My father did not waste any time in getting right to the reason why we had been summoned. After we sat down on the sofa, my father began speaking without even greeting us. “The crown prince, Prince Desmond, sent a formal invitation inviting you two to dinner. Of course, not you two as yourselves but as Anthony and Diana,” my father said as he pushed a navy blue envelope towards us. My eyes dropped to the envelope on the table in front of me and then I felt my chest clench quite uncomfortably. The signature navy blue color and the golden seal on the envelope undoubtedly belonged to the crown prince. Unless anyone was stupid enough to risk the penalty of forging royal documents, then it must have been genuine. “We’re not going,” Bradon stated bluntly. “We are in no position to turn down a formal invitation from the palace,” my father rightfully reminded Bradon. “He’s right. We can’t ignore this invitation,” I told Bradon while trying to sound natural and calm.In fact, I wanted to
If this man wasn’t born the crown prince and wasn’t next in line to the throne, I doubted that I would have let him live as long as he has. “We will not be attending the dinner,” I declared boldly. “Says who? You or Dahlia?” the prince asked carefreely. My eyes narrowed when I realized that he couldn't care less what I thought. In fact, had Diana not been married to Anthony, the prince probably would have addressed his invitation to only Diana and end up inviting only Dahlia to the palace. “Why are you so persistent about seeing her?” I asked as I tried to suppress my frustration. “Why can’t I see her?” he asked immediately in return.“Why must you see her?” I repeated my question again. There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line as if the prince was deciding whether or not to tell me a secret of his. “I miss her…” Desmond replied softly after a pause. “You…miss her?” I repeated his words questioningly while wondering if I had simply misheard what he said. A
Feelings of sorrow and regret filled my chest when I realized that I shouldn’t have harbored any hope that I could get away and meet the prince. I hoped that he knew that I did everything that I could to try to be there. Hopefully, the prince wouldn’t take this the wrong way because that might spell demise for my plan even before it had even taken shape. Suddenly, I heard sounds of men shouting and then there were lights in the near distant from the direction of the inner gates. My eyes widened in slight excitement when I thought that perhaps it was Bradon who had finally come home. Maybe he had changed his mind and was going to take me to the palace. “Wait here please, Diana,” Bella said sternly as she motioned with her hand for me to stay back. “What is going on over there?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes. It felt like something abnormal was happening and the way that Bella seemed alert and on edge was the confirmation I needed to know that what I thought was correct. There was t
His smile felt even more lively and attractive than I remembered. Tall, dark brown hair that appeared almost black with pale gray eyes, the crown prince truly lived up to the fairytale image of a prince. The gray suit that he had on matched the shade of his eyes and I was reminded once again why this man had long been one of the most desirable bachelors in the country. I hoped that it would remain that way and that he wouldn't end up getting himself killed. “You can’t hurt him. No one can hurt him! No matter what, you all can’t shoot Prince Desmond!” I yelled again while praying that Zain would listen to me. Zain didn’t shoot the prince but he didn’t make a move to lower his gun either. There was so much tension in the air and I was at a loss as to what I should do. These were Bradon’s men so they wouldn’t take commands from me that went against any of Bradon’s existing orders and rules. “Actually, I can…” an icy voice said. The sound of the car door slamming closed sounded so lo
Did he think that Bradon wouldn’t have the balls to shoot him?I wished that I had the luxury to think the same. While suppressing the burning urge to curse everything and everyone to hell, I continued appealing to Bradon with my eyes. “We won’t have dinner. Please let us talk for a while. That’s it. That’s all that I’m asking for…” I continued negotiating with him.I would continue negotiating and backing down step by step until I could make him agree. If he wouldn’t allow me to have an entire dinner with the prince, then I would just keep it to a short conversation. If he doesn't want me to leave the mansion, then I will beg the prince to talk to me in the mansion. Bradon remained silent but I could tell that he was considering my proposal. “I don’t need to go to the palace. We can talk here, if you’ll allow it,” I resumed my negotiation by taking even another step back. The prince smirked at me and I shook my head at him softly as I begged for him to remain silent and let me ha
I’ve waited far too long for this…The door closed behind us and then I heard the sound of the door knob locking. The room felt cozy enough and felt very suitable for a meeting that didn’t involve many people. Prince Desmond gestured with his hand for me to take a seat on the sofa. I didn’t think that I would feel this nervous in his presence but the way that my heart was racing in my chest told me that I was wrong. Although the prince’s presence wasn’t at all as intimidating as Bradon’s, his presence was commanding and that reminded me that despite the informal setting of our meeting, I was in the presence of royalty. “You don’t have to look so nervous,” the prince said to break the silence hanging in between us. I wished that it would be that easy. He offered me a smile that I felt looked very genuine and I ended up smiling in return. “I am nervous…” I replied honestly. “Is it because it’s been many years since we’ve met?” he asked before he smiled at me again. “Yes. Thank you
Celebrating the prince’s birthday was just used as another excuse for noble families and prominent businessmen to be in the presence of the king and the royal family. The crown prince is a few years older than Anthony but he was still not engaged. The other nobles in attendance made sure to stand close enough to my sister and me as they whispered their malicious gossip about us just loud enough to make sure that we could hear. “It’s a shame they had to get their daughter engaged to the son of the Vulkan family. I’m sure if she wasn’t engaged, she would be going after the crown prince right now.”“What are you talking about? There’s no way that the king will allow his son to marry a daughter from a simple noble family.”“That might be true. It’s too late now anyways because all they have left is that second daughter…”That second daughter…I guess that nobles were still kind in their choice of words because I had clearly been given worse nicknames than that. The whole political acts t
Even though the prince had addressed me informally, that didn’t mean that I had the right to speak with him informally as well. I became increasingly aware that I was alone in a room with the prince and that could lead to a troublesome situation, a scandal, and other issues that would require me to justify my actions or my lack of it. “We should head back, Your Highness. I was actually on my way back to the ballroom,” I suggested while trying to sound polite. “Why should we head back? Isn’t it boring there?” he asked bluntly. It is…but…“Of course not, Your Highness. It’s your birthday celebration so I think that you should head back…” I said before smiling brightly at him. “You looked so bored before while you were inside. I honestly thought that you wished to be somewhere else entirely,” the prince said before he smiled charmingly at me. I smiled back when I realized that he had just called me out for that sour look that I had on my face during his party. This was probably why
"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.
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