The Mistress’s Daughter Stole My Groom

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The day my mother died, I watched helplessly as my father brought his mistress and her daughter Rose into our home.

So on my wedding day with Alexander, when I saw Alexander and Rose rolling around in bed together, I wasn't surprised.

I just thought to myselfthe daughter of a homewrecker is destined to be a homewrecker too.

Then I used the Swiss Army knife Alexander gave me and slashed Rose's face.

Alexander immediately had me thrown in prison.

After I was imprisoned, Alexander divorced me and gave Rose a grand wedding.

Three years later, I was released.

Alexander hired twenty security guards, terrified I would hurt Rose again. He even set traps, trying to send me back to prison.

But he was overthinking it.

I disappeared from his life like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

We met again at my auto repair shop.

I spat out the toothpick I'd been chewing on, lifted the hood with my grease-stained fingers, and asked calmly:

"How old is this car?"

He suddenly clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth:

"Scarlett, this car was the first gift you ever gave me."

My hand holding the wrench paused.

"Oh, then it's got some years on it. Needs a major overhaul."

My tone was too flat. Alexander froze slightly, opening his mouth several times but unable to speak.

I tapped each bolt with my wrench, checking them carefully and thoroughly.

As if the dazzling yellow sports car in front of me was no different from the thousands of other cars I'd repaired.

Perhaps finding the metallic clanging too grating, Alexander's expression changed several times before he finally pulled out a mocking smile:

"Scarlett, if you need money, you can just call me."

"There's no need to scatter nails on the road and lure me to this godforsaken place to watch you perform."

I smiled and made conversation, as if chatting casually with an ordinary customer:

"If I could act, I'd be a movie star."

"You came from Route 3, right? The news this morning said a truck carrying steel nails overturned there yesterday. Better be careful."

As I spoke, I casually grabbed a towel nearby and wiped the grease off my hands.

Alexander's eyes fixed on that towel.

Originally pink, it had been washed until it faded to white, with frayed edges. He seemed to finally lose his patience and raised his voice:

"Scarlett, you used to be proud as a swan."

"Claustrophobia, OCD, germaphobiayou had every spoiled rich girl ailment. You'd wipe a single speck of dust off your heels for ages, fire the maid over one grease spot on the table..."

"And now you..."

"Scarlett, take a look at my car! The AC isn't cooling anymore!"

With a booming female voice, the shop door was pushed open again. A woman in a floral shirt walked in and shoved her car keys into my hand.

"Sure thing, Bella. Leave it here, I'll check it out in a bit." I took the keys. "Probably just needs a recharge. Small problem."

"Alright, you're busy." Bella cheerfully patted my shoulder, then glanced at Alexander and lowered her voice.

"Got a customer? I'll head out then. Talk later."

After seeing Bella off, I remembered there was still a customer in the shop and gave Alexander a polite smile.

"So, Mr. Alexander, your car's fixed. Thanks for your business. Twenty dollars."

"You..."

Alexander stared at me blankly. It took him a long time to get out one word, but he had no strength to say the rest.

Instead, he quickly pulled out his phone and scanned the payment code.

Seeing the five hundred dollars that came through, I waved my hands repeatedly:

"Mr. Alexander, you overpaid. Let me transfer the difference back."

As I spoke, I instinctively tried to find Alexander's contact.

Then I suddenly rememberedafter I went to prison, he'd blocked me.

Helplessly, I scratched my head. "This is awkward. Mr. Alexander, could you give me your payment code?"

"You... didn't you say the car needed a major overhaul?" Alexander's expression was complicated. "Check the other parts too. Is this enough?"

I was quite pleased.

"More than enough! Plenty to spare. Just wait right here then."

I grabbed the stool nearby and pushed it toward Alexander.

Seeing his crisp suit, I found a cleaner rag to place on it for him.

Alexander was silent for a long time before sitting down somewhat stiffly, posture elegant, palms resting on his knees.

The next second, he was startled by the creaking of the glass door.

"Scarlett, still fixing cars during lunch? Business must be good. No wonder you ordered two burgers today. Turns out you've got a luxury car customer."

It was the delivery guy who brought me food every day.

I chatted and joked with him for a bit, taking the takeout from his hands.

Meanwhile, Alexander seemed uncomfortable being called a "customer," turning his face slightly and letting out a soft breath.

But there was no helping itthe whole neighborhood was like this.

Mitch from the nail salon next door came over asking if I wanted to go to the bar tonight.

The office worker from upstairs came down with a big suitcase, asking to store it and pick it up tonight.

A passing female student rushed in asking if I had a power bank she could borrow.

Their gazescurious or appraisinglingered on Alexander more or less.

Finally, he shifted uncomfortably and crossed his legs:

"Scarlett, is this how you've degraded yourself, mixing with... these poor people?"

His eyes seemed a bit red, though maybe I was mistaken.

After three years in prison, my eyesight had gotten worse.

"The car doesn't have any major problems." I straightened up, wiping the sweat from my forehead with my elbow.

"Just some brake pad wear. Best to replace them, but this is a small shopI don't have original parts. You'll need to go to a bigger place for that."

I pointed out the location of another repair shop, then eagerly opened my takeout.

But Alexander showed no signs of leaving.

I was a bit confused. After thinking for a moment, I pushed the fries toward him:

"Are you hungry, Mr. Alexander? If you don't mind, have some."

Alexander's gaze wandered, passing over the grease in my nail beds that wouldn't wash clean, then sweeping over my burger and fries.

When he spoke again, his voice was a bit hoarse:

"That's all fast food, unhealthy... you didn't used to eat that."

In his memory, I was picky, had a selective diet, loved Japanese and French cuisine.

If food was even slightly off, it could have me hugging the toilet and vomiting until I was dizzy.

I smiled:

"In prison, I wanted to eat this stuff but couldn't. Now I do physical labor all dayit cured all my fussy habits."

"The fries here are really good. Try some, Mr. Alexander."

"Oh, they even gave an extra ketchup packet today! Score!"

I happily pulled out the ketchup packet and tossed it into the storage box behind me.

Inside were already quite a few complimentary condiment packetsbuy one pack of bread and I could make do for a meal.

Alexander suddenly stood up, his voice thick with emotion:

"Enough!" I was startled.

The next second, he threw a black card at me.

"This is my secondary card. Take it."

His movement was too abrupthe not only knocked over the little stool but almost spilled my takeout.

Fortunately, my reflexes were quick. I dodged to the side, barely protecting my burger.

"Mr. Alexander," I said somewhat helplessly, "if you're not going to eat, I'll start..."

"Scarlett!" Alexander couldn't take it anymore and roared in a low voice. "I'm serious!"

"This secondary card is linked to one of my platinum cards. Five million dollar limit. Spend whatever you want."

"Buy a better storefront, do some proper business, be your own boss. Don't stay cooped up in this kind of place being a dirty, exhausting auto mechanic anymore!"

"You used to be a well-off ski athlete. Have you forgotten?!"

His roar was deafening, immediately dragging me into memories.

My birth family was indeed well-offone of Utah's largest investment firms.

I was an only child in a wealthy family until age seven, when my mom became pregnant with twin sisters.

But just as we were joyfully anticipating their arrival, Dad's affair arrived right on schedule.

He fell for a mixed-race starlet, loved her with earth-shattering passion.

So much so that the mistress came right to my mother's face and forced her to divorce.

My mother was a fierce woman. She quickly got into an argument with the mistress.

In the chaos, I watched with my own eyes as that woman extended her long red nails, grabbed my mother's neck, and pushed her down the stairs.

Three lives lost in one fall. She died with her eyes open.

Afterward, to force me to change my testimony, my dad strung me up and beat me for a full day and night, finally securing the mistress's release.

They got married. The mistress even brought her daughter from her previous marriagemy stepsister, Rose.

My nightmare began then.

Beatings, verbal abuse, false accusations, constant bullying.

To survive, I had to escape to Switzerland. I practiced desperately and became a ski athlete who made a splash.

At that time, Alexander was at a business school in Switzerland.

A fleeting glimpse during a race broadcast, and he became my passionate fan.

Every time I reached the finish line in a competition, he'd be holding up a sign with my name, shouting with all his might.

When a corrupt referee deliberately misjudged me, he led all his classmates to the streets of Switzerland just to get me justice.

He stayed with me through injuries, encouraged me through my low points.

Finally, when I steadily crossed the finish line in first place, I took off my skis and rushed toward him in the stands.

In the fluttering confetti and audience cheers, I embraced him tightly before countless witnesses.

The abnormal relationship between idol and fan ended there. He became my public boyfriend.

But I never imagined that on the night of my championship, as we strolled through the streets of Switzerland, two armed thugs rushed at us!

They wanted to rob us. Alexander immediately fought them to protect me.

I was terrified he'd get hurt. I rushed up to help him without thinking.

In my panicked rush forward, a bullet hit my chest.

This shot didn't kill me, but it punctured my lung and grazed my heart.

From then on, I could never do strenuous exercise again. Like skiing.

But I never regretted it.

Alexander was the love of my life. His importance far exceeded any competition.

I might win a hundred championships, but I only had one Alexander.

As I lay in the hospital bed, weakly holding Alexander's hand and telling him all this, he cried and threw himself into my arms.

"Scarlett, let's go home. My family has connections in both politics and business. Whatever you want to do, I'll support you all the way!"

That's the kind of person Alexander was. He wasn't good at sweet talkhe just did concrete things.

I returned home with him, full of joy.

At the airport, we saw Rose who'd come to pick us up.

When she saw the heir to Alexander's family standing beside me, her pupils dilated in shock. But she quickly smiled brilliantly.

I thought of her mistress mother. When she stood beside my father, her smile had the exact same curve.

And this ominous premonition soon became reality.

I don't know when it started, but Alexander began mentioning Rose frequently.

At first, he said she was cute and sweet. Then he said she was pitiful living under someone else's roof. Later still, he said, "Scarlett, stop bullying Rose all the time."

I wanted to have a good talk with Alexander, but it happened to be the anniversary of my mother and sisters' deaths. I had to visit the cemetery first.

When I came home after laying flowers, I witnessed a scene I'd never forget.

Alexander and Rose, that pair of dogs, were lying naked on the white sheets.

"Alexander, why didn't you go pay respects to your future mother-in-law today?" Rose asked.

"How could her mother be my mother-in-law... if I had to choose a mother-in-law, it'd be your mother..."

My ears rang. I completely lost my mind, rushed into the room like a madwoman, and struck with my knife.

The blade sliced across Rose's beautiful face. Her screamI still remember it. So satisfying.

Afterward, the judge considered that I was the victim in the marriage and wanted to give a light sentence with probation.

It was Alexander who hired the best legal team, even bribed witnesses to give false testimony, and finally got me sentenced to three years in prison.

I let out a breath and quietly studied Alexander standing before me.

Money is wonderful. Time hadn't left a single trace on this handsome man.

But it had given me cracked hands, hair cut short to my ears for convenience, and nail beds that would never be clean.

I gently pushed the secondary card back.

"Not necessary, Mr. Alexander. I'm living pretty well now."

"Food and clothing aren't worries. I'm free and easy, don't steal or rob, earn money with my own hands."

But Alexander stubbornly extended his hand.

"Just consider it... compensation from me. You take the money, let go of the resentment, and we'll be even from now on."

I looked at him with some surprise.

The proud Alexander had actually learned to compensate others.

He never used to lower his head.

"Then it's even less necessary. I saved you because you were my boyfriend at the time. I deliberately hurt someone and went to prisonthat was as it should be. Neither of us owes the other anything."

Alexander clenched his fists, eyes fixed on me.

As if confirming over and over that the person standing before him was indeed Scarlett herself.

Finally, he slowly lowered his head, tears seeming to glisten in the corners of his eyes.

"Scarlett... you make me feel like such a stranger."

I looked at the clock on the wall.

"We haven't seen each other in years. Of course we're strangers."

"Back then... I lost control for a moment." He paused, his voice choking slightly.

"All these years, I've been thinkingif you hadn't committed that impulsive crime, out of guilt, I definitely would have married you and treated you doubly well..."

I said nothing for a long time, letting the clock's ticking be stretched infinitely long by the silence.

"Everyone has their own fate." I fished a lollipop from my pocket, peeled off the wrapper and stuck it in my mouth. "Don't regret what you did, and don't look back."

"You"

Alexander was rendered speechless by this ordinary statement. After a long while, he said irritably:

"You haven't changed in one wayyou're still a stone in the toilet, smelly and hard!"

I nodded readily. "The neighbors all say I've got a stubborn streak."

"Scarlett!"

Alexander clenched his fists. After holding it in for ages, he suddenly called my nickname.

I was momentarily dazed. The tone he used for those two syllables was just like before.

Seeing my distraction, he softened his voice:

"If you won't accept my compensation, I can act as mediator between you and your father.

You don't know yet, do you? Your father has late-stage pancreatic cancer. He won't live much longer."

"If you get his forgiveness now, you can still get a share of the inheritanceenough to last you a lifetime..."

"Is that so?" I was quite pleased. "He's finally getting what he deserves."

After I'd deflected the conversation three or four times, Alexander lost his patience. He suddenly grabbed my arm, trying to pull me to his car.

"Scarlett, how long are you going to keep up this stubborn act!"

"Look at yourself! Just look at what you've become!"

"Renting a tiny, dark self-built house, doing dirty, exhausting repair work!"

"Eating junk fooddo you think this appearance is cool, special, touching?"

"You're just a bottom-tier mechanic! The very bottom!"

I looked down at myselfmy work clothes covered in grease, hair carelessly tied in a ponytail, face probably smudged with dirt too.

I honestly rebutted:

"It's not that bad, is it? At least I still have a clean face, unlike certain people..."

Alexander jumped up like someone had stepped on his foot, his face flushed:

"Rose has had surgery and is completely restored! Although there are scars, makeup can cover them!"

"And youyou smell like motor oil, your hands are rough as sandpaper. What man could stand that!"

Getting emotional, he swung his Herms bag at me haphazardly, like someone disappointed in me for not living up to potential.

Just then, the glass door creaked and was pushed open again.

Two children, a boy and a girl, shot in like rockets...

"Mommy!"

The children competed to throw themselves into my arms, giggling nonstop.

In that bell-like laughter, the expression on Alexander's face froze abruptly.

"Scarlett, these two children are..."

He stared wide-eyed at the children's faces, as if trying to find something about them that didn't resemble me.

"Did you adopt them from somewhere?"

The children didn't like hearing that.

My son puffed out his chest:

"You're the adopted one! Your whole family is adopted!"

My daughter pouted and hugged my neck tight:

"Mommy, who is he?"

Children speak without thinking.

The color gradually drained from Alexander's face. Even his lips trembled.

"You... got married and had children?"

I smiled and confirmed it, smoothing back my daughter's disheveled hair:

"Yes, twins. The twin gene my mother passed down to me."

"The children's father is..."

"None of your business."

I was brief and to the point, then pulled over the two children clinging to me:

"He's someone Mommy... used to know."

"Hello!"

Though reluctant, the children still obediently and sweetly greeted Alexander.

Alexander instinctively reached for something on himself, probably wanting to find some kind of greeting gift.

But he discovered his perfectly tailored suit didn't even have pockets.

Not knowing how to interact with children, he could only stare blankly as the children surrounded me, competing for attention.

"Mommy, I learned to fold my blanket by myself today! The teacher praised me!"

"I helped the teacher erase the blackboard! I'm better than my sister!"

"Mommy, what are we eating tonight?"

"Roast chicken! Daddy promised to take us for roast chicken!"

I good-naturedly agreed to each request, the fine lines at the corners of my eyes and brows smoothing out with their laughter.

Alexander lowered his eyes. His long lashes cast shadows, as if this domestic bliss hurt his eyes.

"Scarlett," he took a deep breath, "you used to have nervous breakdowns and hated noise."

"Remember? To keep you comfortable, I once promised you we'd never have children in our home."

The children were competing to stuff leftover candy from their lunch into my mouth.

My cheeks bulging, I looked up blankly and thought for a moment.

"Did that happen? I don't really remember."

"My husband and I both love kids. If I didn't think giving birth was too hard, he'd want a third child."

As I spoke, I happily kissed each child on the face.

Alexander's body swayed slightly. He seemed about to say something, but was interrupted by his phone ringing.

His phone was a foldable model, quite large.

With a quick glance, I saw the caller ID.

[Baby Wife]

On the phone, Rose's urgent voice came through, seemingly complaining about something.

Alexander's brow furrowed slightly, his tone showing some impatience:

"I know, I know, I'll come back now. You're a grown woman, how can you not handle even this..."

He said he was going home, but his feet didn't move.

I was the one who smiled and urged him:

"Mr. Alexander, it looks like rain soon. Better head home quickly."

"Remember to replace the brake pads on that sports car as soon as possible."

Alexander gave a short hum, looked at me deeply once more, and finally strode quickly to his car.

I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to send the children to the back room to play with blocks.

But I discovered that Alexander had still quietly left that secondary card on the counter.

I scratched my head in distress.

No choice. I had to run to the police station after work that day with the card.

"A customer named Alexander left his card at my shop. Can you help return it? After all, I don't have his contact information."