Chapter 1

I was the rightful heiress of the Nell family, long forgotten by the world.

The day I returned home, my brother Steven Nell held my hand with care, while my parents, Victor Nell and Erica Nell, hugged me tightly and wept.

Even the fake heiress, Hedda Nell, was consumed by guilt and willing to give me her enviable marriage herself.

I was deeply moved, thinking that the heavens had finally taken pity on me, and I finally had family who truly loved me.

But in the next moment, I caught their true thoughts.

[Jeremy Longman is born impotent, and he likes to torment women in bed. We couldn't bear to let Hedda marry him and suffer.]

[Now that Nicola's back, she can marry in Hedda's place and earn Hedda some praise. Two birds with one stone.]

That was when I realized that all their affection was just an act.

Since that was how it was, I didn't need to keep pretending to be the good girl anymore.

*****

"Nicola, my poor Nicola, we have truly wronged you," Victor and Erica choked out, their voices trembling with emotion.

The middle-aged couple before me wept uncontrollably, their eyes brimming with guilt and sorrow.

Beside them, my supposed brother, Steven, the eldest son of the family, looked at me with deep concern in his eyes.

"Now that you're home, no one will ever dare to hurt you again," Steven promised.

Hedda, the fake heiress, even reached out and held my hand, her voice sincere. "Nicola, the marriage to Prince Jeremy was always meant for you. I've already stolen sixteen years from you. I would never compete with you for the title of Jeremy's Princess."

At first, I thought Hedda and I would be rivals.

I never imagined she'd be so understanding, willingly offering me a marriage I never even dared to hope for.

I was at a loss for words when my mother, Erica, spoke up, "Hedda's right. Let this marriage be the Nell family's way of making amends to you."

My father, Victor, and my brother Steven nodded in agreement. "That's right, Nicola. Just get ready to be Jeremy's Princess, and don't worry about anything."

I was really moved.

The ice around my heart began to melt.

Becoming Jeremy's Princess meant the chance of finally getting my shot at a life of luxury and respect. After all the bullying I'd endured growing up, there was no way I'd ever let this chance slip away.

Just as I was about to nod and accept the marriage swap, I suddenly heard a sharp, mocking voice in my head.

[Nicola's such a fool. If it won't for the fact that Prince Jeremy is born impotent, and I'd be left all alone in a cold marriage, how could she ever get such a good deal?]

[Look at her, so greedy. She really thinks she's struck gold. What a joke. She's just my sacrificial lamb.]

I was so shocked that I yanked my hand away from Hedda and stumbled back.

I fell hard to the floor, my wrist got scraped and started bleeding.

But I didn't even feel the pain. I just stared at Hedda in disbelief, wondering what the hell that strange voice in my head was all about.

"Nicola, are you okay?" Steven rushed over to help me up, his face full of concern.

But the moment he touched me, I heard his impatient thoughts loud and clear.

[Hedda didn't even touch her, but Nicola just faked that fall on purpose. She's definitely trying to frame Hedda. Women who grew up in the slums are always so manipulative.]

My heart dropped like a stone.

Hearing those twisted inner voices, I started to realize this family's warmth might just be a façade.

I asked softly, "Mom, Dad, can I hug you? I've never been hugged by my parents before."

At my words, Erica and Victor's eyes brimmed with tears, and they pulled me into a tight, heartfelt embrace.

"Nicola, you've really had it rough," Victor said, his voice thick with emotion.

But as soon as they hugged me, their real thoughts rang out in my head.

[Steven was right. Nicola's just putting on a pity act, trying to make us feel guilty and stir up trouble between us and Hedda.]

[Someone with such lousy character doesn't deserve to be my daughter. Still, if she takes Hedda's place and marries Prince Jeremy, that's her stroke of luck. Guess that's her way of repaying us for raising her.]

My face stayed blank as I listened to their icy, ruthless thoughts.

I felt like bursting out laughing right then.

It turned out, believing that finding my real family would finally end my suffering was nothing but a delusion.

If they never saw me as one of their own, then I'd do whatever it takes to survive.

To really sell the act, Hedda even gave up her own Jade Pavilion and handed it over to me.

A bitter hostility churned inside me as I took in all the lavish, fancy decorations filling the room.

Ever since Hedda's real mother, Jesse Bowman, switched me at birth and hauled me off to the slums, I'd been sleeping in a pigsty, fighting with the pigs for scraps just to survive.

When I was little, I'd watch other moms hugging and loving their kids, and I'd cry, wishing Jesse would hold me too.

But all I ever got in return was a vicious beating from her.

She'd point at me and snarl, "You little wretch, you think I'd ever hug you? Let me tell you, you were born unlucky, doomed to be unloved your whole life."

After that, she'd strip me naked and throw me out the door, leaving me to freeze to death in the middle of winter.

Back then, I had no clue why Jesse hated me so much. It wasn't until she got drunk one night and blurted out the truth that I finally realized I was the real heiress of the Nell family, swapped at birth by her.

So when Jesse was wasted, I just tossed her into the pigsty and left her to be eaten alive by the pigs. After that, I headed straight for the Nell family to reclaim my identity.

I thought for sure a rich, high-class family like the Nells would never accept a broke, scrappy girl like me. Honestly, I was shocked when they actually welcomed me.

Even Hedda, the fake heiress, acted all nice and apologetic around me.