Chapter 1

"Amelia."

At the height of passion, a tender whisper in her ear felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head. The wave of desire flooding through Evelyn Thomas instantly receded, leaving only bone-chilling coldness.

It was her husband, William Brown. In their bed, calling out her twin sister's name.

A bead of sweat slid down William's straight nose and landed right on her chest, slightly warm.

His hot breath fell on her ear, those deep eyes full of desire, as if looking at someone else through her.

"Amelia, one more time."

His tone was tender and affectionate, his voice low and sexy, impossibly seductive.

Evelyn felt pathetic and ridiculous. He was clearly making love to her while imagining another woman, yet she still helplessly drowned in this tenderness that didn't belong to her.

She struggled to speak, her voice very hoarse: "I can't, I need to visit my grandfather."

William frowned, somewhat displeased: "Amelia never refuses me."

He was reminding her to behave and play Amelia's role well.

Evelyn's heart clenched. She couldn't help saying: "I'm not Amelia."

"Of course you're not her." William's voice turned cold, carrying a hint of contemptuous chill. "Amelia is kind and smart. How could you compare to her?"

Before he finished speaking, his large palm was already moving over her, his long legs forcefully pushing between her thighs.

Evelyn froze, her whole heart gripped in pain. But the next second, an even greater pain struck as William lifted her legs and, without any gentleness, almost as punishment, pushed straight into her.

"Don't forget your duty." His voice was right by her ear, cold and cruel. "You're just a substitute in bed."

He pinned her hands above her head, each thrust like he was punishing her disobedience.

He was punishing her for not listening, punishing her for trying to escape from Amelia's shadow.

"Amelia..."

That name, like a curse played on repeat, tore her soul in half.

One half called Evelyn, the other half called Amelia.

Afterward, William held her and said, "Good girl, I'll have my assistant send over Chanel's latest collection later."

She didn't like Chanel—that was Amelia's favorite.

Bitterness rose in Evelyn's heart. After all these years of marriage, William never cared about her preferences.

Perhaps her gaze lingered too long. William frowned in displeasure.

Alarm bells rang in Evelyn's mind. She quickly lowered her eyes.

Her eyes were the only feature that didn't resemble Amelia's.

Also, what William hated most.

"Don't look at me like that." His voice was ice-cold.

"From now on, speak gently as Amelia does, and dress in her style too."

Evelyn bit her lip, her voice strained: "Okay... Do you have time later? Grandpa wants to see you."

Her heart ached like needles were stabbing it, but she couldn't argue back.

She had willingly become Amelia's substitute, naively believing that time would reveal her worth. Her current situation was no one's fault but her own.

But Hayden Thomas didn't know the truth. In his mind, Evelyn and William were a loving couple. She didn't want to disappoint Hayden.

"No." William dressed himself, looking down at her disheveled form on the bed. "I told you, don't dream about things that don't belong to you. Evelyn, don't think that just because you're sitting in Mrs. Brown's position, you really are Mrs. Brown. You're just... temporarily keeping it for Amelia."

The door closed, shutting out his merciless retreating figure.

Evelyn smiled bitterly, trembling as she got out of bed and dressed, then went alone to Hayden's house.

But when she arrived at Hayden's home, she wasn't greeted by the kind Hayden, but by news from the neighbors—Hayden had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

She rushed to the hospital and learned from the doctor that Hayden had a cerebral thrombosis. There was no cure; they could only let Hayden pass peacefully.

Seeing Hayden's pale, weak face on the hospital bed, Evelyn rushed over and grabbed his thin, bony hands, tears streaming down immediately.

"How did this happen? Grandpa, you've always been healthy. You said you were waiting to hold my baby. How could this suddenly..."

Hayden struggled to open his eyes. Seeing her, he showed a loving smile: "Evelyn, you came."

"I couldn't hide it from you after all..."

Looking at Evelyn, Hayden wanted to pat her head like when she was little, but his hand only lifted slightly before falling weakly.

Evelyn quickly grabbed Hayden's hand and placed it against her face, just like when she was young—whenever she was bullied, Hayden would comfort her.

"Evelyn, take care of yourself from now on. Live happily with William. Don't fight with him anymore."

"William had urgent business at the company today. He was supposed to come with me..." The lie came so easily, she felt sick with herself.

"Promise me you won't resent Amelia either. It's because I made the wrong choice back then that she did those things. If she comes back..."

"Okay. I promise you, I promise everything." Evelyn sobbed, just wanting to give Hayden peace of mind.

She wiped the tears from Hayden's eyes, her heart breaking.

To keep Hayden from worrying, she never told him the real reason William married her.

Hayden hoped William would visit him with her, but even this request was ruthlessly rejected by William.

"Evelyn, there's a necklace in my bag. You must keep it safe..."

"Evelyn! I found Amelia!"

Just as Evelyn was taking the necklace from the bag, William suddenly pushed open the hospital room door.

He wore a neat suit, completely out of place in the hospital.

Evelyn froze. They found Amelia?

"Evelyn." William rarely called her name with such a gentle tone.

Evelyn suppressed the sourness in her heart and forced a smile: "That's great, honey. Grandpa really misses Amelia."

She still held onto one last shred of hope that he would maintain their shaky peace in front of Hayden.

But William bluntly dropped a bombshell: "She's sick. She needs a kidney transplant."

"You're twins. Your kidney would be the best match."

"What?" Evelyn's pupils contracted. William wanted... to take her kidney?

Did he know that donating a kidney was basically like becoming disabled?

Without waiting for an answer, William grabbed Evelyn's arm to drag her away.

"William, what are you doing to Evelyn?" Hayden couldn't believe that the usually considerate William would do something so heartless.

Evelyn violently resisted. "No! Grandpa still needs someone to take care of him. I can't donate. Find someone else!"

"Amelia can't wait. Are you going to just watch your sister die?" William forcibly dragged Evelyn toward the door. "The surgery is already scheduled. You're going whether you like it or not!"

"Evelyn!" Hayden tried desperately to stop them but fell from the hospital bed. He struggled to get up.

"Evelyn, I never told you, but you're actually..."

Before Hayden could finish, his emotions surged, his breathing became rapid, and he passed out.

"No, Grandpa! Doctor, get a doctor quickly!" Evelyn screamed, desperate to go to him, but William held her tight.

Just a few meters felt like an impossible distance. Watching Hayden lying unconscious on the floor, Evelyn begged desperately, "William, please let the doctors save my grandpa. I'm begging you!"

William remained unmoved, only frowning slightly.

Evelyn closed her eyes in despair: "I'll donate... As long as you save my grandpa, I'll agree to anything!"

"Good. As long as you behave, I'll have someone save your grandfather."

Behave? Evelyn forced a smile, uglier than crying.

Lying on the cold operating table, looking at the row of sharp surgical instruments beside her, Evelyn couldn't stop the panic rising in her chest.

What if she died here? What about Hayden?

"William, can I..."

She regretted it. At least let her see with her own eyes that Hayden was out of danger.

"Begin." William's cold voice cut off all her unfinished words.

The anesthetic entered her bloodstream. Evelyn's consciousness gradually blurred, tears sliding down her face. Five years of devoted love, wasted—it was all a joke in the end.

She struggled to leave her final words: "William, if I die, you must take good care of Grandpa. Tell him I went abroad... Tell him not to worry about me..."