Chapter 1

When the fire broke out, my brother and fiancé both ran straight to Lily Goodwin's room.

My parents lied to the firefighters, claiming no one was in my room, all so Lily could be rescued first.

Because of the delay, a falling wardrobe crushed my right leg.

After I was carried out, a paramedic asked, "Where's your family, miss?"

I glanced over at the tree nearby.

My parents, my brother, and my fiancé were all crowded around Lily, their faces glowing with the joy of having her back.

I spoke in a hoarse voice, "I don't have a family."

*****

Three days later, my parents and Samuel Goodwin finally bothered to visit me in the hospital.

"Lily was hurt pretty badly, so we've been so busy looking after her these past few days," my mom explained. "Now that you seem fine, we can stop worrying."

I lowered my eyes, feeling a wave of loneliness wash over me.

Compared to my broken right leg, Lily barely got hurt at all. It was only a little scrape on her forehead.

But they were so worried about her that they ran every test on her to be sure.

That was the only reason they finally showed up to see me now.

It had always been this way with them.

Lily was always their first choice, never me.

Like three years ago, the day I returned to the Goodwin family.

Lily insisted she wasn't their daughter anymore, clutching her suitcase and sobbing as she tried to walk out.

My parents and Samuel didn't spare me a glance; they rushed straight over to calm her down.

I stood alone at the doorway, watching them head upstairs together, chatting and smiling.

That night, my parents told me, "Lily is the daughter we raised, but you're our real daughter. We love you both the same. We can't bear to lose either of you."

They reassured me, promising they'd treat us both the same.

But then, though my parents had promised to take me to the movies, they suddenly changed plans because Lily wanted to go to a concert.

On our birthday, the only cake on the table was Lily's favorite blueberry mousse, not the chocolate cake I'd been hoping for.

That day, as the flames raged, I heard my mom outside, her voice breaking with desperation. "Save my daughter. Save my daughter first."

For a moment, I thought she was talking about me; my heart nearly burst, and tears welled up in my eyes.

But then I heard her yell, "There's nobody next door. Save Lily. Hurry, save my daughter."

My dad and Samuel chimed in, insisting I wasn't there either.

It was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. I went cold all over, and my smile froze on my face.

My room was right next to Lily's.

They all saw me return to my room.

Then I heard the door burst open.

I heard their voices trembling with relief and happiness as they called out, "Lily."

I listened as their footsteps grew fainter, hurrying away with her.

In the end, I couldn't hold back my tears.

So the daughter my mom was talking about wasn't me.

It turned out that in their hearts, I would never matter as much as Lily.

The day I finally came home, I had so many dreams about finally belonging here.

Lily was born after her mother passed away during childbirth.

But the hospital ended up switching us by mistake.

With no relatives to claim me, I was sent to an orphanage and had to grow up alone.

Then, one day, my parents found me and told me I was their real daughter, the one who'd been switched at birth. They wanted me to come home with them.

I went with them right away.

Ever since I was little, I'd always wished I could be like the other kids who had parents.

I wanted someone to hold me when I was sad and someone to stand up for me when I was bullied.

The day I came home with them, I really thought I finally had a family.

But now, it felt like I didn't have a home again.

As I thought about it, my throat felt so dry and tight, like it was stuffed with cotton. No words would come out at all.

When I stayed silent, Dad patted Mom's shoulder, his voice indifferent. "Alright, let Charlotte get some rest."

I knew they wouldn't bother visiting me again.

But to my surprise, they showed up again the next day.

Andrew Hughes tagged along behind them.

Mom looked at me, hesitated, and then fell silent.

Finally, Dad spoke up. "Charlotte, let Lily have your engagement to Andrew."