Falling For My Husband's Brother

A Whole New World

Shanna's POV

Bright lights blinded my eyes the moment I peeled my eyes open. I shifted, and that was when I noticed the man who was standing by the window.

"Didn't think you'd wake up sooner." His gaze shifted on me.

I looked away sharply, avoiding his penetrative eyes while my heart thudded against the rib cage.

I was alive.

Had this stranger saved me?

I looked towards him again, pulling myself up. I wouldn't let him think I was secretively spying on him because he was good-looking.

He moved towards me. "The doctor said you would be able to move freely once you're up. Good thing you didn't break a bone."

I waggled my brows, looking down at myself.

I didn't know him, and I didn't like the way he was peering down on me as if I was some prey he caught.

"My name is Jaime Neil. You probably will not understand anything that I say, but I need you to concede," he paused to watch me digest the words.

Then he placed the picture of a lady that passed as my doppelgänger while he took the empty seat beside me.

My flesh pimpled.

The woman in the picture wasn't me, but she looked exactly like me.

"That is my sister-in-law. She has been missing for nearly two weeks."

My racing heart calmed for a bit when I heard that. "You should probably report the case to the police."

Jaime scoffed. "That would have been the wisest thing to do. But the suspect — whoever they are—would do everything in their power to sweep this case under the rug. So, this is where you fall in."

I shook my head. "I don't understand," I said.

"Your name Shanna Brooks no longer exists in the records. You will act and become Marilyn Neil — my stepbrother's wife until my sister-in-law is found."

I laughed, pushing my legs out of bed. "You're joking, right?"

Then he slammed another picture in front of me. When I looked down at it, my jaw dropped.

"Allison Jack. An accident caused by a hit-and-run. You could likely serve jail time for this criminal offense, or you could choose the easier path. Become my stepbrother's wife," Jaime explained.

All I heard was the sharp beating of my heart against my rib cage. "Why are you doing this? You don't even know me. You don't even know if I'm going to die ...." I rambled.

"Miss Brooks," he called calmly.

I took a sharp breath while clutching my shaky hands. "Breathe," he said as he c****d his brows.

"I know about your illness but what if that was all a farce?" He chimed in.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," I muttered, disbelieving what he had just said.

He stood up and adjusted the suit he was wearing. "Shanna Brooks no longer exists," he repeated, "Live as Marilyn Neil and you will be well compensated once she is found. I will give you more insight when we both meet another time. Your parents are going to come in soon to visit you."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll run from all of this?" I said my thoughts aloud.

"I'm afraid you'll answer for your husband as well. And will he believe you when you tell him about me? He will probably think you must have hit your head badly." He grinned.

I folded my fists, my nails digging into my flesh. Who the hell was he that he could control me because I shared some resemblance to his sister-in-law?

And what does she mean to him anyway?

What about my life?

The robbery? Had that also been staged as well?

"Go through these photos. I still have like 15 minutes before your family comes in. This will tell you everything you need to know," he said as he dropped an album before me.

********

"Marilyn, thank the heavens," the older of the three women moved towards the bed where I was, helping me into a sitting position.

From the album Jaime had handed earlier to me, I recognized the woman to be Marilyn's mother. And the girls to be her sisters.

"We thought we would lose you. Your husband was so kind to bring in his doctor to attend to you." The younger of the girls spoke, she was so pretty that I couldn't bring myself to swat her hand, which held unto mine.

"My husband?" I asked, narrowing my brows.

"Darling, don't you remember getting married to Richard Neil?" The older woman threw in to which I shook my head in negation.

They all exchanged a worried look. Until finally, the older women took my hands and squeezed them affectionately. "The doctor explained to us that you would lose most of your memories when you wake up. You survived a ghastly accident, but_" the older woman paused, sniffing as her eyes blurred.

Was this part of the lie as well?

So I wasn't allowed to have a voice in all of this?

Another pang of pain hit me in my waist, and I winced.

"It's alright, baby. It's alright. You've got me, your mother, and your two sisters, Stephanie and Erika. And you've got your husband_"

That word again.

I snapped my hands out of her hands. It felt surreal. No way was I playing into Jaime's foolery.

"How far along have I been stuck here?" I jumped to my feet, and rushed to the window, seeing the view of the road.

Maybe they would know.

"Three days," Erika replied as I turned around to face them.

Silence ate the words that should have reached out of my mouth. They wouldn't dare to touch me as I stayed far from them. Only the sound of a loud running car permeated the room.

"I think he's here, mother." Stephanie spoke up. She was well composed, and she didn't look deadpanned like the others.

"Who?" I asked.

"Your driver." The older woman answered, drawing me into her embrace.

******

The drive to Neil's mansion was a quiet ride as I gazed through blurred streets. I had to play along, I told myself a thousand times. How in the world had my life so changed in the twinkle of an eye?

It doesn't make any sense. Why was Jaime Neil stripping me of my identity and making me into Marilyn Neil?

Yeah, yeah. He needed to find her but for his own selfish reasons. Why wasn't Marilyn's husband, Richard, finding that out?

She was my doppelgänger like I was her doppelgänger.

The driver killed the engine, opened the BMW to which I scrambled out. The house that stood before me was exactly as Jaime's book had described it. A high polished building surrounded by scanty towered trees, and a paved floor that led to the entrance of the house.

The butler led me in, but I would not bring myself to sit on the polished couches. "The master will be with you shortly," the older man assured me.

I didn't know how long it must have waltzed past, but I was still staring at every family framed photographs positioned at every corner of the room. Drawing a deep breath, I forced my feet and started up the flight of stairs. If the so-called Richard Neil, who was my husband, kept me waiting this long, I may as well meet him wherever he was.

I took the corridor on the left hand, pushed the first door open and walked in. No one was there, I walked out and shut the door behind me. I felt the stir of life on the opening of the second door. Smiling to myself, I told myself to act the way Marilyn would.

My feet froze, my mouth fell open as my eyes drew on the figure that stood before me. A well sculptured man. Broad shoulders, wild untamed dark hair. His back was to me as he was naked, only draped with a towel around his neck.

Perhaps this must be Richard, I thought.

"Oh, I didn't expect company." His words snapped me out of my trance.

My legs wobbled when he turned.

Jaime.

Catching myself instantly, I raced out the door, past the corridor until I collided into another solid body.

What was Jaime doing here?

I thought he didn't live here either.

"Marilyn?" Strong hands circled me, pulling me close to his body. He was dressed in a polo and pants that flared at the bottom.

My mouth fell open. Another fine face, thick black hair, and quaint eyes. "Are you alright?" He cupped my face, looking into my eyes.

I didn't understand what was going on. How could there be two men who looked this good? I stepped back, watching as his hand took mine. "I am Richard Neil, your husband," he introduced.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been in to welcome you. I sent my driver to pick you up as soon as the doctor relayed to me the process of your recovery. He had advised me that home is where one fully healed, even though it was against my very wish," he explained, wrapping an arm around my waist to guide me down the stairs.

"Do you remember our wedding day? We had barely settled as married couples before you got involved in a terrible accident," he tried a wean smile once we stepped in front of a wide framed wedding photograph of us.

A slow feeling gnawed at the base of my throat. I didn't like the way his arm was wrapped up around me. I shook my head, drawing a step back.

"Who are these people?" I briskly asked him, knotting my fingers. I did know some faces from the album Jaime gave me, but I needed to play along. He noticed that I was trying to avoid visible contact with him. He tried another smile as I shook my head in negativity.

"That's my older sister, Eucharia, and her children," he pointed at each face, "Derek, my brother and his daughter. Do you remember any of them?"

I shook my head. My eyes never left the image of the man that I'd seen earlier on. Why wasn't Richard introducing him to me? Terrible to say, the man I had seen before my husband stirred a glow in me. I was too captivated to even understand what it really was.

I maneuvered myself to the approaching steps emanating from the stairs. "And that's my other brother, Jaime Neil," Richard put in, turning to the figure that came down the stairs.

"I'm going to set up a party to celebrate your recovery. And whoever that had wanted you dead will reveal himself..." Richard was saying, but his voice was already fading into the distance as he rambled on.

It felt like I was alone in the room, scorched under the questionable gaze of Jaime Neil. A knot was in the depths of my belly. It was spreading its wings of fury like a wildfire, circulating the whole of my being. Jaime was silently watching me with that wild, dark gaze of his.

There was something about Jaime Neil that I couldn't put together. As much as I hated that he placed me in this position, I didn't like the fact that I found him sexually appealing. I barely even knew him. Why was I affected by his charm?

That was when I strongly knew within me that a man like Jaime Neil would be trouble.