Chapter 1

It had been many years into the marriage when I finally learned about the truth.

It turned out that my mother, Erica Jones, had drugged me on my wedding day and let my sister take my place at the ceremony simply because my sister also liked my fiancé.

My breathing grew rapid.

Back then, Mom told me that I had suddenly fainted during the wedding. So that my fiancé wasn't suddenly left at the altar, she had no choice but to let my twin sister, Diana Halliwell, marry him in my stead!

When Jorge Ward proposed to me, he told me that he had liked me since we were young.

Was it all a lie?

A sharp pain suddenly shot through my abdomen, notifying me of my baby's movement.

The excruciating pain made me cry out. Mom just stormed into my room with a look of annoyance. "Since you're already awake, hurry up and get ready!

"Diana's going shopping at the mall later, and you'll be carrying her things! Don't you dare embarrass us!"

The pain drenched my face in cold sweat, making my voice tremble. "Mom, the baby is moving. My stomach hurts!"

A second later, a slap landed square on my face, branding a burning sensation onto me.

"Drop the act! Don't even think that you can get to slack off just because you're pregnant with your second child! I'm telling you, if Diana so much as frowns later, I'll have your head for it!" Mom shouted.

Jorge stood silently at the side, afraid of angering Mom.

He fetched me a pill from outside and handed it to me. "Take this painkiller, Laura. It'll help you feel better."

His actions made me laugh bitterly. I was pregnant, and painkillers would only harm the baby.

So it turned out that Jorge would rather risk deforming our child than to let Diana suffer even a little.

Maybe to him, Diana's single finger mattered more than me or our two children.

Mom clucked her tongue before asking, "Are you still going to just lay there?"

I immediately scrambled out the door before her next slap landed on me.

The wind was relatively strong that day, chilling me to the bone.

However, Mom and Jorge simply ignored my trembling. Instead, they were worried about Diana. "I wonder if Diana's dressed properly today. What if she catches a cold? Her body's been weak ever since she was a child…"

When Mom saw that I was still shivering, she immediately shot me a glare and kicked me. "What are you pretending to be cold for? It's disgusting how you're always acting pitiful all the time!"

Suddenly, her demeanor shifted completely. "Oh, Diana! Oh, my precious baby!"

I turned to look at Diana, who did not even look me in the eye before shoving her bags into my hands arrogantly. "Carry them for me."

I then continued listening to her complaints.

"Why did you come out dressed like this? You look so disgusting.

"Am I seeing things, or are those patches on your clothes? OMG, it's embarrassing just to stand next to you.

"Luckily, I was the one that married Henry back then. Imagine if he had to look at you every day. He'd probably lose his appetite."

Diana relentlessly showered me in harsh words, while Mom and Jorge followed behind her quietly, pretending not to hear anything.

I was still carrying my baby daughter, Cecily Ward, on my back. As the bags grew heavier in my hands, I turned to them and weakly pleaded for help. "I'm so tired. Can anyone help carry Cecily for me? Please."

Mom's loving gaze toward Diana instantly turned into a look of hatred. It was as if she wanted to tear me into pieces. "Don't you have any conscience, Laura?! Is this how you repay me after all I've done to raise you? You gave birth to your own daughter! Why do you expect me to carry her for you?"

Ever since I had Cecily, Mom's attitude toward me had been worsening by the day. She constantly berated me and called me worthless for not being able to give her a grandson.

When I was still pregnant with Cecily, Mom kept trying to force all kinds of strange folk remedy on me.

I was afraid that they would harm the baby, so I vehemently refused to take any of them.

Mom desperately wished for a grandson, so when I finally gave birth to a daughter, she just blamed me with every excuse in the book.

Diana, on the other hand, had a son. Mom was so overjoyed that she danced around the house as she announced that her family finally had an heir to carry on the bloodline.

Diana and I had given birth only two months apart, yet Mom went to Diana's house to help out as a nanny.

Jorge did not want to help take care of me and instead buried himself in work, leaving me alone to survive on only bread for an entire month.

"Are you zoning out while I'm talking to you? I'll have to teach you a lesson!" Mom shouted.

I was snapped back to reality as she rained down a flurry of punches on me.

She continued, "You've got some nerve, Laura! I must be cursed to have given birth to someone like you! If only I had been pregnant with just Diana alone!"

I clutched my head and desperately pleaded, "I was wrong, Mom! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt my baby!"

I had Cecily on my back and my second child in my belly. I was terrified of any of them getting hurt.

Jorge stood still as he mumbled weakly, "Just forget it, Erica. Laura's still pregnant."

Mom finally stopped hitting me, but not before landing two more kicks before walking away.

"Laura, are you okay?" Jorge asked. Still, he did not even offer to help me up.

Mom shouted from the side. "What do you even have to complain about, Laura? Jorge treats you well enough, doesn't he? Someone like you should already consider it lucky to be able to marry him. What more do you want?"

I endured the pain as I forced myself to stand up and look at Jorge. "Can you take Cecily for a while? It's hard for me to hold onto the bags while I'm carrying her."

Jorge's expression dropped as he replied, "Uh, well, I don't really know how to look after children."

It was happening again.

Despite his seemingly kind words, he would always make up excuses whenever I asked him to look after our child, as if it was none of his business.

But how could he not know how to look after children? When Diana's baby was born, she often fell ill, and he would spend several days at her place to help care for her child.

Meanwhile, I caught a fever that rose up to 104 °F and almost met my end at home.

All Jorge ever did was text me, saying, "There's fever medication in the cabinet. Take them. Cecily still needs someone to look after her."

Now I finally understood why Jorge had always treated Diana so well. It was not because Diana was my twin sister, but rather because he had always loved her.