Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
Lies. Whether little white gaps in the truth or whopping black holes in reality, those little buggers can come back and bite you in the arse one day. Like when I first met my in-laws and was served a heaping plate of venison. Eating Bambi made me queasy, but I complimented the cook and forced it down. Twenty years and over fifty family meals later, I wish I’d politely declined. That’s the problem with lying—you either own up straight away or eat venison pie for the rest of your life.
I can live with that, and with the unavoidable porkers I sometimes dish out. Because, really, how easy is it to tell a fragile friend her new dress does make her look like a balloon that’s overdosed on helium? Or your moaning boss his wife left him because he’s a belligerent tosser who doesn’t—ahem—meet her needs? When the truth won’t do, “you look great” and “she’s having a mid-life” seem harmless deviations from reality. Easily forgivable ones.
But what about the unforgivable lies, the painful shockers that end people’s happiness, that twist or destroy their lives? Could someone be forgiven for telling such a whopper if they owned up to the truth? Would confessing “set them free” or would it cost them everything they held dear? What deception could be so terrible, so life-shattering that two people destined to love each other could be torn apart by it? And what sort of woman, for example, would deliberately destroy a man’s life, and why? What about her guilt?
Pondering these questions over a margarita (okay, three, I’ll own up) is how Hate to Love You came to life. Creating an abrasive heroine from a dingy housing estate and pitting her against an upper crusty lawyer whose life she shatters with her unforgivable lie was not only fantastic fun to write, but a gritty, pulse-rocketing ride. It threw up questions about the nature of honesty and deceit –and the murky area in between-- conundrums I still discuss over margaritas.
Could you forgive someone for telling a lie that destroyed your happiness, if you loved them? And if so, could you build a life with them? I’d love to know where you stand so please do leave me a comment. One brutally honest answer will be selected to win a free copy of Hate to Love You. Be quick though, winner chosen on 15th June!
I'm going to be honest with you. I would love to say that, if I loved this person. I could over look what ever lie that they told. Even if it hurt me badly or ruined my life. But no. In the end, I just couldn't stay with somone that did somthing like that to me. I would pack my things, walk away and cut all ties with them. Even if I do love them. Don't get me wrong, it's going to be a hard path to choose and stick too but In my opinion, knowing the person that you loved and was meant to love you had lied to you before, it would set fear and doubt into my mind about them. Which in turn, would cause me to have a un heathly mind set about someone that is meant to love me and protect me from being hurt.