A Winding Journey To Achieve Happiness

Kimberly sat in the corner, looking much more haggard than she did at the Roberts family gathering, yet her gaze was sharper and more venomous. She tossed a stack of photos in my direction. I picked them up and my eyes widened in shock. The girl in the photos wore a white dress, standing in a field of iris flowers, her smile bright and innocent. Her features bore a striking resemblance to mine—almost identical, especially her eyes, as if we were carved from the same mold. "Who is this..." My voice trembled. "Maverick Foster." Kimberly took a sip of coffee, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Liam's idealized first love, the one who died five years ago. Do you really think Liam married you because of that accident that night? Stop dreaming. He married you for your face and that name of yours. You're just a vessel for his memories of the dead, a complete stand-in." Her words cut into me like a dull knife, each one slicing deeper. I stared at the girl named Maverick in the photos, feeling a chill seep through me. I was enlightened. No wonder he accepted the child without question. No wonder his gaze always held an unfathomable depth when he looked at me. It turned out he had always been seeing another, someone long gone. My fingers clenched around the photos until my knuckles turned pale, nails digging into my skin. "So, what do you want from me by telling me all this?" I asked, trying to maintain a facade of composure as I looked up at Kimberly. "Do you want me to leave him so Laurence can reclaim his inheritance?" Kimberly's expression shifted before she sneered. "I'm just kindly reminding you not to get too involved. A man like Liam is heartless. When he is tired of you, your fate will be worse than Maverick's." I took a deep breath and slammed the photos onto the table. "Save your concern, then, Kimberly. Whether I'm a stand-in or a thing to give birth to his child, as long as I'm his wife, as long as Liam is willing to keep up this charade, I can keep your family from rising." With that, I grabbed my bag and walked away without looking back. The sunlight outside stung my eyes as I left the café. I stroked my abdomen and let out a bitter smile. I was a stand-in, but so what? As long as I could survive and protect the Wen family, I'd accept living in someone else's shadow forever. Back at the villa, Liam was sitting on the living room sofa, fiddling with an exquisite velvet box. When he saw me return, he gestured for me to go over. "Come here," he said. I walked over and sat beside him. He opened the box, revealing a pink diamond ring inside. It was larger than the engagement ring Laurence gave me, and its quality was astonishing. "A wedding ring." Liam pulled my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger. The fit was perfect. As I stared at the dazzling diamond, all I could think about was the girl in the white dress in the photo. I couldn't help but ask, "Why me?" He paused, then looked up at me. "What?" "Why did you marry me? Was there another reason besides the child?" I pressed. I searched his eyes, hoping to find even the slightest hint of emotion about me. Liam was silent for a moment before releasing my hand and standing up, looking down at me with indifference. "Eliana, you need to learn to be content. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Don't think about things you shouldn't think about. Be a dutiful wife and don't overstep your bounds." At that moment, my heart turned cold utterly. Sure enough, just as Kimberly had said, I was only Maverick's stand-in. In this gilded cage, I didn't even have the right to my own name, only Mrs. Roberts.