PROLOGUE
She breathed her last- her illustrious life left her thin drained lips.
She awoke, miserable and tired in the bed of a home she was unaware of. She looked around in terror, the house was barely furnished, very different from the way she lived. Where was she? She stood up and walked to the window, there wasn’t a beautiful garden, just a space- scarcely decorated. She took slow steps to the mirror that leaned against the wall. A scream- she realized it was from her mouth. Who was this? Who am I? What's happening? She fell on the thin bed in a heap, unaware that Ellington had constructed the world she lived in.
CHAPTER 01
Remembrance- it doesn’t help. It only mocks. But why do we remember? It's second nature. The remembrance of scent, of taste, of place, of emotion. They all mock. Leaving me in a cascade of hurtful memories that deserved to be buried in the depths of my mind.
I am left alone with my two selves- one to comfort and one to protect. But what good does the protector do when it can’t protect me from myself?
It was 3 in the morning and despite the afterglow of streetlights that cast shadows on her perfect skin, she stood In front of a mirror. A strange face looked back at her- and she didn’t recognize it- it was her face, but why didn’t she know who it was? She proceeded to pinch herself till she felt the pain- raw and stinging.
She fell back on her bed in despair as tears rolled down her soft cheek, replaying her short yet brilliant life in her inward mind. She realized she had not died. No- it was far worse; she had been re-born into a body. A random body, a woman in a script she had read. She cursed Ellington under her breath, she had read his script the week before the grand slam celebration, and it was a script full of plot holes, lack of description and character development. As she looked around the room she sighed in fear and anger. Why hadn’t she just died, why was she born into this body? The body of Elizabeth Olsen.
Elizabeth Almount was a child star at the age of three, nominated for the “best newcomer award” at the age of ten, won her first “film queen” award at the age of fifteen and became the youngest grand slam actress I her whole country at the ripe age of twenty-one. Her illustrious acting career spoke volumes. She assumed she would stay up late shooting dramas, but life had other plans for her. Life decided to cast her into the body of a woman who shared her same name. The dynamics she wondered, the fact that they had the same name. “Did that have anything to with all this?” she wondered. She had no choice but to go along with this. It was a glitch in the universe she felt, and she was sure of.
Helplessness. The only solace she had was her acting skills, she felt it was the only thing that could pull her out of this rut. It was the only factor that comforted her.
Elizabeth cried- big, fat tears rolled down her face as she recollected memories’ she wanted to cast away. She remembered the script clearly- the screenwriter’s inability to describe supporting characters as well as backgrounds. The plot was vulgar and cliché- and all these sour thoughts seemed to drown her till she fell into an exhausted sleep.
She was woken up by howls and cries from the kitchen, her mind immediately transferred them to angry words being spewed at each other. The family was in the kitchen and Elizabeth immediately knew that someone or something had messed with hierarchy. Her family was quite conventional, and the hierarchy had to be followed.
“Sylvia, I warn you, if you hold onto Oliver any longer, I will rip your face off so you can go meet your short-lived parents!” Amber growled through her perfectly whitened teeth. Sylvia’s face fell, darkness enveloped her being and she took in a long breath before trying to comprehend the hate behind the words she just spat at her face.
“How can you say that? What have I done to you? Were my parents ever mean to you when they were alive?” Sylvia tried to reason.
“They were so good, that I decided I didn’t want to be a star in their film company!” sarcasm coated each word as she sneered at her. Amber continued her loud, angry monologue “ I’m with child, and I warn you- you better stay away from him in the future!” The revelation caught the sisters off guard.
Although the conversation was between Sylvia and Amber, Elizabeth had been eavesdropping just outside the kitchenette.
Sylvia’s eyes welled up with tears and her anger would have rendered her pounce on Amber- but that would have caused the others in the house to all come to Amber’s aid. She took a few deep breaths, before remembering that her parents taught her when to fight back- this wasn’t the right situation. She could only stare back at Amber- a stare that seemed to get lost in the intensity of the room.
Amber, who had Sylvia at the throat, was the cousin of her great uncle’s family. Despite the two being connected, Amber somehow always had the upper hand in situations as such. Sylvia, who was Elizabeth’s older sister, sat in the kitchenette rather helpless- devoid of love and robbed of a boyfriend. It was a pitiful sight- yet Elizabeth decided against barging into the conversation.
Elizabeth walked back to her room and lay on her bed- disturbed sleep consumed her and hunger- she was hungry enough to eat two whole plates of spaghetti. When she awoke a little past 7.30 in the morning, the happenings of the night came back to her- she saw Amber’s cruel sneer and gleaming teeth, she was the type of individual anyone steered clear of. A few family members sat around the dining room table and as she approached the table, looks of disgust followed her.
From across the room an old, strained voice screeched “Stop there young woman, do you think you deserve breakfast in this house?”
She collected her thoughts, and if she remembered right, this was her home. She had a right to live here. Anger- that was all.
Elizabeth’s parents owned a film and television company, which went public a year ago. The value of the company tripled overnight leading to jealousy and frustration among the family- there was a hierarchy that had to be maintained and Elizabeth’s father had messed it up.
Elizabeth sensed the tension in the air, it hung over the room with a dangerous indifference. She gulped the soggy cereal to suppress the words she wanted to spit at the old hag that sat at the head of the table. She stood up and walked towards her grandmother- each step measured, no one in the family messed with this woman.