Chapter 1

• “I promise you, once I resolve all of this, I’ll return to help you manage the transportation point for the goods,” I said on the phone, then hung up.
• Staring at the room I had lived in for nine years, I couldn't help but smile bitterly. Nine years of waiting, compromising, and giving. In the end, it was just a false dream.
• Lost in memories, I accidentally knocked over a photo frame that had been placed on the shelf. It was a photo of Emma’s biological mother and my husband, David.
• Today was the Smith family's usual banquet. Emma, at nine years old, pushed me hard in front of many core members.
• I was off guard. Though Emma was very young, she was quite strong. I stumbled and knocked over a bottle of red wine on the table. The red liquid slid from my shoulder into my chest, a chill run through my heart.
• She looked at me, embarrassed and disheveled, with a smug smile on her face.
• “Why do you break things in this house?”
• She didn’t allow the maid to help me up, holding the photo frame up to me:
• “It’s your malice that killed my mother. Everything you’re going through is your own doing.”
• I was wearing high heels, and the fall had twisted my ankle. I couldn’t get up by myself.
• Signora Smith saw my embarrassment and hurried over.
• She scolded the maid beside her:
• “How can you listen to a child? Ashley is the Donna of this family.”
• But she only scolded the innocent maid. With a charitable smile, her tone was as distant as David’s:
• “Ashley, you know Emma is just used to the fact that David only loves her mother.”
• Seeing me frozen and speechless, Signora Smith lost patience:
• “Alright, go change your clothes. As the Donna of this family, this appearance is a disgrace to the Smith family.”
• I took a deep breath, enduring the pain in my ankle as I went upstairs. The woman in the photo frame was not only Emma’s mother but also my twin sister. She died after giving birth to Emma.
• But nine years ago, I should have become David Smith's wife.
• Though we were the result of a family arranged marriage, we had known and loved each other long before. — Now it seems I was the only one who thought so.
• Before the wedding, a sudden change occurred.
• He married my sister Lily, and shortly after, she got pregnant, living the life that should have been mine. But after Lily died during childbirth, I was labeled as the "monster."
• Because of jealousy, I wanted to replace my sister. Unfortunately, David loved Lily deeply.
• Even with the same appearance, he could immediately tell I was not Lily.
• But as the only remaining daughter of my family, I went from being the fiancée to being Lily's replacement bride, marrying David, and taking care of her daughter.
• There wasn’t even a wedding ceremony, just a simple family meal.
• After the meal, my father repeatedly reminded me:
• “Do not affect the family business, our transaction point relies entirely on the Smith family.”
• Over these nine years, I treated Emma as my own daughter, always loving David. But now I finally understood my foolishness.
• David never loved me.
• The indifference from him and Emma over the years made me clearly realize that I was just an empty Donna.
• Doing Donna’s work but still lower than a servant.
• If it were four years ago, when David lost his temper today, I would have patiently soothed him, begging for his forgiveness — simply because I loved David.
• But now, I’ve had enough.
• What’s laughable is that Emma has no idea that the photo in the frame was stolen from me by her mother.
• At the time, Signora Smith hired a photographer to take a photo of David and me. But Lily lied, saying Father wanted to discuss family matters with me, and I missed it.
• Signora Smith blamed me for being unreliable and had Lily take the photo with David.
• Little by little, everything of mine was stolen by Lily.
• “The core members have arrived, the banquet is about to begin, where are you, Ashley?” David’s voice came from outside the bedroom, pulling me back to reality.
• I collected myself and was just leaving the bathroom when he barged in.