The Twin Face That Haunts Me Chapter 09

The Twin Face That Haunts Me Chapter 09

I put on a disposable mask under Mom’s watchful eye, suffocating beneath the fabric in my tiny

room.

I dragged a chair out to the courtyard to sit in the cool outdoor breeze, my eyes heavy with

drowsiness.

All those years in the countryside, no one had cared how I lived. Mom and Dad had forgotten I existed entirely. Only Selena visited me every school break, asking endless questions about my

daily life—what I ate, who I’d spoken to, every tiny detail.

I’d been truly happy for her when I heard she was getting engaged. But I never imagined her fiancé

would be Thomas.

I made a decision: once Selena’s engagement celebration wrapped up, I’d head back to Grandpa’s

countryside home for good.

A cool, low voice pulled me out of my thoughts, drifting down from above. “You’re Selly’s sister?”

The tone sounded hauntingly familiar. My mind flashed a face, and all traces of sleep vanished in an

instant.

I shot upright, and sure enough, a man stood in the shadow of the front gate, twisting his phone between his fingers. The screen glow sharpened the clean line of his jaw.

He sensed my gaze and lifted his head, his eyes landing light but unmissable on my face.

Thomas York.

I swallowed hard, knuckles whitening as I gripped the wooden chair armrest until my fingers

ached.

The courtyard lamp cast dim, faint light, and I still wore my mask. Thomas’s gaze lingered on my face for barely two seconds before sliding away, muttering under his breath, as if thinking aloud.

“What’s taking Selena so long to come down.”

The words sounded impatient, yet his tone laced with soft, doting tenderness. I dropped my gaze

and stayed quiet, offering no reply.

“Oh, right.” He remembered something, glancing at me again. “Richard reached out to you yet?”

I hesitated two heartbeats, then nodded once.

Thomas relaxed slightly. “Good, your sister will be thrilled to hear it. Her happiness is all that

matters to me.”

“Richard’s a solid guy, from a reputable wealthy family-he’s someone you could build a future with, just a little hyper and impulsive. Selly told me you just moved back from overseas, and Richard studied abroad too, so you two should have tons in common, that’s why-”

Selena told everyone I’d lived abroad? I blinked, confused, certain I’d misheard him.

I lifted my head, and our eyes locked. Thomas’s voice cut off mid-sentence, his gaze freezing completely.

My heart constricted sharply. The courtyard light was too dim to make out his expression, yet the heavy silence stretching between us felt far more terrifying than any words he could speak.

I forced calm, tugging the mask higher over my nose and clearing my throat, steadying my shaky tone as much as I could.

“Yeah, I accepted Richard’s Instagram request already. We actually hit it off really well-we made plans to grab dinner this weekend. Thank you so much, Thomas.”

He said nothing back. Silence dragged on endlessly between us, my palms slick with cold sweat.

I licked my parched lips, frantically searching for a way to break the silence, when slow footsteps echoed toward me, heavy and oppressive. The sound of his dress shoes scraping across the stone patio echoed loud in the quiet yard, each step landing like a weight pressing into my chest.

Thomas’s jaw tightened, and he advanced closer and closer.