Swapping Daughters

On the day my daughter was one month old, I accidentally saw my best friend sitting on my husband's lap.

"Bryan, your wife didn't notice that I swapped our daughter with her, right?"

"Ehm ... she dotes on our daughter every day. But where's my daughter and hers? Why don't you bring her with you?"

"I've been torturing her for a month and it's getting boring. I'm just going to throw her into the bathtub and drown her. You won't feel bad, right?"

My husband said with disgust, "How is it possible? I married Flora just for her family's property. The daughter she gave birth to will die and when our daughter inherits her assets, I'll kick her out."

I wiped away my tears and pretended not to know.

Dedicated myself to raise their daughter.

Twenty years later, my daughter returned from studying abroad and I transferred all the company's shares and assets to her name.

At the press conference, my best friend took my husband's hand and came to me with the paternity test report.

"Flora, the hospital gave us the wrong baby back then. Briela was actually the biological daughter of me and Bryan. You've been taking care of her for so many years and it's time to give her back to me now."

My husband also took out a divorce agreement and a bank card.

"Sign the divorce agreement as soon as possible, so that our family of three can reunite. Also, there are seven hundred dollars in this card, which is your hard-earned money for taking care of the children and divorce compensation over the years."

I gave a cold smile and replied, "Okay."

——

"Wifey, I noticed that you had a bit of a cough yesterday, so I got up early this morning to make you hot lemongrass tea. Drink it while it's hot."

My husband, Bryan O'Connor, gently and thoughtfully held a cup of hot lemongrass tea and handed it to me.

The look in his eyes when he looked at me was full of love.

"Dad, you are so good to Mommy," said my daughter with a smile while having breakfast.

Yeah ... Everyone could see how good Bryan was to me.

He always noticed my negative emotions at the first moment and gave me comfort and surprises.

He would take good care of me when I was sick.

He would hold me tightly in his arms and say that marrying me was the greatest blessing of his life when he was in love.

If I had not overheard what he said that day, I could not believe that he, who was so thoughtful, could be such a heartless and ungrateful man.

I took the cup of hot tea and drank it in silence.

After a while, the doorbell rang.

"It must be Lauryn coming."

My daughter jumped up excitedly and ran over to open the door.

I saw my best friend, Lauryn Hansen, standing at the door carrying a lot of bags.

Seeing her daughter, her face was full of laughter.

"Briela, the weather has gotten colder recently, so I bought you some thick clothes."

"And ah, didn't you say last time that you liked the pastries I made? This time, I made you some more."

Briela's eyes curved into crescents and she smiled. "Thank you, Lauryn. You are the best to me!"

Lauryn put down her things, held her daughter in her arms and said affectionately, "Of course, you are my sweetheart!"

"I wish I could give you all the good things in the world!"

After that, she took her daughter to sit at the dining table, looked at me and said directly, "Flora, I heard from Briela that there is a parents-teacher's meeting at her school today."

"Will you let me go?"

"You know, I'm not as lucky as you, married a good husband and gave birth to a well-behaved daughter. I got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter because of a man. That short-lived girl could drown in the bathtub when she took a bath. I don't even have a chance to attend the parents-teacher's meeting ...."

She spoke pitifully, her eyes kept moving back and forth between Bryan and her daughter.

Over the years, she always used her daughter's early death as an excuse to do many things that went beyond the boundaries.

Chapter 2

Besides coming to my house to visit my daughter every day, she also organized her daughter's birthday every year.

She spent Children's Day with her daughter and participated in the parent-child activities at school.

Even on Mother's Day, she would take her daughter out for a solo trip and take a bunch of group photos to post on her social media.

Every time I asked her, she would say, "My daughter died early and I don't want to have any more children in the future."

"We are best friends. I just want to treat Briela like my own child."

I had not made a statement yet, but Bryan immediately spoke up to help her.

"Flora, Lauryn's child died early, which is quite pitiful. Why not let her experience what it's like to attend a parent-teacher's meeting?"

Looking at the expectant eyes of the three of them, I smiled slightly. "Sure, I'm not free today."

Seeing my agreement, my best friend smiled with satisfaction.

Briela also clapped and cheered happily.

After having breakfast, Lauryn could not wait to take her daughter to school.

And Bryan left together under the pretext of seeing them off.

I silently watched the three of them leave happily without saying a word.

It seemed like they thought I was particularly easy to deceive and never notice anything unusual.

Lauryn was getting bolder and bolder.

She used to secretly meet Bryan while I was at the company.

Now even when I was at home, she would find all sorts of excuses to come to the door.

"Flora, I've recently self-taught cooking, so I'm here to show you my skills."

"Flora, I just came back from the countryside and brought a lot of local specialties to give to you."

"Flora, my water pipe burst. Can I come to your house and stay for a few days?"

And so on ....

Although I knew in my heart that every time Lauryn came to my house it was to see her daughter and Bryan.

But still I did not refuse.

Whenever she came to my house, I warmly welcomed her.

I also responded to her requests one by one.

Bryan was very satisfied with this situation.

Whenever he saw Lauryn coming to our house, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up.

Sometimes he even took a glance and flirted with her in front of me, secretly sending off a flirtatious message.

Even Briela was getting more and more intimate with her.

Also, he bought a pair of home slippers for her so that she could come over at anytime.

This kind of life continued until Briela took the college entrance test.

On the day the scores came out, my best friend came to my house early in the morning.

We waited for Briela's test results together.

Seeing his daughter's ridiculously low college entrance test score, Bryan pretended to be angry. "How did you get such a low score on the test?"

Briela did not care. "Anyway, our family has money, why do I have to work so hard to study? Mom can just buy me a degree."

Bryan glanced at me vaguely.

Seeing that I did not express my opinion, he continued. "No matter how much your mommy loves you, she can't let you do this!"

"It's not easy for her to manage the company alone. You have to fight for it. Otherwise, how can you help her share the burden in the future? How can you let her trust you to hand over the company to you?"

Seeing this, Lauryn quickly interrupted. "Flora is Briela's biological mother, how can she ignore her?"

Briela also agreed. "That's right, I'm Mommy's only daughter. With so many companies under her name, how can she let me starve?"

Lauryn looked at her daughter with a little appreciation, then looked at me and said directly, "Flora, Briela is a good girl. You can't let her go to any low-quality university."

"What if she gets bullied?"

"Why don't you let her work as a general manager or something in your company first? Let her help you."

Chapter 3

Over the years, Briela had been spoiled by Lauryn and Bryan, becoming arrogant and domineering, with no knowledge or skills.

With her level of ability, she did not even have the qualification to intern at my company.

But I did not say it directly, instead I said seriously, "How can being a general manager be enough? She is my only daughter and she should take over everything from me."

"I have already planned everything. I will send Briela abroad for further studies first."

"When she returns from studying abroad, I will fully entrust the company to her."

Hearing me say this, Lauryn's eyes lit up instantly. She laughed heartily and said, "Yes, yes, yes, Briela is such an outstanding girl, she should be a high and mighty female CEO."

"I've said it before, Briela is born to be rich and noble, much better than that short-lived daughter in my family!"

Bryan and his daughter nodded with great joy, their faces full of smiles.

Looking at the three of them laughing proudly, I also laughed.

They laughed at me for being too foolish, while I laughed at them for being too naive.

During the process of applying for study abroad, I took Briela to the company every day.

I taught her to familiarize herself with the company's business without reservation.

On the day of going abroad.

Lauryn came specially.

She brought a bunch of things for Briela, fearing that she would not have a good time living alone in a foreign country.

Along the way, she kept reminding her daughter.

The picture was warm and touching, truly showing a mother concern for her daughter who would travel thousands of miles away.

After her daughter boarded the plane, Lauryn kept watching the plane until it disappeared high into the sky.

She left with tears in her eyes, reluctant to part.

After Briela went abroad, Lauryn came to my house less frequently.

But Bryan went out more and more frequently.

Every time I came back, I felt like I was hollowed out.

Whenever I asked him, he would either say he was going to a gathering with his buddies.

Or maybe he signed up for a fitness class to maintain his figure.

When he could not find an excuse, he would pretend to be sad and sigh.

"I raised Briela alone and she has never left me. I couldn't help but miss her after being abroad for such a long time."

"If I don't find something to do, I'll fall apart."

I ignored the scent of Lauryn's freesia perfume and pretended to comfort him.

"Briela will be back soon and then our family can be reunited again."

Bryan smiled faintly and said meaningfully, "Yes, soon our family of three will be reunited."

Three years later, Briela returned from studying abroad.

Lauryn whom I had not seen for a long time came to my house early in the morning, just like she used to and accompanied Bryan and me to pick Briela up at the airport.

The moment she saw her daughter, Lauryn could not control her emotions. She rushed forward and hugged her daughter tightly in her arms with tears in her eyes.

After the two of them expressed their longing for each other, Briela walked straight towards me and said straight to the point, "Mom, I'm back."

"When will you let me take care of your company?"

Looking at her impatient expression, I gave a faint smile.

"Let's go, I've already held a press conference."

"Right now, I will entrust everything to you in front of everyone."

The press conference venue was overcrowded.

All the media reporters and celebrity businessmen gathered here.

Just to see the change of ownership of the business giant Renner Group.

With all eyes on me, I announced that my daughter would take over my position as president of Renner Group.

And under the witness of lawyers and interview cameras, the equity transfer agreement was signed.

I transferred all of my assets and company shares to my daughter's name.

For a moment, applause was thunderous and emotions were boiling among the crowd.

Many people were lamenting the deep love between us mother and daughter.

The look they gave my daughter was full of envy.

Chapter 4

However, at such a moment, my best friend arrived late, holding Bryan's hand.

Amid the puzzled and surprised gazes of the crowd, she took out a paternity test report and said to me loudly, "Flora, to tell you the truth, Bryan and I have been in love for a long time and had a daughter at the same time as you."

"The hospital gave us the wrong baby back then. Briela is actually the biological daughter of me and Bryan. You have been taking care of her for so many years. Now, it's time to give her back to me."

Hearing this, there was an uproar at the scene.

"Isn't this Lauryn Hansen, Ms. Renner's best friend? She actually got into a relationship with Ms. Renner's husband and gave birth to a daughter?"

"The key is that Lauryn's daughter died just after she was one month old. If the hospital did give them the wrong baby, wasn't the one with Lauryn Ms. Renner's biological daughter?"

"That's so despicable. Not only did she steal someone else's husband, she also killed her daughter. Isn't that the end of the world? Laury is such a shameless woman!"

"Moreover, Ms. Renner just transferred all her share and assets to her daughter's name, then she recognized her daughter here. Is this what a human being does?"

Amidst the fierce condemnation from everyone, Bryan spoke confidently,

"In the first half of my life, I was bound by marriage. As a man, I tried hard to convince myself that I should be responsible for this marriage."

"But I am also a human being. In countless difficult nights, I kept asking myself, is this really the life I want?"

"Flora comes from a good family. She treats me and my daughter very well, but what I truly love in my heart is Lauryn."

"I just want to pursue my true love, is that wrong?"

"Marriage is for happiness and so is divorce. Marriage should not be a shackle for me to pursue true love. I hope everyone blesses us!"

Bryan's every word was sad and every sentence was firm and resounding.

Seemingly an unhappy person in a marriage, breaking away from the secular world and pursuing true love.

I did not bother with him, but looked straight at my daughter beside me and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Briela carefully read the equity transfer agreement in her hand and then spoke calmly, "Mom, this is the last time I'll call you this."

"Although you have raised me for more than twenty years, you are not my biological mother after all."

"Blood is thicker than water. I hope you won't stop our family of three from reuniting."

Seeing this, Lauryn said proudly, "Flora, please save your face. Don't rely on other people's daughters just because your short-lived daughter died early!"

Bryan also took out a divorce agreement and a bank card, then threw them in my face.

"Let's get a divorce now while everyone is here."

"There are five seven hundred dollars in this card, which is your hard-earned money for taking care of our daughter and divorce compensation over the years."

Hearing these words, everyone at the scene was furious.

"As expected, people of the same family stick together. What's up with this family of three?"

"That's right, everyone knows that Ms. Renner has always held her daughter in the palm of her hand. It hurts! After so many years of pampering, she just transferred tens of millions dollars of family assets to her and she turns around and recognizes someone else as her mother?"

"Seven hundred dollars for divorce compensation, is this just giving money to beggars? How can her husband have the nerve to say that?"

"I can't stand any outsiders anymore! Ms. Renner, don't pay attention to this family of animals."

"That's right, they are really shameless!!"

The people in the venue spoke up for me and some even offered to help me sue and get my property back.

Faced with everyone's reaction, Lauryn and Bryan remained calm and composed.

It seemed that no matter what happened, they were prepared to deal with.

However, amidst everyone's righteous indignation, I could not help but smile.

"Okay."

After saying that, I signed the divorce agreement under the astonished gaze of everyone.

Seeing this, Lauryn and Bryan were slightly stunned, as if they did not expect me to agree so readily.

They picked up the divorce agreement and equity transfer documents, checked them carefully and only smiled with relief after confirming that they were correct.

As they laughed and forgot themselves, I spoke again, "Since you all gave me such a big surprise ...."

"Then I also have a big gift for you too."

Bryan looked confused and asked, "Big gift? What kind of big gift?"