“It’s been too long. You look well…” I said with a smile.I meant it. She did look well. Everything about her looked well and perfect except for the fact that she was now stuck in a wheelchair.“You look very well yourself. Congratulations on your marriage. You look so happy, so I take it that marriage life is treating you well,” she said before showing me a sweet smile.“Thank you. I’m still trying to get used to married life, but it’s been quite smooth sailing so far,” I lied smoothly as required of my role as Diana.“I’m so happy for you, honestly. It’s such a shame that I couldn’t be there on your big day. I was still going through some rehab abroad…” she said while looking quite apologetic.“It’s not a problem at all. I did receive the present that you sent. Thank you again,” I thanked her politely.I had no idea whether the gentle smile that she was showing me was genuine or not, but if I had to place my bets, I would put everything that I had on the line to bet that she was jus
“Tomorrow is going to be another hassle…” she said before heaving another sigh.“More love letters asking you out?” I made an educated guess.She turned to me and nodded her head before shaking her head and rolling her eyes upwards at the same time. I ended up laughing whenever Diana made that funny face. I liked the fact that I seemed to be the only one who knew this side to my sister. After all, she couldn’t show off all the nasty, playful, and truthful sides of herself to anyone else without being judged. Sadly, that also meant that she couldn’t be herself in front of anyone, our parents included.“Dahlia, can you be Diana again tomorrow? Please…” she asked with pleading eyes.For me, it wasn’t that challenging to act as Diana. The effort was well worth it mostly because I knew that Diana could relax more on the days when she was acting as Dahlia. Fewer eyes would be on her and she wouldn’t have to spend her days living under such crushingly high expectations. The truth was that I
“Umm…” I murmured as I tried to pull my arm back.“Don’t just reject me like this, Diana. Why don’t you take some time to think about it properly?” he suggested as he closed the distance between us.I sensed immediately that this guy wasn’t simply willing to back down just like the other guys that I’ve rejected. I could smell trouble coming my way, but I wasn’t sure how I should deal with it.“I truly feel happy that you feel this way about me, but I don’t think that we can start dating…” I said while trying to remain calm.“Let’s start again. Do you even know who I am?” he asked with clear displeasure.I looked up into his face and had to admit that he didn’t look so bad. Most girls would probably find him quite attractive. He was probably a little older than I was. He was tall, well-built, and had attractive determined eyes. Since the love letter he sent didn’t have a resume attached, I didn’t quite know who he was in the sense that he wanted me to understand, and it wasn’t like I c
“Why are you here?” Bill growled with a scowl on his face.“I have date with my fiancée today,” Anthony replied smoothly before turning to offer me a charming smile.Oh, that’s right. I’m supposed to meet with Anthony today…Wait, but didn’t Diana mention that it wasn’t supposed to be a date?I was too captivated by Anthony’s attractive smile at first to remember that we still had a problem on our hands. By the time that I came back to my senses, Bill had already closed the distance between himself and Anthony.“Watch out, Anthony!” I yelled out.It was too late because Bill had already grabbed onto Anthony’s shoulder to turn him around. I was so shocked that violence was about to break out. Anthony is a kindhearted guy who would never resort to violence, and I immediately got scared for him and his safety. Everything moved so fast that at first, I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. The next thing I knew, there was a cracking sound followed by a thumping sound and then Bill was sp
This all happened because I failed to control the situation and the things that I said to Bill must have angered him. I recalled the way that Bill looked at me and the feeling of his tight grip on my wrist. Thankfully, Anthony showed up when he did and saved me because I wasn’t quite sure how I would have handled Bill otherwise.I hated how helpless I felt and how that weakness of mine led to Anthony’s injury.“You don’t have to do this…” he said softly but he did not attempt to pull his hand away from mine again.“I want to do this,” I said before glancing up from his hand and smiling at him.It felt like the least that I could do apart from thanking him repeatedly. I could feel Anthony’s eyes on me as I cleansed his wounds and applied medicine on them before sticking bandages on them.“I think that’s a bit much…” he said as he looked at the result of my handiwork.The bandages did make the condition of his hand look much worse than it actually was, but I thought that it was best to
I liked how he talked to me in his gentle and soothing tone, the way he smiled at me, and the way he always handled me with care as if I might break. Then there would be times like earlier where I could get glimpses of other sides of him that never failed to intrigue me.“Anywhere is fine…” I replied as I felt myself blushing for no good reason.“Should we just run off? Just the two of us?” he suggested as his eyes widened with apparent excitement.“We’ll get in trouble if we do that,” I replied while worrying more about Anthony than myself.His wild suggestion was unexpected and didn’t seem to fit his character but that only made me feel special for getting to see this side to him. I ended up giggling at just the idea of making a run for it together even though I was supposed to be against the idea.“We’ll get in plenty of trouble already as it is…” he pointed out before winking at me.I knew immediately what he was referring to. He did just beat up someone, and even if it was for my
“Hmm…is that so?” Anthony replied while sounding extremely unconvinced.I wished that I could come right out and tell him honestly that I wanted to see him in action but because I couldn’t quite tell him that, I decided to ask him something instead to change the direction of my conversation.“How did you find me?” I asked curiously.“I asked around for you and someone told me that you’d gone into the back garden…” he replied before grinning at me.I could tell that he had also learnt from that moment on why I had gone to the back garden, and I couldn’t blame him for not being impressed.“Does it happen very often?” he asked, and I knew that he was referring to those confessions.“Yeah…too often…” I replied honestly before pressing my lips into a regrettable thin line.“Diana…” Anthony said after a moment of pause.It looked like he had something that he wanted to tell me but before he could say anything, the loud sound of thunder roaring in the distance disturbed us. The wind picked u
I hated how sad and lonely he sounded at that moment. His words and the worried look on his face tugged painfully at my heart and that was probably because it wasn’t true that I didn’t want him to kiss me. More than anything, I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to feel his sweet lips on mine.“I…” I murmured hesitantly.In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to say no to him…or to myself…“Just close your eyes…” he whispered.I let my eyes drift close as I waited to feel his lips on mine. Having my eyes closed made everything even more frightening because I couldn’t see and didn’t know what to expect. I felt his soft and warm lips press gently against mine.That was it.The first kiss that I shared with Anthony was over before I knew it, but it made me realize that the feelings that I’d developed for him was far from over.…**The next day**“How was your date?” Diana asked teasingly.“What date?” I replied as if I didn’t know what she was talking about.“You’re going to tell me all about
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
“Dahlia, dear! Please help your dear father!” The head of the Alnault family desperately pleaded for my help. I squinted my eyes at his face as I took in the evident panic and helplessness displayed on his features. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for when I wanted to see him, but his reaction surely surpassed even my wildest expectations. Gone were all of his confidence and arrogance. Perhaps, for the first time in his life, this man was feeling truly hopeless and helpless. “Dahlia! You have to help get us out of this. You need to help our family!”my mother's high-pitched voice begged openly for my help.I glanced in her direction. I wasn't at all surprised to feel absolutely no pity for her. The only question that went through my mind was why these two people were still standing on their feet rather than kneeling in front of me on their knees. My biological father continued begging while giving me countless reasons why I should help him out. However, most of his words were lost to
It was true that I had ample opportunities to tell Bradon about it, but it was also true that bringing it up would ruin the romantic and joyful mood between us and whatever we were in the middle of doing. Bradon came home early and in time for dinner every day, as if it was a change in habit. We spent time together just like regular couples—staying at home, watching movies, taking a dip in the pool, walking together in the garden, and doing many other things just to enjoy each other's company. It felt like we were making up for all the lost time.…**Around a week later**Diana's brewing plan kept me on edge. The secret preparation for the royal engagement announcement was in full swing. As for me, I spent a lot of time mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Each peaceful day that went by felt like the perfect calm before a raging storm. One day, I woke up to find Bradon sitting on the side of the bed, his eyes on me as if he was waiting patiently for me to wake up from my sl