Chapter 3 Don't try to play me in your little game

My eyes, which had gotten used to the darkness in the head cloth, were introduced to a dimly lit room and the face of the man standing in front of me.

He was a young handsome man with a sharp perfect jawline, eyes that were compared to the ocean, and that manly frown. I couldn't help but appreciate his striking features even in a situation like this.

Wait, a frown? Why was he frowning at me? Did I, no, did Eve perhaps offend this man?

I was just about to start apologizing on her behalf, but then he said,

"Your game of hide and seek is now over. I'll make sure you can't get away from me from now on."

"Eh?"

Did I perhaps miss the plot? This is a kidnapping case, isn't it?

He snapped his fingers and the lights came on. It was a bit blinding so she squinted her eyes. But now she could get a good view of the man with the blue charming eyes.

He was handsome.

But wait, what was it that I was seeing in his eyes? Despite the frown on his face, he seemed to have some hurt in his eyes. Was he sad?

"Eve," he called over gritted teeth. "Have you had enough fun? How dare you try to make a fool of me and then run away?"

"What?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

He looked at me briefly then shoved his finger through his hair,

"Are you still taking me for a fool? Trying to act oblivious even at a time like this?" He forcefully dropped his hands on my shoulder and I flinched. "Haven't you toyed with me enough?"

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," I said. "And also, I... I'm not Eve. You got the wrong girl. I'm her twin sister, Ava."

"Dammit, Eve." He cussed and took his hands off. "Again with that lie. Aren't you tired of telling a lie now and then? A twin? I'm no longer stupid enough to believe that." He said, sounding very furious.

I gulped. It would seem he was talking about Eve and she has used the guise of a twin before. She had pretended to be her?

"Ava, was it? You did this before. Was it fun when you ran away and came back, pretending to be your 'twin' just so you could gain my sympathy and extort more out of me? I won't fall for that a second time."

'She did what?'

I was in disbelief. Why would Eve do such a thing? Come to think of it, I didn't know what Eve did for a living. I didn't know what she used my ID card for after borrowing it. But was Eve as horrible as how they described? Was she into fraud? Did she trick him out of his money?

My head was spinning. What was a lie and what was the truth?

This man looked me in the eyes as if scanning my identity with his own eyes. Just as his eyes were blue, mine were blue as well but compared to his which had the color of the surface of the ocean, mine were as dark as the depths of the sea.

Then, he got closer, lightly grabbed a lock of my blonde hair that was formerly weaved into two pigtails that morning, and then let go before grabbing my chin, and pushing my head to the side.

On my right earlobe was a tiny black mole. Eve and I had that same mole in the same spot, as well as identical earlobes.

It was amazing how one could look so identical in all aspects, even for identical twins.

No one was ever really able to differentiate us because of our extremely similar features.

He let go of my chin and scoffed.

"Don't try to play me in your little game. I'm not falling for it a second time." He said and turned to leave.

"It's the truth," I said, hoping to her through to him. "I'm not Eve. I am Ava."

"After you deceived me, I checked it properly." He said and held the wood frame. "You have no family, let alone a twin sister. Get ready, I'm going to have you tonight."

With those words, he made his way out, leaving me feeling restless, confused, and scared.

What did I get myself into? No, what did Emilia get us into?

After about an hour or two of me sitting still with my legs and hands bound, a few ladies entered the room. They wore maid outfits so I could safely assume they were maids.

They untied me and for a moment, I thought they wanted to help me escape, only to be led to the bathroom and stripped naked.

"Hey, stop. This is too far, don't you think?" I said but they kept a deaf ear and I could almost feel hostility from them.

Sitting in the bathtub like a kid, they filled the tub with warm water that felt just right and soothing before proceeding to bathe me. Honestly, I was confused but I couldn't retaliate because when I weighed the odds, I was more at a disadvantage.

If I tried to run, they would quickly overpower me and then tell on me to the handsome guy of before. Then, who knew what he would do after that?

The last thing I wanted was to get on his nerves even more than I already had.

'Maybe there's still room for negotiation.' I thought as the maids led me, who was already wearing a robe after the relaxing bath, towards the dressing table.

I sat down and they dried my dripping hair with a hairdryer.

This treatment... It was a sin to enjoy it but I couldn't help myself. Having others do stuff for me, having them worry about the trifles while I just sat back, that was something I had grown too used to.

I had Eve doing everything for me and didn't stop to think, not for once, if it would be better to rise to my own feet and work on my own.

I was the older one but she had been the responsible one. She had been the one to take care of me, shield me, comfort me. She did everything for me and the others and I... I just sat back and grew carefree.

I grew sad at the thought. What did she go through to give me such a comfortable life?

Now, Eve was no longer here so I had to break myself from that feeling of comfort at having others do things for me.

One of the maids took out a nightwear from the wardrobe at the side and it was at that moment I realized the room looked quite nice. It had a feminine touch and a scent that, if I wasn't mistaken, was very similar to Eve's.

It was like she had lived here the whole time for her scent to be all over the place.

At the thought of that, my eyes widened. Was this perhaps...?

It couldn't be that she had lived in this room the whole time, right?

"Please stand up." She said and I stood up, while still staring into space. They helped me wear the nightwear. It was lacy and transparent. Such a thing didn't seem suitable for sleeping. It was rather uncomfortable.

Then, I got a whiff of this lacy outfit. It smelled like Eve. It smelled like my sister. I clutched onto it and felt my eyes tearing up. The sister I would no longer see ... This was hers. This was her stuff.

How was it that her scent was still so strong on it? How was it that I didn't possess anything that was so closely related to her like this? Had I been estranged from my sister so much?

The maids suddenly pushed me and I looked back to see they had no sympathy whatsoever for me who was very close to tears. It would seem like they put up a wall against any of my actions.

They were weary.

"The master is waiting." One said and I gulped. Who was waiting?