Liora's POV

In less than a year, Alistair couldn’t wait any longer and wanted to get engaged.

The moment my parents heard the news, they completely lost it.

They never expected their useless, insignificant younger daughter to win the affection of someone like Alistair, the infamous, obsessive, and unpredictable CEO.

They rushed over from their house that same night and insisted we meet somewhere discreet in public.

I didn’t want to go, but over the phone, they threatened me. “If Alistair finds out you’re a fraud, what do you think he’ll do to you?”

That one sentence hit the deepest fear in my heart.

Over this past year, my feelings for him had already changed, from calculation and survival to something real. I’d seen his vulnerabilities, the soft side he hid from everyone else. In his eyes, I wasn’t just someone he kept; I was his only light.

The thought of him learning the truth, the thought of him breaking because of me, I couldn’t bear it.

So, I went.

In the private room, my mother folded her arms and immediately started yelling. “So, now that you’ve climbed higher, you think you can forget where you came from? If we hadn’t brought you back and given you a chance, you’d still be some nobody struggling to survive! Now that you’ve secured your position, you want to cut ties with us? Over our dead bodies!”

I swallowed my anger and replied coldly, “Don’t forget that you agreed to my terms when I left. Our relationship is over. My last name isn't Fairborne anymore.”

My mother sneered. “Oh, really? But you’re pretending to be your sister right now, aren’t you? And while you’re using her identity, you’re telling me you can’t do anything for your family? Or do you want that Hawthorne boy to find out his beloved fiancée is a fake and is just using him for benefits?”

I clenched my jaw. “You've already gotten plenty from me, haven’t you? Your company rose from bankruptcy because of Hawthorne Corporation’s support. Alistair even erased the debt you owed. What more do you want?”

Looking cunning, my father slid a contract across the table and said, “He spoils you so much. Getting his signature shouldn’t be hard, right? As long as you help us secure this seventy-million-dollar project, we promise you could be Mrs. Hawthorne forever. Your sister will stay abroad and never bother you again.”

I glanced at the contract and laughed. “Fairborne Corporation gets 90% of the profit, while Hawthorne Corporation takes all the risk. How generous of you. I’m not going to help you scam him. Don’t come to me again, or deal with the consequences. Before you think about exposing me, think about yourselves. If Alistair finds out you tricked him, too, do you think he’ll let you all survive a second time?”

After that, I stood up and left, slamming the door behind me and shutting out their angry voices.

That night, Alistair held me in his arms and asked softly, “I thought you cut ties with them. Why did you still go?”

“They heard about the engagement, so they just wanted to see me,” I simply answered.

He didn’t press further. Even though selling their daughter for profit was inhuman, he was still grateful for them doing that, as we ended up being together because of that.

But then, he offered, “Baby, if you don’t like them, I can make them disappear. Forever.”

I shook my head. “No need. At the end of the day, they’re still my parents.”

The comments sighed.

[She’s still too soft-hearted. Her family definitely won’t stop.]

Well, as long as I didn't give them the chance, they couldn't do anything.

The next three months were peaceful. I was completely absorbed in the excitement of preparing for the engagement, ignoring every call from my parents. Even so, they didn’t dare step into the Hawthorne estate, so things quieted down.

Until the day before the engagement.

Alistair was supposed to come with me to try on my dress, but something urgent came up at the company and he had to leave.

He was about to send someone to drive me home when we ran right into my parents.

“Mr. Hawthorne,” they said with a smile, “let us take our daughter to try on her dress. We wouldn’t want to delay tomorrow’s engagement, would we?”

Liora's POV

I wanted to refuse, but Alistair nodded before I could speak.

“Alright then. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done. Take good care of her,” he said to my parents.

The moment he left, my parents grabbed me and forced me into their car.

To my horror, I saw someone sitting inside, a face I hadn’t expected to see again.

My sister.

The sister who was supposed to be abroad, hiding from the public eye.

She stared at me with pure hatred as she fumed, “Liora, you’ve been living my life and enjoying everything that belongs to me for a whole year. It’s time you gave it back.”

My heart pounded with anger and fear. I tried to get out of the car, but my parents held me down tightly.

Then my sister pinched my jaw open and forced a glass of water down my throat.

My vision blurred, and my body went weak.

At that moment, the livestream comments were exploding.

[I knew it! They definitely had another plan!]

[Sis, don’t fall asleep! Stay awake!]

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Alistair.

My mother quickly covered my mouth and signaled for my sister to answer.

“Don’t panic. Stick to the plan,” she whispered.

My sister cleared her throat and answered the call.

On the other end, Alistair’s low, gentle voice came through the speaker. “Baby, are you at the boutique yet? I can’t wait to see you in the dress.”

“Almost there, Alistair,” my sister replied sweetly. “Once I try it on, I’ll send you a photo, okay?”

[No way, her voice sounds exactly like the real one! It’s over!]

Just as she was about to hang up, I forced myself to stay conscious and bit down hard on my mother’s hand.

“Ah!” she screamed.

I tried to yell, “Alistair, help me!” but my voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.

“Who was that?” Alistair’s tone sharpened with suspicion.

My sister didn’t miss a beat. “Nothing. My mom just shut the car door on her hand, that’s all.”

“I see.”

As such, the call ended, and despair washed over me.

Almost being caught, my mother slapped me across the face. “You little ungrateful brat! And you think we’d let you marry him? You’d forget we even exist!”

My head was spinning when I heard my sister laugh softly. “Relax, Mom. The only one marrying Alistair is me.”

My stomach dropped, but my body finally gave out, and everything went dark.

When I woke up, I was lying on the cold floor of their villa, tied up from head to toe.

My sister was standing proudly in front of the mirror, wearing a diamond-studded custom gown, while my parents praised her as if she were the queen of the world.

As they talked, the truth became painfully clear.

When my sister heard abroad that Alistair wanted to get engaged to me, she regretted everything. So, she teamed up with our parents, snuck back to the country, and planned to replace me.

All this time, while they pretended to stay quiet, they were preparing for this moment when they could take everything from me and give it back to her.

Noticing I was awake, my sister crouched down and patted my cheek mockingly. “Little sister, you’ve stolen my life long enough. Time to give it back.”

My throat was dry and raw, but I managed, “You’re the ones who forced me to do this in the first place…”

Instantly, her hand struck me.

“You’ve been living as me, enjoying everything that’s mine, and you dare act like a victim?” she snapped, ripping the necklace and bracelets from my body with jealousy burning in her eyes.

“These were supposed to be mine! Give them back! I’m the one who should be Mrs. Hawthorne. The one getting engaged to him tomorrow is me!”

My parents stood nearby, voices cold and sharp. “That’s right. Give up your place quietly, and we’ll still take care of you. But that face of yours, yeah, that needs to be dealt with. We can’t let you threaten your sister’s position.”

Liora's POV

I let out a weak, humorless laugh. “Do you really think I got this far just because of my face and her identity? It took me everything, carefully pleasing Alistair, handling his paranoia, feeding his emotions, to protect your wealth and status. Do you really think Daphne could’ve done the same?”

My parents hesitated for a moment, but my words completely enraged my sister.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and slashed the knife at my face. “If you’re not relying on that pretty face, then you don’t need it, right? I’ll ruin it and let’s see what you have left to fight me with!”

The sharp pain cut through me again and again, and I couldn’t hold back the screams. Blood soaked through my clothes. Even my parents looked a little shaken.

“That’s enough, isn’t it? Her face is ruined now. She won’t be a threat to you anymore,” my father muttered.

Still, my sister looked like she wanted to continue, but at that moment, Alistair called again.

She quickly shoved a rag into my mouth to shut me up, then answered the phone.

When she heard he was on his way to pick me up, the whole family panicked. They forced more drugged water down my throat and dragged me into the storage room to keep me unconscious.

But the pain burning across my face kept me barely awake. Outside the door, I heard Alistair’s voice.

“Why did you already put the dress on?”

My sister laughed sweetly. “Because I wanted you to see it in person! Alistair, I’m starving. Will you take me home for dinner?”

She pulled him toward the door, but he paused suddenly, sniffing the air. “Smells like blood.”

My mother raised her bandaged hand and forced a chuckle. “I shut the car door on my hand earlier. It bled a little.”

He hesitated for a second, thinking of our phone call earlier, then nodded and kept walking.

The comments were in chaos.

[Come on, girl! You have to let Alistair know you’re in there!]

I forced my blurry vision to focus and saw a box full of tools beside me. With all the strength I had left, I slammed my head against it, and the box crashed to the floor with a loud clang.

Hearing that, Alistair stopped again and looked toward the storage room. “Is someone in there?”

My dad quickly stepped up. “Yeah, just a maid tidying up. She’s clumsy. We already told her to be quieter!”

My sister tugged at his arm to lead him away again.

I curled up on the floor, despair slowly swallowing my consciousness.

Then I heard Alistair stop again and ask coldly, “Where’s the bell I gave you?”

The comments exploded again.

[Oh my god! The anklet! The bell he had handmade for her! Ring it now!]

With every bit of strength I had left, I kicked my ankles together.

Third Person's POV

The bell gave a soft, quiet chime from inside the storage room.

At that, Alistair’s expression went cold instantly.