Without any hesitation, I turned and quickly ran as fast as my legs could carry me toward the door. My mind and my emotions were both a mess and the journey back to the comfort of my bedroom felt blurry. The peaceful quiet of my bedroom felt suffocating in a strange way. Just like it had always been the case in my life, there was no one there to comfort me. Diana was no longer there, and I wasn’t even sure where she was. Hopefully, unlike me, she was living a happy life full of smiles with the man that she loved.Thinking about Diana and the happiness that she was probably experiencing seemed to be the only saving grace that could help me believe that the pain that I was going through wasn’t for naught. As I dived onto the bed and pulled the covers over my head, I realized just how much I missed my twin sister.Wallowing in my own sorrows and frustrations was the only thing that I could do. Once again, I was reminded of how hurtful my own disappointments could feel. I gave up on havin
Due to the strained relationship between our families, our interaction had been limited to what was absolutely necessary to pass as polite pleasantries. Although she had answered with an affirmative ‘yes’, I wasn’t sure just how much Diana actually remembered of him.“Perfect. He really is a charming little gentleman even at his age. Also, he’s the only heir to the Vulkan family and we think that he is the perfect person for you to marry,” father explained with a satisfied smile.My eyes widened before I turned to stare at my sister to see her reaction to the news that father had just broken to us. I’ve heard of arranged marriages before and some of our friends already had fiancés of their own which their parents have told them about; however, I never thought that a day would come when my sister would have one too.“I have to marry him?” Diana asked.“Yes. I am sure that he is the perfect one for you. You will see for yourself when you meet him tomorrow,” mother chimed in followed by
It felt like our parents only ever saw her and her achievements. She would always receive praise while I would be blamed for not being good enough. That was why when it happened, I was so confused and didn’t quite know how to take it. It was a normal evening after we had both returned home from school. Just as scheduled, our art instructor was there to give us supplementary water painting classes.“Wow! This is coming along very nicely. The way the color blends here makes these flowers look so serene,” our teacher complimented.“Thank you…very much…” I replied softly.It was extremely rare for me to be complimented and so her comment took me by surprise. I glanced over at Diana who also had just finished her painting for the day and found her smiling quite proudly at me. It was even rarer for me to be complimented when my sister was also there.“You’re such a fast learner, Diana. I truly believe you have a gift,” the teacher said to me before showing me a bright smile.It took all my
“Right, I guess I don’t have to come too,” I mumbled.“Don’t sound so sad. I’ll choose to stay in bed any day than go out to meet all the random people that mum and dad want me to meet,” she said before she giggled.Her giggling ended up in rough coughs that made me believe that she may not need to pretend to be sick in order to stay in bed.“You should get in bed. You’ll sleep in my room tonight, right?” I asked while still feeing uneasy.“Yup, and you’ll sleep in mine. When morning comes, you’ll be Diana and I’ll be Dahlia,” she said before winking at me.…“You look exactly like a princess in this dress. I knew that it would look perfect on you, but this just exceeded my expectations!” my mother exclaimed.Life as Diana meant waking up extra early and getting dolled up. The day of her engagement was undoubtedly a big day for her and also the two families. Our parents did not spare any expense in making sure that she was dressed up for the occasion.“Thank you, mother,” I replied wi
My eyes narrowed slightly as my mind raced to come up with the right answer to his question. Was he trying to test me with his seemingly random question?If I told him that the dress was comfortable, would he think that I like to overdress or that I was lying to him given that there was no way the dress that I was wearing could look comfortable to anyone. However, if I told him that it was uncomfortable, would he think that I didn’t have any endurance and perseverance to bear with something so insignificant?What would Diana say in such a situation?“My suit is so tight. It feels hard to move in and some parts here are making me itch. I don’t know why we have to overdress like this…” Anthony openly complained as he moved his arms up and down as if to show me how difficult it was to move in his outfit.I wasn’t sure what was more surprising, his words or the fact t
The teapot that came with its matching teacups had intricate flowery patterns on them in various pastel colors and curvy lines of gold that sparkled as the lighting in the room shone against it. The design felt romantic and extremely artistic at the same time. It was probably the most beautiful tea set that I had ever seen, and I knew instantly that it must be quite expensive as well.“This tea set is extremely beautiful…” I complimented the tea set as I reached my hand to grab the handle of a teacup.“Don’t touch it!” Anthony yelled loudly.His sudden outburst and warning did not make any sense to me. My eyes widened as I turned to face him in absolute surprise. The handle of the teacup against the tips of my fingers felt smooth.“Diana!” Anthony cried out in clear panic as he reached for my hand.I was too shocked and confused at
My eyes widened at his words and my mouth hung open as I turned to face him. Anthony paid me no attention at all and didn’t look at me. Instead, his eyes were glued on our parents who were now staring intensely at him.“What did you say?” his mother asked in a low whisper as she pressed her hand against her chest.“I said, I broke the teacup,” Anthony repeated clearer this time.Why is he…lying?“Anthony, are you sure? Are you sure that you were the one who broke the teacup?” his mother asked again.“Yes. I broke it. My fingertips grazed its handle, and for some strange reason, the teacup just cracked and broke,” Anthony explained quite emotionlessly.“That’s not…” his mother said before her gaze shifted to land on me.At that moment, I wondered if she had somehow caught on to the fact that it was actually me who had broken the teapot and not her son. The way she was staring so accusingly at me made me want to hide away. I still had no idea why Anthony was going to such lengths to pro
“Oh, you’re back…” Diana greeted me with a bright smile. “You look better already,” I replied before returning her smile.“Staying in bed is the best,” she said, and then her smile widened.“I feel so tired…” I complained softly.“Thanks for taking this on for me. I’m sure it must have been a boring day for you,” she said as she patted my back comfortingly.“Let’s sit. I need to tell you all about it,” I said.I took her hand and led her to the bed. Diana seemed much more energetic than before as she jumped up on the bed and patted the empty spot close to her for me to join her.“So, tell me all about it,” she demanded with widened eyes.I told Diana about what happened since the start of the day when I started acting in her place. In as much detail as possible, I described the dress that I had on and what happened before focusing on the conversation that I had with Anthony. I tried my best based on my memories to tell her what he had said word for word as we spoke. Then I told her a