I felt quite lazy and it was still quite early in the morning, but I had no trouble figuring out who was standing on the other side of my door. “Good morning,” Jenna greeted me the moment that I opened the door. “Good morning,” I replied as I wondered what she wanted so early in the morning. “Did I wake you?” Jenna asked with a slightly worried look on her face. “Not at all, actually, I've been awake for a while now, I just haven't made my way downstairs yet,” I replied casually. “Oh, I was afraid that I had disturbed you. Anyways, I'm here to give you this,” she said. That was when I realized that she was holding something in her hand. I looked down as she extended what she wanted to give to me towards me. Flowers? More accurately, what she was about to give to me was a pot of flowers. “Dahlia flowers…” I murmured as I took the pot of plant from her hands. “Are these dahlia flowers?” Jenna asked curiously. “Yes, these are dahlia flowers. Didn't you know?” I asked in wonder
“Did you perhaps forget your own birthday?” Brandon guessed quite correctly.“That's not the point,” I snapped back at him. The fact that he had caught on so effortlessly that I have forgotten my birthday only added fuel to the fire that was burning inside of me. It felt like everything that he was doing and saying was mocking me. “Do you want to take a look around the garden? If not, we can go inside,” Brandon suggested. “I don't want to take a look at the garden and I also don't want to go inside. What I want to know is why you gave me these dahlia flowers for my birthday present?” I ask as I quickly came to the point.“What's wrong? I thought you would like them,” Bradon replied and I could tell that my reaction wasn't what he was expecting or hoping for. I narrowed my eyes at him as my jaws clenched. After taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I managed to let out a scoff at the ridiculousness of the situation. “Did Anthony tell you to do this? Did you get this i
The day of our birthday party finally arrived, and it felt like a very close rerun of what happened the year previously except for the fact that we were wearing red instead of the light shade of purple that my sister fancied the year before.We greeted the guests, we accepted the presents, and we played all the games that my sister had planned. Our parents socialized with the guests that they invited while the piles of presents kept piling up higher and higher. Everything passed by in the blur of events as I didn't take note of much. “Diana, that fiancé of yours is late,” mother commented before scrunching her face in a look of disapproval. It was so like her to nitpick on even the smallest things regarding the Vulkan family. “Well…” Diana murmured before smiling like an angel to cover up for Anthony’s delayed arrival. I also did my best to smile as I resisted the urge to remind my mother that the Vulkans were precisely the ones who were funding the spectacular birthday celebratio
For a moment I was too stunned that I didn't know what to say or how to react. It was just so unexpected for him to give me something like this. “Is this for me?” I asked although he had just told me that he had something to give me. I still found it so hard to believe that this was actually happening. Nothing like this has ever happened before in all the years that I have celebrated my birthday along with my sister. “Yes, if you don't mind taking it, then I would like you to have it,” he replied as his beautiful blue eyes kept on staring directly at my face. I felt heat rushing to my cheeks and realized that I was blushing intensely. That was when I felt so thankful for the lack of proper lighting in the garden, otherwise he must have seen my flustered reaction so clearly. Even though I tried my best to tell myself that it was nothing but a pot of flowers and that there was no hidden secret meaning behind him offering it to me, I couldn't stop the way that my heart skipped danger
Anthony was silent for a moment, and I wondered if I had said too much or if I had made him suddenly uncomfortable. Just when I had started to regret my words, Anthony smiled at me and nodded his head slightly a couple of times as if in agreement. “Dahlia is indeed a beautiful name,” he commented casually. “Really? Sometimes I think that it sounds quite outdated,” I replied as I tried to sound natural. “If that's the case, have you asked your parents for a nickname?” Anthony asked with a hint of suggestion in his tone. “I'm not so sure…” I replied hesitantly because I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea at all. The idea of asking my parents for a nickname never occurred to me before, and I didn't think that they would give me one simply because I demanded it. On top of that, I had always thought that the concept of a nickname was to show adoration to the owner of the name. “Dahlia, what about Leya? It's like saying the second syllable of your name very slowly. Leya,” Anthony sug
“I guess it does make sense. So, do you have a name in mind?” Diana asked with a slightly teasing look on her face. I wondered at that moment if she had already caught on to what I was about to say. “Well, Anthony suggested that the name ‘Leya’ might be a good choice,”I confessed as if I was telling her the secret that was meant to be taken all the way to my grave. “Leya? I think it suits you perfectly. If you like it, then let's use it,” Diana said before beaming me a smile. We both burst out laughing at the same time and I was reminded of the very precious bond that we shared. It felt like the name that Anthony had given me was another precious birthday gift on top of the Dahlia flowers. I couldn't have foreseen back then that just a few days later I would end up breaking the promise that I had made to Anthony....I should have known that something was off when I returned to my bedroom to find that the flower that Anthony had given me was not where it was supposed to be. It wa
Most probably, there wasn't any explanation that I could give to her that she would find satisfactory besides from the truth, and that was something that I could not offer. Suddenly, the flowerpot in her hand made its fast descent onto the ground in between our feet. Had this been a dramatic scene in a movie, the flowerpot would have landed and shattered into countless pieces with a loud sound that would echo all around us. Perhaps it would all happen in slow motion just to add to the climax of the moment; however, the truth was the flower pot simply landed on the grass ground with a muffled thudding sound. “I don't want something like this…” she said after letting the flowerpot fall to the ground. “I thought that you might like it, but if you don't, you can just take it as a bad joke of some sort. You're also right, I got this idea from a story that Anthony told me about how happy you were to receive this flower from him as a gift a long time ago,” I said while trying to keep my vo
“Master! Master Bradon!” We both turned around at the same time to see Jenna sprinting towards us. If I had to describe the look on her face, then I would say that it looked like she had just come face to face with a ghost. “What is it?” I called out to her to save her the effort of running all the way. “The king!” She yelled before she stopped and panted. I could tell right away what sort of news she was about to deliver about the king and Dahlia's reaction told me that she also knew. “What about the king?” I asked Jenna while at the same time I managed to pull a very shocked Dahlia up to her feet. “The palace had just announced the King's passing on television. It is all over the news,” Jenna said in a shaky voice and I could tell that she was utterly upset and on the verge of tears. “The king is dead…” Dahlia mumbled in the breathless whisper. She was indeed very correct, the king is dead....**Dahlia's point of view**The king is dead. Ironically, the king died right on
I needed to leave him and as soon as possible, but I didn't know how I could achieve that. My past experiences have taught me quite directly that I couldn't truly run away from Bradon. Escaping from the mansion was unquestionably impossible. I could not run away, so that meant that I needed to get Bradon to agree to let me leave. My legs already felt weak, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and shut my eyes to escape reality. I knew that I needed to talk to Bradon about ending our fake marriage as soon as possible, although I had no idea how to bring up the topic. Something told me that it might prove to be difficult to get Bradon to agree, and there was always a risk that he might react unpredictably.However, if everything he did was simply him just acting out his role and his feelings for me didn't truly exist, then that might be the solution to all of my problems. If he felt no attachment to me, then he should have no problem letting me go just as planned. After all
The party ended early, yet it was quite eventful, at least for Bradon and myself. I felt like there was a storm raging inside of me all the while that we rode back to his mansion. It felt like there was something right at the tip of my tongue that I wanted to say, but yet I couldn't bring myself to say it. There were times when I thought that I fully understood myself and what I wanted, and yet at the very same time, I felt so confused and lost. The feelings that were struggling to take dominance inside of me did not make sense, and it made me feel as if my thoughts and my feelings were heading in the direct opposite direction of one another.Bradon's words of defiance as he confronted my father came back to me loud and clear:"Dahlia is not your daughter anymore, and neither am I one of the Vulkans. I will never let you take my wife..."I should have known that entering into this contract marriage with Bradon, while taking my sister's place, would somehow lead to blurring the line be
"But..." I mumbled, but I could not bring myself to say anything else when my eyes met his. His beautiful lips curved into a teasing smile, and there was a certain sparkle in the depths of his eyes that captivated my attention. That was when I knew that although he probably disapproved of what I had just done, there was a part of him that was actually quite pleased. I found myself smiling sweetly back at him like I was some fool."You hit me? You vile bitch! I'm your father. I raised you!" my father screamed at me at the top of his lungs. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had forgotten where we were and the fact that we were surrounded by other high-profile guests who were attending the party."Dahlia, how could you do something like that? How could you hurt your father? We never raised you to become like this," my mother said, with clear disappointment and shock on her facial features."Really? Because here I honestly thought that I was already disowned. Well, to be more accurate
I was certain that just as many people hated her and blamed her for going against societal norms, there were probably just as many people who admired her, either openly or secretly as her fans. Perhaps to them, our sisterly duo act was the spice they needed in their endlessly boring lives."Don't you feel better from just seeing how everyone is welcoming us with open arms?" Diana continued before she raised her hand to wave at someone that she knew."Fine. I admit that you got your point across," I said as my eyes scanned the crowd that had gathered for the party. I could feel Bradon tensing at my side, and I knew that he had just spotted the two people that I least wanted to see at that moment. "Did you know about this?" I turned to ask Diana without hiding my shock."That they'll be here? I guess not, but why does it matter? You'd have run into them sooner or later. If you ask me, the sooner the better," Diana said with a careless shrug of her shoulders.I narrowed my eyes as I gla
"You should go to bed," Bradon told me the moment that we stepped into the mansion. I knew that his suggestion was spot on because sleep was exactly what I needed to deal with what was to come. The media and everyone had undoubtedly gone wild as they both communicated and speculated on what was the truth and what were twisted lies from all the events that happened in the past that I shared with my sister.I switched off my phone when it wouldn't stop vibrating, without bothering to read the caller ID on the screen. I could already guess who would be calling me and also exactly what they had to say."It feels like my head is ready to explode," I confessed before smiling weakly at Bradon."Which is precisely why you should stop thinking or caring about anyone else and just get some shut-eye," Bradon said as he peeled away the mobile phone that I held in my hand. I let him do so without putting up any resistance because all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide under the sheets wit
"My name is Diana, which can only mean that the Diana standing over there is, in fact, my twin sister, Dahlia. In fact, for the past months, I wasn't present, and the Diana that you knew had always been my sister acting out in my place," Diana explained as if it was something to be proud of.The crowd went wild, but I decided to focus my attention on the two figures that seemed so intent on ruining my life along with my sister’s. Our father had officially become our enemy, and at that moment, he looked like he might have started to regret pushing both of us over the edge. Mr. Malton, who, after all this time, clearly never regretted his actions and never realized that he should have been man enough to take responsibility. I was certain that even now, he was willing to destroy our reputation and our future—all for the sake of the money undoubtedly promised to him by our father. Desperate times truly call for desperate measures; that applied to our father but also to us as well.I could
I found myself praying silently that Desmond could bring everything under control, but my prayers probably fell on deafened ears. Instead of Desmond stepping up to the podium, it was my sister who approached it instead."What is she doing?" I asked in a shaky whisper as I felt myself breaking into a cold sweat. It felt like my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as I continued staring in bewilderment and disbelief at my sister, who stood with a beautiful smile behind the podium, the microphone very close to her lips. I turned to stare at Desmond and managed to lock gazes with him. I could tell that he was staring right back at me, and the way he nodded his head reassuringly was supposed to bring me some relief and keep me at ease, but it only made me even more nervous.I could tell that everyone in the crowd was staring daggers at my sister, even from where I was standing. It wasn't surprising, considering that everyone thought Diana was me. It felt like tight knots had formed
Back to the present"Homewrecker! Homewrecker! Homewrecker!"The violent chanting continued and began seeping into my consciousness, dragging me back to the present. Disaster seemed to be staring me right in the face."Leya..." Bradon whispered my name right beside my ear.His presence close to me reminded me that, unlike that day back then, I wasn't alone. I had Bradon by my side, and, on top of that, everyone was here with me: Desmond and my sister. I suddenly felt a surge of confidence that made me believe that there could be a way out, one that would save us all from this dire situation my father had plotted against us.I had to admit that after leaving the country, I hadn't spared much thought for what would unfold after my departure. I never took care to follow up on any news-not that they would be made public-related to Mr. Malton's wife and child. I had no idea what happened to him or his family after that incident. My parents completely cut me off, and there was frankly no on
"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.