On the eve of our wedding, news broke out that my fiancé’s mistress had given birth to his child, causing quite a stir. Before I could even confront Julian Sterling, he brushed it off with an incredibly casual shrug. “It was just an accident, Chloe. Just focus on getting the rehearsal dinner ready.” “Besides, your dad has late-stage stomach cancer. Calling off this alliance right now won’t do either of our families any good.” That night, he skipped our rehearsal dinner. Instead, he posted a photo of a newborn wrapped in a swaddle on his Snapchat story. When I FaceTimed him, he was literally bottle-feeding the baby. “I’ve been busy taking care of the baby lately, so I don’t have time to hang out with you. You know the Sterling family has always struggled with heirs. This baby is a big deal.” He wiped a smear of formula from the baby’s mouth. “But don’t worry. Once he’s a month old, I’ll send him to our private estate in Switzerland.” “You just need to show up as his mother for important public events. The title of Mrs. Sterling will always be yours.” I stared at the matching diamond ring on his ring finger and laughed out loud. “Julian, the wedding is off.” He sneered, “You’re throwing a tantrum over this? Don’t be so spoiled, Chloe.” I hung up the FaceTime immediately and dialed Charles Sterling’s private number. “I heard you’ve been looking for a new wife lately? Why not consider me?” I rubbed my stomach and let out a soft laugh. “After all, Vance women are famous for our fertility gene. I can give you as many heirs as you want.” Being the sole heir must be so lonely for Julian. I’ll make sure he gets a few new uncles to keep him company.
On the other end of the line, Charles’s slightly raspy voice came through: “Chloe, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?” I chuckled, my voice dripping with mockery. “You saw the news. Your precious adopted son is dirty, and he disgusts me. I’m serious. I want a replacement.” Silence stretched over the line for a few seconds before his voice trembled slightly. “We can’t talk about this over the phone. I’m coming to see you right now.” “Sure. I’ll be waiting at my place.” My lips curved up, a look of absolute determination in my eyes. Charles was only in his early thirties, but due to a genetic fertility issue in the Sterling family, all his IVF attempts had failed. That was why he had no choice but to adopt Julian from a branch of the family to groom him as his successor. And the only reason my family, the Vances, could secure an alliance with the Sterlings was because of our women’s legendary “fertility gene.” It was said that Vance women conceive almost instantly, often with twins or triplets. Regardless of whether my father was sick or not. This marriage was a tacit necessity for both the Sterlings and the Vances. I just didn’t expect Julian, whom I had dated for five years, to be stupid enough to knock up some girl right before the wedding and expect me to just swallow my pride. But I, Chloe Vance, have never been the type to suffer in silence. Shortly after I hung up, my doorbell rang urgently. Charles stood at my door, a complex storm of emotions in his dark eyes. Before he could even speak, I grabbed him by his tie and dragged him into my apartment. “Chloe, you…” Before Charles could finish his sentence, I sealed his lips with a kiss. My fingers traced the collar of his shirt, slowly sliding inside. My actions spoke louder than any words. No hesitation. No holding back. I was showing him in the most direct way that I meant business. I could feel his internal struggle, but in the end, he surrendered to his desires. A night of wild passion. Afterward, he held me close, his voice husky. “I have some urgent business to handle overseas. I have to leave tomorrow and might be gone for a while. Wait for me to come back.” “Then… what about the wedding?” He looked down at me, his eyes dark. “It goes on as scheduled. I’ll make sure to be back. You’re the only daughter of the Vance family, and the most suitable bride for a Sterling.” After Charles left, I wanted to go back to sleep, but my phone on the nightstand started buzzing. Julian’s voice came through, sounding incredibly entitled. “Chloe, get over here right now. Melanie is exhausted. Come help her watch the baby. I’m taking her to an auction to cheer her up.” Taking care of the baby he had with another woman? Had he lost his absolute mind? “Julian, I’m not your maid or your nanny. You’ve got the wrong person.” He paused, then sighed. “Chloe, Melanie went through so much pain to give birth to this child for the Sterlings. She did it for you, too.” “This baby carries Sterling blood. As the future lady of the house, isn’t it your job to learn how to care for him?” His logic was so absurd it was laughable. I let out a mocking laugh. “Julian, your logic is truly breathtaking. It’s giving me goosebumps.” “We are over. Who you have babies with or who takes care of them has nothing to do with me.” “Do not call me again.” Before he could say another word, I hung up. I lay back down, but the anger was boiling inside me. I opened my phone to browse the news to distract myself, only for a notification to pop up on Instagram: [Sterling CEO Spends Millions to Spoil His True Love at Luxury Auction!] I clicked it. The photo showed Julian holding Melanie at the auction. The way he looked at her was so tender—a level of devotion and love I had never seen on his face during our five years of dating. My heart twinged slightly. Over the years, for my birthdays, he would just have his assistant buy some random bag or jewelry on Amazon. He never picked anything himself, let alone spent this much effort to make me happy. They say a man’s heart is where his money is. It seemed Julian had never loved me from the very beginning. To change my mood, I decided to go try on my wedding dress. But when I pushed open the boutique doors, I froze.
In front of the full-length mirror, Melanie was elegantly twirling in a wedding dress. She looked dissatisfied, pointing at the bust area and telling the stylist: “Tighten it a bit more here. And the train—I think it would look better if it were three inches longer.” That dress was custom-designed. I had spent six months collaborating with the designer to perfect it. It was fully hand-embroidered, incredibly expensive, and held all my dreams for my future marriage. Pure rage surged into my brain. I took a deep breath, forced down my anger, stepped forward, and said coldly: “Take it off. That’s my wedding dress.” Hearing my voice, Melanie flinched, shrinking back tearfully behind Julian, who was standing right next to her. “Can you not be so aggressive? You’re scaring Melanie.” His tone was accusatory, as if I were some hysterical psycho. I almost laughed in sheer disbelief. “Julian, that is my custom gown.” “It took six months of hand-stitching to make! What right does she have to wear it?!” Julian’s expression flickered with a hint of guilt. “Chloe, of course she has the right. She’s the bride, so of course she’s wearing the dress.” I didn’t understand what he was getting at. “I’ll still sign the marriage papers with you. The alliance between the Vance and Sterling families remains valid.” He paused, glancing back at Melanie. His eyes softened. “But Melanie went through hell to give me a child. I can’t let her feel cheapened.” “So, I figured she should be the one to walk down the aisle at the ceremony. It’ll give her some status.” “You… what did you just say?!” I was shaking with anger. If I went along with this, my family and I would become the laughingstock of the high society. Julian seemed to think his arrangement was completely logical, his tone growing more confident. “Chloe, I know this isn’t entirely fair to you, but Melanie really had a hard time. For the sake of the baby, just…” “Julian, you absolute bastard. You expect me to play along with this circus of a wedding?” “I sign the marriage certificate, Melanie gets the wedding night, and then I have to play mother to your bastard child?” “Do you think I’m some beggar on the street begging for your scraps, Julian?” My voice grew louder, drawing stares from other customers in the boutique. Melanie began to sob softly. “Please don’t be mad, Chloe… I know my place. I just wanted to be a bride once. I know I don’t deserve it…” Julian frowned, giving me a warning look. “Chloe, my mind is made up. You’ll agree to this whether you like it or not.” “If it weren’t for my father’s sake, do you think I’d even marry you?” I let out a cold laugh. It seemed Charles hadn’t told him about the groom swap yet. “Fine.” I looked him dead in the eye, my voice icy. We would see. At the wedding, it wouldn’t be him swapping brides. It would be me swapping grooms. Julian’s brows knit together. He clearly didn’t expect me to agree so easily, and his face filled with suspicion. Hiding behind him, Melanie’s eyes flashed with triumphant glee. Over the next few days, photos of Julian and Melanie’s pre-wedding shoot trended on Instagram for three days straight. The media still promoted it as the Vance-Sterling wedding, but the bride in the photos was Melanie. To the public, everyone assumed she was the real heiress of the Vance family. My close friends called me in a panic, asking what was going on. The elite circle mocked me, whispering that I was such a desperate simp that I let a mistress steal my entire identity. But I ignored them all, focusing solely on taking care of my father. The doctor said his condition was deteriorating rapidly and he needed to be hospitalized. I stayed by his side 24/7. I carefully filtered out all news about Julian and Melanie, terrified that the drama would stress him out. Yet, Melanie actually had the audacity to sneak into my dad’s hospital room with Julian while I was briefly away. The moment I walked back in, I saw Melanie holding a fashion magazine, pointing at the wedding photos, and speaking to my father in a sickeningly sweet voice: “Mr. Vance, look at how beautiful these photos are. Julian and I worked so hard on them.” “But to marry him in this dress, all the hard work was worth it.” “On the wedding day, I’ll make sure you get the seat of honor!” My father’s face was pale as ash. His chest heaved violently, his hand clutching the bedsheets, his lips trembling as he tried to speak but couldn’t. The heart monitor next to the bed suddenly began to beep frantically. “Dad!” I let out a bloodcurdling scream, rushing forward to slam the emergency call button. “Chloe, don’t get so excited…” Melanie purred, but I shoved her away with all my might. “Get out! Both of you, get the hell out of here!” I roared, my eyes instantly filling with tears. “Quick! The patient is in critical condition! Prep for emergency resuscitation!” the doctor shouted as they rushed in. The nurses pulled me back. I could only watch in horror as my father was wheeled into the ER. Julian tried to step forward to comfort me, but I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me! You monster!” I pointed right at his face, screaming. “You knew my dad was sick, yet you came here just to torment him! What is wrong with you?!” Frightened, Melanie hid behind Julian, peeking out to say innocently: “Chloe, we just wanted to visit Mr. Vance and invite him to the wedding.” “Bullshit!” Like a madwoman, I scrambled up from the floor to lunge at Melanie, but Julian grabbed me in a death grip. “Chloe! Calm down!” “Calm down?! How can I calm down?! That’s my father!” I thrashed in his arms, my nails scratching deep into his forearms.
“It was just an accident!” Julian’s voice was filled with irritation and anger he could barely hide. “Besides, Melanie was only trying to be nice. Who knew he’d react this dramatically?” He glanced at Melanie with an obvious protective instinct. “Right now, the public thinks Melanie is the Vance heiress. If no one from your family shows up at the wedding…” “People will start questioning her identity. It won’t look good for the Sterling reputation.” My lips curled into a deeply sarcastic smile. “Julian, are you blind or just incredibly stupid? You know exactly what Melanie is!” “She has nothing to do with the Vance family! She’s just a homewrecking gold-digger who slept her way to the top!” Julian’s face darkened completely. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. My head whipped to the side, a sharp ringing echoing in my ears. “Even if you’re the one on the marriage license, Melanie is the only wife I will ever recognize!” “So keep your mouth shut.” Those words felt like a dull knife sawing back and forth across my already shattered heart. But louder than the pain was a volcanic wave of pure, unadulterated hatred. We had been together for five years, and yet he could be this cruel. “You don’t need to show up at the wedding in two days,” Julian said casually, though his voice carried a threat. “Just stay in the hospital and keep your dad company.” Without looking back, Julian waved at a few burly bodyguards standing at the end of the hallway. “Watch her. Do not let her take a single step out of this hospital.” The bodyguards immediately marched over, forming a human wall around me. I stared viciously at the direction where Julian had disappeared. He thought keeping me locked up in the hospital would let him marry Melanie in peace? In his dreams. I touched my stomach, pulled out my phone, and made a call… The day of the wedding. Melanie smiled triumphantly, stroking the luxurious silk of her gown. So what if Chloe was the high-born Vance heiress? In the end, she got absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, Julian stood in the grand reception hall, looking highly uneasy. He had sent out hundreds of VIP invitations. Given the Sterling name, the venue should have been packed to the brim. Yet, with the ceremony minutes away, only a handful of guests had shown up. The massive hall looked embarrassingly empty. Melanie noticed it too when she walked out. Frowning, she tugged at Julian’s arm, her voice trembling with anxiety. “Julian, where is everyone? Why is it so empty?” Julian’s anxiety spiked. He signaled a waiter to call the family butler over. But instead of the head butler, a low-level maid appeared. Julian’s temper flared instantly. “Where is the butler? Why isn’t he here?” The maid trembled slightly, keeping her head low. “The butler is busy managing the Chairman’s wedding. He can’t get away. He said if you need anything, I can handle it.” “My father’s wedding? Since when is my father getting married? To whom?” Julian’s voice faltered, his face turning pale. “To the Vance heiress, Miss Chloe Vance.” Julian’s face froze in absolute disbelief. He mumbled, “What? Say that again.” Terrified by his expression, the maid stammered out: “Right upstairs. The Chairman is currently holding his wedding ceremony with Miss Chloe Vance.”
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