The Wrong Twin's Kiss

Chapter 7

Lyra's POV

I was restless, pacing the kitchen like a caged animal. The storm had finally passed, leaving behind an unsettling calm that only made my anxiety worse. My ankle throbbed with each step, but I couldn’t sit still. My mind was racing, filled with thoughts of Kurtis, Angela, and the mess I’d made of everything.

The door creaked open, and I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat. Angela stood in the doorway, looking composed and calm, like she hadn’t just walked into the middle of my personal disaster. Her eyes softened when she saw me, and she walked over with a reassuring smile.

“Lyra,” she said softly, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

I hugged her back, but my mind was racing with questions. “Angela, what are you doing here? I thought”

“I came as soon as I heard about you and Kurtis,” she interrupted, stepping back to look me in the eyes. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve gone through. I didn’t expect things to get so complicated.”

My throat tightened. “Complicated? Angela, this is a complete mess. I’ve... I’ve messed everything up.”

Angela’s expression was sympathetic, but there was a firmness in her voice when she spoke. “No, Lyra. You did what you thought was best. I should have been here sooner. This is my responsibility.”

I shook my head, trying to keep the tears at bay. “I don’t know what to do now. Kurtis... he thinks I’m you. He thinks I’ve been lying to him this whole time. How am I supposed to make this right?”

Angela reached out, squeezing my hand. “I’ll talk to him. When he wakes up, I’ll explain everything. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I want to be there,” I blurted out, desperation creeping into my voice. “I need to explain it to him myself. He deserves to hear it from me.”

Angela’s gaze softened, but she shook her head. “Not right now, Lyra. You need to rest. You’ve been through so much, and you’re hurt. Let me handle this.”

“But what if he doesn’t want to see me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What if he hates me for all of this?”

Angela paused, her eyes flickering with something I couldn’t quite read. “Kurtis cares about you, Lyra. He’ll want to hear your side of things. But right now, he needs time to process everything. We all do.”

I could feel the frustration bubbling up inside me. “Angela, I don’t know where I fit into all of this anymore. You’re back, and he’s always been yours. What am I supposed to do now?”

Angela looked at me with a mix of sadness and resolve. “Lyra, you’re not just an afterthought. You’ve been at the center of this, whether you realize it or not. But this... this needs to be handled carefully. Trust me, okay?”

I wanted to believe her, but the doubt gnawed at me. “I just... I don’t want to lose him, Angela. Not like this.”

Angela sighed, her voice gentle but firm. “I know. And we’ll figure this out. But you need to give him space. Let him wake up and understand what’s happened.”

I bit my lip, trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to spill over. “I just want him to know that I didn’t mean to deceive him. I was trying to protect him... and myself.”

Angela gave me a sad smile. “He’ll understand that, eventually. But for now, let him rest. I’ll be with him, and we’ll talk when he’s ready.”

I nodded, even though my heart screamed at me to fight harder. “Okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to her. “Okay.”

Angela’s hand slipped from mine as she turned to leave. “Take care of yourself, Lyra. We’ll get through this.”

I watched her go, the door closing softly behind her. The silence that followed was suffocating. I sank into a chair at the kitchen table, staring blankly at the walls. My mind was a whirlpool of emotions, fear, guilt, longing. And through it all, one question kept echoing in my head: What would Kurtis think of me now?

I pressed my hands to my face, trying to steady my breathing. I could still feel Angela’s touch on my hand, her words ringing in my ears. But no matter how much I tried to reassure myself, the doubt was always there, lurking beneath the surface.

I couldn’t shake the image of Kurtis’s face when he realized who I really was. Would he look at me with anger? Disgust? Or worse, indifference? The thought made my chest tighten painfully.

“He was always Angela’s,” I muttered to myself, trying to accept the reality of the situation. “Always hers.”

But as I sat there, alone in the kitchen, another thought crept in. It wasn’t just that Kurtis was Angela’s. He was also mine, in some small way. The moments we shared, the connection we built, even if it was based on a lie, those things were real. And that terrified me.

I didn’t know how to untangle the mess I’d created, but one thing was clear: I couldn’t just sit back and let Angela take over. I had to find a way to make Kurtis see me, not as Angela’s shadow, but as someone who cared deeply for him.

The night stretched on, every minute dragging painfully. I wanted to rush to Kurtis’s side, to hold him and tell him everything. But I was trapped, stuck between my desire to be there for him and the fear of making things worse.

When I finally forced myself to stand, my body was heavy with exhaustion. But my mind was still racing, filled with a determination I hadn’t felt before. I couldn’t just wait in the shadows, hoping for a miracle. If Kurtis was going to know the truth, he had to hear it from me.

Taking a deep breath, I headed for the door, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t over yet. Not by a long shot.