Bride To Be Not Me (Janice and Simon)

"Janice, stop accusing me! I never—"

"My brother's roommate specializes in surveillance footage recovery. Do you think

I didn't see you running out with Simon? And as it happens, I know the owner of the café where you and Simon met before.

"The police system is pretty advanced these days. It can analyze surveillance footage and even identify what you two were talking about."

A chill ran through Heidi's entire body.

She had always thought she and Simon were the ones keeping an eye on Janice. But in reality, Janice had been tracking their every move.

Watching Janice walk away, Heidi clenched her teeth so hard they made an audible click.

A moment later, she pushed open the car door and stormed straight into the police station to see Simon.noveldrama

When the two were alone in a private room, Heidi said, "Don't worry. There's no evidence. You'll be out by tomorrow."

Desperate and panicked, Simon didn't even hesitate before pleading, "Ms. Olson, you have to help me! If worst comes to worst, use your identity as Shirley to pressure Janice! She's trying to steal my company!"

Seeing the once-arrogant Simon now begging her for help filled Heidi with satisfaction.

"Since you know I'm Shirley, then you shouldn't be afraid of her. So what if she takes Refined Threads Co. for now? Once she humiliates herself at the international championship and loses Greenfield City's support, the other shareholders will kick her out on their own."

Simon narrowed his eyes. "And how exactly do we make her embarrass herself at the international championship?"

Heidi smirked. "I'll handle it. When the time comes, we'll claim Janice didn't design her work-she bought it. And as Shirley, I'll be the one proving it. She won't be able to talk her way out of it. Crochet design videos mean nothing at the international championship.

"Foreigners don't care about the process. They only care about who brings more value. Between Shirley and Janice, even an idiot would know who to choose."

Simon slowly nodded. "You're right. The international championship only judges based on reputation and final pieces, not the process."

But then, a thought crossed his mind. "Wait, then why did Harry say you framed him?"

For a split second, Heidi's expression stiffened.

Then, she quickly brushed it off. "That was just a misunderstanding. Don't worry about it. I need to go. We'll talk once you're out tomorrow."

When Heidi returned home, Amelia was already waiting for her. "I saw that Simon got arrested."

Heidi let out a frustrated sigh. "I underestimated Janice. I didn't think she had another card up her sleeve."

Amelia frowned. "You still haven't taken her down? Ugh, you're so useless!"

Heidi's expression darkened at the contempt in Amelia's eyes. "Why the hell are you looking at me like that? Like you could do any better? And watch your tone. Simon just got cut off, which means your access to medication is gone. Right now, I'm the only one keeping you alive."

Amelia clenched her jaw so hard it hurt, but she forced herself to swallow her anger.

After a long silence, she muttered, "Rumors are spreading that you might be Shirley. You think that's going to work in your favor, but that doesn't seem like it. Heidi... are you really Shirley?"

"If I'm not, then who is? You?" she snapped, masking her unease with irritation.

Just then, her secretary, Amber Thornton, rushed out of the study, practically buzzing with excitement. "Ms. Ryan! The message you had me send... They responded!"

Heidi's eyes lit up instantly.

It was Shirley's official WhatsApp account.

She and Amber hurried into the study.

On the way to Edward's house, Janice idly logged into her secondary WhatsApp account. wasn't expecting to find over 99 unread messages from an unknown number. She skimmed through

unk net

some of them before finally replying.

"Ms. Olson, is this really you?"

The account belonged to Amber.

Shirley replied casually. "Yes. What do you need?"

On the other end, Heidi didn't doubt the response for a second. Overjoyed, she snatched Amber's phone and quickly typed a reply, weaving her lie on the spot.

"Ms. Olson, here's the situation—I

have a student who loves crochet, but she's terminally ill. Her biggest wish is to meet her idol, which is you. But know you're incredibly busy, so I was wondering... Would it be okay if I pretended to be you and spent some time teaching her how to crochet? It would mean the world to her."

After sending the message, Heidi anxiously waited for a response. Then, a sudden idea struck her. If she got Shirley's permission, wouldn't that make impersonating her completely risk-free?

Janice read the message and didn't think much of it. It seemed trivial, and she sympathized with the ill fan.

Shirley replied to the message. "Send me an address. I'll mail you something to pass along to the student. If believing Shirley is there makes them happy, then that's fine."

She didn't care who pretended to be her as she had never been the type to rely on a name to prove her worth.

Seeing Shirley's approval, Heidi was beyond ecstatic. She was so excited she could barely sleep. Now, she could impersonate Shirley without a single worry.

...

It was already past midnight by the time Janice got back to the villa.

She hesitated for a moment before sending Edward a message, only for the door

of the villa to suddenly swing open.

As she stepped inside, Edward looked down at her from the doorway. "All handled?"

Janice changed out of her shoes. "Yeah. Just as expected, Simon refuses to transfer the shares. So, we'll take it to court and wait for the forced execution order."

"I had someone buy you new toiletries and pajamas. They're in your room," Edward said, still wearing his glasses. He looked like he had been working late.

After freshening up, Janice stepped out in the new pajamas and spotted Edward standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, smoking.

His silhouette against the snowy backdrop outside made for an unexpectedly striking scene.

Hearing her footsteps, he turned around.