Chapter 3

The week had passed since that eventful day when my dad asked me for a little favor. Luckily, they allowed me to return to my room, but I was not ready to see any of them, so I barely left.

I spent days thinking about what my mother had told me about Sue—my biological mother. How could she not tell me that she was my mother?

My train of thought was interrupted when my not-so-sober dad banged on my door. I thought it was Steven, but my guess was wrong.

“D-Dad?”

“Oh, my lovely daughter… It’s been a week. Haven’t you changed your mind?”

When I heard the door open, I rose to my feet and braced myself. Dad’s angry eyes met mine, clearly waiting for my response.

At first, I considered his proposal absurd, but as I thought about what had happened to my biological mother, who was killed when I was still a kid, my determination grew stronger.

I heard from Steven that the woman Jillian killed was Kameron Howard, a sole heiress of the prominent and influential family.

What if I become part of this family, imitating their deceased daughter? With their connections and power, I would be able to find who killed my mother and exert my revenge!

Still waiting for my response, my dad was ready to hit me any time, but what I said changed his mind.

“I agree. I’ll pretend to be her,” I stated firmly.

His face lit up with a wicked grin. It was as though my choice had depleted his drunkenness.

I would go to whatever length to avenge myself, even if it meant risking my life.

***

As I glanced in the mirror, I told the maid, packing my stuff, “Pack lightly. I won’t need those clothes anymore.”

I was not sure how or why Jillian murdered Kameron.

I was sorry; I would not let my mother’s death go unnoticed and would demand the justice she deserved. Maybe I was too late, but I’d exact my finest vengeance.

I was readying myself when I heard a loud slamming of the door, which made me flinch. I was about to reprimand whoever did it when I noticed Steven, who seemed to be upset.

“Is what Uncle said true?” he asked.

My lips were pressed together. I should have informed Steven since I assumed he wouldn’t follow my plan. Nothing would change my mind.

He compelled me to face him when I refused to look at him. He gripped my shoulders firmly.

“Is it fucking true, Jian?!”

“Yes, it’s true,” I said calmly, withdrawing his hands away from my shoulders.

“Why are you doing this, Jian?! Do you even know how much your actions will cost you now—”

“Do you think I hadn’t considered it, Steven?”

“Think about it, Jian! Imitating her entails—”

When we heard some glass cracking, our argument came to an end. We both turned our faces to the door. My mother’s eyes widened, and her lips fell open as we both noticed her horrified expression. She moved in closer to me.

“Jian, is that true? Is what I heard true?” she said, but I didn’t respond. Because of her question, Steven and I both averted our gazes.

Steven stated plainly, “Aunt, you misheard it.”

“No! Never hide a secret from me!” my foster mother said as she turned to face me.

“You heard it correctly—”

She didn’t let me complete by slapping me, and it took me a few minutes to recover from her action. She’d never hit me before; she’d always been sweet and compassionate with me!

“Aunt!” exclaimed Steven.

I trembled, and I could see the regret in her eyes for what she’d done.

“I apologize, sweetheart…”

I nodded, trying not to cry in front of them. “You slapped me… You fucking slapped me! How could you do such a thing to me, Mom?!” I exclaimed.

Steven scolded me for yelling, “Jian!”

As I glanced at them both, I clenched my teeth.

“You guys have no idea what I’m going through right now! You have no authority to overrule my judgment because you don’t know anything! I was so close to being with my mother!” My makeup was no longer relevant to me since I sobbed so hard. “I was almost near enough to hug and kiss her! I could almost feel her warmth! But she was gone in a flash! If you had let me go on that night…” my voice trembled as I gazed at my guilty foster mother.

“Are you questioning why I did that?” she exclaimed. “It’s because I love you, Jian, and I didn’t want her to take you away from me!” Tears were running down her cheeks in torrents.

“If you truly love me, you won’t harm me!” I gently nudged her, but she quickly fell over.

Jian, screw you! I diverted my gaze instead of giving my attention to her. My heart must have turned into stone.

As I dragged my bag out of the room, I sobbed even more when I heard Mom’s footsteps and her voice begging me to return. My decision would also help her. She could have therapy abroad.

After hating her and placing all the blame on her, I thought I was the worst daughter, but watching her cry now felt like there were so many daggers in my heart.

I hopped into the car after handing my stuff to the driver. I instantly rolled up the window of the car. I didn’t want to hear her sobbing voice; hearing her cry only pained me. I dried my tears when Dad got in the car a few minutes later.

“Let’s go,” I told the driver, ignoring Mommy, who was punching the car window.

My fist tightened when I noticed Mommy was still chasing us and weeping. Steven was following her from behind until I couldn’t see them anymore.

My phone started ringing. Both Dad and I exchanged glances. He arched an eyebrow when he spotted the caller, but I still picked up the phone.

“Let’s forget about our time together. Jian is going to die, isn’t she? And Kameron Howard will live again,” Steven said as he hung up the phone.

I lowered the phone into my lap gradually. I’m not going to regret this, am I?

“After everything is over, take her overseas for therapy…” I said quietly as I looked in the rearview mirror. My brow wrinkled when I noticed the slight scrape on the side of his mouth.

Did Steven punch him? Oh my gosh!

“Of course.”

***

The plane landed smoothly in South Korea. I didn’t think I would get back here right away. I felt so empty because this was the first time I’d been here without Steven by my side. I brought Dad into my old penthouse.

Dad didn’t want to spend any more time with me. Therefore, the procedure would take place tomorrow.

“Why are you drinking? The procedure is tomorrow,” he asked, seeing me with a bottle. He tossed a brown envelope across the table. I locked my gaze on it.

“I only want to drink. What’s that?” I said, referring to the brown envelope.

“Look at Kameron’s image; it will be your face starting tomorrow,” he said sternly before sitting in front of me.

I smirked coldly before looking up and admiring the moon’s splendor. As a kid, I used to call myself Luna since that was the name I wanted. Luna referred to the moon, and I wanted to be one. Like the moon, I wanted people to look at me with admiration rather than disgust. The servants didn’t treat me as well as Mom and Dad did since they said I was just adopted. They thought I didn’t deserve their help, but it was okay with me since it was true.

That was why I adored Sue, who turned out to be my biological mother, who defended me against those witches who bullied me. She called them so.

I still hadn’t opened the envelope Dad had placed in front of me. I was not brave enough to open it. My gosh!

He cleared his throat. “How come you’re not opening my—”

I interrupted him, “I intend to surprise myself tomorrow.”

He sighed deeply. Before leaving me, he warned me, “Control yourself. You still have surgery tomorrow.”

I was upset because of his reminder. Every time he reminded me of the procedure, I felt like I was in agony since I was only a tool for him that would cover up all of Jillian’s troubles.

***

I was not sure how many hours—days—had gone by after the surgery. My face was still bandaged, and it started to irritate me!

I gasped. Was Steven no longer willing to forgive me? He didn’t even bother to call me! It was alright; I’d win him back.

The doctor came minutes later. My hands clenched. Jian, this is it; there’s no going back.

The doctor carefully removed the bandage around my face. Then, he handed me a mirror and said, “Open your eyes now, Jian.”

As carefully as I could, I opened my eyes.

After seeing my new appearance, I instantly lowered the mirror. My mouth was pursed.

I was no longer Jian; I was now Kameron.