The Heiress No One Wanted

Rosalie's POV “YOU shameless b***h! You stole my husband!” I stared at Vanessa, who had just barged into my place and started making a scene. For a second, I honestly didn’t even know how to react. She snapped. “You’ve only been married a month. You two barely even met—just saw each other once when you signed the papers. There’s no way he remembers what you look like. So give me back the spot that was supposed to be mine!” That finally snapped me out of it. “You’re the one who refused to marry Lucian in the first place because his leg was messed up. You cried and begged Mom to get you out of it. You even threatened me until I agreed to marry him for you.” “And now you’re changing your mind?” Vanessa’s face turned bright red. She jabbed a finger at me. “Don’t play word games with me! Lucian’s leg was already healed—you knew that and didn’t say s**t. Isn’t that basically stealing my husband?” Stealing? That word almost made me laugh. The irony was unbelievable. Who exactly stole from who here? Vanessa glared at me, her green eyes burning with anger. We actually looked a little alike—same deep red hair, same general features, even the same eye color. But we weren’t sisters. Twenty-three years ago, right after we were born, the family nanny swapped us out as revenge. Just like that, our lives got switched. She grew up as the spoiled rich girl in a wealthy family, while I grew up in an ordinary one. My biological parents finally found me a year ago and brought me back to the house I was supposed to grow up in. But Vanessa never left. My parents said they couldn’t bear to send her away. They’d raised her for over twenty years, after all. And the family she originally belonged to was poor—they didn’t want her going back there and suffering. So she stayed. At first, I thought things might actually work out between us. We were the same age, and my parents promised they’d treat us fairly. Yeah. That didn’t happen. Vanessa saw me as a threat from day one. She was terrified I’d steal the love she’d always had. But the truth was, she’d already taken everything that should’ve been mine. My parents. Their love. Their attention. Over the past year, I felt more like a guest in my own home—no, not even a guest. More like some stray they’d taken in out of pity. I always got whatever Vanessa didn’t want. Even the room I stayed in used to be one of her walk-in closets. My mother would always smile gently and tell me to be patient with Vanessa. She’d say Vanessa had been spoiled for more than twenty years, that it would take time for her to adjust. That I should be the bigger person and learn to tolerate her. And every time Vanessa pouted or acted cute, my parents would give her whatever she wanted—no matter how ridiculous it was. Months ago, Vanessa heard that the man she was supposed to marry—Lucian Ravenscroft—had been seriously shot. His right leg was supposedly crippled for life, and people said his personality had gotten violent and unstable. She cried, threw a fit, and swore she’d rather run away from home than marry him. My mother felt sorry for her. So my mother suggested that I marry Lucian instead. First, the marriage alliance with the Ravenscroft family was already set. Backing out wasn’t an option. Second, in her words, Vanessa had been pampered her whole life and had never suffered a day. I, on the other hand, was “strong,” “mature,” and “used to hardship.” Compared to the life I’d grown up with, marrying into the Ravenscroft family would practically be a massive upgrade. She said I’d adjust much easier than Vanessa ever could. I did refuse. But I didn’t really have a choice. Because they used my adoptive mother against me. They knew she was waiting for a liver transplant. They told me if I agreed to the marriage, they’d transfer her to a private hospital and use their connections to get her a donor match faster. So I married Lucian. And now it’s been one month. Vanessa just found out Lucian’s leg isn’t actually crippled. So she showed up at my door today—demanding I give her husband back. “Vanessa, this isn’t some kids’ game where you can just switch whenever you feel like it.” I felt this tight, frustrated knot in my chest. Stuff like this had happened more times than I could count. Vanessa had always been like this—bossy, spoiled, used to getting whatever she wanted. And whenever something ended up in my hands, it didn’t matter if it was good or garbage. If it was mine, she had to take it. “WHO the hell cares? I said I want it back!” When she saw I wasn’t budging, her voice shot up and she went straight for the threat. “You believe me when I say I’ll make Mom and Dad cancel that liver transplant?” I sucked in a sharp breath, my brows pulling together. “That’s your biological mother. How can you even say something like that?” My adoptive mom Diane—Vanessa’s real mother—had worked herself half to death raising me alone all those years. Multiple jobs, barely any rest. Her health had been wrecked for a long time. A year ago, she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, and since then she’d basically been living in the hospital. “What mother? Don’t talk crap,” Vanessa shot back immediately. “I never lived with her. I don’t feel anything for her.” “Do you even know how much she misses you?” My voice tightened. “She lies in that hospital bed calling your name over and over. And you won’t even go see her. Now you’re using her to threaten me?” “SHUT UP!” she snapped, embarrassment and anger flashing across her face as she shoved my shoulder. I stumbled back a couple steps and rubbed my left shoulder. “Don’t push it.” She stepped inside from the doorway and kept advancing on me, her face hard and aggressive. “I’ll ask you one last time. Are we switching or not?” I didn’t want this turning into a full fight. “Switch how? My name’s on the marriage certificate.” “Oh please. Just leave,” she said impatiently. “Go wherever the hell you want—” Then she suddenly stopped mid-step. Her foot froze between the entryway and the living room as her eyes swept across the apartment. A strange little smile curled on her lips, one eyebrow lifting. “Oh wow. You’re living in this crappy apartment?” She crossed her arms, looking at me with open disdain. “Looks like Lucian doesn’t even remember you. Honestly, even if you disappeared and someone else showed up in your place, he probably wouldn’t notice.” “I was worried this might get messy,” Vanessa went on smugly. “But looks like it’s actually pretty damn easy.” I didn’t say anything. Honestly… she was probably right. On the day Lucian and I got married—well, technically there wasn’t even a wedding. We just signed the papers in front of a lawyer. Lucian and I didn’t even make eye contact. He showed up, scribbled his name on the marriage documents, and left almost immediately. It was obvious he didn’t care who he was marrying or what she looked like. Hell, if someone else had stood there instead of me, he probably wouldn’t have noticed. It felt like the only thing that mattered to him was having a name in the “wife” section of the paperwork. Nothing else. And after the papers were signed, nobody contacted me about moving anywhere. So I just rented a place and lived on my own. Vanessa kept looking me up and down with obvious disgust as she talked. “Tsk. What a waste. A guy as hot as Lucian being stuck married to you? Total waste.” She rolled her eyes. “Not like a boring i***t like you could ever make him like you anyway. And what if you screw something up and he takes it out on our family? That’d be a freaking disaster. So for Mom and Dad’s sake, you should really just listen to me.” Listening to her spit out all that twisted logic, I just felt tired. Helpless, honestly. Seeing my lips pressed together, Vanessa assumed I was refusing. She immediately grabbed her phone in irritation. “I’m calling Mom right now! If I can’t get what I want, you’re not getting anything good either!” I knew Vanessa well enough. If there was something she wanted, she would never drop it until she got it. “You want me to agree? Fine.” I cut her off. “But you have to promise me one thing.”