My Ex-Fiancé Faked His Death, and I Became His Stepmother

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On the eve of my wedding, my fianc died in a car crash.

Everyone thought I couldn't live without him, but I didn't shed a single tear.

Three years later, I ran into him again.

Without me, you've really hit rock bottom? Fine, for old times' sake, I'll give you one day a week to sleep with me.

I didn't get angry. I just laughed.

Had no one told him I was already married?

And my husband is his fatherthe Mafia Don.

**1**

A guest complained about not having enough condoms in the room. Worried he'd hassle the housekeeper, I went to handle it myself.

I pushed the slightly open door. Julian Shaw was sprawled on the sofa in a robe. Serena Rossi was snuggled against him in a silk nightgown.

"Julian, you've been gone for three years. You really don't need to check on Elena?"

Julian sneered. "What's the rush? After our engagement party, I'll just throw some cash her way. With her stubborn personality, what else can she do?"

"I'm just worried. Honestly, that woman Elena is so shameless. If she knew you were here, she'd probably be too shocked to speak, right?" She laughed softly, her voice dripping with mockery. "I heard she's been living pretty rough these past three years, doing odd jobs everywhere. Just goes to show, without you, her life is completely ruined."

The room was thick with ridicule. No one bothered to hide their sarcasm.

I was about to turn and leave when Serena looked up and spotted me standing in the doorway.

She bolted upright, a flash of surprise crossing her face before turning into blatant mockery. "Oh, look who it is. Elena?!"

Julian turned his head, too, looking me over with bleary eyes.

I was wearing the hotel manager's uniform, holding a work tablet.

A sarcastic smirk twisted his lips. "What, working here? As a housekeeper?"

He pushed Serena aside and walked closer. "Dressed like that... yeah, I guess it tracks. With where you're at now, landing a job at this hotel is a real achievement. So, what, you found out Serena and I are staying here and came looking for me?"

Serena came over, too. "Oh wow, she really is a hotel employee. Elena, it's been three years. How did you end up... working in a place like this? No wonder Julian forgot about you. Looking like this now, who would even care?"

I frowned, my hands clenching subconsciously. They were making me sick.

But Julian mistook my reaction as me being stung by their romantic display. He looked smug. "Alright, don't pull that face. If you still want to be with me, you'll have to adapt to this new dynamic. Don't worry, I'll save one day a week just for you."

He paused, then added, "Since you work here, that makes it even more convenient."

Serena jumped in immediately, her voice dripping with schadenfreude. "Oh, Elena, look! Julian still has feelings for you. Even with his memory gone, he still holds a place for you in his heart, willing to give you one day a week! How much can you even make as a manager here? Why not just take care of Julian and me? Your life would be way better than before, right? Look at how pathetic you are. You've had enough of this miserable existence, haven't you? You need to grab this chance!"

Serena tsked a few times. "No helping it, Elena. We'll just have to put you in a tough spot for now. After all, Julian loves me the most right now. But since you work here, we'll visit often to 'help' your business."

Julian glanced at me dismissively. "What's she got to be upset about? She was crazy in love with me before. She should be secretly grateful she even gets to see me now."

Hearing this, my heart twisted painfully.

Julian was now so unrecognizable, he was a stranger to me.

I remembered clearly how, years ago, he had loved me so deeply.

Once, I was cornered in a secluded back alley. He dropped everything to come for me, taking a life-threatening knife wound meant for me. He almost didn't make it.

Back then, looking at his pale face and blood-soaked bandages in the hospital bed, my heart ached so much I couldn't speak. I just called him an idiot.

But he weakly grabbed my hand. "As long as you're safe, my life is worth it."

The past was vivid in my mind, but reality was a different story. It turns out a person can change this much.

I suppressed the churning emotions, and calmly revealed the wedding ring on my finger.

"You've got the wrong person."

"And I'm already married."

**2**

The room instantly went silent.

Julian casually glanced at the wedding ring on my finger.

"Married? To some guy doing odd jobs?" He scoffed. "Look at how pathetic you are. That ring's probably from a flea market! What, you think this is enough to trigger my memory of you?"

Without waiting, he shot up from the sofa and yanked the ring off my ring finger.

Serena stepped closer, examining the wedding ring carefully. Suddenly, she burst out laughing. "Julian, why does this ring look so much like the 'Eternal Hearts' pair your father, Alexander, bid on at that French auction three years ago? Elena, don't tell me the man you married is Mr. Shaw?"

The idea was too absurd for them.

After all, Alexander Shaw was the family's true power, a man of cold, swift decisions, someone no one in the criminal world dared to offend.

Yet, three years ago, this very man suddenly got married in a flash wedding to a mysterious woman, treasuring her to an extreme.

For three years, no matter how the outside world dug, they couldn't find a single trace of his wife or son.

"Elena, you're not going to say you're that mysterious woman no one has been able to find for three years, are you?" Serena tossed the ring in the air and caught it, her voice still mocking. "This fake is a pretty good copy. Where'd you get it?"

Her relentless mockery was grating on my nerves. "Don't touch my ring. It's real..."

Before I could finish, Julian slapped me across the face, snapping my head to the side. A sharp, burning pain bloomed on my cheek.

"Elena, have you lost your mind? You dare spread rumors about my father? Everyone knows how much he treasures his wife. Even I've never seen her face. You actually have the nerve to impersonate her? Who gave you the guts?!"

I licked my dry lips and slowly turned my head, meeting Julian's gaze.

Maybe my stare was too intimidating, because Julian frowned.

Serena wasn't having it. She pointed a finger in my face and yelled, "Elena, how can you be so heartless? Julian already promised you one day a week. You don't appreciate it, and now you dare to impersonate someone? Everyone in our circles knows Mr. Shaw's biggest taboo is his mysterious wife. Are you trying to get him to turn on Julian? How can you be so malicious!"

Hearing this, I felt dazed.

Once, Serena had been my best friend. We went to school together, job-hunted together.

Until I started dating Julian. She suddenly changed, constantly trying to smear my image and drive a wedge between Julian and me.

But back then, Julian never believed her. He even severely punished her for her malicious slander.

Now, the man who once defended me most fiercely was standing with Serena.

He held Serena's hand and threw a wad of cash hard in my face. "Enough, stop pretending. For old times' sake, I won't hold this against you. Look at your pathetic state. This money should last you a while."

The sharp edges of the bills cut my face, tiny beads of blood surfacing. I ignored them, just staring fixedly at Julian.

An inexplicable flicker of guilt and panic crossed his face.

Seeing this, I let out a scoff and bent down. The guilt and panic on Julian's face faded, replaced by sarcasm again. "I thought you actually had some backbone..."

His words stopped mid-sentence. Under Julian's stunned gaze, I found the ring among the scattered cash.

Julian froze, blocking my path before I could leave. "Why are you still pretending? Any single bill on the floor could buy dozens of your cheap rings!"

His expression was complicated. Looking closely, I could even see a trace of anger.

I ignored his emotional shift and slapped his hand away hard.

Julian's hand froze in mid-air, his teeth grinding audibly.

"Fine, you've really grown some nerve. The poorer you get, the bigger your temper. Tomorrow night, there's a private dinner on the hotel's top floor. My father will attend with his wife. If you have the guts, come!"

At the mention of the dinner, Serena's eyes lit up. She quickly added, "Maybe she's scared of being exposed and won't dare to show up."

I didn't want to engage with them anymore. I turned and strode away, leaving one last sentence behind.

"I'll be there tomorrow night. I hope you'll still be this confident then."

**3**

I rushed out of the hotel, and breathing in the fresh air, the nausea churning in my stomach finally subsided.

I took out my phone and replayed the video I'd received three years ago.

In the footage, the man intimately held Serena, laughing lazily and carelessly.

"Elena is too boring. Though I love her, she can't give me the thrill I want."

"This faked death once I've had my fun, I'll go back. She's the type you settle down with. But with this stunt I'm pulling, knowing her personality, she might do something stupid like hurt herself. You guys have to keep an eye on her."

The day I got the death certificate, I did think about ending it all.

It was his friends who kept stopping me, preventing me from doing anything drastic.

Looking back now, their twisted sobs were clearly them struggling to hold back laughter.

I put away my phone and looked out at the dim streetlights outside the hotel.

Regardless of whether Julian was alive or dead, he had no place in my heart, not since three years ago.

The next evening, I held my son Leo's hand and arrived at the Shaw estate as promised.

The moment Julian saw us, mother and son, enter the banquet hall, his tense expression instantly relaxed, replaced by undisguised mockery.

I looked away, holding Leo's hand steadily, planning to take our seats. But someone tripped me hard. Shielding Leo, I crashed into a server's tray.

The tray, carrying a bottle of vintage red wine and several crystal glasses, smashed to the floor. Scarlet wine and glass shards splattered all over me, ruining my designer dress instantly. A few pieces of broken glass cut Leo's exposed calf, and he winced in pain.

The shards cut my face and arms, blood trickling from my forehead.

The hall erupted in chaos, all eyes on us.

Wine blurred my vision. I struggled to get up, but before I could steady myself, someone shoved me hard again.

Serena's furious voice rang out from above.

"Elena, what is your problem? We invited you to a family gathering, and not only do you have zero manners, you deliberately knock over such expensive wine, and you bring a fatherless, ill-mannered brat to cause trouble! Can't you stand seeing us happy?!"

Many people were at this dinner, most having heard that Alexander Shaw would appear with his mysterious wife. They were all eager to curry favor with Julian.

"Some people really have no shame, daring to bully the Shaws. Making a scene at Mr. Shaw's family dinner and bringing a child of unknown origin. Let's see how she gets out of this!"

"Hey, look at that ring on her finger. Doesn't it look just like the 'Eternal Hearts' ring Mr. Shaw paid a fortune for three years ago? How dare this woman!"

"Everyone knows Mr. Shaw loves his wife deeply. Daring to blatantly pose as an imposter at an event like this, and with a burden whose father is a mystery, she's really asking for death!"

Julian heard these comments, too. His chest heaved with rage, his eyes looking ready to spit fire. He glared viciously at Leo, who was clinging tightly to my clothes, scared pale.

"Elena, you're just a walking disaster! I was blind to have ever liked you. Still wearing that fake, shabby ring, and you had a bastard with some random man. Are you waiting for my father to get here and deal with you personally?!"

Without another word, he walked straight towards me and stomped down on my left ring finger, grinding it hard.

A piercing pain shot from my finger, straight to my heart. It felt like thousands of blades stabbing my heart.

Seeing me struggle, Serena immediately called for people to hold me down. In an instant, I couldn't move. Crying, Leo tried to come to me but was shoved aside impatiently by a man.

Wine blurred my vision. I wanted to fight back but couldn't. Finally, I could only shout in fury:

"Alexander Shaw is my husband! Let go of my son!"

Julian burst out laughing at this, as if hearing the most ridiculous joke. His foot twisted cruelly, the tip of his shoe nearly snapping my ring finger off. "Your son? Just an unwanted bastard! Now you're still trying to play the imposter? When my father gets here, how will you explain yourself? He loves his wife so much, just wait for your death!"

Seeing Julian was beyond reason, I felt despair. I used all my strength to break free, but I was pinned down. Leo's cries and the crowd's mockery of "bastard" constantly pierced my eardrums.

I gritted my teeth in my heart.

When the time comes, I won't let a single one of these people off the hook!

Julian pressed down again with his foot. The distinct sound of bone snapping was heard. I grunted in pain, but suddenly, my whole body felt light. The people holding me down had let go.

Everyone ignored me, quickly getting up to fix their appearance, their gazes eagerly fixed ahead.

The butler opened the banquet hall doors. Alexander Shaw, alone, walked in with a calm expression.

**4**

Alexander strode forward alone.

Serena immediately approached him, holding a plate of pastries.

"Mr. Shaw, are you looking for your wife and son?" She wore an eager, attentive smile.

Alexander glanced at her distantly, not answering directly. His gaze swept the room, as if searching for something.

Seeing Alexander, Julian enthusiastically went to greet him.

"You're finally here. I've missed you so much all these years! Oh, right, why didn't your wife and son come with you?"

Alexander looked at Julian with detached coolness, his voice flat. "I had unfinished business abroad and came back a bit later. She returned to the country three days ago. You should have met her. She said she'd come find you beforehand. Did you not meet?"

Julian was stunned, a look of surprise flashing across his face. "No, no one has come to see me in the past three days. I haven't met your wife... or son."

Getting no response, Alexander's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Serena stepped forward at this moment, smiling gently. "Mr. Shaw, don't worry. Your wife and son might just be delayed by something on the way. But... we have a bad woman here impersonating your wife, and she even brought a child pretending to be your son. Would you like to take a look?"

Some guests eager to flatter Alexander chimed in, "Yes, Mr. Shaw, you have no idea how arrogant this woman is. Even knowing you were about to arrive, she still claimed to be your wife, and said that child was your son. Holding a shabby ring, did she think we couldn't tell the difference?"

Julian also stepped forward at this moment. "Rest assured, I've already severely punished this person. I broke her finger and threw away the ring. No one can impersonate your wife. You can be at ease!"

"Embarrassingly, I actually know this person. I even had a past with her. I don't know why I was so blind back then to choose someone so despicable, so vain, trying to put on a show as Mrs. Shaw."

"She probably wanted to use me to get close to you and rise to riches. But of course, I couldn't give her that chance. Everyone knows how deeply you love your wife. Once, someone simply said a bad word about her, and you put that person in an oil drum filled with cement and sank him into the sea. We all see your love for your wife. I absolutely won't allow anyone to damage her image!"

Alexander's expression changed the moment Julian mentioned having a past relationship with me.

The more he listened, the darker his face became, until finally, he let out a cold laugh. "What's the name of this person you're talking about?"

Julian thought Alexander was angry at me and ready to settle the score. He glanced at me, huddled in a corner, barely alive.

My dress was still stained with wine, looking utterly disheveled. Leo was curled up beside me, his little face covered in tear tracks, a bloody scratch on his leg.

Julian loudly announced: "This person is my ex-girlfriend, Elena."