But I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Something about her just stayed with me, and I couldn’t look away. Maybe it was just something about the way she looked at me. Or maybe it was just the fact that she looked so beautiful, and it had been a long time since I saw a woman I was attracted to. It didn’t matter that she had humiliated me in public. I still found myself thinking about her, replaying the incident over and over in my head and hoping I would run into her once again.
And somehow, to my surprise, the universe actually granted my wish. On a random day when I was supposed to be travelling to Paris for a friend’s wedding, and a random French guy came to ask if he could switch seats with me, who should I run into in the plane except the very woman who I’d been looking for?
She was surprised to see me, but then she must have realised that she had made a mistake when she poured her drink in my face. She kept apologising, even though I wasn’t holding it against her. She couldn’t stop staring at me, the way everyone always did when they realised that they were looking at a twin. It got tiring after a while, but there was nothing I could do about it. I humoured her, because it was obvious that she had only just realised that Marcus was a twin. Besides, she wasn’t the only one doing the staring.
Olivia was a different kind of beautiful. It wasn’t the sort of beauty that would slap you across the face, but you would notice the flaws in her looks if you stared too hard. Olivia got even more beautiful the longer you stared at her, and she seemed to radiate with a kind of light that I’d never seen before. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she was wearing minimal makeup. But even at that, she still looked so beautiful that I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. Her hazel eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and her lips were slightly parted in a way that made her seem like she was curious about something. She never tore her gaze away from me, and I just couldn’t look away because the connection I felt when looking into her eyes was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
1/3
+25 BONUS
Chapter Twentythine
We talked a little bit when I sat down beside her, but she wasn’t saying much. She was only barely talking to me, probably too stunned to say anything. I didn’t mind, I was content just looking at her, and wondering what was going on behind those beautiful eyes of hers.
“How long have you lived in London for?” 1 asked after a beef moment of silence, because she didn’t look like she was going to say anything if I didn’t ask her a question.
“Three years,” she replied, a brief shadow flashing over her eyes. “Is it that obvious that I’m not from here?”
“It’s hard to lose an American accent,” I said. “I learned that the hard way.”
“When did you move here?” she asked. “Because it sounds like you already have the accent covered.”
“I’ve been in London for almost twenty years now,” I replied, shifting uncomfortably. I didn’t like talking about my past, because it brought back so many memories I was trying to forget. I’d never told anyone about the reason. why I left, and I intended to keep things that way.
That was the main reason why Marcus hated me. Leaving someone you’d spent every single day of your life with, without providing a proper explanation for why you left was such a cruel thing to do. I fully understood that, and yet it wasn’t going to change my mind. Part of me knew that I owed him an explanation. I owed our mother an explanation. But the day I would talk about that would be the day I was put six feet under.
I still remembered the terror I felt in that moment. I remembered those early hours in the morning when I found myself roaming down Fifth Avenue, dazed and confused. The emptiness was so intense that I almost felt like I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even cry. I just roamed about like a hollow, broken shell of the person I once was.
And then the idea came to me when I began to consider my options. London seemed like the right choice. No one would ever find me there, and I could blend into the city easily and no one would be the wiser. Besides, it was the last place that anyone would think to look for me.
So I made the arrangements. Carlos tried to convince me to stay, but my mind was made up. I wanted to leave before Marcus woke up, because I knew he would try to stop me from leaving. Perhaps if he had woken up, he might have succeeded. But I didn’t stick around to find out. Thirty minutes later, I was already at the airport, with my hurriedly–packed suitcase, my heart beating wildly in my chest, and the fear of the unknown lingering in my mind. I got on that plane and never looked back, knowing that my life would never be the same again.
It seemed like a lifetime ago. But sitting there with Olivia made everything come rushing back. It was as if I’d only left yesterday. The memories came back so violently that I couldn’t even think properly, and it took every ounce of strength left in me to keep a straight face.
“Can I ask you something?” Olivia said, and I was surprised by the question.
“Sure,” I replied.
“When was the last time you saw your brother?”
I turned away from her as the emptiness grew, and I desperately tried to not sink into despair once again.
“It’s been a while,” I replied. “I don’t think he would want to see me now.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“I would rather not talk about it,” I said.
She looked like she wanted to say something, but she decided against it and settled into her stat once again. I mentally kicked myself for upsetting her, and I tried to think of a way to make amends. But the she plugged her AirPods in, and completely ignored me after that.
2/3
Chapter Twenty Nine
+25 BONUS
The silence was deafening. We were going to land very soon and I wouldn’t get an opportunity like this again. Who knew when I would see her again? If I would even see her again? I had to do something about it. I had to find a way to get in contact with her. Otherwise, I would never forgive myself.
As soon as the plane landed, I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down my phone number, which I handed to her. She looked up at me in confusion, while I smiled at her so could get back in her good graces.
“It’s my phone number,” I said. “I don’t want to risk asking you for your phone number and getting a no. So I’m leaving it up to you. If you decide not to call, then I’ll get the message. But I would be so happy if you did.” She regarded me for a full minute as everyone started getting up, and my heart was racing so fast that I thought 1 was going to pass out. But then she took the paper, and slipped it into her purse.
And I knew, in that moment, that this woman was going to change my life forever.
