The Double ( or More ?) Life of The Fake Heiress

The man clutching his camera froze as he heard the volce, lifting his gaze to meet Mirabella’s piercing eyes. His hands trembled, nearly dropping the camera onto the ground. He quickly straightened up, suppressing his panic, and capped the lens of his camera. “Nothing’s up.” he mumbled.

Mirabella pursed her lips, her face expressionless. “Were you just taking pictures on the sly?”

The man looked at Mirabella’s overly pretty face, which seemed too young to instill such an odd. sense of profound fear in him. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get the words out, the camera was suddenly, lightly, in Mirabella’s hands.

Flipping through it, she scoffed. “With these skills, you call this sneaking pictures?”

The photos inside were all of her and Leo, taken from a distance and a bit blurry due to the covert nature of the shots. However, the angles were good, making them look quite the couple.

The man didn’t have time to wonder how his camera had slipped into her hands so quickly and blurted out, “Give it back.” He reached out to snatch it back.

Mirabella raised an eyebrow, giving him a chilly glance. The man’s hand hung in mid–air. frozen.

A minute later, Mirabella dusted off her hands, looking completely at ease as she stepped out from around the corner of the fence.

Leo’s car was already pulling out. He didn’t see Mirabella at the front. He was about to take out his phone when he saw Mirabella’s reflection in the rearview mirror and put it back.

Mirabella opened the passenger side door and got in. Leo glanced at his sister with a hint of confusion, asking. “What were you doing over there?”

While buckling her seatbelt, Mirabella replied without batting an eyelid, “Oh, there was a dog. Just went to calm it down.”

Hearing this, Leo subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror again. Where was the dog?

But he didn’t dwell on it, started the car, and casually mentioned, “Must be someone’s pet that got loose from the neighborhood.”

Mirabella leaned back, relaxed in her seat, and hummed a response.

As the car drove out of the neighborhood and onto the street, Mirabella rolled down the window, rested her hand casually on the frame, and with a flick of her finger, something silently dropped and disappeared under the tires of passing vehicles. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

After having dinner out, the siblings didn’t linger and went straight home. As they entered, they were greeted by Zach’s jealous tone, “You two remember this place? Do you even know what

12:12

time it is?”

Leo and Mirabella exchanged puzzled looks and then simultaneously checked the wall clock. It was eight, not midnight, right?

Scratching his head, Leo walked over and sat across from Zach on the sofa. Noting the odd look in his eyes, he softly called out, “Zach?”

Zach turned his head away haughtily, his gaze falling on Mirabella, silent.

Mirabella was silent, and after a moment, she also called out, “Zach?”

“Mhm,” Zach responded warmly, surprisingly gently.

Leo was shocked. Was this what they called double standards? Mirabella called, and Zach responded; Leo called him, and it was like he was invisible.

Pretending not to notice their expressions, Mirabella scanned the room and asked, “Are Mom and Dad not back yet?”

“They went out for a walk.”

Mirabella touched her nose, caught off guard by the unexpected dose of sentimentality. It was no wonder they came back to find Zach with a face full of abandonment issues.

“Ahem, well then, Zach, I’m heading upstairs,” Mirabella began to retreat to her room.

Suddenly, Zach grabbed her shoulder with a loud voice. “You know, my shoulder’s been killing me these past few days.”

At his words, Mirabella’s footsteps faltered.