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    The day Xylia Schultz got out of prison, they carried her out on a stretcher. She was so thin she barely looked human. Her right arm just dangled there with no strength in it, and both her legs were covered in blood.


    Three months earlier, somebody had set Xylia up, faked testimony, and threw her in jail in ce of the real Schultz daughter, Tessa Schultz.


    Inside, they cut the tendons in the hand Xylia once held a scalpel with. The legs that once carried her to international championships had been beaten until she could hardly stand.


    Xylia was ready to give up on everything, until her husband, Connor Ford, pulled every string he could to drag her out.


    When Connor saw her like that, he froze for a second, then stumbled out of the car and wrapped her up in his arms.


    “Xylia, this is all on me. I came toote.” Connor’s voice shook as he followed the medics into the ambnce.


    This man, who was usually all coldposure, actually cried. Xylia had only ever seen him cry twice before–once on their wedding day, once when their son Sonny Ford was born.


    That tear fell on Xylia’s face, and her own emotions finally broke. She hadn’t cried when she was beaten. She hadn’t cried when they cut through her hand. But now she couldn’t hold it back.


    Xylia buried herself in Connor’s chest, breathing in the one scent that always calmed her down. She thought, ‘At least I still have my husband, my son, my family who love me.‘


    Connor’s eyes turned red as he held her tight and swore, his voice raw. “Xylia, I’ll find whoever framed you. I’ll clear your name.”


    Pressed against his chest, listening to the tremor in his voice, Xylia’s shattered heart softened just a little.


    With a husband and a son who loved her this much, she didn’t care that the Schultz family only had eyes for Tessa, or that her ex–fiancé had left her behind. None of that mattered


    anymore.


    with a


    Connor lowered his head, guilt in every word. “If I hadn’t asked you to drive out that day, they wouldn’t have had anything to pin on you. They wouldn’t have had a way to charge you hit–and-run.”


    Xylia shook her head. She thought, ‘How could this be his fault? Everyone knew Connor was


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    one of the best husbands out there. After we married, he never let me lift a finger. He spoiled


    me in every way.


    ‘He even worried I was working too hard, kept telling me to quit, said he’d take care of me. The heir to the Ford family, and he still loved me like this. Everyone envied me.


    ‘But now… after what happened to me, do I even deserve him anymore?‘


    Xylia’s voice cracked as she whispered, “I’m scared I’ll never be able to hold a scalpel again. I’m scared I’ll never dance again.”


    Connor’s eyes filled up again. His voice shook as he tried to soothe her. “If you can’t hold a scalpel, then I’ll take care of you for the rest of our lives.


    “If you can’t dance, then don’t. Honestly, it always drove me jealous when other men stared at you anyway.”


    Xylia forced a bitter little smile. Connor had always loved her legs, and now they were nothing but scars. Once the wounds healed, they would still look ruined. She figured he’d get tired of looking at them eventually.


    At the hospital<i>, </i>Xylia finally saw Sonny.


    The boy threw himself at her bedside and broke down crying. “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I said would end up as testimony. It was all my fault. I misremembered. If I could trade my legs for yours, I would.”


    Xylia’s mind went back to three months earlier, when she’d been used of hit–and–run. Sonny, who had been called as a witness, said he remembered her leaving the house that day.


    Sonny had always been the kid who listened, who acted way older than his age. That little grown–up side of him made him seem a bit distant sometimes.


    But now, he was crying so hard his face was a mess, snot and tears everywhere. He looked pitiful.


    For all his early maturity, he was still just a kid. Kids mixed things up. Xylia’s heart melted as she stroked his hair. “I’m not mad at you.”


    Through sobs, Sonny choked out, “Then let me be your legs. I’ll run for you. I’ll see the world for you.”


    That stung Xylia’s heart. She thought, ‘I’m lucky. My son and my husband didn’t walk away. If anything, they’ve been treating me even better.


    ‘I didn’t get much love from the family I was born into, but the family I built for myself has


    been warm.‘


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    After the surgery, Xylia still couldn’t feel her hand or legs. Her mouth felt parched, and she tried to call for someone, but then she caught Sonny’s voice outside the door.


    “Dad, Mom looks so pitiful right now. She can still stand, but she’ll never dance again. The doctor said she won’t be able to hold a scalpel steady either,” said Sonny.


    Xylia’s chest ached so badly she wanted to break down. She had known this was likely, but hearing it spoken aloud still hit her hard.


    Then Sonny added, “Dad, didn’t we go too far, making up false testimony to frame Mom, just to protect Tessa?”


    Xylia froze. She thought she must have heard wrong. Her eyes


    flew open


    wide in shock.


    Connor’s reply came next, cold and t. “Tessa is a principal dancer. Her record can’t have a single blemish.


    “As for Xylia, she stole Tessa’s ce as the Schultz family’s real daughter all these years and left Tessa to grow up an orphan. This is her debt. And besides, she married me, didn’t she? What more could she want?”


    Xylia bit her lip so hard she almost drew blood, forcing herself to stay silent. She thought, ‘So it was them. They’re the ones who framed me.


    ‘But I was switched at birth, I had no say in that. How could they call it me stealing Tessa’s ce? And Connor–how could he change like this? Were all those vows, all that love, nothing but lies?‘


    Sonny let out a sigh and said in agreement, “Mom kept picking fights with Tessa. It’s about time she learned a lesson. We’ll make it up to herter.”


    Xylia thought, ‘Later? What ter” do I even have left?‘


    Every word they said carried clear into Xylia’s ears. The pain wed into her chest, worse than anything her body had gone through. A tear slid down the corner of her eye before she even noticed.


    So it was them. Her husband and her own son. They were the ones who ruined her body, who set her up to save Tessa. In their eyes, there was only Tessa.


    Sonny’s voice softened, almost guilty. “But Dad, we dragged out her surgery. That’s why her hand and legs ended up like this. If she ever finds out, won’t she lose her mind?”


    ‘So if they had let the doctors work right away, my hand and legs might have healed? And they still dyed it?‘ A heavy despair pressed down on Xylia’s chest, almost suffocating her.


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    Connor answered with weary impatience, speaking like he wasying down reason. “So what if she finds out? She can’t go back to the Schultz family. With her body wrecked, she’ll never leave us anyway.”


    Then his tone suddenly shifted, lighter, almost amused. “Sonny, you like Tessa, don’t you? Now that Xylia’s out of the way, she won’t be stopping you from seeing Tessa anymore. Isn’t that good news?”


    “Of course it is. Mom’s always been such a nag. Guess that’s what happens when one never really went to school. All she ever cared about waspeting with other women.


    “And she was always on me about talking to Tessa. It drove me crazy.” Sonny’s little voice sounded so innocent, but the words that came out cut deep.


    Xylia’s eyes went wide as tears streamed down her face, her chest tightening until she could barely breathe.


    She thought, ‘Sonny told me, in his own words, that he didn’t like Tessa. That’s why I kept turning her down for him. How did it all get twisted into being my fault?‘


    田