All Chapters of I Won't Be Her Dupe Any Longer: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

"Hello, can you hear me?"Neely was so tired. All she wanted was to sleep."Ma'am, hang in there. I'm a doctor. We're almost at the hospital."The car's autonomous-driving system had called 911 the second the crash happened. The medical team had now arrived on the scene and was treating her on the spot, putting an oxygen mask over her face, starting CPR, and injecting epinephrine.She could feel them fighting for her life, but she couldn't even move a finger or blink to respond."Doctor, the patient is pregnant. Looks about five months along, roughly 23 weeks. The fetus is in critical condition—the heart rate is barely detectable. The patient's own heart rate and blood oxygen levels are both dangerously low, too.""Get the epinephrine and cardiac stimulants ready to inject, and contact her family immediately."The paramedic took her hand, used her fingerprint to unlock the phone, then frantically started searching through her contacts."No parents, no siblings, no boyfriend… No

Elliot said nothing.At the mention of love, the first thing that flashed through his mind was a face that looked almost exactly like Angela's.Neely.If this child who had suddenly popped out of nowhere wanted a father, then the baby he'd watched grow inside Neely day by day needed a father even more.He called Neely again. Only this time, the call wouldn't go through at all. He left an irritated voicemail as anxiety gnawed at him. "Rule number three for being a stand-in—never ignore my calls. Have you forgotten? Do you think you can get away with anything now that you're pregnant?"Suddenly, he remembered that she had left him a message. He'd been packing up stuff with Angela at the time, so he couldn't listen to it.He played the message.A weak, breathless voice, filled with raw terror and desperation, immediately came through the speaker."I got into a car accident. I might… I might lose the baby."His phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor of the car with a shar

Alexander had asked Neely to turn herself into the lover he had lost when he was younger, hold a wedding ceremony with him, and fulfill the dream that had consumed him for half his life.In exchange, she would get 50 percent of his assets.The first time she met Alexander was at a charity auction. She had only just met Elliot back then. Everyone who knew her called her a cheap knockoff of Angela and mocked her for being unsophisticated and having no worldly experience.Whenever she drank her wine or took a bite of food, they would say she lacked class and was an embarrassment.Elliot would just shoot them a cold look. "You can insult her, but leave Angela out of it."That only made her even more of a target.Back then, it was Alexander who stepped in and helped her. "It's a charity auction. Show some basic decency."After that, no one dared insult her again.Alexander told Neely that the way she carried herself made her look remarkably like the woman in his memories—especially

Elliot jumped out of the car in a panic and grabbed Neely's door handle."Neely, get out! I can see you!" he yelled.His phone had been ringing this whole time with calls from home, from Michael, and even from Angela. But he had declined every single one of them. At that time, all he cared about was Neely.The phone rang again. This time, he answered.Angela's tearful voice came through."Eli, come to the hospital, quick. Susie tried to kill herself. She cut her wrists! We called you so many times! Why didn't you answer? Do you know she's in the OR? The doctors said she's lost so much blood that she might not make it! You have to get here! Quickly!"Elliot froze. "How is that possible? Susie was perfectly fine when I left!""It's all because you were going to marry Neely! Susie found out and used a fruit knife to cut her wrists!"Neely heard every word through the car window. She rolled the window down."Aren't you going to run along to save your precious daughter? She's your