00:00Everything we'd whispered late at night, every sweet conversation through a screen,
00:04every moment I'd felt truly loved, it had all been built on a lie. Even my name was fake.
00:10That night, I tossed and turned for hours. Regret crushed my chest. God, I regretted it.
00:16Why had I ever told him I was Vanessa? I buried my face in my pillow and cried.
00:21I didn't know how long it lasted. Eventually, I looked up at my swollen eyes in the mirror
00:26and realized I was just a small-town girl. I didn't have Vanessa's confidence or her bold
00:31personality. And unlike Vanessa, who was thin and effortlessly glamorous, I'd always been the bigger
00:36girl people overlooked. Just an ordinary person. Without Vanessa's identity, Callan Vitale would
00:42have never noticed me. In the end, I forced down the ache in my chest. I sent Callan one message.
00:48Then I blocked and deleted him. Three days later, Callan emailed me. There was only one sentence.
00:54Vanessa, Vanessa, please don't leave me. Every word was full of pleading and confusion
00:58at being abandoned. Unfortunately, I wasn't Vanessa. Remembering it now sent a shiver through
01:03me. I looked up and realized everyone was staring. I forced a smile. What? Vanessa walked over with
01:09an innocent expression. Sadie, weren't you listening? Everyone wants to try that new coffee place.
01:14Would you mind grabbing the drinks for us? It's only a few blocks away. Besides, at your size,
01:20you could use the exercise. Picking on interns was nothing new. But Vanessa already fit right
01:24in with the senior staff. All because they'd seen how Callan treated her. I looked at Vanessa,
01:29then at the people behind her, all ready to turn on me if I said no. Finally, I nodded.
01:34Okay. Vanessa looked pleased. She turned toward everyone with a smile. See? Don't feel bad about
01:41asking her. Sadie's mom was our housekeeper. She's used to running errands. If you guys ever need
01:47anything done, just ask her. She loves it. Everywhere Vanessa went, she made sure people
01:54knew my mom had been her housekeeper. She'd done it for years. I was used to it. Besides,
01:59I wanted some air anyway. I ignored her. Phone in hand, I turned around and accidentally walked
02:04straight into a man.
02:05Duh.
