Of Course, It's the Wrong Twin

The reception hall was decked out in golden chandeliers, an obscene amount of flowers, and a buffet table so long it looked like it belonged in a medieval king's banquet. Everything screamed luxury, class, and end this as soon as possible.

The only ones who seemed to be having any fun were the Fords, toasting happily to what they thought their boy's successful marriage to the Summers daughter they like.

They were only even the ones who greeted Ava, welcoming her in the family after the wedding while her own family only tapped her shoulder. Except for Eva who has been grinning since the beginning of the wedding.

Adelle has also been forced to sit next to her while Helen has to stay close to Ava to complete their scamming act.

Meanwhile, the Summers family sat at their designated table, radiating the collective energy of people attending a mandatory work meeting at eight in the morning.

There was no laughter. No tears of joy. No sentimental speeches. Just awkward clinking of cutlery, hushed whispers, and the occasional very unsubtle sighs of impatience.

Sensing the growing desperation to get this over with, the organizers made a bold decision: Cut everything down to the bare minimum.

No speeches. No bouquet toss. No cake-cutting ceremony. Ava even handed her bouquet to someone in her way to the bridal carriage and she saw that someone toss it in the trash bin.

Just one thing stood between everyone and their freedom—The newlywed dance.

Ava considered faking an injury to get out of it. Maybe a twisted ankle. A sudden stomachache. Even collapsing on the spot didn't seem like a bad option.

But unfortunately, her pride wouldn't let her back out now, because she loves ball dances. Even when her partner is the devil's spawn.

So there she was, standing in the center of the ballroom, holding hands with Zeke as the most excruciatingly dull song known to mankind played through the speakers.

She didn't even know the name of the song.

All she knew was that it sounded like the kind of music they played in sad movie montages, right before the main character lost everything.

Perfectly fitting, considering her current circumstances.

Still, despite how boring everything was, Ava found herself oddly distracted... by Zeke's neck.

More specifically, the tiny mole she swore she saw that night, perched on the side of his neck with a single rebellious strand of hair waving to whoever dared look at it. Only now—it was gone.

Ava's brow twitched. Where did it go?

Did he… shave it? Was it a trick of the light? Or worse—was it never there to begin with?

Had she been hallucinating in her desperation to survive the wedding?

Zeke must have noticed her intense glare because he let out a sigh. "Is something wrong?"

Ava blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. "Everything's wrong."

"I know," Zeke agreed, sighing. "I never should have agreed to marry you."

Ava huffed, tearing her gaze away. "Of course and I was just… thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Whether I should step on your foot or knee you in the stomach."

Zeke's grip on her waist tightened slightly. "I'd like to remind you that we're in the middle of a ballroom full of people."

"And?"

"And—" Before Zeke could finish, Ava accidentally stepped on his foot with all the grace of an elephant wearing heels.

Zeke winced, inhaling sharply.

"You absolute menace—"

But before he could retaliate, fate decided to one-up Ava's act of violence.

As he shifted, Zeke's back caught onto the edge of Ava's veil, yanking it downward.

Ava was about to land an uppercut when someone stepped in, casually placing a hand on Zeke's shoulder. "May I have a dance with my sister-in-law?"

It's Zach!

Zeke barely reacted, simply handing Ava over before walking off to grab some champagne. Ava's eyes followed him, just in time to see Eva appear out of nowhere and jab him in the ribs, clearly teasing him about something. And then—it hit her.

She turned back to Zach, eyes widening in mild surprise as realization struck. "Oh, finally!" she gasped.

Zach arched a brow, pulling her closer for the dance. "Hmm? What is it?"

"I've been wanting to talk to you," Ava blurted out.

Zach's brows furrowed. "Why?"

"A-About the issue y-you had with my twin sister," Ava mumbled as she and Zach followed the rhythm of the dance, swaying slightly off-beat because Ava had a terrible habit of stepping on people's toes when she was distracted.

Honestly, she expected Zach Ford to be an aloof, brooding figure—one of those dark, mysterious types who leaned against walls with arms crossed, radiating an aura of don't talk to me unless it's life or death.

That was the general consensus about him. Cold, perhaps ruthless, uninterested in anything that breathes—basically, the polar opposite of Zeke, the charming golden boy who could make even rocks blush.

And yet… here he was, dancing with her, grinning like they were at prom, not at a forced wedding reception. He even had the audacity to flick his tousled hair in time with the music. The nerve.

Zach chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "I never had issues with your sister. What do you mean?"

Ava squinted. "You didn't?"

"If I had to say it," Zach went on, twirling her dramatically—so dramatically that she almost tripped, "I'd say your sister was the only one who had issues with me about what happened to us the other day."

Ava blinked. What the hell did that mean?

She stared at him, her brain buffering. "Wait. S-Something happened with you and whom?"

Zach gave her an amused look. "Your twin sister, Ava, of course. Who else?"

At that exact moment, Ava's brain cells collapsed. Her foot froze mid-step, and she stumbled, making Zach awkwardly drag her forward just to keep the dance from completely derailing into a tragic mess of tangled limbs.

"W-Wait, what happened between the—"

And that was when her eyes involuntarily drifted downward.

Straight to Zach's neck. To that godforsaken mole. And worse—worse—it had the single hair sticking out of it.

The waving hair!

Ava's face contorted into something between horror and betrayal. "W-Why do you have that mole with the freaking single hair on it?!"

Zach blinked. "W-What?"

The two of them paused mid-step, their dance grinding to an awkward halt as realization dawned upon them like a slap to the face.

Ava's eyes widened. She blinked once. Then twice. Then she squinted up at the man holding her.

She had been so distracted by Zach's annoying smirk and the revelation of the fake mole conspiracy that she hadn't even realized—This was not Zach.

Her body froze. Her hands, which had been resting against his arms, slowly but surely tensed as her grip tightened like a vengeful crab latching onto a fisherman's hand.

"Zeke?!" Ava shrieked, albeit in a whisper-yell, her voice cracking like a dying radio signal.

Zeke's entire body stiffened. His face contorted into an expression that could only be described as pure, horrified disbelief.

"A-Ava?!" he gasped, as if she were some kind of vengeful ghost from his past. His head snapped toward his actual twin brother—who was, at this very moment, dancing with Eva, the woman he had assumed was Ava all along.

His mouth fell open. His brain shut down. The music, which had once been background noise, now felt distant, like it was coming from another realm where things made sense.

"W-Why are y-you…?" His voice trailed off weakly, his hand instinctively loosening its grip on Ava's waist.

Ava, however, was not letting this go.

Her eyes darted between Zeke, then Zach, then Eva, who was still blissfully twirling under the chandeliers with a smug look on her face, entirely unaware that the universe had just collapsed in on itself.

Zeke's hands suddenly trembled as they rested lightly on Ava's waist. His expression twisted with something unreadable—shock, disbelief, regret—until finally, his lips parted, voice coming out in a broken whisper.

"H-How are you the one married to Zach?"

His voice wavered, eyes desperately searching hers as if she held the missing puzzle piece to his shattered understanding. His breath hitched, and his lips quivered as he took a shaky step back.

"I-I did everything to escape this marriage… knowing I'd be married to Eva." His voice cracked, the words barely forming as his gaze darted away like he was ashamed to admit it. 

"Because the one I wanted to marry…"

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to, but what made Ava wonder is the emotion this man is now showing.

For the longest time, she had painted Zeke Ford as an arrogant, insufferable man—a heartbreaker who thrived in the misery of the women he left in his wake. But now, standing before her, his proud frame trembling, his shoulders sagging as though he had been carrying a burden no one had ever seen before.

He looked nothing like the man she thought she knew.

His grip on her waist loosened further, and then—he let go.

Slowly, Zeke stepped back. His gaze lowered, hiding whatever storm of emotions swirled in his eyes, and without another word, he turned on his heel and walked straight out of the venue.

Before Ava could even process the mess of emotions clawing at her, a soft hand gently took hers.

"Lady Eva," a warm, refined voice spoke.

Ava blinked, her brain buffering like a bad Wi-Fi connection. Lady Ford stood beside her, radiating elegance and maternal grace. Her smile was the kind that belonged in a royal portrait—soothing, warm, and just the right amount of "trust me, dear."

And yet… why did Ava's gums itch?

She caught Lady Ford subtly throwing a dagger-eyed glare at Eva behind her before smoothly switching back to her angelic smile, like a villain hitting the pause button on their evil monologue. Ava suddenly had the unsettling feeling that she was the main character in a drama where the plot twist was still loading.

Before she could even react, Lady Ford led her toward the bridal seat, her touch gentle yet firm. Ava obeyed without thinking. Of course, this woman is already her mother-in-law. Eva's mother-in-law rather.

Lady Ford sat gracefully beside her, never letting go of Ava's hand as she let out a sigh. "I… I apologize for my pathetic son's attitude," she said, her voice soft, almost motherly, as she gave Ava's hand a light squeeze. "That child never learns."

Ava swallowed, her throat tight. Pathetic? That wasn't what she saw in Zeke's expression just now.

Lady Ford continued, her voice laced with a quiet sorrow. "Lord and Lady Summers were entirely against the sudden exchange of the groom. They had always wanted our son, Zachary, to marry your suffocating, perfectionist, arrogant twin sister, Ava."

Ava's breath hitched. Suffocating. Perfectionist. Arrogant. Ouch.

The words echoed, bouncing around in her mind like bullets, each syllable striking a nerve she didn't even know was raw.

"But even Zach and Zeke agreed with this arrangement," Lady Ford went on, oblivious to the way Ava had suddenly stiffened. "So we had to make the decision. Your parents were forced to accept it. I believe you were made aware before time?"

Ava barely heard the rest, but she nodded anyway. Because what the hell should she have to do?! She never had any idea about the groom switch. No one told her. Certainly not her parents.

Her fingers twitched in Lady Ford's grasp. A strange numbness spread through her chest, creeping into the corners of her thoughts.

Lady Ford had spoken so casually, so matter-of-factly, but Ava felt it loud and clear.

She didn't like her. Not her. Not Ava Summers.

She liked Eva. Because Ava was suffocating. Ava was perfectionist. And Ava was arrogant.

A slow, bitter laugh bubbled in Ava's throat, but she swallowed it down, forcing a small, polite smile.

"FUCK!" Is all she could ever think of.