Chapter 1

I was helping my mom pick out shoes for an evening party when I first ran into Bella White.

From a distance, she noticed my mom’s elegant demeanor and immediately rushed over, shoving aside the young intern who had been serving us.

With a bright, eager smile, she pulled out a pair of shoes for my mom to try, but the moment her eyes met mine, the smile vanished.

Her hands tightened around the shoes, squeezing them out of shape.

In an instant, she plastered a flattering smile back on her face and turned her gaze to meet my mother’s eyes.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, growing more and more astonished with every passing second.

Even the store employees began to join in on the hushed conversation around us.

It hit me like a bolt from the blue - Bella was the spitting image of my mother. The resemblance was so uncanny, it was as if they'd been cut from the same cloth. An onlooker might've sworn Bella was my mother's flesh and blood, while I could've passed for a stranger.

Bella’s face showed a mix of excitement and hesitation, and it was obvious she was weighing her options.

Suddenly, as if the scales had tipped in her mind, she swayed ever so slightly. Her willowy frame lent her an air of delicate vulnerability, like a flower bending in a gentle breeze. With a practiced grace, she dabbed at her brow, brushing away beads of sweat only she could see.

She barely managed to stand and swayed a little more before collapsing straight into my mother’s arms.

My mom quickly caught her and called the bodyguards to rush her to the hospital.

As they carried her to the car, Bella’s hand remained tightly gripping my mother’s sleeve. Noticing my gaze, she squeezed her eyes shut even more tightly.

At the hospital, my mom's voice was filled with anxiety.

"Doctor, how is she?"

The doctor handed over a report with a grave expression.

"Madam, she is indeed your daughter."

My mother’s hands trembled as she took the report, sliding down the wall to sit in a chair.

Her eyes remained vacant for a long time before they finally met mine.

I could tell that everyone in the room had already heard the news.

Bella had just stumbled into the role of heiress, and her little fainting act today hadn’t gone to waste.

An hour later, my father arrived at the hospital, determined to get to the bottom of things.

He quickly uncovered the truth: my mother had given birth to her child in this very hospital.

Who would have thought that such a prestigious private hospital could make such a mistake?

The hospital director, an old friend of my father's, was now bowing repeatedly, offering his apologies.

My mother was heartbroken at the thought of her biological daughter working as a sales clerk, kneeling on the floor to serve customers.

She leaned against my father, so distraught she couldn’t even lift her hand.

After regaining her composure for a while, she finally went into the room to see her real daughter.

Meanwhile, I stood outside the door and sent a message to my fiancé:

"Two pieces of news for you: the bad news is that your fiancée has been replaced. The good news? She’s your first love."

He replied instantly, "Stop talking nonsense."

My family and the Shaw family are among the wealthiest in Southridge. Our interests have been intertwined for years, and Percy Shaw's mother has always treated me as her future daughter-in-law.

Back in college, a few of us childhood friends formed a small, exclusive circle.

Once Bella discovered our group, she was determined to force her way in.

Every day, she’d wear her white dress and use every trick in the book to get the boys in our circle to pay attention to her. Whenever we arranged activities like racing or golf, she would find a way to join in.

Eventually, she managed to get a foothold in the group when one of the guys, a boy with a face full of acne, agreed to date her.

But as soon as she was in, she dumped him and set her sights on Percy.

Percy, who was always aloof and distant with everyone, became her new target.

After three years of relentless pursuit, all she got from Percy was a single word: “Impressive.”