Chapter 2

"I…" Just as Isabelle was about to respond, her phone rang. She took the opportunity to slip away from my grasp, turning around to answer it. "Hello—what? I'm coming now!" After hanging up, she rushed to the couch to grab her bag. "Bryce, I have something urgent to take care of. I need to go." "Isabelle!" I called after her, casting a disappointed gaze at her. It was our third anniversary. Even if she had forgotten, I had just reminded her. How could she be so indifferent? She looked at me anxiously, even with a hint of impatience in her eyes. "Bryce, what is it now?" Her expression pierced me deeply. I paused for a moment before shaking my head slowly. "Nothing." "In that case, I'll be leaving first. I'll be home early. Don't worry!" she said, and with that, she hurried out the door. Emma, who had been watching the whole scene, gave me an awkward smile and quickly followed after her. Watching them rush to get away from me, I could only laugh bitterly. I pulled out my phone and called my buddy Jerome Lane. He showed up at the bar soon after. "Man, didn't you say you had an anniversary to celebrate tonight? If I'd known you were free, I would've set something up!" Jerome was always the life of the party. He started joking the moment he saw me. Seeing him lifted my spirits a bit. "What's the point of celebrating alone? She didn't even remember. And even when I told her, she didn't care." Seeing that something was off, Jerome clapped me on the back. "What's wrong, man? Did you fight with your girl? You know women. Just buy her something nice, and it'll be alright." If it were just a regular fight, maybe that would've worked. But this was different, and I couldn't accept it. I told him everything I overheard between Isabelle and Emma. When I finished, he spat out his drink. "A stand-in? Are you serious? That kind of thing only happens in movies, right? Does she actually see you as a substitute? Wait, have you ever caught her calling out the wrong name when you guys are, you know, doing it?" I shot him a glare. If that had happened, I wouldn't still be with her. Besides, we hadn't even been intimate before. Three years together, and we still hadn't been intimate. It wasn't normal, but every time I'd tried to initiate something, she'd say she wasn't ready and find an excuse to back out. One time, after I'd had a bit too much to drink, I half-heartedly pushed her a little. She slapped me. I had to spend a long time apologizing before she forgave me. Since then, I didn't dare pressure her again. Later, she told me she'd only be with me after we got married. When she said that, I was overjoyed, thinking it meant she was serious about spending her life with me. I thought she was testing my patience, so I waited. Just like that, I waited for three years. However, introspect, it was probably because I was just a stand-in for someone else. "Jerome, I want my engagement ring back." Jerome's eyes widened. "You're serious? Are you really going to break up with her? Well, whatever you decide, I've got your back. Besides, with your looks and status, finding a beautiful wife won't be hard. No need to stick around for this mess… though I gotta admit, she is gorgeous, man." Yeah, she was beautiful. I had to give her that—she was one of a kind. Out of all the women I'd met in the past few years, none could compare to her. Her skin was flawless, smooth, and plump. Her face was gorgeous, and her body was stunning. Not to mention her full lips. With one look at them, anyone would want to kiss her. However, I wasn't far behind either. I wasn't just doing well financially. I loved playing basketball and working out. I kept in shape and had a steady, grounded personality. Over the past three years, I'd had my fair share of women giving me subtle looks, some even trying to tempt me into an affair. However, I never gave them a chance as I only wanted a stable life with Isabelle. But life didn't work out that way. After a few drinks, Jerome and I headed to the restroom. When we came out, we ran into a woman who wasn't bad-looking. I was about to ask Jerome if she was his type. Perhaps I could help set something up. Suddenly, someone shoved me from behind. Caught off guard, I stumbled and fell right into the woman. In an instant, I pinned her against the wall, my body pressing into hers. "Ahh! Help!" she screamed, startling me. I quickly stood up, but it was too late. After the chaos, the three of us—me, Jerome, and the girl—were sitting in the bar's office, with the manager trying to mediate. "Are you sure he was harassing you?" the manager asked. "Of course!" She crossed her arms, looking furious. From the moment we'd entered the office, I lost count of how many times she'd cursed at me. "I was just walking by, and he suddenly lunged at me, pinned me to the wall, and started groping me! He even kissed my neck! If that's not harassment, then what is?" She slammed her hand on the table and glared at the manager. "Are you going to deal with this or not? If you keep defending him, I'm calling the police. Let's see how your bar handles the negative press!" I looked at her, exasperated. "Don't make things up. I did pin you to the wall by accident because I lost my balance. However, my hands were on the wall the whole time. I never touched you, let alone kissed you." "Liar! Are you saying I made all this up for fun? We don't even know each other. What's the point of framing you?" Fuming, she grabbed the ashtray on the table and threw it at me. "Guys like you are the worst! Creepy and cowardly—you don't even have the guts to admit what you did! You should just die!" I dodged the ashtray and glared at Jerome. He was the one who pushed me, but the idiot was passed out drunk on the table. The manager glanced me up and down, clearly thinking I didn't seem like the type to harass someone. With a sigh, he lit a cigarette. "Hey, maybe you should just take the loss and pay her something to smooth things over," he said. I sighed and nodded. "Alright, just ask her how much she wants." No matter how much I argued, situations like this were hard to explain. If it blew up, I'd be the one taking the fall. The manager was right. It was easier to just pay her off. As I was thinking how I shouldn't offer more than five thousand dollars, there was a knock on the office door. A staff member stepped in. "The woman's family is here." Family? I froze. We were both adults. Why would she need to call her family? Was she trying to escalate things? A moment later, two people walked into the office. When I saw who it was, I was completely stunned. I couldn't speak when I saw the woman. It was Isabelle. However, when I saw the man beside her, I was even more shocked as he looked a lot like me. In fact, he looked about 50% like me. We had the same long face, the same thick eyebrows, and the same thin lips.