ONCE UPON A TIME, there were two little redheaded girls. Identical twins who lived in Hollywood, were best friends and wore princess dresses whenever they could get away with it.
Their parents were Hollywood royalty—a studio head and a talent agent. Said parents traveled, a lot. They entertained, a lot. But they also fought, a lot, which upset the girls.
Laurel was a girlie girl, in love with shoes and fabrics, hairstyles and makeup, peace and quiet. From an early age, she devoured fashion magazines and red-carpet shows. She begged the family maid to teach her how to sew, imagining a future where she created pretty dresses for celebrities. Making smooth, even stitches became a welcome escape from the household’s chaos. But sometimes, there was no escape.
As for Ashley... She might have watched too many soap operas and romantic movies while the maid taught Laurel to sew. Those hours in front of the TV gave Ashley a fascination with people, their emotions and how they expressed them. The slightest of smiles, the well of tears, the shudder of bent shoulders. Body language said so much without saying anything at all. And pretending to be a character on-screen? That was sometimes better than being Ashley Monroe.
Like many identical twins, Laurel and Ashley learned early on that one could easily be mistaken for the other. And like many identical twins, they learned early on to take advantage of their mirrorlike facades and implement what they called “The Twin Switch.”
The girls would have lived happily ever after in obscurity if not for their parents stumbling upon five-year-old Ashley reenacting a scene from a soap opera with what they said was amazing talent. Mama Monroe enrolled her in acting class, hired a writer to create a television series around her and devoted herself to making Ashley a star.
Which meant Laurel was often forgotten in her twin’s shadow.
Unless she was needed to stand in her place.