Chapter 1At our engagement party, my boyfriend suddenly grabbed the mic and announced:
"Sorry, everyone—but the engagement's OFF."
"I'm in love with someone else."
The room exploded.
I stood there clutching the diamond ring, completely frozen.
He looked at me with guilty expression:
"Cassie, look, I'm sorry. But your sister and I, We've been together for three years."
"From the second I saw her, I knew she was the one."
Wait... WHAT?!
He kept going, his voice almost whiny now:
"Cassie, just let me be with your sister!"
My mouth opened but I couldn't say a word.
I mean, seriously?!
My sister's literally TWO YEARS OLD. Three years ago she didn't even EXIST yet!
...
"Cassie, I know you love me."
"But I don't love you anymore. My heart belongs to your sister now."
"And let's be real—you're just a fake heiress. You were never good enough for me."
Derek Mitchell looked down at me like I was dirt on his shoe.
The guests went absolutely feral.
"Oh my God, he's dumping her at their own engagement party!"
"And with her SISTER? This is wild."
"I mean, can you blame him? She's a fake heiress."
"Exactly. Derek's got a Stanford degree and a bright future. Why marry a fraud? That'd be so embarrassing."
Hearing this seemed to pump Derek up. He stood straighter:
"Cassie, don't be upset."
"You're a fake heiress. I'm destined for great things. Look around—this is OUR engagement party, but where's your family? Not one person showed up."
"That says it all. Fake is fake. You were never in my league to begin with."
I listened to his increasingly insane words, too stunned to process.
Derek and I had been together since college.
After graduation, we started planning our engagement right away.
My parents never liked him. They didn't want me marrying him.
That's why they didn't come today.
But I never imagined Derek would twist it like this and pull this crap at our engagement party.
Fake heiress?
I'm my parents' biological daughter. How am I fake?
And my sister's TWO YEARS OLD!
How could he possibly be in love with her...
I rubbed my temples, totally confused.
"When did you even meet my sister?
"How could you... she's only... "
"Why not?!"
Derek cut me off, laughing coldly.
"From the first moment I saw her, I fell for her."
"She's gentle, elegant, and the REAL Hayes heiress. She's the one who deserves me."
"And we've been together for THREE YEARS!"
HA?! Three years?
Three years ago my sister didn't even exist yet!
I took a deep breath and looked Derek up and down.
So Derek definitely cheated.
But his mistress is definitely NOT my two-year-old sister.
My nails dug into my palms as I smiled coldly. "Derek, you've been tricked."
"Stop pretending!"
Derek snapped back, anger flashing in his eyes.
Then he suddenly pulled out a photo and slapped it down in front of me.
"You don't believe me?!"
"Then LOOK—is this your sister or not?!"
Chapter 2
The photo fluttered in the air. Everyone's eyes locked onto it.
Everyone except me—I just stood there, speechless.
"Wait, that's the real Hayes daughter?"
"I guess... she's pretty, but something feels off..."
"You don't get it—THAT'S old money. Real rich people don't show off!"
Derek's eyes shifted to me, a smug smile spreading across his face.
"See? NOW do you believe me?"
"Cassie, I get it. This sucks for you."
He sighed like he was being so reasonable.
"But that's reality. A fake like you was never right for me. Now that your sister and I are in love, we—"
"Who says that's my sister?"
I couldn't take it anymore. I cut him off, frowning hard.
"I don't even KNOW this woman. There's no way she's my sister."
Silence.
Even Derek's expression froze.
But within seconds, he burst out laughing like I'd just told the world's funniest joke.
"Don't know her? Cassie, wow. Just wow."
"You'd actually disown your own sister just to keep me..."
"Cassie, if I'd known you were fake from the start, I never would've wasted my time on you!"
My brow furrowed as something twisted in my chest.
When Derek and I first got together, HE chased ME for months.
Daily texts, sweet gestures, perfect boyfriend material—that's what made me fall for him.
After my parents found out, they both tried to stop me.
But I was completely blind, insisted on being with him, even got engaged to this broke nobody.
Now I see what he really is: a shallow, gold-digging piece of shit!
He thought I was fake, so he cheated on me for three years.
And now he's dumping me at our own engagement party.
"Cassie, I know you love me."
"We've been together for years—of course I care about you too."
"Your sister's willing to share. From now on, she'll be the wife, you can be the side piece."
"As long as you stay out of her way, she'll let me... visit you sometimes."
My fists clenched so hard my nails cut into my palms.
That tiny bit of hurt in my chest turned into pure disgust.
I never imagined Derek could say something this vile!
What an absolute scumbag!
"What, you're so happy you can't even talk?"
Derek looked at me with that condescending smirk.
"I knew it. Women like you get dumped and still come crawling back. Isn't this exactly what you wanted? Don't worry, as long as you behave—"
"Happy my ASS!"
I'd had enough. I slapped him hard across the face!
SLAP!
The crack echoed through the entire ballroom.
Derek's head snapped to the side, five bright red finger marks blooming on his cheek.
"You HIT me?!"
Derek grabbed his face, looking absolutely shocked.
I didn't hesitate—kicked him right where it counts.
"AHHH!"
Derek's scream rang out again.
I raised my foot to stomp on him when—
"STOP!"
An furious voice suddenly exploded from the back of the crowd!
Chapter 3
"Derek!"
Wait—who the hell is that?
A woman rushed through the crowd, helped Derek up, then whipped around to glare at me with tears already streaming down her face.
"Cassie, why did you hit him?!"
"This is my fault! I'm the one who—"
"Derek, I'm so sorry... you got hurt because of me..."
"Don't apologize to HER."
Derek pulled her close. "I wanted this. If anyone's the bad guy here, it's Cassie."
Then he turned to face me, his voice ice-cold:
"Cassie, apologize to Lily. NOW."
I stared at these two assholes.
What a shameless pair.
THEY cheated, but somehow it's MY fault.
"Cassie, I'm so sorry!"
Lily suddenly threw herself at me, eyes red and swollen.
"I know... I know you've always felt insecure about being the fake daughter..."
"When you bullied me, stole my things growing up—I never fought back because we're still sister..."
Her voice broke.
"But Cassie, I love him... Please, just... just let me have him this once!"
Her performance was so convincing that people around us started sympathizing.
"Wait, the REAL heiress has been bullied this whole time?"
"Damn, Cassie's been stealing from her since they were KIDS? And now her boyfriend too?"
"That's so messed up!"
As the voices grew louder, everyone's eyes filled with disgust when they looked at me.
Like I was the homewrecker.
Derek looked heartbroken, pulling Lily into his arms to wipe her tears.
I stood there, completely stunned.
This is insane.
This random woman is calling me her sister, saying I'm fake—
I don't even KNOW her!
"Cassie, dear sister, please, just let me..."
"Who the FUCK is your sister?!"
I glared at this stranger. "Stop lying. I don't know you!"
"Cassie!"
Lily cried out like I'd stabbed her, tears pouring down.
"I know you're angry, you don't want me with Derek."
"But you can't... you can't just pretend you don't know me!"
She suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my hands.
I tried to pull away but she held on tight.
"I'm sorry, Cassie! Just let me be with Derek!"
Seeing her play the victim so well, people around us kept going.
"Cassie, enough already! You can't force love. They're in love—why are you getting in the way?"
"Exactly! You're a fraud. What right do you have to compete with the real heiress?"
"She's your SISTER! You can't throw away family over some guy!"
I listened to all this bullshit, my nails digging deeper into my palms.
After a moment, I looked at Lily and smiled coldly.
"Fine. If you're really my sister, I'll absolutely let you have Derek."
"But... are you actually my sister? Got any proof?"
Dead silence.
Everyone's eyes turned to Lily.
For a second, she looked panicked.
Then her eyes darted around before suddenly lighting up.
"Of course I have proof!"
She pulled out her phone and confidently dialed a number on speaker.
"Hello? Sweetie, why are you calling Daddy right now?"
Wait.
That voice—
I froze, my whole body going rigid.
