He was willing to sacrifice our marriage, to pretend to love me, all just to issue a letter of forgiveness for her.

He even had a son with her.

During dinner, my mother suddenly teared up, her gaze lingering on the dishes before her. She wiped at her eyes, her expression heavy with sorrow.

Elijah immediately put down his spoon and fork, his face filled with concern as he asked what was wrong.

My father let out a long sigh, gently patting her back.

"She must be thinking about Scarlett’s favorite dishes and starting to miss her."

"That child, she made a mistake, but we raised her for over ten years. She didn’t deserve to die."

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

She didn’t deserve to die?

Then what about me?

Did I deserve to be sacrificed for her? Was I just supposed to accept it?

"Darling, it’s been five years already," Elijah said softly. "Scarlett was only twenty back then. She might have acted impulsively and made a mistake."

"I grew up with her. Her personality was a little extreme. She thought you were trying to take everything from her."

"Five days from now is her death anniversary. I know you don’t want to go, so I’ll go with Mom and Dad to visit her grave, okay?"

Elijah’s gaze wavered as if afraid I would suddenly lose my temper.

"Hmm. You should go. After all, she lived in this house longer than I have. It’s only natural that you still have feelings for her."

Elijah let out a quiet sigh of relief, his voice turning even gentler.

"I knew you were kind-hearted. You’ve never been the type to hold a grudge against your late sister."

My mother dabbed at her eyes, sniffling softly.

"My dear daughter, a child of our own blood will always be the most understanding…"

I lowered my head, my tears slipping silently into my bowl.

So, they did know I was their real daughter.

A sharp pain twisted in my stomach. The moment I felt it tighten, I pushed back my chair and murmured that I wasn’t feeling well before retreating to my room.

A while later, Elijah came in, carrying my stomach medicine. His eyes were full of concern, his voice unbearably soft.

Seeing that I had no intention of speaking, he said nothing. Instead, he silently fetched warm water and, with practiced care, wiped my face himself.

For ten years after I was brought home, I was the only one he saw.

Even when Scarlett confessed her feelings for him, she had been met with nothing but his cold rejection.

Now, I finally understood.

He never loved me. He only wanted the title of the future heir of the Harrison Group.

His love and his marriage had always been two separate things.

Late at night, after Elijah drifted into sleep, I reached for the phone on his bedside table.

The password was my birthday.

His pinned contact was me, followed by my parents.

I scrolled through his messages, but there was nothing unusual until I switched accounts.

That was when I found an alternate account.

Only one name appeared in his chat list. Scarlett.

[Elijah, it’s been five years. How much longer do I have to keep hiding?]

[She has no proof I hit her and she’s a cripple now. She’s no threat at all.]

[Our son keeps crying for his daddy. Can you really bear this?]

Elijah’s response was full of reassurance.

[My parents and I are already discussing a plan. Just be patient.]

So, they had already brought Scarlett back. Changed her name. Built an entire life for her.

Just a few days ago.

They even registered a real estate company in her name.

In five days, the grand opening would take place.

My hands trembled as I opened Elijah’s social media feed.

I scrolled. My heart turned ice-cold.

For five years, Scarlett had been living in luxury abroad, funded by my family.

She dressed in designer brands under the Harrison Group. The villa she lived in? One of the company’s overseas properties.

And Elijah? He had been by her side all along, using “business trips” as an excuse to fly over.

Even my own parents were in the photos, smiling as if they belonged there.

At that moment, I understood.

They were the real family.

Swallowing back the stinging tears, I took screenshots of the evidence and switched back to his main account.

I finally noticed Elijah had changed his status message.

It had always been the same, a single word. [Wait.]

When I once asked him what it meant, he smiled and said he was waiting for my legs to heal.

But now, it had changed. [Home.]

And at last, I understood.

Wait had never been for me. He had been waiting for Scarlett. Home meant she was finally back.

I placed his phone back on the nightstand and stepped onto the balcony, my fingers tightening around my own.

"Hello, I’d like to book a plane ticket. Departure in five days."

Five days, just enough to bury five years of lies.

That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

The next day, during lunch, my phone lit up.

Elijah’s gaze flicked to it from the corner of his eye. His expression darkened.

"Wife, why are you applying to cancel your bank card?"

I shut off the screen, my voice calm. "My card is expiring. I scheduled a renewal."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then his phone rang.

"Wife, something came up at work. I have to handle it. I won’t be able to have lunch with you."

I nodded, watching as my parents followed him out the door.

And just like that, I was left alone in this house.

Just as I was about to step out, a friend request popped up on my phone.

[Azalea, you heard everything at the hospital yesterday, didn’t you?]

It was Scarlett.

[Your husband and I have a son.]

[Even your biological parents, when they heard from the doctor that your injuries had left you unable to bear children, immediately chose me instead. They told Elijah to be with me, to have a child with me.]

[We’re the real couple. You? You’re nothing but a joke.]

[They even helped me start a company. The grand opening is in five days. I guess they didn’t bother telling you that either, right?]

[I regret not running you over sooner. Then all of this would’ve been mine from the start.]

…

Each word sliced through me like a blade, cutting deep, leaving nothing but raw, open wounds.

So, this was why my parents had cast me aside.

This was why Elijah had stayed by her side so willingly.

Fingers trembling, I took screenshots of the messages and turned to the nightstand, retrieving my marriage certificate.

Buried inside, I found something else: his letter of forgiveness.

Clutching the documents, I headed straight to a lawyer.

But after scanning through them, he frowned.

The lawyer had explained that chat records couldn’t be used as solid evidence and that a letter of forgiveness from family members held legal weight.

When I asked him to draft the divorce agreement, he frowned and revealed that the marriage certificate was fake.

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me, leaving my heart plummeting into a bottomless abyss.

So Scarlett hadn’t lied. I truly had been nothing but a fool, a puppet in their cruel game.

But just as despair threatened to consume me, the lawyer’s eyes flickered with something new.

The lawyer's eyes lit up as he stated that, given the circumstances, Elijah's letter of forgiveness no longer held legal weight—it was an act of fraud and concealment.

A surge of hope rushed through me, breaking past the suffocating grief. Clutching onto that sliver of light, I begged him to help me file a lawsuit.

Leaving the law firm, I hailed a taxi and made my way to another hospital; my fingers clenched tightly around the fabric of my dress.

This time, I needed the truth.

When the doctor told me there was still hope for my leg, I broke down in tears of joy.

A sob tore from my throat as my vision blurred with tears.

He told me that the car accident had caused my fallopian tubes to become blocked, making it impossible for me to conceive. However, surgery could restore my fertility.

As for my leg, the fracture hadn’t worsened in the past five years and with surgery, I could regain my ability to walk soon.

I choked on my breath, struggling to process his words.

He smiled reassuringly. "It’s clear that someone has been taking good care of you. If your legs had been truly neglected for five years, there would’ve been no hope of recovery."

A bitter chill seeped into my bones, spreading through my heart like ice.

He didn’t know.

He had no idea that the very people he spoke of, my so-called family, were the ones who never wanted me to stand again.

No.

They were no longer my family.

As I stepped out of the hospital, my phone vibrated in my hand. Another message from Scarlett.

It was a photo.

In the picture, she cradled her son in Elijah’s arms, their faces glowing with contentment. My parents sat beside them, mirroring their joy.

The five of them smiled as if they belonged together.

Behind them, on the grand villa’s pristine wall, my father’s personally inscribed calligraphy read:

[A harmonious family brings prosperity.]

The cruel irony twisted deep inside me, cutting sharper than any blade.

The five large characters burned into my vision, searing through my eyes and making them sting. Their family, because it had never been mine, had never included me.

I drifted home in a daze, collapsing onto the bed and staring blankly at the ceiling. Time lost meaning, slipping away unnoticed until a familiar voice outside the door jolted me back to reality.

They had returned.

The bedroom door creaked open and Elijah stepped inside. Without hesitation, he walked to my bedside and bent down, wrapping his arms around me.

"Wife, I’m sorry. Work has kept me busy these past few days. I haven’t had time to accompany you."

"The day after tomorrow is your birthday," he continued. "I spoke with my parents and we’ve decided to throw you a grand celebration."

Silence.

I didn’t respond. Didn’t even look at him.

He pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, tucked the blanket around me like I was something fragile and then turned and left.

And then, like a wave crashing through my mind, I remembered.

Five years ago. My birthday.

That was the day my parents had publicly announced my engagement to Elijah. The day Scarlett had lost control, blinded by rage and run me over, crippling me.

And in the five years since I had been brought back to this house, I had remained an outsider. No matter how much I tried, I could never act spoiled like Scarlett did in front of my parents.

At my own birthday banquet, I had always been a shadow, forgotten in the background, while Scarlett stood at the center, surrounded by guests I didn’t even know.

She had once sneered, “Only I deserve this banquet. You, an orphan from a shelter, don’t deserve anything.”

She had always basked in the thrill of stealing my spotlight. Tonight would be no different, would it?

I knew her too well.

So when she appeared at my birthday banquet, draped in a server’s uniform with a mask obscuring her face, I felt nothing. Not a flicker of surprise. Not even a ripple of emotion.

And yet, the moment my family recognized her, their reactions were anything but calm.

“What are you doing here? Are you out of your mind?” my father hissed, his voice sharp with panic. “If she finds out, all our efforts over the years will be wasted!”

But my mother, ever the doting protector, rushed to defend her.

“She hasn’t been back in so many years. She just misses home,” she pleaded softly. “Why must you be so harsh?”

“She’s dressed like this anyway. Azalea won’t recognize her.”

Elijah, of course, was moved by her act, as he always had been.

And then, in that familiar, saccharine tone, Scarlett murmured, “Honey, today is my birthday too. I want to cut the cake later.”

Elijah barely hesitated. “Alright,” he said smoothly. “Since Azalea is in a wheelchair and it’s inconvenient for her, you can do it.”

And just like that, right before my eyes, Scarlett stole what was meant to be mine.

She stepped forward, lifted the knife and cut into my exclusive birthday cake, a towering masterpiece over a meter tall.

She took it a step further, her malice on full display as she sliced my chocolate figurine clean in half.

Then, without warning, a loud bang could be heard.

She shoved the cake stand toward me with force. Gasps rippled through the crowd as every pair of eyes snapped in our direction.

The metal support inside the stand nearly struck my face.

Elijah rushed over, his expression tight with concern. “Wife, are you okay?”

Then, with perfect timing, he turned and snapped at Scarlett.

“Clumsy! You can’t even cut a cake properly. Get lost!”

I lowered my gaze, masking the sarcasm flickering in my eyes.

How laughable.

He had seen it. He had watched her do it on purpose, yet his reaction was impeccably staged.

The ideal son-in-law my parents had chosen was clever, calculating and always knowing what to say.

At his outburst, my parents exhaled in relief, waving someone over to clean up the mess.

The grand banquet hall buzzed with life once more and Elijah seamlessly slipped back into his role as the perfect host, entertaining the guests.

The air felt suffocating.

I needed to leave.

Just as I moved to wheel myself away, a pair of hands suddenly gripped the handles of my wheelchair.

Scarlett pushed me toward the garden, her grip firm on the handles of my wheelchair.

“Sister, long time no see,” she purred, smugness lacing every syllable.

“Did you notice? When they sang the birthday song earlier, every single pair of eyes was on me.”

“So many years have passed and yet they still love me more than you.”

“You should’ve just stayed an orphan,” she sneered. “Why did you come back, trying to compete with me? Look at you now, crippled, stuck with a husband who was never yours to begin with. If I were you, I wouldn’t have the dignity to live another day.”

I tilted my head up, my gaze steady as I met hers.

“The only one who should be ashamed is you.” My voice was calm, but every word hit like a blade.

“The man you wanted was set to be engaged to me, so you resorted to the lowest tactics to steal him, nearly landing yourself in prison in the process. And now?” I let my lips curl into a faint smile. “You’re nothing but a ghost. Forced to live in hiding, change your name and never dare to show your real face. Even now, just to stand in front of me, you have to disguise yourself like this.”

“Tell me, Scarlett, who’s really the pathetic one here?”