Chapter 1
A car accident left me in a coma for five years. When I woke up, my husband, Perry Holt, held me weeping with joy.
My parents and my mother-in-law prepared a welcome party for me.
But I saw a woman who looked a lot like me had taken my place.
She drove my fancy car, lived in my house, and even had a child with Perry. Everyone had long treated her as me.
After I had a second car accident, everyone didn't think twice and chose to save her first, leaving me in the blood.
They had long forgotten that I was their true daughter.
But when I woke up again, looking at them confusedly and asking, "Who are you?" Everyone broke down.
*****
When I woke up, all I saw was white. I moved my numb fingers, trying to sit up.
The nurse came in to change the dressing. Her face lit up at the sight of me, and she immediately turned and rushed out.
Moments later, my family crowded around me. Perry gathered me into his arms carefully, weeping with joy. "Thank God, you're awake," he said.
My parents, Roland and Maeve, were speechless, tears silently streaming down their faces. My mother-in-law, Bethany, held my hand and fussed over me, asking if I was uncomfortable.
The gap of so many years made it hard to adapt immediately, but a warm feeling welled up inside me.
I hugged Perry gently, but before I could speak, the room door was pushed open. A boy, about four or five years old, rushed in.
He threw a small stone he was holding right at me. "You're so bad!" he shouted while throwing it. "You stole my daddy! You took—"
He didn't finish his sentence before the woman who rushed in covered his mouth.
I stared at the boy whose face was the spitting image of Perry's. And then I looked at the woman holding him. She looked so much like me that we could have been twins.
My mind went completely blank, and I froze. Who were they? A sense of foreboding instantly washed over me.
My arms around Perry slowly loosened. I looked at Perry, the man I had grown up with, my lips trembling, wanting an explanation.
But Perry didn't even spare me a glance. He frowned and snapped, "Stella, take Wayne away now."
Was the similarity between her name and mine intentional or a coincidence?
Roland and Maeve said nothing. Bethany shot Perry a reproachful look. "There's no need to be so harsh."
Perry's tone was sharp, but I knew him—he wasn't angry. He was feeling guilty, covering it with this show of temper directed at them.
I looked around the room. It seemed everyone present knew about them. It felt like I had woken up at the wrong time.
Stella gritted her teeth, her eyes brimming with defiant tears. After a moment, she grabbed Wayne's wrist and turned to leave.
But she was too busy wiping her tears and didn't notice the threshold. With a thud, they both fell to the floor. Wayne started wailing.
Bethany was the first to stand up and rush over, picking Wayne up and comforting him gently. Roland and Maeve were right behind her, flustered, asking Stella if she was hurt.
Only Perry still held me. But the next second, seeing the cut on Stella's palm from the fall, he immediately let go of me and rushed to her.
Leaning against the headboard, I watched the scene before me, my heart aching unbearably. I could barely breathe, suffocated by the sight.
Stella, surrounded by them, lifted her head. Meeting my gaze directly, she offered a deliberately challenging smile.
Looking at her face, which was exactly like mine, I finally couldn't hold back my tears.