My Twin Sister Stole My Baby Daddy

ZOE'S POV

On the flight back to Australia, sitting by the window side looking at the clear sky, all I had to think about is my cute little son–Jamie, who I had missed so terribly, his little arms around my neck, his giggles, the way he calls me mommy with his sweet voice and my twin sister Chloe, the only family I had left. My whole world revolved around these two. I had no choice but to leave Jamie behind, due to the conditions that came with my new job. It wasn't easy making that decision.

When the plane landed in Australia and I walked out, I closed my eyes and breathed in, the smell of home calmed me down. One year, that seemed like ten years. That was how long I had been away from my son and sister, working tirelessly overseas. I have been counting down to the day I get to hold my little boy in my arms again and kiss him all over his face.

My name is Zoe Packer. I used to be a proud office assistant to the director of Perkins group, one of the biggest companies in Australia, until the one-night stand with him that changed my life. Now I'm a single mother of a five year old boy, who used to live in Sydney with my twin sister before I left them both for a job I got outside the country.

I did not tell them I was flying in to visit, I plan to surprise them and just show up at their doorstep. I smiled to myself as I pictured in my mind how the look on their faces will be when they see me today.

I had planned the whole day. We'd all go to the park, then go have some ice cream at our favourite spot, spend the rest of the day at the beach side and soak in every moment I had missed.

But as I waited for my luggage to be cleared at the carousel, I got bored which led me to flip through the pages of the magazine I had picked up earlier. And that was when I experienced a moment of pure astonishment.

"Austin Perkins attends the royal gala with his wife, Zoe Packer."

I looked at the page with my eyes wide open and yet it seemed like I wasn't seeing clearly. My heart was beating really fast. Zoe Packer? That's my name. My full name. Married to Austin Perkins? The father of my child?

My stomach was upset as I continued to read. The article went on talking about their romance, and how perfect they looked together at the most talked about event of the year. There were pictures, Austin in a classic black tuxedo, standing beside a woman in a beautiful ball gown. A woman who looked just like me.

Chloe.

"What in the world is all this?" I said in disbelief.

I grabbed my suitcase and stormed out of the airport. I took a cab and went to our apartment in Melbourne. But another shock was waiting for me there.

I was knocking on the door when our neighbour, Mrs. Harrison came out of her room and saw me.

"Oh, Chloe, you're back? It's good to see you again." She said to me, smiling.

"Uh..Excuse me? I'm not.." I started but she cut me off.

"Zoe moved out some months ago. She packed up and left right after she got married. Some rich guy in Sydney. But I'm surprised you're here looking for your twin sister." She said, frowning.

I felt the ground shift beneath me. "Um..I'm sorry ma'am. Did she leave a forwarding address or anything?

Mrs. Harrison shook her head. "No, dear. But I saw her leaving with the little one. He couldn't stop talking about moving to a bigger house and getting a bigger room. He looked happy."

Happy. My son. With Chloe. Living a life that she had no right to live. My life!

"You mean you didn't know your twin sister was getting married? She didn't tell you?" she asked, sounding surprised and worried.

I could not answer Mrs. Harrison's question. Who would believe I had no idea my own twin sister was getting married or moving out of the city with my son?

I stood there, lost in thought. Trying to make sense of everything. Chloe wouldn't do this to me. Would she? She knew all I had been through for the past five years. She was there for me when I found out I was pregnant.

Then a different thought struck my mind. Wait a minute... Was this the reason Chloe had been acting strange for some months now. She would give excuses to get off the phone, avoided video calls with me and didn't let me speak with Jamie as often as I used to. She told me she was trying to get a job, which I found really hard to believe. But not in my wildest dream did I think it was because she was planning something like this behind my back.

So, she got married to Austin? How on earth did that happen? Was this what she planned to do all along? My head was spinning with ideas and questions I had no answers to.

"Is everything alright, Chloe?" Mrs. Harrison asked, looking closely at my face.

I turned to look away, my vision became unclear, fighting the tears threatening to fall down my cheeks. I couldn't believe this. My twin sister had stolen my identity, my son, my son's father, my entire life.

"Thank you, Mrs Harrison. I have to go." I said, not waiting for her to respond.

My hands were made into fists as I walked out of the apartment, my chest burning with betrayal.

I picked out my phone and dialled Chloe's number as soon as I got into a cab.

It rang. Once. Twice.

Then she picked. "Hello?"

"Chloe." I swallowed hard. "What the hell is going on? How the hell are you now Austin's wife? And I just left the apartment, I was told you moved out, with Jamie?"

Silence. Then the click sound.

She hung up.

Oh she didn't just hang up on me.

I called her back. She didn't answer.

I called her back again. But it went to voicemail.

I kept sending her text messages till I arrived at the hotel but she didn't respond to any of them.

An hour later, I was pacing in my hotel room, my head spinning with ideas and questions. When I heard a notification sound on my phone. I quickly grabbed it from the bed.

Chloe: I'll come see you in Melbourne tomorrow.

There's no way I'm waiting till tomorrow. I'm going to Sydney. I'm getting to the root of this today.

ZOE'S POV

I didn't wait. I couldn't.

Chloe said she'd come to Melbourne tomorrow. But I can't trust her. Not after she had succeeded in decieving me, ignored my calls and text messages. She probably got scared. She had no idea I was coming to Australia today.

I booked the next flight to Sydney.

As the plane flew through the darkness, the city lights of Melbourne faded behind me, but the betrayal still lingered on me. Chloe, my twin sister–had taken my name, the father of my son and build a life that wasn't hers. She erased me like I didn't exist anymore.

And now, I'm going to erase her lie.

It was almost 10pm when I checked into the Grand Hyatt hotel. I stood by the window of my room watching the lights, my phone clutched in my hand.

My fingers hesistated for a second, then I typed the message.

Zoe: I'm in Sydney.

That should get her attention.

My phone rang few seconds later.

"Where are you?" she asked, breathless.

I almost laughed. "Now you want to talk?"

"Zoe, please... just tell me where you are. I'll come meet you there. Don't go anywhere, please."

She sounded really desperate but I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for her. Not after what she did.

I paused for a moment before responding. "I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt, Room 109."

"I'll meet you there soon." She said before dropping the call.

*****************

Twenty minutes later, she was knocking at my door.

She looked thesame. Just like me, of course.

But different, too. Her hair looks shinier, her clothes more expensive, her eyes a little more tired. She walked in carefully, as if she was afraid I'd lunge at her.

Honestly, I wanted to.

I crossed my arms across my chest, narrowing my eyes at her as soon as she came in. I was fuming with anger.

"What the hell did you do Chloe?"

"I did it for Jamie." She said closing the door slowly behind her. "I know you're angry–furious, but I swear.. I didn't do this to hurt you."

I stood there, arms crossed. "Really? Chloe. You took my name. Married my former boss who didn't even know he has a son. Lied to the Perkins family, everyone. Completely deceived me for months. And you think that's not supposed to hurt?"

She sighed. "Listen, I know how this looks. But I promise, I meant no harm to you, Zoe. I just wanted Jamie to be happy. To live the life he deserves. You need to see how happy he is now. He has a father who loves him–adores him. Jamie has a real chance now–private school, vacation, love, everything he wants."

"He's my son." I snapped, my voice low but firm. "My life. It was not your decision to make, Chloe. I do everything I can to provide for him."

She moved closer. "You left, Zoe. You ran to another country. You didn't even want Austin to know about his own son. You were going to rob Jamie of his father. You were going to let him suffer because of your decision. I couldn't let that happen."

"I never ran. I would never. I love my son more than anything. I took the job outside the country because of him. I didn't tell Austin about Jamie because I didn't want my son to be taken away from me. You should understand that better than anyone."

"I'm really sorry, Zoe. She said, her voice shaking. I never meant to hurt you. I was only trying to help save us. Help relieve you of the burden of raising Jamie alone all for five years. And I wanted Jamie to be happy."

"You could've told me! I called you every now and then but you never said a word about it. You had the chance to let me know what you had in mind but you chose to do what you wanted behind my back, Chloe. You used my son. Stole my name and took my place like I no longer existed!"

"I was scared you'd say no. She said, with tears streaming down her eyes. And I did it all for Jamie. I love him too, Zoe."

I looked away, going back and forth in the room.

"I'm going to tell them the truth." I said flatly.

Chloe froze. "What?"

"I'm going to Perkins right now. I'll tell Austin everything. That you lied. Stole my identity. And I'm taking my son back with me."

Chloe quickly grabbed my arm. "No, please, Zoe. You can't do that. Think of what that will do to Jamie. He'll be confused. You'll ruin everything for him."

"And whose fault will that be?" I yanked my arm away from her. "Yours."

She looked crushed. "Please, Zoe. Leave it. For Jamie's sake. Let him have the life he deserves. I'll raise him like he's mine. I've been doing that for a while now."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make it right. I'm not leaving him and I'm not letting you live my life."

Something snapped in her eyes. Panic.

Then she moved fast. Really fast.

The wine bottle on the table shattered against my head with a sharp cracking sound before I realized what she had grabbed.

I gasped stumbling backward. My eyes went wide with shock before I collapsed and fell to the floor.

The room was spinning above me as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Everything was still, for a moment. Then darkness.

I felt Chloe shaking me. "Zoe? Can you hear me? Zoe...Zoe, please..wake up. Don't do this to me. I didn't mean to-I didn't-" Her voice sounding very faint in my ears.

I wanted to move. Scream. Breathe.

But I couldn't.

I could feel Chloe's hand on my neck, her words echoing in my ears.

I felt cold. Distant. Like I was floating just outside of my own body.

Then it was total silent. And I could no longer feel anything.

CHLOE'S POV

As I walked into the mansion,I felt sick. I ran up the long stairs, straight into my room, not even bothering to look at the servants that came to welcome me. My hands were shaking as I close the door. I rest my head on it as soon as I got in, trying to stop it from thinking about what had just happened.

I'm Chloe Packer. I've always been the second-best to my twin, despite been born minutes apart, she was better than me in many ways and my parents never miss the chance to let me know that when they were still alive. I'm not a career-driven woman like my sister, I just want to live a luxury life and be taken care of. So I didn't hesitate to grab the opportunity of living the life I've always dreamed of, when my sister passed up on the chance.

Zoe was dead.

I kept thinking about what happened. The sound of the wine bottle breaking into pieces, the way she fell to the floor, the blood flowing from under her head. My stomach turned. I wanted to scream, to cry, to take it back. But I could not.

She was gone.

"I killed my twin sister with my own hands." I said, looking at my shaking hands.

I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying hard not to cry. Now I have to pretend nothing happened. No one can ever find out about tonight. If they do, I'm going to lose everything, Jamie, Austin, the life I had built for myself. I don't even want to think about going back to my old life, or worse, being locked up in jail.

I stood in the middle of the bedroom,trying to calm my pounding heart by wrapping my arms around myself. I felt trapped.

I wanted to take some water to drink, but my hands were shaking. Relax, Chloe. I had come too far to fall apart now. Jamie was mine to protect, and this life-this marriage-was mine to keep. The truth had to remain hidden forever.

I was brought back to reality by the sound of a knock on the door.

"Mummy?"

My heart tightened.

Jamie was standing at the entrance of my bedroom, holding his favorite stuffed animal. His blue eyes, that looks so much like Austin's, stared at me with concern.

"What?" I yelled, too scared to speak calmly.

Jamie jumped back, his small fingers tightening around the toy. "I-" He stuttered. "I just wanted to show you my drawing."

I felt guilty and my breath caught. What the hell am I doing?

Jamie turned around and ran down the stairs, before I could open my mouth to say anything.

"No, wait-Jamie!" I called after him, but he was already gone.

I closed my eyes shut, trying to pull myself together. I love him. Despite everything, I truly love him. He isn't mine, but I was there when he was born, I had practically raised him, while his mother was mostly out working. And he was the key to keeping this family I had built, my place in the Perkins family.

I have to make this right.

I took a deep breath, I wiped my face dry, straightened my dress, and went after him.

I found Jamie snugged up on the couch in the living room, his back turned to me. Austin was kneeling down beside him, rubbing his back in a comforting way. He looked up when he heard me coming, his expression was unreadable .

"What happened? He said you yelled at him." His voice was calm, I was expecting him to be angry.

I forced a smile. "I didn't mean to snap at him. I was just..stressed."

Austin didn't respond immediately. He looked at me with concern.

"Really? Is everything alright?" He said looking at my face as if searching for answers.

"It's nothing to worry about. It's probably the change that comes with moving down here, being married now...and all." I said casually.

He sighed. "I understand, Zoe. But can you please...try not to snap at Jamie next time? He's too young to understand everything now and he's still trying to adapt to the change as well."

"Look. I know it wasn't easy for you, raising Jamie all alone for five years. So I want to be there for you from now on, for both of you. And anytime you feel upset about something, let me know and we will talk about it." He said holding Jamie's hands while looking at me.

I felt a bit of relief inside me. I was worried he'd start to doubt me. "No need to worry, Austin. I'm fine and It won't happen again." I said, smiling slightly.

I turned to face Jamie, bending beside him. "Jamie, sweetheart. I'm so sorry." I ran my fingers softly through his hair. "Mummy didn't mean to shout at you. I was just having a bad day."

Jamie sniffled, but he stayed near me. "You scared me."

I sighed. "I know, I know sweetie, I'm sorry I scared you. I promise, I will never shout at you like that again. I love you. Will you forgive me?"

"Yes mummy." he said in a low voice, looking at me.

I sighed in relief. "How about this? I'll look at the drawing you wanted to show me now, and we can do something fun tomorrow. Maybe go to the park?"

His small face lit up slightly, and he nodded.

I hesitated, then turned to Austin. "Actually... Why don't we all go together? We could take Jamie to the park. Have a proper family day."

Austin stared at me in surprise. He paused, like he was thinking twice, but then Jamie turned to him with hope in his eyes.

"Please, Daddy?"

Austin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Alright," he finally said. "We'll go."

Jamie cheered, and I felt relieved.

This was exactly what I needed-to seal my place in this family, to remind Austin and Jamie that I belonged here with them.

The truth shall remain a secret that I'll bury within me.

I squeezed Jamie in a hug. I need him to trust me, to love me. Because if I lose him, I'll lose everything.

Austin stood watching us,with his hands dipped in his pockets. A soft smile playing on his lips.

**********************************

The next day, I got dressed nicely, choosing a soft floral dress that made me look warm and motherly. I needed to keep up the act. Make it seem like everything was okay.

Austin was already dressed and waiting downstairs when Jamie and I walked downstairs to meet him.

"You ready, buddy?" Austin asked, ruffling Jamie's hair.

Jamie grinned. "Yes!"

Austin looked at me briefly, his expression unreadable, before turning away.

I knew he never had any love for me. No romantic feelings or anything.

The only reason he married me was because of Jamie, because he wanted to take responsibility and do the right thing. There was no affection between us, no romance.

But I could fix that. Now that Zoe is gone, completely out of the picture. I can make him mine.

If I played my cards right, I could make him see me as more than just a secretary and a one-night stand. I could make him fall for me.