Chapter 1

Tags: True Heiress, Total Regret, Unfair Favoritism, Heartache

Five years. That was how long it took for the kidnappers to dump me back at the Hayes estate.

It happened to be the wedding day of my ex-fiancé, Carter Hayes, and the fake heiress, Hailey.

No one welcomed me. They probably assumed I’d been tortured to death years ago. Seeing me alive was just an inconvenience.

My parents glared at me, their eyes full of warning.

"Since you’re back, stay in line. Don't you dare bully Hailey!"

Carter stood at the altar, his fingers tightly intertwined with Hailey’s. He barked at me, his voice sharp with irritation:

"Evelyn, don’t cause a scene! You and I are over. Hailey is my fiancée now."

Listening to him, I only found it absurd.

"Five years ago, you left me behind as a hostage overseas. Didn't you promise you'd come get me the very next day?"

Silence. No one answered.

Sensibly, I stopped asking. I walked over, pulled out a chair, and waved dismissively at the frozen officiant.

"Ignore me. Keep going."

"I’ll be gone in three days anyway. I won't be an eyesore for long."

They didn’t believe me. Their eyes were still loaded with disgust and suspicion.

Until three days later, when I truly vanished into thin air, reemerging as Sebastian Kane’s bride.

That was when my parents panicked, and Carter lost his mind.

They grabbed my hands, screaming that they were going to save me from the monster's den.

I hid blankly behind Sebastian, watching as he pressed the barrel of his gun against Carter’s forehead.

"My wife underwent a memory erasure procedure because her past was too painful to bear."

"To her, you're nothing more than disrespectful strangers. Now, will you get lost, or do I make you?"

The moment I sat down, security guards surrounded me in dead silence.

Afraid I'd ruin everything, my parents flanked me on both sides, hissing in hushed tones:

"Today is Hailey and Carter’s wedding. Don’t cause trouble. What happened back then... your father and I are sorry, but we had no choice."

"Now that you’re back, we’ll give you some money as compensation."

I nodded, offering no argument.

I picked up my fork and began picking at the food.

On stage, the trembling officiant had no choice but to awkwardly resume the ceremony.

Until I accidentally dropped my fork.

Clatter.

The entire hall fell dead silent. Countless gossiping, expectant eyes locked onto me, waiting for me to explode and throw a tantrum.

My parents shot to their feet in panic. Carter didn’t even bother finishing his vows—he stepped forward instantly, shielding Hailey behind his back.

"Evelyn, if you lay a single finger on Hailey, I’ll have security throw you out right now!"

I actually wanted to explain.

Five years ago, the only reason I’d ever touched Hailey was because I caught her secretly recording me in the shower, planning to leak the video online.

But I knew none of them would believe me.

So I simply stood up, offered a polite, shallow bow to the room, and spoke calmly.

"Sorry for the interruption. Could someone bring me a clean fork?"

"Please, carry on. I wish you both a long and happy marriage."

With that, I sat back down in quiet indifference.

That was the first time Carter truly looked at me.

I was different now.

I had lost so much weight I looked gaunt, my temper was gone, and the eyes that once looked at him with endless adoration were dead. When my gaze casually brushed over him, it held nothing. Just a detached glance before looking down again.

My parents exchanged uneasy glances, sensing that something was wrong.

This wasn’t what they had expected.

I was supposed to scream, throw things, and tear this wedding apart.

Only then could they comfort their guilty consciences:

*See? We were right to listen to Hailey back then and not pay her ransom. Leaving her abroad really tamed her wild temper.*

Only in that moment did the guilt soften their eyes.

I didn’t care. I kept my head down, eating quietly.

Sebastian was worried my severe depression would worsen, so he had already arranged a top specialist to wipe my traumatic memories in three days.

Coming back here was just my way of saying goodbye.

After all, the next time we crossed paths, we would be absolute strangers.

After the toasts were done, Carter and Hailey finally came over and sat at the table.

After a long, suffocating silence, Carter spoke first:

"Evelyn... these past five years, have you been okay?"