Five

NADIA POV

The past three months had been filled with endless lessons on how to walk, talk, laugh, and sit. Everything about me had to change, from the way I held my cutlery at the dining table to the way I carried myself when entering a room.

Apparently, becoming another woman required more work than I had imagined.

Drew had hired a team of professionals to train me, and each of them seemed determined to make sure I didn’t embarrass him by pretending to be his dead wife. There was a speech coach who made me repeat Isabella’s words until I could imitate her tone without thinking, an etiquette instructor who seemed personally offended by the way I held a fork, and a woman named Victoria who had spent years working with Isabella and knew more about her habits than anyone else in the mansion.

Victoria was the worst of them all.

She could spot the smallest mistake, whether it was the way I tilted my head, the way I crossed my legs, or the way I smiled at someone. According to her, Isabella had a particular way of doing everything, and apparently, I was doing all of it wrong.

“Again,”

I stared at the woman standing in front of me through the full-length mirror.

“Victoria, I’ve walked across this room so many times that I’m beginning to think there’s something wrong with the floor.”

She gave me a disapproving look. “Mrs. Callahan never complained during her lessons.”

“Well, Mrs. Callahan isn’t here, is she?”

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

Victoria’s expression hardened, and the silence that followed reminded me exactly why I needed to be careful. These people had known Isabella. To them, she wasn’t just a face in a photograph or a collection of videos I had been forced to study. She was a real woman, and I was the stranger who had been brought in to take her place.

I swallowed and straightened my back.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Let’s try again.”

Victoria studied me for a moment before stepping aside.

I lifted my chin, relaxed my shoulders, and began walking across the room, paying attention to every instruction I had been given over the past three months. I had learned that Isabella never rushed, never fidgeted, and never looked uncertain about where she belonged.

She carried herself with the confidence of a woman who had never needed to beg anyone for anything.

I wondered what that felt like.

To be so certain of yourself that you never had to question whether you were enough. To walk into a room without worrying about what people thought of you. To know your worth without needing someone else to remind you.

I had once thought I knew what that felt like. Then I married Evan Carter.

Seven years of my life had gone into loving that man, supporting his ambitions, and helping him build his company. I had put my own dreams aside because I believed that was what marriage required. I had convinced myself that when he finally achieved everything he wanted, there would be time for me to chase my own dreams.

Instead, he had tried to bury me alive.

Funny how life worked.

“Better,” Victoria said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You’re finally beginning to understand how she carried herself.”

I looked at my reflection, taking in the brown hair, the expensive clothes, and the woman I was slowly becoming.

“Does that mean I’m done for today?”

Victoria studied me for a moment before stepping aside. “Let’s work on your smile.”

I stared at her through the mirror. “Again?”

“Yes, again. Isabella had a very distinctive smile, Nadia. She could make someone feel welcome while simultaneously making it clear that she was not to be trifled with. You smile like you’re trying to convince someone to buy you a drink.”

I turned around slowly. “What’s wrong with buying a woman a drink?”

“Nadia.”

“Fine. I’m sorry. Please, show me the smile that can make a grown man question his entire existence.”

Victoria sighed, and I had to bite back a laugh.

Three months ago, I would never have imagined that my life would turn out this way. I had gone from being a married woman who thought she had everything figured out to a woman learning how to impersonate a dead billionaire’s wife I wouldn’t have believed it.

Yet here I was, standing in front of a mirror, trying to perfect a smile that wasn’t mine.

Sometimes, I wondered what Isabella would think if she could see me now. Would she find it amusing that a complete stranger was wearing her clothes, learning her habits, and preparing to take her place? Or would she be furious that her husband had decided to replace her with someone who happened to share her face?

Not that I could ask her. She was dead, and I was the unfortunate woman who had been handed the responsibility of pretending otherwise. But in anyway still fortunate thanks to her I get to live a new life.

“That’s better,” Victoria said after watching me try again. “You’re beginning to get it.”

“Finally.” I let my shoulders drop. “Does this mean we’re done?”

“For today.”

I could have kissed her. Instead, I gave her a grateful smile, which she immediately inspected as though she suspected I was doing it wrong.

Once Victoria had packed her things and left the room, I sank onto the sofa and kicked off my heels. My feet were aching, my head hurt, and I was beginning to question whether the money Drew had promised me was worth all this trouble.

Then again, the money wasn’t the only reason I had agreed to this arrangement.

I wanted a new life. More importantly, I wanted revenge.

Evan Carter had taken seven years from me, and I wasn’t going to let him get away with trying to take the rest of my life too. Every lesson I endured, every mannerism I learned, and every hour I spent studying Isabella’s videos brought me one step closer to becoming someone Evan would never recognize. Someone he would never expect to see again. I had to hold on to that thought whenever the training became unbearable.

It was the only thing that kept me going.

After changing out of my clothes, I went downstairs and found Mrs. Collins in the sitting room, arranging fresh flowers in a vase.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Collins.”

She looked up and smiled. “Good afternoon, dear. How did your lesson go?”

“Victoria thinks I’m making progress.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“She also thinks my smile needs work, my posture needs work, and apparently, the way I breathe needs work too.”

Mrs. Collins chuckled. “You’ll get there.”

“I hope so, because if I have to spend another three months learning how to sit in a chair, I might actually lose my mind.”

She laughed again, and I couldn’t help smiling.

Mrs. Collins had been one of the few people in the mansion who made my situation bearable. She treated me kindly without asking too many questions, and unlike the others, she didn’t constantly remind me that I was supposed to be someone else.

Sometimes, I almost forgot that I wasn’t home.

“Has there been any word from Mr. Callahan?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

Mrs. Collins paused briefly before returning her attention to the flowers. “No, dear. Not yet.”

I nodded, pretending the answer didn’t matter.

It shouldn’t have mattered.

Drew Callahan wasn’t my husband. Not really. Our marriage was nothing more than an arrangement, a contract that would expire in six months. I had no reason to care where he was, what he was doing, or whether he remembered that I existed.

Yet I found myself asking about him more often than I cared to admit.

The truth was, I barely saw the man.

After the first few weeks of my training, Drew had started travelling more frequently. At first, he would disappear for a week or two before returning to the mansion for a day or so, only to leave again. Sometimes, I would wake up in the morning and hear that he had returned late the previous night, only to discover that he had left before I came downstairs.

Other times, I wouldn’t even know he was home until I caught a glimpse of him through the window as he walked toward one of the waiting cars.

He was always busy, always somewhere else, and I had gradually become accustomed to his absence.

But this time was different. Drew had been gone for two months.

Two whole months without a single proper conversation, without seeing him at the breakfast table, without hearing his cold voice reminding me that I was supposed to follow his instructions. I hadn’t received a call from him either, although I had no idea why I expected one in the first place.

Perhaps I wanted to know whether he was still alive.

Or perhaps I was simply curious about the man whose wife I was preparing to become. Whatever the reason, his prolonged absence had begun to bother me.

Not because I missed him. Absolutely not. I was merely curious about the sort of man who could disappear from his own home for two months without offering anyone an explanation.

Well, technically, it wasn’t my home either.

It was his mansion, his money, his rules, and his dead wife I was supposed to impersonate. I was simply the unfortunate woman caught in the middle of it all.

“Do you know when he’ll be back?” I asked.

Mrs. Collins looked at me, a faint smile playing on her lips. “I couldn’t say, dear. Mr. Callahan doesn’t usually share his travel plans with us.”

“Of course he doesn’t.”

I looked away, annoyed by how easily the man managed to frustrate me without even being present.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“Perfectly fine.”

She gave me a knowing look, but thankfully, she didn’t press further.

I made my way to the kitchen, where I found a plate of sandwiches waiting on the counter. I took one and leaned against the island, staring absently at my phone.

I had tried calling Drew once during the first month of his absence, mostly because I needed clarification about something concerning Isabella’s personal belongings. His assistant had answered instead, informing me that Mr. Callahan was unavailable and would get back to me.

He never did.

After that, I decided I wouldn’t waste my time chasing him.

If he wanted me to become his wife, he could at least make himself available long enough to tell me what he expected from me.

But apparently, that was too much to ask.

I took another bite of my sandwich, chewing slowly as I considered what the next few weeks would bring. My training was nearly complete, and according to Victoria, I was finally beginning to resemble Isabella in more ways than just my appearance.

Soon, I would have to step into the world as Isabella Callahan.

I would have to face people who had known her, people who had loved her, and perhaps even people who had hated her. I would have to smile when I wanted to scream, laugh when I felt like crying, and pretend that I remembered things I had never experienced.

And I would have to do it all without making a single mistake.

It was exhausting just thinking about it.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

It was Mrs. Collins’s voice that eventually caught my attention.

“Mr. Callahan? You’re back!”

I froze with the sandwich halfway to my mouth.

For a moment, I thought I had imagined it. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen.

My heart gave an unexpected little jump, and I immediately scowled at myself.

What was wrong with me?

It was just Drew Callahan. The same arrogant, infuriating man who had threatened to bury me alive if I refused to become his wife.

There was absolutely no reason for my heart to be behaving like an excited teenager. I quickly placed the sandwich on the counter and straightened, smoothing down my clothes as though I had been caught doing something I shouldn’t.

The footsteps grew closer.

Then Drew appeared in the doorway.

He was dressed in a dark suit, his black coat draped over one arm, and his expression was as unreadable as I remembered. His hair was neatly styled, and there was a faint shadow of exhaustion beneath his eyes, but otherwise, he looked exactly the same as he had the last time I saw him.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. His blue eyes moved over my face before settling on mine.

“Nadia.”

I blinked.

Two months. Two entire months, and that was all he had to say?

I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, look who’s finally remembered he has a house.” One of his eyebrows lifted. “And here I thought you’d forgotten I existed,” I added.

His gaze remained fixed on me, and for a moment, I wondered whether I had gone too far. Then he loosened his tie slightly and said, “I can see you’re doing better, enough strength to be sarcastic huh.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “I  beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.”His expression remained cold as always . “Have you completed your training?”

I almost choked.

Of course. Why would I expect anything different from this man?

“Yes, sir . I’ve spent the last three months learning how to walk, talk, smile, sit, breathe, and probably exist in a way that wouldn’t offend your precious dead wife. But don’t worry, I’m sure there’s still something wrong with me that your army of instructors hasn’t discovered yet.”

He watched me in silence. Then his gaze shifted toward the sandwich on the counter. “Are you eating?”

I looked down at it before looking back at him. “Yes, am well fed. I owe you my life, right? I wouldn’t want to end up dying and ruining your plans.”

His jaw tightened slightly. He placed his coat over the back of a chair and stepped farther into the kitchen.

“We need to talk.”

I raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

He pulled out a chair and sat down, his attention returning to me. He studied me for a moment. “Tomorrow evening, you’ll attend a dinner with me.”

I looked at him stunned “Tomorrow?”

“Yes.” He said nodding his head

“With whom?” I asked nervously

“It’s a charity ball dinner nothing serious.

My stomach tightened. Drew set the glass down and met my eyes. “It’s time for you to become Isabella Callahan.”