Meeting Owen

ZOE’S POV

When I opened my eyes after struggling for few seconds to open them, what I felt first was pain. A pounding pain at the side of my head which spread through my entire head. I could not see well at first, it looked like the room was turning around. It smelled like medicine and disinfectant and I could hear the soft beeping from a heartbeat machine.

When I could see clearly, I looked at the white wall, the needle I had in my arm, and the bed I was lying in. I was confused. What I remembered last was meeting Chloe at my hotel room. And then—

I felt a sharp pain. A sickening crack.

Chloe.

I stopped breathing for a second, I grabbed my head, touching the bandages. I struggled to sit up, I was getting scared. What happened? Where exactly am I?

Someone knocked. A man came in, he was neatly dressed in a nice gray suit. But he was looking worried. 

He looked relieved when he saw me. “I'm glad to see you're awake. Are you feeling better? How's your head?”

I looked at him, trying to remember him but I didn't recognise him from anywhere. I got more scared.

“Who—who are you?” My voice sounded rough.

He paused for a brief moment before moving closer. “I’m Owen Pratt. Do you remember what happened to you?”

I searched my memory, trying to piece together the fragments of that night. I remembered meeting Chloe, confronting her, and then—

Nothing.

I slowly shook my head, feeling the pain. “Not really…I don't seem to remember much.”

Owen let out a small sigh. Then he pulled a chair and sat closer to my bedside. “I was about leaving the Grand Hyatt after a meeting I had there, when I saw a hotel attendant running out of a room, screaming for help. I tried to stop her and ask what it was but she ran off not listening. So I went to check and that was when I found you passed out on the floor, bleeding.”

My fingers instinctively went for the bandage on my head. Chloe did this to me.

Owen continued, watching me closely. “I grabbed some towels to put pressure on your head to stop the bleeding until the ambulance arrived. Ifollowed you to the hospital, got you placed in a VIP suite with security, since it looked like you were attacked. So..I’ve been checking in on you ever since.”

I blinked at him, surprised. “You… you did all that?”

He nodded. “I only did what was right.”

I felt like I was going to cry. This stranger hadn’t just saved my life,but he also stood by me and made sure I was taken care of when my own sister, my twin sister left me to die.

“For how long have I been unconscious?”

“Four days,” Owen said quietly.

Four days. I had been out for four days while Chloe continued living my life, while she played mother to my son. Rage and devastation twisted inside me. She took everything from me.

Tears burned in my eyes, but I forced them back. Instead, I met Owen’s gaze. “Thank you. For saving my life.”

“No need to thank me,” he said giving me a soft smile. “Now, you just need to take care of yourself and recover fully.”

**************************

I got discharged from the hospital, after spending a few more days receiving treatment. Owen hired a home nurse to take care of me, he said someone has to be looking after me. He took me to one of his houses, a beautiful apartment with a nice view.

I was in shock for days, my body was healing and at the same time my mind tried to understand everything that had happened. But soon, the shock turned into something else.

Fury.

Sitting in Owen’s study one evening, I finally told him everything. How Chloe had stolen my identity, taken my son, and married Austin under my name. How she had bashed my head in and left me for dead just to keep her stolen life.

He listened silently. He gritted as I explained everything. When I finished, he moved closer, and put his elbows on his desk. “She almost killed you,” he said, looking angry. “And she took your son.”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

His blue eyes darkened. “Then let’s take back everything she stole from you.”

I breathe in fast, his words sparked something in me. “You're going to help me?”

Owen smirked. “Chloe made a mistake leaving you alive. She won’t see this coming.”

A slow smile spread across my lips. I won't let her get away with what she did.

She thought she had won.

But she was dead wrong.

**********************************

The night of the launch event arrived. Owen had given me a new life and I had given myself a new identity. I am Chloe Packer until I've taken back everything that was stolen from me.

Chloe was too dumbfounded to respond to the question Austin had asked her. 

So I smiled and answered for her. “Yes, we are. But because of my career, I don’t really stay in the country. I left Australia a few years ago to work overseas, and we haven’t been in touch much.”

Austin frowned slightly as he tried to understand the information.

I continued without pausing. “Owen and I met at a business meeting in London and we got talking. We became friends because we were both interested in business, and we ended up working on a project together, which brought me back to Australia a few months ago. I didn’t reach out to Chloe because I’ve been so busy going to meetings and overseeing the construction of our new company with Owen. But when Owen told me he had invited Perkins to the launch event, I thought it’d be the perfect place to surprise my sister.”

“And looking at her face right now, I guess it worked.” I said, smiling nicely.

Austin let out a sigh. “Yeah, I'm surprised as well. Chloe never mentioned anything about having a twin sister. But with all you just said I could understand why.”

Chloe was able to pull herself together and turned to face Austin. “I'm sorry I never told you.” She said, forcing a smile. 

“No, it's fine. It's actually nice to meet your family. He said, looking at me.

“Now that you have a company here, I guess you won't be leaving Australia for a while.” Austin said.

“Oh no, I won't be leaving. I'm back for good. I've missed my sister way too much. And we have a lot of catching up to do.” I said, smiling at Chloe lovingly.

Chloe looked at me with fear, disbelief and worry.

‘You don't know what's coming, sister.’