Malcolm just stood there, replaying what I’d just said. Honestly—why does this guy have to overthink everything so hard?
Across from him, Yara stopped sobbing for half a second, then burst into even more dramatic tears. "Malcolm, I’ll leave… I just want you to be happy."
With that, she bit her lip and hurried off, her tiny frame shrinking into the distance. Malcolm stayed rooted to the spot, every emotion under the sun warring across his face.
Watching this play out had me internally screaming. "Malcolm…"
[What are you waiting for, dummy? She’s already walking out! You’re just standing there like a deer caught in headlights! She’s heartbroken—go after her!]
Shaken out of his trance, Malcolm dragged his gaze from Yara’s retreating back to me, looking totally caught off guard.
My own fiancé, and I’m the one pushing him to run after another girl? Who would even believe that?
"Malcolm?" I tugged gently on his sleeve to yank him back to the present. "About Yara…"
[What are you still doing loitering here? She’ll be gone any second—can’t even chase a girl right?]
Malcolm flicked one last glance at Yara’s disappearing figure, then held me in a long, searching stare. "Jolie, wait here for me. I’ll come back and explain everything later."
I watched Malcolm leave with a perfectly rehearsed look of crushed heartbreak. The second he was out the door, I dropped the act entirely.
"Pfft, who’s gonna wait around for you? I’m clocking out of this mess."
With that, I sauntered out of Malcolm’s office building, leisurely pulling out my phone to call a cab.
Let me backtrack a little. At a company party a while back, Malcolm had been instantly hooked by how much Yara looked like me. Not long after, she got hired at Salazar Enterprises, and climbed the ranks fast to end up as Malcolm’s personal assistant.
There were dozens of more qualified applicants for that spot, and Yara wasn’t anything special on paper. How’d she beat all of them to get the job? Some questions are better left unanswered—it’s all just part of the script, after all.
After I moved back to the country, Malcolm dropped Yara—his previous little stand-in—like a hot potato and proposed to me in a hurry, all because she was just a copy of me.
Yara knows all the little moments she had with Malcolm only happened because she looked like me. But she can’t let go of her feelings, and she can’t stand to watch the man she loves be with someone else. So today she showed up at the office to resign.
Malcolm, torn between his feelings for me and not wanting to let Yara go, tried to talk her into staying. She poured her heart out to him, and ended up in his arms… and of course, that’s exactly when I walked in on the whole sappy scene.
I was supposed to lose my mind. While Malcolm was in a meeting, I’d corner Yara and slap her, put her in her place. But Malcolm walked in right as I did it.
Now that Yara’s run off, Malcolm’s supposed to chase after her. That’s how the story goes: he catches up to her, they go through all their little trials and tribulations, finally get rid of me, the evil obstacle, and ride off into the sunset together.
But that ending’s still a long ways off. I’m the villainous doppelgänger who just got back into town, and I haven’t even gotten started with my part yet. All I had to do was stick to the script until I found my way back to my real life.
When I got home, my dad was out. Only my mom was there… plus an unexpected guest—Malcolm’s mom.
"Jolie, you’re home already?"
Both women looked up when I walked in the room.
"Yep," I answered with a sweet, soft smile. "Hi Mom, hello Mrs. Salazar."
My mom and Mrs. Salazar have been friends for forever, and they’re the whole reason Malcolm and I ended up engaged in the first place.
"You went to see Malcolm today, why are you back so early?" My mom glanced at the clock, confused. "It’s still so early, why don’t you stay there for dinner?"
My cheery smile slipped for half a second. "He didn’t have time for me. He went after Yara instead."
Mrs. Salazar and my mom exchanged a confused look.
"What on earth happened?" Mrs. Salazar furrowed her brow, leaning in when she saw my near-tears expression. "Jolie, did Malcolm mistreat you?"
I whispered, "No, Auntie… it’s just… I’m not good enough for him."
Confusion clouded Mrs. Salazar’s face even more. "Nonsense, you’re the only daughter-in-law I’ve ever wanted. Don’t talk down about yourself like that."
I bit my lip, leaning hard into the role of the broken-hearted wronged fiancée. "Auntie, I went to Malcolm’s office today, and I saw him with Yara…"
I trailed off, looking completely devastated, and left the rest unsaid.
Mrs. Salazar’s face hardened into anger. "That boy’s engaged and still can’t act right, running after other women. Jolie, don’t you worry. I’ll sort this out for you."
With that, she dialed Malcolm’s number, her voice sharp as a knife when she spoke. "Malcolm, get over to the Dunn’s house right now."
I could almost hear him pushing back, from the way Mrs. Salazar’s frustration boiled over. "If you don’t get over here right now and apologize to Jolie, don’t you dare even think about stepping foot back in the Salazar house ever again!"
She slammed the call shut and turned to my mom, who looked just as displeased, and offered a placating smile. "Linette, Malcolm’s just being an idiot boy. Please don’t take this to heart."
My mom pulled off a strained smile. "It’s fine, Claire. It’s probably just a misunderstanding."
Mrs. Salazar huffed an awkward, frustrated laugh. "Malcolm’s behavior is absolutely unacceptable, especially after Jolie caught him red-handed."
I kept my heartbroken face perfectly in place, while inwardly patting myself on the back for a performance well done.
Another day, another level up to my acting game.
To be fair, I wasn’t doing anything wrong to Malcolm. Sure, he’s probably fated to end up with Yara, his one true leading lady, but right now? I’m the one engaged to him.
After all, we announced our engagement at a whole big public party. Malcolm’s little affair was so tacky—it’s like finding cash in the trash: yeah it’s free money, but who wants to dig it out of garbage?
