Death of the Substitute Wife

Sophia watched as Cindy blew the candles and closed her eyes to make a wish. She couldn't help but turn to look at my father, Steven, as she wiped her tears away.

Steven quickly hugged Sophia. "Sophia, what's the matter?"

Sophia shook her head. "It's nothing. I just suddenly recalled how tiny Cindy looked when she was born. In the blink of an eye, she's grown to be healthy and so beautiful."

Steven chuckled in relief. "Oh, you…"

However, he was interrupted before he could say anything further.

"Look at that! Dad and Mom are whispering."

Cindy's crisp, clear voice was heard. Although she interrupted their conversation, nobody was upset with her.

Mark moved closer. "That's right. Cindy's cutting her cake right now. Dad, Mom, you'll have all the time in the world to show your affection to each other."

Steven pointed helplessly at his children.

Suddenly, Cindy looked down and murmured, "I wonder how Rachel is doing. It's her birthday, too."

When Steven heard this, he frowned. "Why did you bring her up?"

"She's my sister. If it hadn't been for me, she wouldn't have had to…" Cindy frowned in an uneasy manner.

"That's enough." Steven waved his hand. "Rachel was destined to end up that way. Consider it her way of atoning her evil mother's sins."

When I heard that, I got so furious that I laughed.

This place had always made me uncomfortable, and I wanted nothing but to leave. Despite that, there was an unknown force binding me to the Lamberts.

What was going on?

I couldn't escape while I was alive, and now that I had died, I was still being forced to listen to their horrible comments about me. Did I have to watch while they lived a happy life?

Soon enough, I stopped struggling.

After all these years, I had gotten used to all this. Growing up, the Lamberts had said such things countless times.

Because of my biological mother, I was branded a sinner from birth.

Although I was also Steven's biological daughter, he and everyone in the Lamberts family perceived me as a sinner. I was a constant reminder of Steven's mistake.

My name was Rachel Lambert. I was an unwanted child.

I was Steven's illegitimate daughter.

To be more specific, I was a stain in his otherwise picture-perfect life.

In his youth, Steven was handsome and dashing. To add, he was wealthy and generous. As the head of the Lamberts, he was surrounded by all sorts of women.

My mother, Lucy Smith, was one of them.

Her family did everything they could to raise her well. She came from a wealthy family, and she was incredibly smart.

Unfortunately, she lost her senses after meeting Steven.

Having fallen head over heels in love with him, she did everything to make him hers—despite knowing how he already had feelings for Sophia, who later became his wife.

Seeing how Steven would soon marry Sophia because she was pregnant, Lucy drugged him and slept with him.

Towards the later stage of Sophia's pregnancy, Lucy plotted a mess in Steven's company. While Steven rushed to fix it, she showed up at their house with her visibly protruding belly. It irritated Sophia so much that she gave birth prematurely to the frail and sickly Cindy.

By the time Steven heard about the news and rushed to the hospital, he only saw the weakened Sophia. She held onto an incubator with Cindy inside, pale and wan. Meanwhile, I was wrapped up in a blanket and left in the ward on my own.

Lucy disappeared. Nobody knew where she had gone.

Steven was forced to raise me as part of the family. However, that was all he did.

My existence was a constant reminder that he was tricked by a woman he looked down upon, one that nearly took the lives of his wife and his daughter.