The woman appeared exceedingly young, likely in her early twenties.

Gently tracing the image of the woman with her fingertips, Melissa seemed to be confronting another facet of herself. Abruptly, a shiver overcame her, and chills ran down her spine.

Why was she bestowed with this revelation?

The diary revealed that the married man, bearing the surname Smith, held considerable influence in Duefron.

The revelation unfolded that Melissa's father was none other than the same man as Vanessa's father.

Melissa entered a world devoid of those privileges.

Normalcy in parental relationships eluded Melissa.

The stark truth revealed Melissa as an illegitimate child.

Her mother, entangled with a married man, found herself ensnared in a complicated affair.

The sound of Melissa's phone disrupted the silence.

An involuntary tremor coursed through Melissa's frame as she recognized the caller. After a prolonged pause, she finally picked up the phone. The woman on the other end unleashed a venomous tirade.

"Melissa, forsaking Ryan for riches, you're no different from your wretched mother. Given your heartlessness, I'll be ruthless. Do you know where the man with the surname Smith encountered your mother? A club! Your mother was once just a woman of frivolity, drinking with others to get tips. Does the offspring of such a woman aspire to infiltrate high society?"

Melissa continued to listen in silence.

The intricacies of her birth and true lineage held little significance for her.

The sole concern gripping Melissa's heart was the impending loss of Marcus.

The opulence of the Fowler family starkly contrasted with her status as an illegitimate child. How could she stand beside someone Like Marcus? She understood that Ryan's mother's intent was to see her suffer.

Melissa was adopted into the Jenkins family, yet the familial bonds were far from ideal.

Strangely, they harbored mutual animosity in the end.

A faint smile graced Melissa's lips as she inquired in a choked voice, "What is it that you truly desire?"

In an ominous tone, Ryan's mother proposed, "End your relationship with Marcus, return to Ryan, and bear him a child."