Chapter 1

My best friend and I were dating twin brothers.

Her boyfriend was a powerful CEO running a massive conglomerate.

Mine, Julian, was just an ordinary guy working greasy shifts at an auto repair shop.

My best friend, Chloe, suggested we have a double wedding to fulfill our lifelong dream of getting married together.

But Julian rejected the idea immediately.

"My brother is running a multi-million dollar empire, Chloe. He doesn't have time for a double wedding."

"Let's just forget about it, Elena."

I knew Julian's brother was always incredibly busy.

Still, wanting to share that special day with Chloe, I decided to secretly plan a surprise.

Using the bridal boutique Chloe recommended, I booked a private fitting for the four of us.

But just as I reached the door of the VIP dressing room, I heard Chloe's voice from inside.

"Julian, how long are you going to keep up this act?"

"You don't have a twin brother."

Silence fell over the room for a few agonizing seconds.

Finally, Julian spoke.

"Chloe, stop making a scene."

"Why can't we have a double wedding? What if Elena finds out?"

"I want her to find out!"

"Julian, you can pretend to be twins to date both of us at the same time!"

"But on the wedding day, you can't stand next to two brides at once!"

"It's either me or Elena. You have to choose."

I stood frozen outside the door, my nails digging so deep into my palms that they drew blood.

The mechanic gig was a lie. The twin brother was a lie. Even his love was a lie.

I ripped the reservation card in half, turned around, and walked away.

Julian, you don't have to choose anymore. I'm out.

I walked back to our apartment like a ghost.

This tiny 200-square-foot studio was the place Julian and I rented together.

I still remembered when we moved here from that damp, 80-square-foot basement. We were so excited we couldn't sleep all night.

Julian had held me tight and promised he would buy me a huge house one day—a real home.

Back then, I actually believed him.

I don't know how long I lay on the bed, my tears drying into stiff streaks on my face.

When the doorbell rang, I dragged my exhausted body up to answer it.

Julian walked in, still wearing his grease-stained mechanic jumpsuit.

With a flourish, he produced a small, elegant box from behind his back.

"A little surprise for my girl. Strawberry cheesecake."

He used to do this all the time. On his way home from work, he'd always bring me some small token.

Sometimes it was a single stem of jasmine, my favorite flower. Other times, it was a warm pastry from the bakery on the corner.

Every time I accepted those gifts, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

How could you not feel loved when someone always kept you in their thoughts?

But this time, the magic was gone.

Holding the expensive strawberry cheesecake—something from a high-end bakery I would never normally buy—my heart squeezed with a brutal, agonizing pain.

Because I had seen it.

At the bridal boutique, I had seen Julian holding this exact same cheesecake, begging Chloe not to be angry, pleading for more time to sort things out.

I had seen Chloe push it away in disgust, trying to toss it into the trash can.

Julian had stopped her.

"Don't waste it. I'll take it home for Elena."

This cake, meant for the trash, was now presented to me as a loving surprise.

Seeing that I didn't immediately open it with excitement like I usually did, Julian frowned and quickly pressed the back of his hand to my forehead.

"Are you feeling sick?"

"What's wrong? Still upset about the double wedding?"

"Elena, when did you become as high-maintenance as Chloe? I told you, my brother is incredibly busy. He's a CEO, not a mechanic like me who can just take time off..."

Looking at Julian's self-righteous, lecturing face, I laughed until tears came to my eyes.

If I hadn't gone to that bridal boutique today.

If I hadn't heard Julian confessing to Chloe that there was no twin brother, and that Christian and Julian were the exact same person.

Maybe I would have kept believing his lies.

But now, the illusion was shattered.

I looked up, staring straight into his eyes.

"Julian, are you sure it's your brother who's too busy... or is it just that you don't want to marry me?"