The Week He Pretended To Be The Husband

After my sister lost her husband, our family arranged a new marriage for her.

This arrangement was meant to solidify the alliance with the Castellanov family.

As it turned out, the chosen groom was Nicola. He was the twin brother of my husband, Matteo.

On the night we learned the news, both Matteo and I could not sleep at all.

Early the next morning, I heard Matteo call Nicola in the study room.

“Nicola, I really don’t want to spend my whole life missing my chance with her. Please. Do this one thing for me. Don’t worry. Lina is clueless. She’ll never find out that you’re pretending to be me.

“Elena never met you. Even if I pretend to be you for a few days, she won’t notice either. Please, let’s swap places for one week. Just one week. I just don’t want to live with any regrets.”

He begged for a long time before Nicola finally agreed to switch identities with him.

Matteo was relieved. I was relieved as well.

What Matteo never knew was that I, too, had been hiding a secret of my own.

My twin sister Elena’s husband died for the family.

On the day Elena became a widow, the Moretti family decided over just fifteen minutes that she would again marry for the family’s sake.

The man Elena was to marry this time was Nicola, the twin brother of my husband, Matteo.

I heard that he had been doing dangerous work for his family and had only recently returned to the country.

The marriage was still just a verbal agreement. Elena had not yet met Nicola.

I was sitting on the couch in the bedroom reading a book when I learned about this news. Matteo was standing right behind me.

After a long silence, he asked, “Will... Elena agree to this arranged marriage?”

I replied without looking at him, “Yes.”

He then asked, “So, are you going to see her?”

I nodded. “Yes, I’ll see her later.”

Upon hearing my words, Matteo seemed a little disappointed. However, in the next second, he looked calm again.

That night, Matteo tossed and turned. He was unable to sleep. I also stayed awake the entire night.

In truth, my marriage with Matteo was simply fate’s cruel joke.

When my family received the marriage announcement from the Castellano family, they were overjoyed. They even double-checked that I was the one being asked to marry Matteo.

After all, my sister Elena was the pride of the Moretti family.

She was radiant, dignified, and capable in everything she did. I, on the other hand, was just her quiet and dull shadow.

Our wedding took place in June.

It was a bright and sunny day.

However, just as I walked down the aisle toward Matteo, I saw the light in his eyes dim a little.

Since members of both families were present, he went through the wedding with me like he was just going through a procedure.

We both knew very well that this was a family alliance. Unless it was absolutely necessary, we were not allowed to call it off.

Still, the way Matteo looked at me that day planted a seed of doubt in my heart.

As for me, even though I did not marry the person I truly liked, I had made peace with it.

Perhaps it was because I had never been able to get anything easily since I was a child. I was already used to it.

I even felt a little bit fortunate.

After all, Matteo looked almost identical to the person I had secretly been in love with.

Elena and I were fraternal twins. People could tell us apart at a single glance.

I remembered our first anniversary family banquet. I was stuck making the rounds with Matteo.

I hit a wall of exhaustion and ducked into the restroom.

When I came out, I took a different way back.

I stopped behind a marble pillar because I overheard someone say Matteo’s name.

“Matteo, I still don’t get it. You never make mistakes in missions. You can go seventy-two hours without sleep and still tell who the enemy is. How did you even mix up Elena and her sister? How did you screw up so badly at the wedding that you married the wrong woman?”

I clenched the hem of my dress when I heard that.

There was silence for a moment.

Then, I heard Matteo say, “Who doesn’t have regrets in life? Anyway, she and I are already married. We’ll just keep going on with our lives.”

He sounded indifferent, as if he were talking about something unimportant.

Only then did it dawn on me. I finally understood why he had looked at me that way at our wedding.

He was actually in love with Elena. I was never the one he truly wanted to marry.

Early the next morning, I heard him talking to Nicola on the phone.

After he hung up, he came back to the bedroom. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

He sat by my bed and gently stroked my hair.

He only treated me so gently when I was asleep. Normally, he acted very cold toward me.

He never mistreated me, but he never looked at me with love.

He looked at me like I was a stand-in. I knew that feeling all too well.

I knew he loved Elena. The only time I even vaguely looked like her was when I stayed completely still.

“Lina, I’m sorry. I really love her that much. The moment I laid eyes on her, I couldn’t forget her. I just need to see her one time. One week is all I’m asking for. Then, I’ll come back, and our marriage will go right back to normal.”

Of course, he had to seize the opportunity that was placed in front of him. Otherwise, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

I understood that. So, I did not blame him.