Not My Mr. Darcy"

Every lover Gideon picked looked like me.

But the day I returned to the country, he smirked, After seeing so many replicas, the original isn't so impressive.

Last month, he dismissed all his flings, keeping only one innocent college girl by his sidewho bore no resemblance to me at all.

Gideon thought I rushed back because I feared he was truly falling in love this time.

But I wasn't here to surrender to him.

Five years had passed. While he searched the world for my stand-ins, I was already expecting my second child.

The day I returned, Lord Ashworth specifically prepared a welcome feast for me.

At the banquet, Gideon was conspicuously absent.

His cousin, Lawrence, looked at me with open disdain. "Didn't you say you'd never return to the Ashworth manor? Why are you suddenly so restless now that Gideon has found true love?"

I blinked, surprised. "Then congratulations to him."

"Such theatrics." Lawrence smirked, gesturing towards the entrance. "Gideon's here. If you want to put on a show, at least do it for him."

Gideon wore a grey shirt, its collar slightly unbuttoned. Five years unseen, he was far more composed than I remembered.

He took a seat very close to mine.

I turned my head and immediately noticed a lipstick stain on his shirt.

Lord Ashworth, seated at the head of the table, seemed oblivious, still lamenting, "You two have been fighting for five years; surely that's enough. When are you going to get your marriage license again?"

I remained silent.

Gideon, however, chuckled, "Grandfather, my new girlfriend already dislikes that I'm divorced. If she heard that, she'd blow a fuse."

Lord Ashworth's face darkened. "Can those women out there compare to Elara?"

"This time is different," Gideon said, glancing at me.

"This time, I'm serious."

"Nonsense!" Lord Ashworth was too enraged to speak.

Everyone else looked at me, some with pity or sympathy, others waiting for the drama to unfold.

I lowered my gaze and spoke softly, "Grandfather, I appreciate your good intentions, but I cannot reconcile with Gideon."

No one expected me to be so definitive.

After all, they had all witnessed how, for Gideon, I had once been willing to risk everything.

Crack A crystal goblet shattered.

Gideon slowly wiped the blood from his hand. "Slipped."

It was a long time before I realized my social media group chat was exploding.

"Elara, how could you keep such big news from us? Congratulations!"

"Gideon really went all out this time."

"Oh my god, I knew you two would get back together!!!"

Confused, I scrolled through hundreds of messages before I saw Gideons post in the group: he was getting married, and hed shared a photo of the wedding ring.

It was a flawless, teardrop-shaped pink diamond ring, enough to make any woman's heart flutter.

I thought for a moment, then posted a clarification.

"Gideon isn't getting back together with me."

The flurry of messages paused, then resumed scrolling frantically.

"Exactly, talking about getting back together, the couple never broke up."

"Just some long-distance romance."

"Hehe, Elara, we all get it."

Until Gideon suddenly appeared, adding his new girlfriend to the group. "Let me introduce you all, this is my wife, Liliana. She's young and feisty, so go easy on her..."

Before he could finish, the girl playfully snatched his phone, "Don't listen to his nonsense, I'm super easy to get along with."

From the voice message, I could hear Gideon's doting laughter.

Some smart aleck started a new group, directly asking Gideon, "Gideon, you're marrying someone else, what about Elara?"

Gideon replied quickly, "If you're not grossed out, you can take her."

"Gideon, if you talk like that, I might actually go after Elara?"

Gideon ignored him. The group started laughing at the guy for being out of his league.

He puffed out his chest, "Well, who doesn't want to take a bite of swan meat?"

Everyone in the group fell silent.

Then, Gideon casually remarked, "Even swan meat gets boring if you play with it too much."

The group was all calling Gideon stubborn and invited me to dinner the next day.

But when I arrived, I found Gideon and his new girlfriend there too.

The friend who initially invited me looked a bit awkward and whispered, "Gideon insisted on coming, but he didn't tell me he'd bring her along."

I just hummed, indifferent.

The young woman, Liliana, wasn't shy at all. She quickly made friends with everyone, and seemed particularly keen to stick close to me.

"Elara, Gideon told me everything about you two. I don't mind."

"I practically nagged him all night just to meet you."

"You know, you're even prettier in person than in pictures. You don't look seven years older than me at all."

"How do you take care of yourself? You must be very diligent, right? Do you only use very expensive brands?"

One friend, unable to listen anymore, gave Gideon a pointed look. "Aren't you going to control your woman?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dare," he said, smiling as he pinched Liliana's cheek. "My little queen is terribly hard to appease."

"Hmph, good that you know!"

Gideon used to be good at charming people when he was little.

But as he grew up, everyone around him fawned over him, giving him a spoiled, unruly temper. I hadn't seen him coax anyone like this in a long time.

Liliana stuck out her tongue at me. "I'm sorry, Elara, I didn't mean anything by it."

She picked up two glasses of wine, offering me one. "I apologise to you, sister."

With that, she tilted her head back and downed the drink.

But I couldnt even pretend. "I'm sorry, I can't drink."

Liliana's eyes immediately reddened. "Elara, are you looking down on me?"

Gideon's tone also turned cold. "Elara Blunt, I've given you too much leeway, haven't I?"

"That drink, you'll have it whether you want to or not."

A friend quickly stepped in to mediate. "Elara, it's just one drink. Everyone here knows your tolerance."

I shrugged helplessly. "I'm pregnant, I really can't drink alcohol."

The entire room fell into instant silence.

"Pfft!" Liliana burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, Elara, I've seen that 'read and reply randomly' trick online. You can't fool me."

Others laughed too.

"Might as well say you took antibiotics, much more believable."

"Elara, don't scare us with things like that. My heart nearly stopped."

Gideon impatiently snatched my glass. "Fine, fine, fine. You won't drink, you're so mighty."

Liliana looped her arm through mine, sweetly asking, "Elara, everyone says you're Gideon's 'one true love.' Is that true?"

She asked so softly, I almost thought I misheard.

"Didn't Gideon tell you?"

She pouted. "He just says sweet things to coax me; I don't believe him. I want to hear it from you."

What was there for me to say?

I was an orphan, adopted into the Ashworth family, picked up from the orphanage by Gideon when he was a child.

Truthfully, I was more like a stray kitten he took pity on, a toy he once liked.

Even our relationship started because a teenage Gideon wanted to experiment with a girl.

That day, we stood in a narrow hallway, our cheeks flushed.

I couldnt speak, and the tears that welled in my eyes were gently licked away by Gideons tongue.

"Do you cry even when I kiss you?"

He smiled and said, "Poor little thing, you'll never stop crying."

I pulled myself back to the present. "Nothing to say. We're divorced."

Liliana covered her mouth. "Elara, you're so elusive! No wonder Gideon couldn't forget you before he met me."

"Do you want to hear what he said?"

I watched her quietly.

"Gideon said..."

"What are you two chatting about?" Gideon leaned in.

Liliana kissed his cheek, but her eyes were on me. "It's a secret!"

Actually, I had heard Gideons answer before.

After the divorce, I received a call from the country.

It was noisy on the other end, but I recognized Gideons voice.

"One true love, my ass!"

"There's no other reason for finding lovers who look like Elara Blunt."

"I'm just not used to a different face. Even a toy needs to feel right after you use it for a while."

Before he hung up, a soft, delicate voice said, "Did you hear that? He doesn't love you at all."

"I heard it."

"You're not the first girl to approach me, but I hope you're the last."

Apparently, she wasn't.

Liliana suggested we play a game of telepathy.

The rules were to identify a specific person from wine glasses bearing lipstick marks.

"Let's start with Gideon!" she cooed. "If you don't pick me, you're dead!"

Gideon smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

Someone quietly sighed, "I've never seen Gideon dote on anyone like this..."

Gideon rarely cared for anyone, but if he did, he would spoil them rotten.

The girl responsible for preparing the glasses winked. "Elara, could you help out..."

Everyone, enjoying the spectacle, placed about ten wine glasses filled with wine in front of Gideon.

Gideon raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping quickly, and he soon made his choice.

"This one." He caressed the lipstick print, smiling ambiguously. "It's too familiar. Clearly my wife's."

The girl who knew the answer widened her eyes, about to speak, but I interjected, "Correct."

Liliana, however, stood up and playfully glared at Gideon. "Idiot! The one in the top left corner is mine."

"Elara, you broke the rules, so you have to take a penalty!"

"I'll punish you by making you choose, blindfolded, from five menwhich one is Gideon!"

"No way!" someone gasped.

Liliana giggled. "It's just a game, Elara. You have to be a good sport, don't you think?"

I smiled back. "Alright, let's play."

Blindfolded, I tentatively took a few steps forward.

The first man extended his hand to me. But as soon as my hand touched his arm, I shook my head. "Not him."

Everyone was shocked. "What?! So fast! How did you guess?"

Because Gideon never wears silk shirts.

The second man was also easy to rule out. Before I even got close, I smelled his cologne. It wasn't a scent Gideon would use.

The third one made me hesitate. He smelled strongly of smoke, and Gideon didn't smoke.

But...

Following his arm, I slowly moved upwards, tracing his shoulder, his neck. Even through his clothes, I could feel his growing excitement.

The person's Adam's apple bobbed. He swallowed softly.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. I paused.

"Let's check the fourth one first."

The fourth man was a bit too thin. Not him.

Only the last one remained.

This time, my movements were very restrained. The first thing I touched was the cufflink, the logo Gideon wore today.

I spoke directly. "It's the fifth one."

"Wrong guess!" Liliana untied my blindfold from behind. "Looks like Elara doesn't really know Gideon after all. That's a relief."

In the dim light, Gideon stood in the center, his eyes dark and unreadable.

The man laughed, tossing his jacket to Gideon. "Hahaha, Elara, surprised? It was a trick!"

That night, I dreamt of Gideon from when he was a child.

He was with Lord Ashworth at a charity event at our orphanage. He picked me out from the crowd and refused to let go.

"Grandfather, Elara doesn't have a home or parents. I like her. I want to share mine with her!"

Lord Ashworth deliberately made it difficult for him. "If you promise to practice the violin every day, I'll agree."

Gideon's brow furrowed in conflict.

He was a restless little rascal since childhood, hating violin practice. But that day, he clutched my hand tightly and readily agreed.

Later, he diligently studied for over ten years, come rain or shine. I was by his side for every single lesson.

When I first arrived at the Ashworth manor, I was as thin as a kitten. Gideon would hold me in his arms and feed me.

For a long time, we ate, lived, and slept in the same bed.

"Elara, you need to eat more! You need to grow tall like me!"

"Elara, don't be scared. I'm here with you!"

"Elara, I just lied to Grandfather. I told him I liked him the most, but actually, I like you most of all in the whole world!"

Little Gideon was incredibly kind to me.

Opening my eyes, my phone was ringing incessantly C it was him, the current him.

"Elara Blunt, let's talk."

"I know you can see this."

"Elara Blunt... text me back."

"Elara Blunt."

There was also a deleted message that I hadn't seen.

I couldn't help but tap on the familiar profile picture. "How much longer until you come back? I miss you and the baby so much."

The other person replied instantly. "Soon."

"The baby and I miss you even more~"

Gideon leaned silently on the sofa, surrounded by a scatter of cigarette butts.

His craving for nicotine was particularly strong tonight.

Not long ago, a friend leaned in mysteriously and whispered to him, "While we were playing games, I found something on Elara's phone."

Those few words made Gideon's pupils tremble.

"Gideon, you and Elara might have a four-year-old daughter."

10

The next day, Liliana stopped me at the mall.

"What a coincidence, Elara, are you alone too?"

She smiled and complained, "I didn't bring Gideon either. Every time I try something on, he just says it looks good and only knows how to swipe his card. It's so annoying."

Liliana pulled me into a luxury boutique. "Elara, you must know this brand, right?"

She deftly picked out a few bags, then handed me one of the boxes. "A platinum milkshake white, perfect for your age, Elara."

I didn't take it.

She pouted. "This is my thank-you gift to you, Elara."

"Gideon used to be such a player. If you hadn't gone through all that trouble for me, how would he have settled down the moment he met me?"

"I've always had very few possessions. When I find something, I have to hold onto it tightly. You understand that feeling better than I do, don't you, Elara?"

"Some men, if you choose them, you'll lose."

Liliana had a hint of smugness. "You lost, but I didn't."