After getting reunited with my family, I become the copycat whom my mom hates the most.

Since the fake heiress, Emily Burk, is a student of an Ivy League institution, I got into graduate school in just three months.

After Emily decides to return to the country and establish her own business, I spend a year establishing and developing my business to the point that it becomes the biggest retail company that sells female apparel.

When Emily gets featured in the news for her feats as a village teacher, I decide to donate tens of millions of dollars in order to secure a spot on the headlines.

While my family can't stomach my behavior, they realize that they can't beat me as well.

But when I choose to announce my upcoming marriage right after Emily has made her own announcement, my mom, who hasn't contacted me for three years, calls me on the phone immediately. Apparently, she demands that I delete my pre-wedding photos.

"It's bad enough that you keep stealing Emi's thunder! I can't believe you actually stole her husband too! What the hell are you up to, Gabriella?"

Emily's fake sobs can be heard echoing in the background.

"That's enough, Mom. I asked Derek to tell me the truth. He doesn't even know who Gabriella is! She Photoshopped that photo on purpose just to piss me off!"

Who's Derek? Also, my husband, Caleb Ingram, is my childhood sweetheart from the orphanage for 18 years! How did he become someone else's husband anyway?

But when Gabriella sends me one of her pre-wedding photos, I find out that the groom in that photo looks exactly the same as Caleb.

Isn't that a huge coincidence?

I compared the two people before me three times over. They were practically carbon copies of each other. My long silence made the voice on the other end turn mocking again.

"What's wrong, Gabriella Shaw? Got exposed and now you've got nothing to say?"

I replied, "I'm right outside. Open the door so we can talk face to face."

At that, Mom froze in disbelief. Only when she noticed the boxes of supplements in my hands did she finally step aside and let me in.

"Well, at least you came to apologize. Maybe you're not a lost cause yet. You had better give up sooner rather than later.

"I know you're always trying to outdo Emi, but the Lehman family is a prestigious household. A trashy influencer like you has no business trying to latch onto them."

Our family and the Lehman family had been close for generations. An arranged marriage between our families had been in place since the two people involved were children.

On the very first day I reunited with my family, the Lehman family sent word that they would only recognize Emily Burk as their future daughter-in-law.

They had even treated me with open disdain and avoided me entirely when they heard I was an influencer.

"Well then, sorry to disappoint you."

I raised my hand to show the five-carat diamond ring on my finger.

"The family I'm marrying into is far wealthier. As for the pretentious Lehman family, I honestly couldn't care less about them.

"And I'm not here to apologize. I'm here to deliver wedding invitations. My fiance, Caleb Ingram, cares a lot about proper etiquette. He practically begged me to come, saying that he didn't want us to have any regrets.

"But now, it honestly seems like there's nothing here to miss."

I turned to leave, but Emily suddenly rushed over and grabbed my hand before placing it side by side with hers.

The two diamond rings were identical.

She barked, "Seriously? You even copied my engagement ring? You really went all out just to make me sick! You even deliberately made the wedding invitations identical! How long are you going to keep obsessing over me?"

Breaking down in tears, she ran into Mom's arms and cried, "Do I not deserve happiness just because I'm not your real daughter?"

Seeing Emily crying so miserably, Mom could no longer take it.

With a crisp smack, my cheek stung with a bright red palm print. "If I'd known you were such a shameless lunatic, I would never have acknowledged you!"

I clutched my face, fighting to keep the tears from falling so hard that I could barely breathe.

I originally started out as a livestream host. Because I was the spitting image of the actress Leah Hester when she was young, the internet kept egging me on to go do a "family reunion" with her.

At first, it was just meant to be entertainment for the stream. But after someone curious started digging around, I learned that I was actually Leah's biological daughter. Emily and I had been mistakenly switched at the hospital when we were born.

Riding the massive wave of attention from the reunion story, my mother, Leah, returned to the big screen.

Emily also benefited from the whole "deep sisterly bond" narrative with me. She gradually built up her own social media presence, siphoning off my audience and brand deals along the way.

At the time, I thought I had finally found a family who truly cared about me, so I didn't mind.

But everything changed the moment I got into Blackford University for my graduate studies, spurred on by Emily's encouragement.

I began being labeled a scheming copycat who only knew how to imitate others. No matter what I did, online trolls would swarm in, accusing me of being a pathetic imitator.

Because of that, I stepped away from the spotlight for a long time and almost left the industry.

Gritting her teeth, Mom pointed an accusatory finger at me. "If you still want to call me your mother, delete that post immediately and apologize to Emi. Then I'll pretend that none of this ever happened."

I lifted my head in defiance. "I'm your daughter too. Was there ever even a moment when you wanted to believe me?"

Perhaps my desperation made her falter as her eyes lost their edge for a moment.

Emily started crying even harder. "Stop your act! How could there possibly be two people who look exactly the same in this world?"

I agreed. If I hadn't grown up with Caleb since childhood, I might have even suspected that the Lehman family's son had teamed up with Emily just to mess with me.

Caleb had always cared about proper etiquette. He had been insisting on meeting his future in-laws, but I kept refusing. But now, the time had come.

"Whether you believe me or not, Caleb will visit in three days."

Looking Mom directly in the eyes for the first time since I stepped in, I asked, "When the time comes, will you apologize to me?"

Three days later, I found myself locked out of the house.

It was funny—even though this was my biological parents' house, I didn't have a key. After waiting for an hour, Mom finally showed up.

When she saw me, she looked genuinely surprised. "Oh my, Gabriella, how long have you been waiting out here?

"Well, it can't be helped. We had to be respectful, given that Mrs. Lehman invited us out for lunch."

Behind her, Emily was cozying up to a middle-aged lady who looked wealthy, acting all sweet.

The lady, Linda Eaton, gave me a once-over. "So, you're Gabriella. I heard that your fiance looks exactly like my son, Derek, so I came to see for myself. Why don't I see him?"

Emily covered her mouth as she let out a laugh. She then said disdainfully, "Mrs. Lehman, only someone as kind-hearted as you would believe such nonsense.

"Three days isn't enough time for her to get someone to copy Derek's face!"

I calmly sipped my tea. "Caleb had to fly to Naveryork for a meeting yesterday. He'll rush over here as soon as he lands."

Mom's eyes lit up instantly when she heard that. "He sounds busy. What does he do?"

Caleb had always kept a low profile, so aside from the few companies under his name, I honestly didn't know much about what he did. "He just works at his own company."

They exchanged a smirk upon hearing that. "The Ingram family… Never heard of them. Could it be that you didn't even have the time to come up with a proper background?"

Just then, the doorbell rang. For a moment, I almost wanted to throw myself into the arms of the person who came in.

But when I saw the roses in his hands and the mole that was missing from under his eye, I realized that this wasn't Caleb at all.

I was allergic to roses. He would never forget that.

"I'm not late, am I?"

Emily took the flowers before planting an intimate kiss on his cheek. "No, you're right on time."

Derek Lehman shyly touched his earlobe. Even his mannerisms were exactly like Caleb's.

Upon noticing Derek's gaze stuck on me, Emily quickly stepped in front of me. "My man's here. Where's yours? Could it be that the actor you'd prepared didn't dare show his face after he saw Derek?"

I didn't receive any text messages. It seemed like Caleb's phone was still off. My heart began to waver. Were they really not the same person?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang a second time. Full of hope, I went to open it, only to see a dozen delivery workers carrying in gift after gift. In no time, the entire place was stacked with presents.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Ingram had something come up at the last minute and couldn't make it today. He sent these gifts as a token of apology."

Emily immediately burst out laughing. "You think we'd believe that just because you spent a little money? Gabriella, you're such a clown."

Linda grabbed her bag. "Alright. I've seen enough."

She turned to Mom with a look full of warning. "If she's got mental issues, take her to a doctor. She should just find an old guy if she wants to marry that badly.

"She'll just disgrace the Lehman family if she keeps acting out like this."

In the end, Mom bowed deeply to her, then escorted her out, her smile apologetic. And before I left, Mom said, "Gabriella, you should have just died out there."

That night, Caleb knelt by the bedside for a full three hours before I finally forgave him.

Even though I still had some doubts, we both tacitly avoided bringing up meeting Mom again. Instead, we focused on preparing for the wedding.

What I didn't expect was that when I went to try on my wedding dress, I ran into Emily again. She snapped, "So what if someone else reserved it? Whatever she paid, I'll pay double!"

The store manager tactfully said, "It's not about the money…"

"Do you have any idea who I'm marrying? My fiance is a part of the Lehman family from Crowville. Who in the whole of Wraydale would dare oppose the Lehman family?"

When the manager saw me walk in, she looked like she'd just seen her savior and finally let out a breath of relief. "This wedding dress was specially custom-made by the designer for Ms. Shaw.

"It was made to commemorate their collaborative brand's first appearance at Plavas Fashion Week."

Hearing that only made Emily's eyes burn red with hatred. "The dress honestly looks pretty average."

She came close to my ear, her voice low and sinister, sounding like a hissing snake. "But if it's yours, I just have to take it."

The next second, she adopted a pitiful, tearful tone. Tilting her head, she threw herself into Derek's arms. "Derek, everyone says I'm a fake heiress and that I don't deserve anything…"

Derek gently rubbed her head and comforted her. "No one gets to bully the Lehman family's future daughter-in-law. If you like it, take it."

Visibly hesitant, the store manager turned to me, her expression troubled. I nodded, silently allowing it. After all, with the way Emily had stuffed herself in order to have a child, there was no way she would fit into it.

As expected, a loud rip sounded.

A scream came from the fitting room. When Emily emerged, she stomped on the wedding dress twice out of rage and frustration.

With that, the few crystals left on the dress became loose and fell like raindrops.

The store manager hurried in with the bill. With a crowd around watching the drama unfold, Emily grew even more embarrassed and annoyed.

"What are you rushing me for? I'm obviously going to pay for it since I tried it on."

But the next second, when she saw the numbers on the bill, she blurted, "What? Ten million dollars?"

Emily nervously glanced at Derek. After all, Linda had only given her a budget of one million dollars. No matter how sweet she could act, she would never dare to ask for ten times that amount.

"Derek, it's all this lousy dress's fault! It cut my waist, so I panicked and I…"

Derek signed the bill without hesitation. "It's fine. But you'll have to explain this to my mom yourself."

Emily's expression faltered. Although Derek seemed as doting as usual, his gaze never left me.

Even Emily, who had been smug just moments ago, sensed something amiss.

Suddenly feeling a little mischievous, I leaned close to her ear and whispered just as she did before, "Do you think that it's possible that Derek's actually playing along with me just to mess with you?"