But three days later, I ended up locked out.

It's kind of funny when you think about it.

It was my biological parents' house, yet I didn't even have a key.

I waited outside for an hour before my father finally showed up.

When he saw me, he looked surprised.

"Leo? How long have you been standing out here? Sorry if I kept you waiting. Mr. Trivett invited us to dinner. We had to show him some respect."

Behind him, Duncan was following closely beside a middle-aged gentleman, looking especially attentive.

The man looked me up and down.

"So you're Leo. I heard your fiancée looks exactly like my daughter, Chelsea, so I came to see for myself. Where is she?"

Duncan covered his mouth and laughed lightly, his tone dripping with mockery.

"Mr. Trivett, you're just too kind to believe something like that. It's only been three days. Even if he wanted to hire someone to get plastic surgery to look like Chelsea, there wouldn't have been enough time."

I calmly took a sip of tea. "Irene had to fly to Crowston yesterday for a meeting. She'll come straight here after she lands."

My father's eyes lit up instantly. "Sounds like she's busy. What does she do?"

Irene had always kept a low profile. Other than knowing she owned several companies, I didn't really know what she did day to day.

"She works at her family's company. They're the Nelsons."

The others exchanged glances and laughed.

"The Nelsons? Never heard of them. Did you forget to make up the background story, too?"

Right then, the doorbell rang.

For a brief second, I almost rushed forward, ready to pull the person at the door into my arms.

But when I saw the lilies in her hand and noticed the small beauty mark under her eye was gone, I realized immediately that this wasn't Irene.

I was allergic to lilies. She would never forget that.

"Am I late?" the woman asked.

"No," Duncan said with a smile. "Perfect timing."

He took the flowers and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Chelsea touched her ear shyly. The little habit looked exactly like Irene's.

Chelsea's eyes lingered on me longer than they should have.

Duncan quickly stepped in front of me. "Well? My fiancée is here. Where's yours? Or did seeing Chelsea in person scare your actress away?"

My phone had no new messages. Her phone was still off.

A quiet doubt began creeping into my mind.

Were they really not the same person?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang again.

I hurried over and opened the door, hope rising in my chest.

Instead, a line of local delivery workers stood outside. One after another, they carried gift boxes inside. Within minutes, the living room was piled high.

"Sorry," one of them said politely. "Ms. Nelson had an urgent matter come up. She couldn't make it today. These gifts are meant as her apology."

Duncan burst out laughing on the spot. "You think spending a little money will make us believe you? Leo, you're really making a fool of yourself!"

Samuel Trivett picked up his briefcase.

"Well, I've seen enough of this show."

He turned to my father, his expression sharp with warning.

"If your son has mental issues, take him to see a doctor. If he's that desperate to get married, he can go find some older woman. But if he keeps pulling nonsense like this, it will only embarrass the Trivetts."

In the end, my father walked him out the door almost deferentially, smiling nervously the whole way.

When he came back, I was already leaving.

"I wish you had died out there back then," he said to me, cold and expressionless.

That night, Irene apologized to me for three full hours before I finally calmed down.

I still had questions, but neither of us brought up the topic of meeting my parents again.

Instead, we quietly focused on preparing for the wedding.

I didn't expect to run into Duncan again while trying on my wedding suit.

"I don't care if someone already ordered it," he said loudly. "Whatever he paid, I'll pay double."

The store manager tried to explain politely. "It's not really about the money…"

"Do you even know who I'm marrying?" Duncan said with a smug grin. "It's the Trivetts from South Mistburg! In this whole city, who would dare go against them?"

When the manager saw me walk in, he looked like someone who had just been rescued.

"The suit was custom-designed for Mr. Presley," he explained quickly. "It was created to celebrate the designer's collaboration brand debuting at Preesia Fashion Week."

That only made Duncan's jealousy burn hotter.

"Honestly, the suit doesn't even look that special." He leaned close to my ear, his voice low and cold like a whispering snake. "But if it belongs to you, I want it even more."

The next second, his tone changed completely.

He turned around and collapsed dramatically into Chelsea's arms, his voice trembling like he was about to cry.

"Chelsea… Everyone keeps saying I'm the fake heir. That I'm not worthy of anything…"

Chelsea gently rubbed his head and comforted him softly.

"You're the Trivetts' future son-in-law. Nobody gets to pick on you. If you like the suit, just take it."

The store manager hesitated and looked at me helplessly.

I nodded.

I didn't mind.

After all, Duncan had spent months pushing himself to slim down, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

There was no way the suit would fit him.

Sure enough, a loud rip came from the fitting room.

A startled shout followed. When Duncan stepped back out, clearly furious, he stomped on the suit a few times out of spite.

That finished it.

The few decorative buttons left on the suit scattered across the floor like rain.

The manager quickly walked over, holding the bill. People nearby were already watching the scene like it was entertainment.

Duncan's face turned red with embarrassment and anger.

"Why are you rushing me?" he snapped. "If I can try it on, I can pay for it!"

But the moment he saw the number on the bill…

"What? Two million dollars?"

Duncan nervously glanced at Chelsea.

Samuel had only given them a budget of 200 thousand dollars. Even if Duncan begged, he wouldn't dare push it ten times higher.

"Chelsea, it's this stupid suit's fault. It scratched my hand, so I lost my temper…"

"It's fine," Chelsea said calmly. She signed the bill without hesitation. "But you'll have to explain it to my dad yourself."

Duncan froze for a second.

Her tone still sounded affectionate, but her eyes kept drifting toward me.

Even Duncan, who had been smug moments earlier, seemed to notice something strange.

I suddenly found the situation amusing.

I leaned closer to his ear and whispered softly, copying his earlier tone, "I'm wondering, what if Chelsea's actually helping me mess with you?"

A sentence was all it took to plant a thorn in Duncan's heart.

A mutual friend later told me that Duncan became paranoid after that. He kept suspecting things, but didn't dare confront Chelsea directly.

Instead, he secretly went through her phone.

That was when he discovered she had been following my account for a long time. Years ago, she had even been my top supporter during livestreams.

After that, things got ugly.

Duncan started fighting with Chelsea almost every day.

But the moment Samuel so much as frowned, Duncan immediately behaved again.

After telling me all that, my friend leaned closer and said curiously, "Leo, be honest with me. You've been hiding Irene so carefully, never bringing her out to meet anyone. Don't tell me she's actually…"

"The woman I'm marrying has always been Irene," I cut him off immediately.

Seeing how serious I looked, he didn't press the question any further.

I thought that after that, our lives would finally stop crossing paths.

But on the day of the wedding, I discovered something unbelievable.

We had booked the same hotel.

And when I saw the welcome boards at the entrance, both weddings displayed photos seemingly of the same bride.

Guests arriving at the venue started whispering to each other in confusion.

By the time I got there, my father was already tearing down my welcome sign.

He ripped the wedding photos into pieces, then took a blade and slashed a huge X across the bride's face in the remaining picture.

He must have really hated me to do all that.

"Leo, how did I end up with a son like you? If you still see me as your father, then leave right now!"

He seemed to be waiting for me to break down.

But his words no longer hurt me the way they once did.

I calmly asked my assistant, Kristy Hudson, to call the police.

"What, you think you're hot stuff now?" he snapped. "You don't even respect your own father anymore. Fine! Go ahead and make a scene. Let's see how you're going to fix it."

The situation had clearly become embarrassing.

Even the Trivetts looked displeased.

Duncan was only halfway through getting his hair done when he rushed out to stop Matthew.

"Leo, don't get cocky," he said coldly. "As long as Mr. Trivett is alive, someone like you will never enter the Trivetts. When your wedding has no bride, you're the only one who'll be embarrassed!"

What an idiot.

He still thought I was fighting him over the Trivetts.

Maybe just to intimidate me, Duncan finished his styling quickly and stood outside the hotel entrance to greet guests.

When Kristy told me about it, I saw that many confused guests had already been guided into the Trivetts' wedding hall instead.

"Most of them will realize the mistake and come back," I said. "But there's one guest I have to go greet personally."

Just as I finished speaking, a modest black state sedan pulled up outside.

Before I could reach it, Duncan rushed forward, straightening his suit.

However, the security staff stopped him about three feet away.

He stood there awkwardly.

"Mr. Day, you may not remember me," Duncan said quickly. "We met once at the city's Young Entrepreneurs Association event."

When the man didn't react, Duncan tried again.

"This might help jog your memory. I'm the Trivetts' future son-in-law."

Melvin Day, the mayor, remained silent.

Duncan grew anxious.

"I'm talking about the Trivetts from South Mistburg. In this city, who else could possibly invite someone like you except them?"

Out of politeness, Melvin finally spoke, "The Trivetts? I'm afraid I've never heard of them."

Then he walked straight past Duncan…and came directly toward me.

"Leo, congratulations on the wedding. Sorry, I'm a little late."

"No, you're right on time," I replied with a smile.

When people saw Melvin head into the ballroom next door, the sharper guests quickly realized they had been directed to the wrong wedding.

"I knew something felt off," someone muttered. "How could the Nelsons' wedding be held in such a small hall?"

"If the Nelsons were hosting, they would rent the entire top floor. The ten most expensive ballrooms, at least."

Even some guests who had originally come for the Trivetts' wedding quietly slipped upstairs with the crowd.

In less than half an hour, Duncan's wedding hall was nearly empty. Only a few of his drinking buddies were left behind.

He was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

"Leo, what did you do?" he demanded. "How did you get everyone to go along with this performance? I'm telling you, once the Trivetts arrive and everyone figures out what's really going on, they won't let you get away with this!"

Right then, a long Bentley limousine pulled up outside.

The moment Duncan saw who stepped out, all the frustration he had been holding in seemed to explode. Tears filled his eyes as he rushed forward and threw himself at her.

"Honey, you have to stand up for me!"

But the woman simply stepped aside. Duncan collapsed awkwardly at her feet.

She looked down at him and asked calmly, "Who are you?"