"Mr. Sinclair, are you sure you want to terminate the substitute service? The service term is three years and the termination date is in seven days. Please confirm."
With my signature smile, I asked Julian, whose white moonlight had just returned from abroad, on behalf of his girlfriend.
Julian lazily raised his eyes to look at me. "I'm sure."
I smiled lightly as I watched him sign the contract.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Sinclair. Within seven days, I will complete all handovers and disappear entirely from Ms. Wilson's world."
Julian nodded in satisfaction, his scrutinizing gaze sweeping over my outfit and makeup, which were strikingly similar to his.
"You've performed well over the past three years. Once you're gone, I'll give you a five-star review," he said.
I smiled as I stood up, but Julian pressed me back down. "Remember, what I want is for you to completely disappear from Melia's life."
By the time I left the café, night had already fallen.
I returned to the Spring River Villa absentmindedly, raised my hand to turn on the lights and found the living room empty.
My phone still held a message Melia had sent three hours ago. [Sleep on your own tonight. I won’t be coming back.]
I let out a sigh of relief, feeling an unexpected weight lifted from my shoulders.
I had been Melia's stand-in for her boyfriend for three years. Before Julian went abroad, he was worried that Melia, who loved him dearly, would be taken away by another man, so he came to our agency and booked a three-year stand-in service.
"You'll do," he said, picking me out of over a hundred men with just one glance.
We signed a three-year substitute contract and I spent the next month quickly learning his style of dressing, makeup and even his small habits in daily life.
I had to ensure that the version of Julian who appeared in front of Melia was an upgraded version.
At first, Melia was very disgusted with me. She said I was just imitating Julian, learning his dressing style and makeup but not his delicate demeanor.
But in the end, her love for Julian was so deep that she couldn’t help falling for the imitation.
***
Even though she knew I was a fake, the moment I showed up in front of her, dressed as Julian, she didn’t hesitate to take me home.
That night, she got herself drunk. Half-awake and half-asleep, she hugged me tightly and stared at me with a piercing gaze.
"Julian, why did you abandon me?"
Her fierce kiss felt like a storm.
I endured the smell of alcohol with great effort, my brows furrowing and relaxing repeatedly.
The next morning, Melia propped herself up on one arm, squinting at me.
"What’s your name?"
"Rafael. Rafael Sterling," I answered honestly.
Melia silently stared at me for a long while.
It seemed as if she was looking through me, thinking Julian had heartlessly abandoned her and left for abroad.
Just when I thought an entire century had passed, Melia coldly spoke up. "Rafael, from now on, you’ll live here and be my boyfriend."
After that, I began to follow the advice Julian had taught me: I would try to get her to smoke less, drink less and go home earlier.
Each time, Melia would wrinkle her brows in annoyance. "A substitute, yet so talkative."
I wasn’t angry, I just continued doing these things every day.
Even though Melia emphasized many times that I didn’t need to bring her an umbrella when it rained, I still insisted on doing it and each time, she scolded me.
By the ninth time, Melia didn’t refuse. She turned around and looked at me seriously.
"Rafael, you didn't actually fall for me, did you?"
Melia's family was influential, with connections sprawling in every direction.
The reason I was able to smoothly move into the Spring River Villa was that Melia had investigated me thoroughly from the very beginning.
She knew I was the substitute Julian had hired with money and she was willing to play along with Julian in this game.
Of course, I was more than happy to go along as well; after all, only a fool would turn down the money.
