The Story of How I Met Him

I was 14 the year I met Spencer.

Back then, I was still the second daughter in the Bippy Family.

I had been abducted and brought to the Bippy Family by human traffickers, only because I looked so much like Yunice. Edward and Melinda Bippy had lost their biological daughter, so they took me in as a replacement.

The first time Spencer saw me, he only frowned, saying, "She looks like Yunice, but she doesn't have Yunice's charm."

He didn't like me. To him, I was a stranger, a stand-in. Yet, I was captivated by him, and the stirrings of first love took hold of my heart.

Later, the Bippy Family found their biological daughter and cast me out.

Left to fend for myself at a young age, I spent almost a year begging on the streets that I was so thin I looked like a child under ten. Finally, one day, I met my mother.

She wiped the grime off my face as she looked at me with pity written across her face. "Poor girl, you must be starving."

The bread she handed me was the best thing I had ever tasted.

From then on, I lived with her in a cramped rental room and ate instant noodles soaked in cold water. Though she barely had a penny to her name, she worked herself to the bone to make sure I could go to school.

It turned out that Yunice, Spencer, and I ended up in the same class. They were adored by all—high above the rest, while I was seen as dirt. I was shunned and isolated by everyone.

Spencer, however, would sometimes toss me the milk he didn't like to drink, saying, "Look at how scrawny you are. Drink up and put some weight on."

And so, I kept my love for him alive for many more years.

Later, Yunice fell in love. She was willing to give up everything she had for the man, but it led to a tragic end.

That summer, she brought her brief, dazzling life to a close by the sea, leaving behind only a jade bracelet for Spencer.

After her death, she became everyone's perfect memory.

For the next six months, Spencer drifted between drunkenness and sobriety, unable to escape his grief.

I ran into him one night while working at an internet café. In his drunken haze, he mistook me for Yunice.

After a fleeting night of passion, I woke to find him bare-chested by the window, smoking a cigarette. I shifted slightly, and he turned, gazing at me with a distant look, as if seeing another person through me.

"You really do look like her," he said softly. "Will you marry me?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my cheeks flush with heat. Nervously, I met his eyes, ignoring the part where he called me a "stand-in."

All I knew was that this man, who had filled every corner of my youth and whom I had loved for so long, was proposing to me.

Like a commoner finally graced by the gods, I became Yunice's shadow completely.

The jade bracelet she left behind became a leash that was worn on my wrist.

To perfect the illusion, Spencer put me through countless plastic surgeries until I became her exact likeness.

I thought my face was enough to keep him next to me forever, but then she came back one day, and my dream shattered.

…

The cause of my death was complicated.

During surgery, I had severe bleeding and a vascular embolism, which led to facial nerve necrosis.

I ended up just like Spencer's discarded dog, a broken body shrouded in a white cloth. My miserable life was brought to a swift and unceremonious end just like that.

Maria lay on top of me, crying until she lost consciousness multiple times.

The greatest regret of my life was disappointing her. She wasn't even my biological mother, yet she treated me as her own.

I had promised to give her a better life, but my foolish heart left her with nothing but shattered hopes.

She handled my burial affairs in silence.

My body, which was so ravaged and deformed that it no longer resembled a human form, was ultimately buried and reduced to dust.

Finally, Spencer remembered me. Amid the thick smoke of candles, he called Maria.

His tone held an irritated edge. "Why isn't Bethany answering her phone? Tell her to bring the jade bracelet over tonight. It's precious to Yunice. After all these years, she has already gotten more than enough wear from it," he added.

Maria put the phone on speaker and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "Mr. Legrine, have you forgotten? Last year, Bethany told you that the bracelet is stuck on her arm because she has grown. It caused her great discomfort, but she couldn't take it off. To remove it would mean breaking it."

"Impossible." Spencer's tone turned cold. "The jade bracelet must not be damaged. If she can't remove it, cut the flesh. That should create a little space!"

The wind stirred Maria's graying hair. She stared at the phone screen, a bitter laugh breaking from her throat.

"Fine. I'll take it off and bring it to you tonight."

"Oh, and bring the documents," he added. "We'll finalize the divorce paperwork tomorrow."

They Humiliated My Mother

When Maria arrived at the villa, Yunice was throwing a party.

The villa I had carefully designed and decorated was now covered in chaotic splashes of paint. The outer wall of my room had the word "Wretch" smeared across it in red paint.

As soon as Maria stepped inside, a bucket of filthy water was dumped over her head.

Pinching her nose in mock disgust, Yunice sneered from a distance, "Well, look who's here! Isn't this the mother of that wretch? With the same filthy blood running through her veins, she's bound to be just as vile!"

Laughter filled the room. Maria fell to her knees in humiliation, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Yunice.

"Bethany only has her 'beauty' because she underwent plastic surgeries to look like me. If she actually looked like you, it would be laughable. She'd be a total disgrace."

"A wretch will always be a wretch. All she knows how to do is imitate me, seduce my man, and steal my family."

Yunice's face was full of smugness, her expression dripping with contempt.

Maria trembled with rage, her bloodshot eyes locked on Yunice. She almost lunged at Yunice, hands ready to grab her throat.

However, Spencer appeared.

He carefully wiped a speck of paint off Yunice's hand. "You need to be more careful."

"Seeing her mother just makes my blood boil," Yunice muttered. "Where's my stuff? I want that woman to kneel and hand it back to me."

Spencer looked behind Maria.

Not seeing me, he frowned. "Where's Bethany? Didn't you hear what Yunice said? Call her and tell her to come over here right now."

His tone was commanding and arrogant. He glanced at Maria as if she were a servant.

Maria stared at him before a bleak smile crept onto her face. "Bethany is dead."

…

Silence filled the room.

Even Spencer frowned, his gaze hardening. "What do you mean, dead?"

He took a step forward, crouching down with a flicker of hesitation in his expression.

For a moment, I thought maybe he cared, and that he would at least feel sorry after finding out I was dead.

However, as my spirit lingered near him, Yunice's mocking laughter broke the silence. "Dead? Dead! Hahaha…"

She covered her mouth, laughing wildly. "What a joke! You think she'd actually kill herself? She finally snagged the title of Mrs. Legrine and got to enjoy a lifetime of glory and wealth. No way she'd give that up! I bet she's just making this up to avoid a divorce."

"Exactly. She wouldn't be dead." Yunice's younger brother, Jeremy Bippy, added, "Just this morning, we got a birthday gift from her for our dad, which was a golden figurine."

His face twisted in disdain. "She might look like my sister, but she thinks she's part of our family now? Even her gifts reek of poverty. My dad thought it was bad luck and threw it right in the trash immediately."

I trembled and froze in place.

During those years living with the Bippy Family, I had addressed Yunice's parents as "Mom" and "Dad" because I genuinely treated them as my own.

However, they had never truly accepted me. After Yunice died, Melinda came looking for me, longing for someone who reminded her of her lost daughter. I rebuilt my connection with them, but when Yunice "returned" from the dead, their warmth turned to indifference.

Yet every year, I sent birthday gifts to them in the name of repaying them for those few years they took care of me. I never thought those gifts would become a burden to them.

Maria looked down, gripping the jade bracelet so tightly her knuckles turned white. She repeated in a hoarse voice, "She really is dead. Believe what you want."

Spencer stood up, letting out a contemptuous snort. His cold gaze showed a hint of impatience. "She'll do anything to avoid divorce, huh? She really has no dignity at all, does she?"

He rubbed his temples, sarcasm filling his gaze. "If I agreed not to divorce her on the condition that she had to kneel and bark like a dog, she'd probably do it, right?"

"Spencer—" Maria looked up in disbelief. "How can you say that?"

Yunice's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Why don't we play a little game?"

She kicked Maria square in the chest, sending her tumbling back. "You're always talking about how much you love that tart, aren't you? I'll let her continue being my substitute and won't need her to divorce Spencer, but you'll have to kneel and bark like a dog for her. How about it?"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, their faces twisted in cruel anticipation. They huddled around and waited eagerly to hear Maria give in.

Maria clenched her hands so tightly that blood began to drip, staining the ground red.

"What are you waiting for? Bark!" Spencer ground his heel into her hand and crushed it with force.

At last, she raised her head, looking at this crowd of monsters.

The woman who had always sought peace and never raised a hand in anger suddenly broke Yunice's jade bracelet.

Taking one of the jagged pieces, she slashed it across Yunice's face.

A scream tore from Yunice's lips.

Maria, like a wild beast, pushed to her limit and lunged at her again, aiming the shard at her eyes.

"I'll kill you!" she screamed, her bloodshot eyes blazing with fury.

Farewell, My Dearest Mother

Yunice's face was covered in blood.

Maria was held down firmly by Spencer and Jeremy. She didn't cry out in pain. Instead, a bitter laugh escaped her lips.

"If it weren't for you, Bethany would still be alive. You're the real wretch!"

Yunice was disfigured. Her rage grew even more at Maria's words. She slapped Maria ten times, hard enough to leave her struggling to speak and spewing blood. Even her teeth fell out, along with the blood.

Covering her own face, Yunice looked at Maria with a dark, twisted smile. "You were given a chance, but you threw it away. Now, you're putting on quite a show of courage."

Spencer was furious as well. Even though Yunice only suffered a small cut, he tended to her as though it were a grave wound, applying alcohol to disinfect the wound over and over again.

It seemed he had completely forgotten the countless cuts and scars that once lined my face, all because he wanted me to look like the only woman he ever loved.

He held her hand and promised that he would seek justice for her.

Then he ordered all my belongings to be brought out. They were gathered into heaps like piles of trash before Maria. The collection formed a small mound, with a few sweaters at the top. It was a mix of adult and children's sweaters.

Some of these sweaters were from the time I carried Spencer's first child, though it wasn't the only one. After the miscarriage, he lit a cigarette, exhaling slowly as he muttered, "What's gone is gone. Even if the child had been born, it wouldn't have looked much like her anyway."

I shivered, terror gripping me. I knew I shouldn't think this way, but I was terrified our child might end up as another stand-in. What if the child was forced to endure the same fate as me and have multiple plastic surgeries just to resemble his beloved first love?

It was at that moment that the thought of leaving him first crossed my mind. However, Maria was ill at that time and needed expensive treatment, so in the end, I abandoned the idea.

Among the pile was a sweater that belonged to Maria.

I haven't finished knitting it yet, but alas, I wouldn't have the chance to finish knitting it anymore.

When I was working on it, Maria held onto the yarn, her pale face lighting up with a warm smile.

"Bethany, when I die, bury me in this sweater," she said.

But now, she would never have the chance to wear it.

Summoning a strength I didn't know she had, Maria lunged forward, screaming as she tried to grab the half-knitted sweater back from the pile.

A malicious grin spread across Yunice's face. "Is this really so important to you?" she sneered. "Then, let's burn it."

Flames surged instantly, leaping high.

Maria looked at Spencer with pleading eyes, her voice raw with desperation. "This is the last thing Bethany left for me. Please… don't…"

Spencer remained unmoved, replying coldly, "Didn't you say she was dead? A dead person's belongings are meant to be burned, after all. It's fitting to give her something to wear when she's in hell."

In moments, everything that belonged to me was turned to ashes, as though I had never existed. There was not a single trace of my short and tragic life.

Maria's anguished screams filled the air. She struggled wildly, some blood seeping through her clothes. She threw herself at the fire and tried to extinguish the flames with her hands, only to see her flesh burn. She gasped for breath, looking like a trapped animal that was helplessly struggling.

"No! Please don't! That's the last memory I have of Bethany…"

Eventually, she collapsed, lying amidst the ashes, her eyes closed.

…

I reached out, trying to touch Maria, but my transparent hands passed through her again and again. I repeatedly begged Spencer to help her.

He couldn't hear me. Instead, he sat nearby and clicked his tongue impatiently.

Yunice sneered. "Like mother, like daughter. Both of you have a knack for playing dead."

No, that wasn't it! My mother wasn't pretending!

She had cancer. Her days were already numbered, and now she was suffering because of me, her unworthy daughter. Guilt and regret flooded me, and I began to regret meeting Spencer when I was 14.

If I could turn back time, I would kill him the day that I met him.

Spencer kicked Maria's limp body. "Hey, wake up! You haven't even barked like a dog yet!"

Laughter echoed around us, but Spencer quickly realized that something was amiss and paused. "Wait… Did she actually pass out?"

With the exception of Yunice, who snorted dismissively, everyone exchanged uncomfortable looks. "She's just faking it again."

Spencer's brow creased slightly. The moment he rose to his feet, he ordered, "Call 911 and get her to a hospital."

He turned around and dialed the plastic surgery hospital's number. "Bethany is still hospitalized, correct? Inform her that her mother has fainted. Tell her to get to the hospital immediately and take care of her mother. She shouldn't expect us to play the role of a dutiful family."

On the other end of the line, the nurse hesitated before replying carefully, "Mr. Legrine, haven't you heard? Miss Frodo passed away two days ago. During surgery, she had severe bleeding and a vascular embolism, which led to facial nerve necrosis. We did everything we could, but we couldn't save her.

"She's already been taken by her mother. I believe she's been cremated."

Spencer was rooted to the spot, and a momentary daze flickered in his eyes.