Chapter 3

• Alice Lewis
• I came home feeling like the world was crumbling beneath my feet. The weight of everything pressed down on me, making it hard to even breathe. I barely managed to close the door before reality came crashing back—louder, heavier, and more suffocating than ever.
• My tiny apartment, already suffocating with its peeling walls and secondhand furniture, felt even smaller that morning. Like a cage.
• I tossed my bag onto the couch and, out of sheer habit, went straight to check the mailbox. A stupid reflex, as if I were expecting good news for once.
• But, as always, it was the opposite.
• The overdue bills were growing in the pile on the table. Red notices, collection threats, final warnings—it was a disaster I couldn’t outrun. I stared at them for a moment . The stack of problems kept growing, and I was running out of ways to fight back.
• Was this really my only way out?
• Arthur’s proposal could wipe this all away—save my mother, clear my debts, buy me a second chance. But at what cost? Pretending to be someone else? Marrying a man I didn’t know, who had been locked away for crimes I didn’t dare imagine?
• My stomach twisted at the thought.
• With no one else to turn to, I grabbed my phone and called Clara. She picked up on the third ring, her voice as bright as ever, oblivious to the storm raging inside me.
• “Alice! You finally decided to show up. Where have you been hiding?”
• I gripped the phone tighter.
• “Clara, it’s a long story, and I really need you right now. It’s… complicated.”
• The moment she heard my tone, her teasing stopped.
• “Of course, girl. Tell me everything. What happened?”
• And so I did. I told her everything—Arthur, Aurora, the arranged marriage to a dangerous man, the prison sentence, and the fact that he’d be walking free any day now.
• For the first time since I met Clara, she was silent.
• “Alice… are you serious? This sounds like some insane telenovela.”
• “I know!” I nearly shouted. “I thought it was a prank too, but it’s real, Clara. He really is my father. Aurora is real. And now, somehow, this mess is my life.”
• Clara exhaled sharply.
• “Okay, okay. Let’s say this is all true. Are you really going to go through with it? Take her place? Marry him?”
• I swallowed hard.
• “I don’t know! I don’t want to do this, Clara. I don’t want to pretend to be Aurora, let alone marry her fiancé. And sleeping with him? No way!”
• Clara laughed—short and sharp.
• “Oh, Alice… virgins always think like that.”
• I felt my face heat up.
• “It’s not just that,” I muttered. “He’s dangerous. He’s in prison, Clara! And tomorrow, he’ll be free. How the hell am I supposed to trust someone like that? What if he’s a psychopath?”
• Clara went quiet again, and that silence scared me more than anything.
• “Arthur wants an answer by tomorrow,” I whispered. “And if I say no… he said things could get worse.”
• Clara’s breath hitched.
• “Worse? What the hell does that mean?”
• I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
• Because deep down, I already knew.
• Arthur hadn’t said it outright, but the way he looked at me, the weight behind his words… it was a threat.
• This wasn’t just about my mother anymore.
• If I said no, I wouldn’t be walking away unscathed.
• “Alice,” Clara’s voice was firm now, almost urgent. “Listen to me. You need to clear your head before making any decision.”
• “And how do I do that, genius?”
• “Easy. If you’re scared of sleeping with your sister’s fiancé, maybe the solution is simple. Get it over with first—with someone you choose.”
• My jaw dropped.
• “Clara!”
• “I’m serious! Let’s go out tonight. Have some drinks, find a hot guy. Even if you don’t do anything, at least you’ll feel in control. For once.”
• It was ridiculous. Completely insane.
• But so was my life.
• I glanced at the pile of bills. The suffocating walls. The mess I was drowning in.
• Maybe, just for one night, I could forget.
• Maybe, just maybe, I could pretend I wasn’t about to make the worst decision of my life.
• “Fine,” I murmured. “But no promises.”
• “No promises, babe. Just trust me.”
• As I hung up, my pulse pounded in my ears.
• Tomorrow, my world could fall apart.
• But tonight?
• Tonight, I could still run.