But at the very last minute, I discovered the truth: I was never the beloved daughter. I was a decoy, adopted solely to shield the real heiress from danger. This wedding? It’s just a stepping stone, a game designed to pave the way for her by trampling over me. In a moment of desperation, I texted the contact in my phone saved as "6'4, 22, Dead Broke": “Coming to crash the wedding tomorrow?” He replied instantly: “I’m not that desperate.” My phone died right after, so I didn't reply. The next morning, a video went viral online: a Shanghai billionaire, decked out in a groom's tuxedo, sprinting down the highway in the dead of night with a look of pure fury on his face. 1 The night before the wedding, I realized the dress was wrong. Not only was the size off, but the style was completely different from the one I had chosen. I confronted the staff, but they insisted there was no mistake. They said Mr. Vance had personally given the instructions. Two dresses. One delivered to the penthouse on the 68th floor, one to the 67th. Since both brides had the last name "Ji," they had double and triple-checked. There was no error. Ethan wasn't answering his phone. I decided to go upstairs and ask him myself. But when I saw the scene inside the room, I froze. The wedding dress that was supposed to be mine was currently being worn by another woman. My mother was hugging her, cooing over her as she pouted playfully. My father and Ethan sat nearby, their eyes soft, practically dripping with affection. I stood in the doorway, stunned. I don't know how long I stood there before Ethan’s phone rang. He picked it up, and the smile vanished from his face. He didn't even have the patience to listen, cutting the caller off with a curt, "Ignore her." When he hung up, my father asked, "Is Ji Shu causing trouble again?" Ethan nodded, annoyed. "Just the imposter. She actually thinks I’m going to marry her. So much drama." The woman in the wedding dress started to ask a question, but they quickly made up an excuse to send her away. Watching her leave, the smile on my mother’s face disappeared, replaced by a chilling coldness. She shot Ethan a reassuring look. "Just bear with it a little longer. After tomorrow, the decoy won't be of any use to us." The "decoy" they were talking about was me. I gripped the doorframe, knuckles white. I was about to turn and leave when a soft voice called out to me. "Do you need something?" It was the woman. As soon as they saw me, the blood drained from my parents' and fiancé's faces. 2 Ethan dragged me back to my room. He towered over me, looking down with cold eyes. "I planned to tell you after the wedding, but since you couldn't wait, you might as well know now." Ethan pulled up a photo on his phone. An old family portrait. It showed my parents holding a baby. His gaze softened as he looked at the photo. "The Ji family business wasn't always clean. They made enemies. Their only daughter was kidnapped constantly. One time, it almost cost her her life." "So, they hid their real daughter in a different city and adopted another girl to raise as the 'Ji Heiress' in the public eye." I wanted to laugh. But as soon as my lips twitched, hot tears rolled down my cheeks. No wonder. No wonder my childhood was filled with car accidents and kidnapping attempts. Every time I was in danger, Mom and Dad would show up with a gift, take one look at me, and then rush off to "another city for business." No wonder they were always traveling. If I cried and begged to go with them, they would slap me across the face, call me selfish, and have the nanny lock me in a dark room to "reflect." Ask once, get locked up once. No food, no water. If I cried too hard, the nanny would "discipline" me for them. When they returned from their "business trips" and heard I hadn't reflected properly, I’d get beaten again. They said ungrateful children deserved it. They said they were running around the world to give me a luxurious life, yet I was rotten to the core. Traveling became my biggest trigger. I didn't dare bring it up. Even that specific city became a nightmare for me. In high school, when a field trip was announced to that city, I had a panic attack on the spot. I curled up under my desk, hyperventilating, screaming that I wouldn't go. Word got back to my parents. They sponsored the trip and forced the school to change the location. But the new location was terrible, and the trip wasn't fun. My classmates started resenting me. They called me a princess, a psycho. Those labels stuck to me all through high school, suffocating me. Ethan continued, articulating every word. "From start to finish, the only person I ever intended to marry was Ya-Chun." "Marrying you is just a PR move. We need a transition to let Ya-Chun integrate into this circle smoothly." The real Ji daughter returns. Everyone will know I’m the fake. Many of our high school classmates are in this social circle. They’ll bring up the old "psycho" rumors. Compared to me, the beautiful, gentle, and cultured Ya-Chun will be instantly accepted. And I will carry the label forever. Seeing the blood drain from my face, Ethan softened his tone slightly. "As long as you cooperate, for the sake of our years together, I won't treat you poorly." Years together? What years? Wasn’t the affection, the family dinners—wasn't it all just a performance for the kidnappers? I wiped my tears aggressively and forced a grin. "Sure. I'll cooperate. I'll tell everyone how you used a child as bait to protect Ya-Chun. How shameless you—" Before I could finish, Ethan grabbed me by the throat. Before he could speak, Ya-Chun rushed in from the hallway. "Ethan! Let her go!" she screamed. Ethan acted like he didn't hear her. He shifted his grip to my jaw, forcing me to look at Ya-Chun. He smiled reassuringly at her, then looked back at me with dead eyes. "Look at yourself. In what world do you compare to Ya-Chun? In what world do you deserve to marry me?" "If it wasn't to protect her, I wouldn't have spent a single second with you." Ya-Chun pried at his fingers, begging him to stop. Ethan shoved me away violently. He ordered the bodyguards to watch me, then grabbed Ya-Chun’s hand and dragged her out. Moments later, I heard a heated argument erupting in the hallway. 3 I curled up in the corner, running through every possible escape route in my head. Suddenly, the quiet click of the door lock echoed in the room. I walked over. It was my phone. There was a sticky note on the back, three words written in large, hurried letters: I AM SORRY. I glanced at it, too drained to care who sent it. I unlocked the phone and scrolled through my contacts until my finger hovered over: "6'4, 22, Dead Broke." I bit my lip and hit dial. He picked up instantly. But there was silence on the other end. Just the faint sound of breathing. I steadied my voice. "Leo... can you come steal the bride tomorrow?" There was a loud crash on the other end, like something heavy falling. A long silence followed before Leo let out a cold laugh. "Ji Shu, I'm not that desperate." I bit my lip so hard it tasted like iron. A sob escaped before I could stop it. Before he could speak again, I choked out, "Sorry to bother you," and hung up. Less than a minute later, he called back. My vision was blurred with tears. My hand shook as I tried to accept the call. The second it connected, my battery hit 0%. The screen went black. 4 At 5:00 AM, the makeup team barged in. I was groggily pushed into the chair in front of the mirror. The assistant set up her tools and left her phone propped up on the counter. It was playing a video on loop. The makeup artist glanced at it and laughed. "Look at this. 'Shanghai Billionaire in a Tux Sprinting Down the Highway at 2 AM.' Rich people are so dramatic." She shook her head. "Another 'she runs, he chases' soap opera." The assistant giggled, grabbing the phone. "It's like a Wattpad novel come to life." She stared at the screen and sighed. "But imagine not wanting to marry Leo Kai. With a face like that? I don't care if he's a tycoon, I'd say yes." Hearing the name, my brow twitched. "Who?" The assistant repeated it. "Leo Kai." She had a heavy accent and a stuffy nose from a cold. The way she said it... it didn't sound exactly like my Leo. I stared at the blurry back of the man in the video, lost in thought. Just a similar name. The Leo I knew couldn't afford dinner, let alone a bespoke tuxedo. There was no way he was a billionaire. I let out a bitter laugh. If he really was that powerful, maybe he wouldn't have suffered so much because of me.
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