"Going sowhere?"
lody froze mid-flight, her montum cut short by the person who appeared in front of her out of the blue. She stepped back from the main door and back into the house in horror, as lanie ca through the main door of the house, her presence filling the space and blocking any chance of slipping past.
"You... you..." The words stumbled out of lody’s mouth, her shock making it hard to breathe and even making her forget that she had accidentally revealed her voice. Her mind struggled to keep up with what she was seeing. How could lanie be here? She had just stabbed her in the bedroom... where she had been sleeping peacefully. Yet here she was, walking in as if nothing had happened.
lody’s feet moved without thought, carrying her backward into the house. Her eyes stayed locked on lanie, unable to look away. lanie kept advancing, her steps unbroken, each one bringing her closer and forcing lody farther from the door, deeper into the place she had been so desperate to escape.
"Why don’t you take off the mask, lody? Its not like I don’t know who you are. You’ve already been revealed."
lody’s breath hitched. Her hands twitched at her sides, as she tried to a way to get out of this but before she could respond, movent behind lanie caught her attention. Adam stepped into view, his eyes fixed on her. In that instant, it all clicked-he was the one who had caught her earlier. The one who had said that the knife was probably stuck in bones...
Suddenly she felt a bit of hope. He had not tried to intervene or save lanie... Her fingers went to the mask, pulling it off in one quick motion. She didn’t think more and, just moved, rushing toward him. "Adam, you have to save . I was only trying to help you... I swear."
"lanie? What is going on?" Adam asked in confusion as he pushed at the woman who was trying to hug him but lody responded," Adam. Adam. Don’t push . I am lody and not lanie."
Adam’s brows lifted. His eyes widened as if the words had stunned him and he could not fathom that she was not lanie.""You’re lody?" he said slowly, looking from her to lanie and back again. "Then... who is she? Isn’t she lody? I know because she was wearing these clothes just a few hours ago.
lody shook her head hard and her hands around his arm tightened,.""No. She isn’t, lody.. I lied," she said in a rushed voice. "I am lody. When the kidnappers took lanie away, I thought it was my chance. My chance to get close to you."
She looked straight at him. her eyes mirroring her desperation as she explained between short panting breaths. "I like you, Adam. I’ve always liked you. You were devoted to your wife, so I thought... if I beca her, you wouldn’t push away."
Her hands moved as she spoke, her words tumbling faster as she tried once again to shake him, "But then I found out the truth. That you hate her. That you can’t stand her. And by then it was too late to stop. I was already in too deep, pretending to be lanie."
Her eyes darted to lanie, standing silent, blocking the door and her voice dropped lower. "I had thought that when she ca back thing. Now she’s back and everything is ssed up again. She’s pretending to be . Taking my place. Flirting with you. Trying to turn you against . She knows you hate her. Hate that she was with your brother earlier. So, she is using my na to get close to you."
lody’s breath ca faster. Her fingers curled into fists. "I know you hate her, Adam. I know you don’t want her here. I was only trying to help you. I was trying to help us. That’s why I wanted to get rid of her. For you. For ."
Adam’s eyes stayed on her. His voice was calm, but there was weight in it. "So... after the kidnapping attempt, it’s been you all this ti? lody? lanie was the one who was kidnapped?"
"Yes," lody said quickly. "It was . I took her place because I wanted you to see . To know . To want . And now she’s ruining everything."
Her voice trembled, but she continued firmly, "I know what you need, Adam. I can give it to you. She can’t. And I don’t want her to fool you."
Adam tilted his head slightly. "And stabbing her... was that your idea of fixing things?"
lody’s mouth tightened. "I wasn’t trying to kill her. I just wanted her gone. If she’s gone, there’s nothing in the way. No one to interfere. No one to take you from ."
Her voice turned sharp as she looked at lanie again. "She’s the one who lied. She’s the one who played gas. I’ve told you the truth now. Everything. I did it for you and for . Once lanie is gone, then you and I can be together. I know you cannot divorce her for another year. So...
Adam didn’t speak. He just looked at her. The silence stretched, pressing down on the room.
lody stepped closer. "You have to believe . You have to choose . Don’t let her steal what I’ve built with you."
Her voice cracked. "I am lody. I’ve been here with you. Not her."
She reached out toward him, searching his face for a sign and then, almost smiled in relief when he reached toward her and asked her," You are not lanie? And you have been with all this while?"
lody looked up at him with hope. Yes. She had guessed it right. Adam would side with her. As she felt his hands on her shoulders, she gave him a hopeful smile and nodded...expecting him to hug her in acceptance and relief.
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