The Ultimate Betrayal: My Fiancé And Sister Filmed My Rape For A Headline Chapter 04
I stood there. My mind was blank.
The nanny scooped the girl up fast, an apology already halfway out of her mouth.
“You look so much like Mrs. Hale, ma’am. I’m sorry.”
I looked inside. Behind her, mounted over the fireplace. A family portrait.
Nate, Vivian, and the girl between them, all matching sweaters, all smiling.
My blood went cold.
The next moment, the rustle of silk cut through the room. Vivian came out in a robe, snatched the girl up.
“Lucy, what are you—”
As her eyes met mine, her lips went pale. The syllable died on her tongue.
“Explain it.”
The words scraped against my dry throat.
“That… that’s…”
Vivian’s chest rose and fell in shallow, silent gasps. Then, Nate’s heavy footsteps echoed from the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” He came around the corner, apple in hand, still chewing. Then he saw me.
The grin went dead.
“Claire. I… I… Let me explain.”
“The little girl was a mistake. Just one night. I… I was drunk, Claire, I mistook her for you. We’ve kept her out here ever since.”
“This doesn’t change anything. Not between us.”
This doesn’t change anything?
I laughed.
Then I remembered our baby. The one that didn’t make it.
Two years ago, he’d whispered names into my skin, his hand tracing circles over my navel.
“She’s going to have your eyes,” he’d whispered.
She didn’t. She never even opened her eyes to see the world.
Now his arm curled around this child, his shoulders dropping in that exact same protective shield.
The pieces were falling into place.
I scanned around.
Past his shoulder, through the dining room archway, the gray linen of their sofa matched ours exactly.
Even the black metal frames of the botanical prints on the drywall were identical.
They had copied my life, down to the inch. Except for the portrait over the mantle.
A parallel home, breathing in the dark while I lived in the drafty original.
A dull numbness spread from my spine to my fingers.
“When did this start?” My voice was just a flat vibration in the air.
Nate’s gaze dropped to the Persian rug.
“Three years ago. When Vivian went to London. I… we ran into each other there.”
My fingers twitched.
My shoulder moved before I knew it. My palm connected with the flesh of her cheek.
“Ah!”
A scream. Vivian stumbled back, palm pressed to her reddening cheek. Her eyes were locked on me—wide, dark, like she was seeing me for the first time.
The room went quiet. Too quiet. Then a roar tore through it.
“What the hell did you do?”
Nate’s fingers clamped around my wrist. His grip pressed my bones together until they creaked.
“You’re insane. You’ve been unstable ever since. You’re not thinking straight.”
Am I?
Maybe. But weren’t they the ones who turned me into this?
I looked at him. The same man gripping my wrist. The same man who had stood in the corner with the camera that night.
Something pulled at my abdomen, the stitches giving way. Blood spread beneath my shirt.
I didn’t flinch. I just kept looking.
“You—”
Nate’s voice cut off. I saw his eyes drop to my blouse. He went very still.
At the same moment, a tiny fist swung toward my face.
“Go away!” the girl roared.
I threw my hand up. Something hit my palm.
Then, her scream cut through the room.
The sound was too loud for the room, too sharp for my ears. I felt it in my teeth.
“Claire! How dare you?”
Nate’s hand hit my chest before I could finish blinking.
The impact pushed the air out of me. My back hit the floor. Hard. Flat.
His cold voice dropped from above.
“She’s a kid, Claire. She didn’t do anything.”
A pause.
“And you’d put your hands on her? You’re hopeless!”
I felt the words land somewhere inside me. Then nothing.
I didn’t even cry.
From the floor, I watched them.
Nate’s arms around Vivian. Around the girl. His body between them and me. The three of them together.
A wall I couldn’t climb forever.
I didn’t feel hurt. Instead, empty.
Pain, anger, tears. Nothing came. Not even the knot I’d been carrying for years.
I realized I wasn’t waiting for him anymore. It’s time to end all of this.
“Nate. We’re done.” It came out flat, completely, utterly flat.