The Doppelganger

The $300 Husband Is A Zillionaire

Nap Regazzini

I woke up in a blindingly white hotel penthouse with a throbbing headache and the taste of betrayal in my mouth. The last thing I remembered was my stepsister, Cathie, handing me a flute of champagne at the charity gala with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Now, a tall, dangerously handsome man walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips. On the nightstand sat a stack of hundred-dollar bills. My stepmother had finally done it—she drugged me and staged a scandal with a hired escort to destroy my reputation and my future. "Aisha! Is it true you spent the night with a gigolo?" The shouts of a dozen reporters echoed through the heavy oak door as camera flashes exploded through the peephole. My phone lit up with messages showing my bank accounts were already frozen. My father was invoking the 'morality clause' in my mother’s trust fund, and my fiancé had already released a statement dumping me to marry my stepsister instead. I was trapped, penniless, and being hunted by the press for a scandal I hadn't even participated in. My own family had sold me out for a payday, and the man standing in front of me was the only witness who could prove I was innocent—or finish me off for good. I didn't have time to cry. According to the fine print of the trust, I had thirty days to prove my "rehabilitation" through a legal marriage or I would lose everything. I tracked the man down to a coffee shop the next morning, watching him take a thick envelope of cash from a wealthy older woman. I sat across from him and slid a napkin with a $50,000 figure written on it. "I need a husband. Legal, paper-signed, and convincing." He looked at the number, then at me, a slow, crooked smile spreading across his face. I thought I was hiring a desperate gigolo to save my inheritance. I had no idea I was actually proposing to Dominic Fields, the reclusive billionaire shark who was currently planning a hostile takeover of my father’s entire empire.

Modern Mystery Multilinear narration Drama Comeback One-night stand

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SAMAR

I woke up from my unconsciousness.

"It's been exact three hours since I got here still I don't know where I am.", I thought within myself as I managed to detect the time from the broken glass of my watch.

Pulling myself together, I strived to find my way out but I'm unable to do it. It's so dark here. I wish I could call mommy, she'll be worried about me. Pondering about this, I remembered today's incident as a baby shriek reached my ears.

"Listen girl, stop crying or else I'll make you voiceless.", I heard.

Kayu... I mumbled her name. She was with me during the abduction. We were playing like everyday in the children's park and all of a sudden they came to us and... and I blacked out. I let out a deep sigh as I don't know what happened next. For now I need to go to her but how will I reach her? I can't see a thing. The next moment idea popped up in my brain.

"You can follow the sound Samar.", My inner voice told me. Kayra's screeches made it cakewalk for me.

While sensing the things in background I stood up and followed the sound, touching gently everything so that I don't stumble. I took tiny steps towards her yet find nothing but a irregular surface around me. There must be a exit and I have to find it. I circled around the space comfortably as find nothing in my way and here it is. I sensed a wooden window beneath my hand. Striving to open it, I shoved it but all in vain. I guess it is stucked.

The Doppelganger

The $300 Husband Is A Zillionaire