The Governor's Wife

Through the haze of her dreams, Astrid heard someone repeatedly call her name from far away.

"Astrid, Astrid!!"

She moaned, burrowed deeper into the warmth of her blankets, then pulled her pillow over her head, as if doing that would send the insistent voice away.

But the blankets were poor cover for what was coming. Because the next thing she felt was the bite of morning air as the blankets were pulled off her.

"Wake up, Astrid, your sister is missing!"

Astrid's eyes flew open, and she sat up immediately, her heart racing, as she was confronted by the stress all over her parents' faces.

Her head swam from the disorientation of being awoken suddenly, and she pressed cold fingers on her heated face.

Later by midday that day, a ceremony was going to be held on the grounds, in the expansive garden Astrid and her twin sister Ingrid had played in as children.

Astrid had only just gone to sleep not long ago, and she still needed to be up early to take care of any last-minute arrangements.

So, it took her a second to fully come to terms with the fact that both her parents were in her room, telling her that they could not find her sister on her wedding morning.

Then she remembered.

The same Ingrid? The life of the party? The golden child who always got what she wanted without a hassle?"

This was just Ingrid being Ingrid. Getting into some mischief and still getting out of it unscathed?

That was her speciality.

Ingrid had always been the sort of person who demanded all the attention in the room like it was her due.

After she had posted an I*******m carousel, which featured a photo of her and Knox Gage at a dreamy, exclusive, seaside location, a 5-carat, antique cushion-cut diamond engagement ring on her finger, amongst others, it became clear that this wedding would be Sunville's event of the year.

There had been interviews, magazine covers.

The wedding had been all anyone could talk about. Ingrid had eaten it up.

So, Astrid could not understand why her parents were looking so panicked.

Nobody wanted this wedding more than Ingrid; there was no way she would be a no-show at her own glamorous wedding.

The same Ingrid, who had enjoyed gloating, had dragged her along to all the plans being done for her wedding.

'As if she will miss the chance to taunt me with her happiness.' Astrid thought as she stretched and yawned lazily, certain that her parents were being worried for nothing.

"She has probably forgotten the time and is dancing in a giant champagne flute with some sexy strippers, along with her bridesmaids." Astrid waved dismissively at them, "Just prepare hangover tea and some aspirin ahead."

"How like Ingrid to cause drama on such a day," Astrid muttered under her breath, annoyed at her sleep being interrupted at the sweetest point.

She adjusted her pillow and lay back on the bed, then started to pull the blanket over her body when her father grabbed it.

'Huh?'

Her face scrunched up in annoyance, but the grave expression on his face sent a chill through her.

"Ingrid is not with her bridesmaids," Astrid's mother whispered fearfully. "We really can't find her anywhere. Your father has tried."

Astrid stiffened, then reached for her phone and dialed her twin sister's number, only to hear the cold, impersonal tone of the operator informing her that the number was out of service.

Her brow furrowed, and she looked up at her parents.

"Maybe she is with Knox." Astrid said hopefully.

It would not be the first time that Ingrid and Knox had gone on some midnight shenanigans.

Astrid could not understand why her parents were acting so scared; Ingrid would be back.

She always came back.

'Unless…'

The Gage family was one of the wealthiest in Sunville.

'What if she had been kidnapped for ransom?'

"Do you think she has been kidnapped?" Astrid's hands started to shake in fear.

There was no love lost between the girls, but Ingrid was still her twin.

The thought of her being in danger terrified Astrid.

"We have to call the police." She mumbled and started dialing, "Knox can help."

But her mother slapped the phone out of her hand.

Astrid's gasp mingled with the sound of the phone falling to the ground, she looked up at them in shock.

Then she really took a good look at her parents.

At her father's white face, a vein on his forehead, pulsing like it wanted to break the surface.

While her mother, the usually elegant, composed Ada Hargrave, who never raised her voice above a classy hum, was pacing barefoot on the carpet, her silk robe untied, absentmindedly biting her nails.

'She never chews her fingernails,' Astrid thought dumbly. 'That's my job.'

It dawned on her that, indeed, something serious was happening.

And they were not telling her everything.

"What is really happening?" Astrid demanded, slipping out of bed.

She watched her parents glance at each other before dropping their eyes to the ground in resignation.

"Ingrid ran away," her father said, then pulled out a piece of paper from his pyjama pocket. "She left this behind."

Astrid hastily snatched the paper and, as she read the words, carelessly scribbled in her sister's handwriting. Astrid felt her belly twist.

Her knees suddenly became wobbly, too weak to hold her up.

She sat on her bed in a daze.

Her sister had been given the world on a platter, and she chose to just… Throw it away.

The words made no sense to her.

She knew Ingrid was selfish, but this was simply out of it.

"The guests are going to be here in a few hours, the food, the decorations." her mother's voice intruded on the ringing in Astrid's ears. "What are we going to do?"

Her voice broke into a sob.

"We have to tell Knox," Astrid said firmly.

It was only right that he knew what had happened.

That he knew that the woman he loved was a spoiled brat who cared for no one else's feelings but hers.

"We will show him the note, and then he will know what to do," She continued resolutely. "He can find Ingrid and bring her back."

Her mother grabbed the note out of Astrid's hand, her face suddenly ferocious.

Astrid could see that the thought of her baby having to face some consequences had turned Ada to mother bear.

"You want Knox to see that?" She growled, "You want him to know that Ingrid could not bear the thought of being tied to him for the rest of her life, and she decided to break free?"

"Break free?" Astrid asked, then laughed, a crazy, disbelieving sound.

"Knox gave her everything she wanted. They have been dating for years. Why did she accept his proposal if she knew she did not want to be shackled to him?"

"You need to understand your sister." Her father scolded sternly. "She is a free spirit who should not be tethered."

"Who knows what she is going through? She is probably sad and lonely."

Astrid huffed in disbelief at the grief on her parents' faces.

Her sister had set into motion what could be the most humiliating day for the family, and somehow, her parents were still championing her cause.

They were not even thinking about the consequences of humiliating Sunville's most powerful family.

The family businesses depended on them.

Astrid wondered what it would look like if she had been the one to pull a stunt like the one her sister just did.

They would have hauled her ass back and punished her severely.

But since Ingrid was the culprit, they were full of love, light and worry.

It was a theme that was constant in the Hargrave family. Ingrid could do whatever she wanted; she could never do any wrong in their parents' eyes.

"Fine," Astrid said after a beat. "If you are not going to tell Knox that his bride has gone Julia Roberts, what are you going to say when he comes, and there is no bride?"

"Who said there will be no bride?" Her mother asked calculatingly.

"So you know where Ingrid is?" Astrid asked in confusion. "Why have we been here discussing her note, then?"

"We don't know where Ingrid has gone, Astrid," Her father explained gently.

Astrid tilted my head, more confused at her parents' contradictory words, then, as understanding filled her, her eyes widened, and she shook her head vehemently.

"No way!" she said and walked away from them.

"Please, Astrid. You are our only hope," her mother followed her with pleading eyes.

For the first time they were looking at her like she meant something, like she was important.

She started to consider their request then she remembered who they were dealing with.

Knox Gage would not take lightly to being lied to.

Moreover, it was annoying that they only needed her because once again, Ingrid had fucked up.

Astrid scoffed and looked away.

"No, your only hope is to tell Knox the truth and leave me out of this," She said firmly, crossing her arms resolutely and staring at the early morning sun that was poised to rise soon.

"The Gage family is going to be insulted if we tell them on the day of the wedding that their bride has disappeared." Her father pleaded.

"That is not my problem." Astrid raised her hand and walked away.

She felt suffocated, and wished that she could just run far away from everyone.

She wanted to laugh at the irony of her parents offering the same man she had secretly pined over for years.

"Not your problem?" Her mother's voice dropped, losing its pleading edge and sharpening into a blade. "Astrid, look at us. If this wedding doesn't happen, the Gages will pull their investments and we will lose everything. Your grandmother's legacy, this house... The family name, we will be disgraced, impoverished gentility."

Astrid stared at her without an ounce of pity.

Maybe if Ingrid had been scolded a few times in the past despite how "cuuute" she was, she would not have turned out to be such an awful person.

She was not taking the fall for Ingrid, no matter how desperately she wanted Knox.

"Are you going to save our family or not?" Came her father's calm voice.