Chapter 1
Marlon Marrow, my childhood friend, suddenly started ignoring my father's legitimate daughter and showered me, the fake heiress, with all his attention.
He told me, "I'm Marlon, and I'm from the 28-year-old self."
He came back from ten years in the future, just to fix the regrets we had in our youth.
I chuckled. "Funny you should say that.
"I came back from when I was thirty."
I was also trying to make up for what I missed out on.
Rex Rodgers, that lean and dangerously attractive guy, was drenched in sweat as he played on the basketball court.
When he caught me watching him, his ears flushed bright red and he swallowed nervously.
I pointed at Rex and told Marlon, "I'm here to get my husband back."
*****
I came to, still feeling weak in the knees.
My roommate, Angela Hersey, gently tugged at my sleeve.
She whispered, "Madison, let's just forget it.
"Let's go eat somewhere else."
I looked around, still a bit dazed, and realized I was in a private room at a restaurant.
Roxanne stood in front of me with a few other girls.
She crossed her arms, giving me a subtle, knowing smile.
The girls with Roxanne were decked out in luxury brands, each carrying the latest Celine bag.
She looked me and my roommates up and down, sizing us up from head to toe.
Roxanne said, "Let's not even get started on who Marlon actually booked this place for.
"Even if you all put your allowances together, could you actually pay for this meal?"
My roommates were clearly uneasy with those girls staring us down.
Our outfits totally clashed with the style of this place.
I brought them here to thank them for taking care of me when I was sick, and also because Angela's ex dumped her for some rich girl and bragged about this exclusive restaurant online.
His post read: [Go on a date here, and you'll never have to worry about bumping into your ex.]
This place was a luxury brand collab spot. If a customer spent 3 million dollars here, they would automatically become a member.
Out of spite, I asked Marlon to book it for me.
We'd barely stepped into the private room when Roxanne walked in with her crew.
She said Marlon booked the room for her.
Roxanne and her friends were dressed to the nines, oozing that rich-girl vibe so hard that even the restaurant staff looked uncomfortable.
The waiter, clearly nervous, asked me to call the person who made the reservation and double-check.
One of Roxanne's friends lifted her chin, looking smug as she locked eyes with me.
She asked, "Let me guess, you're the fake heiress who knew she was the side chick and still went for it, right?
"How can someone be so shameless?
"You stole someone else's cushy life for over a decade.
"And their fiancé, too!"
One of Roxanne's friends sneered, "Wow, you just can't help yourself, can you? You even have to snatch this private room, too?
"You are so shameless."
Seeing me get trashed like that, my roommates were not having it.
Angela marched right up, pointing at the girl with a mocking grin.
She said, "Fake heiress? Seriously, you binge too many webnovels.
"Isn't Madison her father's actual daughter?
"Isn't Marlon Madison's boyfriend?
"If anyone's knowingly playing the third wheel here, it's Roxanne.
"I heard Madison call Marlon to book this room."
I gently pulled Angela back. "Don't waste your breath on them, it's not worth it."
That snarky tone pissed Roxanne off right away.
She pulled out her phone and gave me a defiant glare.
Roxanne sneered, "Are you even his real girlfriend?
"Who's this room really for?"
"I'll call Marlon right now and settle this."
Roxanne was so sure of herself because Marlon always favored her and felt sorry for her.
I knew exactly how it would go if she made that call. Marlon would straight up tell the waiter that the room was booked for Roxanne.
He'd even act like we were nothing, right in front of me and all of Roxanne's friends.
My roommates and I would end up getting kicked out, looking like total losers.
Later, when I confronted Marlon about it, he'd just frown impatiently and brush me off.
He'd say, "It's just a private room. What's the big deal?
"I'll just book you another one.
"Roxanne is your sister. You know what kind of life she had to live because of you.
"You owe her so much, and honestly, you'll probably never make it up to her in this lifetime.
"I'm just doing this to make up for you."
Just like that, with one line about making up for it, he dismissed all the pain I'd been through and every time he'd ignored me.
Roxanne and I were both daughters of the same man.
On my sixteenth birthday, Roxanne showed up at the Valdez family, battered and bruised, ready to reveal the truth and reclaim what was hers.
Through her broken sobs, my parents finally learned what really happened.
It turned out that the day we were born, someone swapped us.
That person was my birth mother, the old lover my dad had abandoned.
They both gave birth to daughters on the same day, at the same hospital.
My birth mother was eaten up with jealousy. She couldn't stand that my adoptive mother's daughter could enjoy a life of wealth and privilege.
Meanwhile, her own daughter had to grow up with her, scraping by in poverty.
Out of pure spite, she swapped me and Roxanne in the nursery.
From then on, our lives were worlds apart.
I grew up pampered and protected by my parents.
But Roxanne spent her whole childhood suffering under my birth mother's abuse.
When my birth mother found out she was dying, it finally hit her that she was running out of time.
That was when she came clean and told Roxanne everything.
My adoptive mom listened to Roxanne's story, gently tracing the raw wounds on her arm, and broke down in tears.
Just like that, all the love she had for me disappeared in a single night.
From that day on, whenever she looked at me, there was nothing but disgust in her eyes.
Even my dad started treating me the same way.
He poured all the hatred he felt for my birth mother onto me.
It was like I was the real villain, the one guilty of every crime.
At home, I was just a ghost, completely invisible to them.