Before I even had a chance to explain, I saw the old man, barely holding himself up with a cane, suddenly faint right in front of me.
“Grandpa!” Henry Smith was the first to react, leaping up to catch him securely, his voice full of regret and guilt.
“You damn kid! It’s just marrying a woman—what’s with all the stubbornness?” Mr. Smith, who had been silently watching his father scold his son, finally snapped and slapped Henry square across the face. “If your grandpa gets seriously sick from this, just get out of here! Our Smith family doesn’t need such a ‘principled’ descendant!”
Henry’s handsome face was visibly swollen, but he didn’t talk back. His expression panicked as he held the frail old man and dashed out the front gate. “Where’s the driver? Hurry, get the car! Hospital, now!”
Everything turned chaotic, and the Smith family members rushed out one after another.
Only Mrs. Smith st

Heather Carter was shaking all over, her eyes full of panic as she explained in a cautious tone, "Henry, I was just standing up for you, okay? Everyone knows you and Lena are the real deal. It’s that woman who tricked you. You can't handle that unwanted child yourself, so I stepped up for you."
Right then, I really thought Henry Smith would just go along with her. He was always so against marrying me back at the Smiths’ house.
If I lost the baby, Howard Smith would stop pressuring him. Case closed.
Fine.
Let’s go. I wasn’t pregnant anyway. What do I have to fear?
After the scene I made yesterday, there’s no way the Smiths would still want Lena in the family. And if the Carter family still had a shred of dignity, they wouldn't let her marry in either.
I got up from the floor, expression blank, waiting for Henry to say something. I was already getting ready to go to the hospital with Heath

Lena Carter collapsed to the floor, entirely losing her composure as she burst into tears. "No! This isn’t fair! You can’t do this to me!"
Her mess made something inside me snap. It reminded me why I was here in the first place. Shaking off the confusion, I gave Henry Smith a slight push. This time, he didn’t resist.
I stepped out of his arms with ease, lifted my head, and walked over to Lena. Looking down at her, I spoke calmly yet firmly. "Why not? I stuck by him for four years. I’m pregnant with his child. Asking for a title—what’s so wrong about that?"
Didn’t you say I was just some disgrace who could never take Henry away?
Well now, it's time to own those words.
Judging by her face, Lena finally realized the weight behind Howard Smith’s words. It wasn’t something the Carter family could just undo.
She scrambled to her feet, rushed to Henry with her makeup ruined, and begged, "Henry, say something! This woman set you up, you can’t let her win! No one can force you to marry her, just come with me, okay?"
Henry shot me a complicated glance, then gently wiped the tears from her face. His voice was soft. "Don’t worry. The title of Mrs. Smith is from the family, not me. But I haven’t forgotten what I promised you. Go home for now."
I stood there watching the whole thing, feeling equal parts bitter and satisfied. Ever since I faked that pregnancy test, these emotions had been tangled inside me.
To make Lena pay, and for the baby I lost to rest in peace, I ended up deceiving the man I loved the most—turning into the villain who tore apart his relationship.
Heather Carter tried to lunge at me but was stopped by Brian Carter.
Henry’s public rejection of the Carters completely crushed their pride. But with the power and influence of Howard Smith, even ten Carter families combined couldn’t do a thing. They had no choice but to leave in frustration, dragging Lena away with them.
That so-called wedding? It was nothing more than a circus.But no one dared to laugh. Everyone just played along, pretending nothing had happened, clapping and offering fake congratulations.
And me? Just one part of this joke, standing stiff beside Henry Smith in front of the emcee, reciting vows neither of us really believed in.
Heather Carter’s face had gone pale with anger. Lena Carter’s eyes shot daggers at me. Those were the final images burned into my mind from the chaos that passed for a wedding.
I thought Howard Smith announcing the bride switch was just to save face, like a PR stunt—let us fake it in front of the guests, show the world how responsible the Smiths were while giving us both an out.
But when the wedding was over and I got dragged back to the Smith residence, I finally realized I'd completely underestimated how serious Howard Smith was about responsibility. He was a military man, after all. That, and the fact that I'd told a lie way too big to cover.
This wasn’t some show. He really wanted Henry to marry me, and he’d actually brought out the family discipline just to force him to get the marriage certificate. Even Henry probably hadn’t seen that coming.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have caved so easily at the wedding.
Someone like him would fake a ceremony for family reputation, sure, but actually being forced into a marriage by me? No way he'd accept that.
Seeing him on his knees, lashes cutting across his back, my body moved before I could think. I threw myself in front of him, eyes stinging as I shouted, "Please, stop! Don’t hit him anymore!"
But the blow I was expecting didn’t land.
Howard probably hesitated for a second because I was supposedly pregnant. He pulled back and just barked at Henry, voice booming with authority, “Are you marrying her or not?”
Henry shoved me aside, brushing off my help like it meant nothing. His tone was ice cold. “No.”
His eyes locked onto mine—a bottomless kind of cold, filled with nothing but hate.
All I ever wanted was to get back at Lena Carter. I never planned on trapping him into marrying me. A marriage built on force and resentment? That’s never what I wanted.
In that moment, my nose stung and my fists trembled—I felt like I could barely breathe.
I knew then: I had to tell the truth. No matter what it cost me, it was time to come clean.
Still on my knees, I tilted my head up to look at him and took a deep breath. “Mr. Smith, actually, I’m not—”

Before I even had a chance to explain, I saw the old man, barely holding himself up with a cane, suddenly faint right in front of me.
“Grandpa!” Henry Smith was the first to react, leaping up to catch him securely, his voice full of regret and guilt.
“You damn kid! It’s just marrying a woman—what’s with all the stubbornness?” Mr. Smith, who had been silently watching his father scold his son, finally snapped and slapped Henry square across the face. “If your grandpa gets seriously sick from this, just get out of here! Our Smith family doesn’t need such a ‘principled’ descendant!”
Henry’s handsome face was visibly swollen, but he didn’t talk back. His expression panicked as he held the frail old man and dashed out the front gate. “Where’s the driver? Hurry, get the car! Hospital, now!”
Everything turned chaotic, and the Smith family members rushed out one after another.
Only Mrs. Smith stayed behind, looking at me with a cold smirk. “Miss Johnson, women like you—I’ve seen too many. Mr. 

Chapter 16