Chapter 1
The day I got engaged to Declan Howard, our engagement dominated the trending topics online.
Millions of netizens hurled insults at me:
“Scheming bitch, climbed your way up as the other woman!”
“Shameless! Stealing your sister’s boyfriend!”
“Trash! Go die!”
“Poor Joanna Peterson!”
That’s right—Joanna is my cousin. She’s also Declan’s first love and the only girlfriend he ever publicly acknowledged.
Back in school, they were the golden couple, admired by everyone.
As for me? I was the messy, unpopular girl everyone despised.
I lived with my uncle’s family for a few years when I was little, and rumors about me being a thief started spreading back then.
After my uncle and aunt died in a car accident, I was taken back into the Peterson household. But the rumors of me stealing followed me, growing more believable with time.
The most humiliating incident happened in high school when a classmate’s wallet went missing.
The teacher found it in my desk.
My mom was called to school, and she slapped me right in front of everyone.
“Can’t steal enough from your own home, so now you’re stealing at school, huh?”
She didn’t even bother asking for my side of the story. She declared me guilty on the spot.
This was my own mother.
I stood there with tear-filled eyes, enduring everyone’s judgment and her scolding,
like a criminal guilty beyond redemption.
From that day on, everyone avoided me like the plague.
Some of them even started bullying me openly, and no one stepped up to defend me.
But I hadn’t done anything wrong!
Maybe it was because I was too timid, or maybe because I wasn’t likable.
No one cared to hear my explanations.
Even now, I often dream about those high school days.
Back then, I always kept my head down, hiding in a corner, crying silently.
“Rebecca, you really are pathetic…”
Chapter 2
Declan Howard came out of the shower while I was still staring blankly out the window.
He wrapped his arms around me from behind, burying his face in my neck and nuzzling like a puppy.
Goosebumps ran up my arms, and my body stiffened.
I couldn’t forget those days at my uncle’s house, when old Mr. Wang next door would constantly touch me inappropriately.
No one believed me—not my uncle, not my aunt. They even scolded me.
But I once secretly saw them visiting Mr. Wang’s house.
When they returned, their hands were full of cash, their faces lit up with joy.
I was the unwanted child, the one abandoned by my parents, so being bullied was my fate.
That’s what my aunt always told me.
Back then, I didn’t fully understand her words.
But as I grew older, I became repulsed by physical closeness—it brought back too many bad memories.
Declan didn’t seem to notice my discomfort. He pressed a tender kiss to my hair and said softly,
“Baby, it’s time for bed.”
I dug my nails into the soft flesh of my palm, trying to steady my trembling body.
I wanted to playfully brush it off, to act like nothing was wrong.
But I knew my expression must have been distorted, betraying my inner turmoil.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Declan held me in his arms, his voice low and gentle as he asked,
“Rebecca, are you afraid of me?”
My lips twitched, forcing a stiff smile.
“Why would I be afraid of you?”
He stroked my hair and teased lightly, “Just kidding.”
I dropped my gaze, quickly changing the subject.
“People online are all saying I’m not good enough for you.”
Declan raised an eyebrow and traced his finger down my face, slowly slipping it beneath my nightgown.
“They’re just fools manipulated by the media. Why care about them?”
His voice was intoxicating, like the poisoned apple in Snow White, luring me in.
“Or is it because I haven’t satisfied you, so your mind is wandering?”
“You’re my treasure, Rebecca. I’d give you my very heart if I could.”
“No one can ever replace you.”
Chapter 3
In truth, I was the one who pursued Declan first.
There were so many women who wanted him, but I was the only one who truly understood him, the only one who could fulfill all his needs.
Back then, I was his perfect companion in bed.
Now, I’m the woman he loves most.
He wants both my body and my heart.
Joanna Peterson probably never dreamed that I would take her man.
To her, I was nothing more than an unwanted, worthless girl, not even worthy of carrying her shoes.
Declan’s gaze burned with intensity, his voice growing hoarse with emotion.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, baring my most vulnerable self to him.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he leaned in to kiss me—
But just then, his phone rang, cutting through the moment.
It was Joanna.
Her voice was full of grievance as she accused him,
“Declan, what’s the meaning of this?”
“Are you really going to marry my sister?”
“Why her? What does that make me?”
Before she could finish, my mother snatched the phone.
I heard her furious shouting,
“Rebecca, get back home this instant! I do not approve of this marriage!”
“Joanna, what are you doing? Put that knife down!”
“Rebecca, if anything happens to Joanna, I will never forgive you!”
