Chapter 2

Anyone with an ounce of sympathy would have helped me upon seeing my pitiful state.

My broken limbs had trembled with pain, and my tears had streamed down my face onto the ground. A sharp pain had torn through my abdomen, and the sea around me had turned crimson with my blood.

I had thought, "My baby, I'm so sorry. It's my fault for holding onto someone who never belonged to me. And now you won't get the chance to open your eyes and see the world."

...

The moment Alina opened her eyes, she panicked and immediately called out for Sven. She wouldn't let the nurses come near her but clung tightly to Sven and kept crying.

Sven gently comforted her as though he'd just recovered a precious treasure he thought he'd lost forever. His hands shook slightly as he soothingly patted her back over and over.

"You're okay now. You have no idea how worried I was. I was so afraid of losing you again."

Alina looked pale and frightened. She clutched his shirt and said with a quivering voice, "Sven, I thought I was going to die and never see you again. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now."

She then lifted her head to gaze at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Sven, I was always worried that my presence would cause problems between you and Tracy. That was why I kept pushing you away. But after all that happened... I won't push you away anymore."

Sniffling, Alina buried her head against his chest and continued, "I don't blame Tracy at all. If she hadn't invited me out that day, I wouldn't have been kidnapped, and I wouldn't have had the courage to face my feelings for you."

Sven's expression darkened, but he held back his anger. "Alina, don't mention her name again. I promise I'll make this right for you. This time, no one is going to keep us apart."

I lowered my head with a bitter smile.

The real reason Sven and Alina couldn't be together from the start wasn't because of me but Alina.

Sven and Alina had grown up together. They were childhood sweethearts destined to marry one day.

I was 16 when I found out I was the real daughter of the Leclair family. The family nanny had switched me with Alina at birth, and the latter was actually the nanny's daughter.

When I returned to the Leclair household, Mom and Dad couldn't bear to send Alina away after raising her over the years.

From that moment on, I became the Leclair family's heiress, while Alina became the second daughter.

On my first birthday back with my family, Mom and Dad invited Sven and his parents to the celebration.

Sven's mother, Denise Barlow, couldn't stop praising me. She would call me sweet and beautiful, holding my hand affectionately as we talked.

I never expected it would spark Alina's hostility.

While the adults were in the living room, Alina had approached me with a cup of scalding hot water.

She had stared at me, her lips curling into a knowing smile as she said, "If I got burned by the hot water because of you, do you think anyone would still feel like celebrating your birthday?"

Before I could react, Alina had tilted the cup to pour the water onto her hand.

My mind had gone blank, but my body reacted instinctively. I had lunged forward to stop her, and the boiling water spilled onto my arm instead.

The searing pain had spread through me instantly, and I couldn't help but scream. My skin had bubbled and turned red, the burn grotesque and painful.

Denise had been the first to rush in, hastily pulling me to the sink and running cold water over my arm.

Mom and Dad had demanded to know what had happened.

Alina had stood there with her head down and whimpered, "I was just trying to get some water for everyone, but Tracy..."

Before she could finish her vague explanation, Mom and Dad had shot me a look of disappointment.

Ever since I had reunited with my family, Alina had repeatedly framed me. And each time, they would believe her lies.

That had been my first birthday back with my family, and I hadn't wanted to ruin it or destroy the fragile bond I had just begun to form with them.

Despite the burning pain in my arm, I had held back my tears and apologized. "I'm sorry. I wasn't careful."

Denise had glanced at Alina and then given me a long, thoughtful look. "Tracy, you're a good kid."