Chapter 1 ( The unwanted daughter)

“The veil covered half my face. My hand shook as I reached for the pen.

I hadn’t seen his face yet. No one had.

And yet… here I was, signing my name beside his on a marriage contract I didn’t choose”

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Three Days Earlier…

I had woken up to a bad headache probably because I didn't have a proper night rest. I was up until one in the morning.

My father gave me some documents to sort out. These were documents that had been long forgotten and scrapped in one corner.

They were documents that should have been sorted out by Aria, since it was from her company.

Aria's my twin sister. We share the same face and family name, that's all. We don't even have the same skin tone or voice. Basically everything is different about us.

She is the director of one of my dad's companies, though she is bad at handling company affairs and that's the reason I'm sorting her mess.

She is the pretty one. Elegant and a true epitome of beauty. Men desire her and are willing to do anything just to spend a few minutes with her.

She is a walking mannequin and a very fine young lady. She is the darling daughter of the Richards–everyone loves her and she's also the spoilt brat–ouch.

While me, I'm nothing. I'm often described as the black sheep of the family owing to a mistake of a few years ago which I regret to this point and whenever I remember it, I don't feel myself.

The first time my father said I was worthless, I believed him.

I hold no position at all–in my father's company or at home. I only earn from working for my sister in her company because my father can't bear to have his name smudged on the internet.

I can't be seen working for someone else while my father has companies.

I wasn't the pretty one, not so smart as they often say. I don't even consider myself pretty.

Well…that's basically it about me.

I had to go down for breakfast. I can't have my parents getting angry at me and then I bear the consequences.

I quickly brushed my teeth, freshened up and went down stairs.

On my way down, I accidentally bumped into a maid.

“I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going” I quickly apologized.

“Yeah…Your eyes are damaged” the maid replied rudely and left.

Yeah–that's how it is. Even the housekeepers have more rights than I do.

I brushed it aside and kept moving.

I got down just in time when the prayer was about to be said.

I quietly took my seat, beside my mom and opposite my sister.

Aria usually sat closer to daddy, while I sat closer to mom.

After the prayer I muttered a silent greeting as I knew my parents weren't happy I was down late.

“Hmm” was the only reply they gave.

We had breakfast in peace and quiet, after which I returned to my room.

I had nothing to do for the day. I heard noises outside and looked out through the window. Aria was heading out. She had the freedom to do whatever she wanted.

She had singing lessons, dancing lessons and also horse-riding lessons.

I sighed and went back to my bed and laid down. I didn't know when I fell asleep.

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I woke up in the evening. The sun was already setting. My headache was gone and I felt a lot better.

I was slightly hungry as I didn't come down for lunch and no one cared to call for me.

I went out of my room to look for food.

I came across my father's chamber and saw the door slightly opened.

His chamber was separate from his room. It was near the library. He stayed in his chamber whenever he wanted to work or clear his thoughts.

I simply walked by but stopped in my tracks when I heard my mother's voice.

What was going on?

My mother rarely enters father's chamber.

I took a step into the room, careful not to make a noise.

I walked closer in and stopped when I was within earshot and could see them.

They were standing behind the glass wall that demarcated father's chamber from the library.

They couldn't see me because their backs were facing me. I was taking a big risk because if they turned back and caught me...then I'm dead.

“Is it that serious?” My mother asked my father in a hushed tone but I could still hear her.

“The case right now is out of our control. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to save the situation “ my father lamented.

“You know we can't just let Aria go, even if the problem was from her company signing a contract they couldn't comprehend” My mother chipped in.

I didn't fully comprehend what was happening but I knew Aria caused trouble and now my parents didn't want her to go in for it.

“What about Alina? They're twins you know. No one would suspect a thing” my mother continued.

“It's better if…

I heard noises from outside and I knew it was my queue to leave. I left without fully grasping what they were saying.

I went downstairs, dishes my food and took it to my room.

As I ate, I wrote my book. I was writing a book. The book was about how I wished my life would have gone–having the best parents and family, the perfect husband and job.

I dropped my plate on the side table and went to bed.

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“You’ll marry him, Alina. That’s final.”

I stood there in silence, blinking back the shock. I wasn’t the beautiful twin. That was Aria. The smart one. The one he praised. The one who could do no wrong.

I was just… the leftover daughter. The spare.

“But this particular mistake was Aria's. Why am I the one to fix it?” I whispered, my voice trembling. He didn’t even look up from his drink.

Speaking of Aria, I hadn't seen her since this morning. I just woke up to bad news.

Aria's company signed a deal with two different companies at the same time.

A popular and well known company and another unpopular company.

They didn't bother to confirm if the unpopular company was legit before handing over all the money to them.

The unpopular company was not legit and ran away with the money invested by the popular company.

The popular company's directors are requesting compensation and my parents have given all they had but still not enough.

Billions of dollars was made away with.

The final verdict was to marry the CEO who made such a mistake to the popular company's CEO.

My parents plan on switching my sister and I since we were identical. I would get married on Aria's stead.

“Aria is not for sale.”

The words slammed into my chest like a slap. Was I? Was I that easy to hand over to a stranger?

I turned to my mother, hoping—just hoping—that she'd say something. Anything. But she didn’t meet my eyes. Her fingers twisted the edge of her scarf nervously.

That’s when I knew.

They had all decided.

This was their discussion yesterday.

The man I was being sold to was powerful, ruthless, and rich beyond imagination. A mystery to the world. No social media, no interviews, no parties. Just whispers.

They said his company could wipe out debt with the flick of a pen. They said he ruined people for fun. They said he never showed his face unless he had to.

And now, I was going to be his wife.

"Aria can’t handle a man like that,” my father added coldly.

“But you… You’re used to hardship.”

That was his twisted way of calling me strong.

Or disposable.

Later that night, Aria slipped into my room, her silk robe floating behind her like she was some sort of princess.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

But there was no regret in her eyes. Only relief.

I stared at her—the girl who had my face but none of my pain—and smiled bitterly.

“That wouldn't change anything, so please leave me be” I said coldly.

She was the reason I was in this mess.

PRESENT DAY…

Here I was signing my name close to my husband's whom I was yet to see or know.

I looked up to see the face of his stand in, the man who represented my husband, he took a glance at me before looking away.

There was something about him that seemed familiar, like I had know him before in the last, but I want sure

My parents have finally succeeded in pushing me into something I didn't sign up for.