By the time I arrived at the villa, Victor was already waiting at the door.

He carefully shielded me as we stepped inside, handed me clean clothes and offered me a cup of ginger tea at just the right temperature.

My parents even hurriedly called over a doctor to give me a full check-up.

Not until the doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong did the three of them finally relax.

At that moment, Victor noticed the bag I had been carrying.

Inside were imported children's toys, available only at a single specialty store in the entire city.

The same mall where Victor had just been on a date with Lena.

His expression tensed immediately. "Anna, did you just go to the mall? Did you happen to see..."

I cut him off. "I didn’t go inside. I had the staff bring it down for me."

Only then did Victor let out a sigh of relief.

Noticing the way I was staring at him, my mother quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Victor was just worried you’d run into those gossiping fools again."

Victor nodded repeatedly. "Anna, I know you love our daughter, but to me, you are the most important. If you were hurt even the slightest bit, it would break my heart."

I forced a smile, but the sarcasm in my eyes was impossible to hide.

They spoke of loving me, yet the ones who had hurt me the most were these very three people.

They stayed by my bedside, watching over me until late at night, only leaving once I had fallen asleep.

Perhaps because I had always been so obedient, they felt at ease discussing things right outside my door.

My father sighed. “Victor, you’ve been suffering. You and Lena have loved each other since childhood, yet you were forced to marry Anna.”

Victor's voice was firm and unwavering. “From the day we decided to bring Anna back to save Lena’s child, I had already resigned myself to a lifetime of loneliness. I only feel relieved that I was ruthless enough to marry Anna back then, otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to save Lena’s child.”

Behind the door, tears streamed down my face.

So from the moment they brought me back, everything had been a carefully orchestrated lie.

No wonder I had attended a school under the Reeves Group my entire life, yet they only "found" me five years ago.

No wonder Victor, who had been engaged to the Reeves Family, remained unmarried until the age of thirty. It turned out he had been waiting for me to return.

They were willing to spend five years setting up this scheme, all for Lena.

I picked up my phone and dialed a long-forgotten number.

"0527, requesting to rejoin."

***

Unable to sleep through the night, I simply got up.

At five o’clock, Victor had already gone downstairs.

Ever since our marriage, he had woken up at this exact time every morning to make me breakfast.

I never understood that even this kind of devotion could be nothing more than an act.

As I stepped downstairs, the others looked a little surprised.

Victor’s expression tensed with unease. “Anna, go back to sleep for a while. Breakfast isn’t ready yet.”

Yet the dining table was already filled with food.

Just then, a noise came from the garden, drawing my attention.

My mother quickly handed me a sandwich.

“Anna, eat up. Victor got up at five in the morning to make this for you.”

I glanced at the sandwich. It was stuffed with thick slices of salmon.

I didn’t take it. “I’m allergic to seafood.”

The one who loved salmon was Lena.

When I was first brought back home, every meal was filled with salmon dishes.

They forced me to eat it and I ended up going into severe anaphylactic shock, causing me to pass out.

Yet even after five years, my mother still hadn’t remembered.

And now, the breakfast spread laid out on the table. Every single dish was Lena’s favorite.

An unthinkable thought surged into my mind.

Was Lena just here?

Had all those so-called punishments never even lasted a single day?

At that moment, Victor hurriedly stood up.

“Anna, what do you want to eat? I’ll make something else.”

Five years of living together, five years of him saying he loved me, yet he didn’t even remember what I liked to eat.

I let out a self-mocking laugh. “As long as it’s not Lena’s favorite, it’ll be fine.”

The room instantly fell into a suffocating silence.

My usually stern father’s eyes turned red as he said, “Anna, can’t you forgive us yet? We never wanted what happened back then either. We punished Lena for you. We even put down the dog that had been with her since childhood. Besides… these dishes are what your mother and I like. Lena just grew up with us and happened to develop the same tastes.”

Of course. They were the real family and I was the outsider who never quite fit in. But did that give them the right to scheme against me and my daughter without a second thought?

As the tense silence stretched on, Bella suddenly ran downstairs.

The moment she saw me, her little lips trembled, then she burst into loud sobs.

“Where’s my mom? I want Mommy!”

The unfamiliarity and rejection in her eyes stabbed into my heart like a thousand needles.

Victor hurried to comfort her, but she only cried harder, her wails heartbreaking.

My parents rushed over as well, their faces filled with deep concern. It was a kind of worry I had never seen from them before my daughter was hurt.

And just then, the front door creaked open.

Bella’s eyes lit up.

She ran straight toward the person outside.

“Mommy!”

Lena scooped my daughter into her arms, holding her tightly as if she were her own. She shot me a vicious glare. “How could you take care of her like this?”

The last sliver of hope in my heart shattered completely.

So it was true.

She was no longer my daughter.

All those unbelievable words they had spoken were real.

The nanny, sensing something was wrong, stepped forward to take the child.

“Miss Lena, she is crying too hard. Let me hold her.”

But Lena dodged her grasp, her gaze full of open provocation as she stared at me.

“She’s crying because there’s someone who shouldn’t be here.”

I looked at the two of them, clinging to each other so naturally and so intimately.

A pain so sharp that it stole my breath tore through my chest.

‘How dare she! That is my daughter!’

I couldn’t control myself. I stepped forward, reaching out to take my daughter back.

But the moment I touched her, she burst into wailing cries.

Victor immediately rushed over and yanked me away. “What are you doing?”

Thrown off balance, I stumbled back, knocking over the dining table. Food and drinks spilled all over me, drenching me in a mess of breakfast dishes.

I looked up, only to see Victor standing protectively in front of Lena, his eyes full of wariness toward me.

My parents also stepped between us, as if terrified that I would lay a hand on Lena.

My heart turned completely cold.

That wasn’t my daughter. That wasn’t my husband. And they certainly weren’t my parents.

I refused the maid’s attempt to help me up. I rose to my feet slowly and numbly.

“Enjoy your meal. I won’t bother you any longer.”

Victor finally seemed to snap out of his daze and rushed forward to grab my arm.

"Anna, it’s not what you think. I only brought Lena back because I saw how down Mom and Dad were feeling. You have to understand their emotions. After all, Lena was their daughter for over twenty years. She’s already been punished. It’s time to move on."

My father also stepped in to persuade me. "That’s right. It was the dog’s fault, not entirely Lena’s. She’s back now, just let her stay."

My mother, eyes red with tears, pleaded with me. "Yes, Anna. Please, don’t torment your mother anymore. Let Lena come home."

I stared at them, tears streaming down my face, my heart breaking into pieces.

"Alright," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Let her come back."

Because this was always her home, the one who should leave… was me.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Victor walked over and pulled me into his arms. "Anna, I knew you’d be the most understanding. Didn’t you always want to meet my friends? Our wedding anniversary is coming up in a few days. Let’s throw a grand banquet to celebrate."

I knew what this really was. A welcome party for Lena.

But it didn’t matter to me anymore.

I forced a smile, looking at the expectant faces before me and added, "Let’s make it a welcome banquet for Lena too. That way, it’ll be even livelier."

Perhaps worried that my presence at home would upset Lena, Victor wasted no time. That very afternoon, he dragged me out of the house.

"Just rest well and leave the banquet preparations to them."

"Don’t worry, Lena won’t outshine you. I’ll make sure this is the most unforgettable wedding anniversary for you."

In the past, Victor always told me not to compete with Lena, assuring me that since I was their biological daughter, the family would never mistreat me.

But in reality, time and time again, they favored Lena.