My Best Friend’s Heartless Daughter Swap

As she spoke, Liza looked at Serena and put on a baby voice. She said, “Better to save that money and buy Serena more pretty dresses. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Hadrian was sitting to one side, looking at Liza and Serena with a smile on his face. It was as if he was truly enjoying the loving sight.

I scoffed to myself.

They were such a beautiful, happy family.

I was eager to see how they would react when they found out that Agnes was their real daughter.

When Serena turned ten, her heart condition was very stable because of the care I had taken in caring for her. Her face was rosy, and she was like any other child.

Meanwhile, Agnes had suffered Liza’s poor treatment and neglect all these years. Her face was wan and jaundiced. She would start panting after only a few steps of walking. Worse, she had to do countless chores and cleaning up every day.

She was so timid and looked nothing like the pampered princess from the previous timeline.

Today, Serena had brought home yet another certificate of excellence from school.

Liza moved even faster than I did. She grabbed the certificate and praised her. “What a smart girl you are, Serena! You’re like a little angel, and you’re so brilliant, too! I’m so proud of you as your godmother!”

She tried to hug Serena, but Serena unconsciously shrunk into me.

The smile on Liza’s face froze for a second. When she saw Agnes standing sheepishly by the door, her expression changed. Agnes was too shy to even step through the door.

“What are you doing there just lolling around? Do you need me to invite you in with a red carpet? Look at you! Your grades must be at the bottom of the barrel again, am I right?”

Agnes shook from fright. Her head ducked even lower. She mumbled, “I’m the second last in my class…”

“Second last?”

Liza flicked Agnes’ forehead cruelly.

“I can’t believe you would even dare to say it out loud! You’re useless! You were born stupid and unlucky, just like your mother!”

I coldly watched all of it. I knew that Liza really meant all her insults for someone else.

When Liza was fifteen, her biased parents had tried to sell her to a fifty-year-old man to be his wife. She had fought hard and escaped, and she had ended up fainting outside the backdoor of my family’s restaurant.

Seeing how injured she was, I had been overcome with pity. I got my parents to take her in and even pay for her schooling. In return, she helped out at the restaurant.

Everything I had, she also got. We never once mistreated her.

I thought that we would be best friends forever, but she had become ungrateful and vindictive instead.

But Liza was right. Her daughter had indeed inherited all she had from her mother.

The more Liza criticized Agnes, the more worked up she got. She picked up a broom by the door and used it to hit Agnes.

“Stupid! What an embarrassment! You’re worse than a dog! At least a dog can defend its family. What can you do but eat?”

Agnes did not hide or run away. She only curled into a ball and instinctively repeated, “I’m sorry, Mommy. I’m sorry! I won’t do anything bad anymore. I’m useless, I’m stupid…”

Serena was so shocked by all this that her face turned pale. She hugged me tightly and buried her face in my chest.

Hadrian came out from the study and frowned at the scene.

When Agnes’ voice got very weak, he said evenly, “Enough. She’s just a little girl. Don’t get so upset with her.”

Liza finally stopped. She kicked Agnes disdainfully where she was still curled up on the floor.