Chapter 1
“Lily, you must be carrying a boy!”
“You’ll be their greatest contributor by continuing the family line. Dad’s future depends on you!”
My father exclaimed excitedly, holding my sister’s prenatal check-up report. Meanwhile, my sister stared greedily at my belly, a barely noticeable smile on her face.
Seeing the scene identical to my previous life, I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.
This time, I absolutely won’t let you have your way!
I covered my mouth and bent over, dry heaving continuously. My father glanced at me with disgust and said impatiently, “I don’t know how the Gray family’s heir apparent took a liking to you.”
“But it doesn’t matter. In the future, he and you won’t even be fit to shine Yvonne’s shoes.”
After saying this, he exaggeratedly supported my sister, his face beaming with joy.
Watching their retreating figures, I sneered. Sure enough, both father and daughter were despicable creatures.
In my previous life, before my grandfather passed away, he struggled to arrange my marriage to Lucas Gray, my childhood sweetheart and the heir to the city’s most powerful family.
When my sister heard the news, she threw a tantrum, saying she wanted to marry into a wealthy family too.
But she was nothing more than the illegitimate daughter from my father’s affair. She was only able to move into our home because my mother had passed away early and my grandfather had been bedridden for years.
My father pestered my grandfather time and time again until finally, to protect me from being bullied, grandfather agreed to let my sister marry into the Gray family as well, though she would wed Zack Gray, the family’s black sheep.
The wedding was held in a castle, where our mother-in-law promised that whoever gave birth to an heir would inherit all of the Gray family’s assets.
Coincidentally, my sister and I became pregnant on the same day and even gave birth on the same day.
But fate played a cruel trick. Under their scheming, I gave birth to a pitch-black child. My father didn’t hesitate to sever ties with me.
My mother-in-law also cursed me as a slut. They locked me, weak from just giving birth, in the basement, planning to wait for Lucas to return so he could personally throw me out.
That night, my sister came to the basement with a can of gasoline.
“Your son will have to call me mom from now on. Everything that was yours is mine now!”
It was then that I realized I hadn’t given birth to a black child at all. My baby was healthy and fair-skinned.
It was Yvonne who had given birth to the black child. She had always been jealous of me for being smarter and prettier, envious that my grandfather left everything to me, and resentful that I could marry Lucas Gray.
She and my gold-digging father had conspired together, bribing all the doctors to give me her child and then accusing me of infidelity.
Years later, after Yvonne gave birth to her own child, she orchestrated another “accident,” pushing my son off a luxury yacht, drowning him!
She ensured that both my son and I died without intact bodies, while also bearing a lifelong stigma.
Now, seeing her, I truly wished I could grind her bones to dust and cut her into a thousand pieces!
By the time we reached the hospital entrance, my father was already helping my sister into the luxury car Lucas had bought for me.
Looking at the empty driver’s seat, I curled my lips into an innocent smile. “Dad, I think you’re right. It’s of utmost importance for my sister to give the Gray family a child.”
I turned to look at my sister’s strange expression. “As it happens, my best friend is returning from abroad today. She’s a professional nutritionist. Why don’t we have her take care of my sister’s prenatal care?”
In my previous life, my best friend had always been worried about me, which was why she returned early to be by my side.
Unfortunately, I was too stupid back then. I still believed in family bonds and rejected my friend’s good intentions.
Hearing this, both my father and sister’s expressions changed. They stiffly refused, “You think marrying into the Gray family means you’ve reached the top? What nutritionist needs your approval? Do you have any sense of respect for your elders? Is this how your grandfather, that supposedly well-respected dean, taught you?”
My father became increasingly agitated, his entire face turning red.
My sister chimed in, “You’re asking your friend to take care of me? What if something happens to me? Wouldn’t that be convenient for you?”
I coldly watched their reactions, understanding most of what was going on. Sure enough, there was still something wrong with my sister’s pregnancy.
Seeing that I didn’t respond, my father excitedly got out of the car, grabbed my arm, and raised his hand. “I never thought you’d harbor such intentions!”
“I can see now that you and your mother are cut from the same cloth!”
Looking at my furious father, I couldn’t help but laugh, both for myself and for my foolish mother.
This ungrateful social climber, who would scheme against even his own daughter, was truly eye-opening.
But unfortunately for them, they would miscalculate this time.
I wasn’t pregnant at all. Even my protruding belly was a fake one I had bought online.
In this life, I wouldn’t give birth at the same time as her. How could they swap babies now?
My father’s expression became even more unpleasant as I laughed. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out, “Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson!”
As he finished speaking, his hand swung down hard.
But before it could land on my face, someone kicked him away, sending him stumbling backward with a yelp as he fell to the ground.
He was about to lash out when he saw it was Lucas Gray. Immediately, he switched to a fawning demeanor.
“Son-in-law, why are you here? Weren’t you busy with the acquisition?”
Lucas ignored my father’s attempt at flattery and pulled me into his arms.
In my previous life, when I was accused of infidelity, he was the first to stand up and declare his trust in me. He even warned everyone over the phone not to touch a hair on my head.
But just as he was rushing back overnight, his car’s brakes failed, and he plunged off a cliff, his body never found.
Feeling his warm embrace, I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion.
Thankfully, in this life, everything could still be salvaged.
He whispered in my ear, “I’m sorry I’m late.”
I shook my head, fighting back tears.
“Who were you going to teach a lesson to?” Lucas’s imposing presence was palpable. As the normally stern heir to the city’s most powerful family, no one dared to come within half a step of him except for me. If he hadn’t been so concerned and careless in my previous life, he wouldn’t have fallen for their tricks.
His gaze swept over my sister, who had been so arrogant just moments ago. Now she was terrified, her whole body trembling as she looked fearfully at my father.
My father’s face flashed with embarrassment. He quickly approached again, bowing and scraping. “It’s nothing, nothing at all. I was just giving Lily a bit of fatherly advice.”
Lucas kept his arm around my waist, not even bothering to look up. “You’re Lily’s father, so I I can overlook it.”
“But what about Yvonne? Since when does the Gray family allow you to speak to your sister-in-law like that?”
She was so frightened her legs gave out, and she burst into tears.
Seeing her trembling in fear, I felt a rush of satisfaction. She was finally getting a taste of her own medicine!
Lucas’s cold gaze swept across Yvonne’s face as he contemptuously spat out:
“Apologize to Lily.”
“Yvonne was just thinking of the baby and spoke without thinking. There’s no need for apologies between sisters!” My father swallowed hard and tentatively asked, “Good son-in-law, for my sake, please don’t be hard on Yvonne.”
But Lucas had always been a man of his word. How could he allow anyone to bully me without seeking revenge?
He pulled me back half a step and gave his bodyguard a cold look.
The bodyguard immediately rushed forward, restrained my father to one side, and then slapped Yvonne more than a dozen times across the face. Her mouth bled and her cheeks swelled up.
Yvonne’s tears flowed freely, but she didn’t dare resist or even cry out in pain.
Lucas smirked at my father, who was now terrified. “You’re Lily’s father, so I’ve still shown you some respect.”
“As for you?” He turned his gaze to Yvonne, whose face was now swollen like a pig’s head. “Don’t let me catch you bullying Lily again, or I won’t be so lenient.”
Yvonne nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing the hatred in her eyes, I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
She would never have imagined that I had returned to the past two months ago.
And the first thing I did when I opened my eyes was to tell Lucas everything.