Melody's POV

It all started because my dad casually said something while sponsoring a student from a poor background.

“What a coincidence! You were born on the exact same day and time as my daughter.”

That one offhand comment somehow led the girl to imagine that we’d been switched at birth and that she was the real daughter and rightful heiress.

Determined to “set things right,” she glared at me with righteous fury and declared, “You’re nothing but a fake living in someone else’s place. I’m going to sell you off as punishment!”

I was stunned. Still, I tried to stay calm and explain the situation rationally.

But she wasn’t having it. She thought I was just making excuses and suddenly lashed out violently.

I looked to my soon-to-be boyfriend for help. But instead of stepping in, he just scoffed and said, “I knew something was off about you. You’ve stolen someone else’s life. You should pay for that.”

And just like that, he stood by while she ordered some guys to beat me up.

When one of them tried to rip my clothes off, about to do something unthinkable, that was when my dad finally showed up.

——

When Karrie Goodwin showed up at the door of my study with two shady-looking men, I was working on a group project with Damon Morton, my soon-to-be boyfriend. The atmosphere had been kind of sweet and flirty until she barged in with her nonsense and ruined it.

She used to stop by sometimes to ask for help with schoolwork, but this was the first time she’d brought strangers. I was annoyed, sure, but mostly confused.

“What did you just say?” I asked. “What do you mean, ‘real and fake daughter’?”

Was she cracking under university pressure?

But clearly, my confusion wasn’t the reaction she wanted. She scoffed. “Don’t pretend, Melody. I know you’re not the real daughter of Hutchinsons. I am.”

“We were born on the same day, same time. Clearly, after your mom gave birth, she switched us so you could live the good life,” she continued.

I couldn’t help but laugh. The whole thing was ridiculous. But that only made her angrier.

She slammed her hand on the table. “While you lived it up in the city, I was suffering in the countryside! But karma’s real, and now I’m back. I came here today to expose the truth. So do yourself a favor and get out of my house."

Then, after a pause, she went on with her delusion. "But if you want to play games like in those cheesy dramas, pretending to be the rightful daughter, I won't hesitate to end you right here and now. My dad already treats you like royalty. Just imagine how much better he’ll treat me, his real daughter. So if I kill you. What’s the big deal?”

At that point, I was beyond shocked.

Karrie looked around the villa with greedy eyes, like she was already claiming it as hers. “Everything you have should’ve been mine. Your mansion, your car, your jewelry. Even your boyfriend, Damon, should be mine.”

Damon scratched his head awkwardly but didn’t say a word to deny that he was my boyfriend.

As far as I was concerned, Karrie was just one of the many students my family had helped financially over the years. The only thing even slightly unusual was that she and I ended up at the same university and that we happened to share the exact same birth date and time.

That little detail caught my dad’s attention. He doted on her endlessly and thought the coincidence made her “special.” That was probably why he decided to support her, even though her grades weren’t all that impressive.

He even gave her father, Alvin Goodwin, a man with no education or job prospects, a position as our gardener. He also let her visit him at our house regularly, too.

In hindsight, my dad’s kindness might’ve been too generous. It must’ve fed into Karrie’s wild imagination, especially since she reads too many fantasy novels.

I sighed and tried to keep my temper in check. Calmly, I said, “Karrie, you’ve misunderstood. I’m my parents’ only child. Yes, we were born at the same time, but you were born in a mountain village. I was born at home. There’s no way we were switched.”

Melody's POV

I wasn’t making anything up.

My parents had been trying to have a baby for years, so when they finally conceived me, they treated the entire pregnancy with the utmost care.

Right before I was due, there was a severe flu outbreak. My dad, terrified that my mom and I might catch something at the hospital, went to extreme lengths. He assembled a medical team and practically turned our house into a delivery ward.

So yes, I was born at home. I didn’t even leave the house until months later, after the outbreak had passed. So, how could anyone think I got switched at birth?

As such, Karrie stayed quiet, so I went on. “I don’t know where you got this idea, but your behavior is completely out of line. I need you to leave right now and don’t come back.”

But the second I finished, her face twisted with rage. She suddenly raised her hand and slapped me hard.

“You bitch! Still lying through your teeth!”

That slap wasn’t just harsh. It knocked the wind out of me. My right cheek swelled up instantly, and my head buzzed like someone had rung a gong inside it.

Damon immediately jumped in front of me, eyebrows drawn together. “Karrie, are you out of your mind?”

I was beyond upset. My dad had always spoiled me. He couldn’t even bear to raise his voice, let alone lay hands on me. Whether Karrie was actually crazy or just pretending, I didn’t care. I shouted for the butler, ready to have her and her father thrown out for good.

But the butler didn’t come.

Instead, Alvin, her father, showed up with a smug grin on his face.

“Looking for the butler?” he chuckled. “I already tricked him into leaving.”

Then he clicked his tongue and turned to the two thugs by the door. “What are you guys waiting for? Don’t just stand there like idiots. Confiscate their phones. What if she calls the cops?”

The goons nodded dumbly, grabbed both my and Damon’s phones from the table, and chucked them out the window. That was when it hit me—Alvin was in on it. That was how she’d strolled into our villa like she owned the place.

Damon stood beside me, his voice firm. “Karrie, you and your dad are breaking the law. If you don’t stop this now, I won’t be able to protect you.”

Something in his tone made me realize they knew each other—maybe more than just casually. But this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Fuming, I stood and pointed straight at Alvin. “Your daughter’s completely lost it! Have you lost it too? My dad’s been nothing but generous to your family, and this is how you repay him? Get out now—”

Before I could finish, his face darkened. Then he kicked me so hard I doubled over in pain, my stomach twisting. The impact knocked me off balance, and I barely managed not to fly across the room.

“Damn brat! That’s how you talk to your real father? You need to be taught a lesson!”

I lay on the floor, struggling to breathe, pain radiating through my abdomen.

Alvin looked pleased with himself. “You think we came here without evidence? Let me tell you, we have proof that you’re the fake daughter. That’s why we dared to confront you.”

I couldn’t even speak. I reached out to Damon for help, but he didn’t move. He just frowned and asked, “What evidence? Let’s see it.”

Alvin pulled a folded paper from his jacket and tossed it to the ground. “See for yourselves. This is all the proof we need.”

I forced myself upright and picked it up with shaking hands.

It was a DNA test, but not between me and my dad.

It was for Karrie and Alvin.

And it said they weren’t biologically related.

Karrie made herself comfortable on the couch like she owned the place. She crossed her legs, sneered, and said, “Now, do you get it? I knew something was off ever since Mr. Hutchinson first started helping me.”

Melody's POV

“Why would Mr. Hutchinson go out of his way to support someone like me, a below-average student? Why would he hire Alvin as the family gardener? And why would he let me visit the house so often? Every time I came by, he’d even smile at me.”

Alvin let out a laugh. “Funny thing is, at first, I thought Mr. Hutchinson had a thing for Karrie. I figured he was planning to marry her and make her your stepmother.”

Karrie looked a little awkward at that. “Thank goodness I didn’t actually try to seduce him. Because I suddenly remembered, when I first met Mr. Hutchinson, he made a point to tell me something: that you and I were born on the exact same day.”

Her voice hardened as she went on, “That’s when it clicked. I’m the real daughter of Mr. Hutchinson. That’s why he looked at me differently. That’s why he treated me so well. But Mr. Hutchinson’s too kind. He didn’t have the heart to throw you out, so he chose to keep things the way they were for now.”

She stood taller, her voice full of smug righteousness as she added, “But as Mr. Hutchinson’s true daughter, it’s only right that I help him fix this mistake.”

As she spoke, her expression grew colder—almost twisted.

She stared straight at me. “Melody, nothing in this world comes free. You’ve lived a life of luxury all these years. Did you really think there wouldn’t be a price to pay? You think I’m just going to let you walk away?”

The two thugs standing behind her glanced at me with sleazy eyes, then turned to Alvin.

“Boss, you’re really cutting this daughter loose?”

Alvin nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I raised Karrie myself. She’s the one I care about. Once she takes her rightful place as Hutchinson’s heiress, she’ll take care of me.”

Then, he gave me a disgusted look. “As for her, I couldn’t care less. She’s nothing but trouble for Karrie. If she disappears for good, or better yet, ends it herself, that’d be the best outcome for everyone.”

The thugs cracked their knuckles and started walking toward me.

My heart was racing. I grabbed Damon’s sleeve in desperation and looked up at him, silently begging for help.

He was tall, strong, and the captain of our school’s karate club. He’d even competed at the provincial level and done really well.

I chose to ignore how useless he’d been earlier. Maybe he was just scared. So I whispered, “Damon, please… help me—”

But before I could finish, he yanked his arm away and walked straight over to Karrie.

“Karrie,” he said, smiling warmly, “I knew you weren’t just anyone.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Damon… you—”

He rolled his eyes at me. “What? Don’t tell me you thought I actually liked you? The only reason I ever flirted with you was because you're Hutchinson. But the truth is, the only one I’ve ever cared about is Karrie. Now that I know you’re not Hutchinson’s real daughter, I have no reason to take your side anymore.”

Karrie looked thrilled to see me so humiliated. “Nobody ever liked you, you know. They only liked the status that came with being ‘Miss Hutchinson.’ But the joke’s on you. Your identity was fake all along.”

She followed my gaze to Damon and let out a smug laugh. “All thanks to Damon. If it weren’t for him, I never would’ve figured out I was the real heiress.”

Damon gave a modest shrug. “Karrie, you’re giving me too much credit. It wasn’t that hard. I mean, look at you. You don’t look anything like someone who grew up in the mountains. You don’t resemble Alvin either. But Melody? She doesn’t look like Mr. Hutchinson at all. With all those coincidences, how could I not start putting the pieces together?”

As I listened to them, it finally sank in.

This whole thing was all because of Damon?