My eyes narrowed slightly as my mind raced to come up with the right answer to his question. Was he trying to test me with his seemingly random question?If I told him that the dress was comfortable, would he think that I like to overdress or that I was lying to him given that there was no way the dress that I was wearing could look comfortable to anyone. However, if I told him that it was uncomfortable, would he think that I didn’t have any endurance and perseverance to bear with something so insignificant?What would Diana say in such a situation?“My suit is so tight. It feels hard to move in and some parts here are making me itch. I don’t know why we have to overdress like this…” Anthony openly complained as he moved his arms up and down as if to show me how difficult it was to move in his outfit.I wasn’t sure what was more surprising, his words or the fact t
The teapot that came with its matching teacups had intricate flowery patterns on them in various pastel colors and curvy lines of gold that sparkled as the lighting in the room shone against it. The design felt romantic and extremely artistic at the same time. It was probably the most beautiful tea set that I had ever seen, and I knew instantly that it must be quite expensive as well.“This tea set is extremely beautiful…” I complimented the tea set as I reached my hand to grab the handle of a teacup.“Don’t touch it!” Anthony yelled loudly.His sudden outburst and warning did not make any sense to me. My eyes widened as I turned to face him in absolute surprise. The handle of the teacup against the tips of my fingers felt smooth.“Diana!” Anthony cried out in clear panic as he reached for my hand.I was too shocked and confused at
My eyes widened at his words and my mouth hung open as I turned to face him. Anthony paid me no attention at all and didn’t look at me. Instead, his eyes were glued on our parents who were now staring intensely at him.“What did you say?” his mother asked in a low whisper as she pressed her hand against her chest.“I said, I broke the teacup,” Anthony repeated clearer this time.Why is he…lying?“Anthony, are you sure? Are you sure that you were the one who broke the teacup?” his mother asked again.“Yes. I broke it. My fingertips grazed its handle, and for some strange reason, the teacup just cracked and broke,” Anthony explained quite emotionlessly.“That’s not…” his mother said before her gaze shifted to land on me.At that moment, I wondered if she had somehow caught on to the fact that it was actually me who had broken the teapot and not her son. The way she was staring so accusingly at me made me want to hide away. I still had no idea why Anthony was going to such lengths to pro
“Oh, you’re back…” Diana greeted me with a bright smile. “You look better already,” I replied before returning her smile.“Staying in bed is the best,” she said, and then her smile widened.“I feel so tired…” I complained softly.“Thanks for taking this on for me. I’m sure it must have been a boring day for you,” she said as she patted my back comfortingly.“Let’s sit. I need to tell you all about it,” I said.I took her hand and led her to the bed. Diana seemed much more energetic than before as she jumped up on the bed and patted the empty spot close to her for me to join her.“So, tell me all about it,” she demanded with widened eyes.I told Diana about what happened since the start of the day when I started acting in her place. In as much detail as possible, I described the dress that I had on and what happened before focusing on the conversation that I had with Anthony. I tried my best based on my memories to tell her what he had said word for word as we spoke. Then I told her a
I scrolled through his social media account again. The account was an official one run by his team posting everything notable about his day which was jammed pack with public events. Scrolling through the various posts, I could tell that he was living his productive life like normal. He attended public events related to his work and opening ceremonies of a couple of luxury brands as well.Since deciding to leave the past behind me, I never checked or followed his social media accounts again. In addition, I also stopped using my personal social media accounts because I planned to start a fresh new life. Just because I could find Anthony on social media didn’t mean that I could directly contact him. If only I could meet Anthony, then he might help solve all of my problems.“Oh…why is this so hard?” I muttered as I felt a frown forming in between my brows.I got up from the bed and approached the large window in my bedroom. After pulling the curtain to the side, I could tell from the oran
“But I thought the reporters at the wedding took a bunch of photos and the wedding was broadcasted live on some channels…” I replied while thinking that the whole thing was such a troublesome mess.“That was for the wedding ceremony and the reception on the big day itself. After that, there was nothing. You’ve been married for weeks now and there’s not a single post about your married life. There isn’t a photo of you two together. It’s not surprising that strange rumors and conspiracy theories are going around that the whole thing was staged to help with the upcoming election!” he yelled so loudly into the phone that I had to hold my phone away from my ear to keep my eardrums intact.“Oh, right…that…” I mumbled without caring much about my father’s political career or how much the Vulkans stood to profit from it.“You better do something about this soon before we need to make a public announcement to address the rumors,” he said.“What do you want me to do? I’m stuck here inside the M
“Brad…” Jenna called my name before letting out an exasperated sigh.I could hear and feel her frustration toward me but there wasn’t much that I could do. Jenna only called me by my nickname in that tone of voice when she thought that I deserved to be punished. I was already too old for her to punish me in any way, though. I heaved a sigh while thinking that if Dahlia wanted to lock herself up in her room, then that was her choice. Things might be better for her this way for the time being. Regardless of what Jenna thought, it was much better than having her trying to escape from the mansion.“I’m busy. Is there something else that I can help you with?” I asked dismissively.“My father always told me that a man becomes a real man after he gets married but apparently that wasn’t the case for you…” she said with a disgusted scoff.I watched Jenna turn on her heels and march out of the room. Jenna was beyond angry and once again it seemed to be my fault. Lately, everything seemed to be
“Bradon!” Alfred ended up yelling even louder.I’d just about had enough of him at that point, which led me to hang up and turn off my mobile phone altogether so that he couldn’t call me again. Everything felt like such a bother, and I didn’t want to deal with any more of their selfish demands.…**The night after**Although the bedroom that Bradon had arranged for me was only on the second floor, the fact that the floor-to-ceiling of each floor was so high meant that the distance was still something if I wanted to jump or climb down there. After sitting close to the balcony for almost an hour, I finally decided that the best way was to find something that I could hang onto while I climbed down there. Inspecting the things available to me in my room didn’t leave me with many options.The bed sheets felt like the safest bet. With the help of the very small scissors that were present as part of the sewing kit stashed away in the wardrobe, I managed to cut the bed sheet from the bed and
My heartbeat thundered in my ears as I approached them. The three of them were engaged in such an intense conversation that, at first, they did not recognize my presence. Diana's voice was the first that came to me. Her voice was shaky, as if she was barely holding herself together."The doctor said that there's no change in his condition. Anthony is still unresponsive, although it's been months, and this whole thing with the snipers is only making it worse..." Diana said.I came to a stop as my mind struggled to process her words. My heartbeat grew even faster in my chest, and for a moment I thought that perhaps I had misheard my own sister. What did she mean when she said that Anthony is still unresponsive?Diana already knew that Bradon had taken Anthony's place, and that meant that the man who was shot was none other than Bradon. Yet how was it possible that Anthony was the one who was unresponsive? Nothing made sense to me at that moment. It felt like I was missing a very key pie
It hurt me more than anything to realize that I couldn't blame him, even if he did that, because I was the one who betrayed him first. I left him without a word or farewell, running away from him as if he were the one who had done something wrong. Memories of our time together came back like waves. The fake honeymoon that we enjoyed together felt more real than anything, right at that moment. I remembered the way that he would laugh whenever he let his guard down on the nights when we enjoyed each other's company simply as our true selves, and the dangerous world outside and our identities didn't need to complicate things for us.There was a time when I thought that love was enough, but a small voice inside of me reminded me not to be so foolish. As time slipped by, I found myself praying that the door would just swing open and that Bradon would be standing there with his arms wide open. I wanted nothing more than to be held in his arms once again. I had to admit to myself that, with
"Where is this?" I asked without hiding my suspicion. I knew very well where the Vulkan mansion was located and also what it looked like, and the place that we had just parked in front of couldn't look more different than the mansion that I remembered."You didn't think that we would take you to our home, did you?" Mrs. Vulkan snapped before looking away with a clear look of disgust on her face."I guess your home would be the first place that Bradon would look when he finds me missing," I replied dismissively."No more chit chat," Bradon's father said as he urged me out of the car.I told myself that it did make sense that they would find a place for me to stay, but did it have to be such a shabby-looking place? The isolated low-rise building looked like it could use a round of maintenance. The room that they led me to was simple, with a single bed, a television, a desk, and absolutely no windows."How long am I supposed to stay here? I thought we made an agreement that you would h
"Why would my son want to keep you here?" Mr. Vulkan asked as his eyes seemed to search my face for the answer that he was looking for. "How am I supposed to know? Maybe he hasn't had enough of me yet..." I replied before showing them a fake yet extremely sweet smile. "Even if he isn't considered a normal member of our family, I still can't have you associating with him," he continued on as if he was lecturing me of my lack of worth. "I just told you that I'm not the one begging to stay here and with him," I replied coldly. I had hoped that by then it had become plain obvious what I wanted the two of them to do for me. With their help, I was certain that they could find a way to get me out of Bradon's mansion. Bradon wasn't around, so the next in command was Zain, whom I did not think could directly stand up against the head of the Vulkan family. At least, that was where I decided to place my bets at that point in time. "So you want to leave but he won't let you? Is that what you
I quickly followed them inside, sensing that the two of them were here looking for trouble. One glance at Zain, and I could tell that he was already informing Bradon of their unexpected arrival. It wasn't like Zain could throw out Bradon's father and stepmother, so I could understand the pitiful position that he suddenly found himself in. I straightened my back and followed them further inside, thinking to myself that I needed to hold the fort until Bradon returned. Whatever it was that they wanted, I needed to make sure to find out.The two of them sat comfortably on the sofa as if they were in their own house by the time I made it to the living room. The fact that neither of us spoke a single word as I sat down on the sofa only made the tension in the room skyrocket."I'm sure that Bradon will be back soon," I said, more to tell myself than to tell them."Why are you still here?" Mr. Vulkan asked as he turned his cold gaze in my direction.The way that he looked at me left no room f
**A few days later**"How many times do I have to tell you? You can't keep me locked up in here!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my hands clenching into tight fists. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as anger and frustration took over.Over the past few days, I had already lost count of the number of times Bradon and I had had this argument. For some reason that I could not comprehend, my life as a prisoner inside his household had resumed. There must have been a change in Bradon that I couldn't fully understand-something that had led him to decide to keep me under house arrest. Going out was no longer an option, even if I was escorted."You may leave when I tell you that you can," Bradon replied with the same infuriatingly calm response he always gave, his tone ticking me off even more."Listen, I'm not doing this because I want to be selfish. If there's a reason why you can't let me go outside, then please just let me know, and I'll try to be understanding," I said, taking
"I'll try not to come back late," Bradon replied without any further explanations. I only managed to simply nod my head before he was already out of the living room. The look that Bradon gave me told me to hold my tongue and not ask him any questions. I knew very well that asking him anything would be useless because he most likely wouldn't give me any kind of answer. As I stared at the doorway, my mind became even more unsettled than before. Something was definitely going on and Bradon was keeping it away from me. "Probably just work..." I mumbled to myself. It wasn't unusual for Bradon not to tell me much about matters related to his work, and I never minded. A sigh escaped my lips when I realized that I had officially failed once again. The worst part was that I felt very relieved at the very same time. Bradon's parting words, telling me that he would hurry back home gave me something to look forward to and that made me realize just how much I yearned to be with him. "Stop it,
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