/Madison's POV/
The first thing that came to my mind the moment I saw the Ayanna girl was that she was pretty. Heavy shoulder-length curls, hazel eyes that stood out, tall, lean, and fit yet womanly—endowed in all the right places.
Ayanna was the type to steal attention the moment she walked into a room because just her posture exuded confidence. Judging by the band on her ring finger, she was either married or engaged—either one of those.
"Let me get this straight," I smiled, moving over to the armchair to get started on my pancakes, undisturbed by the two foreign presences in my room. I was too hungry to ignore the steaming butter pancakes on the table. "You don't question Zane's motive for trying to uncover the truth behind my sister's death even though he's not family, and you question my motives even though Allison's my family?" I shot up a brow at Ayanna. "Pretty sure I have a solid reason to be here." I concluded, raising a slice of pancake to my mouth.
Zane and Ayanna, however, just stared at me blankly in response, but I picked up a hint of amusement in Zane's expression. I turned away from him. I don't want to admit it, but he's a walking six feet of temptation.
I'd literally just made up my mind to keep things strictly business, but our proximity this morning wasn't very helpful. I'm not sure he knows how obvious it was that he was checking me out. I really need to get this done quickly and head home.
"Well, Zane's the one who's been with Allison for the past five years or so… you practically disappeared from her life, and you expect us to believe that you what? Suddenly came back because you remembered you have a family somewhere?" My fork froze mid-air.
I'm actually kind of surprised Zane hasn't called me out on that yet. Things didn't end well between me and Allison.
"Allison didn't tell you how things turned bad between us?" I asked. My sour expression had guilt flushing Zane's face, even if all I caught was a glimpse of it since I didn't want to look at him too long. I couldn't mistake the look in his eyes. "Did she tell you it was my fault we ended up like this?" I asked, twirling my pancakes in the honey toppings that had pooled at the edge of the plate.
"Does it matter whose fault it is?" Ayanna frowned, her tone nonchalant while I reached for the warm milk served with the pancakes. "Going thirteen years beefing your sister because of what? And now you show up and expect us to believe you actually care?"
I know the reason why Ayanna was being very intrusive, and while it might appear she was on Allison's side, I could tell her concern wasn't for Allison but for Zane.
"It was Allison who wanted nothing to do with me," I confessed. "But I didn't want to go my entire life beefing with my sister. I wanted this whole thing to end because we are what's left of our family. That's why I'm here. I mean, I could have just ignored her when she reached out, but she brought me here." My tone dipped.
"Unfortunately, I didn't really have a chance to fix our relationship because she was taken from me. Call it guilt or whatever. I shouldn't have let this simmer for this long. I should have tried to fix it sooner. Perhaps I'd have gained a little more time with her."
"But still—"
"Let it go, Ayanna," Zane said firmly this time, his tone commanding.
"I'm sorry." Aya said. I raised my head to find guilt in Aya's eyes with a sprinkle of embarrassment.
"Honestly, when I heard about this whole thing, I just really thought it was insane," she shrugged before sympathy crashed the playful look on her face. "I can't believe she's gone, so I understand why Zane's pushing for this. If it was Richard, I'd probably go mad too." Ayanna turned to Zane, whose expression had turned solemn.
Richard must be the name of her partner, I guessed.
"I should go," Zane suddenly declared. He couldn't have made it more obvious that the conversation made him uncomfortable. "Maddy, I apologise for Aya's impulsiveness. She can be a lot sometimes, but I can assure you she's very good at what she does."
With an abrupt side glance, Aya pointed out, "You've never actually told me that before."
"What's the point of telling you when you're gonna gloat about it for like forever? It's annoying." Zane feigned annoyance, but Aya looked like she couldn't wait to tell everyone that Zane just acknowledged her.
"Just admit it—I'm great. I made as much for the company as any other high-class celebrity out there," Aya boasted.
"Knock it off." Zane sounded exasperated. I guess Aya's been wanting him to acknowledge that for a very long time.
"Madison, right?" Aya turned back to me.
"Yeah, but you can call me Maddy," I suggested.
"Okay, Maddy." She smiled. "I'm really sorry for attacking you. I just wanted to get to know you, and I know that was a brash way to go about it, but emotions speak more for a person than a mouth could ever do. I'm not always like that."
"No, you are always like that," Zane interjected.
Aya was right—our little confrontation spoke volumes about the kind of person she is, more than she'll ever admit. She's also very protective of Zane, almost like family would be.
"Anyways, when do you plan on confronting the reporters? With the announcement, it's only a matter of time before one of them barges in here." Aya turned to Zane, who was about to make his exit.
"Maddy's not ready yet, which is where you come in. You'll know when she is, and that's when we can put this whole thing in motion," Zane simply said.
"If I'm getting this right," Aya threw her hands in the air, "you're asking me to turn her into a celebrity, correct?" Her question left me feeling confused.
"Yeah," and Zane's admittance didn't help either.
"Wait, what?" My brows knitted. "What does pretending to be Allison have to do with her turning me into a celebrity?"
"Because Allison is a celebrity," Aya spelled out. Then her eyes raked over me in one swift glance. "I'm sorry, but you're nowhere near prepared for what you're getting into," she confirmed. "I guess I see why you need my help."
"I guess I'll leave you two to it then. I have to get back to work, so I'll see you later?" Zane asked, his eyes meeting mine. I nodded as he exited my room, closing the door behind him.
"I still don't get it," I confessed the moment Zane's receding footsteps faded outside the door.
"Your skin's dry—" she declared before raising some part of my hair. "Hair looks and feels like you haven't oiled it in years, your lips are chapped, and why do your nails look like that?" Aya asked, and I glanced down at my well-trimmed nails but still didn't see the problem. "Even on their deathbeds, celebrities have to look their best," she made clear.
Is it too late to rethink this? I can always do this on my own anyway, I thought, forcing Aya an awkward smile.
"You look a lot like your sister, but damn sure people in the industry can still set you apart if you look like that."
Honestly, I don't really see what makes me so different from my sister, but I guess I should go with this for now.
"Why don't you finish up your meal, and then we'll talk," Aya suggested, and honestly, I couldn't be more glad to return to my food.
"Maddy." What now? I glanced up to meet Aya's worried eyes. "Do you really want to do this?" I remained quiet to her question, unsure how to respond.
"I know it's not my place to tell you anything, but what you're doing is pretty dangerous. I know you think this is the only way to make it up to your sister, and Zane wouldn't even listen to reason since this is the only way he knows how to mourn his loss. Honestly, I wish in the midst of doing all of this, he'd get over it and give up."
"He doesn't seem the type to me though."
"You noticed too… he's annoyingly persistent," Aya groaned. I rose from my seat, hoping to head to the kitchen.
Aya doesn't look it at first, but she talks a lot.
"Maddy," I let out a groan this time. I wanted to pretend her whole positive energy wasn't disturbing, but it was really hard. She's like the total opposite of me.
"What?" I forced her a smile as I turned back to her, pausing by the door.
"You're bleeding."
"What?"
"The robe's stained." She pointed out, forcing me to glance at the red patch on the white bathroom robe I had on.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath, putting the tray back down before moving over to the bedside drawers, then to the closet and bathroom, rummaging through any corner that could house my saving grace.
You'd think amongst everything Allison left behind at her fiancé's house there'd be tampons, but there weren't any—almost like she'd never had a period while with Zane. Not that I cared.
"You couldn't find any?" Aya guessed, whipping out her phone from her small bucket purse that matched her shoes.
"Unfortunately," I said ruefully. "D'you think you could get me some? I'd appreciate it. I'm not really in the position to go out at the moment."
"I could, but why bother when Zane can handle it." I blinked.
"What?"
"I already sent him a text. He said he'd handle it. My purpose here is actually to take your measurements. I already made appointments to pick your outfits. You might have the same face as your sister, but your body structure is different. That's what Zane doesn't know." I could no longer register any more of Aya's ramblings since my brain was stuck on one thing.
"You sent Zane to buy me… tampons?" I demanded like I hadn't asked her the first time.
"Yes," she replied innocently. "Is something wrong?" she asked after seeing the horrified look on my face.
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