'I'M IN THE BODY OF SOMEONE ELSE' How did this happen? Last time she remembered she was falling from the top of the fifth floor balcony so she should be… Dead!!
....
"And the 'Best Actress of the year' award goes to….Elisa Ausborn"
Elisa"s eyes opened in shock as she felt the spotlight on her. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she felt her breath quickening and her heart pounding. She had just won the award for the best actress for the third time in a row. Everything felt so surreal. She could still remember the first time she auditioned and got a role as an extra.
As she walked to the podium to take the award, she got over her shock, she had a slight smile on her face and she looked graceful with the black gown she had on. As she took the award and was handed the mic to give a speech, she had no idea on what to say.
She felt her heart crying out as she said "I'm completely overwhelmed with gratitude," her voice trembling as she held the award tightly. "To my family, my team, and to everyone who has supported me on this journey, thank you for believing in me. Standing here for the third time to receive the same award is a testament to the power of persistence, dedication and hope. I hope it has inspired you all to hold onto your dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem. Thank you again for this honor "
Bella looked at her sister with a strange glint in her eyes and a smile playing on her lips when her sister looked towards her direction and raised the award.
Elisa had gone backstage and was currently on a phone call with her boyfriend Jake.
"I'm about to leave the award show babe" she said with a smile on her face.
"Alright, I'm on my way home, I'll meet you there"
''Okay then, I'm on my way." she said as she hung up the phone.
She was excited to see him. It's been a while since they've had some alone time. She had met Jake at the award show when she got her first award and they've clicked off since then.
"Diva!!'" She heard someone scream from a distant corner, but she could tell who it was, just by hearing the voice. As the person came closer, she saw that it was her manager Anderson who had screamed, just as she thought.
''What?" she rolled her eyes as she asked.
He ignored her sassy remark, came closer and pulled her in for a hug.
" You did it once again my baby girl " he said with a smile on his face. "I knew you would make daddy proud once you walked in there for the audition" He praised, and she sighed. Such an exaggerated statement. She pulled away from the hug.
"You are literally a rising Phoenix in this industry already , I could call you the queen of the industry at this point,' He said as he was making funny gestures with his hands.
"I mean that's all thanks to me, I groomed you well. " He patted her head like a proud father. "My little chick is now a flaming Phoenix and I have myself to thank,' He said. Mr Anderson never ceases to switch the praises to himself.
She just held in her eye roll, and kept shut to let him have his moment.
"Okay then I've gotta go. " Elisa blushed without knowing it. "I'm already exhausted." She said as she waved her arms in front of him.
He smiled sheepishly. "You just blushed baby girl. Tell me, you're not just going home huh?"
"What?" She smiled, acting all coy. "Jake said-"
She passed halfway as he rolled his eyes and his expression darkened a little. Mr Anderson had never liked that Jake of a guy she got as a boyfriend, he felt like there was something awfully wrong about him.
"Okay okay. What did 'Jerk' say?" He asked sarcastically, changing his name from Jake to jerk. When Elisa frowned heavily at him, he dropped his shoulders with a sigh. "I still don't know what you see in him,"he said.
"Let's not engage in this conversation today okay? Not on my big day please" She said.
With a helpless smile on his face ,he nodded ' Okay then milady, I'll listen to you,'
As she walked towards the parking lot, she could feel the pain on her feet. As she got into her car, she remembered that her sister had called her earlier on to inform her that she was leaving early. Then she remembered she had told her her boyfriend was in town, so Elisa decided to call to tell her to bring her boyfriend home.
The call rang twice before it finally connected. "Hey Bella" no one answered. It sounded distorted like the call was breaking or something, then it stopped. Elisa pulled the phone away from her ears to confirm if the call was still connected. It was.
"Hello," Elisa said. No response. She could hear a male voice in the background, which she assumed to be her sister's boyfriend, which she had never met. She had heard a lot about him from her sister though. The chattering stopped and she could hear smooching sounds. The sounds intensified and she could hear what seemed to be moans.
Elisa couldn't help but blush. Her sister was having a really nice time with her boyfriend, so she cut the call to let them have their privacy.
As the driver drove through the road, Elisa wind the glass down, letting the breeze hit her face. 'Well what a nice night.' She thought.
As she alighted from her car, she could feel the wind caress her face ,then she entered the building. entered the elevator heading for her apartment.
Lost in scrambled thoughts, she heard the elevator ding, and her heart jolted for some reason unknown to her.
Her heels clicked as she made her way to her apartment,she felt her palms becoming sweaty, an uneasy feeling washing over her, then she opened the door to her apartment and entered.
As she was about to fling her heels carelessly and make it to her room, the lights turned on and she heard a resounding "SURPRISE!!" from what felt to be from a lot of people.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the light, and she could make out the figures of her sister and her boyfriend Jake and other familiar faces and also a lot of unfamiliar faces. Bella walked towards her with two glasses of wine. Wasn't Bella supposed to be in a hotel room somewhere with her man? Did she hear wrong? She shrugged off the thoughts.
''Bella! You didn't have to do all this for me,' She said as she hugged her sister and happiness swelling in her heart
' With Jake 's help ,' Bella said and Elisa looked at him with love, and mouthed an ' I love you' to him.
Eliaa then made a speech to the crowd, not forgetting to thank her sister and her loved one, a.k.a her boyfriend. The public wasn't aware of her relationship, as instructed by the industry.
The party had started in full swing and people were already getting drunk, when she made her way to sister who was currently on a phone call.
"Who are you on a call with huh?" Elisa asked with a teasing smile.
"My boyfriend," Bella replied with a sly smile on her face.
Now curious, she sat down beside Bella
"Who is this dude you always call your boyfriend and why haven't I seen him yet?" she asked curiously.
Bella chuckled. "You'll see him today. He's here"
Then she offered Elisa a drink which she took,then excused herself ,saying she wanted to use the restroom.
As Elisa sat there lost in thought ,she ran her fingers on the bracelet on her wrist. A bracelet gifted by her grandmother.
Then she felt a slight itchy feeling on her throat all of a sudden, so she made her way to the kitchen to drink water hoping to feel better.
It's 10PM, and the party looked like it just began. Elisa got a text from Bella saying "COME TO THE BALCONY AND MEET HIM". She spared one glance at the crowd before making her way up there. Her presence was no longer needed anyways, so they wouldn't mind if she was gone.
She hurried to the balcony, placing guesses on who the lover might be. Finally getting to the top of the balcony, Bella was standing close to the railing facing her direction and a man stood next to her, but his back was turned towards her.
Elisa smiled as she approached them. "Hello, stranger. I finally get to meet you" Elisa said speaking to the man whose back was against her.
Suddenly, Bella burst out laughing "Who said he was a stranger?"
"Infact, I think you might know him too well" She said and Elisa raised a brow at her in confusion. Slowly, the man turned.
When his face was finally revealed to her, she stumbled backwards in shock with a loud gasp. "JAKE. WHAT ARE YOU…"
"But then again, you might have been right. He is a stranger" she paused. "to YOU, since you never actually knew the real him" She commented.
Elisa was having a really hard time processing everything. "I.. don't.. under…" She looked at Bella and at Jake, and called out "Jake" in a soft voice.
"Is this his twin?" The evil smile left Bella's face.
"OH YOU FOOL. This is the Jake you know, the Jake you think loves you, the one you've been wasting your time with"
"What do you mean I've been wasting my time with him?"
"Bloody hell!!! You see why it was so easy to pull this off? Because you're very stupid, naive, you don't seem to use your senses and think properly" she scoffed. "You think the world is all roses and snowdrops? Just because you've managed to achieve this, this" she spread her arms wide referring to her achievements, the apartment as a physical reference .
"And you must think everyone likes you and is happy with you huh? You STUPID little sister" she cursed.
"Bella, I don't understand anything you're saying," Elisa mouthed innocently. Her veins were popping out of her neck, but not as her sister's who was flaming with anger.
Elisa was now leaning on a pillar for support as her sister's words seemed to be weighing down on her. Bella was getting irritated already. Even though she was bringing the truth right in front of her face, she still did not see it.
Bella grabbed Jake by the collar and kissed him aggressively, touching his groins as she did. It has risen by the time they are done.
Elisa's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. " What is going on between you two? Have you both been deceiving me all this time?" She pulled away from the pillar, staggering towards them. An adrenaline rush kicked as she got to Jake and grabbed him by the collar.
"YOU… NEVER LOVED ME. THEN WHAT ON EARTH …. WHY ON EARTH…" She screamed in agony.
"Whoah whoah whoah" Bella cautioned. "Don't grab my man like that!"
For the first time, as Elisa looked into Bella's eyes, she could see things . But Elisa wouldn't accept it, she wouldn't. .. She couldn't. … How could she? This was her sister and her boyfriend of three years.
"Bella," Elisa shook her head, still in denial. Her body was feeling queasy and she couldn't breath or talk properly anymore. She was getting short of breath.
When Bella noticed, she cackled sinisterly. "I guess the poison is having an effect on you already", She pretended to be in thoughts for a moment. "Oh that's right, cause I put it in both the drinks I handed you" she laughed again.
"You are already getting paler and looking much more lifeless, I must say the poison is a quick one"
Elisa could feel her back grow cold as she heard her sister's words.
'Bella ,how could you… how could you do this to me…I'm your sister … I love you…why….' said Elisa as could feel her head grow heavier by the second
"You have yourself to blame sister, your naivety disgust me, you took everything away from me, you got the fame, money and a man beside you, while I'm left with nothing. You made me live behind your shadow. I absolutely DESPISE you. I hate you, you are always in the spotlight, you stole my shine as an elder sister, I'm the forgotten one every SINGLE TIME. It's always about you!. YOU! YOU! YOU! YOU!!,' Bella pointed as her eyes shone with undisguised anger and hate. She seemed to be crazy as she screamed, airing out her bottled up hatred and contempt.
''How….' Elisa managed to spit out.
Bella chuckled as she said, almost as if she couldn't hear anyone anymore. Her eyes were bloodshot. "Jake is my man by the way, I always hated seeing you touch what's mine.. HE'S MINE!. I made him get close to you just to see you become broken, sister" she laughed crazily. With a creepy voice she said "How does it feel to be broken? Don't worry nobody is gonna suspect us. You are going to die from poisoning, okay dear sister?"
Then she approached Elisa and grabbed her throat, screaming at her face 'I HATE YOU. JUST DIE!!!'
Bella tightened her grip around her neck. Elisa could no longer see her sister. This was a monster., and it was at this moment that everything dawned on her.
Elisa struggled under the right grip of Bella. "YOU'RE EVIL. LET … ME.. GO. .. I CAN'T.. BREATHE…"
Jake saw the need to step in as he tried to pull Bella away from Elisa. As they all struggled in a frenzy, Bella pinned Elisa on the railing, her mind clouded by thoughts of its own. Elisa struggled relentlessly to break free. Her limbs were weak, and her head was filled with blood. She could tell that might not make it, but she struggled with her last breath, and once she finally broke free, she was flying down the balcony. While floating in mid air, she let fate take its course but she had vowed that if she ever had a chance to get back at her sister, she wouldn't let retribution come to her. She would take it to her!!
A tight slap flew across Bella's face, and it seemed to have brought her to her senses.
"WHAT THE FUCK!! THAT WAS NOT PART OF THE PLAN"
Bella stammered. "I.. she.. was.. she was not supposed to…Let us get out of here before people realize what has happened"
"What do you mean 'US'. This is all on YOU, Bella "
Bella looked at Jake and for a moment, the fear left her eyes and she smirked. "Don't act all innocent, babe. You have a hand in this too, and if I go down, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!"