WARNING: This chapter is quite the info dumper and a host of other problems. I didn't have time to declutter the abdominal mess its in. Was hoping to do so after exams. But I just really didn't want to keep ya'll hanging for that long. So, here goes nothing.

It turned out that being Paris's fiancé did have its perks. Shanya hadn't had any troubles getting into Nursing school like she thought she would. If anything, they were quite eager to have her. Especially the students. But it wasn't all a bed of roses. Some genuinely liked her, others simply pretended to. She'd been gaslighted a number of times as three people—two girls and a boy, had tried to extort money from her, using her scandalous past as leverage.

Obviously, she was the wrong person to blackmail, but they didn't know that. And by the time they did, it had been too late for them. She'd fished out all their secrets and damned near got them expelled. She should have. Her old self would have. But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to disrupt their education. Instead, she'd forced them to get transferred, claiming that if she ever saw them again, she'd expose their secrets.

Since then, very few people picked on her.

A month had gone by and it had proven that the University had been the absolute perfect choice for her... if she was aiming for humiliation, that is. As fancy as it was, its courses were equally challenging. She'd been away from school too long and had forgotten the amount of studying it demanded.

In her very first week, they'd had her work with actual babies, learning how to care and treat them with a dude called Alan. It had been a test and she'd failed woefully—and it ate at her. In her previous school, she'd been the smartass. A grade A bitch, but a darn brilliant one.

All those months waiting tables had dulled her brain and she was determined to change that.

Her Anatomy lecturer wasn't making it easy for her though. He was condescending and prejudiced against her and somehow, she got the feeling he carried some grudge against people with money or against the Bodens. Her status as his fiancé had only kept growing. She'd had more people fawn over her and give her hateful glances. Both of which she responded with an air of grace and a befitting remark with more sense of bravado than she felt. She'd always been the kind of girl people loved to hate. Still, hatred and contempt wasn't something one particularly enjoyed getting used to.

Speaking of hatred and contempt, Shanya had a boat load of it for a certain activity called driving. After Paris had told her to take it up, Travis had arrived at Shanya's place a week later and practically whisked her to this free lane by a supermarket where they had to practice for almost three hours. Shanya had taken one look at the convertible and known it was a bad idea. It was so complex . She'd barely understood anything when Travis was taking her through each car part. She'd been very foolish to agree to being taught how to drive. Shanya practically couldn't think of a worst way someone could spend their time.

Travis taught her how to accelerate and brake, but her hands became clammy as soon as she heard the loud vooom of the engine. It didn't get any better when she had to hold the steering wheel and navigate the car. She'd thrown up at least five times that day.

She hated that Travis saw how terrified she'd been. Hated how utterly clueless she was. The only thing she'd enjoyed was when Travis and Lily bickered—Lily being dismissive were he was concerned, and Travis getting annoyed at her for dismissing him.

The poor fool was probably used to girls fawning all over him, but what he didn't know was that, like her , Lily was not easily swayed. Especially by someone who'd harmed her friend. And man, those two did not like each other.

A month back, she and Lily had moved into a fancy apartment in their neighborhood befitting their current account. The chances of them finding one they both liked had been less than zero, so it was such a relief when they did.

But as beautiful as their house was, it could get lonely when one was alone. There were days Shanya liked to call her zombie days , and today was one of those days. With Lily on vacation with Graham, Shanya spent the better parts of her days studying, going for stupid driving lessons and having dinner with Paris. They'd fallen into a routine of catching up with each other either at his office or his home. Despite his arrogance and conceit, Shanya had to admit she'd begun to warm up to him. Could even go as far as calling him a friend, what with all the innumerable ways they got on each other's nerves.

A part of her always looked forward to their meetings, their banter, their deep conversations. He was an intriguing, complicated person and she enjoyed his company. Maybe even more than she should.

However, Shanya wanted to do something different today. It was a Thursday afternoon, not a day to sit in her house wallowing. And if she had to watch another episode of Love is blind, she was going to shoot herself.

She decided it was time to shop. She'd been putting it off because Lily had wanted to do it with her. But Lily wasn't here, was she? Besides, her engagement party was less than a month away. She needed a gown. And maybe a whole new collection of sneakers.

* * * *

The Primrose shopping mall was every bit as fancy as Lily said it would be. As she surveyed its lavish build and incredibly inviting colors, Shanya waited for the usual feeling of glee to swell her insides and make her toes curl. But she felt... empty. The very thing that brought her the most joy made her feel underwhelmed and suffocated.

Shopping would've been more fun if someone did it with her. Who wanted to shop alone?

She fought the urge to call Lily and tell her to get her ass back here pronto. She was a big girl. A big girl with lots of money. Besides, shopping was second nature to her. She could handle it.

However, the minute she flashed her expensive credit card and three middle-aged saleswomen swarmed her, fusing and fawning over what would look good on her, Shanya was prepared to head the hell out.

"Need help?"

She whipped her head up and stared at the face of a young, very striking, familiar girl. Pale, alabaster skin, straight hair as dark as night, dressed in a sleek black shirt that said Not your babe with several small necklaces and a short mapple grey leather skirt held together with a black belt. Her eyes were painted over with black eyeshadow and her black boots almost reached her knees.

Eyes widening in recognition, Shanya watched as Purity waved off the attendees who smiled and quickly scurried off to their respective positions, clearly very well acquainted with the new arrival.

Purity simply faced her and smiled broadly, straight white teeth making a thorough contrast of her appearance. "You must be Shanya, my brother's elusive fiancé. I've been dying to meet you."

Her voice was sharp and bold, like music under a summer breeze. There was a steadiness to her, as if all storms in the world were a whispering breeze if she was there. She had kind, clever eyes, perhaps what drew people to her apart from the overall darkness she exuded. It was as if she knew she was born to be queen of the earth.

Shanya found herself returning the smile with equal fervency. "Me too. Though from your tone, I'm suspecting this was no chance meeting."

Purity made a face as if that was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard. "Of course not. GPS. Located you through your phone." She tapped hers for emphasis, a mischievous smile playing at her lips.

"So your brother isn't the only creepy stalker in the family. Good to know."

Purity stared at her for a few beats, then tipped her head back and roared with laughter. A deep throaty laugh that had her necklaces jingling. "Oh, I like you. Takes guts to speak about my brother that way. I'm the only one I know who calls him names."

Shanya's palms suddenly became clammy as she realized she was to play the role of Paris's fiancé for the first time. Well, that was technically untrue since she'd been doing that all month at school and every time a camera was shoved in her face. But this was the first time she had to play the role in front of a family member—and she was poorly prepared for it. She hadn't expected to see any of them until the engagement party as was planned since Paris's parents would not be back till around that time.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Um, y-yeah, Paris and I go way back. I was honestly thinking we would be a disaster together but now"—she forced her eyes to turn dreamy and brought her hand to her heart—"it feels like a match made in heaven."

Purity gave her a weird look. Then chuckled in a way that reminded Shanya of Paris. The only resemblance she could make out from the two apart from the beautiful pale skin and wide smile. They didn't even have the same eye color. Purity's were more blue than grey.

"If that's the story you two are going with, this scheme of yours is going to meet a very catastrophic end."

Shanya blinked. "You know?"

A genuine smile tugged at Dark Barbie's lips. "Nothing goes on with my brother without my knowledge, darlin'. If I were you, I'd brush up on that story. Make it more believable. It wiill come in handy."

And just like that, Shanya's inner turmoil cooled a hundred degrees lower. There was no doubt in her mind that she liked Purity, was drawn to her energy in a way she couldn't explain. Letting out a nervous giggle, Shanya said, "Right. Is that help you offered still on the table? I could use a sidekick."

Purity merely hooked elbows with her. "Any chance to spend my brother's money, I'm in."

They went through a number of clothes and shoes, and Shanya let Purity take the lead, only coming in if need be. Purity seemed to know what she was doing and unsurprisingly, knew exactly what Shanya would like as well as her size. The next couple minutes were filled with stories of Purity and Paris's childhood and Shanya had never laughed quite so much. That feeling she'd felt when she first entered the mall had faded to a tiny speck of dust by the time they went through the third set of clothes.

"You're a wonderful upgrade from Heather," Purity was saying from her position on the feathery white sofa as Shanya modeled in front of her, twirling around a bit for Purity to inspect the pretty blue armless dress. " I have no idea what he sees in her."

Shanya stopped short. Heather. She'd heard that name before, when those goons had kidnapped her. "That's her name? Heather?"

Purity gestured with a thumbs down towards the dress before saying, "Mm hmm. Red-head and hellish."

Huh. "What's the deal anyway? Bad blood? Rivalry?"

Purity seemed to maul over her questions for a while. "A bit of both if you ask me."

"Purity!" A high shrill voice came from across them, belonging to a very gorgeous brunette dressed in layers of white with an equally good looking, white man, waving at them.

Purity gracefully vacated her comfortable seat and beckoned towards Shanya. Tucking a stray strand of jet black hair behind her ear, she leaned in. "I hope you have that story of yours polished. Cause here's your first rodeo."

Shanya swallowed.

"Hi Jane," Purity called back, waving.

Jane Boden came over to them, her eyes darting from Purity to Shanya. The young man gave Shanya a smile that was meant to be disarming, but she only felt like she was being throttled.

"Is this she?" The lady called Jane was practically convulsing with curiosity. She had wide lips that begged to move without permission. Her blue eyes raked over Shanya in stark scrutiny. Shanya tried not to flinch under her direct gaze, only giving her a small smile.

Purity did the same, nodding and gesturing towards them. "Jane, meet Shanya, Paris's fiancé. Shanya, these are my cousins, Jane and Jim."

Twins. Although Shanya wouldn't have guessed it even for a second. The one called Jim seemed to be the quieter and lovelier one of the two with his black curls and soft features. While everything about his sister was simply striking.

Shanya smiled at both of them again. "Nice to meet you two."

"Oh, she's so lovely, isn't she, Jimmy?" Jane cooed, nudging her brother's arm. He in turn nodded his agreement. "We've heard so much about you."

Jim finally spoke to her, and she noticed he had a lazy eye. To his credit, his voice was low and husky. "You were certainly a surprise. I was under the impression Paris would remain a bachelor forever. So psyched to know how you captured his heart."

"The whole family is," Jane added.

The emphasis on whole had Shanya wondering just how big their family was. She watched as Purity told the attendees to pack their bags before turning towards them again. "Okay, okay that's enough, Jamy. You can fawn over her all you want at the engagement party. We've gotta run."

With that, Purity grabbed Shanya's hands and sidestepped their way through to the other side of the mall.

When they were out of sight and earshot, Purity leaned against the walls and started laughing, her ring-filled hand pressed against her chest. Soon after, Shanya joined in. They laughed and laughed for ten seconds straight.

"Is that my life for the next few months?"

Purity nodded, a pitiful expression on her face. "Welcome to the family."

* * * *

Home and satisfied with the things she and Purity had bought, Shanya sat on her sofa, trying to decide if this was the best day she'd had all week. She'd enjoyed spending time with Purity. Confident, outgoing and fun, Purity was the girl everyone wanted to have as a friend. She and Lily would get along so well.

Now, there was only one thing she needed to do. With a sigh, she picked up her phone and texted Paris.

I met your sister and she's AMAZING. Are you sure you're not adopted?

Really, the ridiculous idea had grown and grown in her mind with every word Purity had uttered, every non-judgmental remark, every unwavering hug and acceptance. She'd even come up with a meet cute for Shanya and Paris that was too brilliant to cast aside:

Paris had lost a game to Purity and as a result, he had to ask the first girl he saw when he entered the café to go out with him. His eyes had landed on her (Shanya) first, she was drinking mocha latte and he walked up confidently to her, asking her if she'd like to go out with him. To which Shanya said, "Why would I do that? You're a stranger."

To which Paris replied, "A stranger who's gonna lose all the money in his wallet to his witch of a sister if you don't help him out."

To which Shanya said, "What do I get out of it?"

To which Paris replied, "I'll pay for your mocha latte."

To which Shanya scoffed, saying, "I wouldn't be in here if I couldn't pay for my mocha latte, Smart-Ass. You gotta gimme a better offer. "

In the end, she'd bargained her way into getting all the money in his wallet—the very thing he had been avoiding all along. And it was in that moment that Paris knew he absolutely had to get her number and go out with her.

The end.

Shanya had spent eight weeks with Paris and they hadn't been able to come up with a story that good.

She peered down at her phone. Still no text. Weird. Paris always texted her back fast. She dialed his number.

"Wood," he said simply, after three rings. He'd taken to calling her by her surname and she didn't mind.

"Have you seen my message?"

There was a pause, then a soft low chuckle that sounded pained. "Adopted? Really?"

Something was wrong. His voice sounded way too raspy.

"Are you okay?" No sooner had she asked that than she heard the most horrendous bout of cough at his end of the line.

"Yes," he croaked after what seemed like an eternity, " it's just a little fever."

"That didn't sound little to me."

"Well, it is. I took medicine so I feel like I'm getting better already."

She raised an eyebrow. Paris would rather take injections than medicines. That was how she knew he was lying. It's funny the things you pick up in a fake relationship.

"How's your temperature?"

"Hey, just because you go to nursing school doesn't mean you can doctor me."

She rolled her eyes. "Fair enough."

"You just rolled your eyes, didn't you?"

"Take a wild guess."

He chuckled, the sound hoarse and unpleasant. "I'm fine, honestly. The antibiotics are kicking in already."

"Sure," she said, before hanging up.

He was so lying.

A/n: Liar, liar, sweaty pants on fire.

It's obvious that y'all are decent human beings though bc you vote when you like a story:-)