I couldn't bring myself to respond to her, so Diana took charge in speculating about my feelings. Ironically, I thought that perhaps Diana had put into words my feelings better than I ever could. Seeing that I did not have anything to say in my own defense, Diana's lips curved into a knowing smile before she continued."You're in love with him, Leya. That's why it felt so unbearable for you and that's why you got jealous. I mean, you practically ran out of the room because you couldn't take it anymore," Diana stated her observation confidently. Had I not already realized my feelings towards Bradon at that point, I might have had the urge to say a couple of things in my own defense and say that there was no way I could possibly be in love with him."Is that why you did it? To somehow force me to realize my true feelings?" I asked softly. At that moment, I felt very calm inside, and my head felt surprisingly clear. If I had harbored any hard feelings against my sister, it felt like they
It was one thing for me to have fallen in love with him, but a completely different matter altogether to expect Bradon to be in love with me as well. "How can you be so ridiculously blind? He is so in love with you. It is so obvious that I'm sure that everybody can tell as well just from looking at him and when the two of you are together. Everyone can see it as plain as day," Diana said with a sense of urgency and exasperation as if she couldn't understand why I didn't share her views."It's all just acting. Whenever we are together in public or when there are people around, he's just acting like Anthony would," I replied. When Diana shook her head softly from side to side, I could tell that she didn't believe a word I was saying, and for a moment, I felt like my words weren't truly convincing."I'm pretty sure that you can't even convince yourself with those words. What you're saying is not true, Leya, and you know it better than anybody else. Listen, if he doesn't care about you,
"How is that possible? That's ridiculous," Diana mumbled, looking quite shocked."I know exactly how you feel. I was very stunned and shocked when he first told me as well. Honestly, I didn't believe it at first, but when I thought about it, I realized that he must be telling the truth. Even now, I still find it very hard to believe," I confessed truthfully."If what you're saying is true, then does that mean that the Anthony we met sometime in the past could have been Bradon?" Diana asked, tilting her head slightly to the side as if playing with the idea."Yes, I think that's what happened, although I have no idea when Bradon was actually taking Anthony’s place," I replied with an uneasy feeling inside. I suddenly felt an uncomfortable stirring sensation in the pit of my stomach and realized that I had started feeling extremely anxious. Diana kept on staring at me without saying a word as if she was thinking of something, and that made me feel even more unsettled than before."This i
"Can you please stop making that face? The world isn't coming to an end," Diana said teasingly before she stood up from her seat and approached my side. Before I could say anything, my sister had already wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pressed her cheek against mine."So, do you still want an apology from me for what I did that day at the hospital?" my sister asked before letting out a giggle."You can save it," I mumbled in reply.Although the result of Diana's mischievous little plan turned my world upside down more than once, I had to admit that it made me understand Bradon better than before. On top of that, it made me realize that I needed to talk things out with him as soon as possible. The sooner I sorted out Bradon from Anthony in my past memories, the better it would be for me to understand and sort out my feelings. In response to my reply, Diana just let out a laugh before hugging me tighter than before.…"You don't have to wait out here. Master Bradon will be back
Thinking about the past and realizing how much had changed between us made me chuckle softly at the thought."What's so funny?" Bradon asked in a low whisper before placing a tender kiss on my cheek."Nothing. I was just thinking a little about the past," I replied before flashing him a smile.Bradon didn't say anything, but there was a slight tension between us. He must have realized that we could no longer avoid the conversation forever. We had spent more than enough time tiptoeing around the subject without approaching it directly."My sister came to visit. She mentioned that she managed to get your permission," I told Bradon the moment we took our seats at the dining table."Really? I guess that's a good thing," Bradon replied passively as he began eating.I ate as well, although food was the last thing on my mind at that moment. While we both ate in silence, I couldn't help but steal glances in Bradon's direction as I wondered what he was thinking. I had expected that he would as
If we were to talk about things right from the beginning, it was only natural for me to ask him about the first time I met Anthony, or at least the guy I thought was supposed to be Anthony. I had always been certain that the person I met on that day was Anthony; after all, there was no reason for me to believe otherwise. However, after learning that Bradon had taken Anthony's place before in the past, it felt like I could no longer be sure about anything. The ability to tell the two of them apart was a skill that I mastered not so long ago. I felt slightly conflicted, and I hesitated before asking the question on my mind because I realized that before I could seek the truth from him, I had to make my own confessions first."Actually, the first time my sister was supposed to formally meet Anthony, I was there in her place. I guess for me, that's when everything started," I confessed softly before shifting my eyes to Bradon's face to observe his reaction to my confession.My heart clenc
"Why does it matter? That was so long ago," Bradon replied dismissively, as if he didn't want to talk about this topic any longer. Despite what he wanted, I wasn't inclined to let it go, because I could clearly imagine the consequences of his actions. I stared at him intensely while feeling a stinging sensation at the back of my eyes that made me realize that I was on the verge of tears. It was probably because I could relate to his situation, imagining the punishment and the price he had to pay to cover for me. If on that day, the one who had covered for me was truly Anthony, then I was sure he would have gotten off with little to no punishment at all. However, things must have been very different for Bradon."Why did you do something like that? You knew that you would be punished in my place. There was no way they would let you go without any punishment," I said as my voice cracked under the strain of my emotions."I did it so you wouldn't get punished and so that no more conflict
He must have known that I was dying to know what he was talking about, yet he toyed with me mercilessly."When you suddenly fainted that day, you caught me off guard. I had no idea what to do as I held you in my arms, and it took me a little too long to realize that you were just pretending," Bradon began describing an incident from our past before his eyes met mine as if inquiring if I recalled what he was talking about.The day that I pretended to faint...to help him..."That was also you?" I asked, my eyes widening in surprise. That day, when it was raining and Anthony was pressured into horse riding to show off his skills, I could tell it was dangerous. The worst part was that he was being forced against his will, risking his own safety for the sake of entertaining his father's guests."That's right. Thanks to your quick thinking and amazing acting abilities, I managed to get out of that sticky situation. That horse was definitely going to be big trouble," Bradon said before he l
"What have you done? Have you completely lost your mind?" my father yelled at me immediately when our family was gathered in private. His face was completely red with anger as his voice echoed in the room. My mother looked like she was on the verge of tears, and I could tell that she was more worried about our family rather than her own daughter. "News of your ridiculous and scandalous behavior is now all over the place!" my father continued yelling. As if to drive his message home, his mobile phone began ringing non-stop. One glance at the name displayed on the screen drove my father to the brink before he switched off the phone and threw it onto the floor. My mother let out a scream at my father's sudden violent outburst before sinking down onto the sofa as if she had lost all strength in her body.I took the opportunity to slowly take a seat, and Diana was by my side in an instant. I knew that the best way to brave out this storm was to keep quiet and not let his words get to me.
Not having the experience of being a criminal before, I wasn't quite sure how one was supposed to be treated, but the experiences that I went through might have indeed been close. I thought that I was used to disappointing my parents and the people around me. I thought that I was used to seeing the look of disappointment and disapproval in their eyes before it became a look of resentment and then complete apathy and lack of care. I thought that I could deal with everything without getting my emotions involved because, after all, I was supposed to be used to this kind of treatment, and that was why I was caught utterly off guard by how quickly things escalated.Thinking back on it, my memories were quite blurry. Either it was simply too much for me to take in at the time for my brain to form any clear memories, or it was simply too shocking and too harsh for me to take. Either way, everything seemed to fly by me and over my head.Although every single teacher and the principal tried to
Just thinking that the fool right in front of me dared to say he was in love with my sister, while he couldn't even tell the two of us apart, made my blood boil. It took a lot of effort to repress the urge to reach out and strangle his neck right then and there. I reminded myself that I had a part to play and quite an audience to impress."No... this can't be..." Mr. Malton whispered hoarsely from a distance, stepping even further away from me. I stood up from the table, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back to my side as I glared up into his face."It's actually quite simple to fool you. All I had to do was dress up in my sister's clothes whenever I met you and talk a little more sweetly..." I said, letting out a hysterical laugh. I could still feel everyone's eyes on us as the attention in the room escalated even more than before.Mr. Malton was speechless as he tried to pull his arm away from my grip, but I wasn't about to let him get away so easily."Well, now I guess the secret is
I had no idea how Diana managed to keep the girls silent up until that point so that the news wouldn't spread; however, I knew that it wouldn't be too long before everyone in school knew about this illicit affair. We would be extremely lucky if this news did not spread beyond the school walls. Despite the gravity of the situation, Mr. Malton was already ready to make his retreat."What if they don't believe us? I feel so scared. I don't want to be alone, and I don't want you to leave me," I said pleadingly just to see his reaction."You know that I would never do that. It would just be temporary until everything blows over. I promise that I will never leave you. How could I possibly leave you? I love you so much," he declared his love for me boldly.The more dramatic things became, the more I felt that his act of adoration was completely fake. No matter how many times he claimed to be in love with my sister, it seemed like he couldn't even tell us apart. I wondered what kind of face h
"Leya, you need to help me find a way out of this. Diana simply cannot make this kind of mistake," my sister told me slowly and clearly as she stared directly into my eyes."You're right. You can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes," I agreed solemnly."No one else must find out about this. We have to do something before word gets out because word is definitely going to get out,," my sister stated calmly, and I could tell that she had returned to her calm and collected self."Can't we tell them that they simply misunderstood and that it's not true?" I asked, daring to harbor a little bit of hope."They probably won't believe what we tell them, but they might believe what we show them," Diana replied, and I could tell her mind was made up.Without using any more words, it seemed like an understanding had formed between us, and once again, it felt like it was us against the entire world....**The Next Day**As I pushed open the back door to the building that was supposed to be off
The moment that thought entered my mind, I quickly killed it and pushed it out of my mind as if extinguishing a small flame before it would spread and engulf everything. I told myself that it wouldn’t have to come to that and that we could find another way to figure things out.“Does it matter? Why does it have to matter?” Diana asked, and her tone was cold.My sister’s response quickly snapped me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I narrowed my eyes at her as my irritation started to take over.“It does matter! Have you completely lost your mind? He’s our teacher,” I reminded her as I started to truly lose my head over what my sister had confessed to me.Had I known that the person she had been dating was one of our teachers, I would have definitely stopped her. That was probably the reason why Diana decided to keep it a secret, even from me. In reality, I had my own doubts about whether or not I could have persuaded my sister not to pursue her taboo relationship with Mr. Malton
"I guess he is not someone in this school," I said as I ran my mind through potential candidates who could be my sister's true love."It's a secret," Diana repeated again before pressing her index finger teasingly against her lips."Are you really not going to tell me?" I asked."Honestly, you have no idea just how much I am dying to tell you who he is. But you see, I did promise him to keep it a secret between us... at least for now," Diana said before flashing me a regretful smile."I don't think I will end up liking this guy. He's telling you to keep secrets from me," I replied teasingly."I'll make sure that you're the first one to find out," Diana promised me with a beaming smile."I guess that it's good enough for me that you're happy," I told her honestly."Thank you, Leya. I love you so much. You're probably the only one who truly cares about my happiness," my sister said before pulling me into her embrace.Back then, when I held my sister in my arms and hugged her back tightl
“Shall we?” Bradon asked as he offered me his arm invitingly.“Thank you,” I replied as I smoothly slipped my arm into his.Appearing in front of the public as Diana, with Bradon as my escort as he flawlessly acted out the role of Anthony, drew quite a lot of attention to us. I could tell that Bradon felt restless, even under his calm and collected exterior, and that was probably because he couldn’t wait for this engagement announcement to come to an end. Even though he should have been reassured now that Diana was taking my place at the ceremony, it seemed that nothing could make Bradon completely feel at ease given the situation.“I sincerely hope that they keep it short,” Bradon whispered right into my ear before planting a soft kiss against my temple.I was sure we looked like the perfect loving couple, and perhaps that wasn’t so far from the truth. For the life of me, I had no idea how Diana managed to convince Desmond to let her take my place at the engagement ceremony, but I wa
"So, are you going to get on your hands and knees to beg? How much longer will you keep me waiting?" I asked while pointing my index finger at the empty floor right in front of my feet.If looks could kill, I would have died an extremely painful death, stabbed by the millions of daggers flying out of my father's eyes from the way he was glaring at me. Even when I was clearly his only route of escape from the impending hell that was awaiting him, it was clear that my father felt nothing but hatred for me. I returned his stare with one of my own as I continued pointing to the floor where I wanted them to get on their hands and knees."I'm still waiting. Oh, but if you're not willing, then I'll make sure that some men will escort you out," I said before grinning at them. I could tell that my father was hesitating, and that meant that he was truly considering abandoning whatever pride he had left to get down on his hands and knees to beg for help from his long-abandoned daughter.Time mov