That evening, I returned to work, going about my shift at the hospital as though nothing had happened the night before, answering my coworkers’ questions about the time I’d spent with my sister—but not mentioning to them that I had stolen her identity and ended up at a party that was more amazing than anything I had ever experienced before.

I ran through my list of patients, taking care of each one as needed. Each person I took care of only served as a reminder of the path I had chosen in life. Sure, I was pleased with my career, and I found it incredibly fulfilling what I could do in the lives of others.

But, when it came down to it, I was feeling incredibly envious of my sister. I wanted her life. I wanted to be invited to those parties and to meet those men.

I wanted to be the one everyone knew from the cover of a magazine. I wanted to be wanted once again. Try as I may, there was no way I could get Kyle Cunningham out of my mind, and each time his face appeared in the back of my brain, I thought about how he never would have given me the time of day if he had known that I was a nurse.

He was after the kind of woman my sister was. The models who enjoyed taking their clothes off—the ones who turned heads everywhere they went, without even noticing.

Of course, I knew that a nurse never would have gotten invited to that kind of party in the first place. That was the kind of party that was reserved for those with sexy jobs and powerful positions in life. The elite members of a secret society that someone like me would never have known existed, had it not been for the antics of my twin sister.

I sighed as I walked into another room, giving the patient the most enthusiastic smile I could muster. I could see by the look on his face that he was even less enthused about being there than I was, and I tried to be more compassionate. At least I still had my health and my home—many of the patients I saw on a day-to-day basis were struggling in ways that I couldn’t imagine.

“Emily! Glad you made it in today. I wasn’t sure if letting you go out for drinks with your sister would be a good idea,” Dr. Neils, my boss, said as he walked past in the hall.

I felt my cheeks flush red. I might have been one of the youngest members of the staff, but I was certainly old enough to know when I should and shouldn’t be going out. However, Dr. Neils was a no-nonsense kind of man, and I knew any kind of retort would be sure to end in a write-up for me.

“I kept it light. I didn’t want to do anything too crazy knowing that I was going to be right back here for the shift tonight,” I said with a light laugh, and he smiled.

“Well, all is well now that you’re here, and I’m glad you are. We have a lot to do today, and we’re going to take an all-hands-on-deck approach.” He was looking down at the clipboard in his hand as he spoke, then he looked up and smiled at me. “How does that sound?”

“Of course, Dr. Neils. I’m just about finished with my rounds, then I’m going to be open to go where I’m needed,” I said quickly. Again, I knew that he didn’t like messing around, and I had to be on top of my game if I wanted to maintain my good standing with him.

He smiled again, though this time it was weary.

“I’m glad you don’t mind working these long hours, Miss Shadows, but I was supposed to let you know that we are making some adjustments, and you aren’t going to have to do this for much longer. When we bring on new nurses, you are going to have more than enough help on hand, and you’ll be able to stick with a much more normal schedule.”

I felt my heart sink, but I smiled. “That would be great, Dr. Neils. Thank you.”

He paused for another moment, then he turned and walked away, his pants swooshing against themselves with each step he took. I stood by my cart for a few seconds, then I shook my head and turned my attention back to finishing my round.

I couldn’t lose hours. I hated working as much as I did, and it had been really nice to have a real night off, but ultimately, I needed this job to make ends meet. There would be no way I could afford my one-bedroom apartment in downtown L.A. on any less than I was making now.

My only other option would be to get a second job—but that would be difficult working the job that I already was. I didn’t have a set schedule, nor would they give me one when I asked. I was supposed to be on call most of the time—something that not many other employers would be happy with.

I could quit this job as a nurse and go for something that was higher paying or more stable, but that would mean starting over again. The state of mind I was in didn’t make me want to start over again anywhere.

I methodically ran through the care of the remaining patients, thinking about how I was going to handle the bills that had already been piling up. Hearing that I was going to have my hours cut only served to make me wonder what my next choice should be.

* * *

Arriving home after my shift, I quickly showered and collapsed into bed. As I absentmindedly browsed through my social media feeds, I wondered if I should just give up and delete my accounts. They had never added much to my life, and now that I had returned to my position as a nurse, it was as if the night I had spent as my sister had never happened.

My thoughts drifted to the money I had gotten from Kyle. I hadn’t spent a dollar of it, though it had been tempting. Every time I looked at it, I could only think of my sister’s voice, asking me if I had accepted money for sex. I told myself that it wasn’t the case, but in a way, it kind of was.

Sure, I thought that I had a real connection to the man, but if I were to be perfectly honest with myself, I also had to admit that he thought I was an escort.

I had thought that myself until my sister had explained otherwise. But, I argued with myself, I hadn’t slept with him because I was an escort, or for the money. I hadn’t known that he was going to leave me any money, so how could I say that I had taken the money for the act that I had done?

Searching for Kyle’s name online, I eagerly flicked through all the images that came up. I could see that many of the photos of him were with other women, and I had to admit that I felt a twinge of jealousy each time I saw him with his hand on someone else.

But another side of me whispered that this was all before—before he met me, before he knew that he could have a connection with someone outside of just having sex with them. I knew it was silly, and I knew it was completely pointless when it came to whether I would be able to contact him or not, but it was something for me to go on.

I knew that I wasn’t going to hear from him on my phone, but each time it buzzed, I eagerly reached for it, hoping that by some miracle it would be him, wanting to see me again.

Come on, Emily, you have to get over this guy. That was a one-night stand, and now it’s time for you to move on with your life. You can’t get hung up thinking that he ever had any interest in seeing you again.

If he had wanted to have contact, he would have left his information for you somewhere, but you didn’t get anything. Anything but a large pile of money and a thank-you note for doing things that you never would do with anyone else on a first date!

I shook my head and buried my face in my hands. I didn’t want to think about the mistake that I’d made, nor did I want to face the fact that it was true. I had made a mistake, and it was only worse now that I had let my feelings grow.

It didn’t matter how hard I tried—the more I didn’t want to think about Kyle or anything that he was doing, the more I thought about him.

I thought about his looks, and the way he’d talked to me. I thought about the way he carried himself, and how he was able to so effortlessly achieve anything and everything he wanted.

It was as though he were a king in a world of people who were all-too-happy to hand him whatever he asked for.

And I was no queen.

I sighed and let my phone drop onto the bed beside me, thinking about what my life was going to be like without Kyle in it. A pang ran through my chest as I thought about the finality of the situation, but I was quick to ignore it. I had to move forward, no matter how hard it was or how long it took me. I had to.

With another sigh, I picked up my phone again. If there was one person who would be able to help me with this, it was my sister.

I hoped she was in a good mood.