Falling For The True Heiress

I swiped across the screen and brought the phone closer to my ear.

"Look who finally picked up. The fake heiress." Janina’s voice came through the speaker.

The moment I heard her voice, my fingers tightened around my phone.

Of course.

I should have known nothing good would come from answering her call.

Actually, I hadn’t expected anything nice from her in the first place.

"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my voice calm.

She let out a small laugh.

"Nothing, really." She paused before continuing. "I just wanted to tell you that I’m staying at my uncle’s place for one month."

She said it slowly, as if she wanted every single word to sink into my head.

"One month," she repeated, and then she laughed again. "Or even more, fake heiress."

My jaw tightened.

I stared at the food in front of me, but suddenly I had no appetite.

Of all the people in the world, Janina was one person I had never wanted around me.

Not after everything.

I had disliked Janina from the moment she came into the Winston family.

She had always fought me for everything.

If I had something, she wanted it.

If someone praised me, she would find a way to get their attention.

If I made a friend, she would try to pull them away.

Even the smallest things became a competition whenever she was around.

But when we were little, I didn’t understand any of that.

I thought maybe she was simply lonely.

I thought maybe she didn’t know how to make friends.

I thought if I weree kind to her, she would eventually become kind to me too.

I was wrong.

One memory came rushing back.

A memory I had spent years trying not to think about.

I was little.

So little that my feet barely touched the floor when I sat on a chair.

I remembered walking toward Janina with a small smile on my face.

I wanted to play with her.

I wanted to be her friend.

I didn’t know why she didn’t like me.

I didn’t know what I had done to make her hate me.

I only knew that I wanted us to get along.

She actually smiled at me. But that should have been my warning.

Instead, I followed her.

She led me toward one of the rooms at the back of the house.

It was darker there and quieter.

I remember asking her where we were going.

She didn’t answer.

She simply opened the door and pushed me inside.

I stumbled forward. Before I could turn around, the door slammed shut.

The sound made my entire body jerk.

"Janina?"

I rushed toward the door, grabbed the handle, and tried to pull it open.

It wouldn’t move.

"Janina?" My little voice shook.

I knocked on the door.

"Janina, open the door."

She stood there laughing before I heard her footsteps fading away down the hallway.

I was still banging on the door when I heard something.

A low sound that sounded like...

A growl.

My entire body went still.

I slowly turned around. The room was dark, but I could make out a shape in the corner.

A dog.

My father’s aggressive dog.

The one everyone had warned me not to go near. The one I had been terrified of.

My heart started beating so hard that it hurt.

"No..." The word came out as a whisper.

The dog lifted its head. Its eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.

Then it barked.

The sound exploded through the room.

I screamed and ran backward.

My legs were shaking so badly that I fell to the ground.

The dog stood up and let out another loud bark.

I pressed myself against the wall.

"Please..."

I didn’t even know who I was begging.

Maybe Janina.

Maybe my parents.

Maybe God.

"Please don’t..."

The dog started walking toward me.

One step at a time.

Its claws scraped against the floor. Every little sound seemed painfully loud.

I couldn’t breathe properly.

My chest was moving too fast. I tried to scream for help, but my voice barely came out.

"Mom..." Tears filled my eyes. "Daddy..."

The dog kept coming.

I pressed myself harder against the wall as if I could somehow disappear into it.

Then my bladder gave out. The warmth spread down my legs.

I had wet myself.

I had actually urinated on myself...

I didn’t even care. I was too scared to feel embarrassed.

I pulled my knees toward my chest and grabbed the front of my clothes tightly in both hands.

My fingers were trembling.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t want to see it.

I didn’t want to know what was going to happen.

I heard the dog continue moving closer.

I waited.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Nothing happened.

I stayed frozen. I was too afraid to open my eyes.

Maybe if I stayed completely still, it wouldn’t attack me.

Maybe it would leave.

Maybe—

A minute passed.

But still nothing.

Almost two minutes passed before I finally gathered enough courage to open my eyes.

The first thing I saw was the dog’s face.

It was standing directly in front of me. It was so close that I could see its nose moving as it sniffed me.

My heart jumped into my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut again.

I thought it was going to bite me.

But when I didn’t feel anything, I slowly opened my eyes.

The dog’s tail was wagging, and its tongue was hanging from its mouth.

It wasn’t growling.

It wasn’t angry.

It looked...

Happy?

It was just looking at me.

I stared at it in confusion, and it tilted its head.

I swallowed.

"You..." I said quietly. "You’re not going to hurt me?"

The dog moved closer.

I flinched, but instead of biting me, it lowered its head. Its nose touched my hand.

I stared at it and then, with my hand that was still shaking, I slowly reached toward its head.

I touched its fur.

The dog leaned into my hand, and my fingers froze against its head.

I stared at it in disbelief.

It was warm and soft.

Nothing like the monster I had imagined in my head.

"You’re gentle..."

Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.

I didn’t understand. I had been terrified of this animal.

But it wasn’t hurting me.

Instead, it sat beside me.

I slowly wrapped my arms around its neck.

The dog stayed still.

I buried my face against its fur and cried.

I cried until my chest hurt. I cried because I had been scared. I cried because I thought I was going to die.

And I cried because I didn’t understand why Janina had done it.

I had only wanted to be her friend.

I stayed there with the dog until my parents eventually found me.

The moment the door opened, I heard my mother’s terrified voice.

"Amelia!"

She rushed toward me.

I remember her dropping to her knees and pulling me into her arms.

I remember my father’s shocked expression when he saw the dog sitting beside me.

I remember everyone talking at once.

But I couldn’t answer.

I was too tired and frightened.

Janina, who had expected me to get hurt, was surprised when she saw me sitting there unharmed.

But even after that, she didn’t stop.

She kept finding ways to hurt me, and eventually, I stopped trying.

I stopped trying to be her friend. I stopped trying to understand her.

I learned to avoid her.

If she walked into a room, I walked out.

If she came near me, I moved away.

If I heard her voice, my body became tense before I even realized it.

Years have passed, but some memories don’t disappear just because time does.

They simply become quieter until something brings them back.

Like now.

I looked down at my phone. For a second, I considered asking her why.

But I knew better.

"Fine," I said. "It’s actually none of my business."

I ended the call before she could say anything else.

I placed my phone on the table, and the screen went dark.

I stared at it.

My hands were still trembling slightly.

"Who’s that, Lia?" Camila’s voice pulled me back.

I looked at her.

She was watching me carefully.

I glanced down at the dark screen again before looking back at her.

"Janina."

Camila immediately sat up straighter as her eyebrows pulled together.

"Why is she calling you?"

"She said she’s staying with us for a month."

I paused. "Or more."

Camila’s expression changed. "And what was that supposed to mean?"

She dropped her fork onto the plate and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have no idea," I replied quietly.

Camila stared at me.

I could tell she didn’t believe that was the whole story.

She knew me too well.

She knew how I became whenever Janina was mentioned.

My shoulders became tense, my hands became cold, and my mind always went somewhere else.

Back to that room.

Back to the locked door.

Back to the sound of the barking.

I hated that she could still do that to me after all these years.

Camila finally let out a small breath. "But do you actually want this, Lia?"

I didn’t answer. I just lowered my eyes to my food.

My appetite was gone.

Camila knew.

She had seen how uncomfortable I became whenever Janina was around.

She knew I avoided talking about her.

She knew there was a reason my parents had never really allowed Janina to stay around me for long after what happened.

For years, they kept their distance.

Maybe they thought I was still too scared.

Maybe they thought keeping Janina away was the best way to help me recover.

But now...

They had allowed her back.

Maybe they thought I had recovered.

Maybe they thought enough time had passed.

But how could anyone recover that quickly from something like that?

How could a little girl forget being locked inside a dark room with an aggressive dog?

I still remembered the smell of that room, the cold floor beneath me, the sound of my own heartbeat, and even the way my small hands had trembled against the door.

And most of all, I remembered the loneliness.

I had been so young.

And I had genuinely believed that someone was going to find me.

I swallowed hard.

"Lia?"

I looked up.

Camila was watching me. "Are you okay?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah."

She didn’t smile back. "You don’t have to pretend with me."

My smile slowly faded, and I looked down again.

"I just don’t want her here," I said quietly.

Camila reached across the table and placed her hand over mine.

"Because you’re scared of her?"

I shook my head. "I don’t know if I’m scared of her anymore."

I paused.

"Maybe I’m scared of what happens whenever she’s around."

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