My Husband Claims His Dead Twin’s Wife

My husband Ryder's younger brother died in an accident, and Ryder faked his own death and impersonated him.

Just so he could sleep with his brother's wife.

After I recognized him, he coldly pushed me away.

I'm not Ryder. I'm Ronan. I know you're sad about my elder brother's death, but you can't mistake me for him!

He shielded the seemingly delicate Serena, pushed me into the ice-cold river, and warned me not to harbor any foolish delusions.

My five-year-old daughter cried, asking why her daddy didn't want her, and was locked in the old barn to "reflect," starved for three days and three nights.

My daughter and I were driven out of the house and froze to death in the heavy snow.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day my husband Ryder impersonated his brother.

This time, I didn't expose him. Instead, I told his commanding officer in the military:

"My husband is dead. Please strip him of his military status!"

"I never expected my older brother to have such a sudden accident..."

Ryder's eyes were red, and he looked at me with a mournful expression.

Watching Ronan's body being carried in, I cried uncontrollably.

He and Ryder looked exactly alike. No one suspected Ryder had swapped identities with him.

After crying for a while, I wiped my tears and said,

"The body can't be kept for long. Let's quickly send it for cremation and hold a grand funeral for my husband."

Ryder immediately nodded in agreement, even more eager than I was to destroy the evidence.

I watched him move the body, noticing a thin, long scar between his thumb and forefinger.

In my previous life, it was this scar that confirmed the one alive was Ryder.

This time, I pretended not to see anything.

Last life, Ryder and Ronan went out for disaster relief. Ronan accidentally injured the back of his head and died on the spot.

Ryder, desperate to marry Serena, didn't hesitate to abandon his position as a Major, impersonating Ronan.

Outsiders couldn't recognize Ryder's deliberate imitation and were easily fooled.

But as his wife, who lived with him day in and day out, I recognized Ryder at a glance.

I frantically questioned him, asking why he was impersonating his brother and abandoning our daughter and me.

Ryder, however, looked indifferent, flatly denied it, and violently pushed me away.

"I know you're sad about my older brother's death, but you can't mistake me for him!"

I was incredulous, kept questioning him, but Ryder pushed me into the ice-cold river in the dead of winter.

He stood on the bank, shielding Serena, and watched me struggle with cold indifference.

"I won't let you hurt my wife!"

Serena hid behind him, calling me a worthless slut who was trying to steal her man right after my husband died.

I had a high fever for three days and three nights, with only my five-year-old daughter by my side.

She cried, asking Ryder why Daddy didn't acknowledge her.

Ryder, however, said she was making things up at my instigation, and immediately locked her in the old barn to "reflect."

It took me three days to crawl out of hell, and my daughter had also been starved for three days and three nights.

Ryder's mother then cursed me, calling me a whore, blaming me for her son's death.

She threw my daughter and me out of the house, not giving us a single penny.

I desperately knocked on the door in the snowy night, begging Ryder to save our daughter.

But only his cold voice came through:

"Layla, you're crazy to mistake me for my older brother. If you can't face reality, stay away from me."

My daughter and I had nowhere to go. Cold and hungry in the depths of winter, we eventually froze to death on the street.

Thinking of these things, a fire burned in my heart. I wished I could drag that whole family down with me.

Watching Ryder eagerly send his brother's body for cremation, I thought coldly.

Since you want to be with Serena forever, I'll grant your wish. Be Ronan for the rest of your life.

Ryder acted quickly. Before long, the body was cremated, and he returned with an urn of ashes.

A funeral hall had already been set up at home, and neighbors who heard the news came to help.

Seeing a perfectly healthy person reduced to a black and white photo and an urn of ashes, everyone sighed.

My face was pale and haggard from the experiences of my previous life, making me truly look like a heartbroken woman whose husband had died.

Ryder, meanwhile, wrapped his arm around Serena and told me,

"Serena just found out she's pregnant. It's not good for her to be in the funeral hall; she might get sick. She doesn't need to be here."

He carefully helped Serena sit down, his face full of tenderness.

I ignored their intimate display, but Serena spoke to me.

"You don't have a man in your house. In the future, you'll inevitably need favors from Ronan. You can't just take advantage, can you?"

Her eyes were full of greed, trying to extract benefits from me with empty promises.

Ryder also chimed in,

"Don't you still have some gold bracelets and earrings? Why not give them to Serena as a subsidy?"

"You're just one woman; you don't need such precious things."

I looked up sharply, staring intensely at him.

Those were the only keepsakes my mother had saved her whole life and left to me before she passed away. How dare he!

Ryder, however, felt no guilt, making his demands self-righteously.

"You don't wear jewelry when you do housework or farm work. Giving them to Serena would make good use of them."

"Also, my brother asked me to handle some things for him before he died. Give me all the money he left in the house."

I was silent for a few seconds, then covered my face and started to cry.

"There's no money left. Ryder's money was all used up long ago, even my dowry went to him. I don't have any money now."

Ryder said anxiously,

"That's impossible! My brother clearly said he had over five hundred dollars!"

I was fearless:

"He was lying, feeling embarrassed about not having money, just trying to save face."

"Ronan, your brother is gone. You're the only man left in the family. If you don't help me and still demand money, are you trying to kill my child and me?!"

These words were naturally false, but Ryder couldn't refute them.

The neighbors around listened and looked at me with pity, urging Ryder to help his sister-in-law.

Ryder's face darkened:

"My older brother said he had five hundred dollars; it absolutely can't be wrong."

I sneered, got up, and brought out all of Ryder's things.

"Ryder only left these broken old things. I'll burn them for him right in front of you, so you won't have to keep thinking about them."

I dragged over a metal basin used for burning, threw Ryder's documents and letters into it, and lit his clothes on fire too.

Ryder instinctively tried to stop me, then stopped, his face black.

When I threw the things he had given me into the basin, he finally couldn't hold back.

"These are all things he gave you! What do you mean by burning them all?"

My voice choked:

"The person is gone. These inanimate objects have no meaning left."

"Moreover, you're pressing me so hard. The moment he died, you started asking me for money. I want to ask Ryder where he had any money left for me!"

I spoke with tears and extreme sorrow, causing everyone to sigh with emotion.

Ryder's face was ashen, and he could only watch me burn all his belongings.

Back in the room, my daughter Lily opened her big eyes and asked me confusedly.

"Mommy, that was Daddy, why does everyone say he's Uncle?"

My heart ached.

Even my daughter knew that was Ryder, yet he never admitted it, hardening his heart against his own child.

I hugged my daughter tightly, trying hard to control my tears.

"Lily, sweetie, that's not Daddy. Daddy has left us."

That day, I immediately went to the military base to see the commanding officer, handed him the death certificate to report the death, and requested that Ryder's military status be revoked.

The commander said,

"I also heard about Major Ryder's sacrifice and deeply regret it."

"You are his family, and the organization will try its best to approve any requests you have."

I didn't hesitate, speaking the idea I had considered for a long time.

"I want to find a job on the military base, just enough to support my daughter and me."

The commander was a bit surprised:

"It will be very hard on the base, and you'll have to leave home. Have you thought this through?"

This was my goal. I nodded firmly.

The process was quickly completed. Not only was Ryder's military status revoked, but I was also given a pension and funeral expenses.

Back home, Ryder's mother was sitting in the yard. Seeing me come in, she spoke sharply.

"The whore is back? Her man's dead, and she's still out gallivanting all day. My son was truly unlucky to marry a wife like you."

Lily sat on the ground, sobbing with her head down, shelling corn.

Her little hands were covered in blisters, some of them broken, red and swollen.

Anger flared in my heart again, and I immediately picked up my daughter.

"Lily is only five! Can't you see her hands are all broken?!"

Ryder's mother put her hands on her hips and spat viciously:

"You cheap slut, you haven't given our family a child, and you dare talk back."

"You two outsiders, you don't work but you expect free food?"

I sneered:

"Since my husband is dead anyway, I'll just leave. I won't take advantage of your family."

Saying that, I turned to leave, but Ryder's mother wasn't happy. She rushed over to block me.

"If you leave, who will serve Serena while she's having our grandson? You've been eating and drinking for free in our house for years, don't think you can just walk away!"

Serena stood by the window, stroking her belly, looking at me with a triumphant expression.

"It's your fault for not having a son. My belly holds the Ryder family's only child, so you better take good care of me."

Ryder put one hand on her, ordering me:

"Mom is getting old, and Serena needs care. Don't be stubborn."

I couldn't help but scoff. When I gave birth to Lily, why didn't he say I needed care?

My water broke, and I went to the hospital by myself. No one in the family cared about me.

Ryder's mother disliked me for not having a son and was indifferent to me.

Ryder was nowhere to be seen, never asking a single question.

So why should I serve them!

I gritted my teeth, holding Lily, and returned to the room, carefully applying ointment to her hands.

As I walked out, I heard Ryder and Serena talking.

"Ryder, look at Layla. If you weren't here to replace Ronan and stay with me, she would have killed me."

Ryder's voice was gentle.

"Don't worry, Serena. For you and our child, I will protect you for life."

"Mom is also on your side; otherwise, why would she agree to me impersonating Ronan?"

I clenched my palms, my lips almost bleeding from biting them.

So, the child Serena was carrying was Ryder's. She and Ryder's mother both knew about Ryder's impersonation.

They had been involved for much longer than I thought. Only I knew nothing, having been deceived by him all this time.

Looking at Lily's sleeping face, I comforted myself, for the sake of the child, we would soon be able to leave this place.

Sure enough, two days later, I received news from the commander. He had arranged a job for me, and I could start anytime.

I immediately packed my things and prepared to leave.

But unexpectedly, as I stepped out the door, I came face to face with Ryder's ashen expression.

His gaze fell on the train ticket in my hand, his voice cold.

"Layla, where are you going?"