The Bridge Not Taken: Choosing Myself Over You

I'm the disregarded bastard daughter of the Hayes Clan.

Abandoned in the back annex by the Principal Wife for a long sixteen years!

That fateful day, a group of governesses stormed in, knocking my dear brother unconscious and dragging him away.

I was utterly beside myself, screaming and pleading on my knees before the Principal Wife.

She pinched her nose as if I stank, cruelly stepping on my slender fingers.

"Just play nice and bear an heir for the queen, and I'll ensure your brother is listed as a rightful heir in the main lineage! Otherwise... his survival through this winter is on you!