I waited silently as the team of women circled around me like a well-practiced storm.
Fingers tugged at my hair from behind while someone else brushed a warm foundation sponge across my jaw. Another woman worked on my nails in patient, rhythmic strokes. The room smelled faintly of hairspray, rose-scented lotion, and the sharp tang of acetone.
I kept my eyes shut-partly to avoid the mirror, partly because the closeness of it all overwhelmed me. Their hands moved with the confidence of people sculpting a familiar statue... except the statue was me, and the shape they were carving didn't belong to me at all.
A comb tugged at my scalp.
A cool brush feathered across my eyelids.
Warm breath grazed my cheek as someone leaned in to check the blending.
The tickle of brow-threading snapped sharply through my skin-tiny stings like a row of ants biting in sequence.
I clenched my hands in my lap, trying not to react.
"Alright, dear," a soft, patronising voice cooed. "You can open your eyes now."
I inhaled and lifted my lids.
The image in the mirror left me wonder struck.
My skin was smooth-unnaturally smooth-like polished porcelain. My cheekbones looked sculpted, my lips fuller, tinted a soft pink that didn't belong to any version of me I had ever met. My lashes were long enough to cast shadows on my cheeks.
I was no longer the 23 year old nerdy guy that I had been before tonight.
A stunning woman stared back at me.
My twin sister Sameera.
"Perfect," Jyotsna murmured, her eyes practically shining. "You look exactly like Sameera. No one will ever guess."
My throat tightened. I knew she was wrong, hoped she was wrong because I could still see fragments of myself under the work-and I did not want to get lost in her. But yes, ... I resembled her .. very closely.
Jyotsna didn't give me time to breathe.
"Jewellery next," she said, lifting a velvet tray. "Hold still."
Cold metal brushed my collarbone as she fitted the diamond necklace around my throat. It felt strange-light yet present, like a leash made of starlight. Her fingers brushed my skin again as she clipped on the earrings. They pinched slightly but thankfully my ears did not ned to be pierced .
"There we go," she hummed. "Just beautiful."
Then came the dress.
The gown's fabric whispered against my body as they guided me into it-light green, shimmering, studded with Swarovski crystals. The diagonal cut hugged my waist too tightly. The padded, glued-on cleavage pressed against my chest with an unnatural weight, warm and slightly sticky where it adhered to my freshly waxed skin.
Standing was a task. The green heels felt like thin stilts strapped to my feet, forcing my posture to tilt forward, hips pushed out, steps short and delicate. My calves trembled with each adjustment.
Jyotsna stepped back, admiring her work.
"There," she said softly. "Sameera, reborn."
Sameera, reborn.
Only for a night.
I looked like her.
I needed to move like her. It was part of the deal.
Everything about me looked smooth, delicate... feminine.
Everything except the panic swirling inside.
A knock sounded before I could gather myself.
And then Aarav stepped in.
Aarav Mehrotra-Sameera's husband, my brother-in-law, celebrated producer-director, golden boy of the film industry, and the man whose life was currently falling apart.
His eyes widened as soon as he saw me.
"Wow," he exhaled dramatically. "For a moment, I thought Sameera had walked back through that door."
He extended his hand toward me with theatrical flourish.
"Come, gorgeous wifey. Your carriage awaits."
I rolled my eyes at the word *wifey*, but took his hand anyway-because walking in heels was like learning a new alphabet.
"It's a dumb plan, Aarav," I muttered as he helped steady me. "Someone is going to find out the truth and embarrass us both. Anyway, you already paid me half."
"And you'll get the remaining fifty percent," he said lightly, "if you make it through the night."
He grinned. The kind of grin only a director who has convinced an actor to perform a dangerous stunt can manage.
"Just follow the plan."
Ah yes. *The plan.*
The disaster that had led to this moment had begun nearly six weeks ago.
Sameera-my twin sister, rising starlet-had vanished overnight. Left a message saying she was tired of the industry and was going away into obscurity.
Just like that.
Gone.
Problem one: she'd signed several movies and collected signing amounts. Producers were furious for dates
Problem two: Aarav had launched a massive big-budget film with her as the star. Financiers wanted shooting to begin or their money back.
So he hired detectives to search for Sameera.
And then he came to me-with a ridiculous proposal.
Tonight, Swarga Productions was hosting a massive industry party. Everyone who mattered would be there. Everyone who could destroy Aarav's career and demand their money back.
And to buy time... they needed to see Sameera.
Hence, ten lakhs.
Half before, half after.
And here I was-walking clumsily on heels, clutching a sparkly green purse, every step a prayer to gravity-towards the waiting car.
Aarav opened the door like a perfect gentleman and offered a hand.
"Come, dear."
I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything.
Doubt twisted deep in my stomach-an unsettling, growing dread.
Was this a big mistake ?
I had a sinking suspicion... yes.
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