Chapter 16 16

We were maybe, two or three stories high. Their was a water fountain directly in front of the entrance with a round driveway around it. The round driveway merged into one which further deepened away from the mansion, in a straight path which led to a tall gate. The huge driveway was lined with tall trees and fenced heavily for protection. On one side was a tennis court, and on the other was a big garden blooming with all kinds of flowers. There were three cars parked in the driveway but I suspected there would be an underground parking where they must have kept their other cars. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I realized the cars were damn expensive. So expensive that only billionaires could afford them. One was a sleek black Aston Martin Vanquish, the other was a yellow Porsche 918 Spyder and the third one was a silver Maybach Exelero. "Why do you look like you just saw the Godzilla?" Olivia asked from behind me. "Oh my God," I exclaimed. "These cars, Olivia! Oh my God, they are so expensive," I continued to stare at those beautiful cars with a finger pointed at them. Olivia's footsteps neared me. "Wow!" She said, putting her hands on the window and pressing her own nose against it. We were probably looking like poor kids outside a candy shop, staring at the candies that we couldn't afford, with our noses pressed against the glass. "Oh my God, this is a huge house!" "More like a huge mansion!" I corrected her. "Julie, I so want to live her for at least a while," she said, gazing at the cars longingly. Olivia had a crazy car fetish while I was more of a bike crazy person, although I never rode either in my life. "We can't," I said quietly. As much as I want to live in a palace like this, surrounded by so many luxuries and absolutely no worries, we couldn't because we didn't deserve this, we didn't even own this. These luxuries and this palace is meant for someone else. And me being mistaken for that person is just that; a mistake. "Why not?" Olivia asked, her tone calm and quiet as if she knew we would eventually go on with this. I shook my head at her, turning around and pressing my back to the window to remind myself of where I really stand in this. "This is so wrong. I can't just go with this. The old lady is mistaken. I'm not her daughter. And I can't cheat them by acting like their real daughter. I don't even know how she behaves. I just can't, Olivia. If anyone gets to know about this, we're so screwed." "B-But no one will know if we don't talk about this. Julie, it's not our fault that they kidnapped us. They must be the one apologizing to us. And it's for the good. Didn't you see how happy you made them? They think you're their daughter. Can't you even do this little thing of pretending to keep them happy for a bit? Imagine how heartbroken they will be if they know you're not their daughter," Olivia gasped dramatically, putting her hand on her chest. But I knew that wasn't the thing she was concerned about. "They'll be so sad. And you'll be responsible for that." "But what we-" "Shut up. I can't let you hurt them. They are a sweet couple and they don't deserve to be hurt. You have to go with this. At least for me. You will, right?" She looked at me with her eyebrows skyward as if daring me to say no. "I'd rather remove my own gall bladder with an oyster fork!" "Oh come on Julie, don't be so difficult," Olivia prodded. "But if we go on with this, they'll be hurt even more than now. We'll just keep delaying the inevitable. They'll get to know someday," I said, frowning because I was worried if some of the screws in Olivia's head had come off loose because she wasn't thinking straight. "Please, Julie. It will happen when it will. But this is not the time. No matter how much you'll try to convince them of the truth, they will never believe you. They'll think of this as another one of your attempts at running off. They won't let you go. So you have no choice but to go with this. Come on, say yes. Nothing bad will happen." I looked at Olivia with my brows wrinkled together, contemplating on what was to be done. I was sure they wouldn't listen to me if I tell them that I was not what they thought I was. The chances of running away from this were not good. So the only way was to be the pretend daughter. To be someone I haven't ever met and didn't know at all. The only thing I knew about her was that she was rich. And a bitch. Yes, a bitch for who else goes to such great lengths of stupidity as the billionaire's daughter, Juliet who ran away from the luxuries and comfort she enjoyed here just because her parents refused to buy living, breathing boy for her. And I would have to be just that - a stupid, self-centered, narcissistic bitch. Or at least that was what I learned about Juliet from the accounts given by her mother about her daughter's shenanigans. It was going to be tough. And it was going to be stupid. But that was what I was required to be. At least I had Olivia in this. If I go down, I'd pull her down too. But I could avoid this mess. I didn't have to do this and cause the couple more suffering. But as Olivia had said, no matter how much I'd try to convince them of the truth, they won't listen and I believed her because they literally kidnapped us the night the lady saw me and mistook me for her daughter. "I-I don't know what to do," I said. "I want to do this. But I don't want to." "You think about things too much. Just say yes already!" Olivia said exasperatedly. "But this is wrong," I argued. Olivia could get her way with anything but she must know that what she was asking me to do was very wrong. I didn't even know what to do right now. One part of me wished to try it. But the other part of me wished to just run away from all of this and not hurt the couple. "There is no right and wrong. There are just good choices and bad choices. And saying no will be a bad choice for us. Say yes!" Olivia tried again. "Why are so adamant about making me say yes? Why do you want to do this?!" I asked, irritated by her immature behavior. "Do I really have to tell you that? Have you ever imagined what your life would be like as a billionaire's daughter? Not everyday do you get a chance at such a life. You are being an idiot by letting this go." "Are you planning to rob them! Oh my God, how can you even think about it, Olivia?!" I asked, shocked that she would try to do such a thing. "What?! No. Of course not! I'm not a robber. How can you even think of me like that?" "Well, excuse me if your unusual excitement in this is hinting at only one possible explanation, that you're trying to rob them." I snapped at her. "You're taking it too far. I'm not planning to rob them. God, no. I just merely want you to say yes to this. We're so freaking lucky to be in this situation. Any person in your place and in the right sense of their mind will most definitely say yes within a heartbeat. Stop being such a saint. There's nothing wrong with this. If any, the old couple are in the wrong by kidnapping us." "But that was a mistake." "A terrible one. Think of this as their compensation for kidnapping us," she said, making it sound all the way right to me again, "Say yes, Julie. Stop being such a pain in the ass." "Why did this happen to us." I groaned, burying my head in my hands. Olivia put a hand on my shoulder. "Things happen in life for a reason." She told me with a soft smile. "And mostly for good. So...are you going to do it?" "Do I have a choice?" I asked wearily. "No. So what do you say?" I hesitated a bit, biting down on my nails nervously before finally answering with a sigh, "Yes."