The Stand-In Wife Chapter 06

The Stand-In Wife Chapter 06

The room dissolved into chaos. 

I don’t remember how I got off Jeffrey’s lap. Leah was still talking in my ear, but I couldn’t hear her anymore. 

I bent down to pick up my sweater and coat. A gray wool jacket was suddenly draped over my shoulders. 

I looked up in shock. Kane wasn’t looking at me. He turned to Leah. “Take your sister. We’re leaving.” 

Then he walked out without another glance. 

Leah came to help me. I gently pushed her hand away. 

“I can walk.” 

As I passed Brianna, I stopped. “I need to say 

something to her.” 

Kane hesitated, then walked ahead. 

Brianna looked up at me, pale–faced. 

“You might have had your reasons,” I said quietly. “But 

I won’t forgive you.” 

She didn’t say anything. She just turned her face away, 

closed her eyes, and let the tears fall. 

We’d worked together at that restaurant. She’d brought 

me to the Darkmoon Tavern. When she introduced me 

to the owner, she’d said, “She’s like a little sister to me. 

She’s young. She just wants to sell some drinks to help 

pay her dad’s medical bills. Please take care of her.” 

She’d taught me how to handle difficult customers, 

how to protect myself, how to drink less while making 

customers drink more, when to suck it up and when to 

stand my ground. 

When customers got handsy, she’d tell me to pretend a little puppy was rubbing against me. 

She’d worked like a maniac, always telling me to drink 

less while she drank herself sick. 

Once, she drank so much she got alcohol poisoning and ended up in the hospital. I stayed with her all night. 

That night, lying in her hospital bed without her heavy 

makeup, she’d told me her story. 

She had three younger brothers, and not one of them 

made life easy. 

She’d cried as she talked. “Ella, if I had a sister like 

you…” 

She didn’t know that I’d been thinking the same thing. 

If I could have a sister like her… 

I walked out of the private room. My head was 

pounding. 

Before I went to Silvermoon City, I’d been chronically exhausted for years. I wasn’t in great shape. I’d gotten better, but after being awake for over thirty hours, my 

body finally gave out. Everything went black, and I 

collapsed. 

When I woke up, I was in a hospital. 

A VIP room, by the look of it. TV, couch, even a separate 

sitting area. 

Through the slightly open door, I heard Leah’s voice. “…Kane, please don’t judge Ella badly. She’s a good girl. It’s just that my dad is in the hospital, and she’s got so much debt… She’s had such a hard life. She didn’t even finish high school. Last year she finally got married, but the guy was an alcoholic and –” 

After a long moment, I heard Kane sigh. “I’m going back to the hotel. I’ll bring food for both of you later.” He paused. “She should be fine. Hire a caregiver for the night. You eat, then head back to the hotel.” 

“Kane,” Leah said hesitantly, “there’s something I’m 

not sure I should tell you…” 

“What?” 

“Well, Ella has had such a hard life. Ever since I found her last year, I think she’s been so envious of my life that sometimes she, well, she imagines she’s me 

She paused, then added quickly, “But I’ve talked to doctors. It’s not a mental illness. It’s just… a coping 

mechanism. A way of escaping her reality. So –” 

“So if she says something strange to you, please don’t 

blame her –” 

A beat of silence. Then Kane said, “She’s your sister. I 

won’t blame her.” 

“Thank you, Kane.” Leah sniffled. “I really love her.” 

The door opened and closed. Kane was gone. 

I pushed myself up on my elbows and looked up. Leah was standing in the doorway of the inner room. 

We stared at each other. Neither of us spoke. 

She locked the door, came over, and sat on the edge of 

my bed. “The doctor said you’re fine. Just exhausted. 

You need rest. Stay here tonight. If nothing’s wrong tomorrow, I’ll take you back to Silvermoon City.” 

I looked at the face identical to mine. 

“River,” I said flatly. “What did you do to him?” 

She looked down and bit her lip. After a long moment, 

her voice trembled. “He was drinking last night. Got into a fight. Someone hit his head with a brick. The doctors said… there might be brain damage. His memory. His intelligence. They don’t know yet.” 

Silence. 

“Sis.” 

She looked up. Her eyes were red. 

“How could you do that?” I said slowly. “You loved him 

once. How could you –” 

“You think I did that?” Tears spilled down her face. 

“You wouldn’t help me. And he was threatening me. 

What was I supposed to do?” 

Tears streamed down her cheeks. 

“What was I supposed to do?” she whispered. 

She wiped her eyes. “I told you. I was desperate. If you had just agreed to pretend to be me, to keep him calm 

– but you wouldn’t. So I had to tell Mom and Dad everything that happened a year ago. I didn’t have any 

other choice.” 

“What?” I 

I stared at her. “You told them everything?” 

“Yes.” She wiped her face. “Dad was willing to clean up 

my mess. I’m grateful. He set up those guys to pick a fight. River… he was drunk. He fell for it. He threw the 

first punch.” 

“What about me?” I said quietly. “What are you going 

to do with me?” 

“Ella…” She grabbed my hand. “Don’t look at me like 

that. I admit-” 

Tears burst from her eyes again. “I admit I set up what happened today. But think about it. Isn’t this the best 

possible outcome?” 

“I don’t have the right to tell Dad what to do. But Ella, 

he wanted to do much worse things to you. I begged 

him. Mom begged him. This was the compromise.” She 

looked at me. “You’re my sister. My blood. My face. I 

will protect you. I really will.” 

I looked at her. Tears ran down my face. 

She reached out and gently wiped them away. “Ella, 

believe me. This really is the best outcome. I set this up 

so you’d understand. Life isn’t a fairy tale. Even if you 

told Kane the truth, he wouldn’t choose you.” 

I didn’t say anything. 

She tipped her head back, took a deep breath, and put 

her hands on my shoulders. “My stupid little sister. 

You saw him look at you today. Even if he knew the 

truth, would he still want you? Can’t you see? No. 

matter what, when he finds out about your past, he 

won’t want you. I just made you see it with your own 

eyes.” 

“Stop,” I said quietly. “Please. Just stop.” 

“Ella.” She hugged me tightly. “Believe me. Things are going to get better for all of us. I know you hate me for what I did today. But I want you to be able to live in the light. No more surgery. No more hiding. Come back to Silvermoon with me. We’ll bring Dad. You’ll have a 

good job. We’ll see each other all the time. You’ll see 

Mom.” 

She let me go. Tears were still running down her face. “Isn’t that good?” 

She asked me, isn’t that good? 

I looked at her. I couldn’t say a word. 

Her phone rang. 

She pulled herself together and answered. “Kane? 

Yeah. Ella’s awake. We’re in her room.” 

She hung up, stood, and wiped her eyes. “He’s on his way. Ella –” She took a deep breath. “If you want to 

tell him the truth, I won’t stop you. But even if he believed you – and that’s a big if – do you really think 

he’d choose a woman he just saw sitting on another man’s lap, feeding him drinks with her mouth? You can’t take it back once you say it. If you tell him, Kane won’t help you anymore. And the Greys won’t let you 

off easy. And then I really can’t protect you.” 

She turned her back to me. “Believe it or not, I really do 

want what’s best for you.”