"I've decided to come back home and get married," I told my brother, Ryan.

I said yes because I needed an escape. Because I was pregnant with twins. Because I had to protect them—from Jake, from the lies, from all of it.

My brother's voice came through the phone, clearly relieved. "I'm glad to hear that. You’ve been in Paris for three years now, chasing your dreams. Mom and Dad were starting to think you’d found a reason to stay there forever. It's good to know you're coming back."

The words hit me with a mix of warmth and weight.

Three years.

I thought back to when I left everything behind to follow Jake to France. At the time, it had felt right—irresistibly right. I was supposed to be there to study fashion design, fully supported by my parents, proud heiress of a legacy brand. But the truth was, I hadn’t just gone abroad for school.

I had followed Jake.

Ryan's best friend and business partner. The golden boy. The one everyone trusted. No one—especially Ryan—knew that behind the scenes, Jake and I had become something more. We shared a bed. We shared secrets. We shared a love neither of us was brave enough to claim in daylight.

Jake had made me promise to keep it hidden. He said it was to protect our future, to avoid shaking things with Ryan or their startup. And I—so hopelessly in love—had agreed. I told myself the secrecy meant he cared enough to be cautious. That one day, we’d be public. Real. Seen.

Ryan’s voice pulled me out of the memory. “Don’t worry, the guy Mom and Dad picked for you is a catch. He’s got everything—looks, manners, character. You’ll be happy with him.”

He didn’t mention a name, and I noticed he quickly changed the subject. “By the way, you should reach out to Jake. He’s still in Paris. You used to call him ‘brother,’ right? He should definitely come to the wedding. I haven’t heard from him in a few days, though. He’s been tough to reach.”

A familiar unease settled in my chest.

Of course, Jake had been hard to reach.

It had all started when Lila came back into the picture.

Lila—his first love. His greatest love.

I hesitated, the words not coming easily. "He… he might not make it to the wedding…"

"What wedding?"

Before I could explain, I heard a voice from the doorway. It was Jake. I hurriedly turned off the call. He walked in like nothing was wrong—like the kiss I saw yesterday in the park hadn’t happened. Like he and Lila weren’t standing there, lips locked, lost in each other, as if I didn’t exist.

"Who’s getting married?" he asked again, his voice light, arms still around me like we were fine. Like we were still us.

I leaned into the hug just enough to sell the lie. “J-just a friend,” I said, forcing a small smile. “No big deal.”

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to the side of my head like he always did. "You should wear that blue dress. You looked unreal the last time you wore it."

I laughed softly, even though my chest felt hollow. "Yeah. Maybe."

He pulled away to drop onto the couch, scrolling through his phone like we weren’t both pretending. Like the taste of Lila wasn’t still probably on his lips.

“I’m starving,” he said after a beat, glancing up at me with that boyish grin that used to melt me.

I pushed up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. “I’ll make something.”

He followed me, as usual. Always did when he wanted to play the sweet boyfriend. His presence was so familiar it hurt. He leaned against the counter, stealing sips of whatever I was drinking, sneaking bites when I turned my back, acting like everything was completely normal.

I served him a plate—his favorite, out of habit. He beamed like a kid, sitting down to eat like he hadn’t just shattered me yesterday.

“God, you spoil me,” he said between bites. “How’d I get so lucky?”

I didn’t answer. I smiled softly, nodding like I agreed, like I was still here, still his. But in my head, everything was already packed.

Eat, Jake. Enjoy it. Because after this, you won’t see me again.

I’m going home. I’m marrying someone else. I’m done trying to fix something you never fought for.

I’ve been holding onto this relationship like it was a lifeline, but all it ever did was drown me.

Across the table, Jake looked up and smiled again, clueless.

“I love nights like this,” he said, mouth full, eyes warm. “Just you and me.”

I smiled back. Not anymore.

While he was busy eating, my mind drifted…

It all started a week ago.

Back then, I was genuinely happy—floating-on-clouds kind of happy. I had just found out I was pregnant with his child. Not one. But twins.

I remember staring at the ultrasound screen, my hands trembling, heart pounding. It felt surreal. Like life had finally decided to give me something beautiful. I couldn’t wait to tell him. I even had this ridiculous plan to surprise him—had the scan wrapped up like a tiny gift in my purse.

I got to his apartment early that day, all smiles and butterflies. But as I reached the door, I heard voices. The door was cracked open just enough for sound to spill out.

Jake was laughing.

“She’s easy to fool,” he said, voice casual, amused. “I just pretend to love her. All of this? It’s just payback for what her family did to Lila.”

I froze.

Inside, his friend barked a laugh. “Damn, man. You’re seriously taking this revenge thing to the next level.”

“You think?” Jake chuckled. “She buys everything. Acts like we’re soulmates or something. She’s so desperate to be loved, it’s almost pathetic. Boring in bed, too. Like tasteless water. Not like my Lila. My fucking sweet Lila. She’s wild. She knows how to drive a man crazy. I always finish with her.”

Laughter echoed again, sharp and cruel. I felt the sting in my chest like a blade twisting deep—but I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

Lila.

The girl who lived my life.

Not by accident. Not fate.

But because of a choice.

When I was born, my parents were over the moon. First and only child to a powerful family with a name that carried weight in every room it entered. But their trusted maid—Marga—had her own secrets. She was pregnant too, though no one knew. She kept it hidden with loose dresses and silence. The father? A smooth-talking conman who disappeared the second he found out.

Marga gave birth just hours after my mother did. A baby girl. No future. No name. No father. Just shame.

So she did the unthinkable. She swapped us.

She placed her daughter in my mother’s arms and stole me for herself. She raised me for a few years under the illusion of devotion, until tragedy struck—she vanished. No note. No trail. Just gone. I was dumped into the system, shuffled through cold homes and colder hearts, while her daughter—Lila—grew up as royalty. Wearing my clothes. Sleeping in my bed. Calling my parents hers.

They had no idea. No one did.

Until Lila’s car crash changed everything.

She had been drunk, furious, spoiled beyond saving. The blood test revealed the first crack in the lie. Quiet DNA tests followed. Private investigations. And then came me.

The daughter they never stopped missing. The one they thought was gone forever.

They found me in the orphanage. They brought me home like a miracle. Guilt written in every hug. Apologies tucked in every gift.

And Lila? She was torn from the world she believed was hers. Kicking. Screaming. And eventually—exiled.

She lost everything in one breath. And she blamed me.

“I’ll make you pay!” she’d said. “You stole my life. Now I’m stealing yours.”

Back then, I thought it was just heartbreak talking.

But now, as I watched Jake eat the dinner I made with shaking hands and a shattered heart, I realized—

She meant every word.

Jake was part of it. Maybe the whole time. Maybe this was always her revenge. I thought I knew what I was doing, what I was getting myself into. I thought we were building something real.

But I had no idea. I had no idea about the dark corners of his heart.

And now, I find myself here, pregnant with his twins, and everything’s crashing down. Because of Lila. Because of their past.

They don’t even know what’s coming.

But I do. I’m not the villain in their story. I’m writing my own story now.

And screw them for thinking I’ll keep playing the part they wrote for me.

Then that night, while we slept, he held me like a chain around my neck—tight, suffocating. His arms were heavy across my waist, his breath warm against my skin. A part of me wanted to believe it was love. Another part wanted to scream.

He thought I was deeply asleep.

So when he gently peeled himself away, when he moved with practiced silence, I didn’t stir.

I waited until he left the room.

Then I followed him.

Barefoot and breathless, I crept through the apartment like a ghost, heart pounding loud enough to shake the walls. The door clicked shut behind him, and I stepped outside moments later, the cool air hitting me like ice.

I saw them by the gate.

In the dark.

He didn’t even hesitate.

He pulled her in and kissed her like he was starving—wild, desperate, rabid. And she kissed him back with equal hunger, like they were two animals finally off the leash.

Then they didn’t just kiss.

They couldn’t wait. Right there, against the metal fence, like dogs in heat. The way he bent her over, gripping her hips with the same hands that had cradled my stomach just hours before—it made me want to puke.

But I couldn’t look away.

I watched in frozen horror, bile rising in my throat, pain blooming like fire in my chest. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, nails digging into skin.

And then I heard them.

Even in the sick rhythm of their bodies, they talked.

Not sweet nothings. Not love.

Schemes.

“I told you Clarisse'd fall for me,” Jake panted, low and vicious. “Completely. Helplessly. It was almost too easy.”

Lila moaned, but her voice was full of venom. “And now?”

“Now I’m totally inside her world,” he said. “The money. The inheritance. The company. Everything that comes with her name—it's almost mine.”

“And after?” Lila whispered, arching into him.

He laughed. Cold and cruel. “After? I break her. Destroy her. And hand it all over to you.”

“Good boy," Lila purred smugly. "Three years of playing Clarise is enough. I want the money and diamonds she stole from me."

My vision blurred. My knees nearly buckled.

He wanted me to fall for him. And when I did—when I finally let my guard down—he was going to rip it all away. My love. My legacy. My life.

And hand it to the girl who wasn’t even supposed to exist in my story.

Lila.

The girl who lived my life.

The girl who was supposed to be me.

But I’m done being the victim in their twisted fairytale.

They wrote me into a tragedy.

But I’m rewriting the ending.

And they would regret ever underestimating me.

I was lying on that hospital bed, the sterile smell of the room making me dizzy. The decision felt like it was already made. My mind was screaming at me to just end it—to go through with the abortion. Twin babies, all of this chaos... What was the point of keeping them?

But even as I thought that, I couldn’t shake the feeling in my chest. I hadn’t even told anyone I was pregnant yet. No one knew. But these little lives inside me—they were mine. They were a part of me.

As the nurse prepped me for the procedure, I thought of the twins. What if I could keep them? What if I could make it work? I wasn’t a killer. Not like this.

I couldn’t do it.

Before I even realized it, I ripped the IV out of my arm, the sharp sting grounding me. I jumped off the bed, adrenaline crashing through me as I sprinted through the hallway, barefoot and frantic. Nurses shouted after me, but I didn’t look back.

I just ran.

Out the lobby. Down the stairs. Through the double doors—into the dim parking garage.

That’s when I saw her.

She was standing near her car, arms crossed, her stomach barely visible beneath a designer coat. Her face lit with venom the moment she saw me.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she spat. “Are you stalking me?”

I froze. “What are you doing here?”

She cocked her head. “Doctor’s appointment. Eight-week checkup. You know, for my baby.”

My breath caught in my throat. “You’re... You're pregnant?”

She smiled. “Guess who the father is.”

My legs were shaking. “You planned this.”

“You ruined my life!” she hissed, walking closer. “You took my family. My place. My future. Now I’m just taking back what was mine.”

I tried to move past her, but she stepped aside and pulled open her car door. “Go ahead. Run. That’s all you’re good at.”

I kept walking, trying to ignore the burn behind my eyes. But then—

BAM!

The engine roared. I turned just in time to see the headlights blinding me. Metal slammed into my body. The impact threw me like a rag doll. I hit the pavement hard—head first. Pain exploded through my back and stomach. My vision spun. My ears rang.

Blood. Warm. So much of it. Spreading beneath me like ink on paper. I couldn't move. My hands instinctively flew to my stomach.

My babies.

Lila stepped out of her car, heels clicking against concrete, walking toward me like she was stepping onto a runway. She crouched beside me, pulled off her sunglasses slowly, then spit—right on my face.

“Look at you. Pathetic. Bleeding like a stuck pig.”

I tried to speak, to beg—but she wasn’t listening.

She leaned closer, her perfume choking me, her voice like poison. “You thought you were special, didn’t you? That just because you share a little DNA, the world was gonna kneel for you? Bitch, you’re nothing but a stolen mistake.”

Tears burned down my cheeks as my vision blurred.

“Oh, don’t cry now,” she cooed cruelly. “You should’ve done that before opening your legs to Jake. But then again… he said you were boring as hell. Like dead fish. No wonder he always came crawling back to me.”

She laughed—ugly, loud, unhinged.

“God, the way he talked about you? ‘She’s like tasteless water,’” she mimicked in a mocking voice. “‘Lila, you make me feel alive. She just makes me feel… obligated.’”

I whimpered, my body shaking. “Please…”

“Please?” she mocked, grinning wide. “That’s what you said when he left your apartment after faking an ‘all-nighter.’ He was in my bed, you idiot. He never loved you.”

I gasped, clutching my side. Blood soaked through my clothes. And then her phone rang.

She answered it with a sickeningly sweet voice. “Hey baby.”

Jake’s voice lit up the speaker. “Hey, gorgeous. You at the clinic yet?”

Lila turned away from me like I didn’t exist. “Just parked. Our little peanut's doing somersaults, I swear.”

Jake laughed. “God, I can’t wait to meet him. I’ve never wanted to be a dad this bad.”

I sobbed, a broken sound.

Lila glanced down, eyes cold. “You hear that?” she whispered. “That’s the sound of someone actually wanted.”

Jake continued, clueless. “You think it’s a boy?”

“Doesn’t matter,” she purred. “As long as it’s ours.”

“You’re gonna be such a hot mom,” he chuckled. “I’ll be there in ten. I miss you already.”

She hung up, then looked down at me again.

“I told you I’d take everything from you,” she whispered. “And now, I have.”

She pulled her sunglasses back on, stepped over my body like garbage, and walked inside.

And I was left there—on the cold floor, blood pooling, my babies slipping away with every passing second.

But someone was coming.

A voice I hadn’t heard in years.

“Clarisse! Stay with me,” he said, as strong arms lifted me off the ground. “Don’t close your eyes. I’ve got you.”

And just before I blacked out, I saw his face—my first love. The only boy who ever looked at me like I mattered.

But it was too late.