The General's Mansion, Chronosia.
Everleigh Bacote lay on the strangely familiar bed and stared at the ceiling in astonishment.
She had slept on this bed before!
She had consummated her marriage with Dominic Macleod on this very bed on her wedding night.
This bed was hers for half a year before Dominic sent her to sleep in separate rooms because of a wench.
However, she went to sleep in her room last night. Why did she wake up in Dominic's room this morning?
Did he snuck into her room during the night and bring her here?
Everleigh shook her head as she wondered why such an implausible thought would pop into her mind.
Dominic wanted most for her to leave the General Mansion so that he could welcome his lover in. Why would he bring her here?
"Are you awake, General?"
A man's voice she was familiar with was heard from outside. It was Dominic's Lieutenant General.
Did something happen in West Vale that brought him here so early in the morning?
Everleigh did not respond. When she woke up, she found she was here alone, and Dominic was not with her.
The voice was not calling her anyway.
"General, Miss Birch is having chest pains. Could you please have a look?"
As the Lieutenant General's voice rang out again, Everleigh scowled in disdain.
Did he think Siena Birch's chest pains could be cured if Dominic went to take a look?
She suffered from chest pain all day long, yet she did not seem to be dying from it.
Didn't they take such good care of her that she had even better necessities than the lady of the household?
Yet she constantly complained about having chest pains. It was all a ruse to remind Dominic that Siena's brother had saved his life.
To others, Siena's chest pains were caused by the excessive grief she experienced from losing her brother.
"General, Miss Birch's maid is here again," the Lieutenant General implored. "She says that Miss Birch's pain is unbearable. Could you please check on her?"
Everleigh sighed. The Lieutenant General was good friends with Siena's brother and saw Siena as a sister.
So he often disrespected Everleigh because of Siena.
Using all her patience, she responded, "The General..."
She wanted to say that the General was not there.
But before she could finish her sentence, she froze.
This was not her voice.
However, it was a voice she was familiar with. It was Dominic's!
She suddenly sat up, and the blanket on her slipped off. A broad and firm chest was revealed, along with the chiseled abs and a scar across the chest. The wild appeal was a sight to behold.
This... she was familiar with. It was Dominic's upper body.
Could it possibly be...
She had become Dominic!!!
The initial astonishment in her eyes turned into ecstasy.
If she guessed correctly, Dominic's soul should be in her body now.
Absolutely fantastic.
She wanted the jerk to experience well the miserable life she lived here in the General Mansion.
Now, he would see if she was the cruel and vicious woman he deemed her to be, who was unloving to his family and bullied his precious Miss Birch.
"General, Miss Birch, she..."
The Lieutenant General spoke again, but this time, Everleigh did not wait for him to finish and replied with displeasure.
"I'm not going. I'm not a doctor though. Will she get better if I take a look? Why is she this delicate? Two years of non-stop chest pains? Maybe she has heart issues."
"Fainting and being bedridden every other day, plus the constant chest pains? I think the General Mansion is not a suitable environment for her."
"She is given the top-notch necessities, and even my wife's in East Vista is incomparable. Perhaps she is weighed down by the standard of living? A common person like her pretending to be someone she's not is bound to be unaccustomed to this life of wealth."
Siena had come to stay at the General Mansion for two years and was treated with the utmost regard by Dominic.
Top-grade bird's nests were sent to West Vale as if they cost nothing. She was served exotic food and the best medicinal meals and was given the most splendid things.
Everleigh was infuriated whenever she thought of this. Not only was the money she earned used on that scumbag Dominic, it was poured into taking care of that pretentious Siena as well.
She recalled her father and brothers who had been exiled and how she had endured humiliation all these years. But today, she would no longer need to put up with it.
The Lieutenant General, Emmett Bingham, standing outside the door, was stunned.
Was this the General he knew?
The General was ineloquent and seldom spoke to people.
He was succinct and straightforward even when he instructed them.
When did he become so... so sharply-tongued?
They were talking about Miss Birch, after all.
Not the General's wife.
Usually, the General was reluctant to speak harshly to Miss Birch. What was wrong today?
At East Vista.
"Clang... What time is it now, Miss Bacote? And you're still asleep? The Madam is waiting for you to help her wash up and get dressed!"
The banging on the door and the shouting made Dominic's head hurt.
He opened his eyes in annoyance and saw that it was still dark out.
Every day, he always got up around 5 in the morning. Looking at the day, he was sure it was not time yet.
However, he wondered if the servants had changed his bed tent.
He remembered it being green. Who dared to change it to this sickly-sweet pink net?
"Miss Bacote, could you hurry up? Once you are done assisting the Madam with her dressing, you need to make her soup. Can you bear the consequences if the Madam starves?"
The person's harsh voice rang out again and was louder than before.
Miss Bacote? Assist the Madam with her dressing? Make soup?
Dominic frowned slightly. Ever since they started sleeping in separate rooms, he had never slept with Everleigh anymore.
Why would these people come to his courtyard looking for Everleigh?
Also, didn't his mother tell him that Everleigh disrespected her and refused to visit her?
Why would she summon Everleigh to help her get dressed and make soup for her? Things did not add up.
"You could at least respond, Miss Bacote. What are you dawdling about? Are you expecting the Madam to wait for you in bed? Men, break down Miss Bacote's door! I want to see if she's hiding anything shameful inside."
The woman's voice echoed once again. This time, Dominic frowned even deeper.
He recognized the woman's voice.
It belonged to Lyla Atkinson, who served his mother. She was loyal, honest, and always respectful before him.
How dare she act so impertinently now?!
There was a bang and the door was forced open from outside.
With Lyla in the lead, the intruders barged in with an imposing attitude. Dominic glanced at them and saw about a dozen servants.
Moreover, they were all looking at him fiercely.
Dominic turned grim. Most of these servants served his mother.
"Well, well, Miss Bacote. I never thought you would still be in bed at this hour. How dare you not respond when you're wide awake and heard me calling you?"
Lyla said as she stepped forward and pulled the blanket off Dominic.
"What insolence!"
The moment Lyla pulled off his blanket, Dominic sent Lyla stumbling backward with a kick.
However, Dominic stiffened when he heard the angry shout that slipped out.
This... was not his voice.
He knew this voice.
It was Everleigh's.
And he would not have kicked that weakly. If it were his strength, this old shrew surely would have been sent flying.
Could it be...
He has become Everleigh!
"Ahh... Miss Bacote, how dare you kick me! Where did you get the audacity?! Don't forget that I serve the Madam. You must be out of your mind! Are you trying to get kicked out? Don't you know the Madam could get the General to divorce you?"
"By then, without the General as their son-in-law, who will tolerate the Bacote family in the land of exile? They will die without a doubt. So you better apologize to me immediately or get ready to be expelled from the General Mansion."