Chapter 3. Unsafe

Gwen Delafonte

My eyes smarted with unshed tears.

My brows knitted in confusion as I stared at the man who looked like my Damon, but he was not Damon.

I was so sure of it.

Admittedly, they have the same build and the same broad shoulders, I told myself as I ran a critical eye over his form.

They even fit the same suit perfectly. I noticed that he was also wearing the golden cufflinks I gifted Damon the night of our wedding rehearsal, and it looked good on him.

Then, my gaze flew to his face. That same angular face with its sharp jawline, almond-shaped black eyes, narrow nose, and thin lips. Even the way their hair was parted to the side looked the same, but I was so sure they were not the same man.

Questions flitted in my head. One after the other.

How could this be? How can this happen?

Belatedly, I recalled snippets from past conversations from the few awkward family dinners I attended with Damon.

Damon has a twin brother who was estranged from the family for a long time now.

Damon told me he sent his brother an invitation to our wedding, hoping they could mend the broken ties, but the twin brother, it seemed, ignored his attempts at reconciliation. He gave up expecting his twin would show up.

I kind of expected Damon's twin’s  absence when the pew for his family only showed that it was occupied by his mother, father, and grandfather.

And now, this switch happened.

My breath hitched. My lungs constricted as I gawked at him.

They were so identical and yet...

“You are not….” I breathed the words out like they were culled from the deepest recesses of my body.

The man who looked like Damon gave me a warning look, cutting off any words that may come out of my mouth that would blow off his cover.

He pressed his body to me, allowing me to feel the nozzle of something cold and hard. My body stiffened in fear.

Several images came to my head when I looked down to confirm, and saw the barrel of a small gun.

The fight or flight instinct kicked in.

I stepped back, intending to pull away from him, but he quickly thwarted my plan.

He snickered, killing the instinct and drawing my attention back to his face.

He was studying me, gauging my reaction,  I realized in indignation.

"Hello, sister-in-law." He finally murmured in a deep husky voice.

Involuntarily, I flinched in reaction.

I was scared not only for myself but for Damon.

What if this deranged man harmed my groom?

“What have you done to him?” I hissed, eyes flashing in anger, even when my view of him was partially covered by a strand of hair that got loose from my updo.

The man whom I assumed to be Damon’s twin lifted his hand to brush off the errant hair from my face.

Moving on instinct, I pulled my head back, but the warning look he gave me forced me to stop. I allowed him to finish what he was doing, but inside I was recoiling. I was trying to process everything in my head.

How did he pull it off with no one the wiser?

He stared hard at my face and said in a soothing voice,

“Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

The coaxing voice did nothing to allay my fears. I stood there frozen.

“Just cooperate, and you will not be harmed.” He promised before brushing my lower lip with the pad of his thumb.

I kind of froze right then. I knew what I wanted to do. But announcing before the guests and Damon's parents that I married a fake would mean instant celebration. They would consider this man the hero for interrupting our wedding, and the realization made me clamp my mouth shut.

He can't be a hero while Damon is somewhere, probably unsafe.

I shot him a glare. Maybe this fake knew where Damon was. If I snitch on him, I wouldn't know Damon's whereabouts.

“Where’s Damon?” My voice was cold and hard when I bit off.

I don't trust this scumbag.

Damon said before that his twin is good for nothing. He mooches off family wealth.

“He’s gone.” Damon’s twin said.

My body trembled, and then he flashed me a crooked grin that made me want to claw at his face. The audacity of the man, knowing I can’t make a scene right that very moment.

"Relax." He seemed to know what was going on inside my head because he took my hands and gripped them.

"What did you do to him?" I lashed out and saw how his face hardened. His lips pressed into a grim line.

Then, he sighed and shook his head.

"Damon ran away." He announced coldly.

I shook my head. Damon would never betray me like that.

Damon loves me. He wouldn't embarrass me publicly.  

‘No. Damon won’t do that.” I hissed in disbelief.

He shrugged as if my opinion did not matter one bit, and it made me seethe inside. Damon has always been patient and understanding. Not like this man.

"You should be thankful that I saved your face today. Look at all these guests. I think they would be happy to know a gold digger like you did not succeed in marrying Damon today?”

I blanched. How dare he accuse me when he did not even know me?

My hand itched to slap him, but I had forgotten he had been gripping my hand.

His eyes danced in mischief, fully aware of my predicament.

Then his grandfather's booming voice broke into our eye contact.

"Grandson, hurry! Your guests are waiting."

He released my hand.

It was the family's cue to come forward, and immediately, we were surrounded by them.

His father clapped his back while his mother went over to kiss my cheeks.

I looked at Ryan Olson, who was looking strangely at Damon’s brother, and then I almost jumped when Mrs. Betty Olson whispered something in my ear.

“Even when you look your best, you are still second-rated in my eyes.”  When she pulled back, I immediately stepped back until I felt the hard wall of  Damon’s twin’s chest until his arms wrapped around me.

Instinctively, I pressed my body closer to Damon’s twin, and when his arms wound around me, I  did not feel safe. Instead, I felt threatened that my well-ordered life had suddenly become chaotic.

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