Chapter 3

That rude bastard.

Laura could feel her facial features twitching out of extreme annoyance. She doesn’t want to marry either, but she’s not this rude. Rejecting her this way? And even while breakfast? She is not Olivia but she’s extremely irked and irritated! She reaches for the glass of orange juice in front of her and chugs it down to nothing before loudly putting it back on top of the table, the same way Duke did earlier. She pierced her eyes at Duke, trying to look as intimidating as she could.

“And you think I want to take an arrogant man like you as my husband?” she said with stern voice, still holding down her glass on the table. “Don’t make me laugh,” she sarcastically said.

Duke only raised an eyebrow. He noticed the woman’s grip on her glass begins to tighten. He smirks before speaking. “Are you laughing?” he sarcastically asked back which made Laura roll her eyes. His research about her was right. Pompous and self-assertive.

Laura snorts. “Mom, there’s no way I’m marrying a man with an obtrusive behavior.”

“That settles it, then. We’re not getting married,” he announced, not minding everyone’s distorted reactions.

“Olivia…” Ophelia looks at her daughter whose eyes are filled with grimace as she stares at Duke on the other side of the table.

Duke’s father, Edmond, on the other hand, carefully leaned towards his son’s ears before whispering, making sure no one on the table can hear them. "I remember warning you this morning. Stop being stubborn this instant,” he warned.

Upon hearing these words, one corner of Duke’s lips raised, forming a smirk. “The lady does not want to take me as her husband. That’s not within my control, is it?” he sarcastically remarked.           

"My, my, calm down, everybody.”   

Just then, the tension in the heavy atmosphere was disrupted as Olivia’s father, Charles, spoke. Everyone’s attention immediately shifted towards the end of the table where he comfortably sits, sipping on his coffee.

Laura could not fathom the sudden silence in the table. Somehow, she can feel the authority within Olivia’s dad despite speaking just a few words. In fact, he sounded like nothing was going on just now.  

“We’re all gathered here to have a nice breakfast together, so let’s enjoy this time together, shall we?” he says, before turning to Edmond. “And Edmond, my friend, give the kids a break. Allow them to have the chance to get to know each other. This sudden marriage might be pressuring our children. Let’s not put them on a tight spot.”          

Although still upset with his son, Edmond sits right back up. He gave Duke a quick glance as if still giving him a warning before turning to Charles. “I apologize for my son’s rude behavior,” he says. “He’s not often like this. He might be experiencing late reactions from jetlag,” he joked.      

“Olivia here is just the same. But instead of a jetlag, she might not have had a good night sleep last night,” Charles chuckled before joking back. “Olivia, my dear, we’re not rushing anything here so just take your time. You too, Duke.”   

“Yes, father,” Laura responds. Duke, on the other hand, also gave a soft nod.        

“Alright! Then, shall we continue our breakfast?” Charles claps his hands in the air. “Please, help yourselves.”   

As they eat, Laura could hardly chew down the food in her throat. She can still feel Duke’s eyes piercing at her. If those eyes could shoot bullets, she’d definitely be holed by now. And if breakfast would always feel like getting swallowed up in this mansion, she’d rather skip it starting from now. Fortunately, this is the only time Duke will join them for breakfast.

After breakfast, Laura decides to quickly excuse herself. She went straight to her bedroom where she feels the safest. As she entered the room, a huge frame was lying around the floor. It’s a painting of the real Olivia. Just then, a maid barged in the room.           

“Oh! I apologize, Miss. I was told to put this frame down to change it with a new one,” Carol quickly explained, a bit taken aback to see the young miss so suddenly. She had presumed that the lady would be busy accompanying today’s guests.           

“A new one?”“

Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but it’s your birthday soon. The portrait is always changed every year just before your birthday,” Carol informs. “And this year is going to be different.”

“Different? In what way?” she asked. She feels that it’s already different since she is not Olivia.

“Your engagement partner–“

“I’m not engaged at all,” Laura immediately corrected.

“I mean, the young heir of the Crezford family is a freelance artist. I was told that he’ll be the one to draw your portrait this year. Doesn’t that make this year’s portrait special?” she giggled. “But pardon me, Miss. What do you mean by you’re not engaged at all?”

Laura walks towards her dressing table. There, on top of the dresser, another photo of Olivia Reign is in a photo frame. “It’s exactly what it means,” she answers. She cannot get engaged and get married while pretending to be Olivia. That’s messed up.

“I see. I pray that you get what you desire this time, Miss Olivia,” Carol says which made Laura frown a bit. “Oh! It’s not that I’m trying to be presumptuous. But in this house, the master’s words will always rule.”

 The master… Olivia’s dad, she thought.

“I have to take this to the storage room now so I’ll take my leave,” the maid says, before taking the huge frame with her hands and arms. “Please do not hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

“Isn’t that a bit too much to carry for a woman like you?” Laura asked.

“Oh, it’s okay. Thank you for being kind, Miss.”

Laura had intended to just quietly watch as her maid carried the frame by herself. But then, she remembered how her life was hard before she came here. It hasn’t even been a day. She shut her eyes and exhales out loud before walking towards Carol to help her carry the huge frame.

“Oh, my! Miss, you don’t need to do this.”

“Just let me. Besides it’s better than sitting down wherever and doing nothing,” she managed to say. This is so out of Olivia’s character but she can’t just leave a frail young woman carry this huge and possibly heavy frame alone.

Carol inwardly smiles. “As I’ve thought, you’re really kind, Miss,” she said. “But the other servants and the master might fire me if I let you help me like this.”

“I’m just bored. If it comes down to it, I’ll be the one to tell them I insisted on helping, because I was bored.” The maid reluctantly looked at her. “Just let me help. That’s an order,” Laura said, leaving Carol no choice but to let her.

The two of them carried the frame together towards the storage room. Laura could feel some eyes watching them as they walk. She was okay with it but then, she noticed that Carol was awfully quiet the whole way. The frame is indeed heavy, and the storage room is quiet far from her room, especially in this huge mansion filled with long hallways and enormous living rooms. She believes that she did the right decision by helping Carol carry it, but perhaps, she should’ve called someone else to help her instead of this.

When they reached the supposedly storage room, Laura couldn’t help but frown. “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable,” she begins.

“Oh, no! Please don’t be. I’m very thankful for your help. Thanks to you, carrying it was a lot easier. But I’d appreciate it if we don’t do it again next time,” Carol smiles. “But I think it is a good thing that you came with me here today. Look around you, Miss.”

Laura looks around the supposedly storage room. Her eyes widened as she faced the walls of the room. This doesn’t look like a storage room at all! The walls are filled with her – Olivia’s portraits since young. To have an enormous room for her portraits alone, she could tell that Olivia is very much loved by her parents. So why did she want to escape this place?

“I bet it has been a while since you have seen these portraits. Doesn’t it take you back, Miss?”

“O-oh, yes,” Laura awkwardly agreed. The person in the portrait is not her at all. But seeing Olivia’s younger self, she could tell that they really look alike even when younger. If she hadn’t known, they might’ve been twins. She chuckles the thought.

“The next portrait will be drawn soon. I’ll make sure to make you look prettier than you ever did in the previous portraits.”

“Don’t get too fired up, Carol,” Laura laughs.

Carol meaningfully watched the young miss as she laughs. After a while, the two decide to leave the room, unaware of the pair of eyes which has been watching the both of them since earlier.

Going back to her room, Laura feels a bit lighthearted. Her maid had already left to do another errand, but she knows that she could call Carol anytime she needs. Besides, she’s better off alone in this house. She closes the bedroom door before walking towards the bed, and collapsing her small back on it. Her long dress slightly fluttered at the action.

Olivia Reign’s life is quite carefree. She doesn’t have anything to worry about the world. Her food, clothes, shelter… everything is already there. She need not to work. She could sit around doing nothing all day and still have the money to spend. It’s the complete opposite of Laura’s life. Which is why even though Laura had always dreamt of this life, she still feels uncomfortable, lying around Olivia’s bed with nothing to do but laze around.

“This dress is too heavy to wear,” she whispered to herself, as she stared at the green and cream canopy bed curtains with detailed designs, hanging at the corners of her bed. “I can’t even wear decent clothes as Laura, but the bed uses the highest quality of fabric out there as a curtain,” unbeknownst to her, she spoke.

Laura heaved a sigh. She wondered how her mom was doing. Although she told her mom that she’ll be working somewhere far away for a while as a reason, she’s still worried that she isn’t eating well. She knows that Olivia had kept her promise. After all, her mom was immediately transferred to the finest hospital and even hired a domestic helper to take care of her right after she agreed to pretend as Olivia.

Still, she misses her mom.

Being in this huge mansion makes her feel caged. Pretending as Olivia ties her up in so many ways. She can’t freely act and speak her mind the way she does before. She somehow wants to have her imperfect life as Laura back.

That’s right, maybe she should look for clues about where the real Olivia could be. She shouldn’t have been greedy and hastily decided to exchange lives with her.

At that moment, Laura had decided. She will keep on pretending to be Olivia while looking for that woman who left and trapped her here. She must not get caught, not ever.

With fiery eyes, burning from determination, Laura once again opens the box she had hidden underneath her bed. She opens it with the key that’s hanging around her neck before bringing out the guide notebook which Olivia had written. Before opening the notebook, she had remembered something which made her stand up from sitting on top of the queen-sized bed. She walks towards the bedroom door to lock it.

Better be careful, she thought.

She goes back to her bed, positioning herself in her most comfortable position before finally reading the notebook. She begins to study it, memorizing every single detail written. She also took the Olivia’s smartphone to see if there is anything she needs to learn in there.

If she is an impostor who acts as Olivia Reign, then she’ll do it perfectly.