The Fake Heiress in the Alpaca Body

For our third anniversary, three-year-old Nate brought home an alpaca. Her name is Sugar! he chirped. I bought her for you!

Garrick smiled. He spent hours picking her out. He said she'd keep you company.

The alpaca tilted its head, its dark eyes sweeping over me with a cold, calculating stare. The moment I thanked my son, it opened its jaws. Pfft! A thick, foul gob of spit hit my face.

I calmly wiped it away. I had been reborn. In my past life, the abuse started the same way. I spent two years trying to win it over while it spat at me constantly. Yet Garrick and Nate received nothing but affection. My husband called me petty; my son accused me of being mean.

I developed auditory hallucinations and nightmares before swallowing a bottle of pills. As my soul drifted toward the ceiling, I heard the truth: the alpaca housed the soul of Archie, my fragile adopted sister who had stolen my life for twenty years.

She had been sickly since childhood, the pampered darling of my biological family. When I was finally brought back to the mansion, everyone treated me like an uncultured, dirty intruder. Only Garrick seemed to love me. He married me and gave me a home.

I thought it was true love.

In reality, he just needed a healthy vessel to house Archie's soul.

Even the son I had carried for nine months was created from Archie's harvested egg, secretly swapped during my IVF treatment. My own parents were in on the plot. Their cruelty toward me was designed to isolate me, forcing me to cling desperately to Garrick.

Every time that alpaca spat on me, Archie's soul pushed a little deeper into my body.

After two years of torture, they had finally succeeded in erasing me.

But now, my eyes flew open. I was back on our wedding anniversary.

Garrick's smile faltered, a hint of awkwardness crossing his face.

Nate's little face darkened, and he slapped my hand away.

"Mommy! You scared Sugar!" He threw his arms around the alpaca's neck, cooing softly.

The alpaca leaned into him, rubbing her head against his cheek. At the same time, it cast a sly, triumphant glance at me.

I smiled.

"Since she doesn't seem to like me, I probably won't be a good owner. Why don't we send her back?"

Nate panicked, screaming, "No!"

Garrick's expression shifted, and he quickly intervened. "Sugar is just nervous because it's her first day. Give it some time. This is Nate's special gift to you. Don't throw away our boy's sweet gesture."

I watched their faces. Both of them were incredibly tense, terrified their perfect little plan was about to fall apart.

I nodded slowly. "You're right. I love the gift. Sugar is her name, right? I'll make sure to take very good care of her."

Nate let out a sigh of relief, and the tension left Garrick's shoulders.

I crouched down, ruffling my son's hair with a smile. "Go on and set up her room. Since she loves you both so much, she'll definitely love whatever space you arrange. Let me spend some quiet time with her to build a connection."

I nudged them toward the study, then led the alpaca out to the courtyard.

Before we even reached the grass, she opened her mouth to spit.

I dodged easily.

The glob of green bile hissed as it hit the stone tiles, bubbling faintly.

That wasn't normal animal saliva. It was the concentrated malice of Archie's rotten soul.

Garrick peeked through the door one last time before shutting it, satisfied.

Now, it was just me and the beast.

She tilted her head, her eyes flashing with pure defiance. She opened her mouth to try again.

But I was prepared.

I reached behind my back and pulled out a long aluminum catch pole with a sturdy U-shaped collar at the end.

With practiced precision, I pinned her neck to the grass.

She thrashed wildly, her hooves kicking at the dirt, but she couldn't break my grip.

I leaned down, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

"Listen to me, you miserable parasite. I'm the one who's going to be home with you all day. If you push me, I will make your life a living hell."

"I could drive this metal pole straight through your neck right now and claim it was an accident. Do you want to test me?"

Terror flashed in her eyes, and she let out a desperate, wheezing shriek.

Hearing the commotion, Garrick and Nate rushed outside, their faces pale with anger.

"Audrey! What the hell are you doing?!" Garrick roared.

Nate charged like a little cannonball, shoving me aside. "You mean woman! Don't hurt Sugar!"

I stepped back smoothly, retracting the pole.

The alpaca scrambled to her feet, running straight to her protectors, her eyes locked on me in sheer terror.

I raised my hands, looking entirely innocent.

"Why are you both so upset? I was just playing with her."

"Look, the collar is padded with soft foam. It doesn't hurt her at all."

The two of them froze, their mouths agape, completely speechless.

I smiled gently. "I told you, I wanted to build a connection with our new family member."

It took Garrick a moment to find his voice. He patted Nate's back. "Apologize to your mother, Nate. You shouldn't speak to her like that."

Nate mumbled a reluctant apology.

I turned and walked back into the living room, masking the freezing cold in my eyes.

This time, I was going to make Archie pay back every single drop of torment she owed me.

That night, Nate didn't ask for his usual bedtime story.

"I want Sugar to sleep with me, Mommy," he declared, hopping onto the alpaca's back and riding her into his room.

Garrick watched their retreat, his eyes filled with a tenderness I had never received.

Seeing how tightly Nate clung to that animal, a sharp pain pricked my heart. But then I reminded myself: he wasn't my child. No matter how much I loved him, he would always be Archie's spawn.

Half an hour later, Nate fell asleep. The alpaca trotted casually out of his room.

I reached out to lead her to the study, but she leaped back, dodging my hand. Instantly, she spat another wet glob onto my blouse.

Garrick walked up, placing a hand on her neck. "Audrey, Sugar doesn't want to sleep in the cold study. Why don't we let her sleep in our room?"

He stroked her head lovingly. "Come on, Sugar. Be sweet to Mommy."

The alpaca tilted her head and delivered another wet pfft right at me.

I grabbed a few tissues, calmly wiped my shirt, and headed to the bedroom.

"I'm a light sleeper. If she keeps spitting at me in the middle of the night, I'll never get any rest. Put her in the study."

My expression must have been terrifyingly cold because Garrick didn't push further.

"Fine. I guess Sugar will have to make do tonight."

Before he closed the study door, the alpaca glared at me, her eyes dripping with pure venom.

In the middle of the night, I drifted into a light sleep.

Suddenly, I felt a warm, wet breath on my face.

Then, a freezing sensation.

I snapped my eyes open.

The alpaca was standing right by the mattress, her face hovering inches from mine, her throat working as she prepped another blast.

I didn't know how she had unlocked the doors, but I was ready.

The moment I woke up in this new life, I had traveled to the outskirts of the city to St. Jude's Hermitage. There, Reverend Silas had given me a powerful spiritual warding talisman.

I reached under my pillow and gripped the paper amulet tightly.

Instantly, the alpaca froze.

It was as if an invisible, iron hand had clamped around her windpipe.

She tried to scream, but only a wet rattle came out. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor, trembling violently as the dark light in her eyes faded significantly.

I grabbed a wet wipe and slowly cleaned my skin, staring down at her.

"How does that feel?"

She couldn't answer. She could only shiver in agony.

The next morning, Nate ran straight to the study, only to find the alpaca slumped on the floor. Her fleece was dull, and her eyes were half-closed.

"What's wrong with Sugar?!" he shrieked.

Garrick rushed over. The alpaca weakly raised her head, looking at him with desperate, pathetic eyes.

He whirled on me, his face contorted with rage. "Did you beat her because she snuck into our room last night?"

Nate glared at me, tears of anger in his eyes. "You're a bad mom! You made Sugar sick!"

I knelt down, looking calmly into Nate's eyes. "Nate, I slept the entire night. I didn't touch her. She's probably just struggling to adapt to a new home."

"But don't either of you find it strange? How did an alpaca manage to open two locked doors to get into our bedroom?"

My question caught them off guard. Their expressions tightened in panic.

Sensing the shift, the alpaca summoned the last of her strength to spit right onto my knee.

Nate threw his arms around her, sobbing. "Look! She's so sick and she still hates you! You must have done something horrible to her yesterday!"

Garrick sneered. "Audrey, when did you become so incredibly petty? Picking fights with a helpless animal? She only spits at you because she senses your malice. You need to look in the mirror and reflect on your own toxic behavior!"

The last spark of warmth in my heart died completely.

In my past life, it was always the same. Whether it was the alpaca or Archie, whenever there was a conflict, I was always the villain.

But Archie was the fake daughter who had stolen my identity. While she grew up wrapped in luxury, I was digging through trash to pay for my school supplies. While she was pampered, my adoptive parents tried to sell me to a remote village for a dowry.

They had even used my body to bear her child.

Yet, to them, Archie was always the fragile victim, even while she was actively stealing my life.

I wiped the spit from my knee and walked away.

This time, I wouldn't give them a single inch.

I locked myself in the bedroom, pulling a small vial of consecrated elixir from my drawer.

Reverend Silas had blessed it. If the alpaca consumed it, the soul-transfer would backfire.

Every time she spat, Archie's soul would tear away from my body and dissipate. The more she spat, the faster she would fade.

But the beast was clever.

Whenever I tried to feed her, she kicked the bowl over. She would only eat when Garrick or Nate offered the food.

"You have no patience," Nate complained. "That's why she hates you!"

Garrick chimed in. "You need to try harder to win her over. Stop looking so miserable around her. If she doesn't like you, do something sweet to please her. Our son went to so much trouble for this gift."

I laughed inwardly, but kept my expression perfectly submissive.

"I understand. I'll be more gentle."

I knelt down, offering a handful of clover to the alpaca. "Come on, sweet girl. Just take one bite."

She didn't even look at the food. Instead, she kicked me hard, sending me sprawling to the ground, before spitting on my shoulder.

Nate didn't even check to see if I was hurt. He snatched the clover from my hand and fed it to her himself.

The alpaca cast a smug, mocking look at me as she chewed slowly.

Nate glared at me. "Sugar is sensitive. She knows you're secretly evil!"

I hid my smile as I watched her swallow every last bite of the clover.

I knew she wouldn't take it from me. I had intentionally provoked Nate to feed her myself.

Because that entire batch of feed had been thoroughly soaked in the elixir.

That evening at dinner, Garrick made an announcement.

"The preschool has a week-long trip to Europe next week. I'll take Nate."

Nate cheered happily.

I set my fork down, looking at them.

In my past life, I was the one who went on every school trip. Garrick was taking him this time for one reason: to leave me entirely alone with the alpaca.

He wanted Archie to finish taking over my body.

I smiled warmly. "Have a wonderful trip. Don't worry about Sugar. I'll take great care of her."

Garrick nodded, satisfied, and Nate actually gave me a rare smile.

The next morning, I waved them off at the gate.

The alpaca stood by my side, whimpering as she watched the car disappear. She rubbed her head against Garrick's hand and nuzzled Nate's cheek before they left.

The moment the car cleared the driveway, my smile vanished.

Sensing the shift in the air, the alpaca whipped her head around to spit.

I dodged easily, swinging the metal catch pole to pin her neck to the gate. I bound her tightly to the post.

Then, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I had saved days ago.

"Hello, is this the Apex Circus? I heard you recently imported a new male alpaca."

The director laughed over the line. "Oh, yes! A massive beast from South America. He's incredibly strong, but he's in constant heat and tearing up the enclosures. We're at our wits' end."

The alpaca locked her eyes on me, her body stiffening with dread.

"I have a female here," I said smoothly. "She's ripe for breeding. I'll donate her to your program."

The director gasped in delight. "Really? When can you bring her over?"

"Today."

I hung up and looked down at the trembling animal.

She understood every word.

I tightened the rope around her neck, offering her a sweet, merciless smile.

"Don't worry, sweet girl. Your best days are just beginning. And don't you dare complain if your new husband spits too much."