Chapter 5

"You must have misheard," Chester said firmly. "How could a woman like her possibly know about our plans? Even if she did, there's no way she could tell us apart."

Felix kept his head down, saying nothing. After a moment, he finally nodded.

Chester frowned at him. "Felix, make sure you know your place. A woman of her status isn't even fit to be a housekeeper for our family. Stay out of this."

Felix smiled and firmly said, "Of course, Chester."

Even so, Chester kept a wary eye on him. "Go back for now. I'll take care of things here. There are only two days left. If she stays calm over these two days, it will all be over."

…

When I woke up again, Chester was sitting beside my bed. By now, I could easily tell them apart. Chester was arrogant, while Felix was gentle and a little shy.

"You're so foolish. I could have handled everything," Chester said, showing a rare hint of warmth.

He even reached out to brush my hair, looking genuinely concerned, but I didn't accept it and pushed his hand away.

The fragile warmth he had shown vanished immediately. He snapped, "Miranda, you were ready to risk your life for me a moment ago! Why are you acting like this now?"

I stared at his angry face, then shifted my gaze to his perfectly unharmed right arm. He had acted so convincingly yet left such an obvious flaw. I didn't answer him and turned away. "You should go. I'm tired and need to rest."

Hearing my cold response, Chester snorted and slammed the door on his way out.

Before leaving, he commanded the doctor, "Give her the best treatment possible. I don't want to see a single scar on her at the wedding in two days."

Once the door closed behind him, I finally exhaled, feeling a small measure of relief. However, it didn't last long, as the Thorne family arrived shortly after.

Seeing my dark expression, Giselle snorted. "What's with that look? I came to visit you, and instead of being grateful, you actually have the nerve to glare at me?"

I let out a soft laugh. "Ms. Holt, you stole my identity from me. Why should I be grateful?"

"What did you say?"

Giselle's face flushed red with anger. She clearly hadn't expected someone as meek as me to talk back.

Suddenly, a sneer spread across her face as if a new thought had struck her. "Miranda, do you really think you can act so arrogant just because you're about to marry Mr. Miller? Let me make this clear—being Mrs. Miller isn't that easy. Someone as lowly as you will never rise above your station.

"When we were kids, I could take your paintings and your inheritance. Now that we're adults, I can take your husband just as easily."

I stayed quiet, unmoved by her words. Instead, I smiled. "Chester will never be yours."

The second I finished, Giselle and Anne laughed, ridiculing my overconfidence.

I ignored them and kept the record button pressed on my phone beneath the blanket.

My calm only seemed to infuriate Giselle further. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" she shouted, raising her hand as if to strike me.

However, I refused to submit any longer and grabbed her wrist midair.

"You dare fight back? The marriage isn't even official, and you're already acting like the lady of the house?" she snapped. "Very well. Miranda, do you really think I can't deal with you? Just wait. You'll be on your knees begging me to forgive you for what you did today."

That was the last thing she said before leaving.

I didn't take it to heart. Giselle had always been that arrogant.

Not long after, a doctor came to inform me that Chester had already completed my discharge paperwork.

I finally lost my patience and called him. "Chester, didn't you say you'd give me the best treatment? Why am I being discharged all of a sudden? Don't you realize my wound is still bleeding?"

He answered calmly, "There are doctors at home who can look after you. I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone in the hospital."

It was such an obvious lie, yet I didn't have the energy to argue. After a long silence, I hung up the phone.

The knife wound on my body suddenly throbbed, and blood seeped through the white bandage, glaring against the darkness.

Back in college, Chester had already been the heir to the Millers, making him completely out of place among his peers and leaving him with few social connections.

The only person he ever let close was me, but word got out to business rivals, who saw me as his weakness. Later, they even tried to abduct me, using my safety to control Chester.

I never imagined Chester would come for me. Back then, my grandmother hadn't found me, and the rest of the world treated me like I didn't exist. Yet Chester had kicked the door open and appeared at the entrance like a knight.

He bent down beside me, gently brushing the scars on my face and whispering, "I'm sorry I'm late."

Thinking of that, I couldn't help but reach up to touch my cheek. The scar had faded, but I could still feel it. The man who had tended to it so carefully was already dead on the night I learned the truth.

I realized the one who had actually saved me that day must have been Felix. Chester loved Giselle with all his heart and had never felt anything for me. Felix, on the other hand, truly cared for me, though his feelings were fragile, tangled with pretense and insecurity.

The memory faded as the bodyguards opened the door, leaving me no chance to refuse. However, they didn't take me home. Instead, the car headed toward the Thorne residence.

"Our heroine has finally arrived."

The moment the door opened, Giselle came toward me, holding a glass of champagne. "Miranda, welcome to my birthday party."