Two Destinies

Emily wandered the streets of a foreign city, clutching a small piece of paper like a lifeline—her last shred of hope for the future. For two days straight, she’d been job hunting, only to find it harder than expected.

*”Thanks, we’ll call you!”* Employers recited the phrase like a script.

*”But I don’t have a phone—I’m not from here, and mobiles are a luxury I can’t afford,”* she’d explain, her voice tight with desperation.

*”You filled out the form—that’s what matters! We’ll consider your application!”* The HR assistant’s empty stare made Emily shrink in her seat.

*What’s wrong with me? First-class degree, fluent in French and Spanish… What more do they want?*

Time was running out. If she didn’t land a job today, she’d have to slink back home—to her ill mother, who’d believed her promise that everything would be fine. *What kind of future awaits me in a tiny village with my education?*

*”Hello, I’m here about the job?”* Her voice was barely above a whisper. She knew she should relax, seem approachable, but the fear of rejection had turned her limbs to lead.

*”Fill this out.”* A peroxide-blonde slapped a form on the desk without looking up. *”Thanks! We’ll call you!”* she chirped ten minutes later.

*”But—I don’t have a phone,”* Emily nearly sobbed.

The woman gaped at her as if she’d just crawled out of the Stone Age. *”Not my problem. Don’t waste my time.”*

Emily trudged toward the exit, hollow inside. Another dead end. Then—the door burst open, and in swept a striking young woman.

*”Lucy, have the suppliers arrived?”* she asked the blonde.

*”Not yet, Victoria. Should be any minute.”*

*”And you?”* Victoria’s gaze landed on Emily—and she froze.

The two women stared, mirror images of shock. Emily couldn’t speak.

*”She’s here about the admin role,”* Lucy sneered. *”I’ve told her we’ll call, but she’s not getting the hint.”*

*”Come in,”* Victoria said abruptly, ushering her into a plush office.

*”But the suppliers—”*

*”Let them wait. Lucy, do your job.”*

Inside, Victoria softened. *”Your CV, references—?”*

*”No references. I’ve just graduated.”* Emily slid her papers across the desk, studying her doppelgänger.

*”Right… You’re hired. When can you start?”*

*”Now!”*

*”Perfect. Lucy will brief you, then take you to the restaurant. The manager, Oliver, will handle your training.”*

Victoria strode out, ignoring Lucy’s protests about the suppliers. *”Reschedule. I’m busy.”*

Sliding into her car, she covered her face with her hands. *She’s my sister. That’s why I’ve dreamt of her.*

Victoria drove straight to her mother’s—time to crack the Ice Queen. Since childhood, she’d felt disconnected from Eleanor, a renowned professor who’d raised her with clinical detachment. No hugs, no warmth—just rules. *Today, she’ll tell me the truth.*

*”You didn’t call.”* Eleanor’s voice was crisp.

*”I missed you. How’ve you been?”*

*”Fine. What do you want?”*

*”Mum… Tell me about my sister.”*

Eleanor paled. *”Who told you?”*

*I was right.* Victoria’s heart soared. *I’m not alone.*

Eleanor exhaled. *”I devoted my life to medicine. By the time I wanted children… it was too late. Then a young woman—your mother—was rushed in. Twins.”* Her voice wavered. *”I resented her. Two healthy girls, and I couldn’t even have one.”*

*”So you took me.”*

*”It wasn’t that simple! Do you know what I risked?”*

*”Nobody told me. I saw Emily yesterday. We’re identical. I’ve dreamt of her my whole life.”*

*”You’d be nothing without me! A village girl, not a business owner!”*

*”You never loved me. Why tear me from my family?”*

*”Get out!”*

Victoria fled, crumbling like a child. She sat in a park for hours, lost.

At the restaurant, she cornered Oliver. *”Emily—was she here?”*

*”Sharp girl. Relative of yours? Spitting image!”*

*”Her address. Now.”*

That evening, Victoria knocked on a shabby door. A bleary-eyed Emily emerged.

*”Something wrong?”*