Elease pushed through the revolving glass doors of Walton Group.
The massive lobby was chaotic. The noise level was deafening, and there were twice as many security guards patrolling the marble floors as usual.
She started walking toward the elevator banks when her coworker, Penny, grabbed her arm.
Penny leaned in, her eyes wide with excitement, and lowered her voice. "Did you hear? The major shareholder's daughter is taking over as CEO today."
Penny pointed toward the massive floral arrangements being set up in the center of the lobby.
Veronica, another coworker known for her snobbery, slid over to them. She crossed her arms and smirked.
"She's not just an Ivy League socialite," Veronica said, her tone dripping with envy. "She's Brogan's first love."
The words 'Brogan's first love' hit Elease like a physical blow to the stomach.
An invisible hand clamped down on her heart. Her lungs stopped working for a full second.
Elease forced her facial muscles to stay relaxed. She stretched her lips into a casual smile.
"Really? What's her name?" Elease asked, though her voice trembled slightly at the edges.
Veronica rolled her eyes dramatically. "Kori Barnett."
The name reeked of old money and generational wealth.
A wave of severe dizziness washed over Elease. The lobby spun. She needed to get out of there immediately.
But the elevator chimed, and the doors slid open. The crowd of employees surged forward, physically pushing Elease into the metal box.
Inside the packed elevator, the gossip continued. Penny and Veronica loudly discussed Kori's flawless resume and her time in Europe. Every single word was a needle piercing Elease's eardrums.
Elease stared blankly at the digital floor numbers ticking upward. She pressed her hand against her chest, fighting the suffocating tightness, repeating a mantra in her head: Just hand in the resignation letter. Just leave.
The elevator reached the administrative floor.
Elease practically ran to her cubicle. She just needed to grab her personal mug and head straight to Julian's office.
She had barely pulled her drawer open when Julian Proctor, her direct supervisor, marched out of his glass office clapping his hands loudly.
"Everyone downstairs! Now! We are lining up in the lobby to welcome the new CEO," Julian barked.
Elease walked up to him. "Julian, I'm not feeling well. I need to take a sick-"
"Absolutely not," Julian cut her off harshly. "New leadership means perfect attendance. Get downstairs, Elease."
Left with no choice, Elease was herded back into the elevator with the rest of the department.
Down in the lobby, she was shoved into the second row of the massive welcoming committee. Her heart hammered against her ribs, the psychosomatic pain radiating down her arm as the trauma of her fabricated genetic illness flared under the extreme stress.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted on the street outside the glass walls. Three black Range Rovers pulled up, flanking a massive, extended Rolls-Royce.
Elease stood in the crowd. The lack of oxygen from her failing heart was making her vision go dark at the edges. She leaned her shoulder against a cold Roman pillar to keep from collapsing.
The door of the Rolls-Royce was pulled open by a bodyguard.
A pair of legs wearing limited-edition Christian Louboutin red-bottom heels stepped out onto the pavement.
Then, Kori Barnett emerged. She was wearing a custom white trench coat, looking effortlessly elegant as camera flashes erupted around her.
Elease peered through the gap between her coworkers' shoulders.
In the next second, a physical shockwave ripped through Elease's nervous system. Her entire body froze solid.
Stepping out of the car right behind Kori, wearing a bespoke suit and a gentle, protective expression, was Brogan Walton.
Brogan naturally placed his hand on the small of Kori's back, shielding her from the aggressive paparazzi. It was a tender, fiercely protective gesture Elease had never, ever received from him.
The employees around Elease gasped in awe, whispering about how perfect the golden couple looked together.
Elease's eyes were locked onto Kori's face. As the couple walked closer, the horrifying truth poured over Elease like a bucket of ice water.
Kori's eyes, the slope of her nose, even the exact curve of her smile-they were a terrifying, identical match to Elease's own face.
Five years of bizarre, controlling rules suddenly clicked into place in Elease's brain. Brogan forcing her to dye her hair that specific shade of chestnut. Brogan forbidding her from wearing heavy makeup.
A violent, tearing agony exploded in Elease's chest. She bit down on her lip so hard that the metallic taste of fresh blood flooded her mouth.
She wasn't a Cinderella. She was never loved. She was just a cheap, easily replaceable stand-in for the woman he actually wanted.
Brogan and Kori walked through the lobby doors, surrounded by executives.
Brogan's sharp gaze swept over the crowd. For a fraction of a second, his eyes seemed to pause near Elease's section.
A split second before their eyes met, Elease ducked her head down, completely hiding herself behind the broad back of a male coworker.
The sharp clicking of Kori's red bottoms faded as they walked toward the VIP elevators.
The moment the private elevator chimed, Elease's legs gave out. She turned and sprinted toward the ground floor restrooms, desperate to escape the nightmare.
