We stare at each other for a few beats before breaking out in laughter again. I jump to my feet and say, “We need to celebrate. Let me grab some champagne.”
“Do you even know where it is?” she asks, laughing.
“I’ll get it,” Kai says.
When he returns with two glasses, we both clink them together and take a sip before Stella frowns. “I have so many questions now. Like why were we separated, how old were we, and why have my parents been lying to me? Wait, are they even my parents? Am I adopted too?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure we can figure it out.Maybe we can start by telling each other what we know of our childhood?”
“Yeah.” Stella stares at the wall for a long moment. “Sure, why don’t you go first?”
I happily dive into what I know from Mom and then into how my life has been like. When I finish, she talks about her parents and how they pushed her into performing since she was a child, how she was an outcast in school and hated it, and how Aria is her only real friend.
“Is there something wrong?” I ask when she finishes. “Why are you glossing over the details of your life?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just… Please be patient with me. I’ve been burned too many times by trusting the wrong people. And I’m not saying you’re going to betray me, but trust is going to take time to build between us. I’ve been in the public eye for too long to not be cautious. Hell, Aria is my best friend, and she doesn’t know too much about me.”
“I understand.” I can’t imagine what it’s like to have people always with a hand out, begging her to constantly give them something. “We’ve got all the time in the world to get to know and trust each other.”
“We do.” Stella squeezes my hand in hers.
We watch some more of the show before Stella asks, “How’s it going with Hunter? Is he being difficult since finding out about our switch?”
“Not at all, the opposite really. He’s such anamazing guy, and I really like him. He even wants to throw out our contract, to make sure I know that what’s between us is real.”
“Don’t do that!” Stella yells.
I startle. I’ve never heard Stella yell before. Turning toward her, I ask slowly, “Why not?”
“I…” She opens and closes her mouth a few times, but doesn’t speak.
“What’s going on?”
“I have something to tell you, and you’re not going to like it.” She lets out a long breath and says, “Rachel and I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“What we’re doing? Switching places? It’s not legal.”
“Of course it is. I asked, and Rachel said it was.”
“It’s not,” she says, chugging her champagne. “Since we’re earning money off the switch through the tour, it makes this whole thing illegal. It’s misrepresentation. Imagine what would happen if the fans found out that the concert they paid for wasn’t really Stella Wilde performing? That it was you? It’d be the end of both of us, and we’d probably all end up in jail.”
Nausea bubbles in my stomach. No matter how much I try to deny her words, reject them, and insist they’re wrong, I can’t. I could go tojail? I gag and run to the bathroom sink, throwing up the champagne I just drank.
Stella rubs my back as I rinse my mouth with water.
“You tricked me?” I ask, my voice rough after vomiting.
“I didn’t want to. Rachel insisted it was better you didn’t know. But that’s why the NDAs are in place. It’s to protect us all. Hunter can’t breathe a word of this to anyone. He’d get in trouble too.”
“Wow.” I step away from her, rage sparking inside me. It’s one thing to lie to me, to put me at risk, but it’s a whole other thing to hurt Hunter. “That’s fucked up.”
She winces. “You have every right to be angry.”
“Angry?” My hands ball into fists. “That word doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. You know, I expect Rachel to lie to me, but you? You’re my sister…” I huff and shake my head in disbelief. “So what? Did you target me because I’m poor? Because I didn’t have much to lose if I ended up in jail?”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” Stella takes a step toward me, and I take a step back. “I didn’t target you; I chose you because of your talent and our resemblance. I’m so sorry I lied. I’ll find a way to make it right, but you deserve to know.”