Chapter 534


    Cordelia was riveted as the old man''s tale unfolded, his voice weaving the past into the present. The


    protagonist, na, was more than just a character in a story; she was flesh and blood, and her life''s


    drama was spilling out in raw, vivid detail. Cordelia''s heart pounded as she urged him on, "And then?


    What happened next? The actor, was his name August?"


    She vaguely recalled Tristi mentioning that na''s counterpart, a handsome and talented actor, was


    named August. "What next...?" the old man murmured, drifting into memories once more.


    na had confided in August that upon her return to Ennd, a fortune-teller had ominously pointed


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    out a mole behind her ear as a bad omen for her father, so she had it removed.


    August didn''t give the mole much thought but couldn''t shake the feeling that na had changed. She


    used to have a child-like charm paired with the grace of ady, abination that men found


    irresistible. But back in Ennd, she seemed to have be more calcting, her gaze distant. Even


    as na tried to seduce him, August felt a growing disillusionment, considering an escape from what


    felt like a whirlwind romance turned sour.


    na sensed August''s restlessness. Love, after all, was about mutual affection, not a transactional


    exchange of effort for affection. The tighter she held on, the more he seemed to slip through her fingers


    like grains of sand.


    While na and August yed out their downstairs drama, the real na was trapped upstairs, her


    days stretching long and torturous. Unlike her sister, who had grown up in the attic, oblivious to the


    world, na had tasted life''s splendors. Her imprisonment was especially cruel,pounded by the


    fact that she was pregnant and living a daily hell.


    The fake na reveled in her sister''s suffering, intent on multiplying her pain tenfold. She had no wish


    for her sister to terminate the pregnancy; she wanted the baby born and raised by her sister, only to be


    cruelly taken awayter. To na, this n was sheer brilliance.


    As August was poised to break things off, na received a call from China. A productionpany


    wanted her back for a film role. She agreed, but acting was not her forte.


    To avoid exposure, she made a shocking decision—to retire at the peak of her career, leveraging her


    sister''s connections to build her own business empire.


    Back home, many sought her out, including a man named Thomas Colby.


    "Colby?" Cordelia''s heart skipped a beat. Such a rare surname.


    "Yes, Thomas Colby," the old man confirmed.


    Cordelia gasped, the pieces clicking into ce. Jamie''s father.


    "And then what?" she pressed, her voice barely a whisper.


    Outside the window, ominous clouds gathered, and two hours had slipped by unnoticed. A storm was


    brewing, mirroring the tumult in Cordelia''s heart. She felt the secrets of her own lineage inching closer


    to revtion.