I had a friend I'd known online for almost three years. Six months ago, we decided to start dating.

We lived eight hundred and ninety miles apart, which would take around 16 hours by car.

Originally, I thought we'd never meet in person until the day I got fired.

——

We met on a home renovation app. Back then, I had just graduated, and when I struggled to come up with ideas, I'd browse the app for inspiration. Sometimes, I even pretended to be a client to chat with the top designers, hoping to pick up some new ideas.

That's how I met Gilbert Baker, a designer, while I pretended to be a client.

Thankfully, I kept our relationship strictly professional—no romance, just renovations.

But through our chats, I began to sense that Gilbert might really like me.

I kept telling myself not to overthink it.

Until one day, I got fired.

After sending me a long message to comfort me, Gilbert boarded a plane to meet me.

Yes, he wanted to meet in person.

Naturally, I didn't want that. I was terrified that meeting in real life might ruin everything.

So, I chose not to respond.

Then, I packed my bags overnight and booked a flight to his city.

I calculated that by the time I boarded, Gilbert would have arrived in my rented apartment. My neighbor confirmed his arrival through a text, but when I landed, I still ignored his message.

After all, I had no intention of meeting him before securing my new job. So, I kept my presence in his city a secret.

With the help of a college roommate, I moved into her apartment—a cozy studio for a reasonable two thousand dollars in rent.

For the next week, I stayed there while Gilbert frantically searched for me.

Soon, my first day at the new job arrived.

I made sure to carry the Chanel pearl handbag Gilbert had gifted me, paired with the Yves Saint Laurent patent leather heels and the Gucci suit he'd bought for me.

After all, on my first day, I didn't want to give anyone the impression I was easy to push around.

As I entered the company, all eyes were on me, but I was used to such attention.

The HR manager escorted me to the general manager's office.

Though the office was empty, I decided to wait.

I glanced at the manager's desk. Surprisingly, the plants, monitor, and keyboard were exactly like the ones I'd given to Gilbert.

Soon, a guy in a gray hoodie walked in.

I instinctively stood up. Our eyes met, and I realized he was incredibly handsome—the kind of guy who'd turn heads on the street.

"Lorraine Stevenson?" he called my name.

"Yes," I replied, taking in his face. He looked even better up close.

He also scanned me from head to toe before saying, "Take a seat."

After I sat down, he continued, "I'm Edward Austen. Your desk is by the floor-to-ceiling window, number eleven. No need to rush into work today. Take your time to get familiar with the company..."

At first, I'd hoped he might be Gilbert. But clearly, he wasn't, which left me feeling oddly disappointed.

As I left the office and headed to my desk, my phone chimed with a new message on WhatsApp. It was from Gilbert.

I glanced back at Edward in his office, who was focused on his computer.

I couldn't help but smile to myself. "Why did I even think it could be him?"

After much hesitation, I finally decided to text Gilbert Baker back: [Sorry, my phone broke, and I didn't receive your message.]

Gilbert replied quickly: [Baby, I want to see you. Where are you?]

I stared at the screen for a long time before responding: [I'm in Strohull.]

Gilbert seemed a bit excited and immediately tried to video call me.

Startled, I quickly ended the call, causing some noise that made my nearby colleague look at me in confusion.

"Sorry," I quickly apologized.

Just as I was wondering how to respond to Gilbert, a woman walked up to me holding some documents.

"Hi, I'm the Director of the Design Department. These are the recent property addresses and floor plans from our collaboration. Please familiarize yourself with them. Also, here's an assessment for new designers, which will last for a week." She placed the files on my desk and walked away in her Valentino heels, leaving me with a pile of work. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I took a photo of the documents and sent it to Gilbert: [I'm working. Let's chat later. We'll meet when we both have time!]

After sending the message, I breathed a sigh of relief and began reviewing the documents.

Knowing that I was now working in his city, Gilbert became even more eager, bombarding me with messages.

Soon, my chat window was flooded with over a hundred notifications.

When I still didn't respond, he sent me a money transfer of Fifty thousand dollars.

I picked up my phone, and my eyes widened in shock.

I couldn't believe Gilbert would do something like this. Wasn't he afraid I might be a scammer?

No, at that moment, I suspected he was the scammer.

I promptly returned the money and looked up toward the manager's office. Edward was watching me, and suddenly, my heart started racing as I stared at his incredibly handsome face.

Then, I saw him pick up his phone and hold it to his ear. Almost immediately, my phone began to vibrate—it was Gilbert calling.

Just as I hesitated about whether to answer, the call ended. I glanced back at Edward, who had already put his phone down. A bold idea began to form in my mind: Could Edward be Gilbert?

I decided to call Gilbert back while discreetly observing Edward's every move.

As soon as the call connected, Edward hurriedly left his office. Though puzzled, I heard Gilbert's warm voice on the other end. "Baby, what's wrong? I transferred money to your account again. Just keep it."

My suspicion grew even stronger.

"No need, city life is tough enough. You keep it," I said, feeling strangely uplifted by the thought that Edward was indeed quite attractive.

"Just take it! And I want to know your current address."

Hearing this made me cautious again, so I hesitated, then teasingly said, "Well, that depends on my mood."

Gilbert chuckled, his voice rich and magnetic. As I listened closely, I tried to compare his voice to Edward's. Was it just my imagination, or did they sound incredibly alike?

But since I was still at work, I said, "I'm still at work. Talk to you later."

With that, I ended the call, my thoughts churning. If Edward was Gilbert, then had I hit the jackpot?

I started planning for the day we'd meet in person...

A short while later, Edward returned, accompanied by another colleague.

He formally introduced the person as Jack, a renowned international designer who was here as a consultant for our company.

The moment I saw the iPad case in Jack's hand, I recognized it immediately. I was certain that there was only one such case in the world.

Because I had made it myself and given it to Gilbert.

I looked at Jack, who had a stern, almost cold expression, a different kind of attractiveness from Edward's.

It wasn't until Jack sat at the desk next to mine that I had a chance to examine the case closely. It was identical to the one I had made!

The magnet I had used was something I had personally crafted. I stared at Jack's face in shock, and he looked back at me, a strange tension suddenly surrounding us.

Born with a fear of making eye contact with strangers, I quickly averted my gaze.

So now the question was: why did Jack have the case I gave to Gilbert? And why did Edward's desk have the monitor, keyboard, and plant I had sent to Gilbert?

Who exactly was Gilbert?