Twin Sisters Exchange Marriage

Echo and I were Flame Phoenixes born from the same egg.

Because I couldn't achieve Nirvana, my people considered me worthless.

My mother, ashamed of me, sent me to live with the maids in the backyard.

Echo, who could achieve Nirvana and became a Chromatic Phoenix, was cherished like a treasure.

On the day when I reached 15 years old, the Spirit Clan proposed to marry me. But Echo disguised herself as me and gave me to Logan, the second prince of the Human Race, who was originally betrothed to her before birth.

A few years later, Logan rose to power overnight, and I became queen.

Meanwhile, Adam, the crown prince of the Spirit Clan lost favor with the Spirit Emperor and became a commoner, struggling to survive with Echo.

Filled with regret, Echo killed both of us by a sharp knife.

When I opened my eyes again, my sister was saying condescendingly that she was going to marry Logan.

I smiled and said, "Okay!"

1

On the day when I reached 15 years old, marriage proposals from Logan, the second prince of the Human Race and Adam, the crown prince of the Spirit Clan arrived at my home simultaneously.

The two suitors stood opposite each other.

In the meeting hall, our mother was sweating anxiously.

"What should we do? The Human Race and the Crown Prince of the Spirit Clan are both powerful, but only Echo achieved Nirvana!"

The Phoenix Clan elder narrowed his eyes slightly and considered our mother's words before speaking slowly.

"Why panic? Logan is just a cripple. Don't we have Layla in the backyard?"

"Echo and Layla were born from the same egg. It would be perfect to ask her to marry in Layla's place!"

The elder's words calmed our mother instantly.

However, my sister overheard them.

Instead of embarrassing me, she lifted her skirt and ran toward the elder.

"No, Mother, I want to marry Logan!"

Echo was graceful and beautiful. Mother looked at Echo in shock.

"Echo, are you out of your mind? Logan is a cripple. If you marry him, you'll probably be a widow for the rest of your life! Besides, the Human Race is so far away. If you marry him, we may never see each other again."

Mother wiped her tears, her brows furrowed with anxiety, but Echo remained determined.

"Logan may be disabled now, but don't forget he was a young general who captured seven cities in a row!

"Phoenix Blood can bring the dead back to life. I believe that if I treat him wholeheartedly, I can make Logan even better than before!"

Mother was extremely anxious, but she didn't expect Echo to be so stubborn. Echo declared that if she couldn't marry Logan, she would remain single for the rest of her life.

Knowing Echo's temper, Mother eventually relented, wiping her eyes and nodding in agreement.

Seeing that Mother had agreed, Echo smiled instantly and glanced at me.

In a voice only we could hear, she laughed and mocked me.

"Layla, in this life, I will finally be the queen. You can just hold that useless Adam and live a bitter life!"

Echo smiled happily, and her eyes full of pride.

It suddenly dawned on me that she, too, had been reborn.

Seeing the pride in her eyes, I felt a pang of sadness.

Although I had been a glorious queen in my previous life, no one knew the torment I endured.

In this life, she wanted the position of queen, so I gave it to her.

After all, she didn't know what kind of person Logan truly was.

She also didn't know that the Flame Phoenix Blood couldn't be used randomly to save others.

2

In my previous life, Echo and I got married on the same day.

My wedding represented the union between the Human Race and the Spirit Clan, and my bridal wagon and wedding dress were more eye-catching than Echo's.

To appease Echo, my mother arranged a grand wedding for her and gave me a simple red box.

Inside was a traditional bracelet that Echo didn't want.

In the bridal wagon, I looked at the bracelet and felt sad, but I was used to such treatment.

After all, in my mother's heart, although Echo and I were born from the same egg, yet when I was born, I was completely dark while Echo had colorful glowing feathers.

The midwife Mary said Echo had absorbed my nutrients, making me weaker.

She suggested that with proper care, I could survive.

However, my mother frowned and handed me over to Mary.

She said, "She's useless if her nutrition is taken by others. Since you like her, please take care of her. If she becomes healthy, then bring her back to me."

I lived with Mary until she passed away, and then I was brought back home.

Although I survived, I was not good-looking, and my mother felt disgusted when she saw me.

She banished me to the backyard to live with the maids, trying to hide my existence.

While I toiled with calloused hands doing rough labor, Echo nestled in our mother's arms, charming everyone.

As time passed, my clan members and the Three Realms only knew Echo, not me, Layla Aguilar.

In the previous life, Echo avoided Logan when she heard he wanted to marry her. She cried to our mother, begging for help.

My mother couldn't bear to see her precious daughter suffer, so she asked me to marry him in her place.

She said, "Before you were born, Logan only said he would marry my daughter who became Chromatic Phoenix, but didn't specify which one."

"It's fitting for a cripple to marry an ugly phoenix from our clan!"

On the wedding day, I took Echo's place in the bridal wagon to the Human Race.

Echo married Adam, the crown prince of the Spirit World, expecting to become queen.

However, after marrying Echo, Adam was so busy with government affairs that he ignored her. After three years, Echo was still a virgin.

Lonely and desperate, she had an affair with Charles, the third prince and framed Adam.

Adam was demoted to a commoner and forbidden to return to the Charles, and Echo, the crown princess, was also expelled.

As for Charles, he treated Echo as a pawn, discarding her when she was in trouble. She ended up competing with stray dogs for food. My fate was completely different.

After Logan married me, he drank my Phoenix Blood every day.

After three years, his old illness was cured.

He killed his father and brother, seizing the throne in one day.

As the king, he always took me with him, making it appear as if he loved me dearly. However, only I knew that this brave and warlike Logan was actually lustful in private.

He married me only to drink my Phoenix Blood, heal himself, and regain his virility.

After I helped him ascend the throne, he indulged in wine, women, and sex without restraint.

He even cut off my tibia so that I couldn't leave and kept me as his medicine woman.

No one outside knew this.

Everyone believed Logan and I were in harmony, that the King and Queen were of one mind. Even Echo believed this.

When I visited my mother, she stabbed my heart with a knife, and we died together.

3

On our wedding day, Echo and I wore red dresses.

Either phoenix coronet or the hairpin in her hair was worth as much as my whole wedding outfit.

We stood opposite each other on the long street, with our mother between us, tears streaming down her face.

She wasn't crying for me; she was crying for Echo.

She held Echo's hand and covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief.

"Echo, when you go to the Human Race, I won't be by your side. Take care of yourself and don't let others bully you."

Mother was in tears, but Echo ignored it.

She was smug and looked at me with an air of superiority.

"Mother, I am the future queen. How can I be bullied?"

She laughed and glanced at me. "Mother, you should worry about your other daughter. After all, once she marries Adam, she'll become a widow." Echo laughed loudly.

Echo laughed particularly loudly.

Mother, following her words, glanced at me, and her tears stopped instantly.

"She's an ugly phoenix. Naturally, she won't be favored by Adam."

"It's you I can't let go of the most..."

She spoke, sobbing into her handkerchief.

Watching their deep love, I felt a strange sadness.

Although I no longer expected my mother's attention, being ignored still hurt.

So, I turned to the elders, asking when we would leave.

The elder replied, and said we would leave now.

But at this moment, someone suddenly pulled my sleeve.

Echo looked proud. "What else do you want, Echo? We're getting married at the same time. Missing the auspicious time would be bad."

Echo snorted, her phoenix coronet shaking.

"Layla, this marriage was taken from me. It didn't matter if we miss the auspicious time?

"I just regret giving up that traditional bracelet!"

With a swift motion, she took the red box from my hands.

I looked at my empty hands and smiled bitterly.

Although the customs in the Spirit Clan were different from those in the Human Race, the wedding ceremonies were very similar.

In the spirit world, a woman's parents would give her something when she marries.

The larger the dowry, the more she was valued.

Now, I had nothing.

I put away my empty palms, smiling bitterly.

Forget it. Echo would suffer for me, so what was a traditional bracelet?

After all, she may laugh now, but she would cry in the future.

4

The Aguilar family's manor was located some distance away from Adam's Prince Mansion.

When the bridal wagon finally arrived, the sun had already set.

The crimson glow from Adam's Mansion cast a warm light on the back of my hand as it peeked through the curtain of the bridal wagon.

Guided by the matchmaker, I stepped off the bridal wagon, and as I took a few strides forward, a figure came into view.

I recognized him immediately as Adam, the crown prince of the Spirit Clan.

Traditionally, he should have presented me with the bouquet string from his chest, but he remained motionless for a while, leaving the matchmaker to hand it to me instead.

I couldn't help but purse my lips, feeling a tad displeased.

Even though Adam was known for his aloof demeanor, with so many guests present, he should have shown some courtesy to the Phoenix Clan.

With these thoughts in mind, I felt a surge of discontent, yet I allowed him to guide me away with the red rope.

After the ceremony, I found myself sitting in the room, overcome with boredom.

Inside our new home, candlelight flickered gently with the breeze drifting in through the window.

Having gone the entire day without eating, hunger gnawed at my stomach, making me feel lightheaded. I reached for a handful of peanuts from the bed to ease my hunger when the door suddenly burst open.

Startled, I looked up to see a figure stumbling in before collapsing onto a stool.

Assuming he had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, I was about to lift my veil when I heard his unexpected words. "Let's get a divorce."

His voice was raspy, filled with an unmistakable pain.

But what did his pain have to do with me?

Taken aback by his sudden declaration, I responded angrily.

"Adam, despite your status as the crown prince and the respect it commands, it was you who proposed, and now, you're the one seeking a divorce on our wedding night?"

"Even though the Phoenix Clan may not wield much influence, we cannot allow you to dissolve our marriage on the very day it was sealed, can we?"

My anger was tinged with bitterness.

After all I'd been through in my past life, I'd changed significantly.

In this life, I sought neither wealth nor prestige; all I desire was a peaceful and stable existence. Yet, here I was faced with the prospect of my husband divorcing me on our wedding night.

For the sake of tranquility, I refused to let that happen!

After all, returning home with a broken marriage would subject me to endless gossip and unwanted attention.

It was far easier to remain inconspicuous here and live quietly.

Lost in my thoughts, I was jolted when the figure across the table trembled slightly, as if torn between tears and laughter.

Finally he spoke hoarsely.

"Echo Aguilar, you're not in love with me, and I may not be your ideal match either. So why are we subjecting ourselves to this torment?"

"Moreover, my beloved has already left for the Human Race for your sake. Why must we..."

"Forget it, let's call it a night. Tomorrow, I'll apologize and escort you back home."

With those words, he shifted as if preparing to rise from his seat and depart.

As I listened to his seemingly unrelated ramblings, a flicker of doubt crept into my mind.

Swiftly, I interjected, "Wait, Adam! May I inquire about the name of your beloved?"

Adam froze, wearing a wry smile as he replied.

"It's none other than the second daughter hidden within your family, Layla Aguilar."

"But... it took me a lifetime to uncover that name, only to fail her in the end."

"So, if you have any conscience, let me go and grant me the divorce."

My head spun with confusion.

Just as Adam reached for the door, I suddenly tore off my veil and exclaimed with widened eyes.

"Adam, the person you claim to love is me!"

The veil fluttered to the ground, revealing my face while Adam frozen in disbelief looking at me.

After a moment of stunned silence, he regained his composure and questioned, "Are you Layla Aguilar? You didn't marry into the Human Race..."

His voice quivered; disbelief evident in his eyes.

As I nodded, his rigid stance gave way to a sudden tremor.

Then, without warning, he rushed towards me, enveloping me in a tight embrace.

"Layla, it's you! I finally found you in this lifetime!"

Adam's voice quivered with excitement, tears glistening in his eyes.

Shocked and bewildered, I struggled to comprehend his words.

What did he mean by "this lifetime"? Had he, too, been reborn?