Prologue

“Are you Laura Gardner?”

Laura stops as an unknown man approaches from behind her. She turned from the black plastics and garbage piles she was ordered to dispose earlier, towards the unfamiliar man. She has never seen this person before.

“Are you Laura Gardner?” the man repeats his question as he scrutinizingly looks at her from her head to toe, then back to her face.

Laura nervously rubs both her palms on her skirt with the intention of wiping it. She walks towards the man as she softly uttered, “Yes, I am. Is there anything I could do for you?”

The man waves his hand at something from behind him. As if on cue, Laura watched as a black limousine suddenly parks near the alley where they stand. A woman, dressed like a nobility, gets off the limousine and walks towards them.

Laura confusingly looks at the man.

As if the man understood her confusion, he said, “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Just then, the woman had finally got to them. She is wearing a mask which made Laura unable to fully see her face. Despite this, Laura can guess that behind the mask is certainly a very beautiful young woman.

Laura understood right away that it is this woman whom the man wants her to meet. But then, she wondered why.

Their family has never had a connection to the upper-class. She had never met other relatives either, except for her father who had died when she was 16 and her mother who is currently admitted to the cheapest hospital nearby.

These people are obviously of high-caliber. So, what do they want from someone from the ghetto like her?

“So, it is true,” the woman whispered to herself as she stared at the confused figure of Laura. “Forgive me for being impolite, Laura. I have weak lungs, which is why I wear a mask whenever I go outside. However, allowing you to see my face will easily explain everything.”

Laura looked at the woman as she graciously removes her mask from her mouth and earlobes.

“To formally introduce myself, my name is Olivia Reign. And I am here to ask you to become me, Laura Gardner.”

Upon seeing the face of the woman, Laura could not move at all. It was as if all the organs and muscles in her body had malfunctioned out of the shock of seeing her own face in a body of a different woman.

Despite wearing different clothes and being on different class, the two of them have the splitting image of each other’s faces.

“How... what...” Bewildered, she didn’t know which to ask first despite all the questions that flood her head.

“I know you have a lot of questions. But I can guarantee you that this is my real face,” the woman assured her.

“But Ma’am, this is also my real face...” her voice cracked out of panic.

What if these people are actually targeting her because she has the same face as this woman? Is she going to die? How about her mom? She is the only person left who can take care of her mom.

“Please don’t kill me,” she automatically pleaded.

“We’re not going to kill you, don’t worry,” the woman softly chuckled, placing the knuckles on her fingers near her mouth. “In fact, I am here because there is something I want to ask of you.”

Laura made a questioning look. The wealthy ones should already have everything they need and want. What can someone like her offer to a person who’s way above her?

“Laura Gardner, can you come to the Reign Household and pretend to be Olivia Reign?”

“What do you mean?” Laura asked in perplexity.

“I mean, I want us to switch places.”

“Switch places?! No, no... no, that’s impossible. I’m just a normal girl. I can’t be you.”

Olivia reaches for both of Laura’s hand, and held it as she pleads. “Please, Laura. You’re the only person I could ask.”

“But why...? Don’t you already have a comfortable life?”

Olivia Reign’s life is probably what Laura has always dreamed of as a child. A dreamy-like house with servants, with lots of food to eat, a beautiful garden, with money to use when someone gets sick... just a life where she need not to worry about anything else.

“Rather than a comfortable life, I want a normal life,” Olivia briefly explains.

Laura could feel Olivia’s remorse towards the life she’s leading in the Reign household. There was a hint of sadness in her soft voice.

“Please, Laura, help me live a life that I won’t regret anymore. If you come and take my place, the Reign household can pay for all your mother’s medical costs. She can move to a larger hospital with recent medications, and she can see the doctor more often.”

As Laura gazes at Olivia’s moistened eyes, she felt her heart move deeply. It was a win for both sides. If she agrees to the proposal, her mother’s health could improve greatly. Both of them can live the life they wanted – Olivia as just a common girl, and her as a noble-like person. It’s just exactly as what she had always dreamed about.

The light coming from the setting sun peaks between the two adjacent buildings on the other side of the alley and it gently hits Laura’s cheeks. The two similar faces faced each other as they settle their pacts.

Without knowing that an inconceivable love and struggles await her at the house of Reign, Laura accepted Olivia’s proposal.