He Tried to Steal My Life

I checked the photos again and again.

My fiancée and this woman in the photos looked almost identical.

When I stayed silent for too long, the voice on the other end of the phone turned mocking again.

"Well? Nothing to say now that you've been exposed?"

"I'm outside your door. Let's talk face to face," I stated coldly.

My father looked like he had seen a ghost when he opened the door.

Only when he noticed the expensive gifts I was carrying did he finally step aside to let me in.

"At least you came to apologize," he said coldly. "Maybe you're not completely hopeless. But let me give you some advice: you should give up now. I know you like competing with Duncan, but the Trivetts are a powerful old-money household. They would never accept a nobody influencer like you."

Our family had been close with the Trivetts for generations.

When Duncan Weaver and I were kids, our families even arranged a future marriage alliance.

The day I reunited with my real family, the Trivetts sent word.

They only recognized Duncan as their future son-in-law.

When they heard I was an online streamer, they treated me with open disdain and kept their distance.

They had never once agreed to meet me.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you," I said.

I lifted my left hand, showing the expensive wedding ring on my finger.

"My fiancée's family is far wealthier than the Trivetts. Honestly, families that try so hard to look important like them don't impress me.

"And by the way, I'm not here to apologize. I came to deliver a wedding invitation.

"My fiancée cares about manners. She insisted I come, said it would be a shame to leave things unfinished.

"But judging by today… There's really nothing worth remembering here."

I turned to leave.

But Duncan suddenly rushed over and grabbed my hand.

When our hands ended up side by side, our rings looked exactly the same.

"I can't believe you even copied the ring!" he shouted. "You actually spent that kind of money just to piss me off. Even the wedding invitations are the same! How long are you planning to keep harassing me?"

He broke down and ran straight into my father's arms.

"Just because I'm your real son, does that mean I don't deserve happiness?"

Watching Duncan sob like that, my father finally lost control.

A loud smack echoed through the room. My face burned as five red finger marks appeared across my cheek.

"If I had known you were this shameless and crazy, I never would've acknowledged you as my son," he snapped.

I pressed my hand to my face.

It took everything I had to keep the tears from falling.

I had started out as a livestreamer, mostly because I looked exactly like a young Matthew Weaver, an actor. Viewers joked about it constantly, telling me I should go find him and claim him as my father.

At first, it was just a running gag for the show.

Then, someone online started digging.

And it turned out that I actually was Matthew's biological son.

We had been switched at birth in the hospital.

The reunion went viral.

My father returned to the spotlight because of it.

Duncan also gained a lot of attention by playing the role of the loving brother. He started his own account, gradually taking away my followers and brand deals.

At the time, I thought I had finally found a real family, so I didn't think much of it.

But the moment I followed Duncan's encouragement and got accepted into graduate school, everything changed.

Suddenly, I was labeled as a scheming copycat.

No matter what I did, online comments accused me of imitating Duncan. The attacks got so bad that I eventually disappeared for a long time.

I almost quit entirely.

My father pointed at me, furious.

"If you still want to call me 'Dad,' delete your post right now and apologize to Duncan. Do that, and we'll pretend this never happened."

I lifted my head stubbornly. "I'm your son, too. Has there ever been even a single moment when you wanted to believe me?"

Maybe my voice had been too desperate.

For a brief second, my father hesitated, and his expression softened slightly.

But Duncan cried even harder.

"Stop pretending!" he said. "There's no way two different people could look exactly the same!"

Maybe he was right.

If I hadn't grown up with Irene Nelson since we were kids, even I might have wondered if Chelsea Trivett had teamed up with Duncan just to play a cruel joke on me.

My fiancée, Irene, had always cared about proper manners.

She had been asking to meet my parents for a long time, but I kept refusing.

Now… The timing felt perfect.

"Believe it or not," I said. "In three days, Irene will come and visit in person."

For the first time since walking in, I looked directly into my father's eyes.

"When that happens, will you apologize to me?"