Chapter 3 - Accept
1406 Words
The rest of the week was a blur. I spent my days running between my morning classes and my evening shifts.
At school, the atmosphere was terrible. Gossip travels fast in the hallways, and it didn't take long for people to find out about my money problems. Every time I walked past the student lounge, I could hear the whispers.
“Did you hear about Alexia? She couldn't even pay her exam fee on time.”
“Why does she even come here if she can't afford it? She should just work full-time.”
Even my classmates tried to give me advice, but it just felt cruel. During a group project meeting, one girl looked at me with pity. “Alexia, maybe you should just be practical. College isn't for everyone. There’s no shame in dropping out to save up money first.”
I didn't answer her. I just kept my head down, took my notes, and left for my second job the moment the class ended.
That night, I was working as a waitress at a quiet, expensive restaurant downtown. I was carrying a tray of empty glasses back to the kitchen when I passed a booth in the corner. I froze.
Sitting there, tucked away in the shadows, was Beatrice.
She wasn't wearing her sunglasses tonight. Her eyes were fixed on me, waiting. She had tracked me down again. I tried to walk past her, but she stood up and blocked my way.
“Alexia, please. Just five minutes,” she begged. Her voice was very quiet.
I looked around nervously, terrified my manager would see us. “I am working right now, ma'am. I can’t do this.”
“I’ll buy out the rest of your shift. I’ll pay your manager whatever he wants,” she said desperately. “Just sit down with me.”
I knew she had the money to actually do it, and the last thing I needed was a scene at my job. I set my tray down, walked over to the booth, and sat across from her. “You need to stop following me. I already gave you my answer.”
Beatrice didn't hesitate. She opened her designer bag, pulled out a neat, folded document, and slid it across the table toward me. “Three million dollars. For three months. All you have to do is pretend to be me.”
The breath left my lungs. Three million dollars. That was enough to pay off my tuition, buy a real apartment, and never have to worry about surviving again. It was a massive amount of money. For a second, I just stared at the paper. But then, reality hit me. A sum that high meant the danger was just as big.
“No,” I said. I pushed the contract back to her. My hands were shaking under the table. “I don't care how much money it is. This is insane. I am not ruining my life for a lie.”
I stood up before she could say another word and walked straight into the kitchen, my heart pounding fast.
I thought I could just forget that but…the turning point happened two days later.
I was standing outside the faculty office, waiting to hand in a makeup assignment to my advisor. The door was cracked open, and I could hear voices inside. I raised my hand to knock, but I stopped when I heard my own name.
“What are we going to do about Alexia Windsor?” a professor asked.
“Her grades are slipping because she’s always working,” another voice replied. It was Professor Vance, the head of the department. “And because of her unpaid bills, the university administration is already preparing her drop papers. If she can't pay the debt next three months, we have to officially remove her from the classes. It's a pity, but this school isn't a charity. If she can't pay, she doesn't belong here.”
Hearing those words broke something inside me. The casual way they talked about throwing away my future, my mom's dream, and everything I had suffered for—it made me completely numb. I walked away from the door without dropping off the assignment.
I walked out of the campus building, completely defeated. But when I reached the sidewalk, I stopped.
Beatrice was there. She was leaning against a sleek black car, waiting for me again. She didn't say anything. She just opened the passenger door, inviting me inside. This time, I didn't walk away. I walked over and got into the car.
We drove to a quiet cafe on the edge of the city. The moment we sat down, Beatrice looked at me with a spark of hope in her eyes. But as she looked closer at my face, she must have seen the utter defeat.
“I'll do it,” I said. My voice was completely flat. “Three million dollars. Three months.”
Beatrice let out a shaky breath. Suddenly, the polished, wealthy mask she always wore completely broke. Tears pooled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She didn't even try to wipe them away.
“Thank you,” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “Thank you so much, Alexia. I know you need this money for your tuition. I will give you the first one million dollars the exact day after the wedding ceremony so you can fix your school problem immediately. The rest will be paid throughout the three months.”
I watched her, surprised by her raw emotion. “Why are you doing this, anyway? You have everything.”
“I don't have freedom,” she whispered. She looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen. Then, her face contorted into a look of pure disgust. "My family arranged a marriage for me. It is just a business deal. I am supposed to move out to some quiet countryside and marry a man named Nikoulai."
She spat his name out like it was garbage.
"I don't know anything about him, Alexia. My parents won't tell me anything, which means he must be some old, frail man hiding away in the middle of nowhere. The thought of being handed over to an old stranger like a piece of property makes me feel physically sick. The thought of him touching me makes me want to die. My parents don't care that I despise the very idea of him.”
She reached across the table and touched my hand. Her fingers were trembling.
“I have a boyfriend. I love him. We’ve been together for years, and he’s the only person who actually loves me for who I am. If I marry this Nikoulai, my life is completely over. I just need three months to run away with my boyfriend and get out of the country. Just hold his place for three months. After that time is up, I will go there myself to file a divorce from this Nikoulai and handle the paperwork. I will take over again, and you can just walk away with your money.”
I looked at her, my mind spinning with a sudden worry. "What about your family? Your mother? Won't she know it's me at the wedding?"
Beatrice shook her head quickly, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"No, you don't have to worry about my mom. She won't even be there. The wedding isn't a big event, it's just a legal formality for the paper and some quick picture taking. And even if anyone does see you from a distance, we have the exact same face. My mom has no reason to doubt it. To the whole world, you will be me."
Watching her cry, seeing my own face drenched in such deep misery and hatred, made my chest tighten. She was trapped by her wealth, and I was trapped by my poverty.
“Three months,” I repeated. I looked down at the contract she pulled out of her bag. I picked up the pen. “After that, I get my life back, and you get yours.”
I signed my name at the bottom of the page.
- Writer
