###Chapter 4
Kristen's POV
My heart felt dead, cold, and hollow, like ashes left after a fire, as I stumbled back to my bedroom, desperate for refuge.
I thought this room was my last sanctuary, my one place left untouched.
But the moment I pushed open the door, my heart sank.
Everything was gone.
Garish pinks had replaced the minimal, elegant decor I had loved.
My cozy study was converted into a massive walk-in closet filled with luxury handbags, tiny dresses, and rows of high heels.
My books—rare editions I had spent years collecting—were nowhere to be found.
Out on the balcony, the small turtle I'd raised for years had vanished. In its place was a purebred Persian cat with an arrogant glare, lounging as if it owned the world.
I couldn't believe it. While I was lost to the world and my parents searched everywhere for me, they wiped every trace of me from this house.
I stood frozen. This wasn't my room anymore.
In the time I'd been 'missing,' and while my parents were off searching for me, they had erased every trace of me, rewritten my existence, and replaced me with her.
Laughter and flattery floated in from outside my door.
"Miss Courtney, you were born to wear that dress!" one voice said. "You look like a dream!"
Another chimed in, "It's no wonder Sir Michael's so taken with you. Everything about you just... sparkles."
Then she walked in.
Courtney.
Drenched in designer perfume and swathed in a gleaming white wedding gown, she entered like a goddess descending from the clouds. Her cheeks glowed, her lips were plump and red, and joy clung to every flutter of her lashes.
She glanced down at my wrinkled housemaid's uniform and gave me a thin, satisfied smile.
"This dress," she said sweetly, "looks familiar, doesn't it?"
It did.
It was the one Michael had claimed he'd commissioned for me—a one-of-a-kind gown from a Parisian designer. I'd once tried it on and found the chest area too loose.
When it first arrived, I thought it didn't fit right.
I remembered even telling him, "Michael, it's too loose around the bust. Have the designer adjust it."
But, back then, he hadn't even looked up from his magazine and replied, "You'll fill it out once you've had the baby."
I hadn't thought much of it then.
Now, staring at Courtney's perfectly full figure spilling into the gown like it had been molded for her...
I understood.
It had never been mine.
Just like the ring that was always a little too tight.
Just like the wedding itself.
Just like him.
Michael's bride had always been Courtney.
Watching my devastated expression, Courtney arrogantly cooed, "You don't look pleased."
I dropped my eyes and said quietly, "I'm sorry. I lost my memory. I don't remember that dress."
She frowned, clearly disappointed by my lack of reaction.
I turned to leave.
Then, suddenly, Courtney grabbed a pair of scissors from the closet and began shredding the dress into pieces. Ribbons of silk fluttered to the ground.
She dropped the scissors, messed up her hair, then flung herself to the floor in a dramatic heap, sobbing.
"I just wanted one beautiful wedding before I die! And you couldn't even let me have that?"
The door slammed open.
Michael stormed in, eyes blazing. The moment he saw the ruined dress, his fury exploded.
"Kristen, you unbelievable bitch! Even with amnesia, you're still the same selfish, bitter woman! Do you even know how much this wedding means to Courtney?"
I shook my head frantically. "I didn't touch it! She...she cut it up herself—"
Michael cut me off, bellowing, "Shut up! I can't stand the sound of your voice!"
He cradled Courtney in his arms, pressing kisses into her hair and onto her lips like a man possessed like he wanted to prove something.
Like he wanted to hurt me with how deeply, madly he adored her.
I stood there, stiff and silent, as he swept her up and carried her out, brushing past me like I was invisible.
Courtney glanced over his shoulder at me with a victorious smile. "Kristen, you'd better watch yourself."
The sun streamed in warmly through the windows.
But I was ice.
...
However, the nightmare was far from over.
At dinner, the butler summoned me to join the rest of the family.
Cautiously, I stepped into the dining room.
William was waiting. Without a word, he reached for the ruby necklace around my neck, an heirloom passed down for nine generations in our family.
My mother had given it to me personally.
But he unfastened it and handed it to Courtney.
Then, William proudly announced, "With this, you're officially the daughter of the Lawson family."
He didn't even look at me and said, "Kristen still hasn't learned her place. A maid is all she deserves to be."
My breath caught in my throat. 'How could my brother, flesh and blood, even do this to me?'
That necklace was mine. It was the last piece of my identity that hadn't been stripped away.
"You can't do this," I said, voice trembling. "No! That belongs to me. You don't deserve it!"
So I lunged for it.
Quickly, Courtney dropped to her knees, clutching the necklace in both hands.
"You're right. I don't deserve it," Courtney sobbed. "Here! Take it back!"
As soon as my fingers brushed the pendant, she let go.
The necklace slipped through my hands and shattered on the marble floor.
A sharp gasp cut through the room.
Blood trickled down her palm from a small cut.
Michael rushed to her side in an instant.
"Get the doctor!" he barked at the butler, holding her like she was made of porcelain.
William pointed a trembling, furious finger at me. "You broke the necklace and injured your sister? How dare you! You owe her an apology!"
That word again...
'Sorry...'
Since the day Courtney showed up, it had become my mantra.
'I'm sorry I tripped her.'
'I'm sorry I got more compliments at the gala.'
'I'm sorry, I saw the text she sent Michael asking him to meet her at the hotel.'
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!'
My mouth was dry. My eyes burned.
But, still, I bowed.
Once. Twice. Three times.
And right under their judging stare, I resignedly bowed to Courtney. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Then I looked up at the man I had once loved and the brother I'd trusted with my life.
"Well? Is that enough for you two? Are you satisfied now?"
