Chapter 003

**Celine’s POV**

Once Jace got to the sleek black car waiting for us, he carefully put me in the back seat. I did not even have time to see what kind of car it was, but it was beautiful. He told the driver, “Roy, to the reception venue.”

“Alright, boss,” came the calm response from the driver. I sat there nervously as Jace and I remained in the back seat.

I shifted away from him, but I remembered that I had to pretend I was my sister.

Jace did not say anything as he looked at me and took my hand in his.

“How do you feel about this day, my love?” he asked, and I opened my mouth to speak, thinking of what Clara would have said if she were the one here.

I was still overwhelmed, so I told him the truth. “I am just overwhelmed.”

“Why is that? You didn’t believe me when I told you that I will marry you and no one else. I love you, Clara, and I meant every word I used to confess my feelings to you. So you don’t have to be afraid, thinking this marriage is a trap. I will always support your modeling career. How about your twin sister? I didn’t see her at the wedding.”

Jace looked at my face lovingly, and I knew this was the right time to tell him that I was not Clara, his woman. But I recalled my father’s warning that Jace would deal with all of us if he found out that Clara had fled before her wedding day.

“Clara,” he called my sister’s name, and I snapped out of it, reminding myself that my new name was Clara.

“Yes. Celine traveled to help me cover for my modeling shoot abroad. You know how much it means to me, so she had to travel in my place. That’s why she couldn’t attend our wedding,” I faked a smile and met Jace’s gaze. His black, curious eyes held my blue ones, and he smiled.

“Alright. I know you said your sister normally covers for you, but you should have allowed her to attend our wedding at least,” Jace said, drawing closer to me in the back seat as he kissed my neck.

I gulped hard and told him, “It doesn’t change anything, so long as I am here with you.”

“I know, but a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime day. You shouldn’t have sent Celine away. Maybe after our wedding she could have traveled. You never let me meet your sister, you know,” Jace spoke to me once more, and my jaw dropped as I looked at his handsome face in shock.

I recalled how Clara used to ask me to accompany her whenever she went to see him. I usually refused.

“Yes. You don’t have to worry about Celine. She will get to meet you once she is back,” I lied.

“How about her bakery shop? I haven’t gone there, but you said that she has a shop. Wouldn’t her bakery goods get spoilt or her business suffer now that she traveled for your modeling?” Jace looked concerned, and I felt bad for speaking so badly about him before. He was a gentleman despite his wealth. I had thought of him as an arrogant billionaire, and I was also bitter because my parents had rejected Martin Enzo, my boyfriend.

“About Celine’s shop, I will be going there for her until she is back to take over her business,” I told Jace as the car pulled to a stop at the reception venue, a magnificent white hotel in the city.

“Can you cook?” Jace asked in shock, and I smiled.

“I can try,” I lied, knowing that Clara hated the kitchen and did not like to cook.

“Alright,” Jace said. “We have arrived. Let’s go in.”

I sighed and got out of the car with him as we went into the hotel for the wedding reception.

****

The wedding reception was lively and more crowded than I had expected. Media crews were recording us, and many top celebrities were attending the wedding and congratulating Jace and me.

They obviously thought I was my famous sister, and I had to keep pretending to be her, wondering how Clara was faring abroad.

How does Clara feel, seeing that I am taking her place as the bride?

It was not like I snatched Jace. Clara was the one who put me in this tight situation to marry her fiancé.

Jace and I were invited on stage by the MC to cut the huge white cake, which had almost eight layers. I smiled, knowing that I was the one who had baked this lovely white cake for my sister’s wedding.

My best friend, Ava Kingsley, was there as my assistant to help me ice the cake and make it ready for the wedding reception.

“Three, two, one, go!” the MC squealed, and Jace held my right hand gently as he sliced the cake into two.

Once we cut the cake, the audience erupted in applause, and I wanted to step away from Jace because I was still overwhelmed.

For a moment, it felt like I was the one getting married. But then again, I was not the real bride. Clara was.

Jace wrapped his arms around my waist as the DJ changed the music to a love song for us, and the MC invited Jace and me on stage once more to dance, while the guests cheered and brought numerous gifts and checks for us.

I was so nervous, as I had not expected this kind of elaborate wedding.

How could Clara give up her wedding day for work? I shut my eyes, but I felt Jace bring his face closer to mine and whisper in my left ear.

“Open your eyes, Clara,” he said.

When my eyes snapped open, I had not expected this ceremony to turn out this way.

I was not the media type of person. I usually lay low and avoided the public eye. The lavish wedding made me sick, because I knew it was fake. I felt emotional, and Jace pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead tenderly.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and Jace whispered once more in my ear, “What’s wrong, babe? Should we go home? If you’re tired of the wedding reception, you should let me know.”

“No. I am okay,” I smiled sadly, knowing that this was supposed to be his and Clara’s happy day. I tried not to think of what the future held for us, because I did not even know when Clara would be back.

I promised myself not to fall in love with my sister’s fiancé. He was her husband now, so I tried to dance and act like I was Clara. Besides, the wedding was for Clara and Jace, not Celine and Jace. But he was so kind that I did not think my sister deserved him.

An honest woman deserved him, not me or her.

The wedding reception came to an end, and Jace took me back to the black Rolls Royce and said, “We are going for our honeymoon, babe. Happy marriage to us!”

Jace brought out a champagne bottle from the car’s fridge and popped it open.

“Oh no! I do not drink champagne,” I thought. For my sister’s sake, I had to sacrifice and do what she wanted.