Counterfeit Heiress

Swirling the deep red wine in her glass, she gazed silently around the bustling rooftop lounge. Everything was elegant and glistening - even her, for once. Taking a moment, she thought back to how this whole mess had begun. As soon as she had laid eyes in the skyscraper the limousine had brought her to, Sloane Parker knew she was in over her head. She entered the lobby and was eagerly escorted to a private elevator. The attendant punched in a code for the penthouse, and she had to hold back the urge to start biting her nails. It was a dirty habit, according to her Nana, and she'd been trying to stop for years. But the anxiety currently flooding her senses as the elevator rose through the floors was almost unbearable. The higher they went, the more stifling the air seemed. She couldn't leave though. In North City, the Stewart family was not to be ignored. Taking a deep breath, Sloane clutched the invitation from the Stewart family head, Cecil Stewart, in her hand. She had no idea what awaited her in the penthouse, but it couldn't be anything good. Ever since she was a child, Sloane was very different from everyone else, and it was painfully obvious. When she was a baby, her mother had handed Sloane over to her grandmother, who raised her as her own from then on. She knew about the curse very early, but her grandmother didn't share the story behind it until she was around 8 years old. Centuries ago, lords in many lands would proclaim something called primae noctis. This "right of the lord" as it was also called was an excuse for the lord of the land to steal away the wedding night with the bride from her groom. One such woman was so desperate to avoid giving herself to someone other than her love on their wedding night that she went deep into the woods and enacted an ancient ritual. This ritual called forth a Fae, who supposedly gave her a blessing. Afterward, this bride couldn't be seen by anyone other than her true love unless she spoke or touched them. The wedding commenced, and when the lord of the land showed up for the bride, he couldn't see her even though she was right before him. She slipped away with her husband, and the blessing was passed down to all of her female descendents. ... Blessing? Yeah right. Sloane had always considered it a curse. It affected every woman in her family in a different way. Her mother had been lucky, and she was only unnoticed in the dark. She had been able to lead a relatively normal life, but she was horrified to find out that her daughter, who she had thought to be a very calm and independent child, was actually wasting away from neglect due to her escalated version of the curse. So when Sloane was only 2, she went to live with her grandmother, who could better care for a cursed child like this. Her Nana had it the worst anyone had seen in generations. No one noticed her unless she touched them - except for Grandad, who had died long before Sloane was born. He had been blind and could sense Nana even without her touch, and the two worked out together brilliantly. Sloane herself was very much like the original bride who received the blessing from the Fae. The way she perceived it growing up was that she wasn't invisible - just unremarkable. She showed up on video and in pictures, but in person, gazes would pass right over her without realizing she was there unless she grazed someone or cleared her throat. Over time, the once bubbly, friendly little girl became quiet and withdrawn. She only opened her mouth when she really needed to, and mostly observed everyone else move through life normally. Little did she know that this so-called "ability" would lead her here. Cecil Stewart was handsome, and he seemed older than she had thought. His predicament seemed pretty out there at first: His daughter, Stella Stewart, the only heiress to their entire fortune, had refused flat out to marry the man her parents chose for her and ran off to enjoy her life, probably with a lover. Sloane personally couldn't find any fault in that, but it seemed like a pretty big deal to Mr. Stewart. Maybe arranged marriages were the norm to the wealthy? The actual deal was for Sloane to pose as the missing Stella and try to carry on her engagement and even use her ability to try to improve Stella's so far rock bottom reputation until the real heiress was found or returned on her own. In exchange, the Stewart family would pay a sum large enough for Sloane and her family to live comfortably for generations. It seemed simple enough, and when Sloane saw the picture of Stella, she couldn't help but admit that they did look shockingly alike: fair skin with a very well placed smattering of freckles across the nose and cheeks, long strawberry blond hair with a bit of a wave, and light green eyes. Sloane was a couple inches shorter than Stella at 5'4" but not enough to be noticeable with a pair of heels. So she signed. It was better than working three part time jobs to keep their shabby two bedroom apartment, since her Nana had gotten up there in years and couldn't do the same manual labor they were both used to. But now here she was, on a stranger's arm, at a party surrounded by people she didn't know, talking about things she didn't like or understand. How did she get here? Sloane couldn't help wondering if she'd made the right choice. Thankfully everything seemed to be going to plan. Due to her ability, nobody approached Sloane first throughout the entire night, and her lying low while only coming up to offer something productive to the conversation was sure to improve Stella's terrible reputation. Then she saw him. He was tall - 6'2" if she had to guess. Slightly ruffled dark brown hair, faded on the sides. Bronzed skin that almost seemed to hold a glow all its own. Impeccably dressed in a dark grey suit to match dark grey eyes that met hers and followed her as she wandered the party. Sloane had never been watched before. Every time she found him in the crowd and their eyes met, her heart hammered in her chest. Her fingers curled tighter around her glass as he stepped through the crowd, weaving around the other guests like they weren't even there, never breaking eye contact with Sloane for even a moment. She was almost breathless as he stepped up to her, a small smile playing on his lips. "Hi," he murmured, coming closer than she'd expected. But it wasn't unpleasant, having this man so close; he smelled heavenly, traces of citrus and sandalwood that had her lower half clenching deliciously. "Hi," she mumbled back, feeling shy for the first time in her life. His smile widened. "My name is Marcus." She smiled back. "I'm-" With a gasp, Sloane cut herself off. She'd been doing so well all night long, so why had she been just about to ruin everything and tell this stranger her real name? Thankfully right then, Stella's fiance Marlow White came up to the two of them and took over the conversation. Sloane breathed a sigh of relief when Marlow introduced her as Stella Stewart. But her stomach sank a little when she finally looked up and saw that Marcus's eyes were still boring into her, as though he saw right through everything. Sloane took another long drink from her glass. Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought it would be...