chapter 2

"You did what?" Ava's voice cut through the silent quiet of their bedroom. Wide-eyed with shock, her tone was ice-cold with anger. "Eva, I told you to go and keep him company-not accept his proposal!”

Eva stumbled backward, her heart racing in her chest, as if she'd been punched. She did her utmost to steady her voice. "I-I didn't mean to, Ava! He just…he asked and I couldn't bring myself to hurt him like that."

“Hurt him?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up for emphasis. "You're telling me you couldn't say one word? No, Eva. That's all you had to say. Instead, you made him think that he was proposing to me, and now I have a fiance who I don't even care about?”

"'I thought you cared,' Eva snapped back, her angry flush reaching to meet Ava's. “Or at least I thought you cared about keeping him around for business. Isn't that why you wanted me to keep going on these dates in the first place? To make sure he stayed close?"

Ava curls her lips up in a sneering smile. "Fine, fine, Eva. Don't pretend like it was about business. You're too soft-hearted for that. You let him charm you, didn't you?”

Eva's face colored and she turned away. "That's so not fair," she whispered. "I just...he's nice, Ava. He isn't anything like those others you dated. And you know what? If you'd just been truthful about it all from the beginning, this wouldn't have happened in the first place."

In an instant, the smile was erased from Ava's face. "Truthful? Any idea how much I'm working to keep this business afloat, deals, networking, and all of the people that have to be placated just so Dad's legacy is solid? Shawn's connections matter to us. And as long as he wants to believe that I am his dream girl, well, that's fine with me, and I could also let him believe I feel something for him, but marriage ....”

"But that's not right," Eva said, her voice trembling. "You are just using him because of his connections. He deserves better than that. He deserves the truth."

“And you think you are the one that can give that to him? Ava's voice was soaked in disdain as cold eyes bored into his. "That's the difference between you and I, Eva. You are too weak. You wouldn't survive this world without me “

Eva's fists were hard at her sides. "Just because you are not like me doesn't mean I am weak, Ava. I care for him and thought perhaps … Perhaps if you had simply given him a chance, you'd see he's not just something to be used and disposed of.”

Ava laughed; the shrill sound cut like a razor. "Care about him all you want, Eva, but that doesn't change one simple fact; you overstepped. I gave you one task: lead him on. Instead, you accepted his proposal. You turned a simple arrangement into a nightmare."

"You caused this, Ava," Eva shuddered.

"You're the one who started this all by telling me to pretend to be somebody I'm not. Well, you never seemed to care what happened once it was known."

Ava wrapped her arms across the front of her chest, as if formed of steel. "And then you overextended yourself beyond what I told you to do. This isn't all about you, Eva. It reflects on me, on the company, on our future. But you're so drunk with this fantasy that you can't even look down and see it." And she took a deep, exasperated breath. "Clean up after yourself, as always."

“It's not something to clean up, Ava," Eva said softly, the hurt full in her voice. "I'm just…I just wanted something real."

"Well, congratulations," she spat. "Now we're both in a mess. And if Shawn ever finds out the truth, you'll be the one he blames for this, Eva—not me."

With that, the weight fell down upon Eva's shoulders. She wanted to fuss and fight back with Ava, wanted to protest and remind Ava of just how terribly wrong she was. But another part of herself could not help but feel so guilty about this. "I… I did not mean for this to happen."

Ava shook her head. Ava's eyes seemed to flash with something unreadable. "Well, it did. And now we have to deal with it." She spun on her heel and headed for the door. "Just stay out of my way. I'll handle it from here."

**********

A week had gone, and the state of affairs at the Wadsley mansion was one of joy and celebration. An engagement party, the house was filled, corner to corner, with loud laughter, music, and speech upon speech, wishing them well. People mixed and mingled in their best, a glass in one's hand, rejoicing with the so-called "happy couple."

Eva had watched from the stairs, standing quietly while Shawn went creeping through crowds of people, hand in hand, with Ava.

Every fake smile, every soft word uttered between them really stabbed the knife right into her heart. It hurt worse than she'd thought it would.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" a soft voice whispered beside her.

And to her right, she saw her mom looking at her, her eyes screwed up in a worried face that wrinkle furrows on her mother's eyebrows. "Mom, I'm fine, she lied, her lips spreading weakly for a feeble smile. "Just enjoying the party."

Her mother's eyes lingered on hers a fraction of a second longer before moving to get lost in the sea of people. Yet the gentle squeeze on her hand came before it was pulled free from Eva's grasp.

Eva let her gaze swing back to Shawn and Ava. They reached the middle of the room, and Shawn stood, raising his glass, and called everyone's attention to him. The moment Shawn started smiling so warmly and drew Ava near himself, the room fell silent. "Thanks, everyone, for being here tonight," he started saying with so much warmth. "It means the whole world for us to celebrate with the people we care most about."

It felt like the punch went right into Eva's heart the instant she saw Shawn staring into Ava, with admiration, his eyes filled with love and honesty. "When I see Ava, I see the future," he said softly "I see the woman that makes my heart race, making every single moment brighter."

Ava turned, eyes locking with his, a practiced smile perfectly set and poised. Still, Eva could sense a faint distance in her sister's eyes, the way Ava's smile was just a little too set. Still, Shawn did not seem to notice; he looked utterly captivated.

"I always felt love is in the heart," Shawn says, looking around the room. "And that is how I know Ava is the one for me, because I just couldn't imagine my life with anybody else."

Ava leaned forward, speaking in a hushed whisper that drew a chuckle from him. How convincing, how real they looked; Eva knew what it was all about, though. That sharp pang of jealousy, a reminder of love she's started to feel for Shawn, the kind which she could never profess.

When the first guest started clapping, Shawn caught her eye; he nodded his head, his face aglow with the soft glow of a warm smile. Something sparkled in Eva in that instant, something familiar, something she had heard in the tone of his voice when he took her on those quiet dates, in the late-night talks.

But in an instant, it was gone when he turned to Ava, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. Eva's heart shattered, knowing that the happiness she glimpsed with Shawn would forever remain a lie.

Unable to watch anymore, she slipped away, retreating to her room. Behind her door, she shut out the world with the tight creaking of the door slams and pressed her back hard against the wood as emotions finally broke loose. Tears welled up in her eyes as she covered her mouth to stifle a sob.

“How could I have let it happen?" she whispered, shaking. She sank into her bed, burying her face in her palm. "I should have said no and refused Ava from the beginning. I should have walked away. But now..”

And those choices, of her complicity in this messy thing, had seemed to weigh on her as the depth would eventually grow suffocating. She had wanted so desperately to be with Shawn that now she found herself stuck, watching as he fell for a version of her that did not exist.

All this just because she allowed Ava to drag her into this mess.

"Ava," the voice droned in her skull, reminding her of a particular word Shawn had said a week ago. "I would definitely recognize who my heart beats for.”

But he didn't, he didn't recognize her.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she clutched her pillow, her heart heavy with regret and longing.