Chapter 5 5

Zak tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Amy in disbelief.

'Am I dreaming?' he wondered.

The woman standing before him was the spitting image of his late wife-same eyes, same face.

It was as if she had walked straight out of his memories and into his office.

The only difference was her choice of clothes. The woman in front of him was dressed entirely in white, whereas his wife had always favored black and despised white.

This had to be a dream. A trick of the mind.

He had been down this road before, countless dreams where his wife was somehow still alive, only to wake up and face the harsh reality that she wasn't, because that was the truth. His wife was dead.

He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling deeply, waiting for this surreal moment to shatter like all the others had.

But when he opened his eyes, she was still there, very real, and very confused by his reaction.

Amy cleared her throat to gain his attention. "Excuse me, Mr. Vance. I'm here for the application of being your new secretary, Amy May," she introduced herself, her voice firm yet polite. She looked around, and continued, "I was told I wasn't the only one here for the job."

Zak blinked, snapping out of his daze.

He quickly shuffled through the papers on his desk until he found her file. His hands trembled slightly as he opened it and glanced at her profile picture, then back at her.

The resemblance was uncanny, almost haunting.

"What the hell?" he muttered under his breath, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

He stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor, his eyes never leaving her.

"You're Amy May?" he asked, his voice tinged with shock.

Amy nodded, offering a polite smile. "Yes, Sir."

Zak's eyes continued to scrutinize her.

He was struggling to wrap his mind around the situation.

How could this woman, this complete stranger, look so identical to his wife?

His mind raced, trying to find a rational explanation.

Was it possible that she had a twin? But no, he was certain she didn't. She only had Nate, her older brother.

He blinked several times, his gaze locked onto her as if she might vanish into thin air at any moment.

Amy shifted on her feet, growing increasingly uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny.

"Sir, are you alright?" she asked cautiously.

She had heard stories about Zachary Vance-his power, his success-but nothing had prepared her for this bizarre meeting.

The way he was looking at her was unsettling.

Zak's eyes dropped back to the file on his desk, desperately seeking some detail that would break this uncanny resemblance.

But there was nothing.

She was Amy May, a completely different person, and yet, every fiber of his being told him otherwise.

His heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of grief and confusion washing over him.

He ran a hand over the back of his neck, trying to ground himself in reality. "So, you're Amy May?"

He was beginning to sound like a broken record.

Amy nodded again, a trace of unease crossing her features. "Yes, I am, Sir," she replied, her tone still polite but edged with a question.

What was happening here?

"Where are you from?" Zak had to ask, feeling curious.

"Pledis," Amy replied smoothly. "It's all in my file, Sir."

Zak nodded, though his expression remained tense.

"Of course," he muttered, almost to himself. He glanced back at her file, flipping through the pages absentmindedly. "Your file doesn't mention whether you're an only child."

Amy's eyes narrowed slightly, but she kept her tone calm.

"I wasn't aware that my personal history needed to be so detailed for a job, Sir," she replied, her voice steady.

There was no irritation in her tone, just a straightforwardness that made it clear she found his line of questioning unexpected.

Zak set the file down on his desk, leaning back in his chair as he fixed her with an intense gaze.

He was studying her as though searching for something hidden beneath the surface.

Amy shifted slightly under the weight of his stare, unsure of why he seemed so unsettled by her presence.

"I'm an only child, Sir," she added, hoping to quell whatever discomfort he was feeling. "My mother is still alive, but my father passed away some time ago."

Zak nodded slowly, though his eyes remained locked on her, scrutinizing every detail of her face as if trying to decipher a riddle.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but it wasn't one of amusement.

'A doppelganger,' he thought to himself.

Was that the answer?

It seemed like the only plausible explanation for this uncanny resemblance.

The woman standing in front of him couldn't possibly be his wife.

Everything about her-the way she spoke, the way she carried herself-was different.

His wife had been bold, fiery, often speaking her mind without a second thought.

Amy, by contrast, was composed and formal, her attitude professional yet distant.

The only connection between them was the face, a mirror image that will definitely haunt him if he decided to accept her as his secretary.

And he couldn't possibly lose the chance of having his wife's carbon copy in front of him all the time.

Zak took a deep breath, forcing himself to lean back in his chair.

"Very well," he said, his voice regaining some of its usual authority. "Why don't you just wait a moment?"

It didn't take long for the door to open.