Chapter 23

Shockwaves rolled through Alisha.

Even if he were to suspect anything, she didn't expect that it'd be this soon.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she asked nervously.

"You're not my wife; who the hell are you?"

"I'm your wife, Xavier, simply because I chose to say something different to you..."

"That's not just it. I don't feel anything towards you, and it has been freaking me out. That aside, how can you explain the disappearance of your scar; a scar like that can't disappear overnight!" he thundered.

She swallowed hard. Dammit!

He thought for a while, the only way someone could have the same face with his wife would be her twin. What was her name again?

"You're Alisha's twin, Amanda, aren't you?"

Alisha's fist clenched. Fucking great!

"I'M ALISHA!" she yelled.

"YOU'RE NOT!" he slammed back.

"You're definitely her twin. Why would you follow me home dressed like my wife and where the hell is she?" he asked, angrily.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Xavier. I'm your wife, Alisha."

He shrugged. "Let me confirm this one more time, what's your favorite game?"

Alisha froze. What was her sister's favorite game?

"Computer games," she guessed.

"Eating contest!" He barked and yanked her out of the bed, her chest colliding with his.

"Where is my wife?" he roared.

Fear crept through her veins taking in the furious look in his eyes, but she said nothing.

He released her roughly and she fell flat on the bed.

"I won't throw you out because it's late, but first thing tomorrow morning, if I don't get a reasonable explanation to this shit, you would hate yourself," he threatened and stormed off.

Alisha held her hands together, she was shaking like a leaf, she quickly brought out her cellphone and gave Isobel a call.

"He knows...he knows that I'm not the one he has been with all this while,” she stuttered, frantically.

"So soon?" Isobel asked in disbelief.

"I didn't know he loved her this much. He knows everything about her; what should I do?"

"Tell him everything."

Alisha gasped. "What? I can't do that."

"You have to. Can you think of any reasonable explanation to convince him that you've been with him all this while, tell him, tell him where she is, and Amanda will put an end to their love?”

"But he might not want to be with me."

"He won't be able to do anything about it. His family hates scandals so he won't want the public to know about this. After Amanda hurts him tomorrow, you'll have to start warming your way into his heart. If he can love someone like her, then he can love you ten times more," Isobel assured.

Alisha sighed heavily. "It won't be that easy. He's a very difficult person."

"Well, that's your punishment for not listening to me and choosing to run away, you have to spend the rest of your life now making sure he forgets about your sister, good luck with that." And then, Isobel hung up.

"Arrrgh," Alisha groaned, frustratedly, if only she had known that Xavier had a heart to love a woman, she wouldn't have left.

"I'm Alisha," she said to him the following morning.

"Stop saying that!" he yelled.

"Just let me explain, Xavier," she requested.

"I'm listening,” he urged.

"When I was told that I was betrothed to you, I looked you up online and I was super excited to think that I would be your wife someday. Then you got back from Spain and we met up, I didn't like the way you treated me, I mean men could kill to have me but then you just looked at scornfully, like some gold digger.

“When we went out to get the wedding dress, I realized that I wouldn't be able to cope with you if you kept on being cynical, I knew how much your family hate scandals so I thought standing you up in church would be the best way to make you see that I am unique."

Xavier stared at her and told her to continue.

"I left the day before the wedding; I didn't want to be found until I deemed it fit to return, so I went far away to China."

She paused, skipping all what she did in China, it would make him see her as a slut.

"I didn't know my sister was back in Rome and I also didn't know my mother had talked her into filling in for me until I return."

Xavier's eyebrows arched, his jaw aching from too much clenching.

"You mean to tell me that the woman I've been with since the wedding is Amanda, not Alisha."

She nodded.

He gulped putting together the pieces which he had missed before.

"Who's older?"

"Alisha."

"I mean... I’m older."

"You see, my sister's name is Amanda. Do you think it's a beautiful name?"

As these words reeled through his head, he just stood feeling like a hundred years old.

"And she willingly switched back with you yesterday?" he choked out.

Alisha felt like adding fuel to the flames already stirring inside him.

"Yes, she just couldn't wait to get away from you and probably be with Miguel."

His fist clenched. Miguel! Did she really wanted to be away from him that bad? She had said she loved being his wife, she certainly couldn't be playing with him, she had even given her virginity to him.

"Where is she?"

"You don't have to see her, Xavier. She doesn't..."

"WHERE IS SHE?!"He thundered, startling life out of Alisha.

She quickly called out Amanda's address to him and he hurried off.

Amanda walked home from the grocery store, though, she hadn't been able to eat anything since yesterday, she had even tried forcing herself to eat but it was like sawdust in her mouth.

Nevertheless, she had to have something in her fridge in case her appetite returned.

Her footsteps halted seeing Xavier at the front of her apartment building. Her heart raced. What was he doing here? She hadn't even prepared herself to see him again because she thought it wasn't happening anytime soon.

She felt like running off but that would only raise suspicions from him. He couldn't have figured everything out this soon, maybe he was here to see someone else, so she had to play it cool.

He turned around and his heart took a more urgent beat taking in the woman few feet away from him. No one needed to tell him that this was the woman he had been with all this while, his heart already did.

He didn't fail to notice the dark circles under her eyes, a red-hot skewer lacerated his insides and the rage he was feeling started to melt.

"You must be Mr. Da Silva. I'm Alisha's twin…Amanda. My apologies for not being able to attend the wedding," she said, smoothly.

The breath stuck in Xavier's throat, but he managed to get out, "Seriously?"