Chapter 2
SOPHIE WESLEY
The room went still. Their eyes had shifted to me, probably waiting for my answer.
My jaw tightened hard.
Of all the things she could have wished for, she chose my fiancé?
I didn't see that coming.
My eyes found Anthony's, searching them for a reaction, but then he looked away. Except that it wasn't with refusal. He looked like someone who was already considering it.
My stomach knotted.
Ivy stood and crossed the room to me.
"Sis, you're not mad at me, are you? I didn't want to ask for this, but mom and dad insisted that I asked..." A drop of tears slid down her cheek.
"You're really lucky to have Anthony. I mean, he's a good man..." She burst into tears. "I've never been lucky with men. My last relationship almost destroyed me, and I just..." she paused and covered her face, "I only wanted to know what it feels like to be treated well, walk down an aisle and say the vows... even if it isn't forever."
Cunning bitch.
I'd heard about her history with men. How not a single one of her relationships ever turned out well, but using my fiancé as a rebound?
"Sis..." She reached for my hands, tears still in her eyes, but pulling at the corner of her lips, was a smile that wasn't sad at all. "I'm not taking Anthony forever. A few weeks, maybe months. He'll come back to you."
"Don't touch me." I pulled free, and she stumbled back, crashing to the floor with a sharp cry.
I scoffed. I didn't even push her.
Everyone rushed to her. Mom, Dad, and even Anthony. All of them were folding around Ivy like she was going to break, and not even one of them looked at me.
"Sophie!" Dad's eyes found mine, burning with fury. "What is wrong with you?"
"How could you do that to your sister." Mom glared at me. "She did nothing wrong!"
She did nothing wrong? She asked to marry my fiancé and that's not wrong?
"She was only making a wish, Sophie." Anthony's voice was the one that broke me completely. "You should be nicer to Ivy."
My fingers tightened so hard, my knuckles turned white.
I stared at them for a moment, then turned without a word and started climbing the staircase.
"Seriously?" Mom's voice stopped me cold. "We've given you everything, and you can't do this one thing for your sister? She's asking to borrow Anthony for a few weeks. Not forever!"
"Borrow?" I scoffed, then a low dry laughter followed.
Is Anthony an item? How could she say that?
"You lived her life for years," Dad said. "The least you can do is give her this. If you can't, then you're just heartless."
"I didn't ask you to adopt me!" The words sat burning in my throat.
I never begged to be here.
I went straight to my room, and the moment the door clicked shut behind me, I burst into tears.
Anthony found me in the room a few minutes later, and I quickly wiped my tears before he crossed the room to me.
"Sophie..." He reached for me.
I stepped back.
He exhaled, hands dropping to his side. "Can you stop being dramatic? This isn't a big deal."
I stared at him. "Dramatic?"
"Sophie—"
"She asked you to marry her..." My voice cracked shakily. "And you think I'm being dramatic?"
"It's not a real marriage. It's a wish. It would be cruel not to give her that after everything she's been through—"
"What about me?" My voice climbed higher. "What about what I've been through? What about us?"
He closed the distance between us and lifted his hand to my face, cupping my cheek. His eyes were fixed on mine. I searched them for that familiar warmth and love they usually carry when they look at me, but they weren't there.
"You've had her life all these years, Sophie," he said softly. "Her name. Her family. Her birthday. Everything that was supposed to be hers..." He dropped his hand. "This is the least you can do for her. Don't you think?"
The door opened before I could find my voice.
Ivy walked in. Her eyes found mine first, and for just a second, before Anthony turned around, she smirked.
"Sophie..." Her expression collapsed into softness the moment Anthony looked at her. She moved to stand beside him. "Did I cause a fight?"
"I'm so sorry. You don't have to do it if Sophie isn't okay with it, Anthony. It doesn't matter." A tear slid down her cheek. "I'll be fine. I've been fine alone all these years anyway."
I scoffed.
"Don't say that, Ivy." Anthony reached for her hand. "You don't have to feel bad. Sophie is just..." he paused and exhaled. "You don't have to feel bad."
"Please don't blame her," Ivy said softly. "She's hurting. I understand."
She glanced at me again, the faintest trace of satisfaction on her face before she turned back to him. "I just don't want to come between you two."
"You won't." He held her hands. "I'll make your wish come true, Ivy. I'll marry you."
My blood ran cold.
I stood there and watched it happen. A proposal. On my birthday.
Ivy turned to me, gratitude and sorrow crossing her face. "Anthony made this choice himself. You won't hold it against me, will you?"
The silence stretched between us.
She closed the distance between us, then leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. "I told you, Sophie. You have no place here."
"Even while I was gone, you were nothing but a temporary replacement... A robot built to mirror me and keep my family from falling apart. You were never real to them." She tilted her head. "How did you ever think this would end differently for you?"
My hands fisted. My jaw tightened so hard, pain shot through my teeth.
I didn't move.
When she finally stepped back, I managed to put on a smile.
"You want Anthony?" I met her eyes. "He's yours, Ivy."
Colors drained from her face.
She had expected me to beg. To break. To crumble at her feet and plead for my own life back.
I refused to give her that...