Chapter 1

My father has severe face blindness.

Forty years ago, someone drugged my father, and he spent the night with my mother. But he couldn't tell them apart—he married the mistress who took my mother's place.

Later, my father and the mistress became high society's model couple.

Meanwhile, my mother was slut-shamed for being pregnant out of wedlock and never married.

Forty years passed. Thanks to my exceptional beauty and talent, I married into the Caldwell family—the wealthiest family in New York—and gave birth to an heir.

The day my son brought his girlfriend home, I froze.

Looking at her face—three parts similar to my father's—and learning her name, I knew immediately: she was my father's granddaughter.

She wants to marry my son? In her dreams.

"Mom, this is Rayna. My girlfriend. I brought her home to meet you."

I shifted my gaze to Rayna Smith.

She was undeniably beautiful, radiating the delicate air of someone raised in luxury.

She held a gift in both hands, offering it to me with a sweet voice: "Hello, Mrs. Caldwell. This is a gift I brought for you."

I didn't take it.

The living room fell silent.

Adrian looked at me, then at her, calling softly: "Mom?"

I didn't look at him, only saying: "Adrian, go upstairs. I want to talk with Miss Smith privately."

He hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."

Only Rayna Smith and I remained in the living room.

The moment Adrian left, the sweet smile on Rayna's face vanished completely.

She tossed the gift onto the table and looked me up and down without courtesy.

"Mrs. Caldwell."

She spoke, her voice the same but her tone dripping with superiority.

"You sent your son away to lecture me?"

I said nothing.

"Fine, let's lay our cards on the table."

"I've heard about you. You're from out of town, no background, married into the wealthiest Caldwell family purely by luck."

"I know your type—women without background who can't stand seeing someone like me with good breeding. You're afraid I'll marry in and steal your spotlight, right?"

"You know perfectly well that the only thing you have going for you is that face. Unfortunately, faces age."

Rayna's gaze held a condescending scrutiny.

"But I'm different."

"My grandfather, Richard Smith, is a billionaire in New York. I attended the best private schools and moved in New York's top socialite circles."

She paused, as if giving me time to digest this information.

"Mrs. Caldwell, I've looked into you. You have no family. Your parents are long gone."

"Someone with your background could only marry into the wealthiest Caldwell family because Mr. Caldwell liked you. But how long does a man's affection last?"

"You're forty now, right? In a few years when age catches up with you, what will you have to compete with those young girls?"

"But I'm different. I have the Smith family behind me. Even if things don't work out with Adrian, I'm still a Smith family granddaughter. No one dares touch me."

"And you? Without the Caldwell family, what do you have left?"

She looked at me like I was pitiful.

"Mrs. Caldwell, be smart. If I really want to marry into the Caldwell family, you can't stop me."

"Rather than making things ugly, give me this favor now. After I marry in, I'll still show you some respect."