I was grateful I took my time to study about my family before I decided to come home. Thankfully there wasn't enough time to spend time with each other at the wedding for them to notice something wasn't quite right with me. But I made sure to do some research about my family where I found two siblings, twins, Carlton and Olivia Miller.
Dinner went well. Aiden and Sophie were mostly focused on the twin's progress in school and I nodded my head during appropriate intervals, making sure to remain engaged just enough to blend in. Then after a while I asked to be excused, I blamed it on jet lag but in reality, I just wanted to escape before the Miller's catch wind of the impostor who was sitting at their table.
Before leaving, I turned to look at Olivia who looked up at me with a smile on her face and I requested that she should come and see me after dinner, there was something I wanted to discuss with her.
The Miller's house was huge, it was massive the kind of place that demanded admiration. Navigating the hallways wasn't hard though, despite its size. A maid, one of many was all too eager to help me find my room after I told her I was too tired to think.
Once inside, the door clicked shut and the air shifted. If I thought the house was huge well this room was too. A huge queen sized bed draped in sleek black and white duvet commanded the center, while a luxurious fur carpet was stretched beneath it. On the wall were several pictures of me and it was no secret Andrea definitely loved herself. I walked forward admiring the pictures, fingers brushed along the edges of the frame, each more extravagant than the others. But despite the glam and expensive clothes, her pictures were the same. She might be staring at the camera but there was this hollow look in her gaze, it looked almost distant, like she was here but not really here. I didn't know how to quite explain it.
I was still looking at the pictures when one picture in particular caught my eye. Unlike the others it didn't look grand or polished, it was hidden behind a larger frame, and it seemed almost forgotten. Curious, I decided to pull it out. Andrea's face, my face stared back at me but this time it was different. She was smiling this time around, an actual smile!
The wind whipped through her hair, and her hand was stretched out, as if playfully trying to stop the photographer from taking the shot. This was the most human expression I must have seen her display in all her photographs, this was real, something unguarded. It was the only time she wasn't posing or performing for the camera. Her smile was beautiful and it suddenly feels as if I was invading in on a private moment.
I heard the door to my room suddenly, immediately I shoved the picture behind the frame. I had no idea why I did that, but I just did. Turning around, I found my sister looking at me with a smile on her face, but her eyes were shifty, was she nervous?
"You asked me to see you?" Her voice broke the moment, light and questioning.
"Maybe take a sit first."
Olivia nodded, walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Her movements were careful, almost deliberate. Silence stretched between us for a moment, I had no idea how I was going to ask her without sounding weird and unusual.
My gaze moved to Andrea's large frame that was on the wall, the one where she wore a red suit. Her hair slicked backwards in a tight bun that brought out her face. Her lips painted red were curled into a smirk as she stared directly at the camera. This was a woman who doesn't lay all her cards on the table, this was her poker face. No one could tell what she was thinking and no one could question her, which meant if I were to survive this, I needed to learn how to become her.
Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath to steady my nerves. I allowed the tension in my face to drain away completely before I stared at Olivia. "Tell me everything you need to know about Grayson."
"Grayson? Your husband?" Olivia asked with a slight chuckle, the sound almost dismissive but a single raised brow at the sound immediately silenced it, "Sorry I just assumed that since he is your husband you will know so much about him." She said as she adjusted herself on her seat.
Her suspicion about me was obvious but I needed to know more so pressing on was necessary. "Is what they say in the media true? Did I truly take away Brianna's boyfriend?"
Olivia's eyes widened, "Shit, have you been reading tabloids?"
"Just answer the question will you and do not let me hear such vulgar words from your mouth because it's not…"
"Not proper for the lady of the house, I know, I know." Olivia drawled out with an eye roll and I realized she had some sass in her.
I gave her an eye roll of my own before I leaned forward in my seat. "Tell me what I need to know now."
Olivia smirked before she leaned forward in her seat, "Oh, see you might be the eldest but I'm afraid it doesn't work that way."
A brow went up at that, "What are you…" My voice trailed off as Olivia raise her hand up and rubbed her finger tips in motion.
"Money? You want money?" I asked her to which she nodded at, "And if I give you, you are willing to tell me whatever it is I want to know?"
Olivia nodded her head at me, "It's a deal!"
"Fine, how much are we talking about?"
***
I might have slept in a queen sized bed but sleep eluded me and I think it might have something to do with the portraits that adorned the walls. Anytime my eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night, there was one of her portraits. It felt like her eyes were constantly on me, as if they were silently judging me, daring me to measure up to her standards.
It might have been sometime before I finally closed my eyes to get some good sleep and I think I might have found the perfect position to sleep in. My body shifted, snuggling into the warm but hard surface, comfortable and smooth.
How was this bed so comfortable and soft but also firm? I muse as my hands began to trace the surface when I noticed something different about it. Slowly realization crept in, the warmth fading into confusion.
"Darling if your hand slips any lower, we are going to have a serious problem on our hands."
That voice, that annoying drawl that I would recognize anywhere! An infuriating voice I seem to have unwilling committed to memory.
Please don't let it be real! Let it just be a dream, don't let it be real!
"Really now? Come on princess, I know you are awake." The voice said, low and smug.
My eyes slowly fluttered open only to see two pair of sharp grey eyes staring down at me. There he was lying on the bed comfortably, his hands raised above his head causing his biceps to bulge underneath the white linen shirt he was wearing. I suddenly noticed how my own body was curled up against him.
How on earth did this happen?
"Ah, finally, there she is, good morning princess!"
Oh no, no, no, this wasn't a dream! This was a nightmare!
Panic seized me as the horror of the situation sunk in and before another thought could register, a scream ripped out of my lips, the only appropriate response to this preposterous situation I seem to have found myself in.