On my wedding day, everything went haywire. Melisa, the girl my family mistakenly raised as their own daughter, couldn't bear it anymore and went live online. You see, we were swapped at birth in the hospital.

As if that wasn't enough, my almost-husband decided to abandon me right there and then to save her. Her real parents even cut off my foster mom's medical support just to please her. My poor foster mom was clinging to life and there I was, begging my biological brother, who coincidentally was the doctor, to help her. But he was busy fussing over Melisa, pretending she was frail and wounded.

The whole scandal blew up online, with netizens tearing me apart, saying I was some heartless witch blocking Melisa's path. It was too much. So, I faked my death and hightailed it out of the country, leaving only a diary behind. I wanted them all to live with the guilt forever.

***

Today, came the wedding day disaster. The big screen flickered to life, but instead of showing my carefully crafted video, we heard a mournful voice. "Cody doesn't want me anymore. What's the point of my life?"

I froze, my mind racing. It was Melisa—the girl who my wealthy family had raised thinking she was their own. In the video, she sat on the balcony railing, tears streaming down her face. "Today is Cody and my sister's wedding. I should be happy for them, but I love Cody."

"Melisa!" screamed the man next to me in anguish, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to be my groom and declaring his undying love for her instead.

My parents in the front row panicked and bolted without a word. Cody looked like he wanted to follow them, but I clung to his sleeve and pleaded, “My parents are already at Melisa’s place. Today’s our wedding—can we at least finish what we started?”

My foster mom just wanted me to be happy. If she found out I was abandoned at my own wedding, it would break her heart. But Cody didn’t seem to care. He slowly pried my fingers off his sleeve, one by one.

It hurt—a sharp pain in both my hand and my heart. “Why are you being so cruel?” he said. “It’s just a wedding, do you think it’s more important than Melisa’s life? She loves me so much she’d die without me.”

He pushed me away without looking back. I fell to the ground, tears blurring my vision, while the mocking voices of the guests echoed in my ears.

To be honest, none of this surprised me. My biological parents only brought me back for Melisa’s sake.

I grew up in a tiny mountain village, where life was humble but happy. Then, at the age of twenty, a stranger showed up at my door claiming the hospital had made a mistake—I was actually the biological daughter of the wealthy Jordan Family.

My foster mother, wanting the best for me, agreed to this marriage.

The day I was supposed to leave, my mom cried so hard she couldn’t get a word out. She pulled out a stack of cash from under her sheets, some crumpled, some neat and counted it over and over with her worn-out hands. Then, she shoved it all into my pockets.

Sitting in the car, torn between leaving my mom and meeting my biological parents, I was filled with a mix of emotions. But instead of heading to my new family, the driver took me straight to the hospital.

There, I met my biological parents who insisted I donate blood to Melisa after her car accident. They argued that if it weren’t for that accident, they wouldn’t have found out about our true identities and I wouldn’t have had the chance to return to the Jordan Family. They expected me to be grateful to Melisa.

They were so afraid I’d refuse that they had two bodyguards hold me down. I tried to explain—I had no problem helping Melisa, she was my mom’s biological daughter after all. But no one listened.

I passed out during the transfusion. Later, I learned that donating 900 cc of blood at once could have cost me my life.

When I woke up, I was alone. My parents and brother were all in Melisa’s hospital room. They didn’t seem to care much about their biological daughter—it was like they had already replaced me.

On the day I left the hospital, I finally came face-to-face with Melisa. I greeted her warmly, but she shied away behind our mom, claiming she was scared. No matter how many times I reassured her, she didn’t trust me. Once, when we were alone, she even accused me of pushing her down the stairs—a complete fabrication.

My parents didn’t bother asking—they punished me by making me stand outside the door all night. It happened to rain that day, each droplet felt like needles, causing me excruciating pain. By the next morning, I had a high fever and felt like I was seeing my mother in a blur.

Returning to the Jordan Family a few days ago shattered all my expectations. Trying to hold back tears, I called my foster mother. She picked up right away, her voice filled with concern, “What’s wrong, Audrey? Are you settling in okay? How are they treating you there?”

Hearing my mother’s worried tone, I felt a pang of regret. “I’m okay, Mom,” I reassured her. “Just missing you.” There was no point in complaining; it would only make her worry and lose sleep over me.

With all the guests gone, I remained slumped on the ground. Taking out my phone from my bag, I noticed the crumpled pregnancy test form inside. I had just found out I was two months pregnant, planning to surprise Cody after the wedding. Now, that plan seemed irrelevant.

I unlocked my phone to call Cody but got distracted by an entertainment news alert.

[Melisa attempted to commit suicide out of jealousy, the Stone Family’s prince sacrificed himself for love.]

What?

I shivered, tapping the notification repeatedly until the video loaded. In the footage, Melisa leapt from a rooftop and without hesitation, Cody followed, holding her tightly as they hit the ground.

I couldn’t shake the memories of Cody always insisting Melisa was like a sister whenever I saw them flirting. Yet here he was, willing to give up his life to fulfill Melisa’s irrational act. Would a brother truly do this for his sister?

As I sat there, trying to make sense of it all, several young women walked past me, chatting excitedly. “Did you see the news? Cody’s proving his love, ready to sacrifice himself for his girl.”

“Yeah, because Melisa’s worth it. He never appreciated her before, but now he’s willing to go to extremes for her.”

“It’s like a story straight out of a romance novel. So tragic and romantic!”

Their words cut through me like a knife, adding to the turmoil in my heart.

As the voices faded into the distance, I couldn't help but burst out laughing, even as tears gathered at the corners of my eyes.

"Love is so beautiful, isn't it?" I mused bitterly. "If I wasn't the abandoned bride or the scapegoat in their love story, maybe I'd see it that way."

Suddenly, my phone rang—it was Melisa calling. Her voice came through cheerfully, "Audrey, being the biological daughter doesn't matter. Everyone loves me."

I retorted, "You shouldn't say that. Your biological mother cares deeply about me."

She scoffed, "That farmer can't be my mother! You're foolish to think she's worth anything. Oh and I forgot to mention, my parents just cut off that poor woman's medical expenses to make me happy." Her laughter crackled through the phone. "Audrey, how much longer do you think she'll keep loving you?"

With that, she hung up, leaving me reeling from her callous words. It was a harsh reminder of the harsh realities I faced in their twisted world.

Even though it was summer, I suddenly felt this chill. I jumped up, tripped over myself and bolted out of the door, grabbing a taxi straight to the hospital. Sitting there, the lady driver hesitated and said, “Hey, your outfit…”

It dawned on me—I’d rushed out without changing out of my wedding dress. The once pristine white gown now trailed dirty on the ground, barely recognizable.

“If you want, you can change into some of my spare clothes,” the driver offered kindly.

My eyes welled up. It was comforting to know there were still people who cared. At the hospital, I urgently asked about Cody’s ward and then borrowed some cash. As I approached his room, I overheard him on the phone.

“Yeah, that set of African rubies Melisa tried on the other day? Pack it up and send it to City Center Hospital. Five million? Okay, just deduct it from my account.”

I waited until he hung up before entering, tears streaming down my face. “Cody, my mom… my foster mom is sick and the Jordan Family cut off her medical coverage out of nowhere. Could you lend me 10,000 dollars? I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

He let out a sigh, looking utterly helpless.

“You know, Mrs. Jordan invited her over to thank her, but she went after Melisa like a crazy dog. She deserved to die.”

No daughter could bear hearing her mother being cursed like that. Anger flashed in my eyes and a sudden hit of pain shot through my lower abdomen.

It all started when my mom caught Melisa bullying me and stood up for me. That was why she scolded Melisa.

As I looked at Cody, it hit me—he wasn’t the guy I once loved.

Yeah, there was a time when I really cared about him.

Everyone thought we were just business partners, but from the moment I set foot in the Jordan Family, I secretly started to develop feelings for him.

That day, I ended up fainting from losing too much blood. In the evening, this cool and good-looking guy showed up to visit me.

He handed me a box of chocolates, all in some foreign language I couldn’t read—they looked fancy.

“Thanks on behalf of Melisa. After your next blood transfusion, these chocolates will help keep your energy up so you won’t faint,” he said in his smooth voice.

I foolishly thought, my parents and brother didn’t even bother, but here was someone being genuinely nice to me.

I asked him who he was.

Turns out, he was Cody Stone, the Jordan Family’s pick for me—my fiancé.

God, Audrey, how clueless, I thought and laughed, sitting down and clutching my stomach.

How could a box of chocolates win you over?

But the laughter quickly faded. Because I realized, I was no different now.

That lady driver who gave me clothes earlier? She moved me to tears too, didn’t she?

I never quite got the whole world of wealthy people. Used to try and please everyone to fit in. Now, all I want is to take care of my foster mom.

“Cody, we’re calling off the engagement,” I declared firmly.

He frowned, trying to reason, “Audrey, don’t be hasty. I only see Melisa as a little sister.

“What happened today is my fault. Once Melisa calms down, I’ll arrange a bigger wedding for you,” he said, trying to convince me.

His words stirred a hint of hope in me.

“Sure, I’ll agree to everything if you lend me 10,000 dollars,” I replied firmly.

He got out of bed, knelt beside me and gently wiped away my tears.

“Okay, honey, you can ask for whatever else. I’ll agree to your terms,” he said softly.

A wave of nausea hit me and I turned away to dry heave.

He didn’t flinch when buying million-dollar jewels to please Melisa, yet he refused to give me the money to save a life.

I pushed him away and stood up. “Fine then, I’ll step aside for Melisa. From now on, we’re through.”

“Audrey!” he exclaimed, grabbing my wrist forcefully. I shook his hand off and walked away, just like he treated me on our wedding day.

I headed to a luxury resale shop to sell the diamond ring Cody had given me during our engagement.

“Miss, when you bought this diamond ring, it might have been valued around 20,000 dollars, but synthetic diamonds don’t hold their value. And since you’re asking for cash, our offer can only be 6,000 dollars,” the clerk explained sympathetically.

‘Only $20,000?’ I thought bitterly.

To guys like Cody, that was less than what they’d spend on a gaming setup. It hit me hard—I was only worth that much to him.

Maybe my heart had grown numb from all the pain, but I felt powerless to argue. “I’ll take the 6,000 dollars,” I said quietly.

With the money in hand, I hurried back to the hospital to settle the bill.

“We’ve received your payment, so we’ll schedule the surgery for your mom in two days,” a doctor informed me.

“Why can’t we do it sooner?” I asked urgently.

“Dr. Joshua Jordan is the only specialist in the US who can perform this surgery. Unfortunately, his family has had some recent issues and he may not be available. We’re exploring options to bring in doctors from abroad,” the doctor explained.

Dr. Joshua Jordan? That’s my biological brother Joshua! I realized suddenly.

Without waiting for the doctor to finish, I dashed off to find him. Every moment mattered for my mother.

I found Joshua in Melisa’s ward, carefully tending to her wound.

“What’s all this drama about?” Joshua asked bluntly. “If you’re into Cody, just say it. Audrey can’t steal him from you. Did you really jump from the second-floor balcony just to mess with us?”

Joshua had been groomed in elite circles. How could he not see through Melisa’s manipulations? He knew everything but chose to ignore me.

In the past, I might have confronted him loudly, but now all I wanted was for my mom to get the help she needed.

Melisa sneered, “Are you crying over that old hag?”

I clenched my fists, biting back my anger because I needed Joshua’s help desperately.

Through gritted teeth, I pleaded, “Joshua… please save my mom. You’re the only one who can perform this surgery.”

My voice cracked with emotion and all I could do was keep begging him.

I was on the verge of kneeling down when someone grabbed my arm.