When Athena's eyes open again and she finds herself back in the mansion, sleeping on Ariana's bed- this time she cannot help but get anxious.
Throwing the blanket away from her body, she glances down at her pjs. Someone has changed her out of the school uniform too.
She quickly gets up from the bed and rushes downstairs, completely forgetting to slip her shoes on. As she carelessly runs down the grand staircase, she trips.
Arms wraps around her waist and someone helps her to get her balance back. She looks up to see Romeo in front of her.
"Are you ok?" He asks her. Athena feels her eyes burn with tears. She quickly pushes him away.
"Why?" She asks him in an accusing tone.
"You know the truth so why?" A trembling sob escapes her lips. She falls down on her knees and covers her face with her hands. Loud cries tears its way out of her lips making Romeo feel helpless.
Upon hearing her cries, many servants and guards rushes at the scene but seeing Romeo standing in front of her, they walk back to where they come from, with concern in their eyes.
Vittorio came downstairs and he gives a look of confusion to his twin.
"Why is she crying?"
"Let me go! You know the truth!"
For the first time, Athena felt angry due to her sadness.
"We will let you go this evening." Alexander's voice rings in their ears. Athena looks up at him.
"Liar!"
"It's the truth. Our sister will be back today evening." He tells her while crouching down to her eye level.
Something snap inside Athena's chest but she does not say anything. Her mouth opens and closes for a moment. Then, she just nods her head. She walks past him to go upstairs again, still feeling their eyes burning at her back.
Three maids comes in Ariana's room. They look worried seeing Athena who is sitting on the floor and staring up at the ceiling blankly.
Though, she is always sad but she acts cheerful and adorable whenever she was in their company. Today, she seems so lost and there are no emotions on her face.
"Miss, what are you doing on the floor?" Rachael asks her in concern.
"We need to get you ready for today's party." Emily says with a wide smile and extends her hand forward. Athena glances at it for a moment before she looks up at her.
"B-but I am not Ariana!" She tells them the truth.
"But we like you more better than her." Vanessa giggles as Emily tugs Athena up. Few of the close guards and maids are already aware of the truth now but surprisingly, not anyone of them minded it. Their opinion towards her still remain kind and profound.
The evening came sooner than Athena could even imagine.
She looks at her reflection and a small smile unconsciously forms on her lips.
"T-thank you."
"The party is already started. You should head down." Vanessa tells her.
Athena nods her head and breathes out a small yes. She makes her way out of the room. Still, there is a little hesitation in her moves and a bad sinking feeling is growing in her heart. She ignores it and tries to grin, knowing that she will be free today. Free from these lies and troubles.
At the end, she is not able to keep that smile on her face.
Upon reaching the event hall, a guard pushes the door open for her with a small nod. Athena nervously looks at him and takes a step inside. However, her steps falters at the entrance seeing a lot of people in there.
She flinches, when an arm wraps around her shoulder. She finds Luciano staring down at her. He offers her a smile and gently leads her to the centre.
"What do you want to drink, Athena?" Athena almost jumps out of her skin again when he calls her by her real name. She has heard it second time from the brother's mouth and it makes her uneasy. Maybe, she has gotten used to the name 'Ariana'.
"Water." She whispers as he tugs her in the direction of bar. Athena feels several eyes boring on the back of her head but she refuses to look at anyone.
"Relax. You don't have to look so worked up. I am here for you." He kisses her forehead and hands her the glass. Athena frowns at her shaky hands and at his actions but she does not comment on the latter. She takes several sips of the cold water to calm her anxiety down.
She places the glass back while cautiously glancing at Luciano who is drinking wine. She looks away from him as few guests arrive to greet them and wish her birthday and well-being.
Athena remains silent as Luciano does the whole formal talk. Few minutes later, Luciano calls her name.
"Let's go. It's time." He grabs her hand and tugs her in the direction of stage. Athena feels her heart beating loudly in her chest. She knows what will happen today but she is nervous of whatever the reality is going to throw at her.
Where is she supposed to go after this?
Where would be her next destination?
Her eyes quickly meets Alexander and the twins. They are staring at Vincenzo who is standing on the stage and holding a microphone. Her eyes also make contact with Sarah and Max. Sarah frantically waves at her.
"Where were you, Ariana? I was searching for you like crazy." Sarah scolds her. Athena faintly smiles at her. Athena suddenly feels her mood turning off. She does not know if Sarah and Max would ever forgive her for lying to them.
Lost in thought, Athena almost misses out the speech Vincenzo made but her attention got transfixed on a particular point when everyone started to clap but it abruptly stopped as the limelight falls back at the entrance.
"What- what the hell?" Sarah whispers from beside Athena.
With a loud beating heart, Athena stares at the girl who enters inside confidently. A smirk is playing at the end of her lips. Athena's eyes widens as she stares at Ariana. With the same eyes, same height, same appearance, she looked exactly like her. Athena feels like she is staring directly at her own reflection. Today, Athena's reaction was big than the time when she compared Ariana's picture with herself.
As she stared at Ariana walking in front of her, she realized that no wonder everyone had mistaken her as Ariana. The resemblance between them was so uncanny that even Vittorio and Romeo's same features paled in comparision with them.
It felt like both Ariana and Athena got caught in some trance as their eyes made contact with each other for the first time.
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