Chapter 3
Calista was actually the true daughter of the Marchand family, but she’d been kidnapped by human traffickers as a newborn and abandoned on the roadside. Her foster mother, Rebecca Jenner, found her on the way to work and raised her as if she were her own.
It wasn’t until Calista turned 18 that Rebecca told her the truth and brought her to the Marchands to reunite with her birth family. The moment the Marchands saw Calista, they knew without a doubt that she was the daughter they had lost.
However, by then, the family already had another daughter, Ophelia.
No matter how hard Calista tried, she could never break into the tight-knit family of three who’d been together for 18 years. To them, Calista was just a stranger who happened to share their blood, while Ophelia was the daughter they’d cherished and spoiled for nearly two decades.
The difference in how they treated her was stark, and it reached its peak when it came to marriage arrangements.
The Marchands and Fenwicks had a deep bond dating back generations. Their families had been through life and death together during the revolution, so an engagement had been arranged years ago.
The Fenwick son, Lucien, was the chosen match, and the Marchands selected Ophelia without hesitation. The Fenwicks were perfectly happy with this arrangement. After all, Ophelia and Lucien had grown up together.
To give the young couple more time together, both families arranged for Ophelia to join Fenwick Group before she even graduated. She was being groomed as the future daughter-in-law and became Lucien’s most capable assistant and trusted confidante.
Ophelia and Lucien were perfectly matched, both professionally and personally.
They attended galas together dressed in elegant attire, posing for countless photos under flashing cameras. Over time, everyone saw them as the perfect couple. All of Dorcan knew that Ophelia would be the future Mrs. Fenwick.
However, no one expected that just before the wedding, the Marchands would suddenly announce a change. For reasons no one understood, they wanted Calista to marry Lucien instead.
The Fenwicks didn’t have much ground to object. After all, Calista was technically a Marchand daughter. Thus, they reluctantly agreed to the switch.
In the end, Calista married into the Fenwick family as the Marchand heiress. However, she knew that neither family truly respected her.
The Marchands had never really accepted her as their daughter, and the Fenwicks couldn’t stomach the idea that Dorcan’s most prestigious family’s daughter-in-law was just a country bumpkin who’d grown up in a rural village.
Calista had been in the hospital for several days now, with Anthony taking care of everything. Apart from Clover’s brief visit, no one from the Fenwick family had bothered to come.
Wendy had never acknowledged her as a daughter-in-law anyway. She probably wished that Calista would just die and make room for Ophelia.
That day, Anthony brought a bank card containing all the money he’d saved from farming over the years. He used every penny to pay for Calista’s medical bills.
Calista sat in the wheelchair while Anthony handled her discharge paperwork. Looking at all the missed calls and messages on her phone, she felt exhausted. Most of them were from her so-called “mother”.
“Have you forgotten the rules I taught you? Now that you’re part of the Fenwick family, you’d better behave yourself. Just be a good Mrs. Fenwick and uphold the Marchand name.
“I know that you’re my biological daughter. The Marchands have acknowledged you. What more do you want?
“Calista, where the hell are you? You keep disappearing and making everyone worry. If you don’t start acting more mature, I’d rather pretend that I never gave birth to you!
“I already called Ophelia. They’ll be back in a day or two. Ophelia has been generous enough to step aside. Otherwise, you never would have gotten to be Mrs. Fenwick! If you weren’t my daughter, I wouldn’t care if you died in a ditch somewhere!
“Call Mrs. Fenwick Senior back as soon as you see this!”
…
Among all the messages, there was also one missed call from Ophelia. The call log showed missed calls from everyone except Lucien.
But it didn’t matter anymore. Calista was prepared to return to Brego with Anthony.
Their train was leaving at 1:30 pm. But before that, there was one place she needed to visit. That was the Fenwick estate.
The car stopped at the front gate, and only Calista got out. She’d told Anthony to wait for her at a nearby hotel. She didn’t want the man who’d been like family to her for 18 years to see how pathetic her life had become.
The Fenwick estate was massive, with the entire extended family living together, except for her and Lucien, who had their own place. But most of the time, it was just her alone, rattling around in that cold, empty house.
Lucien’s grandfather, Otis Fenwick, had died years ago, leaving Serena to single-handedly hold the family together.
In a traditional courtyard with elegant eaves, an elderly woman with snow-white hair was trimming excess branches with a pair of shears. These were rare flowers that Lucien had commissioned a team of botanical experts to cultivate. Each bloom was worth a fortune on the market, but to the Fenwicks, that kind of money was pocket change.
One of the housekeepers, Lydia Johnson, spotted the approaching figure, and her face lit up. “Mrs. Fenwick Senior, it’s Ms. Marchand! She’s here!”
Serena’s hand trembled as she looked at the approaching figure. “Cali…”
Calista’s expression was distant. She walked over without saying a single word and slowly knelt beside the stone table, supporting herself against it. Her eyes were rimmed with a hint of red.
Serena quickly moved to help her up as her gaze fell on the bandaged wound on Calista’s forehead. “My dear, what are you doing? Get up!”
“I’m sorry, Grandma. The baby… is gone.” Calista’s voice was soft and measured.
She didn’t know how else to say those words. She just felt cold all over, her entire body trembling.
Serena swayed on her feet, and Lydia quickly steadied her.
“What… What happened? How could a perfectly healthy baby just be gone?”
Serena was the only person in the Fenwick family who had ever been kind to her. That’s why Calista told only her when she got pregnant.
All those times before when she’d wanted to divorce Lucien, it was only Serena’s pleading that convinced her to stay. But now that the baby was gone, she couldn’t hold on anymore.
Calista told Serena everything. “It’s all my fault. I was being stubborn and threw a tantrum, which led to the fight with Lucien. The doctor says that my uterus was severely damaged from the bleeding. I’ll never be able to get pregnant again.”
Calista backed away on her knees, her head hanging low. “I know that all these years, you’ve been the only one who’s truly been good to me. But Grandma… Lucien doesn’t love me. A marriage between two people who don’t love each other can’t last.
“This baby was unexpected, and I thought that I could just spend my life devoted to this child. But now, even the baby is gone…”
