The first time she met Rayan Allen was when she was only 19 years old. He was three years older than her, 22 at the time. Their first meeting was in the orphanage, where she used to volunteer. It was the same orphanage she grew up in before being adopted. Even after being adopted she frequently visited and volunteered there. Rayan was a freshly graduated student who moved from New York City to Quebec City. At first, he was just a cold, aloof, and introverted boy who occasionally volunteered alongside her and played music with orphan children. He didn't talk or interact with people much. Anthea heard from one of the sisters of the orphanage that his mother also grew up here before being adopted. However, as time went by, she started to get to know him more before ultimately falling for him. He was extremely handsome and smart while she was clumsy, dumb and talked too much. They were the total opposite of each other. She liked to talk, while he liked to listen. But they had a mutual interest in music. The time she spent with him was like a fairy tale. Even though he was cold and aloof at first, he slowly warmed up to her. They didn't even realise when they fell for each other. He was the perfect boyfriend one could ever dream of. A true gentleman who took care of her swept her off her feet. They were young and foolishly in love. At least she was. She couldn't wait until she spent the rest of her life with him.
Even though everything was perfect for them, Anthea was unaware of his life before meeting her. She didn't know anything about his past, like who his family was, where he came from, his friends or anything. For some reason, he didn't like to talk about it. Even though she found it quite strange sometimes, she wanted to give him enough time to open up to her. After being in a relationship for three years, one day he proposed to her to marry him. To be very honest, it was too shocking and early for Anthea but she still agreed because she was so in love with him and was ready to spend the rest of her life with him. They got married in the orphanage's church and started their own little family of two. Ryan loved music at the time, and he was aspiring to become a singer. Anthea did everything she could to support him. She was only a high school graduate and didn't attend college because she felt it wasn't necessary for her. She just wanted to take care of the most important people in her life. Her adoptive father, her adoptive brother, and her husband, Rayan.
Yeah, she was brought into the orphanage when she was just 6 and then adopted by her adoptive father, Christian Wisley, when she was 11. He was a widower with a 3-year-old son back then. He adopted Anthea when he moved from Hamilton to Quebec after his wife died.
Everything was going well until Rayan's real identity came to light. Anthea came across a family photo of Rayan, which made him reveal his identity to her. So the man she thought was an orphan was actually an heir to a multibillion-dollar company. An elite member of New York City. His father was a well-known tech giant in the world, and he was his only son who ran away from his home to disobey his father's wish to take care of his business. His father was against his wish to pursue music, which caused a rift in their relationship. But their relationship was already strained after Rayan's biological mother died of cancer when he was 14, and his father remarried his stepmother, Camila, two years later. Rayan also had a younger sister called Amalia, who was 5 years younger than him. Camila had a daughter called Sarah from her previous marriage; she was a year older than Amalia. Somehow, Rayan's father found out about Anthea and their marriage. They failed to reach Rayan, so they reached out to her, the easy prey. Anthea, being the foolish girl she was, was moved by seeing their fake love for Rayan and failed to recognise their actual faces. She got manipulated by Rayan's family after meeting and talking to them. They begged her to talk to Rayan and reunite their son with them. They wanted her to bring him back to New York along with her where they could live as a perfect family.
After finding out everything, Anthea didn't want Rayan to be separated from his family. So she did what she thought was right at the time. She begged Rayan to return home and be with his family. She was so moved by Camila's words that she failed to recognise the viciousness under her mask. At first, Rayan was livid after finding out they had contacted her and had a huge fight with his family. It also caused the first ever fight between Anthea and Rayan so in the end he had no choice but to give up under her persuasion.
It didn't take long for them to move to New York City, where he grew up. Anthea was over the moon when she thought she would finally have a big family and a mother like Camila. Rayan was kind and considerate enough to bring her adoptive father and brother along with them and take their responsibility. He brought them home, got a job for Christian in his company, and got her adoptive brother, Noah, into the best school in New York.
At first, everything was like a fairy tale for Anthea. Under her persuasion, Rayan joined his father's office and finally took back his responsibility. But their marriage remained secret in the public's eyes. Why? Camila advised Anthea that it was the best thing to do. She was the best mother-in-law. The mother Anthea never had. So whatever she said, Anthea foolishly believed it. Camila asked her to move to the Allen estate so that they could spend time together as a family. Anthea, being the foolish woman she was, believed her words and begged Rayan to move into that house with his family. At that time, she remembered that he would never say no to her, so he agreed to her request to make her happy. But the moment they moved into that house, everything changed. Her downfall began on the very same day.
She slowly discovered her mother-in-law's real face; her two sweet sister-in-laws began to mock her; her father-in-law began to treat her with nothing but indifference; and then she discovered another shocking thing. Aurelia Jones, the girl she was introduced to as Sarah's best friend, was actually Rayan's fiancee. Former fiancée, to be exact. They were engaged even before Rayan met her. Though the engagement was arranged by their families, Aurelia was in love with him. Anthea's illusions about the people around her slowly began to crumble. She began to see the people's real faces. Her kind mother-in-law did everything she could to humiliate her and break her. Her sweet sister-in-law mocked her and made crude remarks. Anthea's whole life changed once again as she was suddenly thrown into New York City's elite society, where she was nothing but a peasant. She was like meat thrown into a pool filled with hungry creatures. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't match up to their expe
"We have reached Ms Morin." Samuel's gentle words snapped Anthea out of her thoughts as she noticed the open elevator door. She nodded before following him out of the elevator and walking towards the gala room where the 56th birthday party of billionaire Alexander Moore was taking place. He was a famous hotel chain giant in the USA and besides being business partners with her brother Roman Morin, he also had a good relationship with him. But that's not how Anthea knew him. Before knowing him, she knew his wife Megan Moore and daughter Kendall Moore. Megan was one of the close friends of her ex-mother-in-law Camila. They attended a few parties thrown by the Allens. That's where Anthea had met them. Kendall Moore was however friends with her two sister-in-laws and often came to the Allen estate. Anthea wasn't allowed to move around the house whenever a guest came over. She was told to stay in her room by her Camilla or her sister-in-laws because they didn't want to be embarrassed becaus
"You are here. I was looking for you." Megan beamed at her husband as soon as their eyes met. Her eyes then swept over Anthea, who was standing there holding her husband's hand. "And who might this beautiful lady be?" She asked curiously while smiling at Anthea warmly, making her smile back. As expected, she didn't remember Anthea at all. Well, they only met twice in the past but didn't have face-to-face interaction ever. Camila made sure she never came into contact with any of their high-class guests or friend circle. Anthea now knew why. That's because she was already plotting to throw her out and marry Aurelia to Rayan, so she didn't want to taint their names with hers. She made sure no one knew about her existence in Rayan's life, so it would be easier for them in a future so-called perfect love story. "Let me introduce you," Alexander said while pointing at Anthea. "This is Anthea Morin. Do you remember Roman Morin?" Alexander proceeded to introduce Anthea. She could see all the
"This is Benjamin Allen, one of my close friends and business partners. Beside him are his wife, Camila Allen, and their daughter, Sarah Allen. They also have another daughter and a son who are not present at the moment." Alexander introduced the Allens, first making Anthea's eyes casually travel towards them. As their gazes collided, Anthea stared straight at Benjamin, refusing to look away. "Hello. It's nice you met you guys." Anthea greeted them with a sweet smile on her face, completely masking her real emotion. Her expression remained unfazed as Benjamin stared at her, trying to read her. When Anthea didn't back off from the staring contest, he gave up and looked away first. "Likewise, Ms. Morin." Benjamin, as usual, was quick to get a grip on his emotions before greeting her back like a professional. He was a businessman after all. His voice seemed to snap Camila and Sarah back to reality too. Camila put on a fake smile before opening her mouth. "It's nice to meet you too, Ms.
For a moment, everything around the two of them completely froze as they stared at each other. Anthea had imagined this moment countless times since the day she decided on her vengeance; however, none of that imagination could ever compare to the things she was feeling right now. Five years! Five fucking long years later, she was once again standing in front of the man who ruthlessly broke her heart and destroyed her life. All the past memories of betrayals, heartbreaks, and sadness flashed through her, making it almost impossible to stand on her feet. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, making her blood pressure and heartbeat rise. However, Anthea fisted her palm in a tight grip and mentally pushed herself to stay calm and act normal around him. She couldn't let him see her real emotions at any cost. "He doesn't matter to you, Anthea. Don't let his presence affect you. You are stronger than this." She chanted the sentences in her mind like a mantra while forcing herself to stay calm
Anthea slowly shifted her eyes back to Benjamin before letting out a small chuckle. The old man stared at her with a neutral expression, trying his best to mask his real emotion. Even though he was still coping with the shock because of her new identity, he couldn't let it affect his business. Not a project like this. They couldn't lose something like this. He needed to handle this situation here first and then find out what was going on. Why was Lily Wisley pretending to be Anthea Morin? To find his answers, Benjamin needed to stay calm and handle everything here first."It seems like Ms. Jones is already not fond of me. I wonder what did I do to offend her on our first meeting!" She twitched her lips before saying those words with a regretful expression. Her words made Alexander's brow crease as he glanced at Benjamin, trying to tell him to handle the situation. Benjamin got the message clearly, which made him purse his lips."It's not like that. I think there's some kind of misunde
Anthea was walking through the crowd while silently scanning the room for Emilia and Silas, who, despite her pleadings, decided to come. She already told them that she'd manage everything, but they wouldn't listen to her, especially Emilia. Her first purpose had already been served; now she only needed to mingle with a few people to get them to remember her face. She already knew most of the people around her. She wouldn't jump into her revenge plan without a proper plan, would she? A few men came towards her and offered her drinks on her way, which Anthea politely declined with a smile. A frown took over her face when she couldn't spot Emilia or Silas in the crowds. "Maybe they didn't even enter the venue." She mumbled to herself with a sigh before turning around. However, once she turned around, she almost bumped into someone, making her immediately take a step back. Her lips curled up in annoyance as she glanced at the person while narrowing her eyes slightly. Rayan, who almost b
Anthea finally spotted Silas and Emilia in a corner of the ballroom; their eyes were clearly looking for her. A genuine smile bloomed on her face as she approached them. She waved her hands a little when her eyes met with Silas, making him draw a sigh of relief. He then quickly patted Emilia's back and gestured for her to look ahead. "Thea!" She exclaimed before pacing up towards Anthea, making her grin widen. "I finally found you! We have been looking for you for 10 minutes and couldn't even reach your phone. Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was?" Emilia gushed out in a low voice as soon as she reached Anthea. Anthea smiled at her rambling with a smile on her face. "Calm down, Emi. Breathe out, because everything's fine. I was also looking for you as soon as you texted me." Anthea answered softly while trying to calm Emilia down. "She almost broke her heels on her way and hurt her feet." Silas, who stood behind Emilia, informed Anthea while putting his hand in his po