Be Your Own Spring novel Chapter 1

The day I got my acceptance letter from Harvard, my biological parents sent me to prison.

All because their adopted daughter, the fake princess Olivia Mogane, got into a hit-and-run while drunk.

They falsified evidence and framed me for it.

I was sentenced to ten years, and the victim's family broke my leg, ruining my future.

In the depths of my heartbreak and despair, the boy I had secretly loved since childhood, Lucas Henderson, held my hand.

"I believe you're innocent," he said.

"I'll find the evidence to clear your name."

"If not, I'll wait for you to get out, and then I'll marry you with a grand wedding you deserve."

I held on to his words like a lifeline, enduring the pain of prison life.

When I was released early for good behavior, I overheard a conversation between him and my parents.

"Thanks to you for setting everything up years ago," Lucas Henderson said coolly.

"Olivia's been pampered her whole life, she'd never survive prison. But just in case…"

He didn't seem fazed.

"There's no 'just in case.'"

"I'll marry Rozella Mogane as promised, keep her quiet, and take care of her."

"And no matter what, I'll make sure Olivia's life stays perfect."

My mom sighed softly.

"If we had known this would happen, we never should have brought her back."

"But the people you hired last time—wasn't that a little too much?"

"I heard they didn't just break her leg, but also tortured her so badly her kidneys ruptured and she lost the ability to have kids."

"Letting you marry a woman like that is just too much of a sacrifice for you."

Lucas Henderson was silent for a moment before giving a small, bitter smile. 

"It's not a sacrifice. It's something I owe her."

"If I don't do this, Rozella Mogane will never learn. What if she gets out and starts talking?"

"What will Olivia do then?"

They all chatted like nothing was wrong.

Meanwhile, I stood frozen, shivering. 

My hand hovered above the door, unsure whether I had the strength to knock.

Then, I saw Olivia Mogane coming downstairs in a perfect designer dress, skipping like a butterfly, and threw herself into Lucas Henderson's arms.

"Lucas, let's go shopping! I found a couple set that would look perfect on us."

Then one day, when things fell apart, she left behind a note and jumped into the river to take her life.

I was sent back to the Mogane family, hoping for a reunion with my real parents, a chance to escape the torture. 

But what I faced instead was disdain.

My parents thought I was too rough around the edges, nothing like Olivia Mogane—she was refined and perfect, unlike me, who could never measure up. 

Out of everyone, only Lucas Henderson treated me the best.

When I was repeatedly ignored and mocked, it was Lucas Henderson who held my hand, encouraged me, and comforted me.

I fell for him, hopelessly.

I gave him all my trust and reliance, thinking he was the one who would always be there.

Who would've thought that the one who treated me the best would also be the one who hurt me the most?

My eyes welled up with tears, and before I could say a word, Olivia Mogane suddenly burst into tears.

"Lucas, is Rozella Mogane coming back? Are you going to leave me now?"

"It's okay," she cried dramatically. "It was always supposed to be hers anyway."

"I'll just give it back to her."

"A person like me—who's so unnecessary—should never have existed!"

With that, Olivia Mogane pulled out a knife and dragged it across her wrist.