"You girls will be swapping worlds. Olivia Smith will become Emma Williams and vice versa."
"What!"
"What!"
The two doppelgängers exclaimed in unison, horror written across their identical faces.
Honey and Darling didn't seem amused this time. Their usual cheer faded, replaced by an eerie seriousness.
A moving cloud glided forward and stopped in front of the girls, playing scenes from their pasts like a projected memory.
Olivia froze as she saw her lifeless body being held by Max. His face was pale, stricken with disbelief. Her mother lay bleeding nearby, her head having struck the floor when she collapsed. Her father's eyes were empty, as though his soul had already followed hers.
Something inside Olivia cracked. She bit the inside of her cheek, refusing to let her tears fall. She wouldn't cry, not here, not now.
Emma, beside her, gasped softly as her own vision appeared. Her blind mother shuffled through their small home with Nemo, the black cat guiding her carefully toward the living room.
Her mother smiled faintly, mouthing words Emma knew by heart talking to Nemo as if he were her friend, telling him stories about her daughters. Emma's chest tightened painfully. Her mother trusted that cat more than her own sight, relying on his warmth to navigate the house.
What will happen to her when she finds out her daughter is gone?
The image changed. Her twin sisters were laughing at school, finally starting to make friends and live like normal children. They never complained, even when Emma came home empty-handed. They always smiled and said they weren't hungry.
They had offered to hawk snacks in the streets to help, but Emma had refused. Her mother too had begged to find a job like washing dishes or anything her condition could manage. Emma couldn't bear it. Now that she was gone, what would happen to them?
Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Her soft, muffled cries only deepened Olivia's irritation.
If Emma thought she had it worse, she was wrong. Olivia's life might have been gilded with luxury, but it was a cage built on fear. Her uncle's shadow haunted her every day until he finally succeeded in killing her.
But crying? Never. Breaking down only gave the enemy satisfaction. If you keep your head high, they'd grow frustrated, knowing they couldn't destroy you.
Olivia turned sharply toward Emma. "Enough with the dramatics."
"I…. I'm sorry," Emma whispered.
Olivia blinked, thrown off for a moment. Why was she apologizing? What kind of life did this girl live to be this meek?
Darling's small voice cut in, serious now. "Are you ready to take the chance or shall we let your souls move on to their rightful places after death?"
"No, please! I don't want to die yet. My family needs me," Emma pleaded desperately.
Olivia crossed her arms. "Don't pretend this is charity. If it didn't benefit you two somehow, we wouldn't be here."
Her sharp words made both bunnies fall silent.
Emma stared at her in disbelief. How can someone so beautiful be so cold?
"What?" Olivia snapped, catching her stare.
"Nothing," Emma murmured quickly, looking away.
Honey and Darling exchanged glances. Their cheerful auras were gone, replaced by a solemn glow that made them somehow look even cuter.
"We're giving you both a second chance at life," Honey explained. "But it comes with conditions. Each of you must conquer the leading man in your new world, make him fall hopelessly in love with you and help remove the threats in each other's lives. Olivia Smith will live as Emma Williams and make her life better, while Emma Williams will do the same for Olivia Smith."
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Help her? Easy. She just needs to grow a backbone. Judging by how she died, she was poisoned, unlike me, who was assassinated."
"Death is death," Emma said softly.
"Death is death?" Olivia mocked. "Please. You probably drank the poison because someone told you to. I've been with you five minutes and I can already tell you'd cry your way into the afterlife if someone glared too hard. Honestly, pathetic."
Emma bit her lower lip, trembling. "I don't think my family will be safe with her, Honey… Darling, she's… she's weird."
"Call me weird one more time," Olivia warned darkly, "and I'll decorate your face with palm prints."
Emma turned pleadingly toward the systems, her eyes saying 'see what I mean?'
"Boohoo… you two are scary!" the bunnies squeaked together, covering their tiny faces.
Olivia smirked. "Is there anything scarier than talking bunnies?"
Emma groaned inwardly. Can she ever just stop talking?
The thought echoed audibly in the white space, and her eyes widened in horror.
Olivia's hand flew toward her face but passed right through, as though swiping air. She staggered, regaining balance.
"She tried to slap me!" Emma gasped.
"Why can't I hit this peasant?" Olivia demanded, glaring at Honey and Darling, who looked as shocked as Emma did.
"Please don't hurt my family," Emma blurted out. "I'm sorry for what I said!"
Olivia lifted her chin. "Watch how you speak to Olivia Smith, or the consequences will be nightmarish. Your apology is accepted but listen carefully."
She began listing commands like a queen issuing royal decrees.
"Don't step into my limousine. Don't open my Instagram. Don't post on my Facebook. Don't touch my teddy bear. And if I return to find so much as a fingerprint on my face, I'll curse your generation.
If that idiot Alicia insults you and you let her go unpunished, I swear I'll find a way back to your world and end you myself.
Don't read my texts. Keep my body healthy. Go to the gym regularly. And if you ever get the chance, take my mother's limousine as well, don't use it, I'll handle that myself when I'm back."
Before Olivia could finish, Honey and Darling were already bickering loudly.
"I want Emma!" Honey said, stamping a tiny foot.
"No way, I want her!" Darling snapped.
They both want Emma Williams as their host.