I Played Shy to Dodge Her Traps Then the Impostor Snapped Chapter 01

I Played Shy to Dodge Her Traps Then the Impostor Snapped Chapter 01

I’d had severe social anxiety for as long as I could remember. My first instinct was always the same: hide. From situations, from people, from anything that put eyes on me.

When the Ashford family finally found me and brought me home, Hazel Burke, the girl who’d taken my place started playing her games.

“Does Chloe hate me?”

“All I did was try to say hi, and she called me a whore!”

My brother Lucas Ashford shot to his feet. “She’s out of control!”

“I’m going to go deal with her right now.”

Before he could move, the butler cleared his throat. “Sir, about Miss Chloe… She said it was too crowded during the day and she was too overwhelmed to travel. She asked us to pick her up at midnight instead. She… hasn’t even arrived yet.”

A few days later, Hazel tried it again. “Lucas, Chloe paid some girl at school to mess with me…”

I sank deeper into the sofa cushions. “I… I haven’t even enrolled yet.”

Another time, she tearfully accused me of trying to run her over.

She hadn’t even finished when the housekeeper rushed into the living room.

“Sir, Ma’am… Chloe hasn’t left her bedroom in days. I’m worried about her.”

The room went dead silent. Hazel opened her mouth, but whatever sob story she’d rehearsed next died on her tongue.

Eventually, Lucas decided the best way to force me out of my shell was to arrange a marriage for me.

I cracked my bedroom door open just wide enough to speak through it. “I’ll do the arranged marriage. But… do I actually have to show up to the wedding?”

…

I’d barely stepped through the front door of the Ashford estate when Hazel froze, her mouth falling open.

I flinched and ducked behind my dad.

He glanced at Hazel, baffled. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you looking at her like that?”

Hazel’s eyes filled with tears right on cue. “Dad, does Chloe hate me?”

“Why else would she come home this late? She obviously doesn’t want to see me!”

She turned toward the stairs, already playing the martyr. “Fine. I’ll just pack my bags so I won’t be in Chloe’s way.”

My mom grabbed her arm, her face folding with panic. “Stop that. You’re my baby, too.”

“Nobody is pushing you out of this house. Not while I’m here.”

Then she turned to me, eyes sharp with warning.

I wanted to explain. I tried. But under that glare, the only thing that came out was, “Oh.”

Her expression went cold. “Oh? That’s all you have to say? Are you brushing me off?”

“Is that how you talk to your mother? Where are your manners?”

My dad stepped in fast. “Honey, that’s not what’s happening here.”

“She was diagnosed with severe social anxiety. She actively avoids interaction. It’s not that she’s ignoring you—it’s a real medical condition.”

The warning in my mom’s eyes softened into something that almost looked like guilt. She opened her mouth, maybe to say something kind, but Hazel got there first.

She let out a little scoff. “Severe social anxiety? Avoidance behaviors? That’s not even a real illness.”

“If you’re going to fake a condition, at least pick a convincing one.”

“Playing helpless to steal everyone’s sympathy and push me out? You could’ve at least gone with depression or insomnia. Something people might actually believe.”

Just like that, the guilt vanished from my mom’s face. Her jaw tightened.

“I’ve already said it. No one is taking Hazel from me.”

“No one. Not even my own flesh and blood.”

I dropped my gaze to the floor and kept it there.

My mom wasn’t done. “Well, if being around people is such a burden for you, we’ll just cancel the welcome party.”

Hazel’s eyes lit up the second the words left my mom’s mouth.

She shot me a smug, triumphant look as our eyes met. Except I was secretly just as thrilled as she was.

Thank God. No more being paraded around like a show pony in front of a room full of strangers.

A welcome party? For someone like me, that wasn’t a celebration. It was a nightmare.

Hazel’s smug grin faltered. She stared at me, completely lost.