Actually, I’m a Girl
When the old family butler who came to pick me up addressed me as young master, I simply gave a silent nod. I was terrified of getting caught in some predictable, dramatic clash between the real and fake heiress.
But I never imagined the fake one wouldn't let me off the hook anyway.
At my own welcome-home party, she got me completely drunk.
When I woke up, I was in her bed.
Sophie Marshall was draped in my older brother's suit jacket, her sobs wracking her body. "I don't know... Alex... he said he'd had too much to drink... I didn't know he would force himself on me..."
A fist slammed into my face. It was my brother, Johnny. "You animal! That's your sister! How could you do something like that to your own sister?"
I turned my head, my cheek throbbing, and saw the profound disappointment etched on my parents' faces. My mother was cradling Sophie, her heart breaking, pointing a trembling finger at me as if she wanted to scream but couldn't find the words. My fathers face was a dark storm cloud as he apologized to the murmuring crowd. "My sincerest apologies to everyone. It seems I've failed in raising my son. I'm deeply embarrassed you had to witness this."
"Wait a minute!"
Failed in raising your son?
For crying out loud, I'm a woman!
1.
"I didn't do anything!" I shouted, cutting through the awkward attempts of the guests to smooth things over. My head was still spinning, but even a fool could see what was happening. Sophie was trying to frame me.
After I was taken as a child, I ended up in a remote, impoverished rural town, adopted by a childless couple. Life was hard out there, and you had to be tougher to survive. For my own protection, my adoptive parents raised me as a boy. My height shot up to nearly six feet, and with my perennial short hair, I looked the part.
When I returned to the Marshall family, my biological parents never even bothered to ask. They just assumed I was their long-lost son.
Id meant to correct them, but then I caught the wary look in Sophie's eyes and understood. If they knew I was a girl, she would only see me as a bigger threat.
But that was no damn reason to accuse me of rape!
I gingerly touched my swelling cheek where Johnny had punched me. "Me?" I asked, my voice incredulous. "You're saying I raped Sophie?"
At my words, Sophie's tears, which had momentarily subsided, burst forth in a fresh torrent. "Alex... I don't blame you... This was all my fault to begin with." She staggered, trying to climb out of the bed. "Dad, Mom, it seems Alex will never accept me."
"I know I've been a usurper all these years, living the life that should have been his. I've been your daughter for two decades... please, just let me bow to you one last time."
"After this, I'll go back to the mountains. You won't have to worry about whether I live or die anymore."
That was too much for our mother, Eleanor. She broke down completely, clutching Sophie as they wept together.
Johnny pointed a shaking finger at me, his voice raw with fury. "Alex Marshall! You're a monster! Sophie is a sweet, delicate girl. No matter how much you resented her, you had no right to destroy her like this!"
"How is she supposed to face the world now?"
I pressed my fingers to my temples, a splitting headache blooming behind my eyes. "That's impossible!" I insisted.
I might look like a guy, but I was one hundred percent female. What was I supposed to have raped her with? I had no idea what Sophie's endgame was, but her intentions were clearly malicious.
I mustered all my strength. "You can't just decide what happened!" I yelled. "I'm a woman!"
My voice, naturally a lower alto and not a high soprano, was now a rough rasp from sleep and stress. But everyone in that room had already made up their minds. Not a single person believed me. My own father, Arthur Marshall, stood to the side, his face a grim mask.
Seeing his reaction, the guests began offering their "understanding" condolences.
"Don't worry, Arthur. Everyone in the city knows what a stand-up man you are."
"The young master just returned, after all. He didn't grow up under your guidance. You'll just need to spend more time with him."
"Thank goodness Johnny has always been so sensible and decent. He's never given you a moment's worry. I'm sure he'll be more than capable of leading the company in the future."
I cursed my father silently. I thought pretending to be a boy would spare me this kind of drama, but it had played right into their hands.
My eyes scanned the crowd, freezing when they landed on Johnny. Logically, he should have been consumed with rage and pity for Sophie, whose reputation was now in tatters. But for a split second, I saw a flash of triumph on his face. My gaze darted to Sophie, and I caught a glint of cunning in her tear-filled eyes.
My mind went blank.
The people around me were muttering about how I was dodging responsibility, how I was psychologically disturbed.
Johnny lunged at me again, his fist raised. "You gutless coward! You ruin Sophie's life and now you're trying to lie your way out of it?"
I was still weak, the drugs not fully out of my system, and I barely managed to stumble out of the way. My head felt like it was going to explode.
"I'm a woman! How could I have possibly raped her?"
Before the words were even out of my mouth, another punch connected with my jaw.
"Have you no conscience? No shame?" Johnny roared. "You'd say anything to escape the consequences!"
"Are you even a man?"
Damn it, I thought. That's the whole point. I'm not.
2.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
What would I even gain by publicly raping Sophie? A forced marriage into the Marshall family? Besides, I hadn't done a damn thing! Did they really think I wouldn't know what was, or wasn't, between my own legs?
"I told you, I was drugged," I said, my voice shaking with anger. "I'm a victim here, too. If you don't believe me, check the security cameras."
My father's face immediately hardened.
Johnny sneered. "You have the nerve to bring that up? The security system has worked perfectly for years, but tonight, every camera malfunctioned. You expect us to believe you had nothing to do with that?"
"Let me tell you something," he continued, his voice dropping to a low threat. "Don't think you can pull some disgusting stunt like this to trap my sister. It won't happen."
I was trembling with fury. Seeing my state, Sophie only cried harder. "Father, Mother, I know Alex doesn't like me. It's all my fault he had to suffer for all those years."
"He's getting his revenge now, and I don't blame him..." She choked on a sob, her performance worthy of an Oscar.
The onlookers' faces were filled with contempt for me.
Sophie added the finishing touch. "Alex, I'm not asking for your forgiveness. I've already given you the most precious thing a girl has. I just beg you... please, leave me alone from now on."
With a dramatic flourish, she threw back the covers. There, on the pristine white sheets, was a stark crimson stain. Coupled with her look of shame and violation, the message was unmistakable: I had taken her virginity.
A wave of condemnation washed over me from the crowd.
"What an absolute animal. It's not like Miss Marshall asked him to spend twenty years in some backwater town."
"He's a grown man, for God's sake. How can he have such a fragile ego, taking it all out on a young woman?"
"I actually thought he was quite handsome, a good match for Miss Marshall since he's a true Marshall. But who knew he was capable of something so vile."
My chest heaved with rage, and the lingering weakness from the drugs made my face turn deathly pale. I'm a woman, for crying out loud! Did Sophie prick her own finger or something? And why frame me like this? Just to ruin my reputation? That seemed incredibly stupid.
My father, Arthur, pointed a trembling finger at me. "You wretched creature! How could I have fathered such a monster! Shut your mouth, I'll deal with you later!"
He clearly wanted to contain the scandal, to get everyone out and pin all the blame on me. My window to explain was closing fast. I took a deep breath, ready to scream the truth one more time, but Johnny kicked me square in the chest.
The world spun, and before I could even curse him, everything went black.
When I came to, Johnny had already packed my few belongings. "Get out," he snarled. "Take your things and get out of this house. Don't ever show your face here again."
Something felt wrong. "Where are Mom and Dad?"
A cruel smile twisted Johnny's lips. "You still have the nerve to mention them? Sophie's in the hospital, traumatized. They're with her."
"Get out before they come back. Stop poisoning this family with your presence."
I stared at Johnny, my mind racing. Even if they were all disappointed in me, wouldn't my father, concerned with public perception, want to keep me under lock and key to prevent more trouble? Simply kicking me out without a word didn't make sense.
I hesitated. Seeing me stall, Johnny physically shoved me and my luggage into a car.
My head was spinning with questions, but as I lay on the bed in my graduate school dorm later that night, I pushed them all away.
Who cares? I never wanted to be a part of the Marshall family anyway. Their opinions meant nothing to me. The only reason I'd come back was to get them to pay for my master's degree. My adoptive parents were getting older, and having the Marshalls foot the bill was a convenient solution.
I buried my face in my pillow, inhaling deeply.
Studying was what mattered. To hell with the Marshalls.
With that, I threw myself into my research group's work ahead of schedule.
Just before the semester officially began, I received a rare call from Arthur Marshall. It was the first time anyone from the family had contacted me since Sophie's setup.
"You little bastard! Get your ass back home, now!"
I was baffled. Was he having some kind of episode? Before I could ask why he was screaming at me, the line went dead.
Damn it. He hung up.
3.
Swallowing my rage, I stormed back to the Marshall mansion.
What was with this family? One day I'm being framed, the next I'm being screamed at over the phone. If they didn't want to pay for my tuition, they could just say so!
I slammed open the grand front door. The moment Johnny saw me, he lunged, his fist flying toward my face again.
This time, I was ready. I sidestepped his clumsy punch and planted a solid kick on his rear.
A deep sense of satisfaction washed over me. The last time, I was drugged and caught off guard. Did he really think he could pull that again? I'd grown up doing hard farm labor, and I put every ounce of my strength into that kick. Johnny went down with a groan.
Ignoring the shocked and furious expressions of the rest of the family, I strode to the sofa and plopped down. "What do you want now?"
My sharp tone seemed to snap Arthur out of his stupor. While motioning for someone to help Johnny up, he turned to me, his face grim. "You have the audacity to ask? You monster!"
"Sophie's pregnant!"
I spat out a mouthful of tea, drenching the newly upright Johnny.
"What the hell? Are you kidding me?" How could I have gotten her pregnant? I didn't have the necessary equipment!
Sophie, clutching a pregnancy test report, threw herself into our mother's arms. "W-what am I going to do?" she wailed. "Everyone in the city thinks I belong to Alex now, but if he won't acknowledge the baby, it will be illegitimate."
"Dad, Mom, please don't force him," she sobbed. "It's okay. We can just... get rid of it. I'm not afraid of hurting my body." She cried as if her heart was breaking, which in turn brought fresh tears to our mother's eyes.
Johnny's eyes were bloodshot with rage. "How dare you deny it? Who else could it be? What about Sophie's reputation? What will people say about her now?"
"You want her to have an abortion? What kind of man are you?"
For the last time, I'm not a man!
My face was a thundercloud. "A simple DNA test will prove whether or not it's my child." I grabbed Sophie's arm, intending to drag her out the door.
She resisted, weeping dramatically, but her words were honey-sweet. "Dad, Mom, it's fine. A prenatal test is okay. It might be risky for the baby, but if Alex insists... I'll have to apologize to my child first."
"Once the results are out and my name is cleared," she declared, "I'll just end my life. At least in death, my innocence will be restored."
I was floored by her masterful performance, staring at her in disbelief. Even an idiot could see what was happening now. She was knocked up and needed a scapegoat to play the fool, the cuckolded father.
My intense gaze seemed to unnerve her. "Alex," she whispered, "I won't force you. You're free. Don't worry, I won't pin this child on you."
"I just... I want you to acknowledge its existence. I don't want it to be an unwanted child with no father."
I let out a cold, humorless laugh.
I was drugged unconscious that night; I had no idea what really happened. If I hadn't been a woman, I might have actually believed I'd been overcome by lust and assaulted her. But since I was missing a key piece of anatomy, I couldn't very well take the credit.
Johnny slammed his fist on the table. "Dad, Mom, Sophie, we're keeping this baby! The Marshall family is powerful enough. We can certainly afford to raise one more child."
"Are we really going to let Sophie go through that kind of pain? And what's the point of forcing this animal to acknowledge it?"
He then turned to Sophie, his voice softening. "Don't worry, I'll be the baby's godfather. I'll help you raise it. Even if you never marry, your big brother can support you and the child for the rest of your lives."
I looked from one family member to the next, then spoke in a low, deliberate voice. "Why are you so worked up about this?"
"It's not your baby, is it?"
4.
The moment the words left my mouth, the room fell silent.
Johnny froze for a fraction of a second before his rage returned full force.
But I saw it. That flicker of panic.
A smirk played on my lips. So, Johnny was involved in this charade.
Arthur started roaring about family discipline, and my mother pointed at me, calling me heartless. I couldn't be bothered to respond. They wouldn't believe me anyway.
"No matter who the father is, it has nothing to do with me," I stated flatly. "If you think I'm going to raise your bastard child for you, you can dream on."
With that, I turned and walked out.
Back at university, I buried myself in the lab, often not returning to my dorm until the middle of the night.
The next morning, I woke up to my phone exploding with notifications. When I saw what was trending on social media, the world went dark, and I nearly fainted.
The top headlines were variations of the same theme: [MARSHALL SIBLING INCEST: A LIVE DRAMA], [THE TRUE HEIR RAPES THE IMPOSTER HEIRESS, SHOCKING PREGNANCY IN HIGH-SOCIETY SCANDAL!], [POWER PLAY OR PERVERSION? CUNNING HEIR'S FAMILY FEUD].
Attached was a video of Sophie standing on the edge of a river, preparing to jump.
"It's not Alex's fault," she cried to the cameras. "The Marshall family has been so good to me. The only way to repay them is with my life."
"Alex," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion, "I never blamed you. My only wish is that after I'm gone, you'll give our unborn child a name."
Just as she was about to leap, Johnny rushed in from out of nowhere, pulling her back into his arms.
He then faced the media, his voice ringing with righteous fury. "Alex Marshall is a wolf in sheep's clothing! He has been disowned! The Marshall family no longer has a person named Alex Marshall!"
I scrolled through the comments, my hands shaking with rage. The story had gone viral, and the internet was a cesspool of vitriol directed at me.
"OMG, are all rich families this messed up? A brother raping his sister? My mind is blown."
"Honestly, it's not the girl's fault she was switched at birth. Taking it all out on her, what a coward!"
"That's how bullies are. They only pick on the weak. I feel so bad for Miss Marshall."
"Scumbags like him should be drawn and quartered! He doesn't deserve to live!"
A firestorm of anger churned in my chest, and my eyes burned red.
I refreshed the page. The Marshall family had already called a press conference.
On the screen, my father stood grim-faced while Johnny held a sobbing Sophie.
I was trembling, not with fear, but with incandescent rage. I hailed a cab and sped towards the press conference.
I arrived just in time to hear my father's cold, measured words. "Alex did not grow up in this family. For him to commit such a monstrous act is a profound failure on our part as parents. We will accept all criticism."
"As for the child my daughter is carrying, if she wishes to keep it, the Marshall family will raise it as our own, with the same rights of inheritance."
A reporter shouted a question. "Mr. Marshall, what punishment will your son face for this unforgivable act?"
Another followed up. "Will the Marshall family protect him because of his bloodline? If so, where is the justice? What about the law?"
Johnny stepped forward, a cold sneer on his lips. "Alex refuses to take responsibility. He lacks even the most basic human decency. The Marshall family will not shelter such a monster."
"He made this disgusting mess, and he will face the consequences alone. We are officially disowning him, and he will be expelled from this family!"
The room erupted in applause. The villain was getting his just deserts.
I looked at Johnny's self-righteous act and arched an eyebrow in disgust. Suddenly, a brilliant idea sparked in my mind.
I pushed my way through the throng of reporters until I reached the stage. The crowd buzzed with excitement and disgust as they realized who I was.
"Isn't that Alex Marshall? How shameless can he be, showing his face here?"
"A monster in a handsome disguise. He looks so polished, but he's a beast!"
I ignored their insults.
When Johnny saw me, he pointed a finger at me, roaring, "What are you doing here? Don't you dare try to hurt Sophie again!"
The audience praised him for being such a protective brother.
I rolled my eyes, then snatched a microphone from the podium, stunning him into silence.
My voice was calm and steady. "Sophie and I... we're in love."
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