Everyone Hates the Fake Heiress

I was the fake daughter of the Higgins family, which was wealthy. They took me home by accident when I was born. I partied, got inked, and loved the thrill of racing.

The real daughter of the family, Clara Morgan, grew up in a poor family. She excelled academically and was quiet and beautiful. Everyone liked her.

One day, she slandered me for having bullied her in the past.

Everyone believed her, except for Josh Higgins. He was my father's brother and ran a tech company.

He produced a memory-revealing device and was determined to reveal the truth to everyone.

But I refused because I was afraid that they'd discover I'd fallen for someone I never should have loved.

He was Clara's fiancé.

1.

Everyone loved Clara and praised her for being beautiful and kind-hearted.

Only I knew how malicious she could be. She resented me for having lived the luxurious life that should have been hers and slandered me for bullying her at school.

Everyone trusted her. No one liked me. I could only rely on myself and build my own career from scratch.

Years later, Clara got pregnant after an affair and suffered massive bleeding when she tried to miscarry.

Both of my parents begged me in tears to save her. So I set one condition: to reveal her memories.

I wanted everyone to see how dark she truly was.

She played the weakling in the hospital bed and cried as she asked why I hated her so much.

To answer that, I'd have to start the story many years ago.

2.

No one liked me. I was the girl everyone hated.

I was rebellious and wild, never following the rules. I played drums, raced cars, and had my hair silver.

In high school, I was notorious for being a troublemaker, a spoiled rich girl who barely bothered with school.

In the second semester of my junior year, my parents discovered that I wasn't their daughter.

Their daughter was Clara, who went to the same school as me.

We weighed the same at birth, looked exactly alike, and even had the same blood type, which was rare and people call Rh negative.

That was how we were switched at the hospital seventeen years ago.

For those seventeen years, I grew up in the affluent Higgins family.

Clara grew up in the Morgan family, which was poor. She excelled in both character and academics, and she was quiet and lovely.

Most parents preferred a daughter like her.

Mr. and Mrs. Higgins had raised me for seventeen years. They threw a big celebration to welcome Clara home.

My parents, meanwhile, wept as they tried to keep her.

They were ordinary workers and couldn't accept my unconventional image.

That short year in high school showed me the true world.

I felt homeless, so I buried myself in my academic learning and chose art as my major. Later, I got into a decent art university through the art entrance exam.

Two years after graduation, I worked at a design firm. I was always an overworked, underpaid grunt churning out drawings.

It was Clara's birthday that day, and mine, too.

Josh wanted to drive me to the Higgins family for a reunion.

Honestly, I was reluctant. Over the past years, I'd grown distant from both the Higgins and Morgan families.

I lived on my own and worked part-time in college to make money to pay my own tuition.

I knew they all favored Clara. The Higgins family showered her with luxury clothes and designer brands, while the Morgan family cooked for her and often sent her red envelopes, those cash gifts for good luck.

The Morgan family would occasionally give me something, but only out of guilt.

I used my hard-earned money to pay them back.

And in the Higgins family, only Josh was in regular contact with me.

It was early summer in Havenwood, and the evening light lingered over the city.

I set off from the design firm and walked over three hundred meters to the entrance of the art university.

A black Maybach with a unique license plate was parked in the shade. Josh was waiting for me in the back seat.

After I got in, he handed me a bottle of expensive water and a handkerchief.

I drank water and wiped my sweat as he watched me quietly. He said, "You cut your hair."

"Yeah, just a bit shorter." I ran my fingers through my silver hair, now just brushing my shoulders.

Josh asked, "Why did you get off work so late?"

I was surprised. "Is it late at six-thirty? I usually have to work overtime until ten."

He paused for a moment and then asked, "What's your boss's name?"

I laughed. "Josh, please don't go to see him. I'm fine, really. I worked hard for a few years after graduation to get experience. I can run my own design firm later."

While I spoke, Josh kept gazing at me gently. He said with a slight smile, "You've really grown up, Angela."

Josh was just five years older than I was.

My parents in the Higgins family didn't care about me, but Josh still looked after me like family.

As we talked, a pretty women from the art university suddenly came over and tapped on the window.

"Hey, sir, here's my number."

She slipped a card with her number to Josh and hurried away.

I wasn't surprised. Josh was handsome and wealthy, and many woman often tried to hit on him.

He held the card between his slender fingers, and his expression was unreadable.

I teased, "Josh, you're such a lady-killer."

He asked, "Are you jealous?"

We often joked like that, so I didn't take offense. I grinned and said, "Yeah. I'm dying of jealousy."

He chuckled and tossed the card out of the window.

3.

Clara's birthday dinner was set at a top riverside restaurant.

We arrived at seven. Everyone else was already there.

Mr. and Mrs. Higgins seemed much older now. Since that year in high school, I'd seen them less and less.

So it was easy for me to notice how much they've changed when I finally met them again.

Mrs. Higgins hugged me. "Sweetheart, you've grown up."

I breathed in her familiar scent, and my eyes stung with tears. But she let go of me after only a few seconds.

Mom. I couldn't bring myself to say that word anymore. There was a distance in her affection that made me uneasy.

Clara nestled close to her, served her food, and acted sweet. They were the perfect loving mother and daughter.

I kept my head down and ate in silence. No matter how good the food was, it all tasted like ash in my mouth.

I wondered why I kept putting myself through that. I shouldn't hold onto hope when they'd already stopped loving me.

Like a stray dog, I kept coming back to the doorstep, although they had already abandoned me.

4.

Clara was beautiful with raven hair and porcelain skin. Every gesture of hers looked graceful and refined.

She was the real center of attention at the birthday dinner.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and a tall, handsome guy walked in with a bouquet of roses. "Clara, happy birthday."

My heart skipped a beat.

He was my former crush, Phillip Carter. He was now Clara's fiancé.

Clara beamed with delight as she accepted the flowers. She gazed at Phillip with deep affection. Everyone said they were a perfect match.

No one knew that Phillip and I had once dated.

It was during the second semester of my junior year in college. We interned at the same company.

He didn't know my background, and I didn't know he was the son of the Carter family, which was very powerful.

We were drawn to each other and discovered how much we had in common.

The company forbade office romances, so we kept things secret. It was exciting and sweet.

After the internship, I thought we could finally date openly.

But Phillip said he didn't like working in the country and wanted to study abroad.

So, I was just a fling to him.

When he returned from abroad, he took over the family business and got engaged to Clara, the daughter of the Higgins family.

Now, at that very moment, Phillip didn't even glance at me, pretending not to know me.

Everyone at the party was having a wonderful time, except for me. I only stood on the outside.

After the cake was cut, I said I wanted to leave. Mrs. Higgins tried to persuade me to stay, but I excused myself, saying my boss had given me an urgent task.

"Wait a second." Clara suddenly said, "Angela, take this with you."

She cut a piece of cake, put it in a box, and handed it to me.

Everyone praised her for being so thoughtful. I nodded and thanked her.

Clara said with a smile, "It's nothing. I know how much you love cake. Back in our first year of high school, I saved up to buy myself a piece, but before I could eat it, you snatched it away."

Her words made my scalp tingle. "What did you just say?"

5.

Sure, I was a slacker in high school, but I never picked on anyone.

Besides, I didn't even know who Clara was back in our first year.

Clara smiled gently and said, "I know you were too young back then to understand how much damage bullying can do to me. That's why I forgive you."

Mrs. Higgins immediately asked what I had done back then.

Clara sighed and tucked a strand of her long black hair behind her ear. "I don't want to dwell on the past. Why keep bringing up painful memories again and again? It only makes me sadder."

My emotions got the better of me. "Don't slander me. I never had any grudge against you. How can you just make things up like that?"

Clara blinked, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but you've already traumatized me. If you won't admit it, what am I supposed to do? It's not like there's any way to prove what happened ten years ago..."

Mrs. Higgins immediately hugged Clara and then shot me a reproachful look.

A chill swept over me, and I trembled as a suffocating sense of despair overwhelmed me. "I didn't do that! I never bullied her, not ever. Don't you believe me? Dad, Mom..."

Mr. Higgins said, "Don't call me Dad. Your dad is Mr. Morgan."

Mrs. Higgins said, "Angela, we all know what you were like in high school. You're still young, and you still have time to change for the better. But don't add lying to your list of faults."

Because I'd been a troublemaker back then, they just assumed that I had bullied Clara.

I fought hard to keep my tears from falling. I knew I must look like a mess at that moment.

Josh, who had been silent all this time, stood up. "It's easy to find out who's lying. We can use the memory retrieval device."

Clara's eyes widened in surprise.

Josh walked over and put his arm around my shoulders, gave her a smile, and said slowly, "The memory retrieval device our company just developed has already been reserved by the police. It's even more effective than a polygraph in interrogations."

Clara dabbed at her tears, and her voice was soft and pleading. "Josh, don't make such a fuss. It's all in the past."

I was still shivering, cold to the bone, but Josh's hand on my shoulder gave me a sliver of warmth.

He said to Clara in a stern voice, "Being falsely accused is no small thing. If you're determined to bring this up, you have to accept the consequences. Come to the company lab tomorrow morning."

Clara bit her lip and sobbed. "But those memories are too painful for me. I've spent years trying to forget them. I really can't remember... Mom, it hurts so much."

Mrs. Higgins immediately hugged Clara, and Phillip rushed over to comfort her as well.

Josh let out a cold laugh. "Fine. Then I'll extract Angela's memories and see if she ever bullied you in high school."

Clara sobbed even harder. Phillip shot us a fierce glare. "It's Clara's birthday today. Can't you all just let it go?"

It was my birthday too.

I was heartbroken.

Josh held me tighter and quickly took me away.

Once we got into his car, I couldn't hold back anymore and cried in his arms.

I might seem rebellious and tough, but deep down, I was very fragile.

I longed for my parents' love and was afraid to be left to drift alone in the world.

I loved them and wished that they would stand up for me without hesitation when I was aggrieved.

I wanted a guy who truly loved me. I wanted someone who would choose me for a lifetime, not just for a fleeting moment.

I might look proud and aloof, but inside, I was hopelessly romantic. My experience of dating a guy for the first time was always valuable to me.

Phillip was my first love, but I was nothing to him.

6.

I had no idea how long I cried. By the end, Josh's shirt was soaked.

He stayed with me in silence and gently patted my shoulder.

When I finally finished crying, he took out an expensive handkerchief and wiped away my tears.

After letting it all out, I felt completely drained. I was blank in my mind, and my soul seemed to have left my body.

He said, "I'll take you to the company this evening. We'll extract your memories and prove your innocence."

I asked, "Can the memory extraction just focus on a specific period?"

Josh replied, "The technology isn't so advanced yet. We'll have to review all your memories and focus on your high school years."

My heart sank.

I really didn't want anyone to know about what happened between me and Phillip.

I couldn't forget my first loving experience, but it also filled me with shame.

If Mr. and Mrs. Higgins found out, they'd probably think I had ulterior motives, and the relationship between us would only get worse.

"Just forget it, Josh," I said in a low voice.

He froze and then asked in a low, anxious voice, "Tell me honestly, did you really...?"

"No! Absolutely not! I never bullied Clara! I just... I just..."

Josh pressed, saying, "Just what?"

"I just fell in love with someone I shouldn't have."

Josh fell completely silent, and even his breathing slowed. His dark eyes were so intense that I was almost afraid to look at him. "Who was it?"

I lowered my head, but I could still feel his serious gaze.

For the first time in my life, I felt truly shy. My ears and cheeks burned. I shook my head and said, "I can't say it."

7.

The next morning, before work, my eyes were puffy and swollen when my birth mother from the Morgan family showed up again to ask me for money.

She was my mother, and besides me, she had a son.

Now the Morgan family was trying to buy an apartment, scraping together a down payment, but they were still short one million dollars.

She wanted to borrow half a million from me because Clara had given her half a million.

She thought I should give her the same amount as she had given birth to me. She figured it was only fair.

I was speechless.

Of course, she didn't go right out and ask for money. Instead, she brought homemade chicken soup and offered to clean my apartment, trying to show her care.

I said directly, "You'd better go. I don't have any money."

She used to work long hours at a supermarket, and the years had left deep lines on her face and gray in her hair.

She was indeed my mother, and I did feel sorry for her. But it didn't mean I was going to support her and her family without limits.

"Angela, I know you blame me for not raising you well, but we're family now. Once we buy an apartment, we'll all live together..." She tried to tug at my heartstrings with her tears. "The Higgins family raised you all these years. I'm sure they secretly gave you money. They're rich..."

She was wrong. The Higgins family hadn't given me a cent all these years.

I watched her cry with cold detachment, picked up my purse, and opened the door. "I have to get to work now. You'd better leave."

She said, "Angela, give me your keys. I'll help you clean up your apartment."

"No, thank you." I stood my ground.

That matter put me in a bad mood, and I was restless all day at the design firm.

My colleagues chatted and laughed around me, making my head throb.

I put down my work and slipped into the stairwell to calm myself down.

Then I got a message from Josh. "Do you want to go to the racetrack this evening?"

I was about to reply when someone suddenly got close to me from behind. It was my boss, who was bald.

He craned his neck to peek at my phone. "Wow, are you into racing now?"

I was disgusted by him. He was nosy, gossipy, and always trying to sexually harass me.

Sure enough, he put his hand on my waist again. I slapped it away. "Show some respect! Don't touch me, and stop looking at my phone!"

His face fell instantly. "Angela, who do you think you are? How do you have the nerve to talk to me like that? You should be grateful for my attention."

He tried to touch my face, and I kicked him hard. He wasn't expecting it and fell to the floor. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and slammed it down on his head.

It was a fierce release, swift and satisfying. All the depression that had built up inside me vanished in an instant.

I stopped putting up with it. I refused to see myself as a victim any longer. It was my life, and I could take it back.