On the eve of my best friend and childhood sweetheart’s wedding, I stumbled upon chat records between her and my mother, Hannah, which shattered my world.

“Harriet, I deliberately took the wrong child back then just for today. Seeing that you are about to marry into a wealthy family, I am very relieved.”

“Mom, I will be filial to you in the future. All these years, I can live such a rich life, all thanks to you.”

“If you hadn’t ruined Kelly, I wouldn’t have been able to marry into a wealthy family.”

Only then did I realize the truth behind the years of suffering I had endured—why domestic violence was a regular occurrence in my life.

Harriet had been living the life meant for me, enjoying the privileges of being a rich girl, while I faced the harsh realities of her place. My own mother had orchestrated this switch, ensuring Harriet would live a life of luxury while I struggled in silence.

My mother didn’t stop there. She relentlessly pressured me to break up with Franklin, my childhood sweetheart, giving Harriet the perfect opportunity to step in and get pregnant with his child.

I smiled bitterly at the irony. On the night of Harriet’s wedding, I decided to give everyone a gift they’d never forget.

——

“Harriet, do you like it? Godmother will put it on for you—it must look beautiful!”

Every year, on Harriet’s birthday, Hannah would carefully prepare extravagant gifts for her. Today was no different. She draped a necklace that looked exceptionally valuable around Harriet's slender neck, beaming with pride.

“Godmother, it’s so beautiful! I love it,” Harriet replied with a radiant smile, her eyes twinkling with satisfaction.

Her gaze, as always, held that unmistakable pride—like she had already won the lottery of life.

“Godmother, isn’t this necklace too expensive? You shouldn’t have!” Harriet feigned modesty.

Hannah brushed it off with a laugh. “It’s not expensive, as long as you like it.”

The necklace, costing 37,000 dollars, wasn’t extravagant by Harriet’s standards, but for Hannah, it meant a year of scrimping and saving on her meager salary. She saved a year without eating or drinking with a monthly salary of more than 3,000 dollars.

This moment dragged me back to my high school graduation. I had been accepted to both Edinburgh and Manchester universities, but when my acceptance letters arrived, Hannah’s reaction stunned me.

She flew into a rage, tearing my letters to shreds and hitting me viciously. “What’s the point of studying so hard? Do you think we can afford college? You’ll go to the factory tomorrow to support the family!”

At the time, Harriet had only managed to get into an ordinary second-tier university. But at her graduation banquet, Hannah handed me a red envelope containing 50,000 dollars—an amount more than enough to cover four years of college expenses.

She praised Harriet lavishly in front of everyone.

“Harriet is so remarkable, getting into such a good university. Not like this useless girl in my family, who couldn’t even get into a third-rate school! even a rubbish university is unwilling to accept her!"

By then, my heart had grown numb to Hannah’s blatant favoritism. But I still didn’t understand the reason behind her cruelty why she treated me like this when I was her daughter! —not until last night, when I read those chat records. I finally understood what I had been through all these years!

Hannah clasped Harriet’s hand affectionately, her expression filled with relief and pride. “You’re getting married soon and I couldn’t be happier for you.”

Then her tone shifted, dripping with disdain as she glanced in my direction. “Unlike that useless girl in my house, always dreaming above her station. Even when she was in school, she tried to steal Franklin from you. Can you imagine? She should have looked in the mirror to see if she was worthy!”

The memory of our shared childhood flashed before me. Harriet, Franklin and I had grown up together. Back then, our classmates teased us, calling us “the love triangle” of childhood sweethearts. Saying that we two childhood sweethearts were fighting for a childhood sweetheart. We all wanted to see who would marry Franklin in the future.

In those days, things were simpler. None of us cared about wealth or social status. Franklin and I had been close, spending most of our time together. In our second year of high school, he even confessed his feelings for me in front of Harriet which made Harriet very angry.

But a few days after Franklin’s confession, our relationship became known to the class teacher.

In order to preserve the Morris Family’s reputation, the school humiliated me, accusing me of having poor character in front of all the teachers and students. They then forced me to transfer from the city's prestigious high school to the worst one in the area.

On the day of my transfer, Franklin swore he’d wait for me, promising we’d be together after graduation.

Determined to make myself worthy of him, I worked even harder at the new school, aiming to get into the best university. I hoped to prove that my worth wasn’t tied to circumstances beyond my control.

But after graduation, he shattered my dreams. He appeared before me, holding Harriet’s hand, his face radiant with happiness.

“You liar!” he sneered. “How dare you say you got into Edinburgh or Manchester University? You can’t even get into an ordinary school and you still want to be with me? Shameless!”

His voice grew colder, cutting deeper with every word.

“Besides, with your family, how could you be worthy of me? If I marry you, where will the Morris Family’s face be?”

I cried, trying to explain. I told him the truth—that I had indeed been admitted but my admission letters were destroyed. But Franklin didn’t believe me. His eyes were filled with nothing but disgust.

That day, he walked away with Harriet, leaving me broken.

For four years, I didn’t see either of them.

I left for England under the guise of finding work. Secretly, I enrolled in university, financing my education through part-time jobs. I didn’t tell Hannah, knowing she’d never approve. By the time I graduated, I had built a new life for myself, landing a good job in finance.

One evening, I returned home to visit my biological parents. Harriet’s parents—my real parents—were surprised to see me.

“Kelly is back. We haven’t seen you for years,” they said, warmth in their voices.

Looking at them, I felt a rush of conflicting emotions. These were my real parents, yet they had been kept in the dark for so long, never knowing the truth about their daughters. I managed a bitter smile, unsure how to reconcile my feelings.

But Harriet, as usual, came over, wearing her smug expression.

“Kelly,” she said sweetly, though her tone dripped with condescension. “You must’ve worked so hard these past years.”

Then, with an almost gleeful air, she added, “To be honest, when I marry Franklin, the thing I want most is your blessing. How about you be my bridesmaid this time?”

Harriet knew better than anyone how deeply I had loved Franklin. Her request was a deliberate attempt to reopen old wounds—wounds that time had only just begun to heal.

“Oh, Harriet, don’t joke about such things!” Hannah interrupted sharply. “This damn girl isn’t worthy of being your bridesmaid. It’d be an embarrassment to you! On your wedding day, she can do the dirty work—that’s all she’s good for!”

Hannah’s words cut through the air like knives.

Harriet, however, only smiled and shook her head.

“Godmother, you don’t understand. Kelly and I were Franklin’s childhood sweethearts. We always said that whoever married him, the other would be her bridesmaid. Isn’t that right, Kelly?”

She turned to me, her eyes gleaming with barely concealed malice. It was clear what she wanted—to remind everyone, especially our high school classmates, that she had won the race to marry into wealth.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Franklin entered, holding an elaborate cake.

His cheerful expression darkened the moment he saw me.

He immediately walked over to Harriet, wrapping an arm around her protectively. “Harriet, she didn’t bully you, did she?” he asked, his voice dripping with concern.

Then, he turned to me, his gaze icy. His tone was sharp, laced with warning.

“Why did you come back at this time? Don’t tell me you still can’t let me go.”

He didn’t stop there.

“Next week is my wedding with Harriet. If you dare to cause trouble, I won’t forgive you!”

His words echoed, the final blow to a wound that would never truly heal.

I haven't seen him for four years and he scolded me as soon as we met.

I smiled coldly and replied calmly, “I let go of our affairs a long time ago.”

Franklin sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. “Tsk, do you think I believe that? Who doesn’t want to marry into a wealthy family like you? But don’t dream—it’s impossible. You’re not even worthy of carrying my shoes!”

Harriet pretended to smooth things over, stepping between us.

“Franklin, I asked her to be my bridesmaid. After all, that was our agreement back then.” She took my hand, her tone syrupy sweet. “Kelly, don’t take it personally. I still miss the old times. Even though you haven’t contacted me these past few years, I’ve always regarded you as my best friend.”

Hearing that it was Harriet’s idea for me to be a bridesmaid, Franklin’s frown softened slightly.

“Only Harriet would treat you so well!” he scoffed. "Anyway, I will warn you one last time, don't make trouble for me when the time comes!"

After saying that, Franklin opened the cake box and everyone celebrated an unforgettable birthday for Harriet again. It seemed no one remembered—today was also my birthday.

Years ago, Harriet and I had been born on the same day. Because of this coincidence, we were swapped at the hospital by Hannah, setting us on drastically different paths.

One life was heaven, surrounded by wealth and love since childhood. The other was hell, marked by abuse and neglect since childhood.

As Harriet was halfway through cutting her cake, she suddenly gasped dramatically and turned to me.

“Oh! Godmother, how could you be so forgetful? Today is also Kelly’s birthday!” she exclaimed with exaggerated concern.

“I’ll order another cake right away so we can celebrate Kelly properly and welcome her back.”

I had to say that Harriet has mastered the art of rubbing salt into the wound. Her words painted her as a saint while subtly twisting the knife. Sure enough her suggestion was met with praise from everyone in the room. Especially Hannah, who looked at her dotingly and praised her endlessly.

"Harriet is so beautiful and kind-hearted! Even now, she’s thinking about this useless girl of mine. Kelly doesn’t deserve such a good friend!”

Then, as if to balance her praise, Hannah shot me a look of disgust.

“But she doesn’t deserve a birthday. I don’t even want to admit that this bitch is my daughter!”

Franklin joined in, his eyes full of disdain. “Kelly, celebrating your birthday? You’re not worthy of sharing a birthday with Harriet. What a joke!”

I didn't say anything and they scolded me again. I remained silent, but their words kept coming like sharp blows.

But Harriet, ever the actress, placed the remaining candles on what was left of her cake.

“How could this happen? Kelly hasn’t celebrated her birthday properly in years,” she said with mock concern. “Kelly, how about using the rest of this cake?”

When I still didn’t respond, she grabbed her bag dramatically. “No, no, this is too shabby. I’ll go downstairs and buy another one. Wait for me!”

But she kept glancing over her shoulder, clearly waiting for Franklin to stop her.

As expected, Franklin quickly grabbed her arm. “Harriet, why are you so nice to her? This leftover cake is already a gift for her!”

Then he turned to me, his expression twisted with malice.

“Kelly, are you disgusted? Don’t worry, I’ll give you a proper birthday!”

Before I could react, Franklin grabbed a piece of cake and smashed it into my face. The impact was harsh and the sharp tip of the fork stabbed near my eye, sending a jolt of pain through me.

“Haha! Smashing birthday cake is so much fun!” Franklin laughed, clearly enjoying himself.

Seeing this, Harriet let out a delighted laugh and followed suit, grabbing another piece of cake and flinging it at me.