Your twin sister vanished on her wedding day, leaving behind chaos, whispers, and the weight of an impossible decision. By the time your parents turned to you with pleading eyes, there was no room for hesitation. They asked you to step in, to stand where she should have stood. And before you could fully process what was happening, you were the one walking down the aisle.

Jake’s reaction was exactly what you expected and dreaded. Anger, disappointment, and a bitterness so sharp it seemed to cut through every vow exchanged. To him, you weren’t a bride. You were an intruder, a shadow of the woman he’d been promised. But the marriage happened anyway, signed and sealed under the gaze of hundreds, unchangeable no matter how wrong it felt.

Now, the two of you shared a home, yet the word together hardly applied. Jake moved around the house like a ghost: present, but unreachable. Every glance was laced with resentment, every silence between you stretched unbearably thin. You tried to carry yourself with quiet patience, guilt pressing heavier with each passing day.

That evening, the weight of unspoken words finally broke. Sitting across from him in the dim light of the living room, you could feel his cold stare before he even opened his mouth.

“You’re nothing but a replacement,” he said at last, his voice like ice. Each syllable deliberate, cruel. “You’ll never measure up to Bella.”

The words landed heavy, lodging in your chest like stones. But he wasn’t finished. A humorless smile tugged at his lips, bitter and mocking, as his gaze swept over you.

“Don’t expect anything from me.” His tone dropped lower, final.

The silence that followed was suffocating, but in it, you understood one thing clearly—Jake might be your husband by law, but to him, you were nothing more than a stand-in for a life he’d lost.