Chapter 1

The day I finally succeeded in proposing to my childhood sweetheart for the 99th time, news of Jason Gray's proposal to her also went viral.

On the giant screen, my fiancée Evelyn Song covered her blushing face as she shyly slipped on the ring Jason offered. Behind them, our families and friends showered them with blessings.

No one knew that Evelyn had also accepted my proposal.

Afterwards, she casually explained to me, "Jason has cancer. I'm just playing along to make him happy."

But as soon as she turned away, she wrapped her arms around Jason's neck and cooed—

"My wedding with your brother is in three days."

"I only said yes to you because I wanted to see you crash the wedding. Isn't that romantic?"

This time, I finally gave up and made a phone call—

"The wedding's in three days. Will you come? I need a bride."

On my wedding day, when I appeared before everyone with another woman on my arm, Evelyn suddenly went mad.

"Vaughn Gray, can you stop being so unreasonable?" Evelyn snapped at me after rushing back upon receiving my call. She angrily removed her engagement ring and tossed it onto the couch.

"Yes, I know you've suffered a lot in the past, but what does that have to do with Jason?" she continued, exasperated. "Do you really have to take out all your resentment on an innocent person?"

My name is Vaughn Gray. Jason is my half-brother, and Evelyn is my longtime girlfriend and fiancée.

When I was born, Jason's mother, posing as a nanny, switched our identities. I was abandoned in the countryside, becoming a poor orphan, while Jason suddenly became the pampered heir of the Gray family.

Perhaps out of guilt, my foster mother wasn't kind to me. She would often beat me with thorny branches, leaving me covered in wounds. On freezing winter days, she'd force me to stand outside in the snow and ice, refusing to give me even a sip of hot water.

During those dark days, Evelyn was my only support. She was the daughter of our neighbors - her mother was a gambling addict and her stepfather an alcoholic. When they fought, they'd take out their anger on her.

I can't count how many times I stepped in to shield her from their blows. In return, Evelyn would often sneak me half a bread roll when I was starving.

Supporting each other this way, we made it through our difficult childhoods together. Even after my true identity was revealed and I returned to the Gray family, I never forgot to rescue her from that hellhole.

I insisted on making her my girlfriend, supporting her life and education, elevating her from a poor girl to a pampered princess. She once tearfully cupped my face and told me I was the light of her life. If she ever left me, she would surely die.

So I could never understand why she always hesitated and made excuses every time I proposed to her before.

But now I finally understood—

My fiancée had fallen in love with that impostor who stole my place.