Chapter Three

Amelia's POV

"Are you going to call the police on me?" I asked as I sat across from my lookalike in a random restaurant.

"I should," she replied.

I was relieved that her voice sounded different from mine, because otherwise I would have been so creeped out.

"Well, are you going to?" I snapped.

I was not in the mood for any games. She had just ruined my plans, all because she just had to be curious and turn around when I was exposed and clearly following them.

"No, I'm not going to," she replied, looking me over with a smile. "Though I really should. You were going to run to my parents with the news of my location, right? And hope that they'll pay you for the trouble. I know how this usually goes."

I didn't like the way she was looking at me, as if I was a new specie of organism, and she was watching to see if I knew any tricks.

"Who are you, anyway?" I snapped.

She blinked at me in clear surprise.

"Wait, you don't know who I am?* she asked.

"No, I don't," I replied. "What, am I supposed to?"

"Of course you are!" she exclaimed. "You have to be living under a rock not to know who I am. Why the heck were you following me, then?"

*Because you were clearly rich," I replied with a shrug.

She shook her head, looking like she was holding back laughter.

"Okay," she said, "I am Isabella Domitia, heiress to the Domitia fortune, and I have an offer for you."

Isabella Domitia.

I know that name. The Domitia family is one of the wealthiest families in Goldcrest City.

"Let me guess," I said, "in return, you want me to keep your elopement a secret."

"Exactly," she replied. "If you do that, I'll let you go to my home and be Isabella Domitia instead."

My jaw dropped.

"Why would you do that?" I asked in disbelief.

"Because I don't want to be Isabella Domitia anymore, duh," she said, as if that made any sense. "In case you didn't notice yet, I'm running away."

"Even though," I argued. "You must want to go back home sometime—"

"Nah," she cut in. "Not happening."

"You want to give up all that wealth?"

"Yes," she replied flatly. "I want to live a quiet life with the man I love, somewhere far away where my parents' disapproval can't reach us. And at least, while you're at the Domitia mansion, they won't be looking for me."

I was having a hard time wrapping my head around her strange offer. The whole thing sounded too good to be true.

"Well?" she said impatiently. "Are you in?"

"Are you kidding?" I nearly yelled. "Of course I'm in."

"Good," she replied with a pleased smile. "Let's get started. First, I need to give you the tracker, so that the Domitia bodyguards will find you instead of me."

As she spoke, she took out her phone and handed it to me. I collected it and looked it over.

"You mean to tell me that the tracker is…"

"Inside the phone, yes," she said. "Now, let's give you a makeover. No offense, but…" she wrinkled her nose at my appearance. "The way you look right now, you won't be able to convince anyone that you're me."

I wanted to get mad at her, but I couldn't deny that she had a point. We might be lookalikes, but while she looked glamorous, I looked like someone that had never known a good life.

Well, I had been an heiress once, before my father went bankrupt, and I was going to become one again soon. My life was entirely about to change.

"Alright," I said. "Let's get started with this makeover."

***

Isabella was not joking about the makeover. She took me back to their hotel room, where she had me take a bath in rosewater and whatever else was in there, then dressed me up in clothes that cost more than my rent for six months put together. She did my hair, cutting it to the same pageboy style as hers, and spent forever doing my makeup.

Finally, she was done. I looked into the mirror, and Isabella Domitia stared back at me. My lips curled into a smile.

Yeah, I thought. Let's go be Isabella Domitia.

She left the room, and I continued to admire myself in the mirror until I saw Elijah. He walked in and stood behind me.

"Damn," he whistled. "I thought it was a trick of the club lights, but you really look like my girlfriend."

"So that's why you toyed with me like that?" I snapped.

"What do you mean?" he replied with a smirk. "We were both having fun, weren't we?"

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room, leaving him to play his stupid games with himself. I could already tell that the guy was bad news. Good thing I wouldn't be seeing him again after today.

Both of them did not hang around. They left the hotel the very next morning, at the crack of dawn. I knew when they left because I hadn't slept much, and watched their car drive away through the window of the room they booked for me.

As day broke further, I freshened up and did my makeup the way Isabella had instructed me to. Then I ordered breakfast and sat down to wait for the Domitia bodyguards.

They arrived very early, just as Isabella said they would, and came straight to my room. I was expecting them, but I still jolted when they knocked on the door.

I stood up from the bed, taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart. I wiped my sweaty palms on my… or rather, Isabella's black leather jumpsuit.

"Okay," I whispered to myself. "Here goes nothing, Amelia Dawn."

I walked to the door and opened it, before planting my hands on my hips. I lifted my chin and stared down the two bulky men in identical black suits standing right outside.

"Oh, look at this," I drawled in a perfect imitation of Isabella's husky voice. "It's just like papa's loyal dogs to show up first thing in the morning."

If they felt insulted, they didn't show it.

"Miss Domitia," they said, "we're here to take you back home."