As the phone rang, Naya's name flashed on the screen.
"Naya," Saira answered, her voice still sweet and gentle.
"Why did you lie to us?" Naya angrily demanded.
"Naya, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
"What exactly is Zuri's identity?" Naya asked sternly.
Saira's heart skipped a beat, feeling an ominous premonition. "Did... did someone tell you something?"
Hearing the slight sob in Saira's voice, Naya, who was fuming on the other end, felt a pang of guilt.
"See for yourself online. Probably everyone in Oceanic City knows about your Lin family's scandal by now."
After hanging up, Saira hurriedly checked the latest news. When she saw the overwhelming coverage on Weibo and major media about the true and false heiresses of the Lin family, her heart sank to the bottom. Shame washed over her, making her wish she could burrow into the ground to escape the mocking and pitying gazes of others.
Everyone in the upper circles of Oceanic City must know by now. Surely, those at school would also be aware. The thought of facing the various looks from others made Saira want to die from embarrassment.
Zuri, why did you come back? Why did you have to steal her identity, her belongings?
It's all her fault, she thought, for putting her in this humiliating situation.
"Zuri!" Saira's face twisted with anger, her eyes filled with venom.
The next day, Zuri learned from the servants that Saira was sick with a high fever, which had greatly worried Dalia. After the family doctor visited, Dalia stayed by Saira's side, not leaving her for a moment.
Arianwen suggested, "Miss, should we go see the eldest Miss?"
Zuri, who had presumably already seen the news online, nodded. "Yes, after breakfast."
Arianwen smiled, relieved that Zuri had listened to her suggestion.
Dalia, after a sleepless night, walked into the dining room to see Zuri calmly eating, which ignited her fury. She rushed forward, grabbed the bowl from Zuri's hands, and smashed it to the ground, spilling hot porridge all over Zuri.
"Have you no conscience? Saira is sick, and you can sit here peacefully eating breakfast?" Dalia scolded angrily.
Conscience?
Zuri's lips curved into a smile, a hint of sadness in her eyes. She remembered her past life, being mocked by Saira's admirers, pushed into a lotus pond, falling ill with a high fever. And where was Dalia then? Accompanying Saira on a shopping trip.
She still remembered standing by the window, watching them return hand in hand, laughing and chatting.
Did they ever think of her lying sick in bed back then?
Did they care about her feelings?
Lowering her eyes, the pain from the scalding porridge was nothing compared to the coldness and hurt in her heart.
When she looked up, all emotion had vanished from her face. Her cold gaze met Dalia's. "She's sick, so should I be sick too? Should I die if she does?"
When Arianwen and the others arrived, they saw the mess and the standoff between mother and daughter, and they fell silent.
"How can you be so vicious, cursing your sister to die? Do you wish her dead?" Dalia grew angrier, her eyes full of disdain for Zuri.