Second in Silence

A plane crash tore my husband and his twin brother apart. One survived. One did not.

When I rushed to the hospital, I saw my brother-in-law, who had just survived the crash, locked in a passionate kiss with his wife.

My husband?

He lay lifeless in the morgue.

Blinded by grief, I stumbled down the stairs…and lost the child I had spent three years longing for.

Three years passed.

Just as I was finally learning to breathe without him,

I overheard a conversation between his closest friend and my brother-in-law:

"How long do you plan to keep pretending to be your brother? Alicia is your legal wife."

He adjusted his glasses, voice icy and distant.

"I swore to my brother I'd protect Emily for the rest of my life. I am him now. As for Alicia… let her be the debt I carry into my next life."

That's when I learned the truth. It was the brother-in-law who died in the crash. My husband, the man I had mourned all those years, had taken on his brother's identity to stay by Emily's side, the unattainable woman he had always secretly loved.

So then what about me? The woman clinging to old memories, living in torture for three years. What was I to him?

"Alicia, I'm expecting! Can you keep an eye on the wedding prep for me?"

"Charles has been gone for three years, and we're only now getting around to the wedding. I don't want to shortchange myself."

I stumbled down the stairs, lost in a fog, when Emily Cobb stopped me with an outstretched hand.

She rubbed her belly, her face alight with the bliss of impending motherhood.

If that had been half an hour earlier, I would have wished my sister-in-law happiness from the bottom of my heart.

However, armed with the bitter truth, I couldn't keep my composure.

I turned her down flat.

"Better get a professional to do it. If the wedding hits a snag, I can't be on the hook for it."

"What's all the excitement about?"

A tall guy came over, casually slinging an arm around Emily, all lovey-dovey.

It was like a dagger to my chest, each stab excruciating.

"Emily wanted me to help with the wedding, but I suggested she go with a professional.

"I mean, I've never been married myself, so I'm not exactly an expert."

I finished, locking eyes with the man in front of me, memorizing every flicker across his face.

However, my heart sank.

No guilt, no remorse, not even a twitch.

'Makes sense, I guess. He's had three years to perfect his act. Why would he slip up now?' I thought.

If I had not accidentally overheard that conversation outside his study...

I would still be in the dark, completely duped by his act from three years back.

He had the audacity to impersonate his brother, Jeffrey Wallace, seamlessly assuming control of his life and his widow.

That car crash that tore me up from the