It wasn’t long before Melissa was thrown into a whirlwind of work. Nelly had sent her the detail for the wedding, the colour theme, list of guests, types of food and wine to be served, and other minor details Diana wanted in the wedding. Melissa had people working under her. Decorators, caterers, the whole event centre was filled and buzzing with them.The tension was getting to Melissa since she had to instruct everyone on what to do, how to arrange the decor and furniture, and the theme for the wedding. Melissa tried her best to make everything as perfect as Diana wanted it to be. She has done her part and the day of the wedding was already here.Melissa took a step back to admire her work. The hall was large. At the centre was a long runway lined with thick white carpets. It had rows of white ornamental flowers inside tall golden vases lined at each side of the long runway. White wooden chairs were arranged by rows on each side of the runway. At the end of the run way was a platfor
“No, no the clams go along with the lobster and the butter goes with both of them.” Melissa instructed the caterer holding a large plate filled with cooked, hot steaming clams.The caterer nodded and scurried away. Melissa rubbed her temples and moved a strand of hair away from her eyes. Her hairdo she had carefully done, didn’t look as good as how it did when she looked in the mirror.Sighing, Melissa walked away from the buffet table and looked around. The hall was streaming was guests and they all sparkled in there expensive clothes and designer accessories. The atmosphere alone made Melissa feel insignificant, a small ant in the midst of larger creatures, backing away so she wouldn’t get trampled on.Surely, her short pleated gown with a flower pattern and a v cut neck could never stand a chance against the fabulous clothing adorned on each woman’s body. Her jewellery didn’t even stand a chance against the sparkled diamonds and pure gold earrings and necklaces dangled on the ears
Diana spun around completely as she glared at Dolce.“What? What nonsense are you spouting right now? Do you think I have time for silly jokes?” Diana hissed at her.“But Mrs Marshall! I’m not telling you a joke right now! I’m being dead serious! Miss Selina is gone!” She exclaimed.Dian grabbed her wrists.“Keep your voice down!” She said in a hushed tone as she looked around, checking to see if anybody was looking in their direction.Dolce covered her mouth with shaky hands and nodded.“Now, tell me what happened.” She demanded.“I-I left the d-dressing room t-to get Miss Selina a-a drink-“Diana clicked her tongue and grabbed her wrist harder.“Speak properly! I can barely make out what you’re saying.”Dolce swallowed and nodded sheepishly.“Well, after that I got back to the dressing room and it was empty. I thought Miss Selina had stepped out for a bit and waited for a few minutes. But she wasn’t coming back so I decided to go around and look for her. She was nowhere in the hall
Melissa looked at Diana with bewilderment and confusion. She looked around her, gazing at the everyone in the room. Just what exactly has she gotten herself into? She replayed Diana’s words in her head, unsure of what she had just uttered.“You want me...to marry your son? The person that is getting married right now?” Melissa asked as she tilted her head, perplexed.“Yes, I’m going to explain this to you as fast as I can, we have no time to waste.”Melissa swallowed and braced herself for what she was about to say.“The bride has gone missing, and this marriage has to go on. I will let something as small as this ruin the marriage, and you-“ she squinted her eyes and examined Melissa’s face again. “You have the exact same facial features as the bride, it’s terrifyingly similar and that works perfectly for me.” She said with a smirk.Melissa looked down to the floor as she took her time digesting everything Diana had just said.“But this is basically impersonation, it’s a crime I can’t
Melissa was frozen, unable to move as her eyes remained on the man in front of her. Her breathing was getting laboured as she felt perspiration drip down her face. How had she not known all this while? The person who was getting married was Gabriel Marshal and now, she was about to become his bride, the man she detested, the man who had belittled her. She wished to never see him again, but here she was wearing a wedding dress. Melissa reflexively took a step back and the man beside her, Mr Reed nudged her arm lightly.“What’s the matter? Are you getting cold feet now?” He whispered to her.Melissa turned to him and opened her mouth go speak but found no words to say to him. Mr Reed turned forward and scoffed.“I knew this would be a bad idea, letting a commoner take this kind of role. Damn you Diana.” Mr Reed cursed under his breath.Melissa clenched her trembling hands and exhaled. She couldn’t chicken out of this one now. She had already agreed to it, so she might as well do a good
The outdoor was bustling with life. Guests sat at their respective tables chatting away happy with wine glasses in their hands. It was 7pm. The blue sky had morphed into a dark blue shade filled with countless of stars, twinkling in the night. Slow relaxing classical music played in the background, the atmosphere was nice. But Melissa wasn’t feeling the calm atmosphere at all. If she were not in this situation, them maybe she would’ve been able to enjoy the ambience of the outdoors. She sat at the table that was prepared for the married couple, with Gabriel sitting in front of her. Food had been served. Her duck salad was sitting in front of her, untouched. It was probably cold by now, seeing as it had been left to sit there for minutes. Gabriel on the other had taken a few bites out of his and was sipping on his wine, not touching the plate of food again. Since the outdoor dinner had began, there had been silence between them, a long heavy silence. It felt awkward for Melissa but w
Melissa played with her fingers nervously as she sat on a sofa in a familiar office. It was Diana’s office and everything still looked the same. The nearly arranged desk, the potted plants placed on each side of the room, and a large portrait of Diana sitting at the top of her desk.Melissa stared at the painting. It was professionally done, and there was a lot of resemblance to the real person. Diana’s face was stone cold and so were her eyes. Melissa sighed, turning away from the painting. The office was empty, no one was in it except Melissa. It made her wonder if she had come earlier than Diana had instructed.The office door swung open, and Diana came trooping in with Nelly following closely behind her.“You’re here a bit early.” She said.“You did say I should come see you by 8am, and it’s thirty minutes past 8...”Diana waved her off as she sat down at her desk. Nelly dropped a few documents on her table and she began to examine it carefully.“Nelly, is my schedule clear by 4pm
Melissa looked at her friend In disarray, wondering why the atmosphere and her tone bad changed drastically. And why was she giving her that look? Melissa grimaced.“Yes Tory, I did it for money. I didn’t have a choice.”Tory scoffed again.“Don’t tell me you didn’t have a choice, you have a goddam choice and you chose to accept that money.”Melissa frowned at tory.“With the current state I’m in, do you think I’d be able to refuse that much money being offered to me? No tory, I didn’t have a choice.“Stop using your life as an excuse Melissa!” Tory bellowed.Melissa was taken aback by the sudden increase in her tone. She placed the framed photograph she had in her hand back on the bedside table and titled her head at tory.“Whats the problem Tory? Why are you getting all worked up about this? It’s not a big deal.”“Its not a big deal Melissa? Impersonating someone else is not a big deal??”Tory shook her head and sighed.“Im just really disappointed in you Melissa. I didn’t think yo
Melissa wasn’t mistaken. Gabriel was with someone else, and a woman at that. From the way Gabriel was, Melissa would never have imagined him to be the promiscuous type. She stepped away door and began to pace around the room. Melissa was curious, very curious to see who is was. She didn’t know why, maybe it was because she spent all day in this room doing almost nothing and was looking for a source of entertainment. There was no reason for Melissa to be interested in Gabriel or any of his affairs, but her interest was quipped and she needed to satiate it. Melissa walked back to the door and twisted the door knob slowly. Her room door swung open and she tiptoed out carefully. Melissa walked quietly down the corridor, her long night gown bundled in her hands. She got to the large opening and followed the voices to the top of the stairs. Melissa peered down at the living room and caught a glimpse of Gabriel. He was sitting on the sofa with a girl straddled on top of him. She couldn’t s
Kyle gazed at Dolce’s spellbound, rather dumbstruck face. She was frozen, and could only look at him in shock. Dolce recovered a few seconds later and adjusted on her seats. Kyle watched all her awkward and uncomfortable movements with a small smile on his lips. His question was really doing a number on her.“I don’t understand the question detective, and is that really necessary for this interrogation?” Dolce asked as she tapped her feet on the floor nervously.“Why yes, it is infact an important question.” Kyle replied.Dolce bit her lip and averted her eyes to her drink. She took another sip and sighed.“I don’t know how to answer that question.” She said flatly.Kyle could feel Cora tugging at his shirt, but decided to completely ignore her. He knew he was going to get am earful later, but he didn’t care. Kyle kept his gaze on Dolce he mulled over ways to break her.“I apologize if that question made you feel quite uncomfortable, but it’s a reasonable question yes? Nowadays, women
Melissa, who was shocked by the familiar voice that had called out her name, made a sharp turn towards the voice. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she gazed at the man in front of her.“Mark?” She quizzed with wide eyes.Someone she never imagined she’d see again was standing in front of her, and now of all times.“Mel, I knew it was you. I wasn’t sure at first because of the kind of dress you had on. You look completely different.” He hinted at her as his eyes skimmed her clothing.Melissa rubbed her arm as an uncomfortable air settle in the atmosphere.“What are you doing here?” Melissa asked as she was still surprised to see him.“I work here now. After you got fired, I resigned and left the mart.”Melissa looked at his apparel and indeed he wasn’t lying. He was wearing the same attire that every staff wore.“I saw you, sitting with...a man.” Mark said, his voice mixed with sadness.Melissa looked up at him and saw he was looking at her with sad eyes.“Is that your boyfrien
Melissa sat in the luxurious limousine beside Gabriel Marshall.The chairs were soft and comfortable, smooth jazz music placed from invisible speakers Melissa couldn’t see. The atmosphere was prepared to make you relax, but Melissa couldn’t shake off the anxiety she was feeling.The anxiety was making it hard for her to enjoy the ride. Gabriel had unexpectedly come up to her, ordering her to get dressed for some dinner. He explained that they were having dinner in La huite, a famous French restaurant with the son of Mr Slater, the CEO of the TRAM, a fashion company and a partner to their company.Gabriel had mentioned the CEO’s son would be coming with his wife, so he had to show up with his. According to him it’ll be good publicity to feed the paparazzi with shots of them having dinner together, lovingly.Melissa didn’t feel comfortable being in front of the cameras, but she had no right to refuse. She had signed a contract and going back on her word would incite the wrath of Mrs Mars
Diana cringed at the sound of her husband’s name. It also made her boil with rage. She didn’t want to see him right now, but they definitely needed to talk. He had the audacity to bail out on the wedding when she specifically told him not to. It was infuriating. After that day, the internet was streaming with questions asking why Mr Marshall didn’t show up or why she was all alone during the wedding. Diana sighed and picked up her cup of coffee, throwing it in the bin beside her.“Let him in, and bring me another coffee Nelly, sugar free.” She said and placed down the receiver.She went back to the documents on her table, but it wasn’t long before John Marshall stepped into her office. He had a smile on his face as he plopped down on the sofa.“This office is still as elegant as ever I see.” He chirped.Diana looked up from the documents and frowned at the sight of him. He wore a loose fitted t-shirt with a jacket, blue jeans and a pair of sneakers. It was astonishing how he could dr
Kyle watched Lana break down completely. Tears streamed down her face as her whole body quivered. She placed her hands over her face as her sobs got louder.Kyle felt a hard squeeze on his arm and turned to Cora. Her eyes were giving him the “what are you doing look.” He just smiled and mouthed the words “I know what I’m doing” to her. She exhaled and decided to trust him on this one.Kyle didn’t push Lana any further. He just watched as she cried. Lana cried a bit more and started to regain her composure. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sniffled as she began to fix her Demeanor. She looked up at Kyle, her eyes red from crying and sighed.“Yes, you’re right. If Selina did indeed run away, then I may know why she would think of doing something like that.”Lana swiped out a tissue from the box of tissues settled on the glass table beside her and dabbed her runny nose before she continued.“You see, my husband and I, well from the way I see it, were very controlling ove
"This is Selina’s room?” Detective Kyle asked as he walked into the spacious room.Lana, Selina’s mother nodded and walked into the room with him. Cora Miles, Kyle’s partner was with him today. She was looking professional as usual in her grey suit. Her brown hair was put up in a tight pony tail. She was looking around the room, ready to investigate.They had gotten permission to search Selina’s room as much as they wanted and confiscate anything that may help with the search.Kyle looked around the room. It was clean, everything was in the place and the bed was neatly arranged. Cora had disappeared into the dressing room and had already began searching. Kyle decided to start. He walked over to the bed and removed the covers. He paused and turned to Lana.“Its fine if I do this right? We may have to turn over a lot of things in the room.”Lana nodded and folded her arms.“Its okay, go ahead. I can always have the maid clean up the room again.”Kyle turned back to the bed and began to
Melissa took out a framed photograph from her duffle bag and placed it on the beside table, beside the small night lamp. It was a photo of her, a much younger version of herself, with little Brandon by her side. It was the only photo they had together, and it was taken back in the orphanage.Melissa could recall how much Brandon always liked the photo. Even while they escaped the burning building, he still had the photograph in his hand, clutching it so hard like it was a precious to it. But as he grew older, he lost interest in it, so Melissa framed the photo and kept it beside her bed.She gazed at their faces. They were both happy in the photograph, smiling and holding each other tightly. It was a heart-warming photo and Melissa liked to look at it. The photo made her wish that she could go back to the past, when they were both close.Melissa sighed and plopped down on the king sized bed. She couldn’t tell Brandon about her impersonation someone, so she lied that she was moving els
Melissa looked at her friend In disarray, wondering why the atmosphere and her tone bad changed drastically. And why was she giving her that look? Melissa grimaced.“Yes Tory, I did it for money. I didn’t have a choice.”Tory scoffed again.“Don’t tell me you didn’t have a choice, you have a goddam choice and you chose to accept that money.”Melissa frowned at tory.“With the current state I’m in, do you think I’d be able to refuse that much money being offered to me? No tory, I didn’t have a choice.“Stop using your life as an excuse Melissa!” Tory bellowed.Melissa was taken aback by the sudden increase in her tone. She placed the framed photograph she had in her hand back on the bedside table and titled her head at tory.“Whats the problem Tory? Why are you getting all worked up about this? It’s not a big deal.”“Its not a big deal Melissa? Impersonating someone else is not a big deal??”Tory shook her head and sighed.“Im just really disappointed in you Melissa. I didn’t think yo