"Arwen, believe it or not —you are nothing, but just a substitute in his life."
Those words from Selene made Arwen turn to look at her.
Selene’s gaze also remained fixed on her. Looking empathetic, she continued, "I never wanted to spit that cruel part of reality in front of you, Arwen, but sorry ... sorry I couldn’t take this any longer."
She turned to face her. "No matter how harsh this is but this is the truth. The truth that you would have known sooner or later. The truth is that even though you married Aiden ... even though you are his wife, you are nothing but a substitute in his life. My substitute. A stand-in he found just to fill the void that I left behind."
She wanted to see Arwen shatter after hearing that; however, all she saw was the clarity in her gaze. As if she hadn’t just heard the thing that could change the entire synopsis of the story.
"I know this is hard to believe," Selene spoke again, believing that Arwen was just trying to hide her emotions. No worries, as long as she believes it, she will win the ga. And a win is all that matters. She smirked internally, continuing, "But this is the truth. And I will make you see it in every walking mont."
"Every walking mont?" Arwen asked suddenly, sounding intrigued.
Selene smiled with mock sympathy in her gaze. "Have you taken a close look in the mirror?" she asked, only to deepen her smile further. "If you had, then you could have seen how similar we look. Almost like a look-alike."
"From our eye colour to how our hair looks —one could easily misinterpret us to be sisters. However, we aren’t sisters. We don’t even share the sa family tree. So, what else could we be? What else could you be?"
She didn’t make it verbally obvious, but the aning was clear. She was calling Arwen her look-alike. Her stand-in.
Arwen didn’t flare; she didn’t react. She simply listened to her and watched as if she were dwelling on whatever Selene was telling her.
And that was exactly what Selene wanted —for Arwen to start seeing things from her perspective. As long as she looks at it from her view, she would make her believe that she is nothing but a re stand-in —one who was never ant to be permanent.
"Fine," Arwen said after a long mont.
Selene didn’t understand. Her brows furrowed as she asked, "What do you an by that?"
Arwen stared at her as if what she ant was pretty obvious. "I ant that fine, I will give you the chance you are seeking. Don’t you want to prove to that I am nothing but a re substitute, that Aiden found to fill the void that you once left behind?"
Selene frowned.
"I am giving that chance to you," She gestured a hand out in her direction. "Make see how I am your substitute, and just what all similarities do we share?"
"You believe ?" Selene asked, already feeling victorious inside.
"..." Arwen didn’t respond.
And Selene took it as a yes. Even if Arwen hasn’t believed it, she sure has instilled the seed of doubt in her heart. If not, why else would Arwen give her the chance to prove?
She never expected it all to happen so smoothly. For a mont, she could trust it. But then, it was all happening in front of her —how could it not be real?
"It won’t be difficult for to prove that to you, Arwen," she spoke confidently, no longer able to hide the smugness in her gaze. "But the thing is —will you be able to accept it? The reality is not that easy to accept. Will you be able to step back and leave Aiden once I prove that he has only ever loved one woman in his heart, and that’s ."
"Sure, why not?" Arwen stared at her. "If you prove it, I will let him be with his happiness."
"Are you sure?" Selene asked, almost ready to celebrate.
However, Arwen stood calm. Nodding, she affird, "I would leave him, if you prove it to . His happiness is all that matters to ."
"Rember that, then, Arwen," Selene said, couldn’t containing the smile that curled her lips. "Don’t go back on your words when the ti cos."
Arwen didn’t say anything more, and giving her a last look, Selene left the place. The sparkle of celebration already glittered in her gaze.
Once she disappeared, Arwen turned back to look around the room. Her gaze darted to look down to the table where Aiden’s docunts were kept unprotected.
Reaching them, she was about to stack them and put them in the drawer when a voice made her pause.
"Madam, do you believe her?"
Arwen halted for a second and then glanced up to find Mr. Jones at the door.
"Mr. Jones," she softly acknowledged.
And the old man stared at her, looking concerned. "Madam, I didn’t an to eavesdrop, but since I was coming here, I did."
"It’s fine, Mr. Jones. We weren’t talking in secret." Arwen dismissed his guilt. "If you heard it, it’s fine. Just don’t tell it to Aiden. He might not take it well."
And with that, she stacked the docunts together before putting them into a drawer.
When she looked up again, Mr. Jones’s expression was still the sa.
"What’s wrong, Mr. Jones?" she asked. "You look concerned. Did sothing happen?"
"Madam ..." he seed to be hesitating. "What Ms. Martin said is not true. You are your own individual, and sir doesn’t treat you as anyone’s stand-in. He would never do that to you."
Arwen stared at him and paused at his words. Then a small curl lifted her lips. "Mr. Jones, is there sothing that you want to tell ?" she asked, her tone slightly playful.
Mr. Jones hesitated. And oblivious to him, his internal struggle beca quite clear in his expression.
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