On the third day after my dream man proposed to me, he told me I was actually the long-lost biological daughter of the Miller family.

“Emmy, I will marry you, and I’ll make sure you are recognized as part of the family.”

I believed the deep affection in his eyes.

But I never expected that once my biological parents found me, I became nothing more than a substitute for the fake daughter, Chloe Miller.

Everything she didn’t like, I was forced to do.

Even the marriage she didn’t want—I was made to take her place.

They knew perfectly well that the man I was to marry was violent, yet my biological parents didn’t even blink.

While preparing wedding gifts for Chloe, they coldly said:

“Since you are our daughter, you must fulfill your duty. This is a marriage alliance. You don’t have the right to pick and choose.”

I went to plead with my fiancé, Daniel Reed: “Didn’t you say you would marry me?”

But he was too busy cracking walnuts for Chloe, not even lifting his head.

“Emily Carter, if you don’t marry into the Brooks family, then Chloe will have to. I’d rather it be you.”

“But don’t worry—when Ryan Brooks no longer wants you, I’ll marry you then.”

Watching the two of them bask in their affection, I finally understood I had been deceived.

On the third day after marrying into the Brooks family, I was beaten until I was crippled—five shattered bones, even my chest cavity torn open.

And on that same day, the man who had promised to marry me, Daniel, was engaged to Chloe.

“When it comes to children, you don’t have to worry. You won’t have to suffer. Emily can be made to carry the baby through IVF.”

“You are my little princess. I could never let you endure any pain.”

But what they didn’t know was that I could never bear children again.

The dead and the ghosts—they cannot give birth.

…

After I died, my soul did not disperse. The grim reaper said my resentment was too heavy, my ties unresolved, and I could not be reborn.

So I drifted back to the Miller family mansion.

I watched with my own eyes as the wedding that should have been mine became Chloe’s.

They were busy helping her pick out wedding items—everything from the dress to the house, even the carpets on the floor and the wedding favors for the guests, all imported from abroad.

Suddenly, I heard them complain inside:

“That Emily Carter, who knows where she’s disappeared to!”

“Chloe’s wedding is coming, and in such a busy time she doesn’t even show up. And after Chloe’s been so good to her!”

Even when they mentioned me, my biological parents looked only with disgust, as if I were some kind of curse.

Hearing this, Daniel’s expression froze.

“True, Emily’s been missing for half a month now. Ryan said he already sent her back.”

Chloe, who was trying on her wedding gown, avoided his gaze.

“Chloe, has she come to see you?”

At his question, Chloe’s eyes turned red and she began to wipe away tears.

“Daniel, you know Emily hates me. She only married into the Brooks family because of me. She would rather strangle me than ever come looking for me.”

“Or… are you asking me this because you think I hid her away somewhere?”

Seeing her cry, Daniel’s heart immediately softened. He stepped forward to comfort her.

“Don’t overthink it. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Chloe cried in his arms like a frightened little rabbit.

Mrs. Miller smiled kindly.

“You’re about to be a bride, why still act like such a child?”

Chloe threw herself into her mother’s arms coquettishly.

“I’ll always be your daughter.”

Floating nearby, I watched the scene with endless bitterness.

Even though Chloe shared no blood with them, because she had grown up in their home, they treated her like their true daughter.

They gave Chloe all their tenderness and love.

And neither my biological parents nor Daniel Reed knew that I was already dead.

Thinking of this, I clenched my fists tightly, the pain and suffocation in my chest threatening to tear me apart.

Half a year ago, when I thought I was being welcomed back by my real parents, I believed what awaited me would be love and atonement.

But instead, I became Chloe Miller’s living substitute—bearing her burdens, suffering in her place, and in the end, not even leaving behind ashes of my own, as she personally scattered them to the wind.

Even then, she refused to let me go.

Wearing the wedding dress that should have been mine, she married my fiancé.

She even went out of her way to gloat in front of my photograph.

“Emily Carter, what makes you think you could ever beat me?”

“Mom and Dad are mine, Daniel is mine. Even in death, you’ll only ever be Ryan Brooks’s woman. You’ll sleep underground forever.”

Throughout the ceremony, Daniel’s eyes scanned the guests, but he never found me. His brows furrowed in frustration.

Hidden in a quiet corner, he called me again and again.

“Emily, answer the phone.”

No one picked up. He quickly typed out a text instead:

“Tell me, where are you?”

“Don’t tell me you’re still at Ryan’s place. I’ve sent people to check several times—he swears he sent you back already.”

“But you never returned to the Miller family. Where did you go? Today’s my wedding day—why aren’t you here? Are you… still mad at me?”

But there was never a reply.

Daniel frowned, distracted, but still forced himself to smile while drinking with Chloe and their guests.

When the wedding ended, everyone offered them their blessings.

Yet that night, Chloe sat alone in the bridal suite, staring at her stomach, tears silently rolling down her face.

“Daniel, I don’t want to have a baby. I’m scared that after giving birth, my body will never be the same.”

“And I heard childbirth can cause cancer, or amniotic embolism. I’m terrified…”

Daniel pulled her into his arms with pity.

“Don’t be afraid, sweetheart.”

His voice was full of indulgence. “Now that Emily has fulfilled the marriage alliance, Ryan must be bored of her. It’s time to bring her back and let her carry the child for us through IVF.”

When he said this, there wasn’t even the slightest hesitation in his eyes.

But my heart turned utterly cold.

I raised my hand to touch my chest, only for it to pass straight through—I was already dead, and long without a heart.

Daniel did begin searching for me.

He spent a fortune hiring private investigators, sent out bodyguards, combed through surveillance footage…

But all of it was in vain.

“How strange. Emily’s a living person—how could she just vanish into thin air?”

Chloe, casually doing her nails, spoke lazily:

“Daniel, maybe she secretly ran back to the countryside. She always complained that the Miller family was cold and heartless, that it wasn’t her home.”

Her words struck him.

The next afternoon, he led a group of men back to the countryside cottage where I used to live.

His steps creaked against the cobblestone path leading to the little house.

“Emily!”

Daniel frowned, calling my name. But the next moment, his eyes fell on the overgrown weeds around the cottage, his gaze flickering with something complicated.

The bodyguards exchanged uneasy looks.

“Mr. Reed, it doesn’t look like anyone’s lived here in a long time.”

“Would Miss Emily really be here?”

Daniel Reed frowned, silent.

Even he wasn’t sure if such a desolate, broken place could still house anyone.

But he had already searched everywhere else.

If she wasn’t here, then he truly didn’t know where Emily could be.

“Emily Carter, I don’t care if you’re still sulking or not—come out now, or I’ll really get angry.”

Daniel’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried a commanding force that made me shiver involuntarily.

When we were together, I had always feared his anger.

Every time he used such words to threaten me, I would instantly become obedient and compliant.

I never thought that even in death, those same words could still affect me.

But I could no longer appear before him in the form of the living.

And still, I despised myself. After all the harm he had done me, why did I still remember him?

From the very beginning, Daniel had approached me with a plan.

He deliberately drew near, stirred my heart, confessed to me—

all just to bring me back to the Miller family.

“My name’s Emily Carter. When my mom was pregnant, she loved peaches, so she named me Emmy.”

That was how I had introduced myself the first time we met, carefree and defenseless.

A few months later, he told me I was the long-lost daughter of the Miller family.

At the time, I didn’t think much of it. From the very start, I never wanted to be their true daughter.

I was happy just being Emily—living in my little countryside cottage, planting flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

But Daniel looked at me with feigned difficulty and said:

“I’ve always wanted to marry you, Emmy, but my parents don’t accept who you are.”

“Only if you become the Miller family’s eldest daughter will they welcome you.”

For the sake of marrying him, I swallowed my pride.

I never imagined I was walking straight into his trap.

Until one night, when I got up by chance and overheard him talking with Chloe Miller in the next room.

Her eyes red, Chloe clung to his waist.

“Daniel, you used yourself as bait to lure her… don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her?”

Daniel hugged her back, a doting smile on his lips.

“She’s just some country girl. How could I possibly like her?”

“She’s not even worth a finger of yours. If not for needing a stand-in for this marriage alliance, I wouldn’t have spared her a glance.”

“Just endure a few more days. Once Emily marries Ryan Brooks in your place, we’ll get married.”

So when Daniel came looking for me now, it wasn’t because he regretted or wanted to apologize.

He only wanted to drag me back to continue serving as Chloe’s substitute—to bear children for her.

They searched every corner of the cottage. Inside, it was empty, even the paint peeling off the walls.

Clearly, no one had lived here for a long time.

After waiting so long without finding me, Daniel’s patience began to run thin.

“Get out here, now!”

“Even if you were healing from injuries, it’s been long enough. How much longer do you plan to hide?”

He had long heard of Ryan Brooks’s violent temper—how his three previous wives had all divorced under his abuse.

Daniel assumed I had returned here just to recover from the beatings.

I drifted bitterly behind him.

My ashes had already been mixed with dirt and buried beneath the cobblestone path.

Every step they took trampled on my remains.

But Daniel remained oblivious.

He kept his head down, still sending me messages.

“Emily, I’ll give you five minutes. Come out immediately.”