Played by the Twins: I Faked My Death and They Went Crazy

I'd been dating Theo Grant for six months. Heir to a New York dynasty. Out of my league in every way. The day I found out I was pregnant, I accidentally overheard his twin brother Lucas laughing. "Bro, I've been pretending to be you and playing around with your little girlfriend for months. She's not going to dump you over it, is she?" Theo's voice was casual, unconcerned. "So what? She wouldn't dare. And she wouldn't want to anyway. You didn't touch her, did you? I've been with her for half a year and haven't even slept with her yet. Play all you want, but don't cross that line." Lucas's smile carried a hidden meaning. "Of course not." I clamped my hand over my mouth, the pregnancy test report crumpled into a tight ball in my fist. So that was it. The Theo who was gentle and loving during the day, and the "Theo" who possessed me wildly at night—they were two different people. They wore the same face, and they treated me like a toy to be passed around for their mutual amusement. I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I stayed the obedient poor girl from the slums. Privately, I booked an abortion. And I arranged my own perfect, untraceable death. But when Theo learned I had lost the baby and that I was gone, he went mad. He grabbed his brother by the throat and snarled, "Who gave you permission to touch her? ***** The day I found out I was pregnant, I braved the rain and went to the private club Theo frequented. By the time I got there, I was so nervous I could barely breathe. The door to the private room wasn't fully closed. Just as I reached for it, I heard a woman's teasing laughter from inside. "Theo, when are you and Lucas going to end this little swapping game of yours?" It was Evelyn. The most sought-after socialite on Manhattan's Upper East Side. I froze, my hand hovering in midair. "Soon enough," Theo's voice drifted through the door, laced with a lazy indifference. "Lucas, have you had your fun yet? When do we switch back?" Another voice answered. "You're done with it? But I'm not done yet." I stopped breathing. The voice was almost identical to Theo's—only the faintest trace of languor at the end of each word gave it away. I shifted stiffly, peering through the half-open c***k in the door. Past Evelyn, in the single armchair in the corner of the room, sat a man who looked exactly like Theo. "Bro, your little girlfriend is really something. I've been pretending to be you and fooling her all this time, and she hasn't noticed a thing. Do you think she'll dump you when she finds out?" "She's just an orphan from the slums. She wouldn't dare. And she wouldn't want to anyway. But," Theo frowned at Lucas, "you didn't touch her, did you? I've been with her for six months and haven't even touched her yet. Play all you want, but keep your hands off." Something flickered in Lucas's eyes, there and gone. "Of course not. Why would I be interested in something you don't even want?" A few jeers of laughter rose from the room. Evelyn's voice dripped with contempt. "A woman from the slums is just a toy. Play with her and be done. I'd hate to see you actually take her seriously." Theo paused, his expression turning slightly uncomfortable. "She's not worth it." Thunder cracked outside the window. My hand jerked away from the door handle. My nails dug deep into my palm, and a wave of nausea churned in my stomach. Lucas. Theo had never once told me he had a brother who looked exactly like him. I came from the slums, while he was the heir to one of Manhattan's oldest bloodlines. We weren't supposed to exist in the same universe. But I believed he really loved me. Last month, at some rich kid's party, someone tripped me on purpose and made a joke about how broke I was. Theo smashed his glass and forced that guy to get down on his knees and apologize in front of everyone. Last week, I had a fever. He called his private medical team in the middle of the night. After the IV was in, he canceled all his international meetings and sat by my bedside until dawn. He even dropped the whole entitled rich-boy act and made me hot soup with his own hands. I used to think I was the luckiest woman in the world. Turns out, I was just a pawn in their game. Both brothers had been making a fool of me all along. I leaned against the hallway wall, gasping for air. All those strange feelings I'd been pushing down — they suddenly made sense. For six months, Theo kept his distance. I started to think he didn't love me at all. Then, a few months ago, he suddenly started kissing me like a madman in the dark, pinning me to the couch, wiping away every doubt I had. So they were two different people all along! Theo and Lucas—wearing the same face—had been playing me for a fool. One played the gentleman, the other came to satisfy his desires. Evelyn was still laughing. "If you're so disgusted by her, just bring her to the banquet next week. Show up together, tell her she's been passed between the two of you for months, and write her a check to get rid of her. Simple as that." I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. The hallway light hit the pregnancy test result: Positive. The word seared into my eyes. Two minutes ago, I was dreaming about having a family with him. Now all I felt was despair. I folded the test result, tucked it back into my coat, and walked back down the corridor the way I'd come. One step at a time. The game was indeed over. Theo. If you knew. If you knew your dear brother Lucas had spent so many nights with me and gotten me pregnant, what would you think?