Luis watched Sheridan, unaware of the pain she felt, and even though part of him was singing Hallelujah and yelping for joy, another part of him dreaded the minute she'd leave. He checked his watch, and she had only 10 minutes to go, so he wanted to make those last minutes special, despite the fact that she'd probably never agree to it. He walked over to the equipment room where she was stacking the mats and said, "Sheridan, your time's almost up, and since we're both hoping that time would fast forward right now, let's try to make it. Would you accept the challenge of one last tango before you go?" "If it would give you a little comfort before we must part, then alright, I will," Sheridan said with a sly grin. He grinned just as slyly back and led her to the center of the gym. He snapped his fingers and on went the tango music. Sheridan smiled and said, "You had this planned didn't you?" But Luis wasn't listening since the music was taking over him and he said, "So are we gonna dance or what?" Sheridan nodded and they tangoed, desperately trying to deny to themselves the passion they felt, or how they yearned to stay this close in each other's arms forever. Before he dipped her down, he held her so close against his chest that he could smell her perfume and she could feel the warmth of his breath, and they looked into each other's eyes and finally saw the love for each other that was restrained for too long. Her eyes fluttered shut as he grazed his lips on her cheek and slowly dipped her down in the final position. When she came back up they just stared at each other, neither saying a word, until they leaned in to share their first kiss, to fulfill the desire that they felt for each other since the moment they first met. But suddenly Luis backed away, refusing to give in to a Crane. Instead, he looked at his watch and said, "Well, Princess, it looks like your time's up. I guess time can fast forward when you really, really want it to," he said. "I guess it does. I'm finally free of the agonizing hours of putting up with such a slave driver like YOU!" she exclaimed with a cold tone. She ran off before he could see her tears, and he looked away before she could see his miserable expression.
"Gwen? Gwen, are you home? Where'd you go?" Ethan came through the front doorway and walked around the Crane mansion, looking all over for his fiancé, wondering where she had gone off to. He and Gwen had been enjoying an intimate night at the beach when she suddenly jumped up and said she just realized she was supposed to be at the mansion for an important meeting. Ethan was quite confused since he hadn't heard about any business conference, but he got a call from Sheridan to go to her cottage because she needed someone to talk to, so he shrugged it off. He'd check out what was going on in the mansion before he visited her. "Gwen?" he inquired again. "Ethan! What are you doing here??? I mean, uh, I'm getting ready for that meeting right now, I'll be right out in a minute, alright?" Gwen said in a rushed and nervous tone. Ethan's brows furrowed at her anxious manner, but figured that maybe this was a really big important assembly and wondered why he wasn't required to attend. "Hey, you know I found this a little peculiar since I hadn't heard about any business conference." he said before he heard a rustling, a thud, and a groan. "Gwen? Are you alright?" he asked while climbing quickly up the stairs. "Yes, I'm fine! I just tripped over a footstool. You can come up now," she said breathlessly. Ethan walked into the doorway to find Gwen wearing a dark violet silk negligee in their bedroom lighted by many surrounding vanilla candles and he spotted a catering cart at the side of the bed with a scrumptious dessert tray and an ice bucket packed with bottles of fine champagne. Gwen saw Ethan eyeing the side bed bar and said, "Just in case you don't get as much a satisfyingly sweet dessert and nightcap, not that you really need it," she said wickedly. "I bet I won't," he said with a mischievous grin as he leaned in to kiss her. Neither of them noticed a pair of brown eyes watching from the crack of the slightly opened doorway, let alone knew that there were tears in those eyes. That someone else watching the scene before her wept, despair clutching at her heart and whispered, "Oh Ethan, I wish that were me instead of Gwen. I know I'll find a way to show you that I love you with all of my heart, and that if you got to know me better, you'd love me back."
Sheridan wondered where Ethan was because she really needed someone to talk to. She felt like calling Pilar, but she wouldn't have wanted to bother her and besides, she was Luis's mother, so she couldn't really talk to her about her own son. But Pilar came for a visit anyway, so Sheridan explained her problem (in the "my friend has a problem" form of course). "Pilar, my friend has a serious problem. She's fallen in love with a man who one minute seems like he hates her, the next minute seems like he truly feels the same way, and the next minute he switches back to hating her! What do you think she should do?" Sheridan asked hopelessly. Pilar smiled knowingly and said, "She should tell him how she really feels for him, and if he turns her down, at least she'll know for sure and it would be his loss, not hers." Sheridan looked down and frowned. "I'm not so sure about that. Sure, sometimes he can get annoying, but sometimes she sees how wonderful and loving he is when she looks deeply into his eyes," she said with a dazed look in her eyes. Pilar smiled and said, "First of all, you can just say it's you, not your friend, and second of all, if he's so wonderful and loving, he'd know that you're just as wonderful and loving and he'd be delighted to go out with you." Sheridan sighed and said, "I sure do hope so." Pilar looked at her and took an envelope out of her pocket.
"Sheridan, I want you to give this to the man that you love anonymously before you confess to anything. It has directions telling him to send this to the woman he loves within three days, and if she were the one who sent it, she'd know that you return her feelings. But if he sends it to a stranger of this letter, she would be instructed to send it to the man she loves. If there are no connections made, it will continue circulating to many other people. I'd prefer it if a connection was made between you and that man because I'd like to know the whereabouts of the letter, and it is supposed to create a special sentiment, and if it's not made for you or anybody else, it will lose its meaning. This is the way my husband told me he loved me for the first time, and it means a lot to me, and because you're deeply in love and you mean a lot to me, too, I pass it on to you," Pilar said. "Oh, thank you so much, Pilar. This is a wonderful way to profess my love for him, but I hope he returns it to me. I hope I'll be able to give it back to you. Have you shown this to any of your children?" she asked just in case Luis had seen it. "Oh, no I haven't. But I will when they find love and need to show it, and when you return the letter to me," Pilar said with a reassuring smile. Sheridan smiled and hugged Pilar. "Thank you for everything. I hope I can show as wonderful a gesture as you've done so to me," Sheridan said and smiled gratefully. Pilar smiled warmly and after she said goodbye and left the cottage, she thought to herself, 'Don't worry, you will when you become my daughter-in-law.' She smiled again and walked back to her house as fast as she could, excited to see when Luis would receive the letter and what his reaction would be.
The citizens of Harmony, Maine all seem to be normal people living peaceful, average lives in what seems to be the quietest little town in the state. But if you look more closely and get to know them better, you'd know that there's more to them than anyone can think. They have hidden deep dark secrets of the past that still haunt them day after day, but they would never show them for fear that all the lives of those close to them would collapse and the relationships between them would be destroyed. Little did they know that one single letter had the power to change the lives of everyone in Harmony, whether to fulfill a divine destiny or a disastrous fate.
Kay and her friends were all just hanging out at the Book Café when Miguel and Charity walked in, hand-in-hand, lovesick smiles plastered on their faces. Kay scowled at the happy couple that was obviously deeply in love. 'Ugh! I just can't stand that little Miss Perfect cousin of mine all over the man of my dreams. But that certainly won't last for long, because deep down inside he loves me, and I've loved him all my life! As soon as I execute a brilliant plan, Miguel will be mine .' she thought to herself with an evil gleam in her eye. Simone saw this and her eyes narrowed when she wondered what her best friend could be up to now. Jessica rolled her eyes at her scheming sister, but she figured that even though whatever plan she had in store for Miguel and Charity could be no good, she knew it would never work, since none of her sister's evil plans worked anyway. Reese was puzzled by his love's devious expression, but figured that it was only his own imagination. They all greeted Miguel and Charity and continued their conversation.
At the Youth Center, Sheridan was finishing up her last community service hours, and even though she wouldn't want to admit it, she really felt pretty sad, because she wouldn't be around Luis anymore, even though they hated each other's guts. Luis watched Sheridan, unaware of the pain she felt, and even though part of him was singing Hallelujah and yelping for joy, another part of him dreaded the minute she'd leave. He checked his watch, and she had only 10 minutes to go, so he wanted to make those last minutes special, despite the fact that she'd probably never agree to it. He walked over to the equipment room where she was stacking the mats and said, "Sheridan, your time's almost up, and since we're both hoping that time would fast forward right now, let's try to make it. Would you accept the challenge of one last tango before you go?" "If it would give you a little comfort before we must part, then alright, I will," Sheridan said with a sly grin. He grinned just as slyly back and led her to the center of the gym. He snapped his fingers and on went the tango music. Sheridan smiled and said, "You had this planned didn't you?" But Luis wasn't listening since the music was taking over him and he said, "So are we gonna dance or what?" Sheridan nodded and they tangoed, desperately trying to deny to themselves the passion they felt, or how they yearned to stay this close in each other's arms forever. Before he dipped her down, he held her so close against his chest that he could smell her perfume and she could feel the warmth of his breath, and they looked into each other's eyes and finally saw the love for each other that was restrained for too long. Her eyes fluttered shut as he grazed his lips on her cheek and slowly dipped her down in the final position. When she came back up they just stared at each other, neither saying a word, until they leaned in to share their first kiss, to fulfill the desire that they felt for each other since the moment they first met. But suddenly Luis backed away, refusing to give in to a Crane. Instead, he looked at his watch and said, "Well, Princess, it looks like your time's up. I guess time can fast forward when you really, really want it to," he said. "I guess it does. I'm finally free of the agonizing hours of putting up with such a slave driver like YOU!" she exclaimed with a cold tone. She ran off before he could see her tears, and he looked away before she could see his miserable expression.
"Gwen? Gwen, are you home? Where'd you go?" Ethan came through the front doorway and walked around the Crane mansion, looking all over for his fiancé, wondering where she had gone off to. He and Gwen had been enjoying an intimate night at the beach when she suddenly jumped up and said she just realized she was supposed to be at the mansion for an important meeting. Ethan was quite confused since he hadn't heard about any business conference, but he got a call from Sheridan to go to her cottage because she needed someone to talk to, so he shrugged it off. He'd check out what was going on in the mansion before he visited her. "Gwen?" he inquired again. "Ethan! What are you doing here??? I mean, uh, I'm getting ready for that meeting right now, I'll be right out in a minute, alright?" Gwen said in a rushed and nervous tone. Ethan's brows furrowed at her anxious manner, but figured that maybe this was a really big important assembly and wondered why he wasn't required to attend. "Hey, you know I found this a little peculiar since I hadn't heard about any business conference." he said before he heard a rustling, a thud, and a groan. "Gwen? Are you alright?" he asked while climbing quickly up the stairs. "Yes, I'm fine! I just tripped over a footstool. You can come up now," she said breathlessly. Ethan walked into the doorway to find Gwen wearing a dark violet silk negligee in their bedroom lighted by many surrounding vanilla candles and he spotted a catering cart at the side of the bed with a scrumptious dessert tray and an ice bucket packed with bottles of fine champagne. Gwen saw Ethan eyeing the side bed bar and said, "Just in case you don't get as much a satisfyingly sweet dessert and nightcap, not that you really need it," she said wickedly. "I bet I won't," he said with a mischievous grin as he leaned in to kiss her. Neither of them noticed a pair of brown eyes watching from the crack of the slightly opened doorway, let alone knew that there were tears in those eyes. That someone else watching the scene before her wept, despair clutching at her heart and whispered, "Oh Ethan, I wish that were me instead of Gwen. I know I'll find a way to show you that I love you with all of my heart, and that if you got to know me better, you'd love me back."
Sheridan wondered where Ethan was because she really needed someone to talk to. She felt like calling Pilar, but she wouldn't have wanted to bother her and besides, she was Luis's mother, so she couldn't really talk to her about her own son. But Pilar came for a visit anyway, so Sheridan explained her problem (in the "my friend has a problem" form of course). "Pilar, my friend has a serious problem. She's fallen in love with a man who one minute seems like he hates her, the next minute seems like he truly feels the same way, and the next minute he switches back to hating her! What do you think she should do?" Sheridan asked hopelessly. Pilar smiled knowingly and said, "She should tell him how she really feels for him, and if he turns her down, at least she'll know for sure and it would be his loss, not hers." Sheridan looked down and frowned. "I'm not so sure about that. Sure, sometimes he can get annoying, but sometimes she sees how wonderful and loving he is when she looks deeply into his eyes," she said with a dazed look in her eyes. Pilar smiled and said, "First of all, you can just say it's you, not your friend, and second of all, if he's so wonderful and loving, he'd know that you're just as wonderful and loving and he'd be delighted to go out with you." Sheridan sighed and said, "I sure do hope so." Pilar looked at her and took an envelope out of her pocket.
"Sheridan, I want you to give this to the man that you love anonymously before you confess to anything. It has directions telling him to send this to the woman he loves within three days, and if she were the one who sent it, she'd know that you return her feelings. But if he sends it to a stranger of this letter, she would be instructed to send it to the man she loves. If there are no connections made, it will continue circulating to many other people. I'd prefer it if a connection was made between you and that man because I'd like to know the whereabouts of the letter, and it is supposed to create a special sentiment, and if it's not made for you or anybody else, it will lose its meaning. This is the way my husband told me he loved me for the first time, and it means a lot to me, and because you're deeply in love and you mean a lot to me, too, I pass it on to you," Pilar said. "Oh, thank you so much, Pilar. This is a wonderful way to profess my love for him, but I hope he returns it to me. I hope I'll be able to give it back to you. Have you shown this to any of your children?" she asked just in case Luis had seen it. "Oh, no I haven't. But I will when they find love and need to show it, and when you return the letter to me," Pilar said with a reassuring smile. Sheridan smiled and hugged Pilar. "Thank you for everything. I hope I can show as wonderful a gesture as you've done so to me," Sheridan said and smiled gratefully. Pilar smiled warmly and after she said goodbye and left the cottage, she thought to herself, 'Don't worry, you will when you become my daughter-in-law.' She smiled again and walked back to her house as fast as she could, excited to see when Luis would receive the letter and what his reaction would be.