Chapter 2

Zach rushed into the room, shielding Chloe and the boy behind his back, looking at me with hostile eyes.

But once he saw the blood dripping down my face, his expression faltered. "Ethan... the kid didn't know any better. Don't take it to heart."

"We've been brothers for over a decade," I said, my voice hoarse and raw. "Zach, how long have you two been doing this behind my back?"

"I never knew she had two completely different faces—one for you, and one for me."

Zach panicked, his lips trembling.

After a long silence, he seemed to find his courage, raising his chin. "Before I knew I was the real Reynolds heir, I was so jealous of how Chloe treated you."

"But ever since that night she climbed into my bed by mistake, I saw the necklace on Victoria's neck. That's when I knew. I am the real son."

Chloe stepped out from behind Zach, standing firmly by his side.

I took a deep breath. "Even if you hated the universe, why did you have to sleep with my woman? Zach, we've been brothers for so long..."

Zach's eyes turned bloodshot, his emotions boiling over. "Don't give me that charity bullshit! If we hadn't been switched, all of this—including Chloe—would have been mine! Am I wrong?"

"I would have been the rightful heir of the Reynolds Group, not some guy hiding in the shadows while my son is called a bastard!"

He glared at me, his voice full of resentment. "Ethan, have some conscience. You enjoyed my luxury life for over twenty years. How could you live so peacefully?"

Chloe instinctively reached out to support me as I swayed, but then she looked at Zach with a sigh. "Zach, stop it."

"Why should I stop? Why do I have to be the one who suffers? I should just leave then!" Zach yelled, spinning around and storming out of the room.

Chloe's throat bobbed. She gave me a long, complicated look. "Ethan, I..."

"Just go," I whispered, closing my eyes to hold back the sting.

If his suffering was because of me, I had no right to argue.

But in my heart, I kept asking myself: what did I do wrong? What luxury did I actually enjoy?

For the last twenty years in the Reynolds family, Victoria had trained me ruthlessly to be the perfect successor. Anything I wanted, I had to earn myself.

At seventeen, while my classmates went on European vacations, I was stressing over college tuition, book fees, and living expenses. I had no holidays, no childhood, and even my marriage was pre-arranged.

I thought my life was just a set program. I never expected Chloe to be my only variable.

And now, that variable had turned into a bomb that blew my life to pieces.

As I walked out of the venue, I ran right into Victoria. "Victoria, you..."

"I am not your mother," she interrupted coldly.

My throat felt like it was blocked by concrete. I forced myself to correct my words. "Mrs. Reynolds."

"Where is Zach?" she asked, searching the lobby.

When she saw him across the street, she ran straight toward him without looking back once.

I watched her go.

Across the street, Zach was crouching by a tree, venting his anger. Chloe was half-kneeling beside him, comforting him.

It looked exactly like our engagement party years ago.

Back then, Chloe had stood before Victoria, promising to always stay by my side and love me forever.

Looking at it now, it was nothing but a sickening farce.

My phone rang continuously. I picked it up.

"Is this Ethan Reynolds? This is the National DNA Registry. We've found a match for your genetic profile. We need one more blood sample to confirm. Once the results are out, we will notify you immediately."

"Okay. I'll send it as soon as possible."

I hung up, walking aimlessly down the street.

Suddenly, Chloe ran up and grabbed my arm. "Ethan! I'm not going to leave you just because of your identity. Can you please be reasonable? Don't make things difficult for me."

If I didn't know our marriage was a sham, I might have actually believed her. I might have pitied her.

I looked up, barely dodging a speeding car.

Seeing my silence, her tone softened. "The Reynolds Group is holding a press conference tomorrow to announce Zach's return. He's feeling very insecure right now. Since you two used to be close, I need you to be there to support him and show the media there's no bad blood."

I nodded slowly, my body swaying in the cold wind.

Through the corner of my eye, I saw Chloe reach out to steady me, but Zach pulled her back from behind.

I averted my gaze.

These things never belonged to me anyway. Giving them back was only a matter of time.

"Fine. I'll be there."

The day of the press conference arrived.

The reporters were all waiting to see the downfall of the once-proud Ethan Reynolds. They wanted to see the imposter fall from grace.

But in the very last minute of the countdown, the entire venue erupted into chaos.

I snapped my head around to look at the giant screen.

The embarrassing photos of Zach's wild past had vanished. Instead, they had been replaced by compromised, highly inappropriate photos of me—each one ten times more humiliating than anything Zach had ever faced.

A flood of abuse immediately came crashing down on me from the crowd.

"I knew this Ethan guy was trash! He was afraid the real heir would take his spot, so he leaked these to ruin him!"

"How malicious! The real heir is the victim here!"

"Put Ethan in jail! Get him out of here!"

The press conference was abruptly canceled, and the room descended into madness.