“Whether you choose to acknowledge me or not, I’ll always think of you and wish you nothing but happiness and safety.”
Isaac and I were switched at birth. The rural family I grew up in was where his real parents lived, and it was where he truly belonged.
But when Lewis and Elsie looked at me with a hopeful gaze, I blurted out, “If you don’t want to leave, then stay. Mom and Dad can have one more person to care for them. I’ll be happy for them too.”
I meant it back then. But soon, I regretted every word.
Isaac clung to Samantha and me like a ghost that couldn’t be exorcised.
At every social gathering, as soon as Isaac appeared, Samantha’s eyes would lock onto him, glued like a moth to a flame.
Standing beside her, I, the true heir of the Henderson family, seemed like a joke.
…
Samantha opened her eyes, which were brimming with love.
“You’ve always been the one I grew up with, the one who knows me best. I was supposed to marry you, not him!
“If he hadn’t suddenly shown up, we’d already be together, maybe even with kids by now. He ruined everything. My life. My happiness! But it’s not too late. I’ll divorce Joziah and be with you, no matter what.”
As the two of them exchanged a deep, passionate gaze, the tension between them grew.
Soon, their heavy breaths filled the air.
Watching them become entangled before me, I closed my eyes in self-mockery.
I’d known all along that Samantha didn’t love me.
She was supposed to marry the Henderson heir. And just as the engagement was announced, I was brought back to the Henderson family.
I was the heir. The engagement was automatically mine.
Samantha was beautiful and proud. I, a country boy, could never dare to hope for her love. I didn’t even dare to wish she would spare me a second glance.
I foolishly believed that if I treated her well enough, she might eventually grow to love me—even just a little.
How wrong I was.
After Samantha was violated, her parents, Thomas Langley and Emilia McCarthy, desperately pleaded on their knees, “Please! Samantha is too proud to handle the truth. If she finds out what really happened, she’ll take her own life.
“She’s completely out of her mind now. She doesn’t even remember who hurt her. As long as you take the blame and make her believe it was you, she’ll at least be able to accept it. At least she’ll be able to survive!”
Self-preservation was human nature.
Admitting to that crime would destroy me. I would become a criminal, despised by everyone.
So when Thomas and Emilia made such a request, I refused to agree.
But I hadn’t anticipated what came next.
When I returned to the Henderson residence, Lewis locked himself in his study, refusing to see me. Elsie swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills in front of me.
As she was rushed into the emergency room, I learned a shocking truth from her.
It turned out that what happened on that cruise was connected to Isaac. He’d had shady dealings with the pirates, and when the deal soured, they retaliated.
Crying, Elsie said, “Isaac is my baby. I raised him with my own hands. He’s closer to me than my own son. If he ends up in prison because of this, I’d rather die!”
I had no choice. Under relentless pressure from both families, I confessed to a crime I didn’t commit.
Then I died. I used my death to atone for my “sins”. My soul wandered around in a foreign country.
If my body hadn’t been repatriated, I would have found it hard to return to my homeland.
I told myself this was for the best.
If I died, the truth would stay buried. Samantha would never know. She’d never have to suffer.
But no matter how much I lied to myself, the pain wouldn’t stop.
After the incident, Samantha developed a peculiar mental illness.
The doctor said she was projecting her trauma onto me. She subconsciously viewed me as her attacker, as an unforgivable sinner.
Her parents didn’t correct her. Neither did mine.
I did nothing wrong. But everyone else could be saved as long as I sacrificed myself.
Samantha filed a lawsuit against me, accusing me of marital assault, and hired a team of lawyers.
But the judge wasn’t a fool. Due to a lack of evidence, Samantha’s claims were dismissed after several hearings.
In the end, the Langley family used their influence to have me sent to a prison overseas.
The conditions in the prison were horrendous—rats, insects, and malaria were everywhere. The place was filled with the most dangerous criminals as well.
Lewis and Elsie personally sent me there.
On the day of our parting, Elsie gently stroked my face and promised me, “Joziah, just endure it for three years. Then we’ll bring you back, and you’ll still be our precious son.”
Lewis patted my shoulder. “When I was young, I went through hell, took countless stabs, and endured all kinds of scorn. Going through a bit of hardship isn’t a bad thing at your age.”
The prison gates closed behind me.
Through the bars, I saw Isaac walk out from one side and board a plane with my parents.
He seemed to glance back at me.
That glance contained arrogance, disdain, and mockery.
He easily gained everyone’s favor—my parents’ and Samantha’s. And I was left in a dark, forsaken corner, devoured by the vicious monsters lurking in the shadows.
This ending was perfect.
Everyone wanted me to be the one sacrificed.
