"I'll grab us some tea."
I went to a friend's apartment. Tessa, who was also my coworker, was obsessed with tea. At first I thought it was the classic Brit thing, but I soon realized just how obsessed she was.
Tessa managed to turn me into a tea drinker. I didn't mind tea, but I maybe had it twice a year at best. Even when sick, I'd opt for medicine instead of tea and herbs.
It was easier. Antibiotics and painkillers were invented for a good reason.
Tessa served the hot beverage in front of me, as we sat on her terrace. It was a sunny day, yet it was windy.
I came to Tessa for a reason today. On the weekends, she was an amazing bartender. We worked closely for a long time, and she was the one who taught me little tips and tricks and how to make the job easier on myself.
But, during the week, she was a hairdresser. A talented one, at that. She loved doing my hair. I couldn't count how many times she'd dyed it, styled it and cut it when I needed to.
However, she refused to take off more than an inch of my hair. It had grown over the years, and it was reaching my but. Not only was it high maintenance, but also, it was suffocating me.
The ends were split, damaged beyond repair.
Tessa was currently pissed at me, despite preparing me tea. I was given silent treatment.
I came by her house, took the first pair of scissors I saw and cut off a big chunk of my hair. It took her fifteen minutes to recollect herself.
It was the only way to persuade her to cut my goddamn hair.
''Oh, come on,'' I stared at her angry face. Quietly, she sipped on her tea, legs crossed as she looked straight ahead. I rolled my eyes. ''It's not that much of a difference.''
Tessa gasped. ''Not much of a difference? It's barely below your shoulders. Do you not regret it?''
''No, it's just hair.'' I sighed.
Tessa's shoulders slumped. ''Well, you'll regret it soon.''
I associated my hair, and hairstyle with bad things that happened to me in life. It was stupid, for sure, but back in the day, whenever Milo appeared in my nightmares, I had the urge to switch the hair color, or get a haircut. And at the end of every appointment, it felt as if a big weight had been lifted off my chest.
After seeing Cora and Luka... I wasn't in a very good space. It was hanging over my head quite a lot. I knew that I was being selfish with my decisions. Neither one of them was to blame for what had happened, and I never blamed them.
But my life got too complicated, too dark way too quickly. I didn't know how to deal with these emotions.
I blinked, and the thoughts got pushed to the back of my mind. Luka wasn't going to reappear anytime soon, and well, Cora hated me too much to bother, and that was exactly how I wanted it.
''Fine, what do you want?''
Tessa wasn't a very hard person to read. Furthermore, as soon as I asked, her eyes lit up. Slowly, she told me she wanted to go on a small shopping spree. With an eye roll, we finished our tea before we went to one of the malls.
We left her home soon after. Neither one bothered to get pretty or at least decent. I was pretty sure that the grey oversized shirt I wore had four holes in it. Did I care about that? Absolutely not.
A dry laugh slipped at the thought. When I was in my early twenties, in university, I couldn't go outside if I wasn't dressed to impress. From makeup and hair to the clothes and shoes. At all times, I had to be presentable.
Life was weird, you never knew who you'd end up meeting.
And of course, it had to be today that someone had to see me. Tessa liked expensive and designer clothes. She could afford them, and despite looking like a homeless person, her wallet was thick.
''What's the next stop?''
Tessa paused to look at me. With a Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags in her hands, she contemplated which store should be next. Slowly, she grinned as she looked behind me. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw that it was a Dior shop.
''Yeah,'' I chuckled. ''You have fun in there. I'm off to get something to drink. Want anything?''
''Sure, get me a lemonade.''
With a nod, I turned my back on her and went to get us the drinks. The line was too damn long. Whenever I saw an elderly person, pregnant women or women with children, of course I let them skip the line.
But still, it was too damn tiring to wait in line. It didn't help that I was getting odd looks whenever someone walked past me. Most likely because I looked ridiculous.
I sat down in a chair, with the drinks in front of me. To pass time, I scrolled through my phone and answered some messages from my manager.
All of a sudden, a shadow had been cast over me. Slowly, I looked up and my poker face was on immediately.
Their relationship was very public. It didn't take me longer than two seconds to put the pieces together. Long, dark hair. Deep look in her eyes, and that gigantic rock on her finger.
Judging by the looks of it, she knew exactly who I was. Though, I couldn't afford to have her, out of all people, figure out the biggest secret in my life. Why the fuck was all of this happening in only one month?
''Oh my God.'' Nina commented. ''You look exactly like her.''
I threw on my best British accent, I'd been practicing for years to get it as perfect as I possibly could.
''Pardon? I think you have me confused with someone.''
I had the absolute worst luck in the world.
''I'm so sorry,'' eyes widened, she took a small step back. ''You just look like someone I knew.''
I raised an eyebrow. Someone she knew? Absolutely the fuck not. Not once did we meet and all she knew of me was through my former friends, Elijah or my parents. She was acting all too high and mighty. I didn't like the way she was looking at me. It was condescending to say the least.
I gave her a small, fake smile. ''Oh, thank you.''
I was hoping she'd leave, but no. Nina continued to stare at me for what seemed hours. Apparently, it was a staring contest and neither one of us backed off. She should've been the one to back off, she invaded my personal space and approached me. It wasn't the other way around, and I sure as fuck wasn't letting her win this little game.
Why? Well, I wasn't sure of that.
''Would you mind waiting a moment?'' She asked. ''My fiance is about to arrive, he just... has to see the resemblance.''
My eyes widened and for ten seconds, I couldn't breathe. Then, my fight or flight activated. I gathered my phone, wallet and the drinks and bolted out of the seat. Nina yelled behind me, telling me to wait and apologizing for startling me.
I wasn't listening to any of it. If I wanted to make it out of this alive, mentally, at least, I needed to leave quickly. I was calling Tessa whilst going down the stairs, eyes glued to the ground. I didn't want to risk running into him and giving him a clear glimpse of my face.
Five years. I managed to stay hidden for five years. Why the fuck did whatever entity existed hate me this much? Everyone was better off thinking I was dead. Luka, Cora and now his stupid fiance had no reason to know, and yet they figured it out in a timespan of a month. It was getting ridiculous.
Immediately, I decided to switch locations. Fuck, I was going to Japan. No one was ever going to find me there, were they?
I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and I collided with someone's chest.
My phone and everything in my hands fell onto the ground, the lemonade covering their torso.
The smell hit me instantly. I froze. My heart fucking raced, it was a miracle no one was able to hear it. I knew who it was without looking up. Everything in me told me to run, leave everything there, and hide.
But my legs didn't get the memo.
Shivers ran down my spine as soon as his hands grabbed my chin. He brought my face up, forcing me to look at him.
His lips were parted, ever so slightly, shock visible on his face. Slowly, the shock morphed into anger. Anger like I'd never seen on his face. He gripped my chin tighter.
Feeling his touch, even as slight as it was, made my heart snap. It got shattered, and as if I were standing on a million pieces of glass, everything inside of my body hurt. The kind of pain I never felt before in my life.
His eyes held nothing but raw fury. Neither of us spoke. What was I supposed to say? And I didn't want to cause a scene, there were too many people watching us.
Slowly, I tried to get away from him, but he wasn't bulging. His other hand came to my wrist and yanked me towards him. It was as if he was trying to make sure it wasn't all a dream, to make sure I was alive.
I didn't think I could be in more pain. Not until he spoke. His words were softly spoken, yet the meaning was so harsh it knocked the air out of my lungs. Despite the healing of his touch I felt, it hurt more. He looked like he was about to cry, and I already felt a tear or two slip down my cheek.
''How could you do that to us?''
No escaping reality now.
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