Luis rolled back over in bed after hanging up his cell phone and held onto his new bride tightly. Her eyes fluttered open. She was the most beautiful woman in the world and she was all his. "Good morning, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald," he said grinning from ear to ear.

Sheridan was radiant and her face was a glow as he kissed her forehead. "I love you, Luis," she whispered. "I'm so happy to finally be your wife."

"That was Miguel," Luis said after a moment of absorbing the feeling of finally holding Sheridan in his arms as his wife.

"Oh?" Sheridan said. "Is anything wrong?"

"Well, I told him where I was. He's coming here to see what my surprise is all about."

"He won't tell Antonio, will he?" Sheridan asked startled and abruptly sitting up in bed.

"No, no," Luis reassured her. "He'll understand that we need to tell Antonio ourselves, all right? As much as we'd like to, we can't hide out here forever. You're supposed to marry Antonio today and I'm supposed to marry Beth. We have to face reality and tell them sometime before this evening."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "I know this is the right thing but I just don't want to see Antonio's reaction, or Beth's for that matter."

"It'll all work out, Sheridan. Our love will get us through this."

Sheridan reached out and hugged him. The next few hours would probably be the most tumultuous in her life. She didn't want Antonio to die but she couldn't base their marriage on a lie either. It was the right decision to marry the man whom she really loved and now she couldn't go back.

Luis stood up and began to put on his pants. "Where are you going?" Sheridan asked.

"Miguel will be here in about 10 minutes. I'm going to meet him in the lobby."

"I'll come with you. You shouldn't have to break the news alone," Sheridan said, standing up to find her robe.

"Sheridan, stop acting like our marriage is a bad thing. This is happy news," Luis smiled.

"Maybe at the expense of your brother, though," Sheridan ominously mumbled.

"He's going to die sometime in the next month. Even though I don't want him to, he has an incurable illness that we can't stop. I can't let him die not knowing the truth," he said.

Once the two were dressed, they headed for the lobby of the Cliffside Inn.

* * *

Miguel and Paloma walked rapidly through the parking lot of the Cliffside Inn and pushed through the revolving door. They barely spoke on the car ride there, except for Miguel's periodic muttering, "What has he done now?"

When they got inside, there was no sign of Luis. "Should we call his room or something?" Paloma asked.

"No," Miguel replied. "He'll be down."

The two sat down on one of the couches and waited for about five minutes until they saw Luis and a tall blonde women step out of the elevator. Miguel and Paloma walked over to them.

"You didn't," Miguel said, now face to face with Luis.

They stood staring at each other for a minute. Paloma's heart was racing. If Luis would just stop staring at Miguel, he might notice her. Luis was the one person Paloma wanted to see the most. Paloma noticed the blonde woman curiously eyeing her.

"We had to Miguel," Luis said calmly.

"But what about Antonio's condition? Did you even think of that?" Miguel exploded.

"Of course we did! But now we have no choice but to tell him. Whatever happens, happens. It's in God's hands now," Luis exploded back.

Miguel stood with his head in his hands.

"Luis, who's this?" the beautiful blonde asked.

Luis turned his glance to Paloma. "Loma?" he asked squinting.

It felt like déjà vu, almost the same reaction the rest of her family had had. Only this time, she was compelled to run into his arms and give him a gigantic hug. Her eyes filled up with tears.

"Oh, Luis," she whispered. "I've missed you so much. Thank you for keeping in touch."

"When did you get back?" he asked, letting her go and taking a good look at her. "You look so grown up!"

"I came home this morning," she replied. "I wanted to come see you sooner but you were MIA."

"With good reason," he said with a chuckle. "Paloma, I'd like you to meet my new wife, Sheridan."

So this was the stunning blonde and the object of her brothers' affection. She couldn't blame them, she was gorgeous and seemed just as sweet. Paloma couldn't wait to get to know her.

"I've heard so much about you, Paloma!" Sheridan cried and hugged her. "I can tell we're going to become great friends."

Miguel broke in, "I hate to break up the family reunion but you guys are supposed to get married to two different people today and you don't have much time to tell them the wedding's off."

"Miguel's right," Paloma said. "We need to fix the little problem you guys have gotten yourselves into. We can catch up later."

"Have you seen Antonio?" Luis asked her.

"Not yet," she said.

"I think you better see him before we tell him. You know, just in case," Luis said morbidly.

"I know," Paloma replied, holding his hand. "It'll all work out."

"So," Miguel said, still a little angry. "How are you going to tell him?"

Sheridan and Luis looked at each other. "I think it's better if we don't involve the whole family or Dr. Russell like the last few times we attempted to tell him. It should just be the three of us," Sheridan said.

"So we'll go to the cottage, Paloma will reunite with Antonio for a while and then we'll go in and tell him. We're gunna need you guys for back up though, in case." Luis planned.

"I don't totally agree with you," Miguel stated. "But he needs to be told. It's way overdue."

Paloma took both Sheridan and Luis' hands. "You'll get through this. It'll be ok." She wanted nothing more than Luis' happiness.

* * *

Paloma and Miguel arrived at Sheridan's cottage on the Crane Estate in about fifteen minutes. Sheridan and Luis weren't far behind in their own car. Paloma had mixed emotions about seeing Antonio for the first time in 12 years. She resented him and had vowed to herself that she never wanted to see him again, but he was dying. Perhaps this meeting would bring closure to her experiences away from Harmony.

"You ready, Loma?" Miguel asked her as he put the car into park.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Paloma sighed. The anxiety was killing her.

"You know he's blind, right?" Miguel asked her.

"I heard," she replied. "I guess I shouldn't expect an instantaneous reaction, huh?"

Miguel laughed a little. "I know it might be hard for you seeing him. It was hard for me. You know, all the resentment for him leaving all those years ago."

"You resented him too?" Paloma was surprised.

"Yeah, not as much as Luis but deep down inside I knew that if he had stayed, things would have been different."

"Do you still resent him?" she asked, wondering if the pain would ever go away.

"No. He's a good guy and I'm sure he had reason to leave. I've forgiven him and so should you."

Paloma thought for a minute. "We'll see."

She opened the car door and trudged through the snowy path leading to the cottage. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

It took a minute or two but eventually Antonio came to the door. "Sheridan?" he asked.

"No, Antonio, this isn't Sheridan," Paloma said. It was sad that her brother's gaze wasn't quite in the direction she was standing in.

"Then whom am I speaking to?"

"Your sister, Paloma," she said taking another deep breath.

"Paloma?" he said. "Is it really you or am I dreaming."

"It's really me," she replied.

"Then come here and give me a hug!" he exclaimed feeling for her.

Paloma didn't know what to say. She felt awkward. Antonio was the sibling she had been least close to and now she felt forced to get close to him just because he was dying.

"I'm so glad you came home," he said. "Just in time for my wedding to Sheridan and Luis' wedding to Beth."

Paloma felt sorry for him. Not only was he literally blind, he also was mentally blind, not knowing about Luis and Sheridan's secret affair.

"I know. I'm so glad I'm not going to miss it," she said sadly.

"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet her. She's wonderful."

"I bet," she responded.

"You seem distant, Paloma. Is something wrong?" he asked.

Paloma knew she was being a little rude. Lighten up! she told herself. "I'm just overwhelmed," she replied with a sigh. "I mean, I haven't seen any of you in 12 years. It's a lot to take in."

"I understand completely," he said taking her hand. "My homecoming was just the same. I wish I could see you, Loma. I'm sure you're just beautiful."

"Thank you-"

"Just like my soon-to-be wife Sheridan," he broke in.

Why does he keep doing this? Paloma asked herself. His frequent mentioning of his beautiful soon-to-be wife made it even harder for Paloma to hold a conversation with him. It was sad in a way but from what she heard, Luis and Sheridan were in love long before Antonio came back on the scene. Paloma wasn't a believer in true love but she had to admit, it seemed Luis and Sheridan belonged together. The only thing that bothered her was the fact that they kept their love behind Antonio's back just because he was dying.

Just then, Paloma saw Luis and Sheridan peering in the cottage window. That was the sign for her to start wrapping her conversation with Antonio up. Part of her wanted to remain there, talking to him longer. Still, the other part realized that he was somewhat self-centered, always bringing up his wedding to Sheridan instead of asking her about her past 12 years.

"Antonio," she said, looking in the direction of the window, "Sheridan and Luis are here. I'll go let them in."

"Wonderful. They probably want to go over last minute wedding details before this afternoon."

Paloma walked to the door and opened it. She hugged both Luis and Sheridan and whispered "good luck" as she exited the cottage to join Miguel in the car.

* * *

"Sheridan, my beautiful fiancée! What brings you here this morning? You know it's bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the big event. Now, I know I can't see you but I can imagine that you are just as radiant as ever-" Antonio began.

Luis cut him off. "Look, Antonio. We have something to tell you."

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Antonio asked with a look of concern.

"We don't really know how to say this, Antonio," Sheridan started taking Luis' hand for support. "Maybe you better sit down."

"All right. Just lead me toward the couch," Antonio said, shuffling his feet to where Sheridan led him.

Luis began pacing. He had never been this nervous in his life. He tried to stay strong for Sheridan but he wasn't exactly sure how his brother would react.

"So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Antonio asked innocently.

Sheridan cleared her throat. "About three years ago, long before I ever set foot upon St. Lisa's. I fell in love with someone."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me, Sheridan? Of course you were involved with someone before me. It's only natural. I don't know why you'd feel guilty-"

"Antonio," Luis said gruffly. "She's not finished."

"All right, darlin'. Continue."

"We were so in love that we planned to get married. Only, the ceremony didn't turn out so well and we ended up postponing our marriage ceremony and going to Bermuda on our honeymoon anyway."

"So this is when the accident happened, huh?" Antonio asked, cutting in once more. "This was the man you kept having flashbacks of."

"Yes, my true love. So then the accident happened. I got amnesia and ended up with you on St. Lisa's. Then we fell in love."

"I remember, I remember. How could I ever forget the day my sweet Diana joined me on my island."

"But then you took me to Harmony to meet your family. That's when everything changed."

"Meaning, you got your memory back?" Antonio asked.

"I didn't only get my memory back, Antonio. I also was reunited with my true love."

"I don't understand."

"We were going to tell you but your condition got worse and if we told you, you might have died! We were scared and didn't think you would live long enough to actually go through with the wedding ceremony."

"So, you deceived me while you screwed my brother?" Antonio growled with a hint of rage.

"How did you know it was Luis?" Sheridan asked, confused and a little scared.

Just then, Antonio's eyes flashed open and focused perfectly on Sheridan's as he walked toward her.

"Wait, you're not blind?" Luis said, dumbfounded.

"Nope, and I knew all along about your secret love affair, deceiving a dying man. I hope you rot in hell!" Antonio burst as he tackled Luis to the ground. Fists flew as the two brothers brawled on the floor.

Sheridan burst into tears at the thought of the two men she loved most in her life trying to kill each other. She didn't know what to do but run out to Miguel's car and get Miguel to help calm them down.

* * *

Miguel and Paloma sat in his car in silence waiting for a sign that it was all over. Neither knew what to say, nor did they know what the outcome would be. All they could do was pray for the best.

All of a sudden, Sheridan came running out of the cottage, her arms flailing in the air. "Miguel! Loma!" she cried. "Help! They're killing each other!"

The two siblings rushed out of the car, down the icy walk and into the cottage. There was a mass of anger, jealousy and rage wrapped up in a fight between two brothers of equal strength. Paloma huddled by the doorway in fear with Sheridan while Miguel tried to stop his brothers from murdering each other.

"Stop this right now!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Stay out of this, Miguel! You don't know what this bastard is capable of!" Antonio shouted smothering Luis.

"You're acting like a bunch of babies!" Paloma cried.

"I vowed that when they finally decided to tell me I would use all of my strength to kill Luis, even if it killed me in the process!"

Luis had now taken over and was holding Antonio's arms down so he would stop throwing punches. "Loma, there's a pair of handcuffs in the back of my car with my police gear. Go and get it, I'm going to cuff him so no one gets hurt." Paloma obeyed and ran to Luis' car.

"It's too late, Luis. Someone's already gotten hurt," Antonio cried, kicking his legs to try to free himself from Luis' hold.

"I meant physically," Luis muttered. "How long have you known anyway?"

"The two of you had been dropping subtle hints for weeks so I decided to become blind and see if it was really true. Then it was just plain obvious. I played dumb and oblivious very well, but Luis, you should have known me better. You know I'm smarter than that. No one's that much of a feeb."

"Well, why didn't you just confront us?" Sheridan asked scared.

"That would have been much too easy. I wanted both of you to suffer, to live through all the pain you made me live with."

Paloma returned with the handcuffs. "Here, Luis," she said handing them over.

Once Antonio was cuffed, Luis stood him up and led him toward the door. "Where are you taking me, you bastard?" he asked.

"I'm taking you down to the station for attempted murder, that's where," Luis replied. Sheridan opened the door and Luis and his captive walked through.

"I'd rather it be for murder, not just attempted," Antonio mumbled.

"That's not gunna happen."

"You don't think so?" Antonio asked.

Just then, he kicked Luis' shins causing him serious pain and pushed him to the ground. Miguel tried to intervene but it was too late; Antonio, with a painstaking look on his face, slumped over and collapsed.

"Call 911!" Sheridan cried.

Luis got up and looked him over. "We don't know if this is legitimate; he could be faking again."

Paloma knelt down on the ground and checked for a pulse. "Luis, it doesn't seem like there's a pulse. I don't think he's faking."

Sheridan ran inside the cottage to call an ambulance as Luis began CPR. This was not how Paloma envisioned her family reunion would turn out.