Part 2The Grave of His Making

My ghost followed Ethan home.

I watched him live with Chloe as if they were a married couple.

Feeding each other breakfast, tangling together at night.

Once, Chloe brought a drunk Ethan home.

I was jealous and glared at them.

Ethan slapped me.

"Chloe and I are just friends!"

"Only people with dirty minds see dirt everywhere!"

But—

Do friends sleep in each other's arms? Do friends kiss like that?

Under the warm living room lights, Ethan folded the dress Chloe would wear tomorrow.

Just like a devoted wife.

That used to be my job.

Before every event, I picked his suits, matched his ties.

Ethan used to scoff at it.

"Only country bumpkins like you know these servant tricks! Some 'heiress' you are. Just a glorified maid!"

But now he was doing 'servant work' for Chloe.

That’s the difference between loving and not loving.

Chloe held his hand, kissing his fingers.

Ethan closed his eyes, humming in satisfaction.

"Chloe, tomorrow I'll go with you to the Vance family estate!"

"You are the true daughter of the Vance family!"

"No one can hurt you. I support you taking back everything that belongs to you!"

Listening to Ethan, Chloe had an expression I couldn't read.

I suddenly remembered.

For twenty years, the pampered princess of the Vance family was Chloe.

The day I, the biological daughter raised in the countryside, was brought back...

My parents looked at my cheap clothes with disappointment. They couldn't believe I was theirs.

That day, Chloe dragged her suitcase out, looking pitiful.

"Even though we aren't blood-related, I've always considered myself a Vance."

"I wish Mom and Dad happiness forever!"

We were switched at birth.

The poor family I grew up in was actually Chloe's biological family. That was where she belonged.

But when my parents looked at me with that hesitant hope...

I blurted out, "If you miss her, let her stay! Another daughter to be filial, I'm happy with that!"

I meant it then.

But I regretted it quickly.

Chloe became a ghost haunting my life with Ethan.

No matter the event, if Chloe appeared, Ethan's eyes were glued to her.

Standing next to him, I—the real heiress—looked like a joke.

Ethan opened his eyes, love overflowing.

"The one who grew up with me was always you!"

"The one I was supposed to marry was you!"

"If she hadn't come back, we would be married with kids by now!"

"She ruined my life!"

"It's not too late. No matter what, I will divorce Emily and be with you!"

They gazed at each other deeply. The air grew hot.

Soon, panting sounds filled the room.

Watching them entangled on the sofa...

I closed my eyes in self-mockery.

I always knew Ethan didn't love me.

His engagement was to the "Vance daughter."

It just so happened that I was brought back then.

I was the real daughter. The engagement fell to me.

Ethan was proud, aristocratic. How could a country girl hope for his love?

I never dared to hope.

I naively thought if I was good enough, loyal enough... maybe he would like me a little.

I was wrong.

After the "accident," Ethan's parents knelt before me.

"Please! Ethan is so proud. He can't handle the truth. If he knows what really happened, he'll kill himself! His mind is broken, he doesn't remember who the attackers were!"

"Just admit it was you. If he thinks you hurt him, he can handle it... he can survive!"

Selfishness is human nature.

If I confessed, my life was over.

I refused.

But when I returned to the Vance home, my father locked himself in his study.

My mother swallowed sleeping pills in front of me.

In the hospital, my mother told me the truth.

The attack on the road... it was linked to Chloe.

Chloe had shady dealings with the gang, provoking the attack.

My mother wept. "I raised Chloe. She's closer to me than blood! If she goes to jail, I'd rather die!"

Under pressure from both families, I "confessed."

In the end, I died to "atone."

I tried to comfort myself.

I died, so the truth is buried forever. Ethan will never know. He will never be in pain.

But my heart still felt like it was being carved out.

After the accident, Ethan developed a strange psychological condition.

The doctor called it self-gaslighting. Subconsciously, he turned me into the villain.

My parents allowed it.

His parents allowed it.

I did nothing wrong.

But sacrificing me saved everyone else.

In court, Ethan hired a dream team of lawyers to prosecute me for attempted murder.

But the judge wasn't an idiot. Lack of evidence led to dismissal.

So, the families used their connections. They had me sent to a hellhole prison abroad.

Rats, malaria, violence.

My parents sent me off personally.

"Just endure it," Mom said, touching my face. "Three years max. We'll bring you back. You'll still be a rich heiress."

"I suffered plenty when I was young," Dad added. "A little hardship builds character."

The prison gates closed.

I saw Chloe walking away with them, boarding a private jet.

She looked back.

Arrogance. Contempt. Mockery.

She had everyone's love.

And I was thrown into the dark to be eaten alive.

It was a good ending.

Everyone wanted me to be the sacrifice.