My Twin Stole My Life, Then Married the Real Monster

She mimicked my appearance, settling demurely on my bed, waiting for my husband to join her.

My parents also hoped she would share a harmonious and fruitful marriage with my husband, blessed with many children.

My husband pushed open the door, and my sister, her face flushed, stepped forward to help him undress.

She had no idea that the man standing before her was far more terrifying than she could ever be.

I floated in the air, watching Caspian push open the door. His battle armor was stained with blood and dust.

Two months apart, he looked a little thinner, but also more imposing.

My sister, Elara Sterling, nervously clutched her dress, then steeled herself and rose from the bed, approaching Caspian. She spoke softly, “My Lord, let me help you undress and bathe.”

Her voice was almost identical to mine.

But our voices were originally different.

Seven days earlier, when I was on the verge of death, she had told me, “Lyra, I went through hell to change my voice. Don’t you think it sounds just like yours?”

It certainly did, because even someone as cautious as Caspian hadn’t realized that the wife before him was an imposter.

Caspian removed his armor and opened his arms. Elara’s face flushed, and her soft, delicate hands reached for his belt.

She wasn’t naturally fair-skinned, but to match my complexion, she had taken whitening potions daily for two years and avoided the sun completely. In the end, she became as fair as I was.

Not just my voice and skin, but she had perfectly mimicked my expressions and gestures too.

She said she had spent two full years preparing.

She said she was determined to have it all.

Caspian looked down at her. “Did you change your perfume?”

Elara paused, then softly replied, “Yes, My Lord. How do you find this scent?”

Caspian frowned. “It’s too strong. Not as good as the one you used before. Change it back.”

Elara quickly said, “Yes, My Lord.”

Caspian turned and walked towards the bath. Elara eagerly followed, joy in her eyes.

She hadn’t been discovered; naturally, she was thrilled.

I didn’t want to go near the bath, because I knew what would happen next.

Caspian had joined the military at twelve and had served for thirteen years. His passion in the bedroom was intense, unlike any other.

Though I didn’t know if any women had served him during his two months away, whenever he returned after several days, it was always more than I could bear.

He was never gentle with me, even nonchalantly saying, “Your parents sent you to please me, yet I see little effort from you.”

Later, Nanny Eliza advised me to be more accommodating, and I followed her words, which made him less brutal.

But in truth, it was Elara who was originally meant to marry Caspian.

Yet, that year, when Caspian returned to the Capital with his army from the Northern Territories, five severed heads hung from his saddle.

Though he told the King he had merely encountered and slain bandits along the way, everyone knew those five heads represented the five prominent families who had brought charges against his family years ago.

Our Sterling family was one of them.

The Sterling family had bled profusely due to those accusations, and Caspian was naturally out for revenge.

So, the five families offered rare jewels and stunning beauties, hoping to appease his fury.

Elara, my sister, was one of those stunning beauties.

She feared she would be tortured to death by Caspian and begged our parents not to send her.

Our parents doted on her, and ultimately, they made me take Elara’s place and marry Caspian.

Though Elara and I were twins, a seer had prophesied at our birth that one of us would bring ruin to the Sterling family.

So, when I was born quiet and cried little, I was declared the ill-fated twin.

They planned to drown me.

My mother couldn’t bear it and threatened her own life to save mine. I survived but was confined to the deepest, smallest courtyard in the Sterling estate, with only Nanny Eliza to care for me.

From then on, outsiders only knew of Elara Sterling, the eldest daughter cherished by the Sterling family, and were unaware of another daughter named Lyra Sterling, who grew like a weed in that tiny, secluded yard.

The Sterling family never gave me a name. Lyra was given to me by Nanny Eliza.

Nanny Eliza said that on the day she carried me to the small courtyard, the pear blossoms there were in full bloom, the most beautiful she had ever seen. So she named me Lyra.

Lyra, a name that sounded so much like “farewell” in the old tongue.

It perfectly foretold my brief life.