Chapter 5. One Step Closer

“Matt, you don’t have to listen to her!” Sarah muttered as she waved her hand. She couldn’t understand why Victoria could talk like that, as if Matthew would do such a thing for her.

But unexpectedly, Matthew bowed his body and said,

“Explain what you mean. I’m listening...”

Sarah glared in surprise and said, “Matt! You just need to be my lawyer! What about your law firm? You can’t go for months just to watch me!”

But he was unfazed. He kept his eyes on Victoria, waiting for her to say something.

Victoria laughed, “You are so cute! Do you realize that you guys like each other?” She said it sarcastically.

Sarah and Matthew both glared.

“What?! Us? Hahaha, no, no!” Said Sarah, blurted. She was embarrassed and needed to deny it because maybe Matthew didn’t feel the same way. Besides, she didn’t feel confident at all.

Seeing Sarah’s reaction, Matthew laughed, too. “Yeah, we’re just friends, but I feel the need to protect her,” he said, which in an instant made Sarah shudder to hear it.

“Oh, whatever! You guys are so boring! But I have an idea! You can come as Sarah’s bodyguard—I mean, as the fake Victoria’s bodyguard—with the excuse that Victoria was so traumatized that she needs someone to look after her,” Victoria chirped nonchalantly.

“That doesn’t make sense! Come on, Matt, you don’t have to be in all this madness!” said Sarah, shaking her head.

“No, that’s a good idea, though,” Matthew replied without looking at her.

“But what about your law firm? You must have a lot of cases to deal with! Just forget it! Go back to Boston! I don’t need more than legal help!” bubbled Sarah, who was worried about Matthew’s safety. She would feel very guilty if something terrible happened to him just because of her.

Matthew finally turned to look at her and said, “You know what? I might be able to be useful as a messenger between you and your grandmother. Won’t it be difficult for you to communicate with your Granny once you are there?” he said with a shrug.

Victoria nodded and said, “He’s right. You can only talk to me once a week during church services. We won’t use any gadgets. We’re going to do it the old way.”

“Church service?” asked Sarah with a frown.

“Yes, I’ll be in the confession room. Don’t worry. I know the church members very well. They’re on my side. But to talk to your grandmother, I bet you’ll need his help,” Victoria said while flicking cigarette ash on the ashtray.

Sarah fell silent. Bringing up the topic of her grandmother always made her sensitive. She played with her fingers, confused.

“Come on, Sarah! After all, I did plan a vacation this year. I’ll consider it a holiday,” Matthew said as he looked at her with pleading eyes.

She gulped. “Why do you want to protect me?” she asked almost inaudibly.

“Whoa, it’s getting personal! I’ll give you guys some space!” Victoria exclaimed as she got up and walked away, leaving them alone.

“Matt?” asked Sarah again.

Matthew stuttered. He rubbed his nose a few times. “Because we’re friends! I care about you. Is it wrong?”

Sarah grunted, “Friends? Well, if you insist, I’ll split a quarter of the money for you.” She decided at last because she was thinking about her grandmother.

“Great! I’ll call my secretary,” said Matthew cheerfully as he got up from his seat and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

“So? Have you decided?” asked Victoria, suddenly standing beside her.

Sarah shrugged and said, “I have no choice. I wonder why you chose to communicate in such an old-fashioned way! Aren’t there many gadgets we can use?” She said, a little annoyed.

Victoria plopped down on the sofa next to her, then, for the umpteenth time, she lit a cigarette and took a deep breath.

“You have to remember one thing: you are Victoria Jane Abbot! You were targeted from the start! Almost everyone wants to kick you out of that house, so don’t do anything suspicious!”

Sarah waved her hand because the cigarette smoke from Victoria’s mouth bothered her, but it made Victoria snort.

“I won’t do that kind of thing! Take this! Follow how I smoke!” she snapped as she tossed a cigarette and lighter at Sarah, who caught it by reflex.

She awkwardly took out a cigarette and tucked it to her lips, her movements so stiff they made Victoria roll her eyes in annoyance.

“Stop! Repeat! Listen to me! You have to follow me! All my styles, without exception!”

Sarah let out a long sigh. She repeated her movements, copying Victoria’s. Starting from the way she took out cigarettes from the pack to how she inhaled deeply, which instantly made her cheeks look plump. Seconds later, she choked violently and coughed.

Matthew, who had just finished talking to his secretary on the phone, immediately ran into the living room when he heard Sarah coughing violently.

“You smoke?” he asked in surprise when he found her clamping a cigarette between her fingers.

“She has to! If she wants to be me, she has to do everything like me! Or she will fail and die there!” Victoria snapped impatiently.

“Well, we can use excuses. How about something like you stopped smoking after everything that happened to you or...” Matthew said, which made Victoria immediately snort.

“I’ve been smoking since I was eighteen! Everyone who knows me knows that I will never quit smoking even if the world ends, so Sarah, if you want to continue this, you know there’s a price to pay for the dollars that you’re going to get!” chirped Victoria somewhat angrily.

Sarah gulped, “Don’t worry! I’ll keep practicing!” She said that because she did not want Victoria to change her mind and cancel their contract.

Victoria folded her arms across her chest.

“You’re going to be staying with me for a whole week! You have to watch how I bathe, eat, and even sleep! If after that you still don’t succeed in copying my personality, you’d better not do that mission if it’s only to fail! Now, let’s discuss the contract. I don’t have plenty of time to play around!”