Chapter 1

The day it was revealed that I—Marisol Fairchild—was the fake heiress of a wealthy family, the real daughter, Rowena Fairchild, burst into the house and stabbed me in the abdomen multiple times. This robbed me of any chance ever to become a mother. My fiance, Thaddeus Crowley, flew into a rage over it, and my parents anxiously declared that they would never acknowledge her. To appease me, Thaddeus proposed to me at lightning speed, and my parents even wrote a formal letter cutting off all ties with Rowena. They told me to just focus solely on recovering. Later, they said that Rowena had fled overseas and had been sold to Corovia, a country up north, claiming it was what she deserved. I believed them. It wasn't until six years into my marriage with Thaddeus that I saw the woman who was supposedly suffering in Corovia. She was heavily pregnant and leaning against my husband's chest, sighing softly. "If I hadn't lost my temper and made that mistake six years ago, Marisol would never have gotten the chance to marry you. "Luckily, you, Mom, and Dad were on my side. Otherwise, that imposter would've sent me to jail. That damn fraud probably never imagined that I've been living right under her nose all this time, or that I'm even carrying your child. "Once I give birth, you can come up with an excuse to adopt it. The fraud can be my child's nanny for the rest of her life. "Thank you for everything you've done these past years, Thaddeus." Her tender, affectionate gaze made Thaddeus' cheeks flush. "Don't say that. Marrying her was the only way you could continue to live with your reputation intact. As long as you're well, anything I do is worth it." As it turned out, the husband whom I once thought truly loved me had been lying to me all along, and my parents had only been protecting their biological daughter. In that case, I didn't want any of them anymore either. … Seeing that familiar figure at the OB-GYN floor—a figure I would never forget for the rest of my life—I froze in place, my blood running cold. The pain of the knife plunging into my abdomen still haunted my mind. Yet, Thaddeus, the man who had once cried and said he felt heartbroken for me, was now tenderly holding the culprit and gently stroking her belly. Even from this distance, I could feel the overwhelming fatherly love radiating from him. So, the marriage I had once seen as my salvation had been nothing but a lie. My parents, who swore they would always stand by my side, had secretly destroyed the evidence and forced Thaddeus to marry me—just to give their real daughter an extra layer of protection. That way, Rowena wouldn't have to go to prison for aggravated assault. How ridiculous. I forced my sorrow down and avoided Thaddeus' line of sight. Just then, my phone lit up in my hand. It was my parents calling. The frantic ringing seemed to indicate how anxious the people on the other end were. Steadying myself, I answered the call. "Mari, where did you go? The butler said you left around noon. Did you go to the hospital? Why do you never listen to us? Your mom and I have told you countless times—you're not in the best health, so you should bring someone with you. "What if something happened to you while you were out? What would we do then?" My neatly trimmed nails dug into my palm, snapping me back to reality. Asking me these questions at this exact moment—were they really worried about my safety, or were they just afraid I would discover the truth? "Mari, did you hear what I said? Where are you? Your mom and I are already at the hospital. We're coming to find you right now," Dad said. His kind, concerned voice felt like a knife, twisting into my heart. After a moment's thought, I replied softly, "I'm in the women's restroom on the OB-GYN floor. You and Mom worry too much. I'm just here for a checkup. What could possibly go wrong? "Besides, I'm a full-grown adult. I can't keep troubling you two." I made a show of complaining lightly, allowing my parents to exhale a long sigh of relief. A few minutes later, my mother, Lucille Jenner, burst into the restroom and looked me over anxiously. "Nothing happened, right? Have you gotten your checkup yet?" Her lashes drooped, attempting to hide her unease. Considering the couple who had rushed off earlier, it wasn't hard to guess why Mom and Dad had been following me around all along—not because they feared for my safety, but because they were worried I'd run into Rowena and ruin their plans. "It's nothing, Mom. I just felt some discomfort in my stomach as soon as I arrived at the hospital, so I got held up a bit. I haven't had the checkup yet." "That's good, then," Mom replied instinctively. When she realized she had said the wrong thing, her expression turned stern as she looked at me. "It's good you haven't had your checkup yet. With your dad and me here, there's no way we'd let you face those cold machines alone. Come on, let's go together." Standing at the bathroom door was a kind-looking middle-aged man—my dad, Dan Fairchild. Though he wasn't my biological father, I had grown up as the apple of his eye, always believing he loved me more than anyone else in the world. It wasn't until today that I realized that, in the face of blood ties, everything else was meaningless. In that case, it was time for me to repay them with a gift of my own, and a big one at that.