Chapter 2

Stella was the heiress to the Wallace family. She had been raised under strict rules since she was little. She was skilled at everything from playing the piano to calligraphy and painting.

In everyone’s eyes, she was the perfect young lady from a prestigious family.

Only Stella knew how suffocating that rigid life was.

There was a time set for everything. She had to wake up at a certain hour, practice the piano at a certain hour, and study at a certain hour. Even the exact angle of her smile had been decided for her.

She was like a piece of art that someone had carefully crafted. She was beautiful and flawless, but she had no soul of her own.

Then, Julian came into her life.

He was South City’s most notorious playboy. He was good at everything from street racing and fighting to extreme sports.

He lived however he wanted. He was bold, reckless, and completely free, like a gust of wind that no one could hold back.

The first time she saw him was at a gathering of their two families.

He was an hour late. He came roaring in on a motorcycle. When he took off his helmet, his hair was a complete mess from the wind, but his face was still unbelievably handsome.

He flashed everyone a grin and said, “Traffic was terrible.”

Then, he sat down without a care in the world. He glanced at her with his striking, flirtatious eyes and lifted his chin at her.

That night, Stella could not sleep.

She had never met anyone like him. Every part of him seemed to cry out for freedom. She, on the other hand, was trapped inside a beautiful cage. She could not even spread her wings.

The day she found out that their families had arranged a marriage between them years ago, she was so happy that she could not sleep at all.

But she had never expected Julian to hate her.

He had hated her from the moment they first met.

He called her fake and boring. He said she was dull and lifeless.

Later, he fell in love with Yara, a young woman who went to school on a scholarship for students from low-income families. The way he looked at her was so gentle that it seemed as if his gaze could melt.

He tried every possible way to call off the engagement, but none of them worked. In the end, he simply gave up. He kept the title of her fiance, but he kept putting off their wedding.

Anything she did not want him to do, he only did more of.

He took Yara out in public and flaunted their relationship. This completely humiliated Stella, his fiancee.

She had no choice but to follow him around every day. All the while, she tried to keep him in line and stop him from doing reckless things. Because of it, she had become the annoying shadow that was always at his heels.

But she thought he would eventually see how much she cared about him. Perhaps one day, he would realize that she was not boring, but she simply did not know how to express herself.

She waited year after year. By the time her heart had gone completely cold, he still had not looked back at her even once.

Everything changed a week ago.

Her parents called her into their room and told her the truth that would change her life forever.

She was not the Wallace family’s real daughter. The hospital had switched the babies by mistake all those years ago. The Wallace family’s real daughter was someone else.

Her parents had complicated looks on their faces. They looked guilty and troubled, but more than anything, they looked relieved.

“Stella, we know this is hard for you to accept.” Liam Wallace’s voice was low. “But Yvonne has suffered a lot out there. We want to make it up to her. She’ll be coming home at the end of the month. We hope you can… leave by then.”

Stella was silent. Then, she asked, “What about the engagement with the Quinn family?”

Natalie Smith glanced at her before turning away.

“The engagement was between our two families. Now that we know the babies were switched, the engagement… naturally is for our real daughter. We want you to leave and cut all contact with Julian.

“The wedding between the two families will take place as soon as possible. When it does, you’re not to attend.”

At that moment, Stella felt something inside her shatter completely.

She said nothing. She simply nodded and accepted it.

All these years, she had tried everything she could to make Julian fall for her, but she had failed. She was exhausted.

She had spent all these years trying to be the perfect young lady from a prestigious family. She was tired of that too.

If none of it had ever truly belonged to her, then she wanted none of it anymore.

The only thing she wanted was the lucky charm her grandmother had given her before she died.

It was the last thing in this world that truly belonged to her.

Stella’s vision grew increasingly blurry. The sound of an ambulance grew louder in the distance.

Stella finally closed her eyes.