Two
1071 Words
I massaged the back of my neck after finally finishing the presentation I’d been working on. At last, I had completed the presentation that I had been asked to revise multiple times.
How many months had passed since I last spoke with Calil Abruzzo? Since then, I hadn’t heard a single word from him, nor had I seen him again.
“Dane, aren’t you going home yet?” Maricar asked as she was leaving the office.
I gave her a small smile. “You guys go ahead. I still need to clean up here,” I said.
“Alright then. Take care on your way home.”
“Thanks. You too.”
Once she was out of sight, I began clearing the mess on my desk. After wiping the surface clean, I got ready to head home. I didn’t bother retouching my makeup since I was going straight home anyway.
“Take care on your way home, Dane,” said Manong Felipe, the security guard, when he saw me exiting the building.
“Thank you, sir.”
I walked briskly to the taxi stand and waited for a cab. Just as I was about to flag one down, a black van suddenly stopped in front of me. The door opened, and five men jumped out and forcibly dragged me into the vehicle.
“Who are you?! Let me go!”
A cloth was pressed over my nose. I tried to fight back, but it was useless—what chance did I have against five grown men? My struggle gradually faded as I inhaled the chemical on the cloth, until I completely lost consciousness.
I groaned softly as I came to. Holding my temple, I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a dull ache in my head. I was greeted by an unfamiliar, cold room.
I frowned. Was I dreaming? How did I end up in such a beautiful room?
I abruptly sat up as memories of what had happened came rushing back. A van had stopped, five men had forced me inside—and everything after that went blank.
In short, someone abducted me!
I quickly checked my body for injuries or any signs that something had happened—but there was nothing. Everything seemed normal. I still had my clothes on, and there was no pain anywhere, especially not there. I let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s good that you’re finally awake.”
I turned quickly to my right. There, a man was sitting on a throne-like chair, legs crossed, his eyes cold and expressionless as he stared at me. He had dark brown hair and eyes that looked like light emeralds. But what caught my attention the most was the black mask covering half of his face. Even with the mask, his handsomeness was undeniable.
I tightened my grip on the blanket covering the lower half of my body. “W-who are you?”
He sighed. “I’m grateful I took the time to learn your language, Dane,” he said, his gaze locked onto me.
He knows me! This man knows me! But who is he?
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already after just five months, my fiancée?”
I froze at what he called me. That meant this man was none other than Dark De’Longhi—the one who was supposed to marry his twin! Calil was telling the truth when he said this man would come looking for her.
I had to tell him I wasn’t the one he was looking for.
“I-I’m not your fiancée.”
He smirked. “Is that the only trick you have, my dear?”
“I’m not your fiancée. It was my twin, Dianna. She pretended to be me. She used my name while she was here!”
He let out a deep sigh. “Do you expect me to believe that?”
“Because it’s the truth!”
“When have you ever told me the truth, Dane? Not a day passed when you didn’t lie to me.”
I bit my lower lip. “Look. I know this is hard to believe, but I’m not the one you’re looking for. I’m her twin sister!”
He stood and walked toward me, placing both hands on the bed, leaning in close until our faces were just inches apart.
“Dane, I know how much you hate me, and you’ll do anything to escape. You managed to run and hide from me for a year. But now that I’ve found you again, I won’t let that happen.”
“I told you—I’m not the one you’re looking for! Yes, I’m Dane—the real Dane—not the woman you knew!” I snapped at him.
He grabbed my face roughly. “When have you ever told the truth, Dane? Yes, we’re engaged—but you never treated me like your fiancé!”
After saying that, he released my face just as roughly.
“We’re going back to Sicily tonight.”
My eyes widened at his words. No. I won’t allow it. I won’t let my life be turned upside down because of what my twin sister did.
“I’m not coming with you!” I shouted.
“Yeah? Says who?”
“Me. I’m not going with you!”
He angrily grabbed my arm. His light green eyes darkened. I could clearly see the rage in them.
“We had a deal, Dane. You’d help me in exchange for saving your company. You can’t back out until I get what I want!”
What deal did he and Dianna make? And what exactly does he want?
I had to call Calil.
“Y-you’re hurting me…” I said, trying to pull away from his grip.
“You asked for it,” he said before letting go. “Whether you like it or not, we’re going back to Sicily tonight.” With that, he walked out of the room.
As soon as Dark left, I rushed to grab my bag from the sofa and searched for Calil’s calling card. Thankfully, I hadn’t thrown it away. I tried calling him several times, but his number was out of coverage.
Could he have already gone back to Sicily? What am I supposed to do now?
Should I just let Dark take me to Sicily and pretend to be Dianna? If not, is there still another way?
- Writer
