I wiped my mouth with trembling hands, tears brimming in my eyes from both the physical discomfort and the sheer humiliation.
My legs wobbled beneath me, barely supporting my weight as the full weight of the situation pressed down on me like a crushing wave.
The dinner I had poured my heart into, the one I had spent hours preparing, was ruined.
But the devastation of my effort being wasted was not the worst part—it was the realization that no one cared about why. No one cared about me.
After pulling Ruby away, Lewis’s cold voice cut through the silence like a knife. “How dare you ruin our welcome dinner,” he snapped, his gaze filled with disdain.
Before I could utter a word, Ruby chimed in, her voice sweetly apologetic but laced with venom.
“Oh, I just remembered, Rose doesn’t like seafood. How could I forget that?” She turned to Lewis with a faux look of regret. “She must’ve thrown up because of the smell of the seafood I ate. I really like it, though.”
As if on cue, Lewis immediately softened toward her. He wrapped his arms around Ruby protectively, his voice full of warmth.
“That’s okay, Ruby. You can eat as much seafood as you want. No need to feel guilty. Let’s just go out for dinner instead, if that’s what you want.”
Ruby smiled, leaning into him as though I wasn’t even there. “It’s okay, Lewis. We don’t have to. I can eat tomorrow morning. I’ll just rest tonight.”
Lewis’s voice was gentle and adoring as he replied, “Okay, everything for you, my love.”
Tears blurred my vision as I watched them leave the dining room, their voices fading into the distance as they discussed plans for the next day. Neither of them looked back.
The maid, ever so kind, quietly stepped in and began cleaning the mess I had made.
She turned to me with a soft smile and said, “It’s okay, Madam. You’ve seemed unwell since this morning. It’s better for you to take some rest now.”
Tears streamed freely down my cheeks as I nodded weakly, my voice cracking as I whispered, “I’m sorry to bother you.”
Then I dragged my exhausted body upstairs. I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto my bed and shut the world out.
But as I passed Lewis’s room, a glimpse through the small gap in the door stopped me dead in my tracks.
Through the partially open door, I saw Lewis and Ruby entwined in each other’s arms. They were making love passionately, their bodies moving together with a kind of intimacy and devotion I had never experienced with Lewis.
A lump formed in my throat as I gripped the door frame for support, my legs threatening to give out beneath me.
Just a month ago, Lewis had done the same to me. But that time, he had been drunk, his words slurred, his movements aggressive and thoughtless. I had been nothing more than an outlet for his intoxicated state.
But with Ruby, he was sober, fully present, and entirely devoted to her.
Suddenly, I noticed Ruby gazing toward me. She was aware about my presence outside the door.
Her cunning smile stretched wider as her eyes locked onto mine, stabbing straight into my chest with cruel precision. It was the kind of smile that did not need words to say.
“Oh, Lewis, I’m sorry to make you wait for two years,” she moaned, her voice dripping with feigned regret.
Lewis kissed her nape, his hands possessively around her waist. “That’s fine,” he murmured against her skin. “We can do it every day now. That’s enough for me.”
Ruby let out a soft laugh, her voice teasing yet triumphant. “Sure, you can love me 24/7 if you want from now on.”
Her gaze remained fixed on me through the crack in the door, as if to drive the point deeper. I could see the gleam of victory in her eyes, the way she silently declared her dominance over my life.
I had spent two years sacrificing, imitating, becoming her shadow—yet it was all for nothing. Ruby had reclaimed everything effortlessly, like I had never existed.
I staggered back, biting my trembling lip to stifle the cry threatening to escape and retreated to my room.
My legs barely held me up as I locked the door behind me. My breaths came in short, uneven gasps as the walls closed in around me.
However, that night offered no comfort. My tears fell endlessly, soaking the pillow beneath my head. My ears, they even still could hear Lewis and Ruby’s moaning all night, which made my heart shattered into pieces.
As if not enough, in the morning, Ruby’s voice called out, sickly sweet as she knocked my door, “Rose, you must’ve been disturbed by our voices last night. I’m sorry.”
Her fake apology felt like a slap in the face. My tears, still fresh from the night before, spilled over as anger surged within me.
“Are you satisfied with showing off?” I snapped, unable to hold back my fury as I opened the door.
Ruby’s expression shifted to shock, but only for a moment. She quickly recovered, jabbing her finger into my chest with arrogance.
“Are you angry now?” she sneered. “Realize this, Rose. Lewis is my husband—he always has been. It’s my name on the marriage certificate, so you have no right to be angry.”
Her words cut deep, but what came next shattered me.
“Rose Gilmore disappeared from the earth—she’s dead,” Ruby said coldly, her tone filled with triumph as she brought up the painful truth I had tried to bury.
She was right. Rose Gilmore, that name had been dead for two years, buried along with its owner.
After Ruby’s accident, my parents faked the story, declaring that the one who was involved in an accident was me. They spread the lie that I did not survive after days of being treated in the hospital.
While the fact showed it was Ruby who was speeding recklessly down the toll road, lost control of her car and got into a severe accident.
Even if she had survived, the crash left her with a traumatic brain injury that caused her to lose her hearing.
The wedding, which had been arranged by our parents to merge the Gilmore and Clifton families, could not be postponed. So, in Ruby’s place, I had been chosen as her replacement.
The decision was made without my consent. My parents saw it as an opportunity for me to fulfill Ruby’s obligations, as I had always done.
While Ruby went to San Jose to undergo treatment, leaving me to live her life, marry her fiancé, and assume the role she had abandoned.
It was as if my existence had been wiped away, erased without hesitation.
I begged them to stop, pleading for the right to make my own choices. But they ignored my cries, shutting down my voice with cold indifference.
“You should be grateful that Lewis is willing to marry you, even if it’s just for a while,” they said, their voices devoid of empathy.
“From now on, forget that you are Rose. You are Ruby, the daughter of the Gilmore family who married the son of the Clifton family. Do you understand?”
So, my life had never been mine anymore since that day.
What made it cut the deepest was that Lewis knew the truth. He followed the lies my parents made and tortured me if I did not obey his order.
“So, Rose, be thankful that you are still alive until this moment,” Ruby continued.
The words stung like a whip, and before I could stop myself, my hand flew up and slapped her across the face.
"You bitch! Who gave you the courage to keep provoking me?"
My sharp eyes fell on her, and I raised my hand again and slapped her on the other side of her face!
