Chapter 1A Love Made of Scars

Seven years ago, at the drawing that decided our fate, I privately told Alistair that the name chosen would be Sabrina’s, the woman he adored.

But fate played a cruel joke. In the end, it was my name on that slip of paper.

From that day on, Alistair was convinced I had used some despicable trick. For seven years of marriage, his gaze never once lingered on me.

He told the world that my twin sister, Sabrina, was the one true love of his life. He even paid the tabloids to paint me as a shameless harlot who had seduced her own sister’s fiancé.

The daily humiliation and torment had long since drained all my strength.

So when Sabrina raised a knife to my face for the ninth time, I didn't even think to move. I just stood there, empty.

Seeing this, Alistair immediately swept her into a protective embrace, his voice a venomous hiss directed at me. “Didn’t I warn you to wear a mask at all times?”

The raw, ulcerated skin behind my ears throbbed with pain from the mask's elastic bands. But it was Sabrina who sobbed in his arms as if she were the one who had suffered some great injustice.

It was always this way. Every time she hurt me, no matter how I tried to explain, Alistair would accuse me of deliberately provoking her.

This time, I was finally done.

* * *

A searing pain flared across my cheek. A drop of blood hit the marble floor with a soft pat.

Alistair didn't spare me a single glance, his attention focused entirely on cooing over Sabrina, whose hand was now smeared with my blood.

I didn’t miss the flash of triumph in her eyes.

She threw herself into Alistair’s arms, frantically tearing at her own hair. “Alistair, darling, why do I have to have her face? She stole you from me! Looking at her makes me sick.”

Without another word, she snatched the knife and aimed it at her own cheek.

Alistair didn't hesitate for a second, his hand closing around the sharp blade.

A sharp pang went through my own chest.

The Vaughn and Ashworth families had a marriage pact. The problem was, the Ashworths had twin daughters, and the Vaughns had only one son. My quiet nature made me far less charming than Sabrina. Everyone simply assumed that she would be the future Mrs. Vaughn.

When Sabrina bullied me, our peers were more than happy to be her loyal sycophants. They ripped my dresses, threw mud on me, even shaved my head…

The worst was when they held my head under the water in the estate fountain. Just as I thought I would drown, Alistair appeared like an avenging angel. He pulled me out and sent the boy holding me down sprawling with a single punch.

“If anyone dares to touch Seraphina Ashworth again,” he had snarled, “I’ll feed them to my dogs.”

After that, no one bullied me openly anymore. Alistair promised he would always protect me.

But for the last seven years, he was the one enabling Sabrina to hurt me. Time and time again. Even when she wanted me dead.

A shadow fell over me. Alistair nodded to one of his bodyguards. “Hold her.”

Before I could react, I heard the sickening crack of bone. The bodyguard twisted my arm into a grotesque angle, ensuring I couldn’t fight back.

Alistair gently took Sabrina’s hand, then swung it, slapping me hard across the right cheek. The taste of blood filled my mouth. I tried to turn away from the pain, but his fingers clamped onto my jaw, forcing my head back into position.

A storm of slaps rained down on me, the pain so intense I could hardly breathe.

He only stopped when Sabrina whimpered, “My hand hurts.”

Alistair released me with a look of disgust, blowing softly on her reddened palm.

I collapsed to the floor, a bitter smile on my lips. “You think I want to look like you?”

Sabrina was a tyrant. I couldn’t count the number of beautiful dresses she’d destroyed, or the times she’d poisoned my makeup. When I asked her why, she looked at me with murder in her eyes.

“You stole my face! Without you, I would have been the brightest star in our circle!”

After that, she made it her mission to take everything that was mine.

Hearing my words now, she flew into a rage, smashing everything within reach. She grabbed the knife again, pressing it to her own throat as tears streamed down her face. “I’m sorry, Alistair. I just can’t take it anymore.”

Alistair snatched the knife away, his gaze sweeping over my face with utter revulsion. “Sabrina, my love, I promise you. After tonight, she will never look like you again.”