The elevator chimed softly as I stepped out, clutching the small gift box in one hand and the envelope in the other. Inside the envelope was the pregnancy test I’d been hiding for days—proof that after four years of waiting, I finally carried Arthur’s child. I had planned to surprise him tonight, on our anniversary.
I paused before the hotel suite door, my heart pounding with nervous excitement. The bouquet of white lilies I had ordered earlier had already been delivered inside. This was supposed to be perfect—a fresh beginning for us.
But just as I lifted my hand to knock, the muffled sound of laughter and voices froze me in place.
“Are you really still dragging Diana around, Arthur? She’s so dull, she doesn’t even suit you.”
“She’s useful,” Arthur’s deep voice replied casually, followed by the clink of glasses.
The air seemed to leave my lungs.
Another voice chimed in. “Kylie’s back from abroad, isn’t she? The real Jennings daughter. Honestly, you two make more sense together.”
Kylie. My so-called sister. The one who had grown up in an orphanage while I was raised in the Jennings household. The one everyone adored once they found out the truth—that she was the true daughter, and I was nothing more than a mistake.
My stomach knotted.
Arthur chuckled. “Diana is harmless. She’s desperate to please me. She’ll never disobey—if I told her to throw herself into the river, she’d probably do it. Keeping her around isn’t a loss.”
The words stabbed deep, slicing apart everything I had believed about him. My fingers trembled and the envelope slipped from my grasp, falling silently to the carpet.
“When will you replace her then?” someone asked with a laugh.
Arthur’s tone turned cold. “Soon enough. Diana was only ever a placeholder. Kylie should have been the one by my side from the beginning. Everyone knows that.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out. My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. So this was it—the man I had loved so blindly, the man I had trusted, had never truly wanted me at all.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I picked up the envelope and backed away from the door, each step heavier than the last. The gift box felt like lead in my hand before I finally dropped it into the trash bin outside the suite.
...
I wandered aimlessly through the city streets, the night air sharp against my skin. My thoughts spun wildly—my husband’s betrayal, my family’s rejection. Just then, my phone buzzed in my hand.
It was an unknown number. I hesitated, then answered.
“Diana... it’s about my mother...”
The words blurred as the voice on the other end broke the news. The housekeeper who had raised me, the only one who had ever shown me kindness in that cold Jennings household, had died suddenly in a car accident.
The ground beneath me seemed to collapse. Aunt Melanie was gone... The only person who had ever truly cared for me was gone.
My tears blinded me as I stumbled toward the riverside, the world dissolving into a haze. Betrayed by my husband, rejected by my family, now abandoned by the only mother figure I had ever known... there was nothing left.
Maybe Arthur had been right. Maybe I was just a stray no one wanted.
I stood at the edge of the river, the waves pulling at the shore as if calling me in. My body trembled as I leaned forward. My decision solidified.
Before I could take that final step, my phone rang again.
“Diana, where the hell are you?” Arthur’s impatient voice barked through the line. “Why haven’t you come to the hotel yet? Stop humiliating me in front of my friends. Come here, now.”
The call cut like a knife. Even in this moment, all he cared about was saving face.
My heart twisted, despair pushing me closer to the edge—until suddenly, a faint flutter stirred in my belly. Life. My child. Our child.
I collapsed onto the damp grass, sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn’t take them with me.
...
When I finally returned home, exhaustion dragged me into sleep. But the blanket was suddenly yanked off me, jolting me awake.
“Diana!” Arthur’s furious voice cut through the dark. “Why didn’t you come to the hotel? Do you have any idea how you embarrassed me in front of everyone?”
My lips trembled. “I wasn’t feeling well,” I whispered, my pale face half-buried in the pillow.
Arthur’s anger faltered as he looked at me, guilt flickering in his eyes for the briefest moment. He sighed, loosening his grip.
"Tsk. You're being dramatic again.
I only stared at him, my heart aching with every word.
“Anyway,” he continued, “Kylie’s coming back tomorrow for her birthday. We’ll go to the homecoming party together.”
The name alone was enough to twist the knife deeper into my chest.
"You can go alone," I whispered.
“Stop acting like this, okay? You should be grateful you grew up in a wealthy family, Diana. Kylie is trying so hard not to make you feel left out. Don’t make things more difficult.”
Clenching my fist, I nodded faintly, too weak to argue, as silent tears burned down my cheeks.
On our anniversary night, I had finally learned the truth: I was nothing but a shadow, a mistake… a substitute.
