I Reclaimed My Birthright, Humiliating Them Both

Elara Lawson had spent her entire life as a real-life Cinderella. Even at 70, confined to a hospital bed, Elara still received good care from Cassian Vale. Cassian never let anyone else care for her. He handled everything himself, tending to her day and night. That all changed the day the ward door was kicked open with a bang, and a group of grim-faced men stormed in. "Whitmore Holdings has gone completely bankrupt. The company's massive debts are beyond repayment, and you're legally responsible for all of them. You're coming with us to answer for it." Elara froze. She raised her eyes with effort, her voice hoarse and weak. "If this is about Whitmore Holdings, go find Vivienne Whitmore. What does any of this have to do with me?" The moment she finished, her gaze instinctively shifted to Cassian, who was sitting beside her. As soon as she turned her head, she saw a c***k in his usually calm expression. He stayed silent for so long that the men had already stepped forward, preparing to cuff her and take her away. Only then did he speak, "Elara, the truth is... you're the biological daughter of the Whitmore Family. There was a mix-up at the hospital when you were born. You and Vivienne were switched at birth, and you've been living each other's lives ever since. Vivienne is spoiled and headstrong, but she's been the Whitmore Family's precious princess for more than 20 years. President Whitmore had her late in life, and he values blood ties above everything else. I had to keep you by my side to protect her identity. All these years I've spent taking care of you... consider it my way of making up for what I did to you." Elara's mind went completely blank. A bone-deep chill spread through every inch of her body. She remembered the day her gambling-addicted adoptive father, Gideon Lawson, had tried to marry her off for money. That was the day she'd met Cassian. He'd appeared like a guardian angel, rescued her from that nightmare, and fallen for her at first sight. He'd pursued her relentlessly, even defying his entire family to marry her. Turns out, none of it had been the miracle she'd believed it was. Every cruel remark and every humiliation she'd endured after marriage, every moment she'd felt trapped and insignificant, it had all been nothing more than a cruel, ridiculous twist of fate. "Vivienne got to live in luxury with the Whitmore Family using my identity, while I suffered every hardship imaginable from the moment I was a child. I went to bed hungry more times than I can count. And now she's run the company into the ground, and I'm the one who has to clean up her mess? Who the hell does she think she is?!" Tears welled up in Elara's cloudy old eyes. Before she could even struggle, the cold click of handcuffs rang out as they locked around her wrists. Cassian's eyes were bloodshot. He instinctively stepped forward to stop them, but then something seemed to occur to him. He slowly withdrew his hand without saying a word. Elara was thrown into prison. Her long-standing health problems rapidly worsened, and she eventually died, consumed by grief and bitterness. When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was her wedding photo with Cassian on the nightstand. The digital clock on the wall displayed the date in bright numbers: September 11, 2025. She'd been reborn. She was back on the day after her wedding to Cassian. Before she could even process what had happened, a brutal, throbbing pain shot through her entire body. Memories of the previous day's wedding came rushing back. At the wedding, Vivienne had flown at Elara like a lunatic. She'd grabbed Elara by the wrist and dragged her straight into the middle of the road, screaming at the top of her lungs. "You little b***h! I'll make Cassian choose between us! I'm the only one who matters to him!" A massive truck came barreling down the road. In the split second before impact, Cassian lunged toward Vivienne without a second thought. The truck slammed into Elara's arm, the impact sending searing pain through her entire body. Her wedding gown was ripped to shreds, leaving her battered and disheveled. In her past life, she'd talked herself into forgiving him countless times. 'He just feels guilty about Vivienne, his childhood fiancée,' she'd told herself, 'he panicked in the moment. That's all. Deep down, he still loves me.' Now, she finally saw those lies for what they were. After a long while, Elara forced herself to calm down and sort through her thoughts. She paid a private investigator a hefty sum to obtain a biological sample from Adrian Whitmore, then sent his sample along with her own to a DNA testing center. "The fastest we can get the results is one week. As you requested, I'll have them sent directly to Mr. Whitmore." Only after getting that assurance from the staff member in charge did Elara drag her exhausted body back to the villa. The wedding photo of her and Cassian on the nightstand looked more and more like a slap in the face. Without a second thought, she set it on fire. She watched without emotion as their faces blackened and the edges curled inward. The paper crackled in the flames before she tossed the charred remains into the trash. Just then, the bedroom door creaked open. Cassian walked in.