The next morning, I was woken by commotion downstairs.
From the hallway landing, I looked down to see Daryl on the sofa with his arm around Sarah, his face soft with adoration.
Sarah was directing a row of models to parade outfit after outfit while a sales associate stood by, awaiting her orders.
When she saw me coming down the stairs, she leaned closer to Daryl, pressing herself tighter against him.
"You must be his wife? I'm sorry for moving in without asking. I barely slept all night worrying about it. You don't mind, do you?"
She wrung her hands, looking up at me with wide, anxious eyes.
I smiled faintly.
"You've already made yourself at home and called in a personal shopping team. Do you really still need my permission?"
Daryl cleared his throat and was about to speak when someone who looked exactly like him walked in from outside.
"Josephine, don't get the wrong idea."
"Let me formally introduce you. The one sitting with Sarah is my twin brother, Vincent. He's the surprise I mentioned last night."
The three of them exchanged a glance and broke into laughter.
I stood rooted to the spot, feeling like a complete fool.
That night at the lounge, Daryl had told everyone how to tell the brothers apart.
Vincent had a tiny mole at his hairline, nearly invisible unless you looked closely. Daryl didn't.
So I knew with absolute certainty: the man sitting with Sarah right now was Daryl.
"Vincent is the most important family I have. His work was classified, so he couldn't appear publicly before. That's the only reason I never told you."
Vincent stepped forward and took my hand.
"And Sarah is like a sister to us. She just got back to the country and hasn't found a place yet. She's staying with us temporarily. You won't be upset, will you?"
All three of them performed flawlessly.
I swallowed the nausea rising in my stomach and forced a smile.
"Of course not. She can stay as long as she likes."
Sarah's smile turned smug. She finished picking out her clothes and began ordering the staff around to rearrange the house, every inch the lady of the manor.
The Sanchez brothers hovered around her, catering to her every need, as if I didn't exist.
Right on cue, my attorney sent a message: the divorce papers were ready.
I slipped back to my room to review them. When I stepped out again, the staff were carrying armfuls of my old design sketches out of the house.
"What's going on?"
"Ma'am, Ms. Simmons liked your old study. Mr. Sanchez ordered us to clear out all the clutter before he left to see Mr. Vincent off."
Clutter.
I stood there, stunned, and tears fell before I could stop them.
Every sheet of paper in that study was the product of countless sleepless nights.
More than that, everything my parents had left me was stored in there.
That room held all my memories of them, and everything I'd once been.
But to Daryl, it was all just clutter.
Out in the courtyard, flames leaped high in the burn barrel. Sarah picked up my parents' framed photograph and hurled it to the ground.
"Are there more of these morbid things in the house? Get them all out. I want everything burned."
My heart splintered along with the glass of that frame.
"Sarah Simmons! You have no right to touch my things!"
I wiped my tears and rushed over, snatching the photo from her hands.
"You live in Daryl's house, you spend Daryl's money. Everything in here belongs to him." She stepped closer. "As long as he allows it, who are you to say no? Give it back!"
I shielded the photo against my body and twisted away from her reach.
Sarah glared at me with pure venom, but the corner of her mouth curled into a vicious smile.
"Ahh—!"
A sudden flare from the burn barrel scorched her arm, and she cried out in pain.
"I really didn't mean to touch your things! I already apologized! Do you have to shove me into the fire before you're satisfied?"
"Sarah!"
Daryl came rushing over, pulled Sarah into his arms, and slapped me hard across the face.
"Josephine! Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what you just did?"
The burning sting on my cheek confirmed that all of this was real.
"I didn't push her. She was burning my old design sketches and about to destroy my father's photograph."
"Daryl, don't I even have the right to be angry in this house?"
A second slap landed on my face.
Then the photo was ripped from my hands and tossed into the flames.
"Your hands are useless anyway. The sketches are gone, so what? Consider it supporting Sarah's career."
"And the photo? I'm the one who told Sarah she could get rid of it. They're dead. What's the point of keeping a memento? You just wanted to bring bad luck down on Sarah!"
"All this over something so small, and you still won't admit you attacked her. Josephine, you're a vicious woman! Apologize to Sarah. Now!"
The taste of blood spread through my mouth. I stared at the man raging in front of me, tears blurring everything.
After a long moment, my shoulders dropped, and I burst into laughter.
"Daryl Sanchez, don't you ever expect me to apologize to that woman!"
