I was in the third year of my arranged marriage when my parents found my twin brother, who was kidnapped at the age of five. He was also my wife’s first love. She rekindled her old feelings for him and even had his child. My parents wanted me to claim the child as my own. I decided to leave everything behind. My family regretted it later. But I will never return to that home. After work, I took an overnight flight home to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. But when I wearily pushed open the villa door, I found my parents and wife happily gathered around another man. “Why are you just standing there? Come meet your brother,” my father’s commanding voice echoed. “Brother? What brother?” “The brother you lost! You’ve been running the company for years and still have no discipline! No wonder performance has been stagnant!” My father frowned, his voice rising, clearly displeased with my response. “Ethan, you’ve endured so much over the years. Your younger brother is still as immature as ever. Don’t hold it against him,” my mother said, piling more food onto his already full plate. “Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t blame him,” the man I should call brother said with a seemingly generous smile. “Ah, I knew you were the best,” my mother lovingly tousled his hair. Don’t blame me? What did I do wrong? I did have a twin brother, but he was kidnapped when he was five. My parents searched for years with no news, and now they suddenly claim this stranger is my brother. Aside from his identical features, I can’t accept this stranger as my real brother. But my parents always favored him since childhood, and this family was never mine to control. I looked at the gift bag in my hand, containing a diamond necklace I had custom-ordered six months in advance, remembering I rushed back for Avery, my wife, to celebrate our anniversary. Yes, Avery, I still had a wife. I looked up, hoping for a lifeline, only to find her eyes fixed on my newly returned brother. There was joy, tenderness, and an uncontrollable passion in her gaze. “Honey?” I called tentatively. She frowned, as if displeased with the term, or perhaps just noticing me. Avery took the things from my hands, pulled out a chair for me, and said with some reproach, “Mom and Dad just found a family member. They’re excited. Be considerate and don’t dampen their mood.” Then she returned to the newly found family member, smiling brightly. “Yes, yes, come sit down,” my in-laws chimed in, eager to please their daughter. Previously, for some unknown reason, Avery was at odds with her parents, but today she invited them over for our anniversary, and they were elated. But Avery didn’t even look at them. Instead, the man I should call brother glanced over, a barely noticeable cold smile on his lips, meeting my gaze directly. I sat down and silently ate, trying to recall childhood memories of my brother. Although Ethan was only ten minutes older than me, we were completely different in personality since childhood. He was lively, smart, sweet-talking, always able to win our parents’ favor, while I was reserved, interested only in landscapes, often sitting alone with a drawing pad all day. After Ethan was kidnapped, my parents’ attitude towards me grew colder. I was forced to abandon my dream of painting and took over the company business, barely earning their approval. I thought my life would always be like this until Avery appeared in it. Although we married through an arrangement, her gentleness and kindness healed me after marriage. She would leave a table of food when I returned late from social events and cook me hangover soup when I drank too much. I gradually fell in love with her, finding various opportunities to prepare gifts to make her happy. Knowing she had a poor relationship with her parents, I noted down their hobbies to find chances to show filial piety. But why did everything change tonight? Her gaze no longer lingered on me, and my early return didn’t surprise her at all.
After dinner, my mother asked me to check if my brother needed anything in his room. Just as I was about to knock, I saw through the door gap my wife of three years, Avery, nestled on Ethan’s lap, letting him stroke her hair. “Ethan, why is fate so unfair to us?” She cried, her face tear-streaked, “When I had finally decided to forget you and live with someone else for life, you suddenly appeared. If you hadn’t been kidnapped to the mountains, we would’ve had kids by now. How did it come to this awkward situation?” “Don’t cry, you know I can’t stand seeing you cry,” I saw my brother bend down to cradle her face, wiping her tears away. Their eyes met, hers full of tenderness. I quietly left, pretending nothing happened, and returned to the master bedroom. I decided to give my wife a chance to confess, and also buy myself some time. When Avery came out after her bath, I presented the carefully prepared gift. I took out the custom diamond necklace from the velvet box and put it on her. The sparkling diamond, accented with a sapphire, highlighted her fair skin and long neck in the mirror. I tried to ask naturally, “Honey, did you know Ethan before?” She stiffened, then casually replied, “You caught that, huh? Ethan was my college classmate, quite the campus figure. We lost touch after graduation. Funny, isn’t it? Turns out he’s your long-lost brother. Mom and Dad said it’s really quite the coincidence, haha.” Deception is the first step to betrayal. The war between the current and the beloved past was lost before it even began. 2. Early the next morning, my father yelled at me to get up, saying we needed to introduce my brother to the company. Following his instructions, I gathered all employees in the lobby. As the doors opened and I was about to introduce him, my father stepped in, arm around my brother’s shoulder, full of pride and affection, saying, “This is Ethan, your new general manager.” Everyone immediately turned their gaze to me. I heard gasps and whispers. I also heard the sound of my heart shattering. Years of hard work, and today my own father publicly dismissed me with a single sentence. Ethan looked at everyone, calm and composed, as if the position was always his. I had to admit, despite our identical features, Ethan exuded confidence and charisma, naturally suited for business. “Welcome, Mr. Jiang!” “Welcome, welcome!” “A warm welcome!” Those who saw the situation clearly quickly aligned themselves, and applause soon erupted in the crowd. I sensibly left to pack up my things in the general manager’s office, but once I closed the door, I couldn’t hold back any longer and sat on the floor, crying. Years of grievances poured out at once. I remembered after my brother went missing, my parents forced me to study business against my will, using confinement and starvation to make me abandon my dream of painting. Later, I gritted my teeth through the tedious study of business management and marketing calculations, clinking glasses and playing nice with all sorts of people for the company’s growth. Just last month, I was hospitalized with a stomach ulcer from drinking to secure a major client deal. If they truly thought I was unsuitable, why did they clip my wings of freedom back then?
After clearing out the office for Ethan and handing over the documents, it was already dark outside, and we were the only ones left on the company’s top floor. He sat in a wheelchair, looking out at the night through the large floor-to-ceiling window, suddenly spoke, “Years of hard work only to make a wedding dress for someone else, it must hurt, right?” “What do you mean?” Of course, it hurt, but I didn’t understand what he was getting at. “Nothing, really. Yesterday, you saw Avery crying on my lap, didn’t you?” He smirked mockingly. “You didn’t dare come in. With your character, you must have tested her when you got back, right? So, did she tell you? I’m her first love, the one she dated for four years, until her parents forced us apart.” His tone was certain, hitting a nerve and almost making me lose my temper. Ethan, seeing the cracks in my strong facade, laughed, a sinister smile starkly different from the image he showed in front of our parents and Avery. His expression suddenly shifted to violent, “Does it hurt? No matter how much, it won’t hurt more than me. I was a poor student from a mountain village, and no decent company was willing to give me a chance. My first love girlfriend of four years, when she first met her parents, was kicked out like a stray dog. When I returned to the mountains, those old folks beat and scolded me daily, saying they wasted their money sending me to school! Cursing me for not being able to earn money for their biological son to marry! While I was beaten and eating stale food, what were you doing? Enjoying your pampered life as a young master! And you stole my girlfriend!” “Our marital matters are none of your business.” This is a madman. I can’t go mad with him. I forced myself to stay calm.
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