After what felt like a short eternity, we finally arrived in front of the altar where my groom was waiting for me. It felt like time had stopped and in that moment nothing else in the world mattered when I laid eyes on him. Just taking a peek at him from the other side of the veil that I had on made my heart race dangerously in my chest.
“Do your job properly. This is going to be all over the news,” my father whispered close to my ear.
Honestly, he didn’t need to tell me that because I knew from the moment that we made our agreement that I had to do my best to uphold my end of the bargain. Once again, I reminded myself that I wasn’t doing it for them, but I was doing it for my elder sister and for myself. My poor excuse of a father walked away from my side, and I was left alone to face my groom. Seeing him again right in front of me in the flesh reminded me that we had been apart for far too long. The day I left this country, I never thought that I would one day return and I definitely did not think that I would return to marry him or all people.
“Diana…”
His voice sounded like heavenly music to my ears but the name my groom called so lovingly wasn’t my name but that of my sister. Despite knowing that something like this was supposed to happen, I still felt a twisting pain inside my chest and then I felt tears sting the back of my eyes.
“Anthony…” I called his name softly.
Anthony Vulkan, my first love and probably the only man that I have ever truly loved, and also my sister’s fiancé.
His name felt so foreign to my lips, and I realized that I haven’t said it for more than four long years since the day that I left this country and my family behind. In my mind, I tried to forget him and that was probably why I had avoided saying his name as well. A bittersweet feeling filled my chest at the sound of his name. He reached his hand out to me invitingly and I slowly placed my hand into his much larger one. The moment his fingers curled around my hand, I felt the warmth of his touch and the reassurance of his presence.
Given how identical I looked to my sister, I wondered if he knew who I really was. We looked so alike that almost everyone, including our parents, could tell us apart. Once again, I regretted not having a chance to meet or talk to him before our wedding day.
“Welcome back. You look extremely beautiful,” Anthony whispered sweetly in my ear.
Did he just say, ‘Welcome back’?
My eyes widened at the sudden confirmation that Anthony did indeed know that I’m not my sister because he wouldn’t have said something like that otherwise. It seemed like my parents did keep their promise of making sure that he was fine with me taking my sister’s place after all. As for the reason why he had agreed to this wedding while knowing that he would be marrying my sister in name only, I wasn’t quite sure. I could feel the eyes of everyone watching our every movement and knew that all the questions that I had would have to wait until I was alone with Anthony.
“Even with my veil still on?” I replied teasingly before smiling.
“Of course. This might be a little out of order but…I’d rather see your face properly” he said in a low voice that was meant for my ears only.
Slowly, his hand approached my face, and then the thin lacy veil that was covering my face gently lifted. With one smooth motion, Anthony lifted my veil over my head and revealed my face. The clear view of his face literally took my breath away. Maybe the fact that I missed him and wanted to see him so much was responsible for making his face more attractive than I had remembered it.
Anthony was dressed in a white tuxedo that brought out the color of his blond hair and highlighted the depth of his ocean-blue eyes. Nothing felt more fitting to that face than his beautiful straight nose and his perfectly formed lips. I knew that I was staring with my eyes wide open, but I just couldn’t stop myself from marveling at his good looks. I wasn’t wrong when I thought that he looked even more attractive than the last time that I saw him in person.
When he smiled at me, I could feel heat rush to my face as my heart started to race fast in my chest. Nothing else mattered at that moment and everything and everyone just faded away as it felt like we were the only ones left in the world.
“You really look wonderful. Shall we?” he said invitingly before showing me another kind smile that tugged gently at my heart.
“Yes…” I replied softly with a slow nod of my head.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep everyone waiting forever and we had to get on with the rest of the ceremony including our wedding vows. When I was younger, I wasn’t at all confident about my looks. However, the fact that everyone thought that my sister had an outstandingly beautiful face and smile made me feel like it had to apply to me as well. After all, we are twins, and we look so identical that everyone had trouble telling us apart from each other. With that logic, I was certain enough that Anthony must have meant what he said when he told me that I looked beautiful.
With my hand still in his, Anthony led me toward the altar where the priest would be guiding our vows of marriage. I was too nervous to pay attention to anything but the fact that Anthony was really standing by my side. It still felt out of this world unreal that he would become my husband formally in a matter of minutes or even seconds.
“It’s your turn…” Anthony whispered to me as I felt his hand squeezing mine softly.
With widened eyes, I realized that I had been spacing out and it was now my turn to say my vows.
“I do…I do…” I blurted out quite loudly before repeating myself again.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the priest said with utmost satisfaction as he beamed a smile our way.
--To be continued…
That’s right, we have to kiss…I felt like I was lost in a daze as Anthony turned to face me. He gently placed his hands on my shoulders before his hands slowly slid down my arms. My body felt frozen in place as a fluttering feeling developed in the pit of my stomach when I realized that he was going to kiss me. Even if it was supposed to be just a ceremonious kiss to seal our wedding vows, it was still a kiss and it would be our first kiss ever. It wasn’t like I didn’t have experience with men but standing in front of Anthony made me feel as nervous and anxious as if I was a young virgin girl all over again.Without saying a word, Anthony pulled me closer to him as his face approached mine. I felt his large manly hands slide down to the small of my back as he pulled me even closer to him. We were so close that our bodies were pressed together, and I could feel the heat of his body against mine. My eyelids instinctively slid closed as I offered my lips to him in sweet surrender and ac
**Roughly a week ago**It all started when I received an unexpected phone call. To be honest, it was also a phone call that I dreaded. After being sent abroad by my family and breaking things off with them, I had not heard from my parents for more than four years. The only person from my ‘old life’ that I kept in touch with was my elder twin sister and that felt like more than enough for me. It was hard but I had moved on with my life and I was working hard toward building what I hoped would be a bright and free future for myself.“You’re working so hard again today. Don’t stay too late, ok?” Louise turned to tell me with a sweet smile on her lips.After graduating with a degree in business, I was lucky to have found a job in sales and planning in a decent-sized company in the city. On top of that, I had a very supportive team leader who always looked out for me.“Thank you but don’t worry about me or the work. I’ll definitely get it done by tonight,” I replied with confidence.“Hones
Even when it came to her absolute favorite daughter the family’s reputation still came first. Something about what she said bugged me and I gasped out loud when I finally realized what it was. She mentioned that they were running out of time, and she was right.“Wait! Isn’t her wedding in less than a week?!” I exclaimed before my hand flew to cover my agape mouth.I can still recall the call that my sister gave me to tell me that she was finally getting married to Anthony, her long-time fiancé. Ever since my sister and I were around ten years old, our family and the Vulkan family made an agreement for their only son to marry the eldest daughter of our family and that was my twin sister.“You’re not completely stupid after all…” my mother replied sarcastically.We have to find her, and we have to find her as fast as possible.“I’ll do what I can,” I replied begrudgingly while trying to seal away my pride.My mother did not say anything, and the line went silent for a few seconds. Just
That night, I returned to my apartment after rushing to complete my work. I sent my boss an email apologizing for my sudden request to take leave for ‘urgent personal matters’. After packing some clothes along with a few things that I thought I would need into a small suitcase, I was ready to take the next flight back to where I was born and raised.…Standing in front of the tall gates in front of the estate where I grew up made me feel uneasy inside. I bet that not so many people felt the way that I felt when they returned to the place that was supposed to be their home. No one was there to greet me, but the gate was left unlocked showing that they were expecting me. Nothing much had changed at all about the estate and the large mansion was still in great condition and the large gardens well-tended to. The money from Anthony’s family along with his generosity was truly being put to good use here, I thought sarcastically as I pushed the gate and entered.Soon I was standing in front
“You can’t sell my things! I won’t ever allow that…” my mother countered as her face transformed into a mask of shock.“We don’t have any other choice. Stop acting so selfish!” my father screamed back.“Me? Selfish? How can you blame this on me when you’re the one at fault!” she shouted back while pointing her index finger at her husband accusingly.“Contact your brother or someone from your family. I’m sure they have some money to lend us,” my father suggested.“Stop! I won’t let you embarrass me any further. This is already bad enough for me…” my mother said through gritted teeth.I had never seen her so openly angry before and she never spoke this way to my father. Normally, she was obedient toward him, and it seemed like the only person in our family whom she would direct harsh words toward was me. I felt my sister’s arms around my waist as she hugged me close. That was when I realized that I was scared of what was happening and also about what was going to happen to us in the fut
“There’s no need to threaten me. I’ll do my best to find her even if it’s not for your sake,” I replied in a flat voice.Back then, I had no idea what he had in mind when he told me that I would have to take responsibility if I couldn’t find my sister.…**The next day**Despite telling my parents that I would try my best to find my sister, I still didn’t have any solid idea where I would find Diana or why she had suddenly decided to disappear. The timing was just too perfect because it was so close to her upcoming wedding. The only source of comfort for me was my gut feeling that told me that she was doing fine wherever she was. If she was truly distressed or if she needed help, I was sure that she would have tried to get in contact with me by now.After making my escape from my parents and out into the long hallway of the mansion, I ran into one of our oldest housekeepers. The way her eyes lit up told me that she was pleasantly surprised to see that I had returned. Lauren must have
After thanking Lauren again and giving her a brief hug, I quickly made my way out of the mansion. The sun would be setting soon, and I wanted to take a stroll in the city for a while to take some photos for what I needed to do next. Although I wasn’t absolutely sure what Dina was up to, I had a very good guess.The city center felt even busier that early evening when I arrived than I remembered the last time that I was there. It seemed like a few more shopping malls had popped up and some new skyscrapers that were under construction the last time that I was there had opened up as well. As usual, the crowd was a good mix of people ranging from couples, university and high school students and regular working adults. I used to come here with my sister all the time to hang out after high school or whenever we were allowed or had the time.After finding a good spot in front of one of the shopping malls that my sister and I liked to frequent, I took out my mobile phone and snapped a few sel
“Come back home. This is just another fling of yours and it will be over in less than a month or two based on your historical track record,” I snapped as I clutched my mobile phone tightly in my hand.“You’re wrong, Leya. This time it’s definitely different. I don’t blame you since you’re no longer living with us. You see, I’ve been secretly dating him for almost a year now and we are truly in love with each other,” my sister announced while sounding very proud.A year...“You’ve been engaged to Anthony for over ten years! Also, please don’t make your success in staying in a relationship for longer than a few months sound like a lifetime achievement because it is not!” I barked through the phone.After shouting for so long, my throat had started to hurt. I was panting as my anger started to boil over. It wasn’t that Dina never matured from the days that we were kids but she had matured in a way that was uniquely and completely her own. Her view of the world wasn’t normal but I couldn’