I held the DNA report for several minutes without moving.

My fingers were cold.

My mind refused to accept what my eyes were reading.

For twenty-eight years, one sentence had followed me everywhere.

“Illegitimate daughter.”

That label destroyed my childhood.

It destroyed my reputation in the military district.

And three years ago, it almost destroyed my entire future.

But now…

The truth was sitting in my hands.

I was not an illegitimate daughter.

The man whose blood ran through my veins had never abandoned me.

He had spent years searching for me.

And his name…

Was Shen Rui.

Alexander Shen’s father.

I read the letter again.

Every word felt like a knife.

Wen, if you are reading this, it means I finally failed to protect you from the truth.

My breathing stopped.

The handwriting was old.

But the emotion behind it was clear.

Your mother and I were separated because of circumstances beyond our control. Someone deliberately changed records and spread rumors to destroy both of our reputations.

I tightened my grip.

Someone changed records.

Someone spread rumors.

Suddenly, everything connected.

The military district.

The accusations.

The rumors about my birth.

The same rumors Alexander allowed everyone to believe.

The same rumors he used as part of his revenge.

I continued reading.

I tried to find you. I tried to explain. But every time I got close, someone stopped me.

My eyes burned.

All my life, I believed nobody wanted me.

But the truth was completely different.

Someone had made sure I believed that.

The hospital corridor suddenly felt colder.

Because I understood something terrifying.

Alexander didn’t just hurt me.

He continued the same lie that had destroyed me since childhood.

And the person behind that lie…

Was connected to his own family.

When I returned home, Alexander was already there.

He was sitting on the sofa.

A bowl of peeled tangerines was on the table.

The same gesture.

The same fake tenderness.

Two years ago, that scene would have made me smile.

Today, it only made me feel sick.

“You know.”

It wasn’t a question.

Alexander looked up.

For the first time since I met him, I saw uncertainty in his eyes.

“What did you find?”

I placed the DNA report on the table.

His expression changed immediately.

Not confusion.

Recognition.

“You knew.”

Silence.

That was enough.

“You knew.”

Alexander looked away.

“Wen…”

“No.”

My voice shook.

“You knew who my father was.”

He didn’t answer.

“You knew I wasn’t illegitimate.”

His jaw tightened.

“And you still watched them call me that.”

The room became silent.

Because there was no excuse.

No explanation.

Nothing could justify it.

“I was angry.”

I laughed quietly.

“Angry?”

I pointed at the report.

“You destroyed a person because you were angry.”

His face changed.

“I wanted Grace to understand what pain felt like.”

I stared at him.

“And you chose me as the weapon.”

Alexander lowered his eyes.

“Yes.”

The honesty hurt more than a lie.

Because he wasn’t denying it.

For two years, I had slept beside a man who knew exactly how much I had suffered.

And he continued.

“Did you ever love me?”

The question left my mouth before I could stop it.

Alexander froze.

A long silence followed.

Then he answered.

“I don’t know.”

Those four words broke something inside me.

Not because he hated me.

Because I realized I had spent two years loving someone who had never even asked himself that question.

“I thought I was getting revenge.”

He looked at the floor.

“But then…”

“Then what?”

His voice became quieter.

“Then you became real.”

I looked at him.

“Real?”

“Yes.”

He swallowed.

“The fake marriage was supposed to be punishment.”

A pause.

“But then you waited outside the hospital when I was injured.”

“You stayed awake when my father was sick.”

“You remembered everything I liked.”

His eyes turned red.

“I started forgetting why I hated you.”

I shook my head.

“But you never forgot Grace.”

Alexander closed his eyes.

That was the truth.

No matter what feelings appeared…

Grace always came first.

Then his phone rang.

Both of us looked at the screen.

Grace Jiang.

Again.

Alexander didn’t answer immediately.

For the first time, he hesitated.

I watched him.

Waiting.

Because this moment would tell me everything.

Finally, he answered.

“Alexander.”

Grace’s voice came through.

“I heard.”

He remained silent.

“She found out?”

“Yes.”

A small laugh came from the other side.

“Then finish what you started.”

My heart tightened.

Alexander’s expression changed.

“What?”

“You promised me.”

Grace’s voice became colder.

“You promised she would feel the same humiliation I felt.”

Alexander stood.

“Grace, this is different.”

“No.”

Her voice became sharp.

“She’s always been different.”

A pause.

“She has always had people protecting her.”

I looked at Alexander.

Then at the phone.

And suddenly I understood.

Grace didn’t want revenge.

She wanted ownership.

She wanted Alexander to keep choosing her.

No matter who was destroyed.

Alexander lowered his voice.

“Enough.”

The room froze.

Because it was the first time I heard him say that to her.

Grace became silent.

Then she whispered:

“You’re choosing her?”

Alexander looked at me.

And for a second…

I saw regret.

But regret was not enough.

Not anymore.

“I’m choosing the truth.”

Grace laughed.

A broken laugh.

“Too late.”

The call ended.

I stood up slowly.

Alexander reached toward me.

I stepped back.

“Don’t.”

His hand stopped.

“I need to leave.”

“Where will you go?”

I looked at him.

A question he had never asked himself when he destroyed my life.

“Somewhere I’m not someone’s revenge.”

He had no answer.

That night, I packed my things.

Not because I stopped caring.

Because I finally cared about myself.

Before leaving, I placed the fake marriage certificate on the table.

Beside it, I left the ring.

Alexander stood there watching.

“Wen.”

I stopped at the door.

“I’m sorry.”

I closed my eyes.

Because those words were the words I had waited years to hear.

But they arrived too late.

“I know.”

He looked surprised.

“You know?”

I nodded.

“I believe you are sorry.”

A pause.

“But forgiveness is not the same as returning.”

Then I left.

Three days later, the military district received a shocking announcement.

The investigation into my false identity rumors had been reopened.

The person who originally altered my records had been found.

And when the evidence was revealed…

Everyone learned the truth.

The woman they called an illegitimate daughter for three years…

Was actually the biological daughter of one of the most respected officers in military history.

But the biggest shock was not that.

It was the final document discovered during the investigation.

A document signed by Alexander Shen’s father years ago.

A document proving that he had known the truth about me from the beginning.

And he had hidden it for one reason.

To protect his son.

Because Alexander Shen was not the only person who had been using revenge as an excuse.

His entire family had been protecting a lie.

And now…

The lie was finally collapsing.