Chapter 1

I woke up as the real heiress in one of those "switched at birth" stories—the timid and insecure kind everyone looked down on.

My stepbrothers couldn't stand me and even started placing bets.

"Three months, tops. "I'll make her crawl back to that small, poor town on her own," one of them sneered.

My oldest stepbrother, Lucas Bennett, just gave a cold laugh. "Three months? Aim higher."

"One month is all I need," he said, sounding way too sure of himself.

I narrowed my eyes and let out a faint smile. Really?

One month was more than enough to wrap them both around my finger.

*****‍

Lucas pushed the door open and saw me standing there.

The hope in his eyes instantly turned to disdain.

He splashed a cup of warm coffee right in my face, his voice dripping with malice.

He sneered, "Since you heard everything, do yourself a favor and disappear.

"If you don't, don't blame me for what happens next."

Ethan Bennett, my other brother, glanced at my disheveled school uniform and snickered.

"Why waste your breath on her? Sabrina's class is ending soon. Let's go get her," he said.

Ever since I returned to Bennett Manor, peace had been hard to come by.

In the original story, Yvette Bennett would be standing there, her expression broken, asking Lucas and Ethan, "Why do you act like I don't even exist, even when I'm standing right in front of you?"

Of course, there was no way she'd get any sympathy from them.

After Lucas pushed her down the steps, she was banished back to the small, poor town, completely crushed.

Losing my temper at Lucas and Ethan? That would get me nowhere.

I calmly wiped the coffee off my face.

Clutching my red wrist, I muttered, faking a guilty and frustrated look.

I said softly, regret heavy in my voice, "It's my fault. If you want to send me away, I get it.

"I wanted to apologize to Sabrina after class, but she was gone before I could reach her."

I let a bit of helplessness show. "Some tough guys pulled her toward the pool hall. I couldn't stop them alone, so I came to find you..."

Before I could even finish, Lucas and Ethan shot out the door like arrows.

Just as I expected, Sabrina was the key to making them move.

They say three's a crowd for a reason.

Well, two guys and one girl? That's a recipe for drama too.

Both Lucas and Ethan were adopted by Yvette's parents, Mark and Sylvia Bennett, and to them, Sabrina Bennett, the fake heiress, was their light, the one good thing in their lives, so they always tried to be the "perfect big brothers" for her.

Before heading out to find Sabrina, Lucas would pump himself up with 300 push-ups, getting his blood flowing and his face flushed.

Meanwhile, Ethan, with a dark personality, would rip up Lucas' love letters and flush scraps down the toilet.

In the original story, they did everything they could to make sure Sabrina stayed the center of attention in the family.

They tormented me in every way imaginable, never letting up.

I was the real heiress, the only one with the Bennett family's blood.

But they kept sending me packing to the poor town, over and over, until I fell behind in school, failed my classes, and in the end, couldn't get into any college at all.

Mark and Sylvia gave up on me completely. They married me off to some violent, lame fool—a life with no future, no hope. My world went dark.

Just thinking about that pathetic ending made me clench my fists.

Now that I was here, inside this story, there was no way I was letting Yvette's tragedy become mine.