My Undercover Contract Wife

Isabella Swan stared at her reflection in the mirror, her hands shaking slightly as she smoothed her hair. She was dressed in a sleek professional outfit that mirrored the style her sister, Irene, was used to wearing. Her heart was pounding with a mixture of fear and determination. Irene had always been confident, a person who could overcome anything she faced. But now, Irene was missing, and it was up to Isabella to find her.

"Are you sure about this, Bella?" her best friend, Emily, asked from behind her.

Isabella took a deep breath and nodded. "I have no choice. Irene needs me, and this is the only way I can find out what happened to her."

It had been two weeks since Irene announced her engagement to Rudolf, a man Isabella knew was bad news. She had seen the bruises on Irene's arms, the fear in her eyes. And then, just like that, Irene disappeared. Phone calls went unanswered, and her apartment was untouched. Desperation led Isabella to make a drastic decision: she would assume Irene's identity and infiltrate her workplace, Alpha Company, where Irene worked as the personal secretary to the CEO, Felix Kingston.

The first day at Alpha Company was chaotic. Isabella kept her head down, trying to blend in and not attract attention. But Felix Kingston was not an easy man to recognize. Tall, with piercing blue eyes and an aura of authority, he was intimidating. Isabella had hoped to avoid direct interaction with him, but fate had other plans.

"Miss Swan," Felix's deep voice called out as Isabella rushed into the office. She froze, her heart racing. "A word in my office, please."

She followed him, her mind racing. Had the man already discovered her deceit? She had only been there a day. Once inside his spacious office, Felix closed the door behind him and turned, his gaze scrutinizing.

"You are not Irene," he said bluntly.

Isabella's blood ran cold. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out.

Felix leaned against his desk, crossing his arms. "Who are you, and where is Irene?"

Isabella swallowed hard. "I am Isabella, her twin sister. Irene is missing, and I must find her. Please, you have to trust me."

For a moment, Felix said nothing. His eyes softened slightly, but his expression remained guarded. "Forgery of identity is a serious offense. I could have you arrested."

"Please, Mr. Kingston," Isabella pleaded. "I have no other choice. Irene may be in danger. I must find her."

Felix stared at her silently, his jaw hardening. After what felt like an eternity, he sighed. "I believe you. But this situation is complicated. I have my own problems."

Isabella frowned. "What do you mean?"

Felix straightened up, his demeanor changing to one of determination. "My parents are forcing me to get married. They think I'm gay because I'm not established yet. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I have no intention of starting a new relationship. But if you agree to a contract marriage, I will help you find Irene."

Isabella looked at him, surprised. "Contract marriage? Are you serious?"

Felix nodded. "One million dollars and all my resources to find your sister. In return, we pretend to be married until my parents back down."

The offer was absurd, but it was his best chance. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. "I'll do it."

Felix extended his hand, and Isabella shook it, sealing their unusual agreement. Little did she know, this agreement would lead her down a path more complicated and dangerous than she had ever imagined.

And all this chaos began just a few days ago.

Isabella woke up in her bed, she blinked a few times to make sure the clock on the wall still pointed to two. Well, she had an appointment with her copy editor at four in the afternoon. She had slept since this morning because she finished her novel overnight. And it was really tiring.

"Damn, I have to get up and meet that chatty guy."

Stretching her arms out on the bed, Isabella's thoughts drifted to the messages she had sent to her twin sister, Irene. It had been two weeks since Irene had shocked the family by announcing her engagement to Rudolf, the bastard who always pretended to be nice in front of them all, Irene had been unreachable.

Isabella got up and checked her cell phone. Everything is still the same. Irene could not be contacted, did not reply to messages, did not reply to emails and was not even active on all her social media.

"I have to do something," Isabella said, but she was reminded of Peter, her very fussy editor and boss. "but I have to finish my business with Peter first."

After leaving the room, Isabella found her mother and father, Rose and Ben, sitting together in front of the television. They seemed to be relaxing watching a sporting event on the weekend. And this was the perfect time for Isabella to break the peaceful atmosphere.

"Hey, were you able to reach Irene?"

Mom and Dad turned to Isabella. "Aren't you the one always texting her, Bella?"

"Yep. And she's still unreachable," Isabella said, she sat on the sofa, then showed her cell phone. "He disappeared. Shouldn't we be looking for him?"

Ben picked up the voice. "She's engaged to Rudolf and you know that Rudolf asked our permission to take Irene to live with him."

"Dad, I already said that, didn't I? Rudolf's a terrible man, you can tell by his looks and tattoos!"

Rose patted Isabella lightly on the shoulder, she smiled a little. "Irene is all grown up, Bella. She's made her own life."

"Come on, Mom. You shouldn't trust Rudolf. He's an asshole!"

"Be careful what you say, Bella. You could hurt Irene if she hears." Ben warned. He muttered something long, then pointed at Isabella. "Look, if you're so worried, why don't you go to Rudolf's apartment and make sure that Irene is okay?"

Isabella looked at Ben, then at Rose in turn. "Apartment?"

"Yeah, they live together now. Irene must be at Rudolf's apartment, right?"

And after considering it, Isabella nodded in agreement to her parents. "Alright. I'll check on them after meeting my editor downtown."

"Sounds good," Rose replied enthusiastically.

Isabella Swan sipped her coffee as she looked around the bustling cafe. It was filled with writers and creatives, each engrossed in their own world. Across from her sat Peter, her chatty editor, who was waving his arms excitedly as he discussed the upcoming publication of her novel on an online platform.

"Isabella, this is going to be great!" Peter exclaimed, his excitement obvious. "Your readers will love the surprises in this new chapter. And the character development? Brilliant!"

Isabella smiled, appreciating Peter's enthusiasm despite his tendency to ramble. "Thank you, Peter. I'm glad we can finally finish the editing process."

Peter nodded vigorously. "Of course. Now, about next week's launch event-"

Isabella's cell phone buzzed, interrupting her. She glanced at the screen, seeing a message from her parents, Ben and Rose. It contained the address of Rudolf, her sister Irene's boyfriend. Her heart tightened. Irene had been missing for days, and this clue was the only lead he had.

"Sorry, Peter, I have to go," Isabella said, suddenly standing up.

Peter looked surprised but nodded. "Of course, Isabella. Keep me posted on the progress of the novel!"

Isabella rushed out of the café, her mind racing. The address her parents had given her was Rudolf's apartment, a place she hoped would give her answers. She took a taxi to the address, a run-down building on the edge of town, her anxiety growing by the minute.

When she arrived, she was met by the caretaker of the apartment, a middle-aged man with a gruff demeanor. He eyed her warily as she approached.

"Excuse me, sir," Isabella began, "I'm looking for Rudolf. He used to live here with my sister, Irene."

The guard's expression darkened. "Rudolf? He moved out a week ago. Evicted, actually. Too much noise, always drunk, and treated his girlfriend badly. Disrupted the whole building."

Isabella felt a surge of panic. "Do you know where he went?"

The guard shook his head. "No idea. Good riddance, if you ask me."

Seeing the unfriendly apartment guard, made Isabella feel uncomfortable. She nodded her head and thanked him for all the information. Although it was obviously not very helpful.

"Thank you, sir."

Isabella turned around, returning to her car that she bought from the proceeds of selling her book two years ago. From inside the car, Isabella looked around Rudolf's apartment again, there was nothing strange there. Maybe it was Rudolf who had problems and Isabella had known about it from the beginning. Unfortunately, Ben and Rose, her parents, were denial about all of Isabella's suspicions.

"What should I do? Where is Irene really?"

An idea popped into her head when she saw her twin sister's Instagram bio. Alpha Company. Irene was the CEO's personal secretary in the office. Isabella could probably find information from Irene's office friends, or business relations and such. But Isabella's brow furrowed as she thought of a way to get in and join them all.

"Should I disguise myself as Irene?"

Without any other clues, she had no idea where to start looking for Irene. Desperation gripped her, and she struggled to remain calm. She needed a plan, something that could get her closer to finding her sister.

If she could gain access to Irene's workplace, she might be able to find some clues as to her whereabouts. It was risky, but she was willing to take the chance.

That night, Isabella stood in front of her mirror, studying her reflection. With a little makeup and a change of clothes, she could have impersonated Irene. They were indeed identical twins. She practiced mimicking Irene's confident demeanor, her heart pounding with fear and determination.

"Damn, I who's been working as a writer and talking to my laptop, now I have to mingle and look friendly just to impersonate my own sister?!"

A long sigh escaped Isabella's mouth. For her, creating stories was easy. It was a job she had been doing since graduating college. But role-playing? Isabella never imagined it. In the midst of the chaos, Isabella also called her best friend, Emily, maybe Emily could help her to calm her mind.

Isabella Swan looked at her reflection in the mirror, her hands shaking slightly as she smoothed her hair. She was dressed in a sleek professional outfit that mirrored the style her sister, Irene, used to wear. Her heart was pounding with a mixture of fear and determination. Irene had always been confident, a person who could overcome anything she faced. But now, Irene was missing, and it was up to Isabella to find her.

"Are you sure about this, Bella?" her best friend, Emily, asked from behind her.

Isabella took a deep breath and nodded. "I have no choice. Irene needs me, and this is the only way I can find out what happened to her."

Emily furrowed her brow, "what if Irene's boss finds out that you're not Irene?"

Isabella's laughter filled the room. "Come on, Emily. Irene is the personal secretary of a CEO, why would she care about her secretary's personal life? Our faces are so identical, anyone would never guess that Irene is not Irene, but me."

Shrugging, Emily replied. "I'm not sure about this."

"I went to Rudolf's apartment this afternoon. Do you know what I found there?"

"..."

"Nothing! Rudolf was evicted from his apartment a week ago!" Isabella shouted excitedly, and made Emily stunned. Emily was a good listener, she just shut up and listened to all her best friend's complaints without any judgment at all. "Irene wasn't there, Rudolf lied to us all!"

BRUGH!

"What did you say?!"

The door suddenly opened and Rose stood there. The commotion made Ben run to catch up with them all. Isabella was the most anxious and panicked person in this situation.

"Irene isn't at Rudolf's apartment?!"

Ben tried to interrupt their conversation. While calming his pale-looking wife, he said, "Wait a minute. What is this all about? You went to Rudolf's apartment, didn't you?"

"Y-yes, Dad," Isabella replied hesitantly. She looks everyone with a panick expression and start to close her mouth because she's worrying her parents now. Damn!

"Was Irene there?" That question make Isabella's feel guilty.

But before Isabella could answer, Rose's body suddenly fell to the floor and everyone panicked.

"Mooooooom!"