Yet she had no appreciation for our father's intentions. She'd pulled a bait-and-switch, shoving her own disgraceful marriage arrangement onto me.

If I'd gone along with it, by tonight the entire circle would know that the Pruitt family's legitimate daughter had married a cripple. The whole Pruitt name would become a laughingstock among high society.

In my previous life, that was exactly how she'd kept me crushed beneath her heel.

But with my parents backing me, I'd made a scene at the wedding. The Sanchez family still needed the Pruitts' support, so they'd forcibly dragged Rachel out of the bridal chamber. I got my wish—I became Mrs. Sanchez, and Rufus treated me like a treasure.

Back then, I had no idea that this man who seemed to pour his heart out for me had long since gotten Rachel pregnant in secret. The two of them had been working together from the inside, biding their time to destroy the Pruitt family once and for all.

A servant's startled cry yanked me from my thoughts. "Ma'am! Miss Rachel isn't in her room. Her wedding dress and veil are still here, but the dowry—it's all gone."

"And there's more. I found something in her room..."

My father picked it up and froze. Explicit photographs—Rachel and Rufus, together.

The color drained from his face, replaced by a mottled fury.

He hurled the photos straight at Celia's face.

"This is the fine daughter you raised! She's dragged the entire Pruitt name through the mud!"

The butler wrung his hands. "Sir, the James family's people are waiting outside. What should we do?"

My father's jaw was set like granite. His fist slammed against the table.

"Contact the Sanchez family immediately. Find that wretched girl and drag her back—quietly—then send her to the James estate. No illegitimate daughter is going to dictate a Pruitt family marriage!"

I tugged at my father's sleeve, pinched my thigh hard beneath my dress, and let the tears cascade down my cheeks.

"Dad, let it go. Rachel and Mr. Sanchez are clearly in love—they've already been to bed together. She even schemed to humiliate our family at the wedding. I won't marry a man like that. Let Rachel have him."

I dabbed at the corners of my eyes.

"The James family has been a long-standing partner of ours. In business, nothing matters more than keeping your word. I don't want you to break a promise on my account." I steadied my voice. "I'm willing to marry into the James family."

My father stared at me, stunned—then deeply moved.

"Fay, you're the legitimate daughter of the Pruitt family. In our entire circle, the Sanchez family was barely worthy of you. Marrying into the James family would be settling, and besides, Curt is still..."

He swallowed the rest. His eyes were full of heartache.

I smiled and finished the thought for him. "Dad, the James family was only ten spots behind the Sanchez family on last year's Forbes ranking. And think about it—the Sanchez family has had decades of head start. Curt may have a disability, but he's perfectly capable of having children, and he's a business genius. With me by his side and the Pruitt family's backing, who knows how far the James family could go?"

The contrast couldn't have been sharper: on one side, an illegitimate daughter who stole her sister's wedding for a taste of wealth. On the other, a legitimate heiress who kept her composure in crisis and volunteered to honor her family's commitment.

Night and day. The verdict was obvious.

The people in the room looked at me with newfound respect—and deeper sympathy for what I'd endured. Their contempt for Rachel's behavior was written across every face.

My mother's heart shattered. She pulled me into her arms and held on tight.

My father ground his teeth. "Even so, no one in the Sanchez family gets to humiliate a daughter of Charles Pruitt and walk away unscathed. Fay, you're right not to marry Rufus. But this insult—I will make them answer for it, no matter what it takes."

By the time we arrived at the Sanchez estate, the newlyweds had already been ushered into the bridal chamber, but the banquet was still in full swing—laughter, clinking glasses, the hum of celebration.

Then every head turned as we stormed through the doors.

The room went dead silent.

"Isn't that Fay Pruitt? She's supposed to be today's bride—what is she doing here?"

"Wait—the bride was sent to the bridal chamber half an hour ago. If that wasn't her... then who's in there?"

My mother let out a cold laugh.

"My apologies for the spectacle, everyone. The woman you just saw is indeed a daughter of the Pruitt family—an illegitimate one, who stooped low enough to steal her own sister's wedding."

The banquet hall erupted. Gasps rippled through the crowd, every head turning.

Rufus burst in from outside, his face dark as a thundercloud, cutting in sharply.

"Fay, enough. How can you blame Rachel for this? You two have similar builds, and the veils were identical. If anything, blame yourself for oversleeping and missing the auspicious hour. I simply brought the wrong bride."

"I'd been drinking. I mistook Rachel for you, and we've already consummated the marriage. As a man, I have to take responsibility for her."

"You're here making a scene because you want to switch back, aren't you? I know you're devoted to me—that you can't live without me. So here's what I propose: I'll register my marriage with Rachel, but I'll only choose my heir from the children you bear me. You won't have the title, but the entire Sanchez estate will belong to our children. That way, the partnership between our families stays intact."

When absurdity reaches its peak, all you can do is laugh.

He wanted to marry the illegitimate daughter while I watched—

And then have me play mistress, with my children branded as bastards?

The Sanchez family was barely clinging to relevance. Without the arranged engagement from the older generation—without the Pruitts propping them up—they'd have been swept out of elite circles years ago.

And yet this man had the gall to dream of having two women serve one husband, all while leeching off the Pruitt family's resources?

My father laughed—the kind of laugh that came from fury pushed past its limit.

"The Sanchez family certainly has nerve. A few comfortable years and you've already forgotten what it felt like to teeter on the edge of bankruptcy? Well, if that's the case, I don't mind refreshing your memory."

Rebecca Sanchez finally grasped what was happening and rushed forward. "In-law, what on earth is going on?"

My mother pulled a thick stack of photographs from her bag and slapped them onto the table.

"What do you think, Mrs. Sanchez? If your precious son wanted the illegitimate daughter so badly, why put on this whole charade just to humiliate mine? A shameless girl like that—the Pruitt family wants nothing to do with her. My husband will terminate all joint ventures the moment we get home. Consider the ties between the Sanchez and Pruitt families severed."

Without Pruitt capital, the Sanchez empire was nothing but a hollow shell drowning in debt.

Rebecca clutched her chest, her face draining of color in an instant. She rounded on Rufus, voice shaking.

"Tell me—what have you done?"

Before Rufus could answer, Rachel came running out in a crimson silk robe.

She dropped to her knees in front of me with a dramatic thud, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms.

"Sister, this is all my fault. I couldn't control my feelings—I made a terrible mistake. But Rufus and I are already married. If you keep making a scene, you'll only drag the Pruitt name through the mud. Even if you don't care about me, don't you care about our family's reputation?"

She repackaged her own depravity as uncontrollable passion. She reframed my demand for justice as reckless disregard for the family name.

Truly shameless beyond measure.

I let out a cold laugh. "So let me get this straight. You drugged me, stole my wedding, climbed into my marriage bed—and when I simply ask about it, I'm the one disgracing the Pruitt name?"

I raised my voice deliberately, laying every sordid detail bare for the room to hear.

"If you really liked Mr. Sanchez, why didn't you say so sooner? It's not as if he was the only man in the world to me. But no—you had to wait until the wedding day to pull this vile stunt. So tell me, who exactly ground the Pruitt family's reputation into the dirt? Or is it that you never cared about this family at all—you just wanted to take what was mine?"

Rachel's face went white. Her eyes darted, unable to hold my gaze. "I—I didn't—I just genuinely liked Mr. Sanchez."

Every guest at this banquet was a seasoned player. Her petty scheming was transparent as glass.

"Stooping to the lowest tricks, then hiding behind 'true feelings.' An illegitimate daughter—does she really think she's worthy?"

"If that were my daughter, I'd drag her home and beat her senseless. A woman who'd steal her own sister's husband—give her time, and she'll destroy the whole family."

Others aimed straight at Rufus.

"Mr. Sanchez is really something, isn't he? He's already consummated with that shameless illegitimate daughter, yet he still has the audacity to force his legitimate fiancée into being the other woman. It's obvious he just can't bear to lose the resources behind her family. Wanting it all—treating the Pruitt heiress and her family like fools. Honestly, the things I could say would dirty my own mouth."

Rebecca was shaking with humiliation, her face drained of all color. She stormed forward and slapped Rufus hard across the face.

"You ungrateful wretch! Get on your knees this instant and apologize to your in-laws. And promise them you'll register your marriage with Fay immediately!"

She took several steps toward me, reaching for my hand. I sidestepped her smoothly.

Her expression stiffened for a fraction of a second before a fawning smile replaced it.

"Fay, dear, you've been terribly wronged. Whatever you want, Rufus will agree to it. I promise you, something like this will never happen again."

Rufus pressed a hand to his reddening cheek. His eyes cut toward me, venomous and full of loathing—as if I were the one who'd ruined his plans.

It never once crossed his mind that the biggest victim today was me.

"Mother, Rachel is the only woman I'll ever love. I won't marry anyone else. Fay Pruitt is nothing but an arrogant bully riding her family's coattails. If I marry her, the entire Sanchez family will be dragged down. The only woman who deserves to be Mrs. Sanchez is Rachel."

He lifted his chin, nostrils flaring. "If Fay knows what's good for her, I'll give her a child out of respect for Mr. Pruitt. But the child will be raised by Rachel, at my side. And if she doesn't know what's good for her?" A cruel smile twisted his lips. "She can wait to be spat on and scorned by everyone in this city. A woman rejected by the Sanchez family—who would touch her?"

I watched this man—this man I'd poured my heart into for years—with cold, detached eyes.

After the elder Mr. Sanchez passed, mediocre Rufus had taken over the family business. In barely six months, he'd alienated their investors and torpedoed their flagship project. Worse, his so-called friends had talked him into acquiring a string of garbage ventures.

Within days, the Sanchez empire imploded.

Debts totaling billions. Investors fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. Even liquidating every asset the Sanchez family had accumulated over generations wouldn't have been enough to fill the hole.

Vultures circled. Some humiliated him for sport—offering him a few thousand dollars to crawl between their legs.

It was me who'd taken pity on him, for the sake of what we'd shared. I supported him. Encouraged him. I even persuaded my father to prop him up.

Back then, Rufus had knelt before my father, weeping, swearing on his life that if he ever betrayed me, he deserved to be struck down by lightning and die a wretched death.

Two short years. That's all it took for him to regain his footing in the business world—and forget every word of that oath.

Now he had the gall to tell me that being his mistress was a privilege.

Every guest in the room stared at Rufus like he'd lost his mind. Not a single person could fathom where a man who'd only survived because of his fiancée found the nerve to provoke her.

The truth was plain: the Sanchez empire, as it stood today, essentially belonged to the Pruitts.

But Rufus was oblivious. My silence only confirmed what he wanted to believe—that I was too heartbroken, too desperate to let him go.

He pulled Rachel closer by the waist, his smugness swelling.

"Fay, kneel down and bow to Rachel. Serve her tea as the lady of the house. Do that, and I'll agree to keep you by my side."

His voice dripped with condescension. "If you serve her well, I might even consider letting you move into the Sanchez estate. I could arrange for you to see the child now and then."

I stared at that self-satisfied face.

And I smiled.

A fool this blind to reality? Rachel could have him. He'd be doing me a favor—absorbing the disaster so I didn't have to.

Beside me, my father couldn't hold back any longer. His fury peaked and broke through as a sharp, incredulous laugh.

"Well. The Sanchez family has certainly found its legs again, talking with that kind of arrogance. It seems the Pruitts simply aren't worthy anymore." His voice turned to steel. "You can keep your Mrs. Sanchez. My daughter doesn't want it."

He leveled a finger at Rachel. "As for you—the Pruitt family does not have a daughter who would steal her own sister's wedding and throw away her family's dignity without a shred of shame. The moment I get home, I'm opening the ancestral hall. Your name will be struck from the registry. You'll sign a severance agreement. From that day forward, whether you live or die has nothing to do with the Pruitt family."