Ashley’s POVI hadn't realized how deeply I'd come to feel for Ashley-not until these two nights she was gone from the mansion. I'd told myself I was giving her space, that she deserved a proper night out with her best friend, but the emptiness that filled these hallways in her absence was suffocating. Every text I sent was brief, my way of respecting her time, but it became a struggle not to reach out just to hear her voice. This house, grand and polished as it was, only felt like a home when she was here. Somehow, in her warmth and laughter, I'd found something I didn't even know I was searching for: a sense of belonging, of comfort. A place I wanted to come back to. Home was a person-and it was Ashley.When she'd looked up at me tonight, a soft, vulnerable expression in her eyes, and asked me to stay with her, to join her in the tub, it was all I could do to keep my composure.As I held her hand, guiding her toward my bedroom, her fingers small and delicate in mine, my mind churned
Ashley's POVAs we pulled up to the hotel hall, a wave of relief washed over me. Thankfully, the birthday was not at the imposing Thorne mansion. The mansion always felt like a battleground to me—an unfamiliar, unforgiving space where I couldn’t find my place. There, I was constantly on edge, feeling like I was surrounded by too many expectations, too many watchful eyes. But here, in the neutral, well-lit hall, everything seemed different. The polished floors, the tasteful decor, the soft hum of conversation—it all felt less like a place I had to fight to fit into and more like one where I could just…exist for a moment as myself, and not an impostor, though I knew it wouldn’t last long once I had to mingle and pretend that I was my jovial outgoing sister.I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to smile as I stood beside Annabelle. She clung to my side like I was the only thing holding her together in this sea of unfamiliar faces. It was strange, how comforting it was to have her close, desp
Ashley’s POV“Ah, there you are,” Kennedy said, his voice smooth and warm. There was something about his tone that didn’t sit right with me, but I wasn’t sure why. His eyes flicked from Andreas to me, as if measuring the distance between us before he spoke again. “Nice to see you tonight, Ash.”“Kennedy,” Andreas replied, his voice tight but polite.The woman beside Kennedy took a step forward, extending her hand to Andreas with a smile that seemed a little too bright, a little too welcoming. “Andreas,” she said, her voice smooth and light. “It’s so good to see you again.”She leaned in and kissed both of his cheeks, a gesture that, despite its warmth, made me feel an uncomfortable pang in my chest. I watched as Andreas remained still, his expression unreadable, though I could sense the slight tension in his jaw. When she pulled away, she turned to me, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took me in. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.“Ah, and you must be Ashton,” she said, her v
Ashley’s POV"Oh, you are so lucky that you have an identical twin. What's it like?" The question, a tired chorus, rolled off the tongue of the woman sitting in the booth next to me at the coffee shop. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question, I could probably fulfill my deepest dream–to leave this bustling town and move to another continent where I would own a nice little cottage nestled amongst rolling hills in New Zealand. There, amid the quiet solitude, I could escape the constant comparisons, the expectations, and most importantly, the feeling of being perpetually overshadowed by my twin, Ashton Grey.When we were little, being Ashton's twin held a certain playful charm. We were masters of disguise, able to swap places seamlessly, driving our parents to the brink of exasperation with our elaborate pranks. Back then, our differences were subtle – mere nuances in personality that manifested in our clothing choices (I, a sucker for mismatched socks and oversized s
Ashley's POVMy jaw practically hit the tabletop as Ashton finished laying out her outrageous request. “You have got to be bullshitting me, Ashton. Is there a camera somewhere making a video of us? There has to be, right?” My sister remained silent as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on my lap and I had to look around to be sure that I wasn’t dreaming. "A weekend pretending to be you to visit your in-laws? Are you serious?"A forced laugh escaped Ashton's lips, devoid of any humor. "Deadly serious, Ash. This isn't some prank like the time we convinced Mrs. Henderson she was seeing double."The memory of that particular prank – complete with a strategically placed wig and a well-rehearsed limp – brought a reluctant smile to my face. But this situation felt vastly different, a world away from our childhood theatrics. Over the years, Ashton had perfected the art of the outrageous while I remained sane–quitting her stable job to backpack across Europe on a whim, that disastrous skydiv
Ashley’s POVThe leather seat of the luxurious car that had picked me up outside the airport felt alien beneath me, or maybe it was the fact that I had a driver. Gazing out the window at the snow-capped peaks blurring by, I still couldn't quite believe I was actually in Aspen, on my way to the Thornes’ mansion, masquerading as my sister, Ashton.Just days ago, I’d been sitting in the cozy familiarity of my favorite coffee shop in Vermont when Ashton had dropped her bombshell request. The memory of her pleading eyes and the hesitant smile, a ghost of our childhood goofiness, had been my undoing and why I was now on my way to what I believed was a suicide mission. After agreeing, I’d had to follow Ashton back to her New York apartment that very day. Thankfully, her husband, Andreas, was on a business trip to London and would be flying directly into Aspen. A small mercy, because the prospect of spending hours trapped on a plane with a complete stranger while posing as his significant oth
Ashley’s POVPanic coiled in my gut, squeezing the air from my lungs. There he was, my sister’s husband, Andreas Thorne, a living, breathing man, and the reality of the situation slammed into me with the force of an avalanche. How had I forgotten that I was supposed to be sharing this room with him like a normal couple would? I scrambled off the bed, my bare feet sinking into the thick carpet. Quickly, I reached for the bedside lamp, the light casting a warm glow over the room, and illuminating Andreas’ form. He rose from the armchair, his movements slow and deliberate. My breath hitched in my throat as our eyes met.Steely grey eyes, dark ebony hair that tumbled across his forehead in a way that seemed artfully messy, with a jaw that was sharp, clean-shaven, and held a hint of stubble that only added to his rugged appeal. His build sent a jolt through me. Even in the loose-fitting clothes he wore, I could see the broad expanse of his shoulders tapering down to a lean waist. He towe
Ashley’s POVMy reflection stared back at me, a stranger in my own skin. I was so used to drowning myself in oversized t-shirts and the comforting embrace of sweatpants.m that wearing something other than that felt odd. In place of my usual fits, I'd picked out a sundress from the array of clothes that Ashton had packed for me for this weekend.I ran a hesitant hand over the smooth fabric, the material clinging to my curves in places I never knew I had curves, accentuating the unfamiliar contours of my body. But it was the neckline that truly shocked me.A daring plunge that showed a cleavage I hadn't known existed. It was like staring into a mirror and discovering a hidden landscape. I'd always believed that I was flat-chested, a fact I'd accepted with a shrug, but this dress was daring me to embrace what I'd previously ignored, or maybe it ass just that I wore too many oversized fits to have her noticed in the first place.A wave of self-consciousness washed over me. I was no Bridge