Chapter 1
I used to be the envy of the entire Victoria City
The weathiest man in town cherished me like his most produs sure. My brother, Johnson Lachele–esing star of
the elite–doted on me like I was his whole world
Three years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare, life threatening disasse
They both swore they’d give up anything–even their hes–just to make me well gon
And with every fiber of their being, they meant t
My husband, Chadwick Gabriel, canceled several major networking events and spent billors searching the whole gece
for a compatible kidney donor.
Johnson cleared his entire schedule and practically lived in the hospital reve kaving my SIL
Now, three years later, I was finally healed–Heathy, whole, and ready to reclaim my life, ready to corretore
I didn’t tell them I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise.
But just as I stepped up to the familiar gates of our estate, I was stoXX
The doorman’s gaze narrowed, sharp with suspicion. Who are you looking for?”
I smiled. This is my home. I’m Chadwick Gabriel’s wife”
He blinked at me, then his face contorted into a mask of degust–Rete mos boking at a gold digger who cought take a
hint.
“Mrs. Gabriel doesn’t look like you,” he sneered
Then he pulled out his phone and opened the album. He tapped a photo
The woman on the screen looked strikingly like re–sane ges, sare shie, even the same shallow dimples
I knew her.
It was Vivian Ayls–the woman who’d once donated her kidney to save my he
I stumbled back nearly dropping my phone.
The doorman’s gaze grew colder. “See that? If you had a shred of dignity, you’d know better than to come here making a
fool of yourself.”
“Mr. Gabriel trests his wife like royalty. Anyone can see how in love they are. You’re delusional if you is yoU ON BARE
yourself into their lives.”
He then gave me a hard shove
I wasn’t steady on my feet–jetlagged and exhausted from travel–and I fell to the ground
My head hit the pavement. A wave of dizziness surged through m
Then, the guard’s interphone crackled. A voice came through–obily, familiar
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“What’s all that noise outside?”
The doorman straightened immediately, tone switching to fawning, “Mr. Gabriel, sir–just some fortune hunter claiming
she knows you.”
“Get rid of her. My wife’s sleeping. Don’t wake her up.”
A crushing despair seized my chest.
That voice–so aloof and commanding moments before- softened to velvet, gentle and protective, as he uttered “wife.”
He and that woman were living here now.
In our home. In the house that once belonged to me and him.
The warmth seeped out of my limbs, leaving behind a chilling hollowness.
So many precious memories were tied to this place–his laughter in the kitchen, our quiet nights on the balcony, stolen
kisses by the fire.
And now… he’d let another woman move in?
My chest tightened. My throat burned with the taste of blood.
“Chad, who was it?” a sleepy female voice drifted through the interphone.
Then his voice again, soft as velvet, “Nothing. Just a little noise. Go back to sleep.”
“Stay with me?”
“Alright, alright… I can never say no to you.”
“We’re seeing my big bro tomorrow, remember…”
Then silence. The line cut out.
It felt as if a cruel hand had squeezed my heart into dust. Air caught in my lungs, refusing to fill them.
That tenderness in his voice–he used to only speak that way to me. Like I was the center of his world.
And… her brother? Did that mean Johnson knew?
Of course he did. How could anything happening here escape my brother?
I don’t even remember how I managed to walk away.
I wandered the streets in a daze. My phone buzzed in my hand again and again.
A message came through–from Chadwick Gabriel.
[Babe, are you feeling any better today?]
[Did you take your meds? When’s your surgery scheduled again?]
At the same time, Johnson’s messages rolled in:
[Sweetheart! My precious little sister, have you missed your big bro?]
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[I’ve been swamped with work lately and couldn’t visit. Are you mad at me?]
Tears blurred my vision.
They sounded so loving. So sincere. But why?
Why would they let someone else take my place?
Vivian Ayla… She was the donor they found. The one whose kidney saved my life.
She had a face almost identical to mine.
When I first met her, I even joked that she might be my shadow self from another dimension.
Back then, Johnson had cupped my face gently and said, “My sister is one of a kind. No one could ever compare to you.”
And Chadwick? He’d never even spared Vivian a second glance.
I remembered watching his assistant explain the compensation package to Vivian after the surgery.
That’s when I found out Vivian came from a poor family. She had agreed to the donation to pay for her mother’s treatment.
I still remember her that day–wearing a faded T–shirt, her posture stiff and nervous.
“Ma’am,” she said to me softly, “I’ll take good care of my health and do everything the doctors say.”
I’d felt a pang of sympathy. Then I pressed a bank card into her hand.
“Use this to help your mom,” I said.
But she’d refused to take it.
“I don’t need charity,” she whispered.
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