Chapter Four

Deianne's tears rolled down her cheeks. Why didn't she notice all that? They realized Daniella would be gone, but they didn't know how long. That's not all, she thought. Her twin sister wanted her to take her place. Is that possible? First and foremost, she is an introvert, while Daniella is an extrovert.

"Deianne!" Arthur called out, then walked towards his wife. His face was red and his wife was crying. "Where is Daniella?" he asked.

"She's nowhere to be found. She's gone, dad." Deianne said, looking down. She was too embarrassed to face her dad. She was too embarrassed because she couldn't take care of her sister and she couldn't notice her sister's struggles when they were twins to begin with.

Their mom's tears spilled again while Arthur tilted his head so that his tears would not spill. He also called the wedding organizer to postpone the wedding ceremony for at least one more hour. The Montes' patriarch also didn't tell Marcus's family about the commotion, as to his wife's wish when she called him. He then looked at the paper his youngest was holding with both hands. He pulled the paper from Deianne's hand and read every word etched on the paper.

The three of them remained in their places until Arthur finished reading Daniella's goodbye letter. And then, all of a sudden, he pulled Deianne's hand and helped the woman stand up. 

Deianne looked at her dad in surprise. There was also fear in her heart, as she seemed to have an idea of what was about to happen.

"Where's her supposed wedding dress?" her father asked.

"It's still in the walk-in closet, dad," she replied, as she got more nervous by the second.

"Go and get it! Take that dress and wear it. We don't have much time." Her dad explained it.

That earned a shocked expression from the mother and daughter.

"Arthur! What are you planning to do, huh? Did you just imply that you're going to marry Deianne to Marcus in place of Daniella? Are you crazy?" Sandra asked repeatedly. She thought that it was a crazy idea. How could he say that? How could he let Deianne marry Marcus?

"We don't have any choice, Sandra. Think! We cannot let the Montañez knew about this. We will be surely doomed!" Arthur answered. He also knew this might be crazy, but they had no other choice. A desperate situation calls for a desperate measure.

"But honey, Deinne doesn't-"

"Then do you have another idea? Or can you face the Montañez and say that the wedding will be cancelled because Daniella opted to run away? Can you? Because I can't." Arthur said in a firm voice.

Sandra kept mum right after that. Her husband has a point. The Montañez is an influential family. They cannot afford to upset them because it will come back to them. She then looked at her youngest, who was now breaking out of her sweats because of what she was hearing. As a mother, it breaks her heart to just marry her youngest off like that, especially because Deianne is introverted and unconfident. Her daughter is so good that she thinks she will have a hard time protecting herself. But her husband was right. They have to proceed with the plan.

"Deianne..."

Deianne looked at her mom with a betrayed expression. She knows what her mother will say next. She at least expected her mom to be by her side at times like this.

"M-mom, I don't-" Deianne was cut off mid-sentence by her father.

"Deianne Allison! You have to listen to me, okay? You have to marry Marcus. You don't have to worry because it will be temporary. You will be your sister for the meantime as we search for Daniella. You just have to act and play the part well."

Deianne shook her head. Her tears are starting to brim in her eyes.

"But, dad..."

Her dad held her hands and looked at her pleadingly.

"Please? You have to help us. I'm sorry that we are obligating you. But we really need this. We really need their support. Our company is in trouble, and we cannot afford another setback. So please? I promise to find your sister the soonest." Her dad pleaded.

And that made Deianne cry. Her dad is one of the strongest and toughest people she knows. The man always looked confident, but now, all she sees are doubts, fears, and panic in his eyes. And it broke her. Seeing one of your pillars looked like that. And she feels like she has to step up.

She then took a couple of deep breaths before she slowly nodded at her dad.

"Deianne?" her father called out, confirming what she had just done.

"I-I will... marry h-him."

Her parents hug her in relief.

"Thank you, sweetheart! Thank you! We knew we could always count on you!"

"We promise to find your sister as soon as possible. Don't worry, okay?"

Her dad and mom said, respectively, as they continued to hug her. It made Deianne cry even more because that was the very first time she heard it from her parents. It was such a nice feeling to know your parents were confident that they could always count on you.

"You have to hurry, darling. We shouldn't be late for the ceremony. Hurry and take a bath!" her mom said.

With her steps still full of doubts, Deianne walked to the bathroom to do what she had been told. 

After a few moments, she immediately dressed herself in a wedding dress that was supposed to be Daniella's. She also has to do her makeup. Not only that, now she had to think about how to make her look really close to Daniella. Yes, they were identical twins, but Daniella's physical attributes and personality were total opposites of hers. She also has to cover her mole under her right eye and wear contact lenses. From now on, she also has to be careful about her hair flowing freely, as her twin sister hates her hair being tied in any kind of bun.

A couple of hours and several rehearsals later, Deianne is now Daniella. From how she looks and how she acts now, no one would know that she is Deianne.

"Honey, now listen to me," Her father started as he looked at her mom. "You take care of Deianne and try not to let Marcus's family know about this. No one should know about this except for the three of us, alright? I will take care of the rest," said the Montes' Patriarch.

"But honey, can we just not proceed with the plan?" Deianne's mom replied. Her eyes are slowly showing doubts and fears again. "This is a scam, a fraud. We can't just lie to the Montañez family, we can't, Arthur!" Sandra was worried about the consequences of what they were about to do. And she is also worried about what might happen to her youngest once their "show" is unveiled.

Arthur approaches his wife and envelops her in a hug before he said, "You have to trust me on this one, okay? And I think there's nothing wrong with it. After all, Deianne is still our daughter, and she is Daniella's identical twin sister. Marcus will still marry our daughter. It's just that instead of our eldest, it's Deianne. I need everyone's full cooperation on this." he said as he looked at Deianne, who was looking at them at the moment. "We just have to play our part well, and hope that Daniella comes back, or we find her before Marcus finds out that he is not with Daniella." Arthur explained in a soft but firm manner. He then proceeds to kiss his wife's forehead to assure the woman that everything will be okay.

"D-dad..." Deianne called out that made her dad looked and approached her.

"You can do this, alright?" her father said before she felt a kiss on her forehead.

Deianne lets out a deep sigh.

Can she really do what the situation demands? Does she really have the guts to lie and betray other people?

She slowly closes her eyes as she touches her sister's engagement ring, which is now on her ring finger.

Daniella, I don't know what your real reason was, but I hope you will give me strength to get through this. Please, wherever you are now, guide and help me to play your character as perfectly as possible. For you and for our family. And please, just please, go back soon. This is yours... all of these are yours.

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