Chapter 497 Is She Just a Substitute?
"Ashley, thank goodness you're alive!" Doris grabbed Ashley's hand emotionally, tears welling in her eyes.
Ashley's gaze flickered, and she replied with polite detachment, "Hello, I'm Pearl."
Not having figured out what had happened years ago, she felt it best to conceal her identity for now.
"Pearl? Not Ashley?" Doris asked in shock.
It seemed impossible to her. They looked identical—even twins couldn't look this similar. How could she not be Ashley?
"Hello, my name is Pearl, not Ashley," she repeated firmly.
Doris turned mechanically toward Ethan. "Ethan... you..."
Her mind was in complete disarray.
"Mom, she is indeed Pearl, not Ashley," Ethan stated.
"You... you've remembered?"
Ethan shook his head. "No, Diannel told me."
Doris felt a pang of disappointment. She scrutinized Ashley's face and figure, still convinced she was looking at Ashley herself. Suddenly remembering something, Doris moved closer to examine behind Ashley's ear.
Finding no red birthmark there, disappointment flashed across Doris's eyes. "I apologize for the confusion. You truly aren't Ashley!"
Ashley touched her ear in confusion. "What were you looking for, ma'am?"
"Ashley had a red birthmark behind her ear. You don't have one, so I was mistaken," Doris explained.
Ashley nodded numbly.
Ashley had a birthmark, but she didn't? Then who was she really? Between her unresolved marital issues with Ethan and now questioning her own identity, Ashley felt overwhelmed. She frowned deeply, lost in thought.
Observing the woman's face, Doris immediately understood everything. No wonder Ethan had avoided women for years, only to succumb at the sight of this face. Even without memories of Ashley, his love for her remained unchanged.
"Those injuries on you are..." Doris asked.
She had just noticed Ashley's wounds.
"Mom, there's been a misunderstanding. Once Pearl has recovered, I'll take her home," Ethan explained.
Doris nodded, then noticed the table set for two. "Ethan, you're eating again?"
Ethan nodded, checked the time, and said, "Mom, it's Monday. I need to take Angela to preschool. Could you please look after Pearl while I'm gone?"
"Of course," Doris agreed.
Ethan changed clothes before departing. As he left, he gave Ashley a long, intense look filled with complexity. His gaze made her nervous, and she only relaxed once he was gone.
Doris led Ashley to the sofa and sat down beside her. "You can call me Doris, Pearl."
"Doris," Ashley acknowledged with a nod.
After a moment's reflection, Ashley asked, "May I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"The person you called Ashley... who was she? What was her relationship with His Highness?"
Her directness caught Doris by surprise, but she found it somewhat admirable.
"Let me explain everything..." Doris began.
Doris recounted how Ashley and Ethan had met and fallen in love. Ashley listened intently, her expressions shifting between wide-eyed surprise and furrowed contemplation. Doris described how after Ashley's death, Ethan had become so devastated he was like a walking corpse, and they'd eventually resorted to hypnosis to erase his memories of Ashley so he could function again.
By the end of the story, Ashley felt as though she'd been on an emotional roller coaster.
She had mistakenly believed Ashley and Ethan's relationship was troubled, only to discover they had deeply loved each other.
"Doris, did Ashley have an older sister?" Ashley asked.
"No sister, but she had two older brothers," Doris replied.
Ashley was too stunned to speak.
Everything she'd believed for years had been a lie. The supposed sister was an impostor. Ethan wasn't a murderous villain—they had been in love.
But wait. Ashley had a birthmark behind her ear, while she had none.
Perhaps she wasn't Ashley at all.
In an instant, Ashley felt as though she'd ascended to heaven only to be cast back down to hell.
"Pearl, I've told you everything about Ashley and Ethan. You look remarkably like Ashley. Even without his memories of her, Ethan is instinctively drawn to your face. You're a good woman. It wouldn't be fair to keep you here as someone's substitute."
"Besides," Doris hesitated, "Ethan's future marriage must be a political alliance, and His Highness already has a candidate in mind."
Doris's words filled Ashley with bitterness.
She wasn't Ashley?
She was merely a replacement?
Ethan already had a marriage prospect?She was merely a replacement?
Ethan already had a marriage prospect?
The successive blows felt like an explosion in her head. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"Pearl! Someone help! She's collapsed!"
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