Twice The Lies

Chapter Eight: Maps and Mistakes.

Chapter Eight: Maps and Mistakes

The next few days passed like wildfire. I had slowly begun to understand the DeLuca family and their ever-so-large mansion. Although not completely, cause I was certain no one ever truly understood a place that large. The house had a rhythm. It was awfully quiet in the mornings. Except for the faint footsteps of the maids, nothing else moved.

Alexander was always gone before the first ray of sunlight touched the windows. I never heard him leave. It was as if he disappeared into the day before the world woke up. His return was no different. Just as silently as he left.

Marcus never fully explained what Alexander's kind of business was like. Some maids said he was into business; one even told me that he was into real estate.

Well, dinner time was the only time I saw him. Always watching me when he thought I wasn't looking. If not for Nanny Rosa, dinner time would be no different than a graveyard with not even trees to rustle their leaves.

Sapphire, on the other hand, had become my constant. She attended a private school. Yunno, those elite ones where everything felt too polished to be real. Those kinds of schools were meant for children who would never know what it meant to lack anything.

Mummy was the name she gave to me. And no matter how much I cringed inwards, it was the fate I had to bear. Having a mother was the best thing that had ever happened to her. The way she clung to me easily as though she had known me all her life.

Her favorite game was her teacup party, where she was the host, I was the guest, and her stuffed bunny—Mr. Whiskers was the most important attendee of all.

“Hold the cup like this,” she would say seriously, adjusting my fingers with tiny hands, and I would obey like a child.

Every night, I’d read Pinocchio to her. It was as if she never got tired of it. Until one night, as I read to Sapphire, who was half awake, well tucked in bed, and still giggling at the funny scenes, she interrupted me with a question.

“Mummy, do people always know when someone is lying?”

I felt an invisible knife pierce my heart as I sat there, watching her blue eyes stare into my soul. When I looked up. I saw Alexander leaning by the doorway. Fresh from work. His tie was loosened, and his sleeves were slightly rolled to the top.

“Hello, Daddy," Sapphire whispered, but he didn’t say anything. He just watched us, silently. Even Sapphire never knew he was there all the while.

For a moment, his eyebrows rose, like there was a war going on in his mind. Something I couldn’t name. Then he noticed I had seen him, and just like that, the expression was gone. He slipped his hands into his pockets and walked away without a word.

********

The weekend came faster than I expected. It was the day I was supposed to meet Valeria. The day everything was supposed to go back to normal. I had spent most of the day preparing. Writing. Listing the rules Valeria would have to know when she took my place… her rightful place, I meant.

I wrote down everything she would need to know like a manual. I drew rough sketches of the mansion layout, labeling rooms as best as I could remember. I also wrote down Sapphire’s routines, her favorite games, the names of her toys, and even the colors of the flowers she liked in the garden. Pink roses. White lilies. Chrysanthemums.

Earlier on, Alexander had given one rule. I should never leave the house without escorts. But I had to break it. I had to. There was no way I could meet my sister under watchful eyes. So I slipped out quietly, passing through the gates just when the guards weren’t watching.

When I had gotten to a safe distance, I looked back at the mansion, taking one final look at it before I would return to my normal life. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. The few moments with Sapphire had changed something in me, but it didn't change the fact that I was not the true person. I was her Pinocchio in her story. I was a liar.

I made my way downtown to the restaurant we had chosen to meet. Somewhere low-key. Nothing extravagant. I arrived early. Took a seat by the window. Ordered juice and waited for Valeria.

A couple sat not too far from me. Cuddling into each other like cats. They were so into each other that I bet they cared less about anyone else. There was something painfully simple about the smiles on their faces. It was real. They were happy together.

I quickly looked away as my chest tightened. Maybe after tonight, everything will end. “No more pretending to be Valeria," I barely whispered to myself. “No more lies. No more living a life that wasn’t mine.”

I was lost in my thoughts when Valeria walked in, looking like a perfect photocopy of me. I had told her to dress exactly like me. Same golden hair, straight nose, and even wore the exact same red dress. Except that she was not alone.

My heart dropped instantly the moment Eugene appeared behind her.

“This wasn’t the plan, sis,” I whispered under my breath as she walked toward me, Eugene following behind her like a stalker.

There was this look on Valeria’s face. She was…nervous. Eugene, on the other hand, looked exactly like I imagined. Wealthy. Careless and street-rough, with messy tattoos flooding his hands and neck. He was the kind of man who’d think that the world existed for his amusement only.

“Wow,” he said as he reached the table, his eyes settling on me. “You didn’t tell me your twin, Victoria, is this pretty.”

I forced a fake smile. “Hello, Eugene.”

He took my hand briefly, his grip lingering a second longer than necessary. "You look exactly like my babe. I think I'm gonna fall for you as well.”

I smiled again, the kind of smile I had generously given out on the day of the wedding, and then I pulled my hand back gently.

When they had all been seated, Eugene’s phone rang almost immediately. The moment he stared at the screen, his brows furrowed, then he covered it up with an obvious fake smile.

“Uhmm, ladies. I’ll have to attend to this.”

“But we just got here, babe?” Valeria whined.

“I know, Plushie." He kissed her forehead, and I rolled my eyes. “But I gotta attend to it, okay? It’s important.” He smiled at Valeria and then at me before walking away.

“What is he doing here?” I whispered the moment he was far enough.

She exhaled. “We’re back together.” Valeria exhaled, snatching the juice from me. "You didn't even care to order for two," as she gulped it down greedily.

“I thought you said you were done with him.”

“I was,” she said quickly. “But things changed. I planned to come alone, but he insisted. He said he had business in town.”

“And he doesn’t know anything about the marriage?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

I leaned back slightly, trying to process everything. “This isn’t what we agreed on, Val,” I said.

“I know,” she said quickly, reaching for my hand. “But you can’t switch now.”

I froze. “What?”

She turned back to Eugene, who was across the room, still buried in his call.

“Not now,” she repeated. “If he finds out, everything will be ruined.”

“Valeria, we agreed that…”

“Please,” she cut in, her voice dropping. “If we were to switch now, that'd mean that you would have to be walking out of this place with Eugene. And trust me, he knows the difference between you and me. There's no way you'd be able to pretend in this one.”

I groaned in frustration, but she held my hand. “Trust me, babe. You're not going to be able to handle the drugs and s*x we planned for tonight. So, just pretend a little longer, okay? At least till we come up with something else.”

I stared at her in disgust, then sighed. “Val, the longer this gets, the more complicated it becomes. You should be there—with your husband, not me.”

“I can’t,” she snapped softly. “Do you know what it’s like living with a man who controls everything?”

“Alexander is not like that.” I shot in his defense.

Valeria gave me that look. “Oh, so you're defending my husband now?”

“No, that's not what I meant," I stuttered. “And… uhhm! What about Sapphire?” I quickly added. “She’s a child, Valeria. She needs a mother. And whatever happened to her mother?”

“I f*****g have no clue,” Valeria whispered harshly. “Look, all this was Mum’s idea! I only agreed because of the money.”

My chest tightened.

“But then I found out he has a six-year-old,” she continued. “And he expects me to just…become this perfect wife? I can’t live like that.”

“So your solution was to send me?”

“You’re better at this than me,” she said. “You always have been.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

Valeria looked away. And for a moment, I saw guilt in her eyes. But it didn’t stay long.

“Why is Mum so interested in the DeLucas anyway?” I asked suddenly.

Valeria picked up the glass of juice, taking a slow sip, and then shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “And honestly? I don’t care.”

“Your answer unsettles me more than anything. You need to wake up,” I said, leaning forward slightly. “This isn’t a game. You’re married now. You made a choice.”

“I made a mistake,” she corrected.

“Then fix it.”

Before she could respond—

“Ladies,” Eugene’s voice cut in as he returned, sliding back into his seat. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.”

“Not at all,” Valeria said quickly with a fake smile of her own.

He smiled. “Good. Because we have to leave.”

“Already?” Valeria and I chorused together, like the twins we were.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Got a few things to handle.”

There was a pause in the air. Valeria hesitated for a second, then nodded. “Alright.” She stood up, straightening her dress, then looked at me. That stare. That silent conversation that only twins would understand. Then she broke it. “I’ll call you.”

Eugene gave me one last amused glance. “We’ll be seeing more of you.” But I didn’t respond. I just watched as they walked out of the restaurant. Out of the plan.