LOGIN
CHAPTER ONE.
PREGNANT. Lila. "Do you think I can go in to see him now?" I asked my best friend, Olivia, who worked as a therapist in the hospital. Currently, we were both in her office waiting for my husband whose bandages were to be removed today. He had his eye surgery two or three days ago. "Sure, they should be done by now". Olivia, responded, her head buried in some sort of counseling book. My heart gave a kick start out of excitement, Joy radiating through my chest as my face crumbled into a smile. At the same time, I began breathing heavily, my palms growing sweaty. "Someone is anxious". Olivia teased with a smirk, as she peeped at me from her book. I shrugged, not denying her claim. "You can't blame me. For a year now, he thought I was his Lily. How do you think he is going to react when he finds out he married me instead?" I questioned, feeling a lump in my throat. "Oh please! You did him a favor when that bitch ran, so please get a grip of yourself and go claim your man". Olivia encouraged and I felt she was right, her words giving me strength. I nodded, raising from my seat to leave when, "Hold on". I paused in my tracks, furrowing my brows at her in confusion. "Let me accompany you. I would love to see the look on his face". I rolled my eyes at her words but was grateful she wanted to extend her support further. We made our way towards his ward, my heart racing with each step I took. Finally, I was about to turn the doorknob and enter when Olivia was called away for something urgent. "Be strong. Raise your head high. You are the real Mrs Knight now". Olivia reminded me, giving me a pat on my shoulder before leaving hurriedly. Her words sank in me and despite my hands trembling as I turned the knob, I took in a deep breath and opened the door, ready to reveal the truth. I saw him immediately, my husband. He was fixed, his blue eyes open, filled with love and care as I walked in, but not towards me. He didn't even notice my entrance. I was about to call out to him when I saw her, by his side. My eyes widened, my jaw dropping. "Lily?" I muttered in disbelief, and she turned at the sound of my voice, her arms wrapped around Lucien, as he brought her to sit on his lap, his hands stroking her hair tenderly. My heart clenched, and suddenly, It felt the air in the room was being sucked out. 'What was she doing here?' "Oh! It's my sister-in-law" Lucian called out with glee, flashing me that beautiful smile of his that always sent my heart racing. I faked a smile at his words, baffled and lost for words. What was Lily doing here, Didn't she disappear a year ago, leaving me behind to clean up her mess? "You okay Lila? You look pale". She stated like she cared, but I could sense the mockery in her tone. I looked up to see the side of her lips curling up and knew this wasn't going to be easy. "She is right. You do look pale, sister-in-law". Lucien acknowledged her words and my lips trembled, the ache in my chest worsening at what he used to address me. 'Sister-in-law? But I was his wife' I thought, trying to form out words but couldn't, my eyes growing misty. I immediately looked down at my foot, my hands clenched together as different thoughts ran through my mind. 'How could this be happening, what do I do now?' I pondered, clueless. "Speak up". My subconscious screamed at me, and I was about to, when the door barged open, and someone came in, grabbing me by my arm. I stiffened, turning to find my mother-in-law, Rita, smiling at me. A fake one to be exact, her eyes glaring down at me. "Oh Lila! Why don't you come out for a bit? I have something to say to you". She said, dragging me with her, and not even waiting for my answer. I struggled, turning back to look at Lucien, who blinked at me repeatedly before Lily distracted him by kissing him on the lips, which he reciprocated. I let out a gasp, my heart breaking as I suddenly felt weak and just let myself be dragged out. "Girl! Keep quiet about this situation and do not ruin things for me". My mother in law warned, fury blazing through her eyes as she dug her nails into my flesh, causing me to wince from pain. She looked so different from the woman who went on her knees, a year ago, tears in her eyes as she begged me to pretend to be my sister and get married to Lucien so he wouldn't hurt himself if he found out my sister ran away from their wedding. "But I am h-his w-w-ife". I stuttered, struggling to release myself from her grip. Rita snorted, before wrinkling her nose at me with disgust. "Don't be silly. All he sees now is Lily as his wife. That's what he believes, and that's whom he loves, so stop being shameless". She snapped at me, before pushing me away roughly and storming out. I stood there, stunned, her words sinking into me. 'What was going on, why was this happening?'. A year ago, My sister's fiancee, Lucien got into an accident that blinded him. My sister changed towards him after that and on the wedding day, ran away, leaving behind a note she couldn't marry a blind man. I was begged and forced to substitute her since we had similar voices.. I also had to bear her name and pretend to be in her in his presence and in the process of doing so, I fell. I thought we could be happy but I was so wrong. He is healed, and now she is back to claim her rightful place as his wife, and he would never even know the truth. 'Was I that worthless? Like an item that is tossed aside after its use?' My legs wobbled, and I immediately placed my hand on the wall nearby to stabilize myself as tears rushed to the brink of my eyes. Words couldn't describe how betrayed and used I felt. Even his mother, the brain of everything, was telling me to butt out. "Lila, how did it go?" Olivia jeered happily as she came running towards me, but as she came closer and noticed my pale look, her smile disappeared immediately. "What is it, why are you crying? Did something happen to Lucien?" Olivia bombarded me with questions but I couldn't say a word in response. My insides were burning, my eyes blurry, and my head was pounding like I was being hit with a hammer. I pressed one of my hands to my tummy, the antiseptic smell I was perceiving made me want to gag. Despite my hands being on the wall, my limbs felt heavy, and my legs lost their balance. I fell to the floor. "Lila". Olivia screamed in panic as she dashed to my side, muttering words my brain couldn't register. I felt numb, my sight getting dim as all the tears I was holding finally came out and rolled down my cheeks. I kept recalling how he looked at her with adoration, ignoring me who was by his side when she abandoned him. "Lily is back". I managed to mutter before slipping into unconsciousness. "Beep, Beep, Beep". The sound of the ringing machine woke me up and did nothing to help my headache. Instead, it worsened it. I let out a painful groan, trying to flick my eyes open, and was immediately blinded by the sunlight peeping in from the opened window. "Lila, Oh thank God! You had me so worried". Olivia screamed out of relief, rushing to my side. I managed to give her a weak smile, oblivious of my surroundings till he spoke up. "Are you ill? You suddenly collapsed". My entire body froze, my eyes sparkling as my heart tightened with anticipation, full of joy. 'He came for me and sounded so worried. Perhaps there is a way after all' I thought, feeling hopeful, till she spoke. "Probably too much stress from school?" Lily suggested and I fought the urge to scoff. I had been done with school since two months ago but how would she know? She ran away. I completely ignored those two, biting hard on my lower lips to get myself back. I was beginning to feel teary again. "How do you feel?" Olivia asked, placing her hand on my forehead to feel my temperature when the doctor walked in. "Miss Vitale". He called and my chest tightened from pain. It was supposed to be Mrs Knight. "Congratulations. You are two weeks pregnant". He dropped the bomb and the entire room went as silent as a graveyard..Chapter 18Strange LilaIt felt as if everything had gone to a stand still at her voice. Both Lucien and I stared at each other like kids who had got caught stealing candy. She came into the room, her eyes going from one of us to the other. “I don't know if you heard me, what are you doing here?" Her voice was harder when she spoke. Lucien looked up at her and I made sure to look anywhere else, I didn't want to interrupt the couple - the term hurt my heart as I said it. “Well, I came to give her something and anyway she's my partner. What are you doing here?" He stood up, picking his keys up, ready to leave. She stared at me, daggers in her eyes before answering him, “We're partners as well." There was venom in her voice, falling out of her mouth as if they were hot coal. “Alright then, I'll leave you both to it" he left the room before she could stop him, leaving lily and I alone. There was static in the air, neither of us moving to talk to each other before she finally moved
Chapter 17What happened LucienOnce I was done with him, I washed my hands, changed my shirt and left the washroom. The anger that had been pulsing through me in hot white waves had reduced and I could see clearly. I had come here for Lila and even if she was busy, I would find a way to meet her. I didn't care what it was I had to do to achieve my goals. I found a table a little far from them but it gave me a direct view as well. As I sat down, his eyes found mine and they widened, quickly falling to the floor and away from me. “He better keep it like that" I muttered. The waitress came up to me and I ordered my food. Lila looked like she would soon be done and I didn't want to waste time so I didn't miss her. I watched as they spoke before the couple stood up, hands extended for a handshake. Lila took it, watching as they all left. As soon as they were gone, I stood up and went to join her. She raised a brow when I sat down opposite her. “Well? How may I help you Mr. Knight?
Chapter 16Dinner againLilaThe call ended a few minutes later and I could finally focus on getting ready for dinner. I wanted to make sure that my second impression was just as great as the first one.Once I finished, I wore my dinner dress. A modest dark blue gown that was just above my knees but flowy rather than tight, fitting me in a way that made me feel beautiful.I was ready soon enough so I took my purse and headed out the door.The purple hibiscus flowers in front of my door stopped me, their sweet scent hitting my nose. I didn't need anyone to tell me who had kept them.I shook my head, leaning down to take the hisbiscus flowers off the flower and into the room where I found a container I could treat like a vase, sliding them into the water so they wouldn't die.I walked back out, heading directly to the lift but I couldn't help the feeling of eyes on me as I did so. I looked around but there wasn't a soul.We headed straight to the restaurant my clients had given me and I
Chapter 15LunchLilaI stared at my phone, a message had come in from Lucien. He hadn't stopped texting since I had consented to lunch with him. It was pathetic.He didn't think I knew he had lied about having lunch with the rest of his team. I had just looked past the lie so he would think I actually wanted to have lunch with him.Maybe he would realize as soon as I didn't give him any details or reply to any of his messages that I didn't intend to honor his invitation.Just then, another call came in, his name flashed across my screen and I stared as it rang continuously without picking the call up.Hannah stared at my ringing phone. “Ma'am, your phone is ringing" she alerted me.“I know. I just don't want to pick it up. It's not the call I want" I hadn't spoken to the twins all day either and I was missing them.Hannah shrugged and I turned my attention back to my creative director as she gave us new ideas on how we could display our new collection.“The theme gives a little of th
Chapter 14Another chanceLucien I stared at Lily in annoyance. She had ruined my night when that had been the last thing I wanted. I didn't release my hold on her wrists, instead they tightened as I watched Lila walk away. “I'm talking to you" she said, louder to get my attention. I looked down at her, unable to say much else due to how annoyed I was. I dropped enough cash to cover the bills and tip the waitress on the table before taking her hand and walking out the restaurant, ignoring the eyes that followed us. I took her to my car, forcing her into the passenger seat and then getting in. “Lucien, why are you pretending I don't exist? I caught you having dinner with someone else, my sister!” She shouted again, unable to bear the silence as she always did. I should have noticed the difference right from the start. I drove as quickly as I could back to the mansion. I didn't want to talk at that moment, scared that maybe it would cause a crash. She didn't stop ranting but I tu
Chapter 13DinnerLilaI stared at the dishes he had ordered for me, my eyes watering a little. It shouldn't have meant much but seeing this, it did - it meant a lot. I remembered all the times he had prepared these dishes for me even when he couldn't see. He hadn't forgotten all my favorite starters. I knew my eyes would be wet so I didn't look up. I didn't want him to catch the longing I still held for everything we had once shared. When I could look up, I did, his expectant gaze waiting for me. He raised a brow, “Do you like your dishes?" I smiled, “I do. They were my favorites" I noticed his eyes dim a little, and I had done it purposely. I didn't want him to think I hadn't changed and had waited all these years. “Alright then. Go on. I'll be here, waiting patiently" he shrugged as if it didn't matter but I saw his mannerisms change. He didn't look as bright as he had earlier. I ate quietly, my eyes wandering the restaurant since I didn't want to meet his eyes or anything. I







