The day my sister gave birth to my nephew, she ran off with my wealthy boyfriend. Furious, and armed with a face identical to hers, I knocked on the door to my brother-in-law's bedroom. I vowed to take her place and make their lives a living hell. Ten years later, my sister came back. She took one look at the thriving nephew I'd raised and my brother-in-law's booming business and sneered, "I'm giving your boyfriend back. Now it's time you gave me back the family you stole." The catch? My wealthy ex-boyfriend was bankrupt. "Dare to cause a scene," she threatened, "and I'll tell everyone about your sordid little affair with my husband." I gritted my teeth and gave in. That night, I booked a flight, my taxi racing toward the airport. But then he was in the back seat, pulling me down onto his lap. "I'm far more useful than that rich boy," he growled. "Want to try me?" 1 The day my sister gave birth to my nephew, she ran off with my wealthy boyfriend, Percy Waylett. She even had the nerve to send me a selfie of them, tangled together in a hotel bed. The caption read: Goodbye, little sister. You could never beat me when we were kids, and you certainly can’t now. Rage, hot and blinding, surged through me. I stared into the mirror, at the face I shared with my twin, and a dark plan began to form. That night, I knocked on the door to my brother-in-law Liam’s bedroom. If she was going to abandon her husband and newborn son in this city, then she couldn't blame me for making their lives a living hell. Liam was flustered by his wife's sudden, cold transformation. But his business was teetering on the edge of collapse, and he naturally assumed his "wife" was angry at him for failing to provide. It was, in his mind, a rage he deserved. So he bent over backward to please me, becoming even more subservient. Every time I berated him, even when I lashed out physically, he would just lower his head in silence, promising that he’d make things right, that he’d give me the life I deserved soon. I knew my brother-in-law was a decent, simple man. I just hadn’t realized how much of a pushover he was. So I turned my attention to her child. By the time he was three, the boy, Leo, genuinely believed I was his mother. But I was a harsh one. I was stingy with food, with affection, and my words were often sharp and cutting. Each time, he’d just bite his lip, his little hands twisting the hem of his shirt, his big eyes welling with tears. He'd whisper, his voice trembling, “Don’t be mad, Mommy… I’ll go kneel outside. Please don’t be angry, it’s bad for you.” …Like father, like son. A matched set of doormats. This continued until the day I went to pick him up from preschool and found a group of kids surrounding him, their fists and feet flying. Something inside me snapped. No one gets to bully my son but me. And I’d never, ever laid a hand on him like that. I stormed straight into the principal's office. It turned out the ringleader was the only son of a local corporate giant. The principal advised me to let it go, to know my place. I responded by slapping the CEO, who’d been called in, square across the face. Liam spent the next hour apologizing profusely, his head bowed, his voice meek. The sight of his spinelessness made my blood boil. After forcing the CEO to transfer money for medical expenses, I grabbed Liam and Leo and stalked out. On the way home, Liam kept opening his mouth to speak, then closing it. I shot him a glare. "What? You think I was too impulsive?" "Well..." he coughed, embarrassed. "Not exactly..." "Then shut up!" I snapped, turning on him. "Either you pull yourself up and become a man no one dares to cross, so your son never has to face that again, or I'll handle it myself. Anything's better than our whole family being doormats!" I never expected him to actually do it. Now, that same CEO has to bribe my assistant with lavish gifts just for a chance to get a meeting with Liam. The Anderson family name means something in this city. No one dares to mess with Leo anymore. After that day at the preschool, I took a hard look at his frail, skinny body. Gritting my teeth, I used my own money—even while Liam was still drowning in debt—to buy a mountain of nutritional supplements. "Look at you! You're nothing but skin and bones! No wonder you get picked on! Don't call me Mom until you put on some weight!" Under my tyrannical supervision, Leo didn't just get bigger. His body fat percentage was perfect. The ten-year-old was even starting to show hints of muscle. Between his physical strength and his new status, no kid his age would dream of touching him. Everything was… good. Leo saw me as his mother. He’d proudly tell anyone who would listen the heroic tale of how I’d faced down a corporate titan in the principal's office. And Liam saw me as his wife. Once he made it big, he showered me with gifts—designer bags, luxury cars, a sprawling mansion. It was a relentless cascade of wealth. For the first time in my life, I, a woman who had never known such security, allowed a dangerous thought to bloom: I could get used to this. Forever. Until my sister came back. And dragged me out of the beautiful dream I’d built with her husband. 2 "Let's be honest. The happiness you've had these past ten years? You stole it." My sister, Chloe, sat across from me, blowing a perfect smoke ring into the air. "I may have run off with your boyfriend, but my husband was still my husband. My son was still my son. That didn't give you the right to slide into my life." She tapped the ash from her cigarette. "I won't press charges for you impersonating me. I'm giving you Percy back. Now, it's time for you to return my husband and son to me." My fists clenched. Percy's family had declared bankruptcy a few months ago. He was in a worse financial state than Liam had been ten years prior. "You really have perfect timing, don't you, Chloe? Ditch your broke husband for my rich boyfriend, and now that the tables have turned, you waltz back in to play the wealthy tycoon's wife?" CRASH! The heavy glass ashtray shattered at my feet. Chloe's chin lifted in defiance. "Is that any way to speak to your older sister? And let’s get something straight, Zoe. I may have had a thing with your boyfriend, but you… you seduced your own brother-in-law. You stole my son. My newborn son. Don't you feel disgusting? Don't you have any shame? Let's think about which one of us is truly shameless here." My breath caught in my throat. She rose from her chair and stood over me, her shadow falling across my face. "If you dare cause a scene, I'll tell everyone what you did. We’ll see who they call a slut then." I wasn't afraid of being called names. Growing up, my only real goal was to have a full stomach. People called me a gold digger when I was with Percy, and I couldn't have cared less. But then I thought of Leo. I could picture his face, the sweet way he called me 'Mom'. If this all came out, what would he think? And Liam… what would he think of me? Taking a deep breath, I finally spoke. "Give me three days." Chloe's brow furrowed. "What? Don't I need to pack? Don't I need to erase every trace of myself from their lives for you? All the ways they’ve changed in the last ten years… don't you need me to write you a memo?" A cold smile touched her lips. "You try any tricks, and I swear, I’ll ruin you." 3 At dinner that evening, both Liam and Leo could tell something was wrong. As soon as we finished eating, Liam followed me into the bedroom. He knelt at my feet, looking up at me with worried eyes. "Did someone hurt you?" "Liam," I said, my voice flat. "What would you do if, one day, you had a different wife?" The gentle smile on his honest face cracked and fell away. "You want to leave me?!" I cupped his face in my hands. "Why are you so worked up? I'm just asking a hypothetical question." "No!" he said, his voice a low growl. He'd never been this forceful with me before. "I would never replace you. If you leave, I'll raise Leo alone for the rest of my life. If you died, I'd raise him until he's eighteen and then come find you." "Hey!" I pressed my hand over his mouth, not wanting to hear such morbid words. "What if," I started, choosing my words carefully, "what if someone who looked exactly like me came to take my place? Would it matter then?" Chloe and I had always been rivals; we never introduced our boyfriends to each other. Liam had no idea she even had a twin sister. "My love," he said, capturing my hand in his. "What kind of person could live with their partner for ten years and not notice when an identical imposter takes their place? That's not love. And believe me, no one in this world loves you more than I do." I had to fight to keep the corners of my mouth from turning up. "You're being cheesy." He didn't mind. He leaned in, pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, and then turned to draw my foot bath. This was our routine, a ritual that had persisted through all these years. Even in the beginning, when my words cut him the deepest, he would swallow his hurt and quietly wash my feet. I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I started wanting him to do this for the rest of my life. Thinking I was upset over some slight, Liam made a grand gesture the next day. He bought an entire office building in my name. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was the talk of the city. He stood before the cameras and declared to the world that I was the only wife he would ever have, that I was more precious than all the gold in the world. That evening, I arrived at the celebratory gala, only to find a familiar figure already there, wearing a gown identical to mine, laughing and chatting with the circle of socialites I had come to know. 4 Catching sight of me from the corner of her eye, one of the women gasped, her eyes wide. "My goodness, Mrs. Anderson! You really do have a twin sister!" "Chloe..." I breathed, staring at her in disbelief. She arched an eyebrow, her gaze dripping with disdain. "Oh, look everyone. This is the dear sister I was telling you about. The one who's trying to seduce her own brother-in-law." My fists clenched at my sides. "Oh, that explains it!" one of the women chirped. "We were wondering why Liam would make such a public declaration of loyalty. He must have known you were up to something." "Everyone knows how devoted Liam is," another added. "Having the same face won't do you any good, dear." "Honestly," a third chimed in, "when it's true love, you can tell the difference even with identical twins. A little homewrecker like you should give up on such shameless schemes." These were the same women I had shared jokes and gossip with just days before. Now, they couldn't tell us apart. Because Chloe had gotten there first, they simply assumed she was the woman they'd known for years. Chloe ran with it. "Zoe, darling," she said, her voice laced with fake sympathy, "this is exactly why I never introduced you to Liam. I was afraid you'd get ideas. But I've never mistreated you, have I? Every time you said you were broke, I sent you money. What's this? Are you trying to cut out the middleman and go straight to my husband for a handout now?" "You—!" I seethed, taking a step forward. Suddenly, a look of pure terror flashed in Chloe's eyes. Before my hand could even get close to her, she stumbled backward dramatically. "Ah! Zoe, why are you pushing me?!" She didn't just fall; she collapsed into the champagne tower. A cascade of crystal and golden liquid crashed down around her, drenching her in an instant. The socialites immediately swarmed, forming a protective barrier between us. "You ungrateful little brat! It's bad enough you're trying to steal your sister's husband, but now you're assaulting her!" "And showing up in the same dress! Have you no shame?" "Don't think you're special just because you have the same face. Liam would never want a whore like you!" I was about to retort when a familiar, authoritative voice cut through the chaos from behind me. "What is going on here?" "Liam!" I spun around. But he walked right past me. He went straight to Chloe and wrapped her in his arms. "Honey, are you hurt? Let me see." Chloe just bit her lower lip, her eyes red and brimming with unshed tears as she shook her head. She didn't say a word, but her silence screamed of profound victimhood. "Mommy!" A small figure darted through the crowd and threw his arms around Chloe. "Mommy! Are you okay?" Seeing the son I had raised, Chloe froze for a second. Then, a watery smile touched her lips as she gently stroked his cheek and shook her head again. "Mommy… sob… Mommy…" Leo clung to her, crying his heart out. It struck me then that he was so much more emotionally open with her than he ever was with me. They say blood is thicker than water. It seemed that even after ten years apart, a child could still pick his real mother out of a crowd, guided by some primal instinct. And run to her. "Ma'am," Liam said, helping Chloe to her feet. He turned to me, his eyes as cold as ice. "You may be my wife's twin sister, but that does not give you the right to harm her. She is your sister, but more importantly, she is the woman I love." I gripped the fabric of my dress, my knuckles white. "As for your behavior here tonight," he continued, his voice dangerously low, "I will be contacting my lawyer. You will be held accountable." A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Just yesterday, he had said that swapping one identical face for another would only matter to someone who wasn't truly in love. Apparently, Liam Anderson wasn't truly in love with me. 5 I kept my promise to Chloe. The next day, I wrote out a detailed memo covering the last ten years of Liam and Leo’s lives—their habits, their preferences, their milestones. Then, I packed my things and left. To avoid raising suspicion, it was me who went home with Liam and Leo after the gala. I sat on the edge of the bed, silent and numb. Liam approached cautiously, gently taking my hand. "What's wrong? Are you still angry with your sister?" I pulled my hand away without a word. He stubbornly took it again, his grip firm but gentle. "I told you, you're the only woman for me. The fact that she has your face isn't an advantage. It just disgusts me." My head snapped up, my eyes meeting his. "You don't believe me?" he asked, clearly thinking I was Chloe. "Tomorrow. I'll have her sent out of the country. I'll make sure she's never allowed to come back. How does that sound?" I stared at him for a long moment before finally speaking. "That won't be necessary." Tomorrow, I would be leaving the country myself. When we lay down to sleep, I turned my back to him. He continued speaking, trying to get my attention. "I heard them talking. Your sister's boyfriend went broke, so she got some… inappropriate ideas? His name is Percy Waylett, right?" I frowned in the darkness. So that was the story Chloe was spinning. A tale of a pathetic gold digger who, after her rich boyfriend lost his fortune, tried to seduce her successful brother-in-law. "Percy Waylett is bad news," he murmured against my hair. "The fact that she was with him says a lot about her character." A wave of resentment washed over me. I needed to salvage some shred of my dignity. "He was alright," I said coolly. "Good in bed." A warm, strong arm wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me back against a solid chest. "My love," he whispered, his voice a low rumble. "Nothing and no one can ever come between us." "Mm," I murmured, closing my eyes. Tomorrow, I'll be gone. You two can have whatever twisted love story you want.
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