Chapter 3

"Oh my. She looks exactly like our Rory." A woman in her early fifties commented as soon as I walked inside a mansion. From the intricate details on the high ceiling of their home down to the circulating air all over, everything in there screams luxury and not the kind of luxury that I am already aware of. This definitely screams the luxury of the top one percent in our society. Suppose my type is seen as rats by the rich people that I am exposed to. I am sure I am nothing but a speck of dust to this family.

God, who are they? Why do they have everything that I want in life?

"Dear?" The elegant woman with a soft voice spoke. She handed her hand to the old man standing beside her. I can see a glimpse of Nicholas's features on him that made me assume that he is the master of this household.

"Isla, she is Rory's mother. Claudia Spencer." Nicholas correctly introduced me to the woman. I looked at her and flashed a wide grin on my lips. When I am about to offer her my hand, I can introduce myself, and she stares at me from head to toe. My eyes managed to catch how she struggled to keep the smile plastered on her lips as she saw the fabric barely covering my body.

Claudia Spence tilted her head to meet her husband's eyes briefly.

"That's not going to be a problem, Claudia. Once she is dressed up the way our Rory dresses herself. No one would suspect that she is a different person. She'll be our Rory just for one day. On her and Kairo's wedding day. What could go wrong?"

"Father is right, Auntie Claudia. It's not like Kairo has an idea about what the real Rory is like," Nicholas commented. The way he addresses her confirms my conclusion that the one in front of me is not his mother; a stepmother it is.

Claudia stared back at me and smiled. She tried to be as warm and welcoming as possible, but the hesitation was evident in her eyes.

"And about that. On our way here. Isla and I bumped with Kairo."

"What? He saw her looking like that?"

"Y-You don't have to worry about it, Ma'am. I came up with an excuse, and it seems like he bought it. He told me that he'll see me tomorrow," I said, my eyes slowly drifting to Nicholas, asking what could be the reason why I was going to see him tomorrow.

"I think Kairo is going to join you and Isla for the fitting of her wedding dress for Saturday."

"What? He can't. Nicho, you should have come up with some reason to decline his presence for tomorrow. She can't be with him. She needs more time to practice acting like your sister!" Claudia spat. I know she is annoyed, but her rage and disappointment are relatively calm than explosive. Suppose I didn't know better. I think that we have no problem here.

"Auntie, I don't think that it's a good idea if all of a sudden. We'd stop including him with the wedding preparations when all that Rory wants is for him this last few weeks is for him to care about his wedding," Nicholas reasoned. Claudia sighs deeply. She looked in my direction for the nth time, and I felt she needed assurance.

"I can stay up late tonight to study how Rory speaks, moves around, and dresses. You see. I am like a chameleon. I can be what my customers want me to be," I said, chuckling, but it seemed she didn't like how I shaded the atmosphere with my dark humor. I end up zipping my lips together.

"Would you do that? Can you really do this? Are you sure?" She asked. I nodded my head. Claudia and Nicholas's eyes met. Instantly, he already knows what to do with me. Does this family know how to speak their mind? I wouldn't be surprised if they can. Plus, it will solve the mystery of how they can get what each other wants without even saying it out loud.

***

The door to the guest room where Nicholas told me to spend the night as I study to know everything about Rory opened. He popped with a wooden tray—a glass of orange juice and a slice of chocolate cake.

He looked at the pile of videotapes on the table and then smiled.

"It would take you days to finish all that," he commented.

"Probably," I said, pouting my lips. The corner of his mouth widened as he saw my protruding lips.

"Am I starting to become more and more like your little sister, Nicho?" I said with my sweetest voice. I noticed how Rory speaks to Nicholas with a particular agent. It's like she is a complete baby and darling around her half-brother but is a total bitch and brat to everyone else.

"I brought you my signature orange juice."

"Rory's favorite. This is so sweet of you. Aside from the fact that I am not your sister, and her favorite is not my favorite too. I am allergic to oranges."

"Oh. I am sorry. I didn't know."

"I can take the cake, though! I am starving!"

"What will happen after the wedding? You said I only need to play pretend as Rory at the wedding on Saturday."

"Kairo will quickly leave for Japan hours after your wedding with him. He'll be gone for a couple of months. We hope that before he is back. We'll find Rory." I took the last piece of cake on the plate and brought it to my lips after slowly nodding.

"Maybe she's just having cold feet. Who knows? She might show up on the actual wedding day."

Nicholas chuckled. "That would be a disaster. Let's hope that it won't happen, or it will be a fiasco."