HER FACE, MY WIFE'S SHADOW

Chapter 6: The Viral Video

Aria’s POV

He stared at me calmly, removing my fingers from his shirt.

“When you regain your memory, you'll understand why I did this.”

“Will you stop it! I'm tired of hearing those words. Please just let me go, my family needs me. They only depend on me.”

Ethan signalled me with his eyes to lower my voice, but I pretended I didn't see him.

“You just met a young lady yesterday who happen to looks like your dead wife,” I pressed on. “You didn't even investigate or ask questions. You just lock her up in your house against her will?”

My chest rose and fell rapidly.

“What kind of a man are you?”

The room fell silent.

Even few guards and two maids avoided looking at the scene.

Alexander's facial expression remained the same – calm and unreadable.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“Mila, you can stay here with Ms Bennett."

“S-sir...”

Without another glance, he turned and walked away while the others immediately followed behind him.

I stared at his retreating back.

Did he just brush me off?

……………

When we finally pulled through the iron gates, we were welcomed with flowers. Maids stood in neat rows while armed guards patrolled nearby.

The mansion itself looked like something torn from the pages of a luxury magazine.

Beside me, Mila's mouth slowly fell open.

“Wow…”

She turned in circles, taking everything in.

“This place is even grander than the last one, filled with soft light and the scent of fresh sea air.” She breathed in, closing her eyes.

Everything looked perfect.

Alexander stepped out first.

“James will show you and Mila to your rooms."

I deliberately avoided looking at him.

The less I saw of his face, the better.

James politely gestured for us to follow. “Right this way, ladies.”

…

“AHHH!”

The pillow flew across the room and crashed into a table. Several items tumbled on the floor.

I grabbed my hair in frustration, ruining the neat style I had spent nearly thirty minutes creating.

At this point, I probably looked insane.

I paced the room, back and forth.

Every passing minute increased my frustration.

I couldn't even do anything or fight for my rights.

I paused, my mind drifting to the incident that happened yesterday when Mila was almost killed. Remembering that incident makes me want to leave this damn country even more.

Was it a crime to look like someone else so identical? It’s not a big deal anyway. Why is that arrogant CEO making everything hard?

I pressed my temple.

Wait…

A thought crossed my mind.

What if she's my twin sister? And those men are coming after me, thinking I'm her.

I immediately shook my head.

No. That didn't make sense

But…

The strange, burry memory. I still couldn't explain it.

Isabel! Look at me. I remember the voice again.

My breathing slowed. Something wasn't right.

There had to be more to this story.

How can I look like someone so identical and… what was that memory even all about?

I held my face with my palms.

Just one day. One trip. This is how my life changed completely. Trapped in a world so scary and dangerous.

My door suddenly burst open revealing Mila, who ran in as she gripped her phone.

"Oh my god, Aria, look!" she shoved the screen into my face.

I pulled back, straightened my body and squinted at the bright light. It was a video, the moment from the airport where Mr Sterling hugged me, my face twisted in shock, his eyes full of that terrifying obsession.

It has almost two million views, one million likes, thousands of comments and hundreds of shares.

Under six hours?

I took the phone from Mila, scrolling down. My stomach churned as I read the comments.

“Isabella Grey is alive! Did Alexander Sterling hide her for five years? If he did, why?”

“If she's alive all these years, where has she been?”

“OMG! The illegitimate daughter of the Grey family is alive! How will her father and stepsisters react to this?”

“This is war! Now Mrs Isabella Sterling is alive.”

“Did the family of Sterling know about this?” If they don't know, how will they react?”

“The billionaire’s wife has returned. This is a great miracle. I can't wait to see the reactions of her stepsisters.”

Isabella has a family too? I thought

I handed the phone back to Mila. "He’s doing this on purpose. He’s letting the world think I’m her so I have nowhere else to go."

"But, Aria, look at the news," her voice was trembling. “The whole world is talking about you. We can’t even go back to New York anymore. The reporters would eat you alive."

“How did you know about this video?” I asked.

“I have a friend here in Australia. She reposted the video. That's how I was able to trace the main video.”

I didn't say a word.

I walked through the corridor leading to the study room, pushing past two men at the door and slammed it open.

Alexander was standing at the window with a glass of whisky in his hand. He turned as his gaze met mine.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr Sterling?" I shot, pointing toward the door, where Mila stood with the phone.

"Those people out there are calling me Isabella! Did you do this? Did you leak that video to keep me here?"

Alexander walked towards his desk and kept the glass down slowly on the table as he looked up to me again. "I didn't leak it, Aria. But I can't stop the world from finding out the truth.”

"You can't stop the world from finding out the truth?” I scoffed. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“You could’ve stopped this but you didn't. You let it happen, so you can keep me here!"

"You’re Isabella," he growled. "Stop fighting it. Look at the video and…”

I lunged at him, grabbing the lapels of his expensive shirt.

"I don't care about those stupid videos.”

“Then you have to.” He said, his hands coming up to grip my waist, holding me steady.

We were inches apart, breathing the same air as we stared at each other.

“So..rry…”

“It's okay.”

Mila's voice and an unfamiliar voice snapped me back as I jumped back, putting distance between us. Who knows how many minutes we have stayed in that position.

"Alex.”

A tall muscular man dressed in military attire stopped in his tracks. His eyes moved from Alexander to me.

He stared at me as if he had seen a ghost. He turned to look at Alexander again and then his gaze shifted to the doorway where Mila was standing. The person he had bumped into a few seconds ago.

His hard expression softened for a split second, his gaze tracing her face before he forced himself to look back at Alexander again. He cleared his throat.

"Alex," The military man called out with urgency. “We have a bigger problem. My team spotted three black vans that didn’t belong to the press."

Alexander's expression changed. "The Boss?”