A STOLEN IDENTITY.

VIVIAN POV.

I couldn’t let my sister take everything away from me. Not this time. I had the perfect plan–flawless, no one saw it coming.

I stayed close to the door, eavesdropping on my mother's conversation with her. As soon as my mother turned to leave, I hid in one of the adjacent rooms and waited till mom was completely gone.

Immediately, I approached Victoria. She sat alone there, gazing at the window like a caged bird that wanted to fly away–a bride in distress.

I almost pitied her–almost. But my own ambitions were darker. I knelt before her, holding her trembling hands. Her teary eyes met mine.

“Sis, you’re the only one who sees my pain. No one here understands me.” She whispered.

For a moment, I almost laughed at how easily she trusted me. “Shh,” I cooed, wiping the drop of tears from her eyes with my hand. “It’s okay, sis. I understand you, and that’s why I’ve come to help you today.”

“Help–help me. How?” Her voice cracked.

I stood and paced the room, feigning deep thoughts. I needed it to look believable. “Yes, I want to help you. But first, you must know the truth! It’s about time you know everything.”

“What truth? Is there something I don’t know?”

I sighed heavily, pretending to be burdened by what I was about to reveal. “Look, you’re not the real Victoria Langston.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her eyes wide open, full of confusion.

“The real Victoria ran away,” I continued. “She didn’t want this life either. She abandoned everything and left. But you know Mom, she’s so evil.” I frowned in disgust.

“Then–then who am I really? Tell me…” her confusion deepened.

“I wasn’t done,” I walked up to her. “You were hired because of your striking resemblance to my sister. You needed the money to save your dying mother in the hospital, that’s why you did it. Don’t you remember?”

She looked lost–vulnerable. “I… I don’t remember anything,” her teary voice cracked. “But I believe you. I’ve felt so disconnected from this life ever since I woke up. None of it seems to be mine. Especially not that stranger waiting out there to marry me!”

Her trembling hands grabbed mine. “Please, help me. I need to leave this place. I don’t wanna get married to a stranger. Please…”

I tried my best to hide my victorious grin. It was even easier than I thought. The new Victoria was just too gullible.

“All I know is… If you go through with this wedding, it’ll be your worst nightmare,” my voice quivered, just so I sounded genuine.

“The people out there aren’t as sweet as you might imagine. That’s why Victoria ran away. These people are evil–more dangerous than you can imagine. They’re only using you.”

She fell to her knees, pleading desperately with tears streaming down her cheek. “Please, help me! I’ll do anything to be with my real family again.”

I pretended to hesitate, taking a few steps back. “ No. This isn’t right at all. Mother will kill me if she discovers I helped you run away.”

She crawled to me. Her hands clasped together pleading desperately. “Please, just help me escape. I’ll do anything–anything at all you ask me to do.”

I sighed, letting a few drops of fake tears out. “Okay…” I whispered. “But you have to promise me you’ll never come back here. Stay away from these premises for good and be on a low profile.” I took a deep breath. “I’ll try my best to help you from afar.”

“I promise,” her voice cracked from fear of my whole revelation.

I handed her a plain black dress and a scarf. “Here, change into this. Once you leave this room, you must take the back stairs. There’s a man out there waiting for you. He’ll take you to your real family. Make sure you do as he says.”

She changed quickly. Her body trembled from fear. I watched her run through the hallway till she was out of sight.

“Stupid girl,” I whispered to myself, an evil smile lingering on my face. The smell of victory felt so good–finally.

I changed into her wedding gown and it looked even prettier on me. I held my head up high, holding my flower bouquet as I walked down the aisle with the veil covering my face.

Soon, I stood in front of Michael, with the priest standing between us. After our vows, it was finally time to kiss the bride, and I was so excited to see the look on Michael’s face–though a bit nervous.

As soon as Michael raised the veil, his eyes widened in surprise. For a moment I was scared, but immediately, he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer. His soft hands grabbed my face, and I leaned forward to kiss him.

His soft lips pressed on mine. Our kiss was personal, intimate, and almost desperate to continue forever.

As soon as we turned to face the crowd, everyone gasped in shock, in disbelief. My eyes focused on my mother, and a small smile lingered on my face–a smile of victory.

“Where the hell is Victoria?!” She screamed at the top of her voice. Her voice echoed in the silent hall.

The murmurs grew amongst the crowd. My mother moved forward angrily, but before she could get to where I was,

Michael stepped in, shielding me from my mother. “I’m sure there’s an explanation. Let’s just hear her out first! Everyone…”

“Explanation?” My mother spat. “What stupid explanation could Vivian possibly have? Why is she the bride? What has she done to her sister?!”

“Mother…” my voice quivered. I immediately got back into character. “I did this for us. Are you sure you want everyone here to know that Victoria ran…”

“You keep your mouth shut!” She cut me short.

I smiled, everything was going as planned and I was loving it. I knew my mother wouldn’t want people to know that her favorite daughter, Victoria Langston, ran away from her own responsibilities.

“What in the world is going on here? Grace, how did you let this happen?” Michael’s mother asked as she walked closer to my mother.

Her face was pale from embarrassment. Her lips trembled, and yet no words came out. Accusations flew as the crowd murmured, questions flying left and right.

In the midst of the whole storm, Michael held my hands tight–still shielding me. My gaze went to his face, and I smiled. My heart triumphed at the victory I finally achieved–one which I deserved.

As I gazed around and saw how some of the guests praised me for taking up Victoria’s role and called her a coward, excitement filled my stomach.

To them, I was my family’s savior and I had done what was best to save the wedding. But to me? It was only the beginning of my revenge.

I wasn’t just stealing back what they had deprived me of, I was taking it all–bit by bit.

The storm was finally here, and war had just begun!