Chapter 2

I pulled out the cheapest flip phone I'd just bought, my hands shaking as I dialed the number I knew by heart.

The phone rang for what felt like forever before someone finally picked up.

"Hello?" It was Jason's voice, tinged with impatience, and in the background, I could hear the wedding march and the noisy chatter of guests.

My voice came out rough, like sandpaper scraping my throat.

"Hey Jason, it's me," I said.

The line went dead silent for a moment.

Then he dropped his voice, laced with warning. "Barbara? You're out? Who told you to leave today?

"Listen, don't make a scene. Whatever you want, just name your price. Just don't mess up the wedding, you hear me?"

Money?

He thought I wanted money?

I laughed so hard that tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Jason, I'm downstairs at the place we used to rent," I said. "Didn't you promise you'd wait for me here?"

He fell silent.

Then I heard Kadence's sugary voice in the background. "Jason, it's time for us to exchange rings. Who are you talking to?"

"It's nothing, just a nuisance call," Jason replied.

Jason's voice turned cold again, tinged with disgust. "Barbara, let's just leave the past behind. I have Kadence now. We live in different worlds. Just tell me what you want and leave me alone."

He hung up on me.

I stood there, clutching my phone, like a statue left behind by everyone.

On the big screen at the mall on the corner, the lavish wedding was being broadcast live.

The emcee's voice boomed as he said, "Mr. Jason Sweeney, do you take Ms. Kadence Bowers to be your wife, to stay by her side for the rest of your life, never leaving her, never forsaking her?"

Jason gazed at Kadence with deep affection and picked up the microphone.

"Yes, I do," he said.

He paused, then lifted his wrist, and the camera zoomed in for a close-up.

On the cuff of his custom-tailored suit, he wore those tacky little star cufflinks.

I'd spent my very first paycheck scouring every bargain market in town just to find them for his birthday.

Back then, he barely glanced at them with a look of disdain before shoving them into the bottom of his drawer.

"Barbara, can you not give me this kind of cheap junk? It's humiliating to wear outside," he'd said.

But now, in front of the whole world, he gazed into the camera with all the sincerity in the world and said, "These cufflinks were given to me by the most important person in my life.

"She's my eternal starlight, guiding me through every dark moment."

My little sister, Kadence, gazed at him with all the tenderness in her eyes, tears shimmering on her lashes.

She smiled softly, "Jason, I know you're talking about Barbara."

"Don't worry. From now on, I'll be your starlight in her place. I'll light up your world, always."

So that was how it was.

Turned out, it wasn't just my love that got replaced.

Even my identity, everything I did, the meaning behind seven years locked away—all of it was snatched away by Kadence's careless promise to "take my place."'

Now, I was just the "most important person" Jason mentioned, a name erased from the story.

And Kadence? She was the one inheriting all the credit and the love that was supposed to be mine.

I was nothing but dirt beneath the ground, while she was the star shining in the sky.

We were twins, so why was fate so cruel to me?

No, it was not fate that was unfair.

It was them. They stole my life.

I watched the happy couple on the screen, a slow smile spreading across my face.

Jason, Kadence, your wedding must be quite the spectacle.

I wondered if it would be even livelier with a little "surprise" thrown in?

I didn't go to the wedding.

I knew if I showed up looking like this, they'd just call me crazy and have security drag me out without a second thought.

That was not revenge. That was just humiliating myself.

What I wanted was to see them fall from their perfect little cloud—crash and burn, so hard that they would never recover.

I found out which hotel they'd booked for their wedding night—the most luxurious seven-star hotel in the city.

I changed into the only clean shirt I had left and walked into the glittering, gold-plated lobby.

The receptionist looked at me like I was some stray dog that had wandered in by mistake.

I didn't care.

I settled quietly onto a sofa in the lobby, patient as a hunter, waiting for my prey.

It was almost midnight when they finally showed up.

Jason looked tipsy, surrounded by a crowd of men in sharp suits, grinning ear to ear.

Kadence clung to his arm like a proud princess, basking in everyone's compliments.

"Congratulations, Mr. Sweeney! Wishing you a happy marriage!"

"Mrs. Sweeney is absolutely stunning. You two are a match made in heaven!"

Kadence was laughing, radiant and full of charm, when her eyes flicked to the side and caught sight of me.