Cole Parker lived at Sunshine, one of the most luxurious penthouses situated right in the heart of the city. It took Ava about a thirty-minute drive before her arrival.

She parked and stepped down. Right behind her, in the shadows, a dark, sleek car also halted.

Ava had no idea she was being followed; although if she had been paying attention, she might have noticed, but all her thoughts were on meeting Cole.

She rode her way up to the last floor and rang the doorbell, but no response came. Considering how late it was, she figured Cole was probably asleep, so she tried again.

This time, the door swung open, revealing Cole, who was clad in a bathrobe, his blonde hair slightly disheveled, and his eyes appearing tired.

Ava's lips curled into a smile.

She didn't know she could even smile amidst all this, but somehow, seeing Cole, she felt all her problems had suddenly disappeared. Gone. Dead to the world.

She felt safe and secure, like nothing was impossible as long as she was with Cole.

"Hi, did I wake you?" She asked innocently, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I called and texted, but..."

"Ava, what are you doing here?" He inquired, voice cold, cutting off the rest of her statement. "It's midnight and..."

"I know. I know." She interrupted, tucking a few strands of hair off her face, "And I'm sorry. I had a good reason for coming here at this time, and I promise I'll explain everything. Can I come in?"

Cole hesitated, swiftly glancing back into the dark room. "Ava, this is a bad time."

Ava paused.

Why was Cole acting like this? The Cole she knew and fell in love with would have already offered her a seat and asked her what was going on.

"Cole, please let me in." She pleaded, "I'll explain everything."

"Look, Ava..."

"Honey, who is it?" A feminine voice asked, followed by footsteps.

Panic instantly materialized on Cole's face, while Ava's jaw slightly dropped in disbelief, and her eyes widened a bit.

It can't be.

The lady finally emerged from the darkness and wrapped her arms around Cole, her sparkling red hair illuminating the dark night.

"Hi," She smiled at Ava, who quickly took three steps back as though she had just seen a ghost. "Who are you?"

Ava began to tremble, her big eyes flickering to Cole, who had exactly the look of someone that has been caught cheating.

It can't be.

The red-haired lady tilted her head up at Cole. "Baby, who's she, and what does she want at this time of night?"

"Nothing." Ava finally found her voice, albeit it didn't sound like hers. "Sorry, I came to the wrong building. Please, enjoy your night."

Her hand clutching the bag tightly, she scurried onto the elevator, then rode to the ground floor. It was only when she got into her car that she finally broke down in tears.

She cried her little heart out for a long, long time.

This is officially the worst day of her life. As if being told that she was going to be married off to an emotionless robot wasn't enough, Cole, her comfort, the only human being in the universe who understands her and makes her feel like home, is also cheating on her.

What on earth has she done to deserve any of this?

When there were no other tears left to trickle out, she finally sat up and stared into the dark night.

What on earth was she going to do now? She had hoped that Cole would crash at Cole's place until he came up with a solution. He has always been the one who comes up with solutions whenever a problem arises.

Looks like she's gonna have to deal with this one herself. One thing was for sure: she wasn't going back to that house.

Never. No way in hell.

So she drove to the nearest motel. Cole kept calling her phone and dropping numerous texts, so she turned off the phone.

All she needed right now was a good night's sleep. She will have more time to think about her problem with a clear head in the morning.

She was lucky to find a room. She checked in and had a really cold shower before passing out on the bed.

The loud banging on her door woke her up the next morning. She groggily got off the bed and made her way to the door.

"Coming," She mumbled, yawning in the process.

She froze, her eyes widening in horror upon opening the door.

Marc stood there in the doorway with a smile on his face.

How on earth did he find her?

"Hello, Miss Ava."

On reflex, she hurried back into the room and made to slam the door on his face, but he stuck one foot in, stopping her from doing so, then gently pushed the door open.

"What are you doing here?" Ava demanded, eyes hard and cold, lips trembling as she took several steps away from Marc.

"Your father has asked me to carefully escort you back home." Marc replied politely.

"I'm not going anywhere." She quavered, "Now get out!"

"Miss Ava, please." Marc pleaded, "Come with me."

"Get out! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Marc pressed his lips together. "I'm afraid I have no choice then."

"What..."

Before Ava knew it, Marc had already closed the space between them and scooped her to his shoulders.

"Hey! Let me down! Let me down right this instant! Let me down!" She kept yelling at the top of her lungs, kicking, hitting, and flailing, "Let me down! I said to let me down!"

With Ava on Marc's shoulder, he made his way out of the motel. Ava finally gave up and accepted her fate. There was no way she could slip free from these hard, muscular bones.

Ugh, she felt like such a big fool, pathetic, humiliated, and utterly devastated. How could she think her father would just let her escape like that?

Richard Summers has eyes and ears everywhere. Wherever she goes, she will be found within a few hours.

"My clothes, my phone." She muttered.

"Don't worry. They'll all be retrieved." Marc reassured her, carefully placing her in the passenger seat of the car. "I'm so sorry about this, Miss Ava."

"I understand." She said in a husky voice, laced with utter despair and painful acceptance.

"Thank you."

Then Marc shut the door.

"Ava," Richard's voice came from the dining hall as Ava walked into the house with Marc trailing behind her. "In here."

Ava paused, then sighed helplessly. She retraced her steps and headed into the dining hall.

There they all sat, Richard at the head of the table, Emily by his right, and Eva by his left. Ava thought they looked so perfect without her in the frame.

"Marc, you're excused."

Marc gave a slight bow, spun around, and disappeared through the doors.

"You really tried to escape," Richard pronounced, mocking sarcasm laced in his voice.

Ava folded her hands, eyes hardening, "You gave me no choice."

"What made you think that you would slip my grasp, Ava?" He enquired, "You must have forgotten that I control some of the high officials in the city."

Ava made a disgusted face. "You make me sicker than you already do when you brag."

Richard frowned. "I brought you into this world, Ava; whatever I say goes."

Ava has finally accepted her fate. There was no escape. She was going to get married to Devlin Frost, no matter what she did.

Hey, who knows? Maybe this is all she needed. If she gets married to Devlin, she will be out of here, away from this sick building of a home.

She has no one. Nowhere to go. No place to hide. Maybe this was all for the best. If she gets married to Devlin Frost, she will no longer have to feel terrible whenever Eva gets treated like she is the queen of England.

No more neglect. No more constant comparison. No more self-hatred and self-pity. Just Devlin Frost. Who knows? Devlin Frost might have changed over the years; he might no longer be the hateful, emotionless bastard he was as a kid.

"So, you will get married to Devlin in six days," Richard concluded.

"Fine." She declared.

There was a pause.

Did she just say... No, perhaps they heard her wrong?

"I said fine." She repeated, "I will get married to Devlin Frost since that's what you all want."

None of them ever expected that Ava would accept in just a speck of hours. They had expected her to keep throwing tantrums, but what is this? She will get married to Devlin Frost? Just like that?

Either way, this new development was fantastic. After all, it was what they all wanted.

"Um... okay." Richard beamed brightly. "Very good, Ava."

"That's all, right? May I go now?" She turned to leave.

"Actually, there is another thing," Richard said, halting her in her tracks.

"What?"

Richard glanced at Emily, at Eva, then back at Ava. "You won't be getting married to Devlin as Ava Summers; you will be getting married to him as Eva Summers."

Ava stayed quiet as she absorbed the news. She didn't even know how to feel. Just when she thought they were done with her, they found another way to screw her over.

"You mean... I have to pretend to be... Eva?" The disbelief in her voice was palpable.

"Yes."

Ava burst out laughing.

They all exchanged annoyed glances.

"What's so funny?" Richard demanded.

"You," Ava replied amidst laughter, "You are so funny... and ridiculous! And stupid!"

Richard's face darkened.

"Ava, don't speak to Dad like that." Eva cautioned.

Ava threw her a glare, "You, shut up." Then she returned her gaze to her father's annoyed face. "What in the world made you all think I could ever pretend to be Eva? Huh? I mean, look at her, she's the perfect daughter, the most beloved girl, always full of radiant smiles and energy that attracts everybody around her. The perfect girl who always knows what to say and do in every situation. Daddy's and Mommy's little girl! What in the world made you think I, the confused, imperfect daughter who doesn't even know what to do with her life, could pretend to be her?"

"I will teach you." Eva offered, "I will teach you how to be like me."

"Oh, I do not want to be anything like you!" Ava snapped at her, "You know that!"

"Ava, you've agreed." Richard pronounced, "We are not doing this again. You will pretend to be Eva, and no one... no living soul will ever know! Else, there will be consequences," His face darkened, "You know damn well what I can do. Am I understood?"

Ava felt defeated.

She has no idea why they were doing all this. If Eva grew cold feet and had a change of heart, why couldn't they just call off the wedding? I mean, the Frosts and the Summers have been friends for ages, so why are they forcing her to marry Devlin in Eva's place whilst pretending to be Eva at the same time?

There was a whole lot more to this.

"Fine!" She threw up her hands in resignation, "It' not like I have any say. Besides, I do want to know what it feels like to be the perfect, radiant Eva everyone loves! Can I go now?"

She spun on her heels and exited the dining hall. She locked herself up in her room, showered, then changed into something nice.

Twenty-four hours ago, if someone had told her that she would not only find out that Cole was cheating on her, but also that she would be the imposter bride to that emotionless robot, she would have laughed in their face and told them that they were ridiculous.

Everything was happening so fast that she couldn't keep up.

Now she was going to pretend to be Eva. That would be harder than getting married to Devlin.

She knows Eva all too well. Eva is phony. And two-faced. She gives people what they want, with that constant deceptive smile that has worked charms for her.

She loves being the center of attention. She is socially manipulative. And always dresses and walks like a supermodel on the Vogue runway. With her perfect hair and makeup.

Ugh, what a headache. Now, how in God's name was she going to pull all that off?

The light knock on her door broke into her thoughts. She sighed and rose to her feet, then made her way to the door.

Eva was standing elegantly at the door, a slender hand on her knees, her perfectly shaped lips pursed.

"What the hell do you want?" Ava demanded hostilely, eyes hardening as she folded her arms defensively.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist, Sis, I come in peace," Eva grinned at her. "I'm here to give you a makeover. On how to be me."

Ava stood by the door, arms still crossed, and watched Eva saunter around the room, eyes judgy, obviously unimpressed by the decoration of the room.

"I swear to God, if you say one stupid thing, I'm kicking you out!" Ava warned coldly.

Eva turned to her, then grinned, "Why do you always assume the worst of me?"

"I don't know." Ava raised her shoulders in an indifferent shrug. "Maybe because you're you."

Eva frowned. "What the hell does that even mean?"

"You know what I mean." Ava replied, "You're Eva. The phony girl. The socially manipulative girl who thinks she's better than everyone else."

Eva smirked, "Oh, but I am better than everyone else... You are not an exception. You do realize that you come off as jealous, right?"

"I'm not jealous."

"Oh, but you are," Eva said, then turned to scrutinize the wallpaper. "You can stop lying to yourself Ava; you are jealous of me and everything I have and have accomplished. You know you are."

Ava's jaw tightened, "Yeah. Maybe I am. Maybe I am jealous of you. You have absolutely no idea how it feels to always be compared to you every minute of my life, how it feels like to watch you get plenty of gifts on our birthdays and Christmases, how it feels like to watch Mom and Dad adore you and spoil you rotten! It's like I was born just to make you look and feel good, like that's my whole purpose of existing. So, yeah. Maybe I was jealous."

Eva swung around, "Was?"

"Yeah. I am no longer jealous of you." Ava responded, "I stopped being jealous of you long ago. I don't always need to feel pity for myself when you're around. I have learned to love and live with myself. I have realized that I am enough. Someone made me realize that. Why? Does it bruise your ego that I am no longer jealous of you?"

"What? No, no, not at all." Eva's grin widened. "If anything, I am happy for you, sis. I'm happy for your self-growth. Now, shall we start our lesson on how to be the fabulous Eva Summers?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you change your mind about Devlin?" Ava enquired, "You've been crazily obsessed with him for ages, to the point that you even sent your minions to stalk him. So why are you changing your mind now?"

"Like you said, it's just a crazy obsession." Eva responded, "Not love. I've gotten over him. Devlin's old news."

"Then why?!" Ava barked, taking aggressive steps towards Eva, riding her backwards, "Why can't you and your sick father just call the engagement off? Why do I have to play your rebound?"

"I don't know. Go ask Dad." Eva answered. "I told him I was no longer interested, and that was it. You getting married to Devlin in my place is all his and mom's plan."

"Filthy liar!" Ava spat.

Eva sidestepped her and walked away further from her before Ava grabbed her neck and hit her or something.

"I'm getting bored of this conversation." She pouted, almost sarcastically, "This is not what I came here for. I'm here to teach you how to be me, not listen to your pity story or be interrogated. I have better things to do, and if you are not cooperative, I'm walking out that door and telling Dad. Now sit down."

Ava stood still, glaring at her twin sister with deep-rooted hatred and repulse, her fist clenched so tight her knuckles turned white, lips pressed hard against the other they began to hurt.

"Well?"

Ava sighed helplessly, released her fist, and took a seat on the bed.

"Good. Now our first lesson on How to be Eva Summers is... wait, what is it again? Rosy!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Rosy, Eva's assistant, stormed into the room almost immediately, then handed Eva a tablet.

Eva studied the tablet, then glanced up at Ava, "Your first lesson is How to Walk like Eva. When I walk, I carry myself with grace, effortless elegance and charisma like I own the place, like I'm scared of nothing, like the entire world is at my feet."

Ava rolled her eyes in disgust. I'd expect nothing less.

"When I walk, I tell the entire world to look at me. "Look, I'm Eva Summers, and I'm fabulous!" So, watch and learn."

Eva elegantly sashayed to the end of the room, then sashayed back. She did it twice, effortlessly and gracefully.

"Now, I'd like to see you try."

Ava already felt sick in the stomach. She wondered how much of all this she could take.

Heaving a deep breath, she strutted to the end of the room, trying to be graceful and elegant as she possibly could.

Eva snorted, "Ava, what is this? You call that walking like you own the place? Puh-lease! Anyone with eyes can see you were forcing it, and you were doing it badly."

"Is how you walk, even necessary?"

"Definitely! Everyone knows how I walk! One look at you and they could tell that you're not me. Now, do it again."

Ava spent the next hour learning how to sashay like Eva. She already knew it was going to be hard pretending to be Eva, but she never thought it would be this hard. No matter how hard she tried to walk like Eva, Eva always told her she was doing it wrong. She even felt like Eva was doing the whole thing on purpose.

She was already tired.

"Good. Good, sis." Eva finally praised, "You're getting the hang of this. Nice."

Ava heaved a sigh of relief.

Finally!

"Rosy, get the heels," Eva ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Rosy rushed out of the room.

"Heels?"

"Yes. Heels." Eva replied, "You know I wear nothing but heels. You've mastered how to strut like me, but now you are going to master how to strut like me in heels."

Ava hates heels. Whenever she wore them, she always felt like she was going to fall off them. She never understood why women wear them when it feels like wearing skyscrapers on one's feet.

"Wait, how many of these lessons are there?" She asked.

"Oh, there are plenty of them." Eva replied, glancing at the tablet in her hand, "After this, the next one is How to smile like me, then how to talk like me, how to dress like me, how to laugh like me, how to eat like me, how to..."

"That's enough!" Ava barked, startling Eva, who jumped out of her skin.

She wished for the ground to open and just swallow her whole.