UNDER THE SAME SKY

CELESTINE POV The air smelled like jasmine and salt, and he was walking toward me. I couldn’t quite make out his face, but his eyes were warm, and when he reached for my hand, my heart was already flying— “ BIG SIS ! YOU’RE SQUASHING ME!” I jolted awake so fast my elbow thudded hard against the bamboo wall. Beneath my arm, Max squirmed, his cheeks pink, hair sticking up in every direction. I burst out laughing and ruffled it worse. “Sorry, little troublemaker! Was busy fighting sea monsters!” He giggled and scrambled off the mat, darting toward the doorway. “Mom says breakfast!” I stretched, grinning at the sunlight spilling through cracks in the walls. Our home was a small bamboo slats, uneven floorboards, a roof that dripped when it rained. I knew every creak, every patch, every place the wind slipped through. It was warm, it was loud, and it was ours even when the cupboards were lighter than our spirits. My mother was stirring rice over the fire when I walked in. Her hands moved slow, careful, like she was measuring every grain. When she looked up, her eyes crinkled soft, tired, but still beautiful. “Up at last?” she said, and I knew she’d been watching me sleep. Her name was Ellara, and she loved quieter than she spoke. My father leaned in the doorway, his shirt dusted with fine white powder from mending nets. He winked when I caught his eye. Stephan , that’s his name , he has strong shoulders, calloused palms, the kind of man who whistled through the hardest days. “Think you can skip hauling water today?” he teased. “Think I can outrun the bucket!” I shot back, flexing my arm so hard I nearly lost my balance. We all laughed loud, bright, the kind of laughter that fills empty spaces. But as I ate, I watched the way Mom rubbed her back when she thought no one saw, the way Dad counted coins twice before tucking them into a jar. Max was drawing in the dirt with a stick, and my chest tightened. He deserved books. He deserved a bed that didn’t sway. Later I sat on the rocks by the shore, skipping stones so far they vanished into the blue. My best friend Fiona sat beside me, shaking her head when I landed three in a row. “Show-off,” she said. “Skill,” I corrected, grinning. “But seriously , what if there’s a way? Something I haven’t thought of yet. I’m strong. I’m quick. I can talk my way out of a locked box. Surely someone will pay for that?” She sighed. “Blair, you can’t charm your family into wealth.” “Watch me,” I said, and tossed another stone. It sailed, dipped, and sailed again. But my smile didn’t reach all the way. Somewhere out past the horizon, something was already looking for me. I just didn’t know it yet. LORELEI POV I sat at the desk, hands folded tight until my knuckles turned pale. Luke paced the length of the room back and forth, back and forth like he could wear a hole in the carpet. “She’s really gone,” he said, like he still couldn’t believe it. “No note, no message, nothing . What if something bad happened to her? Maybe she’s haven’t eaten yet ? ” he stated worriedly , even I feared of my thoughts but we need to be strong for our Liorah. “The wedding is in two weeks ,” I said, my voice steady even if my chest was not. “Madame Thorne had already been decided and we both knew that it will be worse for Liorah once she’s not found before the marriage .” I took a breath. There was only one way forward, and I had known it from the moment I found out she’s been missing . “ I already ordered our men to search secretly for Liorahs whereabouts , especially on our rivals family . I swear if they touch even a strand of hair on her , I’ll show no mercy to them !” Luke said angrily , while I pray to God to keep our Liorah safe until we find her. Then suddenly he stopped pacing. “ But what can we do about the marriage ?” “There is another girl,” I said slowly. “Back in Vancia. The sister. The one Liorah was separated from as a baby.” He stared. “You think she could—” “I know she could. They are identical. No one here has seen her. Not the Thorne family. Not even the staff.” “And if she refuses?” “Then we offer enough that she cannot,” I said, reaching for my coat. “We leave within the hour. Before word spreads. Before anyone realizes the bride is missing.” I stepped outside to the waiting car, and the weight in my chest felt heavy, but certain. One daughter lost. Another found. Whatever happened next, we would survive this. O God ! Wherever Liorah is right now , please keep her safe. CELESTINE POV A car rolled down our road like it didn’t belong . It is shiny, black, and silent as a secret. It stopped right at our gate, and out stepped a woman and man, their clothes so neat they looked like they’d never known dust. My parents stood close together as they walked up. My Dad’s hand rested firm on my Mom’s arm. “Stephan. Ellara,” the woman said gently. Her voice was soft, cultured, like she chose every word carefully. “I’m Lorelei. And this is Luke.” They sat at our table, and for a long moment no one spoke. Then Lorelei looked straight at me. “You have a sister,” she said. “Her name is Liorah. We adopted her twenty years ago. Brought her here to Caelum.” My breath caught. A sister. I had always felt something like half of me was somewhere else but I’d never known for sure. “She was meant to marry in two weeks ,” Luke said. “To Dylan Ace Thorne. It would bind our families, secure everything we’ve built.” He paused. “Yesterday, she went missing . We had suspicion that it was done by our enemies . The reason why we are here is not to save our wealth nor alliances . Once the Thorne found out that the bride is missing it could also lead to Liorah’s death. Thorne’s values decisions and contracts , Liorah will be in a great danger once they found this out .” Mom’s hand flew to her mouth. “We need you,” Lorelei said, leaning forward. “To take her place. Just until we find her. No one in Caelum knows Liorah well enough to tell—not yet. Not even him.” She slid a paper across the table. Thick, cream-colored, covered in neat lines of writing. “In return,” she said, “your family will have a proper home. Medical care. Max will go to the best school in Vancia. You will never worry about hunger again. And please also just for the sake your twin sister ” I looked at the paper. Then at my mother ,eyes glistening. At my father, jaw tight, trying so hard to be brave. At Max, humming to himself in the corner. “When you find her,” I asked, “what happens then?” “Then you meet,” Lorelei promised. “And you choose. Stay or come home. Either way, everything stays yours.” The whole thing was messed up on my mind right now but still…. I picked up the pen. My hand didn’t shake as I wrote my name. Bold. Clear. Celestine Blair Flores. SAM POV I stared at the screen until my eyes burned. Beside me, Stella leaned in, and Luna went quiet beside us. “They’re bringing someone?” Stella said. “To pretend to be her?” “Her twin,” I said. “From Vancia.” Luna frowned. “Liorah was… she was a lot. Picky. Spoiled. Couldn’t sit still through a book, said studying was ‘boring and pointless.’ And everyone knows about Noah , how she looked at him like he hung the moon, while Dylan… well, Dylan never looked back.” “If this girl shows up acting… different?” Stella said slowly. “People will notice immediately.” “Exactly,” I said, grabbing my bag. “She’ll walk in and everyone will know. Liorah’s name will be ruined. And whoever she is? She’ll drown.” “So we’re going?” Luna asked, already standing. “We’re going,” I said firmly. “We knew Liorah better than anyone. We teach this girl everything. How she walks. What she says. Who she pretends to like. If she’s going to wear our best friend’s face, she’s going to do it right.” CELESTINE POV They arrived the next morning , Sam, bright and sharp as a tack; Stella, warm and quick to smile; Luna, quiet but with eyes that missed nothing. And they went to work. “First things first,” Sam said, hands on hips. “Liorah does not stride like she’s late for a race. She glides. Like this.” I tried. I failed. I laughed so hard I nearly fell over. “Okay,” Stella said, grinning despite herself. “Also , she complains. About everything. Too hot, too cold, food’s too plain, the music’s too slow. And books? She’d rather die than look at one. If anyone mentions reading, roll your eyes and change the subject.” “And him?” I asked. Luna leaned in. “Dylan. Be polite in public. But Liorah never made a secret of being… unimpressed. Bored. Distant. If anyone brings up Noah , Dylan’s cousin , she smiles brighter. Liorah liked him. Everyone knows it.” My stomach twisted. So I’m playing a woman who doesn’t want the groom, who likes someone else… and the groom doesn’t even care? “Got it,” I said, grinning through the nerves. “Be spoiled. Be sassy. Be terrible at homework. Check.” They taught me everything , manners, gossip, names, which fork to hold, which songs she liked, which ones she turned off. I joked through half the lessons, teased them through the rest, but underneath I memorized every word like my family’s life depended on it. Because it did. Then came the morning. I stood before the mirror in the airport lounge. The dress was soft, the hair perfect, the makeup smoothing the edges of my sun-browned skin. I looked like her. But when I smiled wide, unhidden, it was unmistakably me. I hugged Mom tight. I held Dad’s hand until he squeezed back and let go. I lifted Max high. “Make them proud, Big Sis,” he whispered. “Always,” I promised. I walked toward the plane, Sam, Stella, and Luna beside me. Somewhere ahead lay a fiancé who didn’t want me, a cousin everyone thought I liked, a sister I’d never met… and a world waiting for a girl who wasn’t coming. I settled into the seat, fastened the belt, and watched Vancia shrink beneath the clouds. My hands trembled, but my heart was racing—scared, excited, alive. This isn’t my life, I told myself. This is just for now. But as the plane climbed higher, cutting through clouds toward a destiny written for someone else, a tiny, reckless part of me wondered— What if I was never meant to be her, after all? ~ END OF CHAPTER ONE ~