Falling for a Stand-In

I went abroad for a year, telling Marcus Gray that I was going for further studies. In truth, I'd gone abroad to seek treatment for my illness.

Unfortunately, miracles were a rare commodity. A year later, the doctor gave me my final verdict—that I wouldn't make it past the next three months.

I sat on a sidewalk in Dorwen and calmly accepted reality. I'd always been decisive—since I couldn't change the fact that I was going to die, I knew I had to make things clear to Marcus. I wanted us to spend whatever time I had left together.

I believed he would feel the same. However, I had to sit in the chilly outdoors and call him five times before he answered. He sounded angry on the other end of the line.

"Haven't you had enough of this? Are you there to study or have fun? Do you have that much free time on your hands?"

With that, he hung up on me. The sound of the dial tone pierced my eardrums, and I stiffened.

This wasn't the first time Marcus had spoken to me like that. We'd already been giving each other the silent treatment for three months, after all.

Long-distance relationships were hard to maintain, especially when there were differences in our time zones. I realized that along the way, something had gone wrong with us, so I immediately bought a ticket to head home.

I firmly believed this was just a simple problem. It wasn't too late to fix it. I didn't want my last three months in this world to be filled with regret.

…

I stood in a courtyard and peered through the glass window at the faint light inside. I saw two people snuggling against each other. In that instant, my heart sank into an icy abyss.

The butler noticed me and gasped. Inside the living room, Marcus heard him and turned around. Then, he stared at me in shock.

I looked past him at the woman in his arms. Her face seemed to overlap with my reflection on the glass—she looked just like me.

I smiled self-deprecatingly and turned to head toward the gates, pulling my suitcase behind me.

Marcus ran out and grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Renee, what are you doing back here?"

I sneered and broke free of his grasp. Then, I turned to look at him. "What's wrong? Have I returned at the wrong time and kept you from being lovey-dovey with your new woman, Mr. Gray?"

He frowned, and a hint of exhaustion flitted across his eyes. "Can you talk properly?"

I watched him silently and waited for him to brush me off with a half-hearted explanation or even a lie. He looked at me before snorting. "You don't need to be this angry, do you? She's just a stand-in for you. Ultimately, you're still the one I love."

He raised an eyebrow, seemingly trying to use his words to goad me.

Ah, yes. I'd almost forgotten that we were still giving each other the cold shoulder.

Marcus, on the other hand, had thoroughly forgotten what I'd once told him—that I wouldn't tolerate even the smallest offense and that certain things were best left unsaid, even in anger.

I believed that so-called "angry words" were just a person's honest feelings that they finally let slip under the guise of throwing a tantrum.

The woman who looked like me finally stepped out of the warm villa while pulling a fur coat tightly around herself. She said, "Don't be mad, Mr. Gray. I'll explain everything to Ms. Granger."

She turned to me, the look in her eyes morphing into something else. "Ms. Granger, you must have the wrong idea about us. Mr. Gray only asked me to move in here so that it'd be more convenient for us to discuss work."

Marcus pulled her behind him, but I recognized the fur coat she had on as mine. I remembered it vividly—it was a gift Marcus had given to me for my 18th birthday. Yet, his mistress now had it on.

His so-called stand-in was doing a great job, wasn't she? He'd gone to such lengths to recreate another me, too.

"Enough of this nonsense! Why didn't I ever realize how paranoid you are? Go see a doctor if there's something wrong with you!" he roared.

His voice pulled me back to reality, and I saw the tears on his mistress' face. Then, I watched as he turned to her and said gently, "You don't need to be scared of her, Janae."

I repeated her name. So, she was Marcus' new secretary, Janae Ford.

I'd dreamed of her while abroad. In my dream, I'd heard Marcus utter her name affectionately while on the phone with me.