The Hypnotized Stand-In Has Awakened—the True Heiress Is Terrified Chapter 17

The Hypnotized Stand-In Has Awakened—the True Heiress Is Terrified Chapter 17

Extra: Adrian’s Previous Life 

I once had a dream. A very long one. 

In that dream, I felt completely controlled, like I had no say in anything I did. 

I showed up on time. I said my lines on cue. And I fell for Blair -right on schedule. 

When she cried, I’d comfort her. When she laughed, I’d indulge her every whim. 

When she messed up, I’d be the one cleaning up her disasters. 

Even as revulsion coiled deep in my gut. 

And then I would hear myself say in a voice that didn’t feel like 

my own, “Blair… I love you.” 

I didn’t want to say it. But I couldn’t control myself. 

It felt strange. Like my body was walking forward while my 

soul was locked behind thick glass. 

I could see everything. I could hear everything. But I couldn’t 

wake up. 

That wedding. I had no expectations at all. 

When Blair walked toward me in her wedding dress, I even felt 

an inexplicable aversion. 

I didn’t know what was wrong with me. 

After marriage, I only grew to hate her more each day. 

I thought I simply didn’t know how to love. 

Until one day, I accidentally saw a photo of Elise. It was a student ID photo. 

The girl in it was young, her features clean, her lips curved faintly. 

A stranger. And yet… not a stranger at all. 

Just one glance. My heart felt like it was violently clenched. The pain bent me over. 

Nate was startled. “Mr. Whitmore?” 

I stared at the photo, my fingers trembling. “Who is she?” 

Nate glanced at it and hesitated. 

“Elise Harrington. A Crestwood University student. She… passed away three months ago.” 

Those words drove through my chest like a blow. My vision swam. I nearly collapsed. 

But I didn’t even know her. At least in my memory, I didn’t. 

And yet, in that instant, I felt unbearable pain. As if something had been ripped out of my life. 

I started investigating in secret. 

The more I found, the more absurd it all became. 

Elise had once been in a dating app relationship with me. Her username had been “Lizz.” 

Those late night conversations that made me feel 

unexpectedly at ease. 

Those goodnights that made me soften my tone even through 

a screen. 

The warmth and affection I thought belonged to Blair. 

It had all been Elise from the very beginning. 

Later, I sent Blair to a psychiatric hospital. A single white room, filled with cold machines. 

I gave instructions and made sure she experienced what it meant to be worse than dead. 

Not physical torture, but psychological collapse. 

Night after night, I made sure she dreamed of jumping–of the fall, the impact, the mangled heap of flesh on the pavement. 

Over and over. 

She went insane for over a year, and in the end, she truly jumped. 

And every year, when white roses bloomed in front of her grave, I would say the same thing. 

“Next time around, I won’t let the plot fool me again.” 

“The moment I lay eyes on you–I’ll know.”