Part 3After the Fake Heiress Left, They All Regretted It

I dropped Daisy off at the neighbor’s.

When I came back downstairs, Leo was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets.

“What are you doing living in a dump like this? Where’s your apartment? I’m coming up.”

I shook my head. “There’s no need.”

Four years ago, he was the one who said his only sister was Isabelle Vance.

He was the one who said the thought of calling someone like me his sister made him sick.

When Ethan Qin cast me out, when Julian abandoned me, I was lost. I had thought, for a desperate moment, of turning to him—my own blood brother.

I stood outside his record label’s building all night in a blizzard, nearly freezing to death.

But all I got from him was a single, brutal sentence: His greatest wish was that I had never been born.

“If you didn’t exist, Isabelle would never have been switched at birth. She wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”

“Sister? What a joke. Now that the Qins have thrown you out, you’re trying to play the 'family' card with me? I would never acknowledge someone like you.”

That’s when I finally understood. No matter how much I had done for him, he would always hate me because of Isabelle.

Now, he was looking at me with that same judgmental gaze, his brow furrowed.

“That kid… is she Julian’s? Did you run off just to have his baby?”

I paused. “She is my daughter. Mine alone.”

A smirk twisted his lips.

“Barbara, she’s the spitting image of him. Do you think I’m blind?”

“Don’t tell me you actually thought you could win him back by secretly having his kid. Are you that delusional… God, it’s not just pathetic, it’s sad.”

“I told you, she is my daughter,” I cut in, my voice sharp. “I have no intention of ever returning to Veyra City, and I certainly have no plans to use my child to fight with your precious Isabelle over Julian. You can relax. You don’t have to be so hostile.”

“Just like you said back then, we’re strangers who happen to share some DNA. I’m not interested in your life, so please, do me the courtesy of staying out of mine.”

He stared at me, stunned.

“If there’s nothing else, you should go,” I said, turning away.

“Wait.” He grabbed my arm again, his grip tight.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. “You… you…”

I frowned. “What?”

“Why… why did you leave back then?” he finally stammered out.

“You were a pampered princess who couldn’t do anything for herself. So what if a few people said some mean things? You just had to run away with a baby in your belly like some drama queen.”

“If I hadn’t found you, how long were you planning on living this miserable life? And these past four years…” He hesitated.

“How… how the hell did you survive?”