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?”

Scarlett’s expression twisted at my words, her pride taking a direct hit. Without warning, she raised her foot and kicked my wheelchair hard.

“What’s a cripple like you so smug about? Dad and Mom erased all the evidence for me. No matter how arrogant you act, you can’t touch me!”

Seething, she pushed me forward again, her grip tightening. A slow, eerie smile curled on her lips as we neared the pool's edge.

“Let me show you who they truly care about.”

Before I could react, she shoved my wheelchair forward. The world tilted and the next instant, ice-cold water swallowed me whole.

The sharp chill surged into my lungs, stinging my skin. My limbs flailed uselessly as the weight of my chair dragged me down.

“Wife!”

“Daughter!”

The frantic shouts of Elijah and my parents cut through the chaos. Water splashed violently as Elijah swam toward me. I reached out, my fingers desperate to grasp onto something, someone.

But just as I thought he was coming for me, he bypassed me without hesitation. His hands found Scarlett instead, pulling her into his arms.

On the edge of the pool, my parents leaned forward, their hands outstretched, not for me, but for her.

A bitter smile curved on my lips as my hand fell away, my body sinking deeper into the abyss.

As darkness threatened to pull me under, Elijah’s hands yanked me back to the surface.

Coughing and gasping for air, I lay on the ground, water pooling beneath me. Beside me, frantic voices filled the night.

“Scarlett, wake up! Wake up!” My parents’ anxious cries rang out thick with desperation.

A soft gasp broke through the commotion. Scarlett’s lashes fluttered and with a feeble voice, she murmured, “She… she suddenly sped up her wheelchair. I tried to save her, but… I got pulled in with her…”

Whispers rippled through the crowd like an uneasy tide.

“I heard her foster sister shattered her legs on her birthday five years ago… Could the memories have been too much? Did she try to end it all?”

Elijah’s gaze flickered, a fleeting trace of guilt flashing across his face.

My father’s expression twisted with something that almost looked like regret. My mother, sobbing, threw herself at me, clutching my drenched sleeves.

“Daughter, why would you do something so foolish? We’ll take care of you for the rest of our lives!”

I looked at them, my lips curling into a cold, humorless smile.

Not long ago, all their worry had been for Scarlett. But now, under the scrutiny of the guests, they put on this grand performance, one dripping with feigned concern.

Bitter resentment coiled in my chest.

Truly, what a spectacle.

How laughable.

Before leaving, Scarlett cast me a triumphant glance, her smirk brimming with satisfaction.

My birthday banquet had turned into a complete disaster. In the end, my oh-so-loving family escorted me straight to the hospital.

When the doctor declared I was fine, a sigh of relief filled the room.

Moments later, my phone buzzed. Another message from Scarlett.

[Did you see? He saved me first.]

[Even your parents called out for me as their daughter. If you still don’t get it, you’re truly pathetic.]

[Their love for me runs deeper than it ever did for you. After all, I was the one who lived with them the longest.]

[So tell me, who’s the real fool here?]

I didn’t reply. Instead, I took my time saving every single message, taking screenshots one by one.

That night, my family dropped me home, only to rush straight to Scarlett’s villa to care for her.

Alone in the study, I printed out the chat logs, preserving every last word. Then, I transferred the recorded hospital conversation onto a USB drive.

A final parting gift.

By morning, not a single one of them had returned.

Elijah had sent a message saying that he and his parents were going out to purchase mourning items and had asked the butler to look after me.

I stared at the screen, my fingers tightening around the phone.

So that was how much I mattered.

I let out a cold laugh and summoned the butler, instructing him to pack up and discard everything Elijah had given me over the years.

With that, I turned and made my way to the study.

My fingers traced the edges of the framed calligraphy my father had once written for me before I yanked it down. Without hesitation, I hurled it into the fire pit.

Two words. That was all he had given me. [Health.]

For Scarlett, he had carefully penned: [A harmonious family brings prosperity.]

Yet for me, his only wish had been health, something he had stolen from me the moment he shattered my legs, ensuring I would never walk again.

The irony burned deeper than the flames before me.

Overcome with rage; I grabbed the scarf and leg warmers my mother had knitted for me and tossed them into the fire, followed by every family photo we had taken over the past decade.

One by one, memories turned to ashes.

Since I was leaving, I wouldn’t leave behind a single trace of my existence in this house.

As I watched the fire consume everything, I made my final decision.

I stepped out into the night and made my way to the lawyer’s office, handing over the printed documents.

I entrusted him with the evidence, instructing him to file a lawsuit against Scarlett the next day.

Even if I couldn’t have her sentence, I wanted the world to know that she was still alive and that my family had been protecting her all along.

Then, I logged into my social media accounts, uploaded the pictures and audio and carefully edited them before scheduling their release to a selected group.

Only then did I reply to Scarlett’s message.

[Do you think I can make them abandon you and come back?]

She took the bait instantly.

[You think too highly of yourself. They’d never return today. Just wait and see.]

A cold smirk played on my lips as my phone rang right on cue.

My parents’ voices spilled through the receiver, full of feigned warmth. “We still have a lot to prepare. We need to place an urgent order overnight, so don’t wait for us.”

Exactly as I had expected.

After hanging up, I sent the final piece of evidence to the doctor they had hired—tying up the last loose end.

Then, clutching my plane ticket, I turned my back on the house I had lived in for the past ten years and disappeared into the night.

The next morning, at the grand ribbon-cutting ceremony for Scarlett’s company.

A call from the doctor shattered my father’s composure.

"Chairman Harrison, this is bad! Azalea discovered the truth about the accident five years ago… She heard everything we said in the hospital that day!"