Ava stood behind the podium, face glowing under the harsh flashes of camera lights. The room was packed — reporters elbowing each other for space, pens scribbling furiously, and camera lenses clicking like machine guns in a warzone.
She was supposed to be launching her new eco-friendly fashion line today. Instead, she was being held hostage by the entire kingdom's media, forced to give a press conference about a wedding she could not care less about — starring her own disaster twin sister and the kingdom's most notorious playboy.
Ava's perfectly painted smile strained at the edges, but her voice remained composed — the exact tone of a woman who had mastered the art of pretending to give a damn. "Well, I think my sister would be very happy to be wed with the Ford family."
A few cameras clicked at the word happy — like they'd just captured a rare sighting of a politician caught telling the truth.
The truth was, Ava genuinely thought the marriage was the best thing that could happen to Eva.
Maybe if Eva married into a powerful, wealthy business family like the Fords, she'd finally stop dragging the Summers name through the mud by doing things like setting the kitchen curtains on fire—twice, trying to teach the royal swans how to swim by throwing them into the lake, or hosting an underground gambling ring in the servants' quarters — which only shut down because Helen accidentally won too much money.
Marriage could give Eva a good reputation. Stability. A chance to become a respectable member of society instead of the local cryptid haunting the town square.
But right now, the only thing Ava cared about was getting through this press conference without committing a crime.
"Is it true that this is an arranged marriage, Lady Ava?" one reporter asked, notebook clutched to her chest like she was about to uncover the scandal of the century.
Ava's smile tightened. "No, it is not," she beamed, lying through her teeth with the same grace she used when giving quarterly business reports. "My sister and Lord Zeke Ford have been deeply in love with each other for as long as I can remember."
From the corner of the room, Adelle scribbled something in her notebook without blinking. Probably: LadyAva(lying)— 11:37 AM.
"But there were lots of people that have seen Zeke Ford dating other women in clubs—" a male reporter piped up.
Ava's eye twitched so faintly, only Adelle and a passing fly noticed. She didn't even let the man finish. "They must have been mistaken. They must have seen Zeke's twin brother."
The entire room gasped in unison. Even Adelle's pen paused mid-scribble.
The problem was — nobody had ever seen Zach Ford in public. Rumor had it, Zach Ford was a recluse. A ghost. A tall, brooding, very much hotter version of his playboy brother — with the personality of a marble statue and the heart of a dead poet.
He had only ever loved one woman in his life — his late fiancée — and when she died, Zach supposedly locked himself away in the Ford estate like a tragic Victorian novel hero. Meanwhile, his twin brother Zeke was out in clubs every night breaking hearts like it was his heaven-given hobby.
Eva Summers, being the absolute disaster gremlin that she was, had been obsessed with Zach Ford ever since she read about him in some scandalous society column three years ago.
Ava still remembered the night she found Eva in their shared bedroom, dramatically clutching a pillow to her chest like some tragic heroine.
"Imagine, sister.... loving a man who could never love again."
"Imagine doing your own taxes, Eva."
Now here she was, accidentally dragging Zach Ford out of retirement just to cover up for her sister's impending forced marriage.
"No further questions," Ava declared, waving a delicate hand before turning on her heel and walking away from the podium with the kind of poise only a woman one inch away from a nervous breakdown could pull off.
Adelle immediately fell into step behind her like a human firewall against stupidity.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Adelle leaned in, voice flat. "Would you like me to schedule a press release to confirm Lord Zach Ford's existence... or should I prepare your funeral?"
Ava pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just get me a cup of tea, Adelle." Adelle scribbled something down in her notebook again. Probably: LadyAva(spiraling) — 11:42 AM.
Meanwhile, back at the Summers estate, Eva was currently raiding Ava's closet with Helen whispering behind her like the voice of reason that nobody ever listened to.
"My lady, you cannot possibly be thinking of impersonating your sister... right?"
Eva grinned at her own reflection in the mirror, already halfway into one of Ava's designer coats. "Helen... you do not believe I'm miracles, right?'
"Yes, I do not, my lady."
Eva smoothed her hair down with both hands, eyes glinting with the kind of chaotic determination that would absolutely get her arrested in three business days.
"Well, you're about to," she tapped Elen's shoulder. "And besides, I realized I shouldn't really be impersonating my sister for too long. My last two remaining brain cells whispered their dying wishes earlier, and they said I could never do it for longer than one hour," Eva grinned proudly, as if her mental deterioration was something to celebrate.
Helen's entire soul left her body for a brief second, her lips parting in silent horror. "And so what? You're finally ready to surrender yourself to this arranged marriage like a helpless little lamb?"
Eva dramatically gasped, clutching her chest like Helen just insulted her honor. "Helpless little lamb? How dare you, Helen? I am not helpless — I'm lazy with standards. There's a difference."
Helen blinked slowly, trying to process whatever demon possessed her ladyship today. "My apologies, Lady Eva. You're absolutely right. How foolish of me."
"That's more like it," Eva nodded, flipping her hair like a deranged Disney princess. Then she leaned closer, eyes glinting with a dangerous sparkle — the kind of sparkle that usually ended with someone setting something on fire. "But... as you know... this is just a little secret between the two of us, okay?"
Helen's instincts screamed at her to run far, far away — but alas, the poor maid had been serving the Summers family long enough to know there was no escaping whatever catastrophic idea Lady Eva was about to unleash.
"Of course, my lady," Helen whispered, clutching at her cute little apron like it was a rosary for the living. "What secret?"
Eva smirked like she was about to drop the hottest tea in the entire kingdom. She glanced left, then right — as if the walls had ears — before leaning in dramatically. "My twin sister Ava... actually liked Zeke Ford once."
Helen's jaw dropped so hard it could've cracked the marble floor. "No, she didn't!"
"Yes, she did," Eva nodded like she just uncovered the kingdom's most well-guarded secret. "She was thirteen — young, foolish, full of hope. It lasted exactly five minutes before she found out he couldn't even spell the word business without adding two extra S's. Tragic, truly."
Helen's mouth flapped open, then shut again — like a fish trying to process the sudden lack of oxygen in the room. "My lady... with all due respect... that was seven years ago. I'm not sure it counts as liking him. I'm not even sure it counts as having functioning brain cells."
"Details, Helen. Details." Eva waved her hand in the air like a queen dismissing a peasant. "The point is... today, I will become her little fairy and grant her deepest wish to marry Zeke Ford instead of me."
Helen's eye twitched so hard she probably saw the faces of her ancestors. She opened her mouth — closed it — then opened it again, absolutely torn between quitting on the spot or commiting a crime by silencing her own mistress.
"Why do I have the feeling that you're just making this up as you go?" she finally asked, dead inside.
Eva's grin stretched wider. "Because I am. Isn't it brilliant?"
Helen slapped a hand over her mouth like she was physically holding in her soul from leaving her body.
"This... this is the most insane plan you've ever come up with."
Eva's chest swelled with pride, hands on her hips like a pirate who just discovered an entire island made of rum. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"I'll still take it."
Helen closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, probably praying to whatever deity was watching over the Summers household to smite her down immediately.
When she opened her eyes again, Eva was already rummaging through Ava's jewelry box — humming a little victory tune like she was about to single-handedly destroy the family name in less than 24 hours.
"Do you even know how to act like Lady Ava?" Helen demanded.
"Of course I do!" Eva said, snapping a pearl necklace around her neck with the confidence of a woman who once accidentally tried to eat a candle because she thought it was a fancy dessert.
She straightened her back, clasped her hands together, and put on her best impression of Ava's calm, elegant voice.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Ava Summers. I'm the pride of the family. I build empires. I drink chamomile tea. I cry over spreadsheets at night."
Helen's soul visibly left her body I'm disbelief. She didn't really expect her ladyship could actually impersonate someone as divine as her twin sister.
Eva broke character immediately, grinning. "See? Nailed it."
"My lady, you'll be thrown out of the Ford estate even before you can set on foot."
"Oh, Helen, you worry too much." Eva patted her maid's cheek with all the grace of someone about to commit several crimes. "That's the beauty of this plan... I only need them to believe I'm Ava long enough for the vows to be exchanged. After all, who could resist an offer from someone like my sister, right?"
Helen's soul re-entered her body just so it could leave again.
"And what if Lady Ava finds out? Worse! Your parents?!"
Eva's grin didn't even flicker. "Then I'll simply fake my death, disappear into the woods, and live the rest of my life as a mysterious legend who was too beautiful for this world."
Helen stared at her for a long, agonizing second.
"You know what? Sure. Why not? Let's burn the entire kingdom down while we're at it."
Eva clapped her hands together. "That's the spirit, Helen!"
Helen mentally updated her resignation letter to DearLadyRafaela, IregrettoinformyouthatyouryoungestdaughterisclinicallyinsaneandIamnolongerqualifiedtohandleit. Pleasereleasemefromthiscursedcontract.
But until then...
She would simply follow her ladyship straight into hellfire.
Again.
Of course...