Chapter 3
Mr. Davies roared with laughter, practically doubled over, tears streaming down his face. “Open your eyes! Mrs. Sterling is right here! How dare you impersonate her?!”
“Are you sure I’m the one impersonating her?” I gave them one last chance.
Ashley chuckled, coming over to pat my shoulder. “Chloe, I know you’ve always envied me since high school. Envied my good grades, how many guys chased me, and now you envy me marrying into wealth and living a rich life.”
“But you can’t just claim you’re marrying Julian Sterling, can you?”
I scoffed. “Did you even check? How do you know it’s not me?”
Ashley froze for a few seconds, but Brenda jumped in before her. “Everyone knows Mr. Sterling’s wife is the heiress of the Sterling family!”
Ashley quickly caught on. “Exactly! I’m the only one here named Sterling, so what do you think?”
They didn’t know that I had taken my mother’s maiden name. My father’s actual surname is Sterling.
But these people were so convinced by Ashley, it was useless to argue.
She wanted to impersonate me, right? Then she only had herself to blame for what happened next.
“Since you’re all giving such a generous gift, and you’re so close to ‘Mrs. Sterling,’ shouldn’t you all be invited to Mr. Sterling’s wedding?”
A few people looked expectantly at Ashley, waiting for her to speak.
A forced smile appeared on her face. “How about you just give me the cash gifts directly? You know, the Sterling family’s banquet isn’t ordinary. The number of guests and tables are all pre-arranged. So, here’s what we’ll do: I’ll treat you all to dinner separately next time.”
I scoffed loudly. “The Sterling family can’t afford an extra table?”
Ashley gnawed on her lip, trying to think of an excuse.
“What do you know? Mr. Sterling and Mrs. Sterling are busy enough. We don’t want to cause them any more trouble. So, we’ll just have dinner together next time.”
After she spoke, Brenda looked at Ashley like a fawning puppy, waiting for her praise.
Ashley beamed with satisfaction. “See? Brenda gets it.”
Fine, let her keep up the charade.
After work, I turned around and sent wedding invitations to every single colleague in the department.
I couldn’t wait to see their expressions when they saw me standing beside Julian Sterling as the bride.
On the wedding day, I was resting in the bridal suite when the door suddenly burst open. Mr. Davies and Brenda stormed in.
“Chloe? You didn’t even contribute to the gift, and you dare to show up?!”
I popped a snack into my mouth. “It’s my wedding. If I don’t show up, who’s Julian Sterling going to marry?”
Mr. Davies sighed in exasperation. “Seriously, what did I do to deserve a delusional fangirl like you in my department?”
“Delusional? Me? Don’t you want to take a good look at the wedding setup in the main hall?…”
“And she’s even wearing a wedding gown! If you’re not delusional, who is?! We’ve seen plenty of women like you, fantasizing about marrying Mr. Sterling!” Brenda cut me off.
I truly marveled at their imagination.
Mr. Davies waved his hand at me. “Hurry up, before anyone sees, take off that wedding dress.”
“Exactly! Wearing a wedding dress, trying to steal the spotlight… Are you trying to get our entire department fired?!”
I was about to say something when I saw Ashley walk in.
Brenda immediately ran to her to complain. “Ma’am! Look, Chloe is insane! She actually dared to wear a wedding dress to your and Mr. Sterling’s wedding!”
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