I snapped back from the memory.

The Matteo in front of me looked just like Number 23 from my memories.

I could not help myself. I reached out and touched his face.

“Am I dreaming?”

I stood on my tiptoes, wanting to kiss him. Then, he blocked me with his hand.

“Lina.”

I froze in place, still on my tiptoes. However, my body had stopped leaning forward.

He smiled roguishly again.

“If you actually kissed me, Matteo would still kill me even though he’s my twin brother.”

I turned and saw Matteo standing about seven meters away from us.

So, I almost kissed Nicola?

Before I could think it through carefully, I heard Matteo say, “When did you get back, Nicola?”

Nicola put away that casual and unruly demeanor.

He walked past me and said, “Yeah, I’ll tell you later.”

I saw the scar on his arm as he pulled up his sleeve. It was the scar I could never forget.

He was Number 23.

I had the urge to grab Nicola, but Matteo squeezed my hand tightly. He looked at me, offended.

“You can’t even recognize me? What’s going on in your head? Or are you drunk? Is that why you can’t recognize me?”

I shook off his hand and did not respond. I was thinking about Number 23.

Matteo was surprised to see me lose my temper at him. I had always been gentle and obedient.

He only assumed I was tired from socializing. So, he ended the social event and led me back to my room to rest.

After washing up, I suppressed my pounding heart and pretended to be calm as I asked Matteo deliberately, “Was that guy just now your twin brother? Why wasn’t he at our wedding?”

He looked unbothered.

“Nicola? He’s been traveling all over the world these past few years. He couldn’t make it back for our wedding. Dad only called him back recently because of the arranged marriage.”

I continued asking, “So, he was never in Vitalia before?”

“No idea. I heard he went to Liberta first.”

“Oh, then—”

“Lina, why do you have so many questions today?”

Matteo frowned. He turned his head to look at me.

“Are you interested in my brother?”

His question caught me off guard. I felt guilty for a moment. I had no choice but to hide my emotions and smile plainly.

“Don’t just come at me. You’re the one who’s always asking about my sister.”

He was picking up his lighter when he paused at my remark.

After a while, he replied indifferently, “Fair enough. Anyone would be curious about someone who looks exactly like their partner. But Lina, no more questions after this. Let’s just focus on us.”

I nodded to appease him. I could not help but make fun of him inwardly.

He had been saying these strange things lately. Was he trying to give me a sense of security?

I felt like he was actually trying desperately to convince himself.

When Matteo went to take a shower, I received a call from my sister.

“Hey, Elena.”

Her voice sounded helpless as she said, “Lina, I just agreed to the new arranged marriage the family set up for me. It’s with your husband’s twin brother. I can’t believe how much of a coincidence this is. Dad wants me to meet with him sometime next week.”

I was still struggling with how to tell my sister about Number Twenty-three. However, Elena had already seen right through me.

“I know he’s the guy you like. He and I will maintain a marriage on paper only. But Lina, if he makes a move on me… then you need to think about whether he’s still worth your feelings.”

Hearing how much Elena considered my feelings ultimately made me tell her about Matteo’s plan to swap identities.

She cursed under her breath and demanded to know why I did not stop him.

“What if the family elders find out? What are we supposed to do then? How can you just let Matteo walk all over you like this?”

Of course, I was not doing this for Matteo.

“Elena, it’s because I have my own selfish reasons too.”

She was silent for a moment.

“Okay. I’ll pretend I don’t know anything.”

The sound of a lighter came through the phone. She rarely smoked.

“Honestly, this whole messed-up marriage you have with Matteo is kind of my fault, too.”

I gripped my phone tightly and listened as she continued.

She said, “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I just didn’t think it was a big deal. I didn’t think I needed to mention it.”

Her voice sounded hoarse after exhaling a puff of smoke.

“That year, he and I handled some family business together. He heard someone call me Miss Moretti.”

She paused there for a moment.

“Later, when the families arranged the marriage, he agreed because he thought he was marrying me. In the end, he found out that the Moretti family actually has two daughters. He mistook you for me.”

Only a faint buzzing of static remained on the phone.

“I’m sorry, Lina. Before this, I actually thought he was Number 23. I thought my mistake had accidentally done something good. I never thought you’d end up getting hurt because of me again.”

I switched my phone from my left hand to my right hand.

“It’s okay, Elena. Thank you for helping me this time.”

After the call ended, I sat on the windowsill for a very long time.

A long while later, I finally sighed.

Just as dawn broke, I smelled the crisp scent of cedar and snow.

It was as clean as the wind on a winter morning.

I kept my eyes closed and tried hard to calm my heart. It was almost leaping out of my throat.

Then, I heard someone come in. He sat quietly by the bed.

A very long time passed—so long that I wanted to open my eyes.

Then, I heard him take a breath. He gently patted my arm.

He said tenderly, “Honey, time to get up.”

I rubbed my eyes. I pretended to be groggy as I opened them.

The moment I did, I found myself looking into a pair of beautiful eyes.

He took my hand and led me to the closet. He asked me which outfit I wanted to wear.

Once I changed my clothes, he took my hand again and led me downstairs for breakfast.

“I had the chef make a bunch of different options for breakfast. Just pick whatever you like.”

His movements were natural and smooth. His acting was so flawless that I could find no fault with it.

What he did not know was that Matteo had never treated me this way.

He had never woken me up. Even when I had work in the morning, he would only tell me to set a few extra alarms.

Matteo never asked me what I wanted to wear or held my hand to go to breakfast. He never quietly paid attention to which dishes I liked.

It turned out Matteo was a bad husband.

I used to think that the way Matteo and I lived was how normal couples got along.

In the evening, Nicola came to pick me up from work.

He wore a dark gray suit. His tie hung loosely beneath his collar.

When he saw me come out, he opened his arms toward me and smiled.

My colleagues who were passing by saw Nicola and whispered among themselves, “Oh my God, Lina’s husband is so handsome! No wonder he keeps himself hidden away.”

The night was beautiful. I ran straight into his arms.

His arms tightened behind my back. His chin rested gently on top of my head. I could feel his powerful and steady heartbeat.

I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest.

Matteo was the stupid one.

Only an idiot would fail to tell the difference between them.

He gently took my hand, and smiled. He tilted his head and said in a deep, gentle voice, “Honey, guess what’s for dinner tonight?”

I quickly figured it out when I noticed that he had not taken the car. Still, I put on a curious expression and asked, “Hmm... Is it the T-bone steak from my favorite restaurant?”

He raised an eyebrow, reached out his hand, and pinched my cheek. His thumb stayed there for another couple of seconds before he pulled his hand back.

“You’re so smart. You got it in one try.”

We chatted and laughed together in the twilight. However, in my mind, I had already started thinking about what to do in seven days.

After all, I had already become addicted to being with Nicola. I did not want to be apart from him at all.

He intertwined his fingers with mine. I felt a ring on his ring finger.

I lifted his hand and casually looked at it. Sure enough, it was the same forgotten wedding ring that Matteo had tossed into a drawer.

Nicola was wearing it conspicuously on his ring finger.

I turned to look at him. I could not help but want to get even closer to him.

He noticed my gaze and reached out to ruffle my hair.

“What is it, honey?”

I held his hand tightly.

“You’re so handsome. I want to look at you like this every day.”

He brought his face closer and said with a smile, “Okay. I’ll let you look at me every day.”

His smile was my favorite thing in the world. All my worries disappeared in an instant.

I held his hand and walked into the restaurant with him.

The waiter took us up to the third floor.

Nicola did not reserve a private room for us. Our seats were on the small terrace that was only open to premium members.

Beyond the French windows, the night skyline and the distant harbor lights stretched into view.

When we were seated, I heard a familiar voice coming from the stairwell.

“Oh? Lina. You two are here too?”

It was Elena. She was wearing a red dress today. She looked amazing in it. Every move she made was elegant.

She walked over and sat down next to me.

Then, she said to Nicola, who was sitting across from me, “Since we happened to run into each other like this, why don’t you pick up the tab, Nicola?”

After saying that, she nudged me with her leg under the table.

I felt a little embarrassed and gave an awkward smile.

Nicola clearly had not expected this situation either.

I was at a loss for words. Then, I saw Matteo walking over slowly.

He was frowning, and his expression was grim.

That was strange. Was he not already openly together with the person he loved?

Why did he not look happy?

To keep him from noticing that I was watching him, I quietly looked away.

However, the two of them being together at the same time made the atmosphere feel tense. I did not eat anything at all. I had lost my appetite.

I picked up my wine glass and took a small sip.

Just as I did, Nicola had already cut the steak into small pieces.

He forked a small piece and fed me.

His tone was gentle as he said, “Open up, honey. Eat it while it’s hot.”

I opened my mouth almost instinctively.

Just as we were about to finish the steak, Matteo reached out and grabbed his wrist.

Nicola and I both froze.

The fork in his hand stopped in midair.

He looked at Matteo and asked, “What’s wrong... Nicola?”

His smile faded, and he looked at Matteo with a cold expression.

The look they gave each other was razor-sharp.

I quickly tried to smooth things over.

“Maybe Nicola also wants some steak? I’m full. Let’s go home.”

Then, I took Nicola’s hand and stood up. I said goodbye to Elena.

We walked away holding hands. Our two wedding rings were right next to each other. They caught the light and looked bright and obvious.

That night, after I came out of my shower, I heard Nicola talking on the phone. He was speaking to Matteo.

Nicola asked, “What is it now?”

I stopped in my tracks, clenching my towel as I focused on listening.

It was hard to make out what Matteo said. However, Nicola replied coldly, “Weren’t you the one who begged me to pretend to be you? Am I doing a bad job? Or am I doing too good a job?”

Matteo raised his voice. “Nicola, you don’t act like me at all. Lina is going to notice.”

Nicola was unbothered.

“She’s going to notice? I don’t think so. We had a perfectly good day today.”

Matteo was practically grinding his teeth.

“I’ve never cut steak for her or worn my wedding ring. I would never call her ‘honey’ like that. Forget it. Let’s just swap back tomorrow. Don’t touch her tonight.”

Nicola laughed.

“Are you giving me orders? Besides, is this how you two act as a married couple? Isn’t a husband supposed to act the way I do?”

Matteo stayed quiet.

The reason was actually very simple. Matteo had never treated me as his real wife.

Before Nicola could notice me, I turned and went back into the washroom. I came out only after a while.