Never Meant to be Seen

Chapter 7- Stalling

My heart skipped a beat, I felt my legs tremble beneath me, and a cold numbness crept into my feet as fear settled deep and slow inside of me,my chest pounded so violently I could hear every beat echoing in my ears. He doubted me, I had known that from the very beginning, but hearing it in his voice made it real.

I was getting paid sixty thousand dollars to make him believe I was Isabelle. Somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself I could pull it off. Now I wasn't so sure, funny how I thought making sixty thousand dollars would be easy peasy, I wasn't ready, not completely. Everything Renata taught me seemed to be gone at the moment, I couldn't remember any of the lessons.

I needed more time to learn Isabelle's life, more time to become her. Instead, everything was happening too quickly, and Arlo seemed determined to peel away every layer of the lie, what unsettled me most wasn't the question, it was him, his face remained calm, almost unreadable, as if he were discussing the weather instead of dismantling my carefully constructed identity.

I forced myself to hold his gaze, even though every instinct begged me to look away. "What is it with all the questions about my identity today?" I asked coldly. "A lot has happened over the past few months, everything has been moving so fast, but that doesn't mean I'd forget my own sister." The words sounded convincing enough.

For a brief second, I almost believed them myself but Arlo didn't react, his expression did not change, of course it didn't, this was a man who had navigated billion-dollar negotiations, uncovered betrayals, and survived conspiracies that could ruin entire families, compared to that I was just an artist, a struggling artist pretending to be someone else. He looked at me as if the truth was written on my face.

I was frightened but I didn't let it show because he was already suspicious enough, showing my fear would make it worse, I just wished the night would come to an end. He finally spoke, carefully, and unhurried, “I believe you.” That was all he said, right now I don't know what these man is playing at, I know deep down that he doesn't believe anything about me, so why did he just say I believe you, but that was also a relief because he wasn't looking at me like he was searching for answers on my face anymore.

I smoothed my dress and forced an unbothered expression, even though my heart was still pounding against my chest.

"Hope I didn't scare you just now?" he asked calmly. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was genuinely concerned about me, or maybe he was. After all, this engagement would benefit him far more than it would ever benefit me. "No, not at all," I answered sweetly, hoping he would believe I was perfectly fine.

He took my hand and pressed a gentle kiss to it before looking into my eyes. "Let's go back inside," he said. I needed some time alone to gather myself. "I'll stay here a little while," I replied. He studied me for a moment, then gave a small nod before heading back into the ballroom.

I let out a long, shaky breath. "Is today ever going to end?" I asked myself. So much had happened in a single day. I wondered if I could survive these three weeks without blowing my cover. This was much harder than I had imagined. Everyone seemed to believe I was Isabelle. Maybe it was because of our identical faces. I looked so much like her that it was difficult to tell us apart.

After composing myself, I adjusted my expression and headed back inside, the moment I stepped into the ballroom, Ava's suspicious gaze locked onto me. She watched me so intensely that I couldn't help staring back, still distracted by her, I accidentally bumped into someone. The glass of wine splash on my dress.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized quickly before continuing on my way. I made my way to the coat room, hoping to find something to cover myself. I was feeling cold but they was nothing to change in to at the moment, I also needed to cover the stained dress and I needed a moment away from everyone's watchful eyes.

The smile on my face vanished the moment I stepped into the coat room, the noise from the ballroom faded behind the heavy wooden door. I exhaled, grateful for a few moments of silence, suddenly the door shut, I turned around. Ava stood in front of it, her hand still on the handle. Her eyes locked onto mine, and the playful smile she'd worn all evening was gone.

"Ava?" I asked, forcing a laugh. "You scared me." She didn't move but her eyes were fully on me. "We're alone now." I felt my stomach sink but I still managed to ask. "What is this about?" She took a slow step closer. "I've been watching you since my arrival, you've been acting weird, scared and you're very careful of how you talk, how you reply to people, you're scared of being caught aren't you?"

I kept my expression calm, even as panic clawed at my chest, how could she have noticed so much, was I that obvious, or is she just very good at observing. "I'm not sure what you mean." I replied. Trying so hard to maintain my posture and reaction but I myself was not sure if it was working. "Oh, you do." The coat room fell silent. The air between us became colder.

My pulse thundered in my ears, then she leaned in, her voice no louder than a whisper. "I know you're not really her." My blood ran cold, she studied every flicker of emotion on my face before speaking again, her face became even darker, her eyes filled with something that looked more desperate than accusation.

"I just need to know why they're pretending you are.”