CHAPTER 2

I slowly stood up, my legs trembling so violently I thought I would fall right back onto the floor. I ignored the mess on the floor and turned my gaze to the woman standing beside Julian. She was exactly like the portrait. She was exactly like me.

​I pointed a shaking finger at her, my voice barely a whisper. "Who... who is she?"

​Deep down, a small part of me was still screaming that this was a nightmare. I was waiting for Julian to laugh and tell me it was a prank, or for me to wake up in my own bed. But instead, Julian did something that shattered my heart into a million pieces.

​He reached out and wrapped his arms around the woman’s waist, pulling her close to his side. As he did, I noticed it. Her stomach was rounded, protruding through her dress. She was pregnant.

​"Since you've already seen those pictures and went through my things, why ask?" Julian said, his voice cold and devoid of any of the warmth I had known for three years. "This is Elena."

​I felt like I couldn't breathe. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "Why?" I gasped, looking from him to the woman who wore my face, or rather, whose face I was forced to wear. "Why did you marry me when she was still alive? Why did you act like you loved me? Every kiss, every 'I love you'... was it all a lie?"

​Julian opened his mouth, his expression tightening as if he were about to explain, but Elena stopped him. She placed a hand on his chest and stepped forward, a small, sweet smile on her lips that didn't reach her eyes.

​"I’ll handle this, darling," she said softly. She looked at me, her eyes scanning my face like she was looking in a mirror. "Hello, Anessa. I'm Elena. I'm sorry we had to meet like this."

​She reached out, her hand moving toward my shoulder as if she wanted to comfort me. The sight of her hand coming toward me made my skin crawl.

​"Don't touch me!" I cried out, pushing her hand away. It wasn't a hard push, just a reflex to keep her away from me. ​But the moment my hand made contact with her arm, Elena let out a sharp cry of shock. She stumbled back, her eyes going wide, and collapsed onto the floor. She clutched her pregnant stomach, gasping for air as if she had been hit by a truck.

​"Elena!" Julian screamed.

​He rushed toward her, ignoring me completely as he dropped to his knees to help her up. He hovered over her, his face filled with a terrified devotion I had never seen him show me.

​"I... I didn't even push her that hard," I stammered, my heart racing. "She just fell, I barely touched…"

​Slap! ​The sound echoed through the room. My head snapped to the side, and a stinging pain exploded across my cheek. I stumbled back, clutching my face, my eyes wide with shock. ​Julian had never laid a hand on me. In three years of marriage, he had never even raised his voice at me like this. But today, he slapped me. He was standing there, his chest heaving, his eyes full of pure hatred.

​"Don't you dare touch her!" he yelled. "If you hurt her or the baby, I will make you regret ever being born!"

​Elena began to sniffle, looking up at him with watery, innocent eyes. "Julian, please, don't be mad at her," she sobbed, acting like a martyr. "It’s my fault for coming into your home like this... like a third party. But I’m pregnant, Julian. I can't keep living in hiding anymore. I can't stay outside while our child is at risk."

​She looked at me then, her expression switching to one of fake pleading. "Anessa, please... I’m not trying to take your place. Please just accept me. For the sake of the baby. I… I can live in the maids room, or even a shed. I only need a bed and warm food. I'll never disturb you. I'll live as if I'm dead. I promise.” She cried, the corner of her eyes turning red.

“You won't do anything like that, Elena. You don't have to worry, you can sleep in my room with me. You won't have to suffer for anything.” Julian reassured her.

​I ignored her, looking straight at Julian through the tears blurring my vision. "Why?" I asked again, my voice stronger this time, fueled by the throbbing pain in my cheek. "Why did you deceive me for three years? Why use me like this?"

​This time, Julian didn't hesitate. He stood up, shielding Elena with his body.

​"Because she was in danger," he said, his voice flat and cruel. "Elena has enemies, people who wanted to hurt her to get to me. I needed everyone to think she was dead so she could be safe. But I couldn't live without her face, Anessa. I needed a distraction. I needed a shield. You were the perfect double. I married you to keep the world looking at you while she stayed safe. You were nothing but a shield to keep those accidents and enemies away from her.”

“A… A shield? A SHIELD?? So all these years, all the near death accidents I faced, was because of her?! Your only goal was to make me… To make me take away all her enemies? I'm a human being! A human being! How dare you do this to me?!” I screamed, my voice echoing in the room.

“So? You're just a naive woman that your mother sold to me for money, you should have seen the happy look on her face when I gave her a box filled with cash. Even if it was mere wads of cash, she would have given you out anyway.”

My breath hitched, I stared at Julian, the stinging on my cheek forgotten as a deeper, more agonizing pain tore through my heart.

"What do you mean?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "What does my mother have to do with this?"

Julian let out a cold, mocking laugh. He tightened his grip on Elena’s shoulder as he looked at me with pure disgust. "You really are naive, Anessa. Do you think I just happened to find you? Do you think I just stumbled upon a girl who looked exactly like the woman I love?"

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "In the beginning, I didn't want a wife. I never wanted anything to do with you to this extent. My plan was simple: I was going to make you a mistress, a plaything for a while until I got bored, you looked like Elena after all. But the threats on Elena’s life were getting too much. My enemies were closing in, and I needed a permanent solution. I needed a wife the world would believe was my one and only."

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "No... my mother wouldn't..."

"Your mother was a mere maid in my mother’s mansion," Julian sneered, cutting me off. "She saw Elena’s picture in my study one time. She wasn't stupid. She saw the resemblance immediately and told me that her daughter, Anessa, looked very much like her. She knew exactly what kind of predicament I was in."

He paused, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "It was your mother’s idea, Anessa. She was the one who advised me to take you as my wife. She told me to make you dress and act like Elena so that no one would suspect a thing. She even told me to tell you that Elena was dead, to make the story more believable so you wouldn't go looking for her."

I stumbled back, my back hitting the wall. The room felt like it was spinning. My own mother? The woman who raised me? She sold me into this nightmare?

"She was the only one I told," Julian continued, his voice like ice. "No one else in this world knew that you weren't Elena. To the public, to my enemies, and even to my own family, you were the woman I loved. You were the target. Every time a car 'accidentally' sped toward you, or someone tried to poison your drink at a gala, I felt nothing. Because I knew the real Elena was safe in a private villa, far away from the danger.”