Chapter 1

Because I had the exact same face as my sister, Jenna Quinn, no one stopped me on the way into the Pembroke estate.

The security guards barely even glanced at me. If anything, they looked amused—like they’d seen this kind of scene too many times before. Their expressions were openly dismissive, edged with contempt.

In fact, the first person to notice me inside the house wasn’t Silas.

It was Sienna.

Curled against Silas’s chest, she lifted her eyes and smiled at me with smug satisfaction. A strand of her hair was still caught in his tie clip. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out how that had happened.

“So you finally decided to come back?”

Silas gave me a lazy once-over and let out a derisive breath. “Funny, isn’t it? Every single time, you just happen to walk in on something like this.”

He tilted his head slightly. “So, Jenna, what are you misunderstanding this time?

“And once you’ve convinced yourself of whatever story you want to believe, what then? Cry? Throw a fit? Make a scene?

“Or pull another disappearing act like you did this time?”

Even though I’d prepared myself for this before coming, his shameless attempt to blame me first still made my anger flare.

My voice turned cold. “If people keep catching you like this, maybe the problem is that neither of you knows how to behave.

“If you were sitting on opposite ends of the couch having a normal conversation, no one would have the chance to get the wrong idea.”

I glanced pointedly at his chest.

Only then did Silas really look at me. “Jenna, two months away and suddenly you’ve grown a backbone.”

“You—”

“Jenna, please don’t misunderstand!” Sienna suddenly cut in, her eyes instantly filling with tears.

“I just got dizzy when I stood up, and that’s why I fell into Silas’s arms.

“Jenna, I never wanted to come between your marriage. I… I…” She broke into a fit of coughing before she could finish.

Still coughing, she leaned harder into him.

Silas immediately pulled her into his arms and patted her on the back, gentle and protective.

When he looked back at me, anger was already rising in his eyes.

I looked at the two of them and laughed. My voice came out sharp with sarcasm. “Right, of course. You’re not here to wreck anyone’s marriage. You’re here to make yourself comfortable in it.

“No wonder you keep calling him ‘Silas’ like that, all soft and sweet. Anyone listening would think the Pembrokes really did raise you as their precious little princess.”

“What?” Sienna stared at me in shock.

It was as if she couldn’t believe that the Jenna she knew—the quiet one, the one everyone could walk over—was suddenly firing back without pause.

“Jenna, apologize.”

Silas spoke only a single command, but his voice was cold enough to freeze the room.

That, more than anything, made me laugh.

The harder I laughed, the darker his expression turned. The anger in his eyes slowly gave way to uncertainty.

He parted his lips as if to say something, but I cut him off first.

“Sorry, but I’m not Jenna.

“So I can’t apologize to Sienna on her behalf.

“I’m Jenna’s twin sister, Summer Sinclair.”

The room fell silent again.

Then Silas laughed even harder than before.

“Jenna, I’ll admit this one’s creative. You actually got a laugh out of me.”

But his face turned cold just as fast. “If you insist on keeping this up, then don’t expect to stay Mrs. Pembroke.”

The second he said that, Sienna’s eyes lit up.

She jumped in eagerly, adding fuel to the fire. “Jenna, this is way too much, even for you.

“First you ran away from home, and now suddenly you’ve invented a twin sister? What are you even trying to do?”

She covered her mouth in fake realization. “Oh, I get it now.

“You think if you come back as some new version of yourself, you can start over with Silas, don’t you?

“If that’s the plan, you’d better go all in and get a whole makeover. Like one of those over-the-top revenge dramas.”

I glanced at her. “Then you must’ve watched way too many petty period dramas.

“Right now, you sound exactly like the nosy old housekeeper character—always interrupting, always stirring trouble, and never taught any manners.”

“You—” Sienna’s face flushed red, and right on cue, she started coughing dramatically again. “Cough—cough—”

“If you’re sick, go see a doctor,” I said coolly. “Put all that time and energy into yourself for once, and stay out of other people’s marriages.”

“Jenna, say that again.” Silas’s eyes went wide, his expression suddenly vicious.

“You keep setting Sienna off and making her sick, and you don’t feel even a little guilty. How did you turn into this?

“You weren’t like this before…”

There was disappointment in his gaze.

Maybe even a trace of nostalgia.

But the whole performance only made me feel sick.

I had no interest in arguing with him anymore. I rolled up my sleeve and held out my arm.

“Look carefully. I’m not Jenna.”

Silas froze.

Then he shot to his feet so abruptly that the strand of hair tangled at his chest finally ripped free with the movement.

Sienna let out a pained cry, her face twisting instantly.