The True Heiress They Chose to Abandon

I am the true heiress of the Lynn family, lost for twenty years.

On the day of the reunion, my older brother Ethan had tears in his eyes as he swore to give me the best things in this world.

My fianc Derek also promised he would never let anyone mistreat me again. He said he would marry me as soon as I turned twenty.

But when the stage collapse happened, I watched helplessly as they both rushed past me toward someone else.

Their eyes full of heartache, they picked up that girl. She had only scratched her skin.

Hannah, the fake heiress with asthma, had stolen my place and enjoyed twenty years of my privileged life.

I lay in a pool of blood, my right hand crushed beneath several hundred pounds of steel framework.

Even the sound of my bones shattering was clearly audible.

That was my right hand. The hand I had protected through beatings and abuse in the countryside. The hand I relied on to play the violin with my incredible talent.

I thought they would turn back to look at me.

But what I got instead was Ethan's furious roar.

"Aria, why did you deliberately push Hannah! If her asthma acts up, I won't forgive you!"

Derek stood beside him, disgustedly stomping on and breaking my violin strings.

He looked at me with eyes as cold as ice. "You'll do anything to compete for attention. It's truly revolting."

The agony of being abandoned by my blood relative and my lover even surpassed the pain of my shattered bones.

I watched them carefully protect Hannah as they ran out of the theater, not even calling an ambulance for me.

When I woke up again, I had already been taken to the hospital by staff members.

The emergency room doctor looked at the scan and delivered a cold verdict.

"The nerves in your right hand are severed. Forget about playing the violin in the future. You won't even be able to lift heavy objects."

My only pride and future in life had been destroyed by the combined efforts of the sister I saved, my biased brother, and my fianc.

I leaned against the hospital bed, pale as a ghost, unable to shed even a single tear.

Suddenly, familiar footsteps came from outside the door. It was Ethan and Derek.

They didn't enter my room, but stood in the corridor negotiating with the doctor.

"Call all the best specialists to Hannah's room. She was frightened, and we absolutely cannot let her suffer any psychological trauma." Derek's voice carried undeniable concern.

"What about Miss Aria Lynn next door? Her hand..." the doctor probed tentatively.

"Don't bother with her." Ethan interrupted impatiently. "She's tough as nails. A little injury won't kill her. Let her stay in there and reflect on her actions."

Something in my head buzzed, and something shattered completely.

From returning to the Lynn family until now, I had compromised myself for a whole year.

Staying up late to work on proposals for Ethan, learning to cook Derek's favorite dishes, yielding to Hannah at every turn, all just to beg for a little bit of family affection and love.

But now I understood. When there's no love, there's no love. Even my ruined hand mattered less to them than Hannah being frightened.

I didn't cry or make a scene. I just dragged my disabled right hand and calmly took out my phone.

I opened the chat with my professor from the Vienna Royal Academy of Music.

A few months ago, the professor had noticed my perfect pitch and compositional talent and invited me to study abroad, transferring to symphonic conducting.

Because I couldn't bear to leave Ethan and Derek, I had refused.

But now, I had no reason left to stay.

I typed out a line and sent it. "Professor, is that invitation still valid? I accept. I can leave next Monday."

After spending one night in the hospital, I handled the discharge procedures alone.

My right hand was wrapped in thick plaster, suspended from my neck with a sling.

When I returned to the Lynn family villa, there was laughter and joy in the living room.

Ethan and Derek were accompanying Hannah as she opened gifts, celebrating that despite the accident, she had still been awarded first place in the competition for her outstanding performance.

At the sound of the door opening, the laughter stopped abruptly.

Ethan turned his head, and seeing my hand hanging at my chest, his brow immediately furrowed.

"Aria, you didn't come home all night just to pull this victim act?"

He strode over, his tone full of accusation. "The doctor said you only had superficial injuries. Why are you putting on a cast and pretending to be disabled?"

Hannah also stood up from the sofa. Looking at my hand, her eyes immediately reddened, and she fearfully hid behind Derek.

"Aria, I'm sorry... it's all because of me. Are you still blaming me for taking your violin, so you deliberately hurt yourself to punish me?"

Derek immediately shielded Hannah behind him, looking at me with eyes full of disgust.

"Aria, Hannah couldn't sleep all night from guilt. Now you come back deliberately wearing a cast just to make her feel more guilty, don't you?"

He coldly issued an order. "Put away that pitiful act. Don't upset Hannah by being an eyesore in this house."

I looked at these two men who had once sworn to protect me, and surprisingly felt no ripples in my heart.

Before, even if they just frowned slightly, I would anxiously review what I had done wrong.

But now, knowing that my hand was truly ruined, I only found this scene ridiculously absurd.

"Fine. I won't be an eyesore to you anymore," I said calmly, without a single word of rebuttal.

They both froze.

Perhaps accustomed to my usual aggrieved explanations and humble submissions, my sudden compliance made Derek's eyes flash with bewilderment.

But he quickly snorted coldly. "It's best that you can see reason. Stop being so ungrateful all the time."

I walked around them, went straight upstairs, and returned to my room.

There were six days until my flight. I didn't have time to waste on them.

I took out a black garbage bag and clumsily swept the things I had once treasured into it with one hand.

A paint-chipped music box that Ethan had casually tossed to me, a hair clip Derek had bought me.

I once thought these were proof of family affection and love. Now I saw them as nothing more than charity handed out to a beggar.

The next morning.

Unlike the past year when I would wake up an hour early to make stomach-soothing soup for Derek and iron Ethan's suits, I did none of that.

When I came downstairs carrying the garbage bag full of old belongings, I ran right into Ethan and Derek.

Ethan looked at my empty hands and demanded harshly, "Aria, are you deliberately throwing a tantrum because of Hannah winning first place yesterday?"

Derek also frowned, his tone extremely impatient. "Are you done with your tantrum yet? Do you have to force the whole family to revolve around you before you're satisfied?"

I walked to the door and calmly threw the garbage bag into the recycling bin outside.

Then I turned back and looked at them.

"I'm not throwing a tantrum. It's just that my hand is ruined and I can't do these things anymore. From now on, find someone else to do your things."

After speaking, I ignored their livid faces, pushed open the door, and walked out.

I still needed to handle expedited visa procedures.

The next day I went to the visa center to expedite my visa processing.

After that, I went to a pawn shop.

Living abroad required money, but I didn't want to take a single penny from the Lynn family.

I only had two items in my bag.

One was the diamond necklace Ethan had casually thrown to me on the day of our reunion.

The other was the family heirloom jade pendant Derek had given me when he promised our engagement.

I had just handed the necklace to the counter when Hannah's surprised voice came from behind me.

"Aria? What are you doing here selling things? Are you short on spending money?"

I turned around to see Hannah intimately holding onto Derek's arm as they walked in.

They had come to select jewelry for Hannah's celebration banquet in three days.

Derek's face darkened instantly when he saw the pawn ticket in my hand.

"Aria, you deliberately came here to play the victim so outsiders will criticize the Lynn family for mistreating you?"

He strode over and snatched the necklace from my hand, slamming it on the counter. "To make Hannah feel bad, you'll even use such underhanded tactics!"

Hannah bit her lower lip and pitifully shed tears. "Derek, don't blame Aria. I must have spent too much. I'll transfer all the money in my account to her right now..."

"Don't bother with her." Derek coldly interrupted. His gaze swept over and landed on the jade pendant in my hand.

His eyes tightened sharply, the disgust in them growing deeper.

"What are you taking that jade pendant out for? Planning to threaten me with breaking off the engagement?"

Derek sneered, his tone full of mockery. "Aria, aren't you tired of playing this retreat-to-advance game? Hand over the jade pendant. You don't deserve to hold anything from the Pierce family."

In the past, if I had heard him say I didn't deserve it, I would have desperately explained that I didn't mean that, then clutched the jade pendant tightly to prove how much I loved him.

But now, I only felt relieved.

Relieved that I could sever the last thread of connection with him so quickly.

"Fine."

Without any hesitation, I threw the jade pendant I had once kept warm against my body onto the glass counter in front of him.

The jade made a crisp, muffled sound.

Without looking at Derek's shocked, rigid expression, I took the money from pawning the necklace and walked straight out the door.

When I returned to the Lynn family home, Ethan was already sitting on the living room sofa waiting for me.

Clearly, Derek had already told him about the pawn shop incident.

"Aria, you're getting bolder and bolder."

Ethan suddenly smashed his teacup on the coffee table, pointing at my nose and cursing.

"Are you only satisfied when you've turned this house upside down? Do you think selling a few pieces of jewelry will earn sympathy and cover up the fact that you pushed Hannah?"

I quietly watched him rage without saying a word.

"In three days, there will be a celebration banquet for Hannah's championship. All the prominent people in River City will be there."

Seeing my wooden expression, Ethan's tone became even more severe as he issued an ultimatum.

"At that time, you must publicly apologize to Hannah at the banquet for your unreasonable behavior these past few days! Otherwise, get out of the Lynn family!"

I raised my head and glanced at the calendar on the wall.

Three days from now.

That would be exactly the day I got my passport and flew to Vienna.

I met Ethan's furious gaze and calmly nodded.

"Alright, I promise you. In three days, I will completely get out of the Lynn family."

Since I had promised to leave completely in three days, I stopped clinging to anything and accelerated the pace of clearing out my room.

The next day, while cleaning the bottom drawer of my nightstand, my left hand touched an old, yellowed box.

Opening the box, a violin string that had been blackened and broken by fire lay quietly inside.

Looking at this string, my thoughts briefly wandered.

Ten years ago, there was a sensational serial kidnapping case. Ten-year-old Derek had been hidden by the kidnappers in an abandoned warehouse in the countryside.

At that time, I had just been beaten by my adoptive mother and locked in the woodshed, separated from that warehouse by only a wall.

I heard him crying out desperately in the darkness, terrified.

Through the wall, I played lullabies for him all night on this violin.

Later, the warehouse accidentally caught fire. I desperately broke through the wooden boards and used all my strength to drag him out of the flames.

That broken string had fallen beside him at the time.

And on the inner side of my right forearm, I had been left with a scar that could never be removed, from shielding him from falling burning debris.

Later, when I returned to the Lynn family, Derek became my fianc.

But not only did he fail to recognize me, he actually treated Hannah, who had stolen the credit, as his savior and doted on her endlessly.

I had wanted countless times to take out this string and tell him the truth, but every time, before I could speak, he would ruthlessly cut me off.

"Aria, what are you dawdling about now?"

The door was suddenly pushed open without courtesy, and Derek walked in with an impatient expression.

I instinctively turned around. Because I moved too quickly, my loose sleeves slid down to my elbow, revealing the hideous, ugly burn scar on my right hand.

Derek's gaze fell on my wrist, and his steps suddenly halted.

Immediately after, his brow furrowed tightly, unconcealed disgust rising in his eyes.

"What's that scar on your hand?"

I froze, my heart seeming to be viciously squeezed by an invisible hand.

"This is from ten years ago..."

"Forget it, I'm not interested in hearing about your past!"

Derek cut me off. "The Lynn family has given you so much money. Don't you know to go to the hospital and have that scar removed?"

"Tomorrow night at the celebration banquet, you'd better wear long sleeves. Don't show up with that scar and embarrass both the Pierce and Lynn families!"

Every word was like a poisoned knife, precisely stabbing into my heart.

Not only had he forgotten me, but he also regarded the scar I got from saving him as a crude, filthy mark, thinking I would embarrass him.

Hannah walked in from outside the door.

She intimately took Derek's arm, holding imported ointment in her hand.

"Derek, Aria suffered in the countryside, so having scars is unavoidable."

Hannah put on a considerate appearance and held the ointment out to me.

"Aria, this is scar removal cream Derek had someone airship from Switzerland. When I fell yesterday and accidentally scraped a little skin, Derek was so heartbroken he insisted on buying it for me."

"My superficial wound has already healed, so I'll give you this ointment to use."

Looking at Hannah's wrist, smooth as jade, then at the hideous scar on my own wrist.

I suddenly felt utterly absurd.

For a fraud with a scraped bit of skin, he could spend lavishly, his eyes full of distress.

But for me, who had actually pulled him back from death's door, he only felt disgusted and ashamed.

Seeing that I wasn't taking the ointment, Derek's face showed even more annoyance.

He snatched the ointment back from Hannah's hand and said coldly, "Hannah, you're just too kind. Using this ointment on her would be a complete waste."

He looked at me with harsh eyes. "Why waste good things on her."

In that instant, I felt all the blood in my body turn cold.

The Aria who used to hide under the covers and cry all night just because he ignored her completely died in this moment.

I didn't cry, nor did I justify myself aggrievedly like before.

I picked up the charred violin string from the desk.

Right in front of Derek, I casually threw the string I had treasured for ten years into the nearby trash can.

Seeing my action, Derek's frown deepened. "What are you going crazy about now?"

I raised my head, looked at that face I had once deeply loved, and pulled my lips into an extremely faint smile.

"Don't worry. Tomorrow I absolutely won't expose this scar to be an eyesore to you."

Never again.

Not long after Derek left with Hannah, Ethan walked in.

The family had been busy with Hannah's celebration banquet these past few days, and the servants, reading the room, hadn't come to clean my room for several days.

His gaze swept around my room, his eyes full of impatience.

"Hannah won the championship this time, and Mom, Dad, and Derek all gave her lots of haute couture dresses. Her closet is completely full now."

Ethan strode to the door connecting to my bedroom and pointed at the small study next door that originally belonged to me.

"Clear out all that junk in your study and make room for Hannah to use it as a fitting room."

Hearing this, my hands, which had been folding clothes, suddenly froze.

In that small study were music scores I had spent countless days and nights over the past year hunched over my desk writing, stroke by stroke.

I still remembered when I first returned to the Lynn family. Ethan saw me crouched at the coffee table in my bedroom struggling to write compositions, and with reddened eyes, he touched my head and promised me.

"Aria, it's my fault as your brother for letting you suffer so much outside. From now on, this room will be your dedicated music room. I'll have the best music desk custom-made for you so you never have to compromise yourself again."

But now, the music room he had personally promised me was being casually taken back just because Hannah's dresses wouldn't fit elsewhere.

Seeing me standing there silently, Ethan's face immediately darkened.

"You're not willing?"

He walked to the desk, casually flipped through a stack of scores I had placed on top, then threw them back on the desk with a face full of mockery. The papers scattered all over the floor.

"That hand of yours is already ruined. You can't even hold a water glass steady. So what's the point of keeping this waste paper? To look at it every day and feel sorry for yourself? Or to remind everyone how much you've suffered?"

"Aria, hurry up and clear the space for Hannah. Don't force me to call the servants in to throw things out for you!"

Every word was like a rusty, dull knife, cutting the last remnants of my family affection into bloody pieces.

"Fine, I'll clear it now."

I looked at him calmly, my voice showing no trace of emotion.

Anyway, I was about to leave for Vienna soon. I didn't need to take a single one of these scores with me.

Ethan clearly hadn't expected me to agree so readily.

He looked me up and down suspiciously, as if trying to determine what scheme I was playing this time.

But he was too busy to investigate further.

"Good that you know your place. It must be cleared by dark."

After dropping this cold warning, he turned and strode away, rushing to arrange the evening celebration banquet schedule for Hannah.

After he left, I found some garbage bags.

I swept the music scores from the study into the trash can, handful by handful.

There were also those ill-fitting dresses that Ethan had casually bought for me as compensation when we first reunited.

And on the vanity, the only family photo I had carefully printed out, which they disliked because my expression was too wooden.

For two solid hours, I cleared away every trace of my existence until it was spotless.

Looking at the corner piled with garbage bags and the room that seemed as if no one had ever lived there.

My heart collapsed along with everything else.

After clearing everything, I walked to the desk and pulled open the bottom drawer.

A document lay quietly inside.

It was the share transfer agreement that the Lynn parents had publicly signed on my first day back home to demonstrate their compensation to me.

I took out the document and spread it flat on the desk.

In the section for renouncing inheritance rights, I signed my name.

After signing, I took out a blank sheet of A4 paper and carefully wrote out a "Declaration of Severance of Family Relations."

"I, Aria Lynn, voluntarily renounce all property and status in the Lynn family. From this day forward, I sever all blood and family relations with Ethan Lynn and all members of the Lynn family. In life and death, we shall never meet again."

I carefully folded these two signed documents.

Then, from my backpack, I took out the medical diagnosis from yesterday.

"Right hand permanently disabled, irreparable."

I put these three sheets of paper together in a manila envelope.

After sealing it, I placed the envelope squarely in the center of the desk.

After finishing all this, I glanced at the time on my phone.

There were still twenty-four hours until tomorrow night's celebration banquet, until I completely left this city.