A jagged laugh tore from my throat. So that was it. I had nearly died, and they were sipping champagne under chandeliers. Well. it was also my fault for eating it. I thought they would notice me after this. Yet, I was wrong—I would never be part of the family even if I am the real daughter.
I dropped the phone onto the bed and looked around. No flowers. No cards. Not even a fruit basket.
When I asked the nurse if anyone had come to check on me, she gave me an apologetic smile and said, “No, ma’am. No visitors so far.”
Even after all this time—even after the truth about the bloodline, the switched lives, the heartbreak—they still loved Patricia more. Always more.
And me? I had loved them too much. I gave them my everything. My name. My future. My body. Even my baby. And what did I get in return?
Disregard. Disrespect. Disgust.
But I was done.
That afternoon, I received a text from my lawyer.
Lawyer: Divorce has been finalized. The official documents are en route.
Then Rain messaged me, ever the savior in my life.
Rain: Everything’s ready. Do you want to disappear? Or… marry a stranger and make your own headlines? I can arrange both.
Me: Anything. Anyone. Just get me out of here.