The Stand‑In Meant to Fake Her Death

For three years, I've been the only woman Hayden Prescott, the heir of the most powerful family in Jinton, has eyes for. Then his long-lost fiancée returns. Three years ago, the Lawson family falls deep into debt. My father and older brother spike my wine and personally deliver me straight to Hayden's hotel suite. By the next morning, photos of me stumbling out of his room with my clothes in disarray are circulating all over Jinton. Everyone brands me a shameless gold digger who will stop at nothing to marry into the powerful Prescott family. But Hayden doesn't cast me aside. When reporters mob me, he pulls me into his arms and shields me from the cameras. When a high fever leaves me bedridden, he puts a ten-billion-dollar deal on hold to stay by my side all night. And when thunderstorms frighten me, he even moves his international business meetings into our bedroom. After three years of being treated like the most precious person in his world, I finally let myself believe he truly loves me. Then Winona Monroe, his fiancée who's been missing for years, suddenly returns safe and sound. Only then do I discover that the Prescott family has already arranged another marriage for him. Hayden only keeps a woman with a ruined reputation like me around to ward off the wealthy socialites throwing themselves at him. Having me by his side also convinces everyone that he's moved on and has given up searching for Winona. Now that the woman he's been waiting for is finally back, I'm nothing more than a disposable stand-in. Hayden places a new passport in my hand, his voice as gentle as ever. "Winona's too kind. If she finds out that coming back means taking your place, she'd never agree to marry me. The only way she'll marry me without feeling guilty is if you're dead. "The yacht explosion is just for show. A boat will be waiting to pick you up in international waters. Once you take on a new identity, you'll have a house overseas and more than enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life." I beg Hayden Prescott to give me one more day so I can go home and say goodbye to my parents. My older brother, Jack Lawson, comes to pick me up himself. He remembers that I got carsick, and he has even left a box of lemon candies in the car for me. When we get home, Mom and Dad pull me into their arms and burst into tears. They tell me how sorry they were and say that not a single day has gone by in the past three years when they haven't missed me. For a moment, I believe there are still people who want me in their lives. But a little while later, I discover that Dad is picking out a burial plot for me, and Mom has already chosen the portrait for my memorial service. Meanwhile, Jack sits at his desk, revising his eulogy over and over. They all try to reassure me. "It's just a staged death. Mr. Prescott has already taken care of everything. You'll have a new name, and you can still live a perfectly good life overseas." I look around at the funeral arrangements scattered throughout the room and suddenly realize they all have a point. Hayden wants to marry Winona Monroe, the fiancée he has finally gotten back after years apart. Jack wants to erase the stain on his reputation from selling me off three years ago. Dad wants to save Lawson Group. And Mom wants me, the daughter who has brought such shame upon the family, to disappear for good. All I have to do is die, and everyone else can walk away with their reputation intact. But not a single one of them has bothered to ask if that's what I want. Once the yacht reaches international waters, I take off my tracking device. In the distance, the boat Hayden arranged to pick me up waits with its lights on. The crew keeps waving at me, urging me to hurry up and jump into the water. Instead, I turn away and walk back into the cabin of the yacht that is about to explode. Alone. My family started it all by drugging me and delivering me straight into Hayden's bed. Now, Hayden has sent me aboard a yacht that is destined to sink. If no one wants me around while I'm alive, then this time, I'll give them exactly what they want. I'll repay them with my life.