01
I had been working abroad for two years.
On the first day, I returned to Javia, where my best friend had organized a welcome party for me.
Most of the people at the party were from our circle.
Two years had passed, and apart from a few people I was really close to, everyone else seemed unusually quiet.
At my own welcome party, they all kept their heads down, drinking, and no one came over to talk to me.
I was starting to wonder what was going on when suddenly, there was a commotion at the door. Benjamin walked in, arm in
arm with a girl.
The quiet atmosphere of the welcome party instantly turned lively.
The group of followers who used to always hang around me rushed up, all smiles. “Mr. Clarke, you’re finally here.”
The girls, who had been silent earlier, suddenly started smiling and waving at Benjamin’s companion. “Ms. Palmer, come this
way. We saved a seat for you!”
The girl at the center of the attention looked radiant, smiling gently.
Benjamin, standing behind her, also smiled, his gaze full of affection as he watched the scene in front of him. His eyes were filled with nothing but tenderness.
My best friend, Norma Turner, always loved stirring things up, leaned over to me with an excited grin, and whispered in my ear, “Gloria, did you see that? The stand–in drama is playing out so smoothly. If you’d come back any later, she’d probably be having his baby by now.”
Norma had been my best friend since childhood.
We would occasionally fight, but it never lasted long because, like me, she believed in settling scores right away.
Thanks to her, I found out that during the two years I was abroad, Benjamin had started spending time with a girl who looked
very similar to me.
She was just a year younger than me and worked as Benjamin’s personal assistant at his company.
Her appearance at Benjamin’s side was perfectly timed with my time abroad.
At first, she only copied my style of dressing.
Later, her makeup started looking similar to mine, too, until her face, which had only a slight resemblance to mine, began to
look almost identical from a distance.
At first, my friends made fun of her for trying to imitate me.
Even Benjamin didn’t pay much attention to her.
But over time, they realized that Kathy and I had very different personalities.
She was gentle, cheerful, and considerate, unlike me, who was quick–tempered and sharp–tongued.
As time passed, my friends, who weren’t that close to me, naturally started siding with her.
Even the few followers who had always been around me switched their loyalties and began surrounding her instead.
In the end, Benjamin’s attitude toward her shifted from indifference to a caring, protective manner.
He often said to her, “Kathy, you don’t need to imitate anyone. I’ll always be by your side, just like I am now, protecting you.”
Norma was very good at making her stories feel vivid and emotional, almost like I had never truly left Javia and had witnessed
all of this firsthand.
With a faint smile, I glanced at the girl sitting across from me, and then turned to Norma and asked, “Do you think we really
look alike?
Hearing that, Kathy looked like a startled rabbit. She immediately tried to hide in Benjamin’s arms, avoiding my gaze.
I let out a sneer. “What are you talking about? Are you blind?”
Today, I wore a gray suit, a mix of business and casual style.
Kathy, sitting across from me, was also dressed in a gray suit.
ound my pack She were the com
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