“Mom, what do I do? I just walked by and
heard…noises.”
Mrs. Miller panicked. She’d invited important
guests, and a scandal would be disastrous,
even if I was her daughter.
They hadn’t been bad to me in my past life,
just clearly favored Ashley.
As they pushed the door open, I emerged,
freshly changed.
“Didn’t someone say there was a man in Miss
Olivia’s room? She seems fine to me.”
The onlookers whispered amongst
themselves, eager for drama.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
Mrs. Miller hesitated, and Ashley pushed past
me into the room.
“Olivia, how could you be so reckless? It’s
one thing to date multiple guys, but to bring
one back on such an important day? It’s just
so inappropriate.”
I feigned innocence, looking at everyone with
wide eyes.
“Ashley, what are you talking about? I just
came up to change.”
My innocent act, combined with the obvious
lack of a man in the room, made Ashley
uneasy. She ordered the maids to search the
room.
“Olivia, I’m just looking out for you.”
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I stood there obediently, looking like the
victim. Everyone started giving Ashley
disdainful looks. How dare a fake daughter try
to boss around the real one? It was a slap in
the face to all the wealthy families present.
The maids searched everywhere but found
nothing. Ashley frantically signaled to one of
them.
The maid shook her head, looking bewildered.
“Are you sure you checked everywhere?”
“Miss Ashley, Miss Olivia’s room is completely
empty. There’s nothing here.”
“Impossible! I’ll look myself. You’re useless!”
Ashley purposefully went to check behind the
curtains, but there was no one there. She
even leaned out the window.
“How is this possible?”
“Ashley, why wouldn’t it be possible? It’s my
room. I think I’d know. You, however, seem
awfully sure there was someone here and
I let my words hang in the air. Everyone
present was smart enough to read between
the lines. These were classic rich–people
games.
Mrs. Miller stepped in to smooth things over.
“Alright, Ashley must have misheard. She was
just worried about you, dear. Let’s go.”
As we stepped out of the room, a man
emerged from Ashley’s room.
“Whoa, who are you? What are you doing
coming out of Miss Ashley’s room?”
Perfect. Just what I wanted. Even Ashley
looked stunned.
But she recovered quickly.
“Cousin! What are you doing here? You didn’t
even tell me you were coming! Don’t tell me
you’re trying to steal my jewelry again!”
Ashley’s quick thinking was admirable, but I’d
achieved my goal. Mrs. Miller shot Ashley a
disappointed look and led the guests
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“Nice move. Didn’t think you’d catch on.”
I smirked.
“Just returning the favor.”
“You think this changes anything? I’m still
their favorite daughter.”
If I couldn’t shake her position, it was
because my accomplishments would only
highlight her inadequacies.
I watched her walk towards the staircase.
“You think you’ve won? I’ll show you who they
really care about.”
As I reached out to grab her, she tumbled
down the stairs, her screams echoing through
the hall.
When she finally stopped, she whimpered,
“Don’t hit me! I’ll keep your secret!”
Her terrified demeanor, coupled with my
outstretched hand frozen in mid–air… I knew
exactly what they were thinking.
I saw the look of utter disappointment in my
“Mom, Dad, I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault.
Please don’t blame Olivia. I shouldn’t have
argued with her.”
My parents rushed to Ashley’s side, cradling
her. They turned and glared at me.
“Apologize to Ashley right now! Look what
you’ve done! You were raised outside this
family, and it shows. Your behavior is
atrocious, and your mind is twisted.”
My father’s words stung, even though I’d lived
through this before. In their eyes, I was
worthless. They seemed to forget that I
shared their blood; that they were the ones
who brought me back.
“You’re condemning me without even asking
what happened? Is this how you treat your
own daughter?”
Seeing things go south, Ashley chimed in.
“Olivia, I told you I wouldn’t tell anyone! Why
didn’t you trust me?”
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“Tell anyone what?”
