Chapter 2The Billionaire's Secret Wife

It turns out a person can change so much.

I suppressed the surging emotions, met Lucas's eyes, showed the wedding ring on my hand, and tried to keep my tone calm.

"You've mistaken me for someone else."

"Also, I'm already married."

The room fell instantly silent. Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances, and then suddenly burst into laughter.

Lucas raised an eyebrow indifferently, glancing carelessly at the wedding ring on my hand.

"Married? To which delivery guy?"

"Look at your poor state; that ring looks like it came from a dollar store! What, think this will trigger my memory of you?"

With that, he quickly stood up and yanked the ring off my ring finger.

I had been exhausted from project work these past few days and couldn't dodge in time.

Sophia stepped forward to examine the ring closely, then suddenly laughed.

"Lucas, doesn't this ring look like the Heart of Eternity wedding rings your brother bid for in France three years ago?"

"Don't tell me Isla claims she married your brother, Julian?"

Sophia looked at me askance, playing with the wedding ring, making the room even livelier.

This was too absurd for them.

After all, Julian was now the primary heir of the Sterling family. Ruthless and decisive, he was the ice-cold tycoon no one dared to offend in the business world.

Yet such a man suddenly had a flash marriage three years ago, marrying a mysterious woman and loving her to the bone.

For three years, no matter how much the media dug, they couldn't find a single piece of information about his wife and son.

"Isla, you're not going to say you're that mysterious woman no one has been able to dig up for three years, are you?"

Sophia tossed the ring up and caught it, the ring flashing dazzlingly under the lights.

"Oh, gotta say, the craftsmanship on this fake is pretty good. Which factory did you find to make it?"

Their successive mockery made me impatient.

"Don't touch my ring, it's real—"

Before I could finish, Lucas slapped me, turning my head to the side, my face instantly burning with pain.

"Isla, have you lost your mind? Daring to spread rumors about my brother! Everyone knows he loves my sister-in-law to the bone. Even I haven't seen her face, and you dare to impersonate her. Who gave you the nerve?!"

I licked my dry lips, slowly turning my head to meet Lucas's gaze.

Perhaps my look was too terrifying; Lucas frowned.

Seeing this, Sophia immediately got upset. She pointed at my nose and scolded:

"Isla, how can you be so ungrateful? Lucas already promised to spend one day a week with you. Not only do you not cherish it, but now you dare to impersonate his sister-in-law. Everyone in the elite circle knows Lucas's brother's trigger is his mysterious wife. Are you doing this to make his brother take it out on Lucas? How vicious can you be!"

Hearing this, I felt a sense of realization.

Once, Sophia couldn't tolerate me anywhere, always trying to outdo me.

To break up Lucas and me, she smeared my name in front of him every day.

But back then, Lucas didn't believe her at all and even punished Sophia severely for her malicious slander.

But now, the person who used to protect me the most stood with Sophia.

He held Sophia's hand and threw a stack of bills hard at my face.

"Fine, stop pretending. For old times' sake, I won't pursue this. Look at your poor state; this money is enough for you to enjoy for a month."

The sharp corner cut my face, oozing tiny drops of blood. I ignored it, just lifting my eyes to stare dead at Lucas.

A flash of inexplicable guilt and panic crossed his face.

Seeing this, I scoffed and bent down.

The guilt and panic on Lucas's face faded, replaced by mockery again.

"Thought you had some backbone..."

The next second, his words halted. Under Lucas's stunned gaze, I found the ring among the pile of red bills.

Lucas froze, stopping me before I could leave the private room.

"Still pretending even now? Any single bill on the floor could buy dozens of your broken rings!"

His expression was complex, with a hint of annoyance upon closer look.

I ignored his emotional changes and slapped his hand away hard.

Lucas's hand froze in mid-air, his teeth grinding audibly.

"Fine, you've got some nerve now. As expected, poverty breeds temper. Three days from now is my wedding with Sophia. My brother returns to the country that day too and will attend with my mysterious sister-in-law. If you have the guts, come!"