Four

I wandered through the endless maze of rooms and I felt like I’d fallen into someone else’s dream.

A dream I had no right being in. 

Every perfectly arranged room only added to my confusion. Too many rooms. Too many questions. And no real answers.

I needed to see a picture of the king’s wife and put a face to the name that everyone believed was mine. Maybe then I could satisfy my curiosity and escape this twisted situation before things got worse.

The longer I explored, the more fear crept over me. Each step felt like trespassing. Whoever this Lila was, was real, and I was the intruder. 

The family’s rooms were on the second floor, so I climbed the grand staircase, trying to move as quietly as possible, like a thief sneaking through the shadows.

The boys were in their rooms, tucked beneath blankets adorned with cartoon superheroes and wild animals. They looked peaceful, safe in a world where they didn’t know their “mommy” was a stranger.

From nowhere, a raw and bitter jealousy hit me.

This missing woman had it all—a husband with love in his eyes, wealth that shone in every corner of this house, children who worshipped her, and parents who were still alive and part of her life.

Meanwhile, I was alone, abandoned by the only family I’d known, cast out as if I’d been nothing. Rejected. Orphaned.

I pressed on and finally came across a room with a soft, feminine feel. A huge vanity sat by the window, covered in beauty products and trinkets 

A neatly folded silk robe lay on the bed, and everything in the room screamed luxury. This had to be the lady of the house’s space. 

My conscience screamed at me, making me feel like I was trespassing in her sanctuary. Like a thief, my heart thudded in my chest.

What if she were dead? Could I even bear to step into her life, take her place, knowing she’d never return? And worse, what if she came back now, walking right through that door?

I shivered and tried to shake the thought, reminding myself that this was temporary. I had to tell the king the truth. I couldn’t keep pretending.

When I stepped further into the room, it felt like a hundred unseen eyes were watching, waiting for me to mess up and reveal myself as the fraud I was. My heart nearly stopped when I spotted a large portrait on the wall.

Holy hell.

The woman in the portrait looked exactly like me. It was like staring at my own reflection, only sharper, more poised, more perfect. 

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. My mind spun as I took in every detail. This wasn’t me, and yet it could have been.

Her hair was styled with elegance, her clothes tailored and rich, sophisticated in ways I couldn’t afford or even dream of wearing.

"Who are you?” I whispered to the portrait. My hand trembled as I reached out, tracing the edge of the portrait, feeling the fine texture under my fingertips. It was massive, nearly covering half the wall, as if the entire room existed to honor her.

How could this be? How could someone look so much like me?

Lookalikes were rare enough, but usually, people still had their differences, little details that separated them. 

Yet here, the only difference between us was her wealth and refinement. No wonder everyone mistook me for their queen.

We even had the same freaking birthmark.

My head spun, and thoughts poured in like water from an open tap.

 Could the Queen be my sister?

I was an only child. My aunt had raised me, and had told me that my mother had died giving birth to me. I never once heard a whisper of another sibling.

But looking at her face, so eerily similar to my own, made me feel a connection I couldn’t explain. 

She looked around my age, and her husband couldn't have been older than his early thirties. The whole thing felt surreal, like I’d stumbled into some alternate reality.

I turned toward the huge bed and lay down, feeling the plushness beneath me, yet my body refused to relax. Every fiber in me screamed that this was wrong.

I couldn’t stay. This wasn’t my life.

Gathering what little courage I had left, I slipped into the shadows, sneaking out as quietly as possible and hoping no one would catch me. I made my way to the kitchen and noticed a side door that led out into a garden.

Outside, the cool night air hit my face. The wind picked up, and I felt the first hint of rain in the air.

I didn’t care. I had to leave.

Without a backward glance,I took off into the darkness, running from the life that wasn’t mine.