The Man Who Took His Place
In the tenth year after I had married in his place, my brother, Thayer Ashford, suddenly returned.
The whole family fell silent as they looked at him.
He yawned as he spoke with careless ease, “I traveled through thirteen countries. I’m exhausted.
“Where’s Seraphina? She should be in primary school by now, right? Why hasn’t she come to see me?”
Seraphina was Thayer’s daughter.
Back then, Thayer had abruptly announced he had a child.
Yet on the very day of his wedding, he staged his own death, leaving behind Seraphina and his fiancée, Isolde Fairchild.
The Fairchilds belonged to the old-money elite of the city.
My parents did not dare offend them, so they decided to package me—fresh out of graduation—and send me to the wedding in Thayer’s place.
Over these ten years, I became a competent husband and a responsible father.
As my parents watched Thayer’s brazen composure, their gazes shifted toward me.
I gave them a faint smile.
“Sera went to Novaforge with Isolde.”