Sam and Paxton, the two men who claimed to love me, were both lying to my face. I wanted to laugh, but my eyes burned. When I reached up to wipe them, my fingertips were wet with tears.

Forget it. I didn’t want anything anymore. Right now, the only thing that mattered was staying alive.

Paxton didn’t seem suspicious. He was still as patient and gentle as ever, but I had no intention of staying by his side anymore. I packed my things, and when he came home from work that evening, I told him I wanted to break up.

He froze for a moment. Then, in that same affectionate tone, he coaxed me like always. “What’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you, my Leah?”

He pulled me into his arms, his fingers gently rubbing my earlobe.

I stared at him in silence. His acting was flawless. It was no wonder I hadn’t seen through him before. But now, all I saw was deceit.

“Paxton, do you love me? Or do you love Georgina?”

His expression stiffened as he hadn’t expected me to bring up her name so directly. A full minute passed, but he didn’t answer.

“Can you even tell the difference between us?” I tilted my head, watching him closely.

I had seen Georgina once by chance. We looked almost identical.

So that’s what this was, wasn’t it? Sam and Paxton both treated me as a substitute, a tool to keep Georgina safe and healthy.

“You heard everything.”

Paxton finally let go of me, his face returning to its usual calm.

“Leah.” He sighed and lowered himself to my eye level, his dark gaze unreadable. “Your heart is the perfect match. Sam and I will take care of everything. You don’t have to worry about anything happening to you. I promise you won’t die. After the surgery, I’ll stay by your side.”

His voice was steady and patient, as if he were explaining something reasonable. However, every word felt like a knife slicing through me. Even now, he was still lying.

“What if I don’t agree?”

He paused, as if the thought had never even occurred to him, or maybe because my opinion didn’t matter at all.

Just as he was about to speak, a sudden knock on the door shattered the tense silence. Paxton went to open it, and standing outside was a middle-aged couple, dressed in a sophisticated manner.

The woman, adorned in jewelry, stepped inside and gave me a scrutinizing look. Her gaze was anything but kind.

“Sir. Ma’am.” Paxton greeted them politely, but an uneasy feeling crept up inside me.

“I overheard everything,” the woman said coldly. “It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not. The surgery will happen.”

I looked at her face, which bore a resemblance to Georgina, and in that instant, I understood who they were.

The man beside her, who had been silent until now, suddenly smiled.

“You’re a smart girl,” he said. “I doubt we need to introduce ourselves.”

I frowned but didn’t answer, and he didn’t seem offended either.

“We’re Georgina’s parents, but we’re also your parents.”

I froze, stunned, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth. Then, from a stranger’s lips, I learned the truth about myself.

Georgina and I were twins. She was born just one minute before me. That was why we looked so much alike.

Georgina was born with a weak heart, but I was perfectly healthy. The Summers said I was a curse—that I brought bad luck to my sister and ruined the family’s fortune, so my parents resented me. Not long after I was born, they had someone abandon me by the side of the road, far from home.

Paxton remained indifferent, as if he had known that all along.

“That’s why you don’t have a choice,” he said calmly. “Whether you want to or not, you’re going through with this surgery. Georgina is your sister. Giving her your heart is what you should do.”

I bit my lip hard, trying to stay calm even as my body trembled.

By now, my face was soaked with tears, but the middle-aged man before me only looked at me with cold, ruthless eyes. There was no guilt or remorse—only disgust.

“Don’t you understand? You should never have been born. If it weren’t for you, our precious daughter wouldn’t have suffered all these years, and our family business wouldn’t have faced that crisis. You are nothing but a disaster.”

I felt lost, overwhelmed by the truth I had spent my whole life trying to understand.

Paxton’s eyes flickered with hesitation before he came over and took my hand.

“Leah, just get the surgery done. I’ll take you to Iceland afterward, okay? You’ve always wanted to go, haven’t you?”

I instinctively stepped back. Even now, his promises weren’t for me or his pity for me. They were still for Georgina.

“You knew this all along, didn’t you?”

I looked straight into his eyes, desperately searching for an answer. However, reality hit me harder than any truth ever could.

After a brief pause, Paxton nodded.

I refused to agree.

“Leah!” For the first time, Paxton’s expression darkened. “Just listen to me. I won’t abandon you.”

Still, I was stubborn.

The well-dressed woman—my so-called mother—had lost all patience. She stormed over and slapped me hard across the face.

“Do you not understand? This surgery is happening, whether you like it or not! Let’s not waste our breath. Watch her carefully. She’s not to leave this place before the operation.”

Paxton didn’t argue. His eyes were now filled with disappointment.

The three of them left, locking me inside Paxton’s apartment. They even stationed guards at the door.

I curled up on the cold floor, my cheek still burning from the slap.

We were both their daughters. Yet, one was pampered and sheltered, given everything she ever wanted, while the other was discarded like trash, left to fend for herself.

Should I blame my parents for being so heartless, or should I blame fate for choosing me as the cursed one?

Life at the orphanage was tough. Since I was little, I had held onto one dream—to find my parents and have a home. I never wanted riches or power but just a family that loved me.

Now that I had finally met my parents, I knew, once and for all, that I would never have that kind of home.

The next day, Sam appeared at the apartment. For a brief, foolish moment, I thought he had come to save me, but I was wrong.

“Leah, just go through with the surgery,” he said softly. “We won’t abandon you.”

His tone was gentle, careful not to upset me.

As I was too exhausted to feel anything anymore, I didn’t respond, and Sam didn’t try to convince me further. There was no need to either. The surgery was tomorrow, and I had no way to escape.

I was forced onto the operating table, with Sam and Paxton standing beside me. Their faces were calm and devoid of guilt.

As my consciousness faded, memories of my lonely years flashed through my mind.

I had no home, and I had no love.

After the surgery, they placed me in the hospital room right next to Georgina’s. The walls weren’t soundproof. I could hear everything—laughter, comforting words, and soft reassurances.

Sam and Paxton promised Georgina they’d take her on a trip once she was discharged, while her parents doted on her, gently telling her to take better care of herself. Everything I had once desperately longed for was right there, but for some reason, I no longer cared.

During my hospital stay, Sam and Paxton came to see me once, and I pretended to be asleep. They didn’t bother waiting. After standing at my door for barely half a minute, they went back to Georgina’s room.

I spent nearly the entire recovery period alone, and when I was finally well enough to leave, I got up quietly, ready to disappear. However, just as I stood, an unfamiliar scent filled the air.

A strange dizziness washed over me. My limbs went weak, and the next moment, everything went dark. By the time I regained consciousness, the world around me had changed.

I was in an abandoned warehouse, bound hand and foot. When I looked up, I saw Georgina standing there in a pristine white dress.

Noticing I was awake, she walked over, crouched down, and gently grasped my chin between her fingers.

“This face… It really does look exactly like mine,” she murmured.

A cold wave of unease settled over me. “What do you want?”

Georgina’s tone sharpened. “No matter how much you look like me, you can’t hide what you really are—filth.”

Ignoring my question, she waved a hand, and the men around us grabbed me, dragging me outside.

The sound of crashing waves echoed in my ears. The warehouse opened up to a towering cliff overlooking the ocean. I could feel the blood drain from my face.

Georgina watched as the blood drained from my face. Then, she started talking. “Tell me, why did you have to exist in their lives?”

She sighed, almost as if she were disappointed. “At first, I didn’t understand. There were plenty of hearts in the world that could have been a match for me. So why did Sam and Paxton insist on keeping you so close?

“Then, I figured it out… It’s because they love you.”

I froze, my head snapping up.

She laughed. “You don’t believe me? I, too, didn’t want to believe it, but it’s the truth. They don’t even realize it yet. But once you’re gone, I’ll finally have peace of mind.

“Why should trash like you share my blood? Leah, you were never meant to be born.”

So being kidnapped was Georgina’s doing, and I just listened to her rant, unmoved.

How ironic. I had never been called elegant in my life, while Georgina was the perfect daughter of a prestigious family—graceful, refined, and raised with the utmost care.

Yet, standing here, on the edge of a cliff, she no longer resembled the poised lady everyone admired. Her every word and action reeked of cruelty.

She continued, “Why don’t you take a guess who they’ll choose. You or me?”

Not long after, Sam and Paxton appeared before us. I didn’t have to think to know Georgina must’ve sent someone to inform them.

The ropes around my wrists tightened painfully as the kidnappers secured their grip. I could feel my skin burning, raw and torn. Meanwhile, Georgina had already perfected her performance with her face pale and eyes brimming with unshed tears, playing the part of the fragile victim.

Then, the kidnapper spoke. “Mr. Sam, Mr. Paxton, you only get to save one.”