Chapter 1

• JENNA’S (ISABELLA) POV
• "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
• I slowly blinked, lip-smiling face tilting into Nathaniel as he crept in closer, pressing his forehead against mine before capturing my lips in a soft kiss. The rest of them clapped all around us, but in me there was tense resolve.
• Step one… complete.
• Nathaniel, a well known billionaire who is ten years older than I am, circled his fingers around my wrist as we stood there, both of us greeting the guests. His daughters, Emily and Natasha, clapped with that sort of thrilled crinkling of my chest. They were little angels in cream-colored party dresses. So alive. So innocent.
• They did not deserve this.
• Nathaniel touched his mouth to my ear. "Thanks," he said, tracing his mouth over the curve of my ear.
• "For doing this. For loving them."
• I smiled, hard and firm and learned.
• "They're easy to love, and I'm honored to be their mother."
• My heart stumbled.
• ***
• The wedding was done. The golden sun cast on the garden as the sun began to set. Nathaniel and I strolled to the reception hall. Giggles, clinking glass, and the sweet thrum of a quartet hung in the air.
• Nathaniel had excused himself, leaving me alone with the guest. I looked around for a familiar face, and the first person I spotted was Alex Blackwood. Nathaniel’s uncle.
• He walked toward me as if he were king of the world, as if he owned me. That same wicked spark in his eye. He raised his glass.
• "Niece-in-law," he greeted, voice silky, poisonous.
• I returned the smile, the mask never slipping. “Uncle Alex.”
• He leaned in, his lips grazing my cheek in a mock-kiss, voice dropping low.
• “Six months, Isabella. That’s all you’ve got. Get into the core files. Financials. Schedules. Notes. Everything.”
• "I haven't forgotten."
• He stepped back, giving me a smug little nod. "Don't lose your head in all of this."
• "I won't."
• He slanted his eyes by an infinitesimal fraction. "Nathaniel's not the man he appears to be. Don't forget it."
• "Do you actually think I don't know?"
• All behind that loving father facade, Nathaniel was a terrible person who was ready to get rid of anyone in the way of what he wants.
• "Reminding you, that's all. Do the job, and the two million's yours. Don't get distracted and don’t even think of double-crossing me," he moved closer to me. "You'll lose something greater than the money if you do."
• I slapped my jaw shut hard, nipping the inside of my cheek, a half-laugh frothing out.
• "I will get the job done, don’t worry about that."
• Alex smiled, took his drink the second time, and dissolved into the crowd.
• I looked over at the back where Nathaniel was sitting, across from me at the fountain with Emily curled in against his hip. He winked at me, smiled at me with his toothy, bright smile that took it all in.
• "Jenna!" he yelled. "Come, I’ll like you to meet someone."
• I walked towards him, the hem of my dress slapping against the pavement.
• He held my hand as I got closer to him. He introduced me to some of his aunt, who thanked me for agreeing to be Emily’s and Natasha’s mother. They gave me some wedding gift before leaving us alone.
• "You're beautiful," he breathed, his lips against mine.
• "You look handsome," I breathed back, smiling softly.
• "You know, I was scared that you were going to say no to my proposal." He wrapped his hand around my waist as we waved at our guest.
• "And I was scared that you wouldn’t ask, but I'm glad you did because I can't imagine my life without them anymore," I said, gazing at Emily and Natasha.
• I might have only been pretending to love them just to get their family, but somehow they had grown on me. I was going to miss them when I leave.
• "Emily asked me earlier if she could call you Mom now," he told me, low-voiced.
• That stung more than it ought to have.
• "She can call me whatever she wants."
• Nathaniel turned to look at his children with genuine happiness that made me feel so guilty.
• "You've changed their whole world," he sighed. "I haven't seen them that happy in years."
• "They've deserved it," I said, watching the girls dancing under the flower arch.
• "So do you."
• ***
• I opened the door an hour later into the hallway past the private bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. The quiet descended over me like a shroud.
• I leaned toward the glass, studying my face.
• "Jenna Blackwood," I whispered, hardly opening my lips. "You're Jenna now."
• But I looked away from the mirror, the name felt so foreign.
• Glancing back up at the mirror, I called my real name. "Isabella." I had to keep that in mind, to keep my focus as to why I was there in the first place.
• There was a soft tap on the door. "It's me," she said, and I recognized the voice instantly.
• I pushed the door open and moved out of the way. Sophie strode in, looking around the room before the door shut behind her.
• "Mrs. Blackwood," she said, cocking an eyebrow. "You did it."
• "I know." I sighed.
• "Why are you sad about it? Isn’t this what we wanted?"
• I stepped away from the restroom sink. "I feel terrible that I'm deceiving them."
• "You didn't lie. You did what you were supposed to do."
• "I didn't count on the girls falling this hard for me."
• “That was the plan, wasn’t it?” She moved closer to me. "Children believe what they feel. And they feel that they're safe with you."
• "They shouldn't."
• She grew firmer in speech. "Why?"
• "Because it isn't real," I exhaled. "Because the woman they're thinking about calling Mom isn't who she's been lying to everyone about."
• Sophie didn't shift from my side. "And him?"
• "What about him?"
• "Their father isn’t who he claimed to be either. He can destroy lives just to get what he wants, so you shouldn't feel guilty for using his children to get what you want."
• I didn’t reply.
• "Isabella," She put her hand on my arm. "You're closer than ever. Don't let guilt keep you from what you've built."
• I backed away. "They think I'm saving them, that I’m the best thing that has happened to their family in years. "
• She held on tighter. "Let them."
• "Alex also thinks that I am some girl who is desperate for money that he can control easily."
• "He doesn't even know that you are the real threat."
• "I am playing games with him. Just as I am playing games with Nathaniel." I let out a breath. "I just want the truth."
• "And you will have it. But only if you don’t let emotion interfere with your mission."
• I closed my eyes.
• "My parents deserve justice."
• She nodded. "Then go do what you have to do."
• I opened the door and walked into the hallway.
• Isabella, you can do this. Just six months. All you have to do is live as Jenna Blackwood for six months.