Chapter 2

I went to a bench, crouched down to apply the ointment, then took the black card and went to a study abroad agency for some advice.

They gave me a stack of materials and told me to focus on prepping for the language test.

Just as I stepped outside, Lucas called. "Where are you? Janet's on her period today, and she's craving your pies."

"Alright, I'll be right there," I replied.

As soon as I got in the cab, my belly twisted in pain and cold sweat drenched me.

I forced myself to make it home, and then grabbed the frozen pie shell from the fridge to thaw.

Janet suddenly appeared, clutching a heat patch. There was a smug glint in her eyes.

"This is taking forever to thaw. Just use your body heat and put it on your belly. It's way faster. I need it ASAP, or Lucas will be worried about me," she said.

I had no power to retort. If I didn't do as she said, Lucas would freeze my card in a heartbeat.

I agreed right away. Then I put the pie shell against my belly.

Janet shot me a haughty look, faked a yawn, and turned back to her room.

The icy pie shell pressed against my belly. I could almost feel my blood turning to ice.

The pain was bone-deep, like a thousand arrows shooting through me, growing more intense until sweat dotted my forehead.

Finally, the pie shell thawed. I looked up and caught my reflection in the cabinet. My face was completely drained of color.

I forced myself to stand, but my vision went white and my mind blanked out.

I dropped straight to the floor.

I could hear Lucas running toward me. "Monica, why are you bleeding so much?"

Right before I blacked out, it hit me that Janet had made me take medicine to bring on my period early, just so she wouldn't have to deal with the pain alone.

When I woke up, Lucas was keeping vigil by my side, looking haggard and exhausted.

"How did I end up here?" I asked.

When Lucas heard me speak, a flicker of surprise flashed across his face, but it vanished quickly.

He said in a low, serious voice, "You forgot your own period? Janet didn't know your condition. Why didn't you say something?"

I wrung my hands together and stayed silent.

I did before. When I didn't want to hand-wash Janet's coat because I was burning up with a fever, Lucas snatched a dictionary off the shelf and threw it at my knee, asking me to drop the act.

Just then, Janet dug out the language test prep materials I'd bought from my bag. "Hmm? Monica, why are you studying this? Planning to leave the country?"

I was scared she'd ruin my stuff again, so I tried to snatch them back, but Lucas pinned me firmly to the bed.

"You've got an IV in your hand," he said.

I swallowed hard and struggled to say. "Give them back to me."

Lucas scoffed. "Monica is not cut out for that. Being a tutor is probably the best she could hope for."

Then he said to me, "For the next few days, you'll cover for Janet in a few shoots. I'm taking her to the beach."

I nodded obediently. "Okay."

Lucas hesitated for a moment, and then said, "You don't have a visa for here yet, but next time, I'll bring you along."

Next time? I didn't think that would happen.

Lucas took Janet back to pack their bags, while I checked myself out of the hospital and went home to prep for the test.

Halfway through memorizing vocabulary, I came across Janet's post on social media. [They say people who watch the ocean together will go far together.]

The picture showed two hands tightly clasped together.

I thought about Adam and me. We grew up together in a seaside town. Everyone assumed we'd end up married.

The day we went to the city hall to get our marriage license, Adam was hit by a truck while trying to save me, and his body was shattered before my eyes.

With the money we'd saved for our wedding, I rented an apartment on the very street where Adam's accident happened.

One day, Lucas showed up and offered to pay for my schooling. When I looked at him, it was like seeing Adam through him, and before I realized it, I nodded.

From then on, I was always by Lucas's side.

By day, he treated me like I was nothing; by night, he'd get intimate with me, calling out Janet's name in my ear.

I tapped like on Janet's post and then put my phone down.

At 4 a.m., Janet's agent called and told me to head over to the set and get ready.

I grabbed a cab and showed up. It was a mud pit brawl. My only job was to get beaten up.

This wasn't my first time being Janet's substitute. I took every slap and every tumble down the stairs for her in those scenes.

Janet had posted proof of my injuries online, and her fans flooded the comments, calling her a true professional.

After the shoot, my body felt like it was coming apart. I lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to catch my breath.

Janet's agent gave me a scornful look. "You had it coming, making moves on Mr. Grant while Janet's not around."

But Lucas was the one who told me to be his woman. And he looked so much like Adam that I couldn't let myself walk away from him.

"Alright, we've got another scene to shoot. Stop being a nuisance and get up," the agent snapped.