The Week He Pretended To Be The Husband

I snapped back from the memory.

The Matteo in front of me looked just like Number 23 from my memories.

I could not help myself. I reached out and touched his face.

“Am I dreaming?”

I stood on my tiptoes, wanting to kiss him. Then, he blocked me with his hand.

“Lina.”

I froze in place, still on my tiptoes. However, my body had stopped leaning forward.

He smiled roguishly again.

“If you actually kissed me, Matteo would still kill me even though he’s my twin brother.”

I turned and saw Matteo standing about seven meters away from us.

So, I almost kissed Nicola?

Before I could think it through carefully, I heard Matteo say, “When did you get back, Nicola?”

Nicola put away that casual and unruly demeanor.

He walked past me and said, “Yeah, I’ll tell you later.”

I saw the scar on his arm as he pulled up his sleeve. It was the scar I could never forget.

He was Number 23.

I had the urge to grab Nicola, but Matteo squeezed my hand tightly. He looked at me, offended.

“You can’t even recognize me? What’s going on in your head? Or are you drunk? Is that why you can’t recognize me?”

I shook off his hand and did not respond. I was thinking about Number 23.

Matteo was surprised to see me lose my temper at him. I had always been gentle and obedient.

He only assumed I was tired from socializing. So, he ended the social event and led me back to my room to rest.

After washing up, I suppressed my pounding heart and pretended to be calm as I asked Matteo deliberately, “Was that guy just now your twin brother? Why wasn’t he at our wedding?”

He looked unbothered.

“Nicola? He’s been traveling all over the world these past few years. He couldn’t make it back for our wedding. Dad only called him back recently because of the arranged marriage.”

I continued asking, “So, he was never in Vitalia before?”

“No idea. I heard he went to Liberta first.”

“Oh, then—”

“Lina, why do you have so many questions today?”

Matteo frowned. He turned his head to look at me.

“Are you interested in my brother?”

His question caught me off guard. I felt guilty for a moment. I had no choice but to hide my emotions and smile plainly.

“Don’t just come at me. You’re the one who’s always asking about my sister.”

He was picking up his lighter when he paused at my remark.

After a while, he replied indifferently, “Fair enough. Anyone would be curious about someone who looks exactly like their partner. But Lina, no more questions after this. Let’s just focus on us.”

I nodded to appease him. I could not help but make fun of him inwardly.

He had been saying these strange things lately. Was he trying to give me a sense of security?

I felt like he was actually trying desperately to convince himself.

When Matteo went to take a shower, I received a call from my sister.

“Hey, Elena.”

Her voice sounded helpless as she said, “Lina, I just agreed to the new arranged marriage the family set up for me. It’s with your husband’s twin brother. I can’t believe how much of a coincidence this is. Dad wants me to meet with him sometime next week.”

I was still struggling with how to tell my sister about Number Twenty-three. However, Elena had already seen right through me.

“I know he’s the guy you like. He and I will maintain a marriage on paper only. But Lina, if he makes a move on me… then you need to think about whether he’s still worth your feelings.”

Hearing how much Elena considered my feelings ultimately made me tell her about Matteo’s plan to swap identities.

She cursed under her breath and demanded to know why I did not stop him.

“What if the family elders find out? What are we supposed to do then? How can you just let Matteo walk all over you like this?”

Of course, I was not doing this for Matteo.

“Elena, it’s because I have my own selfish reasons too.”

She was silent for a moment.

“Okay. I’ll pretend I don’t know anything.”

The sound of a lighter came through the phone. She rarely smoked.

“Honestly, this whole messed-up marriage you have with Matteo is kind of my fault, too.”

I gripped my phone tightly and listened as she continued.

She said, “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I just didn’t think it was a big deal. I didn’t think I needed to mention it.”

Her voice sounded hoarse after exhaling a puff of smoke.

“That year, he and I handled some family business together. He heard someone call me Miss Moretti.”

She paused there for a moment.

“Later, when the families arranged the marriage, he agreed because he thought he was marrying me. In the end, he found out that the Moretti family actually has two daughters. He mistook you for me.”

Only a faint buzzing of static remained on the phone.

“I’m sorry, Lina. Before this, I actually thought he was Number 23. I thought my mistake had accidentally done something good. I never thought you’d end up getting hurt because of me again.”

I switched my phone from my left hand to my right hand.

“It’s okay, Elena. Thank you for helping me this time.”

After the call ended, I sat on the windowsill for a very long time.

A long while later, I finally sighed.