The Twin Face That Haunts Me Chapter 02

The Twin Face That Haunts Me Chapter 02

Ten minutes later, the car’s engine rumbled to life and pulled away. Selena’s clicking heels echoed through the foyer.

Mom shot up off the couch the second she spotted her. “Sweetie, come inside, it’s sweltering out there!”

“Look at your ankles, raw from those heels—take them off right now, don’t torture yourself.”

Selena had only been out since noon, six short hours total, but Mom acted as if they’d been separated for six whole years.

I’d spent more than a decade stuck out at Grandpa’s country house, and when Mom finally laid eyes on me again, she struggled to scrape together a single compliment.

“Flora, you’ve grown so pretty. Did you have a nice time with Grandpa?”

She didn’t even wait for my reply before her attention snapped elsewhere: Selena had knocked over a glass of water, the loud crash sending ice spilling over her palms.

Mom’s face drained of color as she darted over to grab her daughter’s hands. “Are you hurt? Why didn’t you let the maid handle that? You scared me half to death.”

She fussed nonstop over Selena, never sparing me a single glance. I stood silent in the corner, invisible, watching their warm mother-daughter bond unfold.

My gaze drifted to Selena’s face—identical to mine—and my mind went hazy.

We were identical twins. Selena had always been frail; when we were little, she caught a severe case of the flu, and Mom and Dad feared I’d worsen her recovery. They packed my bags overnight and packed me off to Grandpa’s rural home.

Later, I caught the same flu, and their fear spiked again, terrified I’d pass it to Selena. Once more, they sent me away without hesitation.

Before I left, I’d worked up the courage to tug Mom’s sleeve, only for her to yank her arm free harshly.

“Flora, didn’t the doctor tell you? Selly’s weak because you stole all the nutrients from her while I was pregnant with you both. You owe her, do you understand?”

So every hardship I’d endured was repayment for a debt I supposedly owed Selena.

I bit back my tears and nodded hard, too scared to ask questions, terrified they’d never come back for me. I even forced a shaky smile to soften her heart.

“I’ll be good, Mom. I know I owe Selena. Please don’t leave me here. I don’t hate Grandpa, I just miss home so badly.”

But obedience and quiet compliance changed nothing. They left me behind all the same.

That’s where I met Thomas York—back when he still went by his mother’s last name, Smith.

He never smiled, spoke even less, kept completely to himself, no one dared get close to him. And I was shy and new to the village, constantly picked on by the local kids.

Two outcasts with no one else to turn to ended up inseparable, spending every waking moment together for over two months.