Chapter 2

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."