Chapter 001

When I woke up this morning, if someone had tapped me and told me that the world as I knew it would come crashing down today, I would have laughed and said they were bluffing.

But it is amazing how the worst can happen, at moments when we least expect it.

I was smiling when I walked up the pathway to Alfred’s house, the warm June sun casting a golden glow over everything.

It was one of those perfect days that seemed tailor-made for surprises. My heart raced with excitement, and I clutched the small gift I had brought for him—an antique watch he had been eyeing for months. Today marked our two-year anniversary, and I wanted to make it special.

The front door creaked as I pushed it open, stepping into the cool, air-conditioned sitting room, where I found Marlene, the housekeeper, dusting a vase in the living room.

“Hi Marlene!” I greeted her with a warm smile. “Where’s Alfred? I have a little surprise for him.”

“Oh, Miss Natalie, he’s inside the house, resting,” she replied, returning my smile. Her eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite place, but I brushed it off. I was too wrapped up in my own excitement to think much of it.

“Thanks!” I said, heading towards the bedroom. I moved quietly, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep.

As I pushed the bedroom door open, my heart stopped. The room was dim, the curtains drawn against the midday sun, but there was no mistaking what I saw. My breath caught in my throat, and the gift slipped from my fingers, landing with a dull thud on the carpet.

Alfred wasn’t resting. No, he was far from it. He was in bed, his bare back to me, with another person. A naked lady….A lady I knew all too well—my sister, Iris.

Her golden hair was spilled over the pillows, and her legs were wrapped around his waist as he thrust vigorously into her.

For a moment, I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. It felt like the ground had disappeared beneath me, leaving me in free fall.

The world blurred, my vision tunnelling as I struggled to comprehend the scene in front of me.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything that might shatter this awful, surreal reality. But I couldn’t make a sound. All I could do was stand there, frozen, my heart breaking into a million pieces.

Finally, I found my voice and the first thing that escaped was a scream.

Alfred jerked and turned immediately and our eyes met.

His face went pale the moment he saw me, and he frantically got out of the bed.

“Natalie…” he started, but I couldn’t bear to hear his voice. Not now. Not ever.

Iris turned, her blue eyes widening in shock, and then narrowing with a mixture of guilt and defiance “Natalie, it’s not what you think…”

But it was exactly what I thought. And nothing they could say would ever make it right.

I turned on my heel and fled the room, the sound of their voices calling after me fading into the background as I ran.

As I ran down the pathway, tears streaming down my face, I knew one thing for certain: my life as I knew it was over. And I had no idea how to pick up the pieces.

“Natalie!” Alfred's voice called and I stopped, even though every part of me just wanted to leave and never see them again. I had no interest in hearing what he had to say. I just had to know why…why he would betray me this way.

The pain in my chest tightened as I turned and saw him and Iris standing a few feet away from me with nothing but sheets wrapped around them.

They looked so dishevelled and panicked, but to my dismay there was no guilt in their face.

There was embarrassment…yes.

But guilt?

Alfred reached out a hand, h“Natalie, please, let us explain—”

“Why?” I shouted, my voice cracking slightly “Why would you do this to me?”

For a moment, they hesitated.

Then Iris stepped forward, her face hardening into a mask of cold defiance. “Why?” she repeated, her voice rising with each word. “Because you deserve it, Natalie! You’ve always had it all. First, it was our father choosing you because you were just the perfect twin. Do you have any idea what it’s like to live in your shadow?”

I staggered back, as her words sliced through me like the sharp edge of a sword.

Where was this coming from?

“What are you talking about?”

Iris laughed, “You do not know what I mean? Are you just going and standing there and acting like you do not know what I mean? Like you have stolen every joy I have ever had?”

Was she kidding me?

“Stolen every joy you had?” I yelled back, “I just caught you in bed with my fiance. How dare you, stand there and act like the victim?”

She placed her hands on her waist defiantly, stepping closer to me. There was so much hatred in her eyes and I wondered…how long exactly has it been there, had I been blind to how she feels?

“I am glad you finally got a glimpse of how I felt my whole life. I mean…we are twins. Who got seventy percent of the family’s fortune?”

I scoffed.

We have been over this several times and I am not shocked that she was bringing it up even now.

“Is that what this is? Sleep with my fiance so you can get revenge on me? So can you make me feel your pain?”

If yes, then she had succeeded…kudos to her.

The laugh that followed was bitter and so cold that it sent shivers down my spine.

“Sleep with Alfred so you can feel my pain? Honey it is way more than that. See…this is not about revenge.” She glanced at Alfred who had just been standing there all along with a blank expression.

“Alfred and i…we are in love -”

I scoffed.

‘We have been in love for five years now.” She ignored me, and I froze as her words clicked in.

Five years? Alfred and I only met less than three years ago.

“What…..”

“Yes. Alfred was my boyfriend before he became yours. Whatever you thought you had with him was just a ruse because I paid him to approach you, to make you fall in love with him.”

My knees are weak. Her words felt like a punch that almost brought me to my knees…literally.

“I do not believe you.”

Iris smirked and raised her brow. I shifted my gaze to Alfred who at least had the dignity to look ashamed.

Tears filled my eyes threatening to fall but I blinked them back - I was not going to make a fool of myself. Not in front of them at least.

No, I will not give Iris that satisfaction.

“Why?” I whispered, “Why?”

“Can’t you tell yet? Because i want everything you have, Natalie. Everything that would have been mine all the years I have been living in your shadows.”

“No…” I whispered, shaking my head as if I could erase her words. “That can’t be true.”

“Oh, but it is,” Iris said, her eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction. “And you know what? It all worked perfectly fine.”

I tilted my head.

What does she mean?

Alfred stepped forward, guilt and regret flickering across his face. “Natalie, I—”

“Don’t,” I cut him off, my voice trembling “Just don’t.”

Iris smirked, clearly enjoying my torment. “Last night, remember how you were so drunk? That was no accident. Slfred had to make sure you were so drunk…so that when he eventually gives you the document you would not be sane enough to read it.”

I clasped my hand over my mouth.

No no no no no!!!

“You’ve signed ownership of every single thing you own over to us.” Iris said with a smile, “The company, the properties, everything. And you have just 24 hours to evacuate the property.”