Chapter 259 She is Cecilia!
Back at Rufus's private villa, the moment he stepped through the door, he shed the gentle facade he had been wearing.
An expensive crystal ashtray was hurled to the floor, shattering into shards.
Elodie followed behind him, flinching in fear and not daring to make a sound.
"Useless! Completely worthless!" Rufus spun around, his eyes bloodshot, burning with rage and disgust.
At the bridal shop, Cecilia's calm composure and decisiveness had sharply contrasted with Elodie's timidity and compliance. A counterfeit would always be a counterfeit.
All his provocations had fallen flat, which only fueled Rufus's frustration.
Elodie's face turned pale under his scolding, her lips trembling, unable to speak.
But she had no choice except to try to please him and calm him down.
Elodie slowly approached, intending to help him take off his coat as usual.
"Get away from me!"
Rufus looked at her with disgust and kicked her hard in the chest.
He used considerable force. Elodie cried out in pain, her body falling backward, her back slamming against the cold wall. The pain brought tears to her eyes.
She lay on the floor, clutching her chest, coughing violently. The physical pain was nothing compared to the despair and humiliation in her heart.
Why?
What had she done wrong?
She had tried so hard to imitate, to please him. Why was this the treatment she received in return?
The grievances, jealousy, and resentment that had been building up finally broke through the last barrier of reason.
Elodie lifted her head, looking through tear-filled eyes at the man towering above her, and for the first time found the courage to ask the question that had haunted her.
"Why... why is Amelia acceptable, but I'm not?"
Her voice was choked with tears, full of despair. "We're both her substitutes, aren't we? I look more like her... I obey everything you say, I do whatever you tell me... Why am I still not as good as Amelia in your eyes?"
Rufus looked down at her. Hearing the word "substitute," a flash of irritated pain crossed his eyes.
But instead of exploding in anger, he let out a cold laugh.
"Substitute?" He crouched down, grabbed Elodie's chin, and forced her to look at him. "You think you're the same as her?"
His fingers pressed hard, making her jaw ache.
"What makes you think you can compare to her?" Rufus's tone was cold and cruel, each word cutting into her heart.
"You're just a fake I bought with money, a clumsy imitator, an empty shell without a soul. But Amelia..."
At this point, Rufus's expression shifted—nostalgia, pain, and a twisted possessiveness.
He leaned close to her ear and, in a voice only they could hear, revealed the truth that would shatter her world.
"You want the truth? I'll tell you today."
"She's not a substitute at all."
"She IS Cecilia."
Elodie's mind went blank.
Her body froze, eyes wide, her pupils dilating in shock and disbelief.
Amelia... was Cecilia?
That woman who had already died?
How could that be possible?
Rebirth? Soul possession? This kind of plot existed only in novels—how could it happen in real life?
But looking at Rufus's certain and crazed expression, Elodie knew he wasn't lying.
No wonder Rufus was so obsessed with Amelia, so furious about her marrying Stefan.
It turned out he wasn't seeing someone else through Amelia.
From beginning to end, he was looking at Cecilia herself.
And Elodie? What was she?
A complete joke. A pathetic pawn used to confuse others and draw attention.
Rufus looked at her devastated state without a shred of pity.
"Now, do you understand?" He released her chin, stood up, and returned to his cold, arrogant demeanor.
"Do your job, don't ask questions you shouldn't, and don't indulge in fantasies you shouldn't have."
"Otherwise, I won't hesitate to make you disappear from this world without a trace."
With that, he turned and strode upstairs without another glance.
His cold words echoed in the empty living room, crushing the last bit of hope in Elodie's heart.
She lay on the cold floor, trembling uncontrollably from despair.
She had never been special or chosen.
She was just a joke.
Rufus would never love her, much less marry her. Everything he did was to reclaim the real Cecilia.
Once Rufus succeeded, or once he tired of her "performance," she, the fake, would be discarded first.
No, it wouldn't even count as abandonment.
He would make her vanish without a trace, like discarding trash.
At this thought, a bone-deep chill rushed from her feet to her head.
Elodie was terrified.
She didn't want to die.
She didn't want to be casually disposed of by the volatile Rufus.
She had to survive.
The will to live pulled a thread of strength from the swamp of despair.
She couldn't just wait for death. She had to plan for herself.
But what could she do? She had no power, no influence, no one to rely on. How could she fight against a devil like Rufus?
Run away?
No, she couldn't escape. Rufus's reach spread throughout Harmony City. She could run to the ends of the earth and still be caught and dragged back. Then her fate would be even worse.
The only way was to find something on him.
Something that would make him wary, something that would keep him from touching her easily.
A thought flashed through her mind.
Evidence.
A man like Rufus, ruthless and reckless, must have committed plenty of crimes. If she could get proof...
Once the idea emerged, it grew rapidly.
Elodie wiped away her tears and got up from the floor. Her eyes no longer showed timidity, but a desperate fierceness and determination.
She returned to her room and opened her laptop.
In the search bar, she typed with trembling fingers: "Pinhole camera, miniature, high definition, hidden."
The screen flooded with product listings.
Elodie stared at the screen, her body shaking from fear and anxiety.
This was her only chance. She had to fight for a way to survive.