Chapter 2 · The Stand-In Played Cold, the Truth Burned

The sky went completely dark.

A single dim lamp cast two tangled shadows onto the white sheer curtain.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat until it hurt.

As I turned to leave, my phone buzzed.

It was a message from my best friend, Blair Grant.

She wrote: [Happy birthday, Sharon.] Followed by a bunch of cake emojis.

Then another one came.

She wrote: [Wait, why does your ID say you're in Dravena? Did your husband find out you're pregnant and take you on a trip? So romantic. I'm so jealous.]

My hand trembled as I touched my lower belly.

Behind me, a woman's satisfied moan escaped.

Tears spilled from my eyes.

I replied: [Yeah, I'll tell you when I get back.]

I stuffed my phone into my bag and walked away.

*****

I found a small hotel run by someone from my country. I casually asked about the people in the big house, but a police officer on patrol overheard me.

They thought I was following the people who lived there.

I was taken to the police station.

After a day and a night, the police said the owner of the house didn't know me.

When he loved me the most, Jeffrey had tattooed my name over his heart.

He said he would remember me forever.

And now he was saying he didn't know me?

It was like getting drenched in ice water. Any hope I had left for him was gone.

*****

Three days later, I pushed open the police station door.

I was ready to go home and end this whole drama. Then I ran into Jeffrey. He was standing by the road, smoking.

When he saw me, he froze. "What are you doing here?"

Our eyes met. For a second, guilt flashed across his face. Then it turned into anxious concern.

I studied him closely.

So similar. The stand‑in looked just like him.

Got to hand it to him, all that trouble just to fool me.

He must have read everything in my eyes in an instant. He said, "Baby, let me explain. I didn't mean to lie to you."

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt stuck.

Jeffrey kept explaining, "Work has been so busy here in Dravena. I was afraid you'd be lonely, so I came up with that stupid idea of a stand‑in.

"Don't worry. Once things slow down here, I'll come back home and stay with you for real."

He still didn't know. The stand‑in had already told me. Jeffrey had another family there.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat. "Okay."

I would go home and divorce him.

He really thought I bought it, and he visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

Jeffrey didn't take me to his house. He said he shared it with roommates. It wasn't convenient.

When he heard what had happened to me at the police station, he felt terrible for me.

"The police asked my landlord. Of course he didn't know you. I'm sorry you had to go through that, babe," he said.

Jeffrey started to say more, but his phone rang. He said a few words in Valish.

A woman's playful, scolding voice came through. "Why are you suddenly speaking Valish?"

He hung up and gave me an apologetic smile. "A client wants to see me. A deal worth tens of millions of dollars. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait here for me."

I knew right away. He was rushing off to see Lisa.

I stared at the man in front of me.

He'd forgotten. Two years ago, he turned down a deal worth tens of millions of dollars just to eat at a street stall with me.

"Let them wait. You come first," he'd said.

Was this still the same person?

I forced a smile. "Go."

He looked relieved, like he had just been let off the hook, and hurried away.

*****

I went into the bathroom, turned the water on full blast, and desperately scrubbed the arm he had touched until it turned red.

The water drowned out my crying.

Exhausted from days of running around, I fell onto the bed, completely drained. But when I closed my eyes, I dreamed of Jeffrey.

He spun me around, laughing like crazy. He said he was going to be a dad.

Then the scene changed. I pushed open a door and saw Lisa swaying her hips. The tattoo on her back glared under the light.

Jeffrey's voice was deep and hoarse. "Thanks to Sharon. That tattoo is such a turn-on. I just want to push all the way in."

My heart ached so much that I couldn't breathe.

My eyes flew open. I stumbled out of the room.

I sat in the restaurant until the very end, numb.

Then a waiter pulled me out of my memory. "Ma'am, your card has been frozen. You don't even have enough to cover your hotel stay."

It happened because I had asked about Jeffrey. The police misunderstood.

That was when my card got frozen.

I touched my lower belly.

I could go hungry, but the baby couldn't.

I pulled out my phone to call Jeffrey, but I realized I only had the stand‑in's number.

Swallowing the bitterness, I took out the change I had gotten at the airport and begged in my broken Valish.

I said, "This is all I have. Please just let me eat. I'll pay you back later."

But they shook their heads and kicked me out of the hotel.

Chapter 2

The sky went completely dark.

A single dim lamp cast two tangled shadows onto the white sheer curtain.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat until it hurt.

As I turned to leave, my phone buzzed.

It was a message from my best friend, Blair Grant.

She wrote: [Happy birthday, Sharon.] Followed by a bunch of cake emojis.

Then another one came.

She wrote: [Wait, why does your ID say you're in Dravena? Did your husband find out you're pregnant and take you on a trip? So romantic. I'm so jealous.]

My hand trembled as I touched my lower belly.

Behind me, a woman's satisfied moan escaped.

Tears spilled from my eyes.

I replied: [Yeah, I'll tell you when I get back.]

I stuffed my phone into my bag and walked away.

*****

I found a small hotel run by someone from my country. I casually asked about the people in the big house, but a police officer on patrol overheard me.

They thought I was following the people who lived there.

I was taken to the police station.

After a day and a night, the police said the owner of the house didn't know me.

When he loved me the most, Jeffrey had tattooed my name over his heart.

He said he would remember me forever.

And now he was saying he didn't know me?

It was like getting drenched in ice water. Any hope I had left for him was gone.

*****

Three days later, I pushed open the police station door.

I was ready to go home and end this whole drama. Then I ran into Jeffrey. He was standing by the road, smoking.

When he saw me, he froze. "What are you doing here?"

Our eyes met. For a second, guilt flashed across his face. Then it turned into anxious concern.

I studied him closely.

So similar. The stand‑in looked just like him.

Got to hand it to him, all that trouble just to fool me.

He must have read everything in my eyes in an instant. He said, "Baby, let me explain. I didn't mean to lie to you."

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt stuck.

Jeffrey kept explaining, "Work has been so busy here in Dravena. I was afraid you'd be lonely, so I came up with that stupid idea of a stand‑in.

"Don't worry. Once things slow down here, I'll come back home and stay with you for real."

He still didn't know. The stand‑in had already told me. Jeffrey had another family there.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat. "Okay."

I would go home and divorce him.

He really thought I bought it, and he visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

Jeffrey didn't take me to his house. He said he shared it with roommates. It wasn't convenient.

When he heard what had happened to me at the police station, he felt terrible for me.

"The police asked my landlord. Of course he didn't know you. I'm sorry you had to go through that, babe," he said.

Jeffrey started to say more, but his phone rang. He said a few words in Valish.

A woman's playful, scolding voice came through. "Why are you suddenly speaking Valish?"

He hung up and gave me an apologetic smile. "A client wants to see me. A deal worth tens of millions of dollars. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait here for me."

I knew right away. He was rushing off to see Lisa.

I stared at the man in front of me.

He'd forgotten. Two years ago, he turned down a deal worth tens of millions of dollars just to eat at a street stall with me.

"Let them wait. You come first," he'd said.

Was this still the same person?

I forced a smile. "Go."

He looked relieved, like he had just been let off the hook, and hurried away.

*****

I went into the bathroom, turned the water on full blast, and desperately scrubbed the arm he had touched until it turned red.

The water drowned out my crying.

Exhausted from days of running around, I fell onto the bed, completely drained. But when I closed my eyes, I dreamed of Jeffrey.

He spun me around, laughing like crazy. He said he was going to be a dad.

Then the scene changed. I pushed open a door and saw Lisa swaying her hips. The tattoo on her back glared under the light.

Jeffrey's voice was deep and hoarse. "Thanks to Sharon. That tattoo is such a turn-on. I just want to push all the way in."

My heart ached so much that I couldn't breathe.

My eyes flew open. I stumbled out of the room.

I sat in the restaurant until the very end, numb.

Then a waiter pulled me out of my memory. "Ma'am, your card has been frozen. You don't even have enough to cover your hotel stay."

It happened because I had asked about Jeffrey. The police misunderstood.

That was when my card got frozen.

I touched my lower belly.

I could go hungry, but the baby couldn't.

I pulled out my phone to call Jeffrey, but I realized I only had the stand‑in's number.

Swallowing the bitterness, I took out the change I had gotten at the airport and begged in my broken Valish.

I said, "This is all I have. Please just let me eat. I'll pay you back later."

But they shook their heads and kicked me out of the hotel.