Episode 4

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Several images and sounds stood before him, and the boy was unable to focus on a single thing. He felt like he was in free fall, and at the same time his stomach churned.

"It's false!" Someone accused in his mind. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to calm down, but the voices gave him no respite and drove him crazy. "Now, what tricks will you pull? // You have disappointed me. // I never loved you! // Do you think anyone will believe you? // He only loves me! // He always comes back to me at night."

"Enough…" he asked, pressing his hands against his ears. But the voices kept listening and crushing him.

"Go away, nobody wants you to continue in the family! // I always despised you. // Let me rephrase it for you, who would believe you? // You are just a fake."

"Enough!" With his cry, the voices stopped and one surpassed them all, reaching his ears like a whisper.

"You can never take his place."

His heart broke when he heard this last sentence, for he remembered that scene almost perfectly. Although he no longer heard any voices, he felt shattered.

The feeling of free fall finally stopped. The warmth of the environment warmed his body and made him feel at ease.

"What is happening?" he whispered, lightly massaging his temples.

"He's not a Ballestero!" shouted a woman, so loudly that it almost pierced Noah's eardrums. He couldn't resist and covered his ears. "He's just pretending!"

Noah was held by someone and helped to his feet. He tried to open his eyes but the light was too bright and he had to stay in the dark a little longer.

"How are you feeling?" asked a slightly familiar voice. Noah tried to recognize it, but failed. Defenseless, he could only lean on the other and massage his temples.

"I…hmm…fine. Where am I?"

"Look everyone! He's just pretending to divert attention!"

"Who has such a shrill voice?" Noah complained. Almost instantly, he felt his shirt being pulled down. Surprised, he opened his eyes and saw the outline of a face, which became clearer with the seconds. Face to face, he had a pretty face, but full of so much makeup that he lost his charm.

It was Erminia Hernan de Craso, Aleida's best friend, and who was giving him a furious look, he could almost see the steam coming out of her nostrils. The thought almost made him laugh, though he resisted the urge.

"Ma'am, please let me go," Noah asked in a monotonous voice.

He took a hesitant step back, causing the woman to release her grip. It was then that Noah realized that he was being held at the waist by someone. Looking up at his helper, he was surprised and stepped away as if from a plague.

"I'm fine, I don't need your help."

"Noah…" The alpha's gaze was almost pitiful. In another life, while called that, Noah would have fallen head over heels, but he had already learned his lesson. That pitiful look and that kind voice were nothing more than a vile act.

The woman soon screamed again, as if Noah owed her a large sum of money.

"You are a scammer! And you think you have the right to make fun of me,” she shrieked. Tears ran down her excessively made-up face, and the overall image was most unpleasant. The worst thing is that the woman reached out and took Noah's arm, digging her expensive and ugly nails into the white skin. He didn't need to look down to know they had cut his skin.

"Let me go."

"Now you're threatening me!" Erminia growled. "Look everyone how he threatens me!"

Noah couldn't take it anymore, as the smell of daisies emanating from her was too irritating.

He pushed the woman away with what little strength he possessed, but for some reason, she nearly ended up on the floor. Had it not been for Victor, who pushed him and caught her at the last second, it would have been a hard fall.

"How can you act like this, Noah?!" He demanded, his voice solemn and his gaze full of disgust; so different from his previous pitiful appearance. "I understand that you don't like what she said, but that's no reason to act so cruelly. Above all, she is a lady!"

Noah ignored the alpha and, while rubbing his bruised shoulder, scanned the place, trying to figure out where he was.

"This…"

The situation was all too familiar, and a certain assumption that formed in his heart was enough to make him tremble. Despite the pain in his shoulder, and the scratches on his arm, he surreptitiously pinched his arm and the new pain let him know that this was no dream. He had really returned!

He didn't know how, or why, and he didn't care. He was back! And this time he would change things for himself. He wouldn't let anyone use him again. He would live only for himself, without worrying about anything else.

Looking around, he realized that he had returned at a time when everything was going from bad to worse. He wished he could go back to the beginning and get away from this stupid alpha altogether, but coming back at this point was already considered a blessing.

Noah observed the delicate organization of the place, the elegant clothes of the guests, and the lights that gave the atmosphere a warm and familiar atmosphere. Yes… it was obvious that whoever organized the event had a gift, and the dedication and love behind it showed. And this had been done to celebrate his nineteenth birthday. It was the last time he received such kind treatment from the world.

The boy turned his head and beside him, he saw the beautiful woman who was holding a white envelope in her hand, hesitating whether to open it or not. He didn't need to get any closer to know what it was about. It was the proof that he was always a fake.

That part of the switch between the two children of two families who never met was explained in the book that for some reason, was embedded in his memory. He didn't know when it had arrived, only that he was a villain who died halfway through the book.

Noah remembered what was related. He was the biological son of a poor man, who lost his wife in childbirth. Fearful for the future of his son, he saw that in the cradle next to him was the baby of a wealthy family. With the last of his courage, he snuck into the maternity ward and switched the tags of both children. Who would have guessed that such a simple act would change the lives of two people and their families?

Racked with guilt, but unwilling to rectify, the man ended it all from the top of a bridge. This was his apology to the other child's family, and an attempt to pay for his crime. Thus, each child grew up in the wrong family. The poor man grew up in opulence, and the rich man grew up in the filth of an abusive family.

The memory ended and the boy sighed. He needed time to organize himself and see what he would do next, but even with the information from the book and his own memories, there was always something he regretted.

Noah clenched his fists and made a decision. He approached his mother and stopped her from continuing to open the envelope.

"Noah?" She called him.

"Look! Look how he refuses to let Aleida open the envelope!" Erminia shouted behind his back. Noah could feel the resentful gazes of almost everyone present. There were even those who wanted to step forward to push him, though he couldn't care less. He didn't want to stop her from reading the papers, for what is false at the beginning, would also be false at the end. He just wanted to say goodbye to that warmth. This was one of his few regrets.

After Aleida read that envelope, the love she had felt for nineteen years would be completely extinguished, and the loving mother she had known would cease to exist. At least, for him.

Noah hugged his mother and inhaled her fragrance one last time, the delicate essence of jasmine that had enveloped him since he was a child, and which he had only been able to perceive after his gender change, gave him goodbye.

"Thank you for the party, Mom, the decoration was very beautiful. I liked it too much."

Aleida's heart broke for some reason she couldn't understand. And just when she wanted to say something, Noah had already walked away and was turning his back on her. She felt that she had lost her son, even though he was within her reach.

With curiosity pricking her hands, she picked up the envelope and took out the papers inside. When she saw that it was a maternity test between her and the young man next to Erminia, she began to read like crazy.

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