Only a farce

After an endless confrontation with Ray, Samira decided to go back to the restroom, her mind recalling Jeff's words

"Why don't you call her up and ask her about it? I would have loved to stay and chat, but I have something to do," Jeff said as he walked away, leaving Samira rooted to the ground. Still reeling from the revelation, Samira entered the restroom and immediately pulled out her phone to call Delly. There was no response.

She couldn't believe she had been deceived. Delly couldn't have been so cruel as to allow her to come in her place only to betray her. Still shaking, she heard a knock on the restroom door. "Delly, are you in there? You're taking too long," Chris called, and she tried to calm herself, not wanting him to notice anything.

Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the restroom and stared at the man Delly was meant to marry.

"You were taking too long in there," he told her crisply.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked, trembling as she tried to maintain her composure. "Can you please do me a favor?"

Chris was completely alarmed. Since he met Delly, she had never cried in front of him despite her fiery temper. He quickly hugged her, brushing his hands through her hair as he waited for her to calm down.

"If it's within my power, I'll always do anything for you, Delly. Just name it."

His words earned him a pinch on the shoulder as Samira laughed lightly. How on earth could she tell him he was wrong, that she was not the woman he was supposed to be hugging? Collecting her emotions, she told him what she wanted.

"Can you take me back now?" she asked him.

"Why? Are you bored with me?" Chris asked. Something was bothering her, but he was not going to pester her. Instead, he opted to ask if she didn’t want to spend time with him.

"Just take me back, please," she insisted, and seeing the urgency in her eyes, he decided to comply. Delly sat in the car, her thoughts drifting away, not even noticing Chris staring at her through the whole ride.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the hotel, she tried to leave only for him to take hold of her hand.

"What's wrong? You've been like this ever since you left the restroom," he said, unable to hold back his anxiety.

"You don't have to concern yourself with what happens to me. I am just a fake, after all," she said, not waiting to see his reaction before leaving the car and heading straight to the elevator.

"A fake? What does she mean?" Chris muttered, staring at the hotel before driving off, still wondering what she meant by fake. He called his private investigator and asked him to look into Delly's background. He had seen how contradicting Delly had been acting. First, she claimed to be a spendthrift, but when he told her about the amount she had spent that day, she was frozen. Now her words were just so bizarre.

As soon as she got to her room, she called Delly again, but still, there was no reply.

Remembering something Jeff had told her, she decided to call her boss at the restaurant she used to work at in Victoria.

"Delly? Delly stepped in for you for a while before she said you wanted to quit your job and left," her boss said.

"And how long has it been since she quit her job?" she asked.

"Days ago. Look, I have to get back to work. I suggest you call your friend yourself and ask," her boss said before ending the call.

Delly had lied to her. She had told her to come here pretending to be her while she stepped in for her at work.

While she had tried her best to help her, Delly had only created a mess for her back in Brookside. Samira lay on the bed, crying and hurt. She had trusted a friend only to be betrayed.

Samira sat on the bed, dialing Delly's number for the last time. When there was no answer, as always, she ended the call and packed her suitcase, which only contained the clothes she came with.

It had been a week since she discovered Delly's lies. Though she knew she owed no loyalty to Delly and should have left the same day she learned the truth, she still stayed.

She hoped that somehow Delly would call her or perhaps try to reach her in some way, but there was nothing. Now a week had gone by, and it was time for her to go home.

Taking her luggage, she went downstairs only to see Chris's bodyguards staring at her.

"What's going on?" the leader among them asked.

"I am sorry, but all this has been a farce," she said softly.

"What do you mean by farce?" Mike asked.

"I am not Delly. My real name is Samira. I am just a friend who was sent here by Delly to pretend to be her," Samira confessed while the two people standing in front of her stared in shock.

"Say that again," a voice demanded suddenly. They all turned to see Chris standing by the doorway, staring at them.

"What did you just say?" he asked as he walked further into the room.

Ever since she found out the truth, she hadn't seen Chris because he had an important meeting in another country.

"I am glad that you are here. It's time you all know the truth," she said. A while later, the guards and Mike left, shocked. Chris stood by the window, gazing out into the night without saying a thing.

"What about the real Delly? Where is she?" he asked hoarsely.

"I have no idea. After finding out about her deceit, I called, and up till this moment, she hasn't picked up," Samira told him.

"You should have told me sooner! You lied your way here and pretended to be my fiancée when you are nothing but an imposter," he said harshly.

"Yes, I am an imposter. An imposter who only wanted to help a friend, but I am glad you know the truth now. It's time I get going," she said as she stood up to leave.

She was almost at the door when someone took hold of her hand. She turned to see it was Chris.

"You aren't going anywhere," he told her softly.

"Haven't you been listening to me at all? I am not the real Delly," she told him.

"And? The real Delly isn't here. You are here, and therefore you will stay and keep on being Delly until we find her," he said harshly.

"I can't stay here. I have my own life to live and—

"You should have thought of that before taking someone else's identity," he cut into her words roughly.

"You can't make me stay," she told him fiercely.

"Really? Watch me then," he said as he moved away from her to call Mike inside.

"Bring more of your men here to the hotel. There's someone here I need you to guard," he said, staring at Samira. Knowing that if Mike called for more guards there would be no way for her to leave, she thought of an escape.

She saw his car keys on the table where he left them earlier. Moving towards them, she picked them up and dashed out of the suite, not bothering to take her suitcase.

Her bag, which had all she needed, was right on her arm. She could hear him calling after her. Immediately she got into the car, she saw Mike running out of the hotel, but she quickly drove off.

She was still driving when she got busy with her thoughts. If she made it to the airport on time, she would be able to leave without them stopping her.

She was relieved when the flight took off minutes after she booked it.