05

LILY

Panic clawed my chest. The faucet hissed.

“Funny seeing you here,” she said and I audibly swallowed a lump down my throat.

I removed my hands from the basin and quickly turned the faucet off.

Her smirk yanked me back to high school taunts. I  couldn’t let her see the cracks.

The Crofts were not merciful and whatever Dominic needed me for, didn’t need whatever Grace was all about.

I forced confidence in my stride but she snatched my arm stopping me cold.

My eyes widened as I locked gaze with her. She smirked then slowly, her eyes squinted as if she was realizing something.

Blood drained from my face. She knew.

I snatched my hands out of hers and pushed my way out of the bathroom.

Again, she dragged me back, her face inches to mine as she gasped.

“You…” she whispered and my heart thundered in my chest.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. She had found me out. She was going to be the chaos destined to bring about my doom.

“You’re Dominic’s wife!” She suddenly snarled and I frowned. My panic deflated.

Wait. What?

“You know, when I heard Dominic married a Croft, I was hoping it wasn’t the one I knew,” she hissed and I moved back. A sigh of relief leaving my lungs.

She didn’t know.

“Did you know?” She asked me suddenly and I perked up. What was she talking about?

“You’re such a blimp. How would you know?” She insulted and I scrunched my face in irritation. What was the meaning of this now?

“Dominic never told you that I was his girlfriend,” she finished.

Dominic? Grace?

I looked at her, suddenly noticing how classy she looked. I mean…I could see the allure but Dominic?

She scoffed when my eyes met hers.

“You’re just wasting your time you know,” she said and I squared my shoulders, tipping my head upwards.

The gesture must have angered her along with my silence.

“Did Dominic take out your tongue as well!?” She questioned with irritation but I knew that Grace wasn’t just skilled at differentiating between Maddy and I just by looking at us alone. She could pick out our voice’s in a crowd. So at this moment, my silence was the only thing that could save my skin.

She scoffed again, this time angrier.

“It doesn’t even matter. I just want you to know that you may have some money Croft but we all know why your stupid father sold you to Dominic’s family. Asides from your growing worthlessness,” she sneered and something burned in my chest.

It was misidentification but it still hurt that I couldn’t stand up for my best friend.

Maybe because you’re too busy married to her man… a shrill voice spoke at the back of my mind and I wanted to crawl into myself.

I needed to leave anyway. I didn’t realize that Grace was still talking and turned around. Walking back into the party when someone pushed me from behind.

I crashed to the ground, blood mixing with champagne. My vision blurred. Blood poured from my hands as I tried to stand only to collapse again.

“Fuck!” I cried out in pain only to fall back to my butt. I looked around in confusion, looking for what had happened.

My eyes widened in horror as Grace’s eyes widened. She had been behind me all these while.

The evidence of what she had done was been displayed, her hands were still outstretched but her eyes bore a horror realization.

“That voice…” she whispered and my heartbeat was a race. Shit. Shit!!

I struggled to stand but suddenly, Grace shrieked.

My ears rang instantly and when I locked eyes with her, she was no longer looking at me. A long finger was pointed towards me, tears from nowhere was rolling down her cheeks.

What the fuck?

“She’s an impostor!” She shrieked. I felt him before I even saw him. His commanding presence sent the hairs at the back of my neck to be on end.

I turned around slowly and blood drained from my face.

Dominic was standing there, his expression dark.

Tears started to gather in my eyes. It was over.

All I wanted was to help Maddy while protecting my family but I couldn’t do anything right.

Her finger stabbed the air, pointed at me. “Dominic! This woman isn’t Maddy! She’s a fraud”

The words – “I’m sorry” bubbled towards my throat but guilt pressed it back down. What exactly was I sorry for? Causing chaos? Damaging his reputation? Or marrying my best friend’s fiancée?

Dominic crossed the shreds of glass, each crunching under his weight as I looked up at him. My eyes filled with tears, pleading.

Dominic didn’t look at me, not once.

“Did you do this?” He asked, his voice steel.

I didn’t know when I started to cry.

Grace feeling very proud of herself nodded her head.

“Of course she’s not Maddy! You think I wouldn’t recognize the fake? Dominic, I know this because—“

“Shut the fuck up,” Dominic hissed. The room went stiff.

“Get your stuff and get the fuck out. Now,” he ordered and Grace stood there in confusion.

Grace opened her mouth to speak but suddenly guards from nowhere showed up and latched arms with her.

“Dominic?” She called in shock but it was too late, the guards didn’t stop till she disappeared behind the crowd.

Dominic frightened me. When he turned towards me, I was sure that he was going to do the same thing to me. I flinched and kicked back. I wanted to get far away from him as possible but instead, he hitched his arms around my waist and before I could grasp what it was that he was doing…he had carried me bridal style.

My body betrayed me. The moment his arms hooked under me, I melted into him like I had once before, in another night, another world. He carried me with the same sure stride, the same scent wrapping around me, and my chest ached with the fear that maybe he remembered too and was choosing silence.

I gasped lightly as our faces were in close contact. He scooped me up. Hard chest, steady steps but no words, no comfort.

He kept me in his lap the entire drive home.

He led me to the room I had seen the day before and started to apply first aid to my wound.

I hissed badly as the pain was searing. We didn’t share a single word, I caught him stealing glances though but that was it.

This was the man who abandoned me once and yet still carried me.

He gave me some pills and ran a bath for me. He gave me my privacy as I soaked in the bath. A shadow hung outside the door of his bedroom but as soon as I closed the bathroom door, he walked away.  By the time I emerged out of the bath, there was a small note on the bed.

It read > “ The maid would bring you a plate. Take the pills on the dresser and take the rest. I’ll be gone for a bit, do not stay up.”

I couldn’t help myself when my lips stretched into a smile. In thirty minutes, the drugs took effect and I wandered off to sleep.

By morning, butterflies floated in my stomach. All I wanted to do was see Dominic and thank him.

I dismissed the maid and made homemade meal of toast, eggs and oats. The same thing that Anna loved. I didn’t see Dominic come in but as I did the dishes, I knew he had entered the kitchen with me.

I don’t know why I half expected him to place a hand around my waist or even kiss me good morning or maybe it was just me?

“Why are you doing the dishes?” He suddenly said and I turned around to see that he had nearly finished the plate I had put out for him. A small smile crept on my face.

“I just wanted to,” I said with a cherry tone but he didn’t respond. I went to my side of the table but I needed to say what was on my chest. He needed to know that I appreciated his gesture. In a way, I even thought about telling him about Anna.

“Yesterday must never happen again,’ he said, and the air dropped to ice.

“Yes, definitely” I replied awkwardly. The room was tensed with silence.

I suddenly shook off the haunting tension that settled in my chest.

“I wanted to say, Thank you for last night,” I breathed out anxiously. My hands wringing each other under the table.

Dominic didn’t say a word. I watched him finish eating then wash his plate and his hands.

He was about to leave when I forced courage to ask.

“Won’t you say anything?” My voice cracked. He froze, but didn’t turn.

“We all have a role to play, Maddy Croft. Stick to yours. Don’t embarrass me again.” My appetite vanished.

I sank into my chair. My spirit deflated. I didn’t see Dominic for five days after that and by the second day, I decided it was probably best and he was right.

I had been getting sidetracked.

Days blurred. On the fifth, I curled up with a book when a knock came shortly after he opened the door.

I tried not to frown as he carried anticipation along with him. What did he want now?

He suddenly dropped a dress on my bed and my confused gaze travelled from the dress to his face.

“Get dressed. You’re meeting my family,”