I Unexpectedly Encountered My Fiancé’s ‘Twin Brother’ — Discovering the Reality Led Me to End Our Engagement

When Lucy meets Alex, she thinks that she has finally found the love of her life. But after she blows her tire, a chance trip to the auto repair shop leaves her stunned. There, she finds a man who looks identical to her fiancé. What else is Alex hiding from her?

“Lucy, tell me everything,” my sister said when I showed up at her house looking for a shoulder to cry on.

“Make me some tea and give me some cookies, and I’ll tell you everything,” I said.

“Coming right up!” she exclaimed, running to the kitchen.

And then, it was time to tell my sister everything.

I never imagined that a routine car repair would unravel the biggest deception of my life. It all started innocently enough.

My car broke down in the middle of a busy road, and out of nowhere, a man in an expensive car and a designer suit pulled over to help me. He introduced himself as Alex, and before long, we were dating. It seemed perfect. Alex had it all: the charm, wealth, and a collection of fancy cars that seemed endless.

“And to think we started with car issues, Lu,” Alex said one evening when we were having dinner at a fancy restaurant on the beach.

Moments later, Alex proposed. And suddenly, I was a fiancée.

My family wasn’t too keen because our whirlwind romance had only been going on for six months before the proposal. But I didn’t care. I was ecstatic.

“Look, sis,” Mia, my sister, said to me on the phone one day. “I’ll support you completely. But I think you just have to be patient with Mom and Dad. They need a minute to wrap their minds around the fact that you’re getting married in a few months.”

I was fine with that. I would give them all the time they needed while I planned my perfect wedding.

Alex seemed perfect for me, except for one small detail: he was always busy during the day, claiming that work kept him occupied.

“But what is it that you do, babe?” I asked him over breakfast one morning when he stayed over.

“You know it’s finance, Lucy,” he said. “But I can’t tell you more than that. I work with important people, and confidentiality is very important to them. Please, don’t ask me about this again.”

I let it slide because I figured that if he earned as well as it seemed, then it made sense why he couldn’t divulge information freely. Instead, it made our time together feel like stolen moments, only adding to the romance.

One afternoon, everything changed.

I was on my way to meet Alex when my tire blew out. After a quick search on my phone, I found that there was an auto repair shop not far from me. I managed to get the car to the small, unassuming place that seemed a world away from the luxury I was used to.

As I waited, I noticed a mechanic who looked strikingly familiar.

My heart pounded. Could it be Alex? But why would Alex be here?

“Hi, ma’am,” he said, sounding just like my fiancé. “I’m David, and I’ll be sorting your car out today.”

“You look exactly like my fiancé, Alex!” I exclaimed.

“Alex?” he repeated, his voice faltering. “Alex is my estranged twin brother. We’ve had a strained relationship, and we’ve barely spoken for at least a decade.”

I nodded, wondering why Alex had never mentioned a brother, let alone a twin.

“Can I just sort your tire out?” he asked. “I have two other cars scheduled to come in soon.”

I gave him the keys and grabbed my cellphone to stand outside and wait.

“There’s a bench over there,” he pointed. “You can make yourself comfortable. I won’t be long.”

As I sat on the bench, I took a sneaky photo of David and sent it to Alex.

You won’t believe it! But the guy at the car repair shop looks just like you!

He replied immediately.

Stay away from him!

Babe?

I didn’t want to say anything else in text, so I thought I’d just speak to him at home, because he was coming over for dinner.

“Ma’am,” David called. “I’m all done.”

“Call me Lucy,” I said, taking the car keys from him.

That evening, I brought up David to Alex. His reaction was immediate and intense.

“David is trouble,” he said, his voice firm. “He’s dangerous, and I don’t want him anywhere near you. Please, just forget that you ever saw him.”

His insistence was unsettling, but I decided to trust him and let it go.

I mean, everyone has family secrets, right?

I was almost ready to let it go, but then, as Alex was washing up the dishes, I got a call from an unknown number.

“Hi, Lucy?” a man said.

“Yes, speaking. Who are you?” I asked.

“I actually work with David. You know, from the auto repair?”

“Is something wrong?” I asked hurriedly.

I wasn’t surprised that this man had gotten my number, because it was on the form that I had filled out. But it did surprise me that a random person was calling.

“There is no David,” he said, his tone serious. “That guy is actually your fiancé, Alex. There is no twin brother here.”

My world started to spin as he continued.

“Every evening, Alex takes one of the cars we’re fixing and drives it to you. The suits he wears are either hired or borrowed from his father. He said the other day that he’s been pretending to be rich to marry you and have access to your family’s wealth.”

Stunned, I hung up the phone. The reality was harsh and cold, completely shattering the image I had of Alex.

How could I have been so blind? My parents had warned me about this situation. My mother told me that people would try to take advantage of our wealth.

“Lucy, you can’t pretend that this doesn’t exist. This is our lives. Mia had this situation before. That young man basically told her that he was dating her for her money,” my mother said.

I knew that I had to confront Alex. The tension was palpable as I laid out what I’d learned.

His initial response was denial, but when I mentioned the call from the auto shop, his demeanor shifted.

Gone was the smooth-talking charmer I thought I knew. In his place stood a man caught in his own web of lies.

“There is no twin brother, is there?” I demanded.

“No, there isn’t,” he said, looking down.

“Why lie? Why lie about everything?” I asked, wanting to throw my cup of tea at him.

After a moment of silence, he finally looked at me, his eyes pleading.

“I wanted to be someone you could be proud of. I knew about your family’s wealth and connections, and I thought… I thought if I seemed successful, you’d actually want a chance with me. That you’d never see me as just a mechanic.”

I was at a loss for words. A part of me wanted to understand, to find some reason that would make this all make sense. But another part, a larger part, felt an overwhelming sense of betrayal.

This wasn’t just a harmless lie. No, this was a fundamental betrayal of trust.

“I can’t do this,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t marry someone who built our relationship on lies.”

Alex reached out to touch my hand, but I pulled away.

“Please, give me a chance to make it right,” he pleaded.

But there was no making it right. It was over. With a heavy heart, I took off the engagement ring and placed it on the table.

“I think you should return your mother’s ring to her,” I said sadly.

“Oh, Lu,” Mia said when I told her the whole story. “I’m really sorry that you had to go through this.”

I smiled at her with tears in my eyes.

“Well, at least you know exactly how it feels,” I said. “So that makes me feel better.”

Mia laughed and hugged me.

“Look, it has to get better than these deceitful men. We’ll find the good ones soon.”

I nodded and sat back against the couch.

What would you have done?

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