The Second Ending

I stole my sister's man.

While she was abroad for a year, the man she'd been pining over for ages showed up at my door with her picture.

"Do you know this girl?" he asked.

I pulled down my mask, revealing a face identical to my sister's, and smiled sweetly. "Are you looking for me?"

Part 1

Ethan Hughes was skeptical at first. I didn't have the mole by my eye.

"Two years ago," I said, "we were trapped together in a blizzard in the Rockies. The rescue team was delayed. You said if we survived, you'd find me."

"You wrote your name on my palm," I continued, "but I suffered retrograde amnesia and forgot you. I had the mole removed. See, there's a tiny scar."

Ethan was half-convinced. "Is it really you?"

I leaned in close and whispered, "So, Mr. Hughes, given up on painting? What a shame." Ethan, the highly anticipated heir to the Hughes fortune, secretly harbored no desire for business. He wanted to be an artist. He’d only told Ashley Williams this secret.

I embraced him, and he didn't pull away. He believed me.

Part 2

Ashley hadn't clearly stated her name during the blizzard, and Ethan only had a photo. I easily started dating him, using my own identity.

He had his suspicions, though. Once, he asked me to play the piano.

"My wrist was permanently injured in the blizzard," I lied. "I can't play anymore."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "But you used to say the piano was your life."

"Was it painful to give up painting?" I countered. "However painful it was for you, it was the same for me." He fell silent.

Another time, he discovered Ashley’s existence. "Sarah Williams, you told me you were an only child."

"I lied," I replied. "I have a twin sister, but I hate her." Ashley had pretended to be an only child, erasing me from the narrative. I wasn't going to be polite.

Ethan's eyes turned cold. "Why do you hate her?"

I lifted my shirt, revealing my figure, marred by several scars.

"Ethan," I began, my voice trembling, "you always ask about these scars. I'll tell you today. When I was seven, my sister and I stumbled into a human trafficking ring. She escaped, but I was sold and taken to the mountains. They beat me, burned me with cigarettes. The doctors say the scars will never fade."

I sobbed, a picture of vulnerability. No man could resist.

"I wasn't rescued until I was fourteen. I’ve hated her every single day since. She's a constant reminder of that despair and pain, like these scars."

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I was so hurt, that’s why I lied.”

Ethan softened, his harsh features melting away. "I'm sorry, I was too harsh. Don't cry, Sarah."

While he kissed my scars, I popped a grape-flavored candy in my mouth. The sweet scent filled the air.

I knew Ethan didn't love me. He was with me out of obligation and that promise he’d made. He must have been confused, wondering why he couldn't recapture the feelings he'd had in the mountains. It’s because I wasn’t the girl he’d met.

I made sure to eat a grape candy before every kiss. I wanted him to ...