Chapter 4 Stop Pretending

Valerie's mother, Eunice Todd, let out a sharp, disbelieving scoff, her eyes narrowing as she fixed Valerie with a pointed stare. "Valerie, why are you asking Paulina to cut the steak? Surely, you can handle this on your own."

Valerie turned her gaze on her mother, eyebrow arched in a deliberate challenge. "I can do it myself, but Paulina made my fiance cut her steak. Isn't it only fair that she do it for me?"

The living room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Valerie-once the picture of obedience, the perfect, quiet daughter-had become sharp, unyielding, and unbearably audacious.

She had even dared to speak back to the one person she had always revered most, in front of the entire family.

Yes, Valerie dared.

She was not the original girl who clung to family ties with unthinking loyalty.

The original girl's obedience had been carefully sculpted by lies.

The Todd family had spun a story that Eunice had donated bone marrow to her, saving her life from leukemia.

But Phantom-Valerie's current inhabitant-was no stranger to medicine.

She could tell that this body had never suffered leukemia.

The supposed donation was a fabrication. Eunice had never lifted a finger for her child.

The truth was far crueler: the original Valerie had been sick and comatose in a hospital without a guardian.

The hospital and police, searching for kin, had matched DNA to the Todd family.

Eunice, as the mother, had never truly cared; she had merely sent the housekeeper to collect Valerie.

Now, Eunice's carefully constructed world of respect and control cracked. She had not expected Valerie to argue back so bluntly and paint Paulina as a shameless woman seducing her sister's fiance. Her face darkened, a storm breaking just behind her eyes.

Paulina, looking every bit the picture of wounded innocence, chimed in, "Valerie, don't be jealous. Last night, you disappeared from the hotel, and I searched for you all night, catching a cold and a fever in the process. Kayden was only taking care of me for your sake. Don't be mad at him."

She threw a glance at Valerie, sharp with subtle provocation, before turning to Kayden with a look of calculated grievance. "Kayden, don't blame Valerie for staying out. She didn't do it on purpose."

Prompted, Kayden's brow furrowed. "Valerie! Where did you go last night? How could you stay out all night? As my fiancee, don't you understand the importance of decorum and rules?"

Valerie's eyes cut through him, ice meeting fire. Her words dripped with scorn. "Speaking of decorum, do you think it's right to flirt with my sister right under my nose? You're shameless, serving Paulina so meticulously while pretending nothing is wrong."

A shadow passed over Kayden's face, dark and unyielding.

Eunice's patience snapped, replaced with venom. "Valerie, you went out all night with some man. And when you came home, you insulted Paulina and humiliated Kayden. If I had known you'd turn into such a disgrace, I never would have brought you back from the countryside."

Valerie's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "A disgrace? Are you blind? Can't you see Kayden and Paulina flirting with each other? Or have you grown so accustomed to your husband's affairs that you want me to feel the same pain?"

Eunice's face contorted with rage, her hands trembling with the weight of her own shame. "Shut up! What nonsense! How could I give birth to someone like you? Paulina is far superior to you. You came home stealing, plagiarizing designs-despicable in every way!"

"Enough!" Valerie's father, Jason Todd, who had remained a silent observer until now, finally spoke, his voice carrying authority and exasperation. "Staying out all night once is no crime, but slandering Paulina is intolerable. Go to your room immediately. Confinement is the only option, or I will enforce punishment."

The punishment was harsh-whipping.

The memory lingered like a shadow. When the original Valerie had first been brought back, Paulina had accused her of stealing jewelry.

Jason's lashes had fallen five times, nearly killing her as she had just been discharged from the hospital.

Paulina's eyes glimmered with secret triumph. So what if Valerie had a sharp tongue today? She was still powerless.

The more uproar, the better. Perhaps, she could finally drive Valerie out of the Todd family.

Feigning concern, Paulina stepped forward, grasping Valerie's hand. "Valerie, don't be angry. Mom and Kayden only advised you out of care. How could you speak back to them?"

Her grip, however, betrayed her-fingers pressing into Valerie's skin, nails sharp with hidden malice.

"We understand you wanted freedom, but you were gone all night. We worried for you. A woman's reputation is everything-you can't let your personal whims tarnish the Todd family's name," Paulina continued, her words a poisoned caress, painting Valerie as reckless and frivolous.

Valerie yanked her hand free, her stare freezing the air.

Before Paulina could continue, Valerie's palm shot out, connecting with her face in a crisp, undeniable slap that echoed through the tense room.

"You bitch! Stop pretending to care about me," Valerie spat, voice ringing with accusation and rage. "I didn't stay out because I wanted to-you gave me an aphrodisiac and sent me to that old man from Wade family."