Chapter 1

After Olivia went overseas, I took her place.

Dexter Phillips's buddies would tease him, saying that since he saw my face every day, he'd end up catching feelings for his substitute.

Dexter always snapped back, "She can't even compare to Olivia."

He was dead sure I was head over heels for him, willing to play the replacement just for love.

But what he didn't know was, I was just a professional stand-in getting paid handsomely. My heart wasn't in it—it was all about the paycheck.

Once Olivia was back, I didn't hesitate—I just walked out of their lives.

But Dexter, wasted as ever, called me up and slurred, "Sienna, get your ass over here and say sorry, or you can kiss your stuff goodbye."

Instead of me, he got a man's amused laugh through the receiver.

"Sorry?" Patrick teased, his tone dripping with mischief.

I couldn't take it anymore, so I covered Patrick's mouth and begged playfully, "Quit it… man…"

On the other end, Dexter was practically losing it, his voice tight with jealousy. "How many men do you have besides me, huh?"

I couldn't care less; Patrick was the one who answered for me.

He pulled me into his arms, fingers threading gently through my hair. "Seriously, Dexter, none of that stuff is worth anything. Do yourself a favor and just toss it."

It was already way past midnight—like one in the morning—when I got a text from one of Dexter's buddies.

I tossed my phone aside, ready to crash again, but before I could even close my eyes, my phone started ringing all over again.

Dexter was totally smashed, raising hell and breaking stuff all over the place. Nobody could get a handle on him.

This was already the eleventh time he'd gone wild and trashed the bar this month.

Even though the bar owner was one of his old pals, he was seriously running out of patience with Dexter's crap.

The private room was a total disaster—bottles smashed everywhere, chairs knocked over, and the whole place looked like a tornado had hit.

As soon as I walked in, everyone looked at me like I was their savior, and they all stepped aside to let me through.

The guy holding Dexter finally let go and grinned, "Dexter, look who's here."

Dexter's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at me. For a split second, he looked totally out of it, like he couldn't even figure out who I was.

Then he grabbed my hand and mumbled, "You're back."

Once Dexter finally chilled out, one of his friends breathed a sigh of relief and joked, "Sienna, you're the only one who can handle Dexter. Every time you show up, it's like he's had a dose of sedative."

Right then, Dexter blurted out, "Olivia, don't leave me again."

Olivia Wilkinson was my sister.

Everyone knew Olivia was Dexter's dream girl, the one he could never let go of.

I only got to stay in his life because I looked so much like my sister.

The room went dead silent.

I kept my cool, ruffling Dexter's hair like he was my pet, making sure my voice sounded just like Olivia's.

"Alright, I'm not leaving. I'm here to take you home. Be good, okay?" I said.

Dexter was a total lightweight—he barely got out a couple of sentences before he just doubled over and puked on the floor.

I told his friend to look after him and headed for the bathroom to wash off the sleeve that had accidentally gotten smeared with puke.

When I got back to the private room, I could already hear the banter coming from inside before I even walked through the door.

Dexter was mostly sober now, and his friends were teasing him relentlessly.

"Sienna really cares about you, man. It's the dead of night, and the second she heard you were trashed, she showed up with honey water. All these years, she hasn't changed a bit."

"Matteo just called her your wife, and she didn't disagree."

Dexter scoffed, his voice cool and dismissive. "What? Please."

The whole room fell silent for a moment, and I paused, hand still hovering over the door.

A couple of beats later, someone finally spoke up, breaking the tension.

"For real, Dexter, you stare at Sienna's face every day—aren't you worried you'll catch feelings for her one of these days?

"I mean, she's got that same look as Olivia, and honestly, their vibe is almost identical…"

Dexter cut him off, his tone icy with warning. "Don't compare her to Olivia. She's just a knockoff who shouldn't even be seen in public..."

I smiled and pushed the door open.

Dexter finished his sentence. "I'll just trade her in when I get sick of her."

Everyone's eyes snapped to me, even Dexter's.

He clearly hadn't expected me to walk in at that exact moment—his expression was all over the place, like his feelings just exploded across his face.

Still smiling, I looked at Dexter and teased, "So, are we heading home now or do you want to keep partying?"

Business as usual. I didn't kick up a fuss, and there wasn't even a trace of annoyance on my face.

Dexter's face twisted with embarrassment and frustration.

He didn't say a word, just grabbed his coat, still reeking of booze, and walked out in a huff, leaving me standing there on my own.

As I stepped out of the room, I could still hear the whispers behind me.