Chapter 2

Evelyn’s POV

The next morning, I was in the sitting room, quietly sipping a cup of tea with my eyes all red and puffy from last night’s crying.

Charlie sat across from me, dressed in a suit that screamed luxury, even when my clothes were basically rags. He hadn't looked at me once since sitting down, instead focusing on his tablet with a scowl that seemed etched into his handsome features.

"I have a gala to attend tonight," he said, his voice reaching me. "Don't bother waiting up. And for heaven’s sake, stay in your room if the press comes by. I don't need your drab face reminding the world of the tragedy you caused."

I gripped my cup tighter, swallowing my pain. "I understand, Charlie."

"Do you?" He finally looked up, his blue eyes flashing with a familiar, searing hatred. "Because every time I see you breathing, I think about how Serena can't even stand. You’re a parasite, Evelyn. You took her life and stepped into her shoes, but you’ll never fit them."

He opened his mouth to deliver another blow, but the sound of the front door swinging open stopped him mid-sentence and we both turned to see who would dare burst in without an invitation. My brows rose as the click of heels reached me. Is he bringing women home now? I wondered as the steps drew closer.

A woman stepped into the dining room archway, and for a heartbeat, I thought I was looking into a mirror that only reflected perfection and when my eyes settled on the face, I froze.

It was Serena.

She stood tall, her posture impossibly perfect as she balanced perfectly on two slender legs that were supposed to be useless. She looked stunning, wearing a glittering dress that made her look almost too good to be real. Her hair, that was an exact relic of mine that was now dull and dirty, flowed in waves over her shoulders and her doll-like green eyes sparkled with a calculated innocence.

"Charlie?" she whispered, her voice a practiced distressed tone.

Charlie’s tablet fell hard to the ground as he stood up so abruptly, his chair pulled back in a screech. His face was filled with absolute shock. "Serena?"

"I’m home, my love," she said, her lips curving into a soft, tearful smile.

In an instant, the cold and heartless man I once lived with vanished. Charlie let out a ragged sound that sounded like a sob and laughter at the same time before lunging at her. He caught her in his arms, spinning her around as if she could disappear if he spun her too hard. Then, he buried his face in her neck, his broad shoulders shaking with an excitement I had never been allowed to witness.

I couldn’t utter a word as my gaze was fixed on those legs that made literally everyone hate me. They were back to normal like nothing had ever happened. Knowing the type of person Serena was, I knew she was bound to come out one day, but like this?

"You’re walking," he choked out, pulling back to cup her face with trembling hands. "Serena, your legs... how? I don't understand."

Serena let a single, perfect tear roll down her cheek. She reached up and her fingers grazed his jaw with an affection I knew was fake. "It was a miracle, Charlie. I was so ashamed of being a burden, so broken by what happened, that I had to leave and cut off all points of contact. I went abroad for a highly experimental, specialized treatment. It was grueling, and there were times I thought I wouldn't survive the pain, but the thought of coming back to you... it kept me fighting."

She looked over Charlie’s shoulder and our gaze locked. I watched as the innocent look in her face grew cold and was immediately filled with a mischievous look she always gave me when no one was watching.

"Evelyn," she breathed, faking a gasp of surprise. "You’re still here? Oh, sister, I hoped you had found your own happiness by now."

Charlie turned his head, and the joy in his eyes turned into pure, unadulterated disgust the moment his gaze landed on me. He didn't let go of Serena. In fact, he pulled her closer, shielding her from me as if I were a plague.

"She’s here because I forced her to be," Charlie spat, his voice filled with venom. "I made her stay to pay for what she did to you. But looking at you now... seeing you stand..." He looked back at Serena, his eyes shining with a dark, renewed obsession. "It makes her presence feel like a stain on this room and I cannot even stand the sight of her.”

"Don't be too hard on her, Charlie," Serena said, her tone dripping with pretentious pity. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a practiced movement. "I’m sure she didn't mean to push me that day. I’ve forgiven her, even if my body almost didn't."

I felt a wave of nausea roll through me because the lie was so bold and effortless that it made my head spin. She had never been paralyzed. She had vanished for years, letting me rot in this marriage and watching from the shadows while letting him break me piece by piece for a crime that didn't exist, and now she was back to play the saint. A whimper left my lips as I thought of the possibility of my parents having a hand in this.

"You were never paralyzed," I whispered, the words finally breaking through the lump in my throat.

The room went deathly quiet as Charlie’s gaze grew even more cold.

"How dare you," he hissed, taking a step toward me angrily. "She just told you she went through hell for a cure, and your first instinct is to accuse her of lying? You truly are as rotten as they say."

"Charlie, it’s okay," Serena interrupted, her voice small and fragile. She moved with a delicate grace as she moved towards him and placed a delicate hand on his chest as if to restrain him. "She’s just shocked and I bet it must be hard for her to see me like this when she worked so hard to keep me down."

She looked at me then with a tiny, secret smirk playing at the corners of her mouth that only I could see. "I’m back now, Evelyn. You don't have to pretend to be me anymore. I’ve come home to claim the life you’ve been keeping warm for me."