Chapter 1

Eight years after his mother forced us to break up, she actually came looking for me again.

"After you left, his hair turned completely white almost overnight. He's been in and out of psychiatric facilities more times than I can count..."

"Please, come back to him. If you don't, he's really going to destroy himself!"

I traced the scar on my forehead, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

"But I'm no longer young and beautiful."

She gripped my hands tightly, her voice trembling:

"As long as you're willing to come back—no matter how this ends—I will give you one million dollars to cover your mother's medical bills."

For the sake of my mother lying in a private hospital bed, I decided to return to Alexander.

"Would he still love me, now that I'm no longer the girl I used to be?"

"I know him better than anyone," Eleanor answered with absolute certainty. "No matter what you look like now, you are the only woman he has ever loved."

With her pulling the strings, I breezed through the formal hiring process and went straight to work at the headquarters of Whitmore Holdings.

Standing in front of the restroom mirror, my fingertips were ice-cold from nerves.

My hair covered the scar, but it couldn't hide the fine lines around my eyes.

I was no longer that bright, youthful girl.

Even though I had long let go of our past, I couldn't help but care about how Alexander would react when he saw me.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed outside.

"Mr. Whitmore is here!"

I looked out and froze.

Alexander was only in his early thirties, yet extreme trauma and stress had leached the color from his hair, leaving it prematurely white.

As I stared at him, he seemed to sense something and whipped his head around.

The moment his eyes locked onto my face, his cold, sharp features shattered into wild ecstasy.

Completely ignoring the stares of everyone around him, he sprinted toward me.

"Claire... is it really you?"

He was crying and laughing, like a man who had finally found his long-lost treasure.

My eyes burned.

"It's me, Alexander. I'm back."

Eight years ago, fleeing from the assassins Eleanor had sent after me, I fell into the river.

Eleanor never found my body, but she deliberately let Alexander believe I was dead.

Now, his face was pure euphoria. Once he realized I was actually standing in front of him, he pulled me into a crushing embrace, holding me so tight I could barely breathe.

"Claire, do you have any idea how I've lived these past eight years?"

"I never stopped thinking about you. I truly love you..."

Hearing those words, my chest tightened with a sour ache.

Eleanor had told me that over the past eight years, Alexander had repeatedly self-harmed and undergone numerous inpatient psychiatric and psychological treatments.

This year, he had finally stabilized a bit, only to start scouring New York and the rest of the globe for women who looked like me, spending fortunes to keep them at his side.

Eleanor was terrified he would continue to squander the company's assets, and even more terrified he would finally succeed in destroying himself.

Out of sheer desperation, she apologized and begged me to return.

Thinking of the terms in our agreement, I swallowed my true emotions and softened my voice.

"I've missed you too, these past eight years."

He took me straight back to his estate.

As the car pulled up to the mansion, I spotted a woman with a passing resemblance to me.

Her face darkened the second she saw Alexander holding my hand.

I recognized her—Vanessa Reed, the woman Eleanor had warned me about.

For the past year, Alexander had been taking her to various events and even moved her into the estate.

Though he never gave her an official title, Vanessa clearly considered herself his girlfriend.

I forced a smile and pointed at the rows of designer heels in the shoe cabinet.

"Alexander, didn't you just say you've been thinking of me all these years? Then what are these women?"

Vanessa bit her lower lip, looking thoroughly humiliated.

"Mr. Whitmore, just say the word, and I'll leave right now."

I deliberately leaned into a domineering, bitter persona.

"I understand that you were lonely and needed some cheap knockoffs to pass the time, Alexander. But now that I'm back, isn't it time to tell your little stand-ins to pack their bags?"

Alexander looked distressed.

"Claire, how could you say things like that..."

Seeing I wasn't going to back down, he fell silent for a moment. But in the end, he chose to protect Vanessa.

"Vanessa is just my personal assistant who takes care of me. I can't just throw her out."

He squeezed my hand and added, "Don't worry. You're the only one I truly love."

Eleanor's request was for me to drive these scheming lookalikes away.

But I didn't expect him to refuse to set these boundaries for me.

Seeing my face drop, he coaxed me to stay. Right in front of me, he made a call and had several trunks of Chanel clothes delivered.

"Pick whatever you like. This is your home from now on."

His deep affection at this moment made me feel dazed once again.

After my shower, I was about to change into the clothes Alexander bought when Vanessa strolled into my room.

She casually kicked one of the Chanel trunks.

"Alexander is this generous with every new substitute he finds. Don't flatter yourself."

When I didn't respond, she crossed her arms and sneered.

"To him, we're all just collectibles. But I'm still his favorite. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept me around for so long."

Her eyes darted to my forehead.

"The Claire in his memory didn't come back with these scars and exhaustion."

She pointed at my wound, her tone dripping with venom.

"The second he realizes you aren't the girl he remembers, he'll toss you out immediately."

I lowered my eyes.

If Alexander and I couldn't start over, and he ended up discarding me completely, that would still fulfill Eleanor's terms.

Even if he ended up hating me, I could take the medical funds and leave.

Before I could even open my mouth, the bedroom door was pushed open.

Instantly, Vanessa's eyes welled with tears. She crumpled to the floor as if someone had shoved her.

"Claire, I truly love Alexander! Can't you just tolerate me being here?"

Alexander, who had just walked in, froze in surprise just like I did.

Before I could explain, he was already gently helping Vanessa up, gesturing for her to leave.

"Step outside first."

Wiping her eyes, Vanessa clung to his hand.

"Claire just loves you too much and wants you all to herself. Please don't blame her."

Alexander looked at her with profound pity.

Once he sent Vanessa out, he turned back to me.

"I only kept Vanessa around at first because she looked a little like you."

"But later I realized she's a kind, gentle, and considerate girl. She's a good person, Claire. Don't make things hard for her."

In my memory, Alexander had always defended me unconditionally.

No matter how many times Eleanor framed me in the past—saying I stole her jewelry, or even poisoned her—Alexander never believed it.

He would always stand firmly by my side.

Now, he was doubting me. The man who once trusted me unconditionally was now giving his trust to another woman.

I buried my disappointment and looked down.

"I understand."

Alexander's furrowed brows finally relaxed, and he stepped forward to hug me again.

"I know you're only acting this way because you love me. It's okay."

"I'm throwing a welcome banquet for you tonight. Get ready, and we'll head out."

I played the part, appearing at the private venue dressed to the nines.

The news of Alexander's old love returning to his side had already swept through New York high society.

Family friends, investors, and socialites flocked to see exactly what the woman the Whitmore heir couldn't forget looked like.

I linked my arm through Alexander's, maintaining a gentle smile.

Guests raised their glasses to congratulate him.

"Congratulations, Alexander. You finally got back the one you could never let go of."

"Looks like you finally waited for this day."

Someone even added with an ambiguous smirk:

"Your collection of replicas obviously can't compare to the genuine original."

Alexander's face darkened.

"Don't say things like that in front of Claire."

Then he turned to comfort me:

"Don't take their words to heart. Look, everyone knows how much I love you."

I just smiled mildly, keeping my temper in check.

Just then, another woman with a passing resemblance to me walked in.

Her name was Lily Carter, the second substitute Alexander kept by his side.

Lily glided onto the stage and sat elegantly at the grand piano.

"Welcome back, Claire. Since tonight is such an important occasion, let me play a piece for you and Alexander."

With that, her fingers danced across the keys.

A beautiful variation of the Moonlight Sonata flowed slowly through the banquet hall.

Watching her flying fingers, I fell into memories brought on by that familiar tune.

When we first met in college, Alexander sat in the audience, watching me on stage playing that exact piece.

Later, he would constantly pester me to play it for him.

"Every time I hear this piece, I remember the moment I first saw you. That feeling of being instantly captivated by you."

That was our song.

I still remembered the almost intoxicated look on his face when he listened to me play.

But now, I turned my head.

Alexander was staring intently at Lily at the piano.

The woman intoxicating him was no longer me.

I looked down at my own hands.

Years of running around and caring for my mother had left my fingers rough.

The scar on my face, the fine lines around my eyes—they were all reminders that time had passed.

When the song ended, Lily approached me and handed me a glass of champagne.

"When I was with Alexander, everyone said I only got to stay by his side because I looked like you."

"People thought they were mocking me, but I know that looking even a little bit like Claire Bennett is my greatest luck."

The thorns in her words were barely hidden.

Alexander's face instantly turned lethal.

"Who gave you permission to speak here? Get out."

He left Lily no dignity, directly ordering security to drag her away.

Then, he pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Lily just graduated; she doesn't understand social boundaries. If her words made you uncomfortable, don't hold it against her."

Every word he spoke was an excuse for Lily.

Afterward, he paraded me around to toast the guests, making me listen to their compliments.

Seeing him happy, I didn't ruin his mood.

That night, he carried me back to the bedroom and laid me on the bed.

"Claire, every single night, I couldn't sleep because I missed you so much..."

The ambiguous air slowly heated up.

He kissed the tip of my nose, his fingers affectionately tangling in my hair.

Seeing his increasingly dazed, passionate gaze, I closed my eyes too.

But right then, his movements froze.

I opened my eyes and saw him staring in shock at my forehead, and at my skin, roughened by the grind of life.

I was no longer that young, beautiful girl from years ago.

A flash of visceral disgust crossed his eyes, but he quickly turned his face away, hiding his emotions.

"I—I just remembered some work I need to finish for the company."

He pulled back naturally, ordered the housekeeping staff to bring me hot milk and herbal tea, and told me to get some early rest.

But through the glass doors of the balcony, I clearly saw his black SUV speed away from the estate.

The butler murmured to me:

"When Mr. Alexander leaves at this hour, he usually goes to see Lily."

I turned to look at my haggard face in the mirror, my heart turning completely cold.

Though Alexander refused to sleep in the same bed with me, he always stayed by my side during the day.

After I returned, he was no longer gloomy and irritable, nor did he show any signs of self-harm.

He stopped looking for new substitutes and poured more energy back into the family business. As his condition gradually stabilized, his almost entirely white hair even began to grow back some black roots.

Eleanor was deeply grateful to me, and the employees at Whitmore Holdings whispered privately:

"Looks like Claire is the one Alexander will finally acknowledge publicly and plans to marry."

Just when Eleanor thought I could continue living with Alexander, a phone call summoned me to the private hospital.

As soon as I stepped into the VIP ward, I saw Lily lying on the bed, pale as a ghost.

The second she saw me, she burst into heart-wrenching tears.

"Claire, I know you're jealous that I'm pregnant with Alexander's child, but how could you push me down the stairs?!"

The heavy atmosphere in the ward left me stunned in place.

Before I could even figure out what had happened, Vanessa stepped up.

"Lily and I got along perfectly fine before Claire came back. When I heard she was pregnant with Alexander's baby, I was happy for her too."

"Who would have thought the moment you returned, she'd fall in the stairwell and lose the baby!"

I forced myself to stay calm and looked at Alexander.

"I didn't even know Lily was pregnant, let alone where she lived. This has absolutely nothing to do with me."

Vanessa hugged Lily, both of them crying together.

"You rely on Alexander's love to try and drive us all away. But you can't just attack Alexander's child over a personal grudge!"

"Shut up!"

Alexander roared, cutting her off.

The freezing air was almost suffocating.

Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to give a conclusion.