Chapter 1

Five years after the breakup, I returned to the country with my daughter to attend my ex-boyfriend's wedding.

At the ceremony, my daughter pointed at the groom and said sweetly, "Mommy, that man looks just like me."

Brody Johnston immediately dropped the bride. He stormed toward me and grabbed my wrist tightly, asking, "Isabella, you've got some nerve—hiding my child from me?"

I pulled my hand free, my expression completely unreadable.

"Does he?" I said calmly. "Maybe there's a bit of blood relation."

After a pause, I added, "After all, the child's father... is your brother."

*****

The atmosphere suddenly went still, like time itself had stopped.

Every eye in the room was locked on us.

"What are you talking about?" Brody shot back.

He clenched his jaw, his eyes swirling with shock and a hint of madness.

"My brother? Finlay Johnston?" Brody blurted out. "Isabella, are you seriously making up this kind of lie just to mess with me?"

I snorted, pulling out a wet wipe and meticulously cleaning the spot on my wrist where Brody had touched me.

"Get back at you?" I scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Brody. Who do you think you are?"

Maleah Bauer finally snapped out of it, rushed down the stage, flustered and furious.

She clung to Brody's arm, her eyes red with emotion.

"Isabella, I know you've always been jealous of Brody and me," Maleah said accusingly. "But today is our big day. How could you bring some illegitimate child here to crash our wedding?"

The moment Maleah spat out the word "illegitimate," my gaze turned icy.

The crisp sound of the slap rang out across the hall.

Maleah's head whipped to the side as she grabbed her face, letting out a scream.

"How dare you hit me?" she shrieked.

I stared her down, my voice icy cold. "Watch your mouth. Say one more word, and I won't hesitate to turn your wedding into a funeral today."

Brody instinctively pulled Maleah behind him, glaring at me. "Isabella, are you out of your mind?

"What did Maleah even do wrong? You vanished without a word five years ago, and now you just show up with a kid and have the nerve to smear my brother's name?

"Someone like my brother would never stoop to your level. Why would a guy like him ever be interested in a shallow, fame-chasing woman like you?"

I stared at the man I'd loved for four years, and my stomach twisted in knots.

Five years ago, he did the same thing—stepping in front of Maleah without hesitation

Even though I was the one Maleah pushed down the stairs, bleeding all over, all he cared about was comforting the shaken Maleah, telling me, "Isabella, Maleah didn't mean it. Don't take it so seriously."

That was my first child.

I took a deep breath, swallowing the sarcasm in my eyes.

I said, "Go ahead, call Finlay. See what he says."

I gently took Sienna's hand in mine.

Sienna blinked her big, innocent eyes and piped up, "Mommy, that man is really scary. He's nowhere near as gentle as Daddy."

Brody locked his gaze on Sienna, her face like a tiny copy of his own. Those Johnston family features couldn't be more obvious.

His breathing grew heavy.

"Alright, very well," Brody growled.

He pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed the number.

"Today, I'll make sure you finally get it—even if it kills you." he spat.

The phone rang for a long time, but nobody answered.

Maleah saw this and instantly looked utterly aggrieved.

"Brody, stop calling. Finlay has a million things to do. He doesn't have time to waste on some crazy woman's drama," she whined.

She turned to me, shooting a nasty look full of malice.

Maleah sneered, "Isabella, you really think you can just borrow some random guy's genes, pop out a kid, and use that to worm your way into the Johnston family?

"Back then, you hooked up with Brody just to get your hands on the Johnston family's money. When I exposed you, you ran off abroad with your tail between your legs.

"Now you're trying to pull the same stunt again?"

The guests around us started whispering.

They gave me dirty looks, like I was beneath them.

"So that's what she's like—a total gold digger," someone snickered.

"She actually dared to mess with the Johnston heir? She must be crazy," someone else scoffed.

I listened to all the nasty gossip, didn't even raise an eyebrow.

Five years ago, I would've been stung by these rumors and hidden away to cry.

But now, I just thought it was ridiculous.

Back then, I was the true heiress of the Richards family, but I hadn't been claimed.

Brody thought I was just some broke college girl, and he never thought twice about everything I did for him.

But as soon as Maleah, that so-called rich princess, showed up, he treated me like dirt just for her.

I stared her down, my eyes cold as ice. "Maleah, do you really not remember who was the one climbing into someone's bed for money back then?

"If your bankrupt Bauer family hadn't been leeching off Brody all this time, you guys would've been out on the street ages ago."