Chapter 88: Chapter 88

(Clara's POV)

"What did you just say?" I heard Jace ask Luca over the phone call, as I saw his phone screen flash with the caller ID: Luca.

Jace rose from the dining chair in shock, his hands tightened over his phone that he held to his ear.

"What did you just say? Where was the money transferred to?" Jace asked again.

"To another account, and I cannot seem to track it," Luca replied.

Jace then shifted his gaze to look at me and asked, "Did you transfer all of Celine's bank account funds to another account?"

Jace's voice was chilling, and I feel like I don't know him again.

Did I really lose Jace to Celine? No way! I must find that twin sister of mine and silence her. What was Celine's goal?

"Clara!" Jace yelled my name, and I looked at his handsome face that was seething with rage.

"Yeah. I told you that Celine's social media page was hacked. So I had to protect all her money," I lied, looking up at Jace's cold face.

Jace looked at my face briefly and shifted his face away.

"Clara said that she was the one who has transferred all the money to protect Celine's account. I almost thought someone else had hacked into Celine's account and stolen the money," Jace told Luca over the phone call.

"I thought the same too. Wait a minute, I got a text message on my phone," Luca said, as Jace put the phone on speaker.

"What is it?" Jace asked.

"It's from Celine's page!" Luca screamed. "Celine sent me a private message."

"Have you read it?" Jace asked nervously.

I cannot believe my ears how excited Jace was right now. His voice held so much curiosity.

"Wait, I am about to. Hold on," Luca replied. "Do you think Celine is really alive? I hope that she is, and not a hacker."

The phone call was still ongoing, as Jace only glanced at me with a calculated expression. "I hope so," he replied to my brother.

"Damn it, Jace. It's from Celine!" Luca screamed. "Celine is the one who withdrew all the money from her bank account. She said that I shouldn't bother to search for her again, or to freeze her account, and she is the one who withdrew all the money."

"What?" I heard Jace gasp.

Jace's expression furrowed with disbelief as he became silent.

"Are you sure?" Jace finally asked my brother. "Read it out, let me hear what Celine or the person sent to you."

A look of agony washed over Jace. His mood tensed, making the temperature in the room drop, as I could hear the sound of a pin drop.

I paid rapt attention to the phone call too, to hear what Luca was about to read.

Luca began, "Hi, Luca, I am sorry that I haven't reached out to you for a long time. Clara and I made an agreement that I will leave Turkey Island, and not return because of Jace, and to you all. I have decided to text you today, to let you know that I am fine. I know that you all were searching for me, but I will appreciate it if you stop, so that Clara and Jace can focus on their marriage. I admit that I was wrong to have kept you all in the dark about my whereabouts, but it's for the best and for me to heal, and to move on with my life. It hasn't been easy for me, but I tried to move on. I saw all the transfers you made together with Martha's help. Tell her that I gave my shop to her as compensation, and you two can carry on. But do not search for me again, and I hope we meet someday and continue with our brother and sister relationship, without all the dramas that Clara has caused. Take care, big brother, and send my regards to Mom and Dad, and also, Clara. Tell her that I miss her and her warm regards to her son. Yours truly, Celine Mason."

Jace fell backward on the living room couch. He took a while before he asked, "Is that all, Luca?"

I could feel the agony in Jace's voice, that he was barely holding back from his tears.

He truly missed my twin sister, and I blamed myself over and over again for bringing Celine into my affair with Jace.

Ever since then, our relationship hadn't been the same.

Jace refused to touch me or make love to me.

It has been six months, yet, he kept to himself and became a celibate because of Celine.

Ever since I returned from Los Angeles and winning the top model award, I felt like I didn't know who Jace was again.

He was close to me, yet distant.

I have Celine's baby and Jace with me like I have wanted, but Jace still doesn't share the same love for me as he did before.

It seemed like Celine stole his heart to love another, and he became an empty vessel to me.

The man who used to look at me with his eyes full of love was gone.

I cannot believe that I am shedding tears right now, seated on the dining chair alone. As Jace sat on the living room couch.

"That's all, Jace. So Clara wasn't the one who withdrew the money from Celine's account. Why did she lie to us? Did she really know about Celine's whereabouts, and she lied to us to help her twin sister to escape? Thereby putting us all through that stress?" I heard Luca ask Jace.

Jace was silent. He didn't bother to look at me. His voice was already hoarse and choked with silent sobs.

"I don't know, Luca, and I can't process all this right now. I am just glad that Celine is alive, and please tell her that I truly missed her, and I will find her again. No matter where she is, good night." Jace shamelessly admitted to Luca over the phone call, and I glared at him.

'Your wish, but that will never happen,' I muttered, but in a low voice so that Jace wouldn't hear me.

"Alright, Brother-in-law. I am glad to hear that Celine is alive. I also miss her too. You don't know the heavy burden that has been lifted off my chest. For the past six months, I felt like the worst brother on earth, as I cannot find Celine anywhere. It's felt good to hear from her again. Take care of Clara, and tell her that Celine is alive and okay."

"Sure, I will. Thanks for letting me know that she messaged you," Jace said, and Luca replied, "Sure. You're welcome. Goodnight too."

The phone call ended, and Jace was still seated on the couch in the living room.

I stood up from the dining chair and moved over to the living room to meet Jace.

Jace was silent and looking at his phone screen.

"Jace..." I called his name carefully as I approached him.

Silent tears were slipping down from the corners of Jace's eyes, but he remained composed even as I know that he was internally broken.

"Jace..." I moved over to the couch to touch him, but he stood up abruptly and didn't spare me a glance. He walked away, entering the elevator.

I was enraged by Jace's behavior for my twin sister, but I cannot go to meet him now.

He was hurting and trying to control his anger, and I paced about the living room thinking of what to do.

As I moved back into the elevator, I went back to my room on the second floor and looked at Kevin who was sleeping peacefully.

"Did it worth all this?" I asked myself. "How can I lose my marriage to Celine?" I paced about the room, then my eyes caught sight of the wedding ring that Jace had worn on my twin sister's finger.

I looked at the wedding ring and went to pick it up.

"This ring?" I mumbled… "Did this ring really bring them closer? How can a mere wedding ceremony break my five years of relationship? No way!" I screamed aloud like a hysterical woman and threw the ring away.

I went to pick up the diamond ring from the ground, and an idea popped into my head.

'Wear this ring. This was supposed to be my wedding ring with Jace and not my twin sister.'

I smiled and donned the ring on my left finger.

Kevin was still sound asleep on his cot, and I didn't plan to wake him up. Because putting him to sleep has been difficult, and he doesn't like my touch.

Thankfully, Tina and Esther were present to keep him company, so that hasn't raised Jace's doubt that I am not really Kevin's mother.

I sighed, thinking about sending a text message to Celine's profile page, but I thought against it because she didn't send me any text message.

I could feel Celine's anger for me. She was my twin sister, and I truly hurt her badly.

Despite all she did for me.

I felt Celine's pain those last six months that I locked her up.

It was why I couldn't bring myself to kill her. I knew that I was the bad twin. The stubborn twin who threatened my sister all the time.

Now she had left Turkey Island for good.

If it isn't because of the love Celine has for me, I was certain that she would have reported me to Luca and told him the truth. But she didn't.

"There is still hope for my marriage with Jace to work," I said. A sad smile touched my lips, and I moved back to bed to sleep.

Feeling the coldness of the diamond ring around my left finger, I smiled on the bed and declared, "Jace Augustus, you are mine!"