Chapter 4: Have You Forgotten Me Already?

(Layla's POV)

Before I could process what she meant, a girl rushed in. Her hair was the same golden color as mine, but natural, not bleached. Her eyes were the same green, but real, not contacts. She was thinner than me, with hollow cheeks and dark circles under her eyes. But there was no mistaking it.

This was Ella Graves. The real Ella Graves.

"Who are you?" she screamed, pointing at me with a shaking finger. "Why are you in my room!"

I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. The wedding dress suddenly felt like a costume, a lie wrapped around my body.

Sophie stepped forward, her voice dripping with contempt as she explained to Ella.

"This is the substitute that your mother found. An omega whose identity is unknown. When you weren't here, she became 'Ella.'"

The way Sophie said my name made it sound dirty. Like something to be ashamed of.

Ella's face twisted with rage. Her green eyes—the eyes I'd been copying for two years—burned with hatred.

"How dare this lowly bitch be my substitute?" she snarled. "She doesn't look like me at all!"

Her gaze swept around the room, taking in everything that had been hers. When she saw the roses Eamon had given me on the nightstand, her face turned an ugly shade of red.

"Those are Eamon's favorite roses," she hissed. "This bitch is actually dating Eamon on my behalf?"

Then she spotted the computer screen, still open to the wedding planning website. The images of white dresses, flower arrangements, and venue decorations filled the screen.

Something snapped inside her.

"How dare you!" she screamed, lunging at me. "Who do you think you are?"

Her hand connected with my cheek with a sharp crack. The slap sent me stumbling backward, the wedding dress tangling around my legs. I fell hard, my palms scraping against the floor.

"I'm going to destroy your face!" Ella shrieked.

Before I could get up, her foot connected with my ribs. Pain exploded through my chest. Then another kick to my stomach. And another.

I tried to curl into a ball, to protect myself, but she kept kicking. Her expensive shoes dug into my flesh through the thin silk of the wedding dress.

"Stop!" I gasped, trying to fight back. "Please!"

But Ella was beyond reason. Years of whatever she'd endured had twisted her into something vicious.

I managed to grab her ankle, pulling her off balance. She stumbled but quickly recovered, raising her hand to strike me again.

"What is going on here?"

Mrs. Mia's voice cut through the chaos like a whip. She stood in the doorway with Mr. Bob behind her, both staring at the scene in shock.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Mrs. Mia's face crumpled with recognition and joy.

"Ella!" she cried, rushing forward. "My daughter!"

She swept the real Ella into her arms, holding her tight. Mr. Bob joined them, tears streaming down his face.

"My baby," he whispered. "You're home."

Mrs. Mia's eyes found me, still crumpled on the floor in the torn wedding dress. Her expression hardened instantly.

"Get her out of here," she ordered the maids. "Now."

Clara appeared as if from nowhere, grabbing a fistful of my hair. The pain in my scalp was immediate and sharp as she dragged me toward the door.

"No!" I struggled against her grip. "Please, let me explain—"

"Shut up," Clara hissed, yanking harder.

As they dragged me away, I heard Ella's voice behind me, sobbing as she told her story.

"I was kidnapped by rogues," she cried. "They took me so far away. I lost my memory for so long. I followed them, wandering for years until I finally remembered who I was."

Her voice grew stronger, more dramatic.

"I was so brave, Mama. I killed the rogue who was guarding me. I brought back his teeth as proof!" She paused for effect. "But when I came home, I found that you'd replaced me. You let this omega live in my room, wear my clothes, and even marry my fiancé!"

Mrs. Mia's voice was soothing, loving in a way I'd never heard directed at me.

"Oh, my darling girl. You're so brave, so strong. That was just a substitute. Nothing more."

"But the engagement—" Ella sobbed.

"Don't worry," Mr. Bob said firmly. "This is your engagement, remember? We are doing this all for you. The royal famliy will cancel the engagement once they know you were missing. Now you're back, everything will go back to how it should be."

The maids dragged me up the narrow stairs to the attic. My old prison. They threw me inside with such force I hit the far wall.

"Look at you now," Clara sneered. "Back where you belong."

Sophie kicked me in the side as I tried to get up.

"Fakes are fakes!" she laughed. "Did you really think you could replace a real beta's daughter?"

They slammed the door behind them. I heard the key turn in the lock.

The silence that followed was deafening.

I lay on the dusty floor, still wearing the torn wedding dress. My body ached from the beating, but the emotional pain was worse. Everything I'd hoped for, dreamed of, planned for—gone in an instant.

The first day passed slowly. My stomach growled, but no one came. I pressed my ear to the door, listening for footsteps, voices, anything. But the house below seemed to have forgotten I existed.

By the second day, the hunger was unbearable. I tried knocking on the door, calling out, but no response came.

On the third day, I heard voices on the stairs below. Ella's voice, light and cheerful, talking to one of the maids.

"—don't let her out," Ella was saying. "I want her to suffer a little longer."

"But what if your parents find out?" a maid asked nervously.

Ella laughed, the sound cold and musical.

"Find out? They don't care about her at all. They only care about me—their real daughter. They've been buying me new clothes, letting me rest, making sure I'm comfortable. They don't want me to worry about anything."

"What about the doctors they mentioned?"

"I refused them all," Ella said dismissively. "I told them I'm perfectly healthy. The only thing that makes me sick is thinking about that omega."

Her voice turned bitter.

"While I was suffering out there, wandering and lost, she was here enjoying everything that belonged to me. My room, my clothes, my life. Even my fiancé."

"What should we do with her?" the maid asked.

"Keep her locked up. Don't give her any food. I have a date with Eamon later, and when I get back, I'll decide what to do with her."

Their footsteps faded away, leaving me alone with my terror.

Ella was going to kill me. I was sure of it now.

Ella is back, this family didn't need me anymore, right? This is how I can survive：escape.

The door was solid wood, locked from the outside. But the window... it was narrow, barely large enough for a person, but it was my only chance.

I stripped the bed, tearing the sheets into long strips. My hands shook as I tied them together, creating a makeshift rope. I tested each knot, praying they would hold.

I tied one end to the bed frame and threw the other out the window. The ground looked impossibly far below.

Taking a deep breath, I squeezed through the narrow opening. The rough stone scraped my skin as I wiggled through. Then I was hanging in the air, the sheet rope burning my palms as I slowly lowered myself down.

My arms screamed with the effort. The ground rushed up to meet me as I lost my grip on the last few feet. I hit the earth hard, rolling to absorb the impact.

For a moment, I just lay there, gasping. But I couldn't rest. I had to get away from this house before someone found me.

I crept through the backyard, using the large trees as cover. My plan was to reach the main road, maybe find someone who would help me. But as I moved through the shadows, I heard voices.

Familiar voices.

I froze behind a large oak tree, peering around the trunk.

There, in the garden pavilion, stood Ella and Eamon.

Ella was reaching out to him, trying to wrap her arms around his neck. But Eamon stepped back, his hands coming up to stop her.

"Eamon," Ella cried, tears streaming down her face. "Have you forgotten me already? Have you stopped loving me?"