Epilogue (Luna Parker)

Epilogue (Luna Parker)

I’d met Dylan Harrison by chance at a friend’s party. He’d been charming and distinguished, rumored to run a small company—a young, successful man. It would have been hard not to fall for him.

I’d grown up in an orphanage and had a biological sister. Fate had been cruel to me: the family that adopted me had been poor, and constant scolding had made me extremely insecure.

But when a man like Dylan had looked at me in surprise and said, "It’s you?" my heart had hesitated for only a moment. No matter who he’d been referring to, from that moment on, I would be the one he remembered.

So I’d stolen someone else’s identity. I’d gone along with his memories, making up stories about my life in England and funny anecdotes from Cambridge—mostly things I’d read online. He’d believed every word, and his love for me had grown deeper. I’d felt triumphant.

But fate hadn’t been kind to me. A few years into our marriage, I’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Then, at the sanatorium, I’d met Sophia Bennett. Looking at that face—almost identical to mine—I’d suddenly realized who Dylan had been talking about when he’d said, "It’s you."

I’d secretly taken a strand of Sophia’s hair for a DNA test. Sure enough, she was my sister. But I couldn’t—wouldn’t—give Dylan up to her.

I’d hoped to spend my last days with the man I loved. But then I’d discovered something: shortly after he’d bought me an insurance policy, I’d gotten sick in a strange way. I’d had no proof, and my time was running out. It hadn’t seemed fair.

I’d been a substitute, tricked by a playboy’s sweet words, and now I was going to die. Everything should have been Sophia’s: her happy family, her respectable job, even the money I’d never dared to dream of.

So on my deathbed, I’d found her. I’d asked her to take my place and continue loving Dylan. I’d known she’d soon discover how terrible this man was—just like I had.

They say beautiful things are often poisonous. How true that was.

I’d hesitated, felt guilty for what I’d done. But time hadn’t allowed me to overthink. I’d warned Sophia in the end, not knowing if she’d understand. I didn’t regret it. Not really.

Not for falling in love with Dylan Harrison. And not for hurting Sophia Bennett.

I only hoped that if we were sisters again in the next life, we’d have "abundance year after year, and peace all through the years."