The real heiress returns Chapter 2

Ethan dragged me back to my room.

He towered over me, looking down with cold eyes. "I planned to tell you after the wedding, but since you couldn't wait, you might as well know now."

Ethan pulled up a photo on his phone. An old family portrait.

It showed my parents holding a baby.

His gaze softened as he looked at the photo. "The Ji family business wasn't always clean. They made enemies. Their only daughter was kidnapped constantly. One time, it almost cost her her life."

"So, they hid their real daughter in a different city and adopted another girl to raise as the 'Ji Heiress' in the public eye."

I wanted to laugh.

But as soon as my lips twitched, hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

No wonder. No wonder my childhood was filled with car accidents and kidnapping attempts.

Every time I was in danger, Mom and Dad would show up with a gift, take one look at me, and then rush off to "another city for business."

No wonder they were always traveling.

If I cried and begged to go with them, they would slap me across the face, call me selfish, and have the nanny lock me in a dark room to "reflect."

Ask once, get locked up once.

No food, no water.

If I cried too hard, the nanny would "discipline" me for them.

When they returned from their "business trips" and heard I hadn't reflected properly, I’d get beaten again.

They said ungrateful children deserved it. They said they were running around the world to give me a luxurious life, yet I was rotten to the core.

Traveling became my biggest trigger. I didn't dare bring it up.

Even that specific city became a nightmare for me.

In high school, when a field trip was announced to that city, I had a panic attack on the spot. I curled up under my desk, hyperventilating, screaming that I wouldn't go.

Word got back to my parents. They sponsored the trip and forced the school to change the location.

But the new location was terrible, and the trip wasn't fun.

My classmates started resenting me. They called me a princess, a psycho.

Those labels stuck to me all through high school, suffocating me.

Ethan continued, articulating every word. "From start to finish, the only person I ever intended to marry was Ya-Chun."

"Marrying you is just a PR move. We need a transition to let Ya-Chun integrate into this circle smoothly."

The real Ji daughter returns.

Everyone will know I’m the fake.

Many of our high school classmates are in this social circle. They’ll bring up the old "psycho" rumors.

Compared to me, the beautiful, gentle, and cultured Ya-Chun will be instantly accepted.

And I will carry the label forever.

Seeing the blood drain from my face, Ethan softened his tone slightly. "As long as you cooperate, for the sake of our years together, I won't treat you poorly."

Years together?

What years?

Wasn’t the affection, the family dinners—wasn't it all just a performance for the kidnappers?

I wiped my tears aggressively and forced a grin. "Sure. I'll cooperate. I'll tell everyone how you used a child as bait to protect Ya-Chun. How shameless you—"

Before I could finish, Ethan grabbed me by the throat.

Before he could speak, Ya-Chun rushed in from the hallway.

"Ethan! Let her go!" she screamed.

Ethan acted like he didn't hear her. He shifted his grip to my jaw, forcing me to look at Ya-Chun.

He smiled reassuringly at her, then looked back at me with dead eyes. "Look at yourself. In what world do you compare to Ya-Chun? In what world do you deserve to marry me?"

"If it wasn't to protect her, I wouldn't have spent a single second with you."

Ya-Chun pried at his fingers, begging him to stop.

Ethan shoved me away violently.

He ordered the bodyguards to watch me, then grabbed Ya-Chun’s hand and dragged her out.

Moments later, I heard a heated argument erupting in the hallway.