I stared at the tall, huge, and freakishly handsome man in front of me and then gulped unconsciously.
“Erm… actually…” I swallowed hard and forced a smile.
Why am I acting like I am caught up in a bad thing?
I am not your wife-to-be, I am her twin!
I felt like screaming that out.
However, I knew I dared not.
My family could hate me forever because of this.
Apparently, they had told the man that I was out of the country and probably wouldn’t be present for their wedding.
Hold on, Emerald told him she doesn’t do parties?!
What a bloodsucking liar!
I screamed inwardly.
“You look so shocked to see me. Why? Is it because you lied?” He asked and I breathed in.
Now, I gotta pretend like I am HER?!
Damn, no way!
But then again, if anything should go wrong tonight because of me. I would forever be blamed by my parents and Emerald.
“Shocked?” I raised my brows, my heart beating so fast like it was going to come off my chest.
“I am not. I just didn’t… I did not expect to meet you here,” I nodded my head and tightened my hand on the bottle.
I could feel my palm sweating already.
“Neither do I expect to see you… here.”
I know he drew the ‘here’ on purpose. He was looking at me like some high school girl who was caught doing something wrong or something.
Again, what was Emerald trying to prove by lying that she doesn’t party?
For as long as I know, that lady doesn’t joke with parties, especially the Friday night clubbing.
“What are you doing here?” He asked.
“I… I came with a friend… I think,” I bit my lower lips.
I should not have mentioned coming with a friend!
He must not meet Hilda either!
That girl wouldn’t know what was going on and might say some stupid things that would give me away.
Mentioning my name alone could ruin everything.
“Huh?” He raised a brow.
“I just came here to clear my head,” I said, composing myself gently.
What is with this intimidating vibe anyway?!
“Why? You looked so happy when we met during the day. Are you worried about anything?”
I raised my head to look at him. He didn’t look worried like he had sounded.
He looked at me a bit suspiciously and I could not understand why.
Did he catch on already?
Is he aware that I am the twin already?
“I was happy?” The question just came out.
Oh, God.
“I mean, yeah. I was happy. I still am happy though,” I forced a laugh and he tilted his head.
“You are?”
“Yes, I am.”
I looked around gently, praying inwardly that Hilda wouldn’t pop out of nowhere.
I knew I had to excuse myself already. I had to leave here before I started to make mistakes or anything.
“Are you looking for someone?”
Wait, who sent this man to me for hell's sake?!
He stood right in front of me interrogating me.
If he finds me suspicious, shouldn’t he just talk, and let’s get this over with?!
“No,” I answered hastily.
“Actually…” I breathed out and stood from my chair.
“I think I should get going,” I dropped the bottled water on the table and clasped my hands together.
“Now? It looked like you just arrived. You didn’t take any drink either. Is it because of me?” He asked.
“No, it’s not because of you. I just… you know…” I stuttered.
“Oh, are you embarrassed that I know that you actually party when you said you don’t?” He asked as he tugged his lips to the side.
I drew my brows together slightly. He looked like he was mocking me.
He looked like he was calling me a liar deep down, but was refraining from saying it.
“Are you going to call me a liar?” I asked bluntly.
I swear, I didn't mean to ask him that.
Why did I even ask?!
Whatever he thinks of me doesn’t matter.
He thinks I am Emerald and whatever he thinks of me right now is what he thinks of her and I don’t care what he thinks of her.
“No. I just felt like you shouldn’t have lied about the fact that you party too. I mean, it is nothing to be embarrassed about,” he shrugged his shoulders a little bit.
Whatever.
I was done.
I need to leave here.
“I should get going,” I said.
“I will drop you off,” he said and I hiccuped unconsciously.
“You don’t need to do that. I can take care of myself,” I turned him down.
“I will drop you off,” he repeated.
He is not a gentleman!
I screamed inwardly.
Why is he being commanding and all?
Shouldn’t he have asked if I would like him to drop me off?
If I said no, shouldn’t it be no?
Why is he being adamant?!
“You know, I don’t think I can watch my ‘wife-to-be’ leave here alone by this time of the night,” he said.
“We are getting married in two weeks, remember?” He added and I widened my eyes at the news.
They are getting married in two weeks?!
“Uhm…” I hurriedly collected myself. “I remember.”
“You look like it is news to you.”
“No, no. Actually, I am just… you know… I just can’t wait to be married to you,” I shrugged my shoulders.
“You can’t?”
“Yes. I can’t,” I forced a smile again.
“Oh, I see. So, let me drop you off now?”
“Uhm… sure. Thank you.”
As he turned to leave, I looked around again if I could see Hilda and I breathed out in relief that I didn’t. I removed cash from my bag, gave it to the bartender, and then hurried after the huge man.
The place we passed out wasn’t the same as the one we passed while coming in.
It looked like no one was even aware of this corner.
We kept walking for a while till we reached the basement and walked closer to his car.
A man held the car door for him and he moved to the side for me to enter first.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable in my short dress, I dragged it down as I entered the car and he entered after me.
I looked out of the window as I saw him pull off his jacket and then when I felt something warm drop on my bare thigh, I turned around to look.
On my thigh was the jacket he just pulled off and I raised my head to look at him.
“You look a bit uncomfortable,” he said.
I bit my lower lips and covered my thighs with it. “Thank you,” I murmured.
As the car drove out of the basement, I felt my phone vibrating in my bag and I knew it was Hilda instantly.
She would kill me if she knew I had left.
“You are not going to pick up?” Daniel asked and I glanced at him.
“I know who it is,” I said.
“They could be worried. I think you should pick it,” he said.
“Okay,” I replied.
Hold on, what was his business with who could be worried or anything?
He and Emerald would indeed make the perfect couple!
I removed my phone from my bag, declined the call, and moved to the message log.
‘I left the club. I will talk to you later.’
I sent the short text and returned by phone to the bag.
Daniel kept his head buried in his phone and I turned to look out of the window.
What a long night!
**
When the car pulled in front of our huge gate, I breathed out gently.
It was as if I was going to suffocate in the car.
Daniel and I didn't share a single word till we arrived as his face was buried in his phone all through.
It is not like I wanted him to look at him or anything. I mean, I so much appreciated the fact that he didn't try to speak to me too, but still, it was too suffocating inside the car even though the air conditioner was on and working.
“Thank you for the ride,” I said to him.
“It is my pleasure,” he nodded his head.
“And… thank you for this…” I removed the suit from my thigh and dropped it on the chair beside me.
The driver got out of the car, turned around, and opened the door for me.
I stepped out, turned to look at the man again, and bowed gently, “Thank you.”
He didn't say anything, he just watched me which was uncomfortable as fuck!
As I was about to leave, he opened the car from the other side, grabbed his jacket, and got out of the car hurriedly. I creased my brows as I watched him walk towards me.
He stopped in front of me leaving only a few inches in between us. He leaned closer, and then dropped the jacket on my back, hanging loosely on my shoulders.
I hurriedly held it tightly before it fell and raised my brows in confusion.
“You should not wear clothes you are not comfortable in, don't you think?”
“Have a nice night,” he added and turned to leave.
As he got to the car, he turned to look at me again and said, “You looked comfortable in it during the day though, is it because it is late in the night?” he said, mockery very evident in his voice and he entered the car.
‘What is this man?’
I muttered loudly and drew my brows together as I watched the car drive away.
Don’t get curious, Sapphire!
I warned myself and then turned around to enter the house.
“You ran into your sister’s fiance at the club?!” I removed the phone from my ear as I heard the deafening scream from Hilda. “Can you keep it low, please?” I hissed between smiles. “So, what did you do? Did you tell him you are not his fiancé? What did he say?” “Are you crazy? I dare not tell him that!” “Why can’t you?” I could already imagine the frown on her face. Hilda is not like me, she would have told Daniel that she wasn’t Emerald if she was in my shoes. Even if she was with me last night, she would have told him or popped it one way or the other. “My family didn’t tell him I was in the country. They told him I was out of the country and would not even make it to the wedding.” “Are you crazy? And you just sit still? I would have ruined her chances last night if I were you.” “Why are you making a deal out of this? It’s not like attending the wedding is some big deal. I wouldn’t even attend if I was invited,” I rolled my eyes. “You are so dense,” she hissed and I grin
“No, this is insane, mum, dad! This is not the right thing to do,” I yelled at my father’s face, and trust me when I said that my heart tore when he didn't even bulge. Neither did my mum.Is this a dream? How the hell could they suggest that I marry my sister’s fiance?!“You are going to marry Logan, Sapphire. It’s the best thing you can do for our family right now,” Dad nodded his head slightly and exhaled.I turned to look at my mum who had not been saying a word and breathed out. “Our family?”My mum clasped her hands together and began, stuttering, “Sapphire… Listen to your father. It… it is for the best.”“Mum!”I swept my hair to the back and shook my head.“It is for the best? It is the best that I can do for OUR family? Tell me when any of you has ever considered me FAMILY!”I yelled. Maybe this was the time I talked. Maybe it was time I stood up for myself.“Sapphire…” my mum muttered softly. While on the other hand, my dad looked like his mind had been made up and there was n
“Are you insane?!” Her high-pitched scream made me frown and pull the phone away from my ear slowly. I have enough on my plate already, I don't need anyone scolding me right now. “Hilda…” I started, but she cut me off right away. “You are going to marry him? Do you know what that means?! You are getting committed for life!” “It’s just for a few weeks, Emerald is going to wake up and then return to her place,” I explained to her. “And what if she doesn’t wake up anytime soon? You can’t let your parents do this to you. They are selfish and you know they will never hesitate to use you over and over again as long as it benefits them. What about Aidan?! What about your dream?! The audition is coming up in a few months and marriage is definitely not what you should think of. Especially not to a person you don’t love. This is not a movie that…” “Do you think I want this either?!” I didn’t know when I yelled. With the way I had screamed, I am sure my voice could have traveled to the li
DANIEL’S POV.“Your wedding is tomorrow and you are in the office?!”I exhaled and rested my head on the headrest. “Dad, preparing for my marriage does not stop me from working, come on.”I can already imagine the distasteful look that must have gathered on his face after I said that. It is way too early to start talking about my upcoming marriage, does he not know that? One would think my parents were the ones getting married, not me.“It does! Do you not care about what people would think at all? You should be going around, trying to know your fiance better, but what? That is all you can do?”“When I was your age…”He started. I scratched in between my brows and breathed out. Here we go again…“I made sure your mother and I met every day during our wedding preparation. And that is one of the reasons we are still going strong even after thirty years of marriage. I made sure she had no other choice but to fall over and over for me. There was a time that…”“Dad, please,” I cut him of
“Oh, my! Did you lose weight, ma’am?”I glanced at the middle-aged woman who helped in putting the wedding dress on and then looked at my reflection in the big dressing mirror in front of me.The wedding is tomorrow and I am just trying out the dress.“W…why did you say that?” “The last time you came for the dress fitting. It was so tight that we had to loosen it a bit. That’s why…”“It’s the wedding stress.”I turned around gently as I watched my mum enter and said.Wedding stress? I chuckled slightly.“I think it runs in the family. I lost over three kg when I was preparing for my wedding too,” she said as a joke and the woman laughed too.“I can understand that so much! A lot of brides lost weight when preparing for their wedding. It’s fine, we can just adjust it quickly. Tomorrow is the wedding,” she looked at me and smiled.I looked at myself for the umpteenth time and curled my fist into a tight ball. This is indeed not what I had envisioned for myself.“I will pick another dre
“Why? She’s not picking up the call?” Liam looked at me and I nodded slightly.“I think she’s rethinking already. She probably knows what she is getting into and then thinks it is best to not get married. I understand her very much.”I turned my head slowly to look Liam’s direction but he looked away quickly. “You’re insane.”“You know I am right. If not, why is she not picking up? Didn’t you say that she used to pick up your call at the second ring?” He said and burst into laughter.I tilted my head gently and sighed. Taking another look at him, I dialed a number and waited for the receiver to pick up.“Sir.”“Find out where Emerald is, now,” I ordered, and ended the call before I could hear his answer.“Is that Alfredo? You want him to stalk YOUR FIANCE?!”Liam stressed his words intentionally and I wished right now this guy knew how irritated I was at the moment.At times, I wonder if he was truly my best friend because he acts exactly like an enemy.How could he always decide to n
I dropped my hand on my neck possessively and caressed it gently after his comment. “Oh… did I?”I gulped hard as he kept staring at my collarbone. After a while, he looked away and stared at the wedding dress that was on the floor again. “This… this was the wedding dress you sent to me saying you were in love with, is it not? He asked and then pinned his eyes on me.“It looked like the same design, no?”I hiccuped almost immediately he asked his question and then beaded my brows. Emerald has been updating him about the wedding. I took a quick glance at my mother and then looked at him again.“Is it?” I asked unconsciously and then bit my lower lips.What was I saying?The way I was acting was practically giving me away.Can you just get a grip on yourself already, Sapphire?“Okay, let’s try this on you now.”I breathed out in relief as soon as the designer entered and said.“Could you stay outside for a moment while the bride tries on her dress? I know you probably can’t wait to see
“Let go of me,” I forcefully wriggled away from his grasp and breathed heavily. He looked at my face carefully like he was studying it and right now, he looked like he had something he was going to say“You should get going,” I said hurriedly.“Of course, I should. The wedding is tomorrow, you know? I gotta prepare too,” he said.He looked around the room and I did too, and that was when we realized how many eyes were on us. He seemed like he didn’t care as he dipped one of his hands in his pocket and then turned to leave.“Ah…” he stopped abruptly and turned around again. “You don’t look so great in that dress. Are you going to preach the word of God at the wedding?” He inclined his head tauntingly.I frowned at his remark and before I could give a response, he turned around and walked out of the store so casually like he was the most gentle person on earth.Of course, he did seem like one, but I know a person like him also. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.The articles were eviden