It was my wedding to Lucas, and there, amidst the guests, stood our maid, heavily pregnant. That’s when I found out: after every intimate moment Lucas and I shared, she would steal the used condoms from our trash. She’d then use the residual fluid to conceive Lucas’s baby. Lucas, full of misplaced pity, said, “Let her have it! It’s a life after all.” Later, while I was deep asleep, the maid brought a portable gas heater into my room, sealing off all windows and the door. In the sweltering 104-degree heat, I was slowly cooked alive, suffocating to death. After my death, the maid spread rumors that I had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. And then, she married my fiancé. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the moment she first tried to steal a used condom. This time, I’d already ordered ten used condoms online and dumped them into the trash. A crushing, suffocating pain squeezed my chest. My eyes snapped open, and I gasped, sucking in ragged breaths. Beside me, Lucas slept soundly, his face serene and cool. Without a second’s hesitation, I grabbed my phone, found a SnapChat group, and flash-bought ten opened condoms. The person on the other end replied quickly, “Ten? Woah, ma’am, you got some wild tastes.” “Cut the crap. One hundred thousand bucks. Are you selling or not?” They replied instantly, “Sold!” Half an hour later, I had the package. Holding back a wave of nausea, I dumped everything into the trash can by the bed. Then I scrambled back onto the bed. The moment I lay down, the bedroom door creaked open. A slender figure sneaked in, ghost-like. She paused, frozen, when she saw the ten little balloons tossed in the trash. Then, she clenched her jaw, cursing under her breath, “You shameless hussy, trying to get Lucas to mess around! Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?” A cold laugh bubbled in my chest. Anyone listening would think she, Scarlett Reed, was Lucas Hayes’s girlfriend! But the truth was, she was just a charity case I’d taken under my wing because I felt sorry for her. Yet, behind my back, she repeatedly tried to seduce Lucas, even secretly applying to be our housekeeper under the guise of ‘repaying my kindness.’ She used her position to steal Lucas’s used condoms while cleaning, then secretly underwent IVF. I couldn’t comprehend it. I offered her a hefty sum to terminate the pregnancy, but she twisted it, claiming I was insulting her and her baby, throwing a tearful tantrum and threatening suicide. Lucas, of course, immediately chastised me for overreacting and being heartless, all to protect Scarlett. Lucas and I had a huge fight. Scarlett, seizing the opportunity, locked me in my room. Then she brought in a small, portable gas heater, sealed my windows and doors, and left it running, ensuring the room would fill with deadly carbon monoxide, cooking me alive in the sweltering 104-degree heat. After my death, Scarlett faked my suicide. Armed with Lucas’s supposed child, she replaced me, marrying into the Hayes family and becoming the envied Mrs. Hayes. Now, reborn, fueled by burning hatred, I peeked open one eye. I watched Scarlett hesitate, then pick up the condom with the most visible fluid residue. “Once I’m pregnant, I’ll make sure Lucas kicks you out!” she hissed venomously, turning to leave. I stayed hidden under the covers, a chilling smirk spreading across my face. Oh, she wanted to be pregnant, did she? Then I’d grant her wish. I just hoped Scarlett wouldn’t cry when the truth finally came out. 2 The very next morning, my assistant, Derek, called. “Aurora, it’s bad! Sterling Corp. is canceling our deal!” “What?” The Sterling Corp. deal was a major project I’d poured six months into, sacrificing countless nights to secure. We were on the verge of wrapping it up. Why would they suddenly cancel? A knot of unease tightened in my stomach. When I arrived at the company, I saw Scarlett. Gone was her usual timid demeanor. She stood in the conference room, yelling at our business partner. “What if I hit you? You deserved it! Dressing like that to secure a deal, obviously trying to seduce Lucas, aren’t you? Not on my watch!” She patted her belly, which wasn’t yet showing, as if cradling a priceless treasure. “My baby’s daddy is a very powerful man. Do you really want to disrespect me?” With that, she grabbed a cup of coffee and splashed it right in the business partner’s face. “Scarlett!” Seeing that, I trembled with rage. I lunged forward and slapped her across the face. “This isn’t your playground!” Suddenly, a large, boisterous woman, dripping in gaudy gold jewelry like she’d just won the lottery, burst in and slammed into my lower back. “You bitch! How dare you hit my daughter!” I stumbled, falling to the floor, my forehead hitting the sharp edge of the table. Amidst the chaos, a cool, detached voice suddenly cut through. “What’s going on?” Lucas, his long hair simply tied back, dressed in pristine white, exuded an ethereal detachment that felt completely out of place amidst the chaos. Scarlett’s eyes instantly lit up. She burst into tears and threw herself at Lucas’s feet, clinging to his leg. “Lucas, you always preach about equality, but Aurora here, just because she’s from a rich family, treats us common folk like dirt! She hits and curses at us ordinary employees!” “Just because I’m pregnant, Aurora got jealous and deliberately teamed up with our business partner to target me and harm my baby!” “Is that true?” Lucas frowned, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of onlookers outside the conference room. Everyone exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. Lucas, misinterpreting their silence as fear of me, immediately frowned, his expression hardening. “Scarlett has a tragic past. I only hired her to give her a chance at a livelihood, but you grew jealous, Aurora, and took advantage of her. You’ve truly disappointed me.” “Aurora, apologize to Scarlett!” I couldn’t waste time arguing with them. I quickly stood up and blocked the furious business partner from leaving. “Ms. Sarah, please, let me explain. This is all a misunderstanding…” Ms. Sarah was a young woman, beautiful and exceptionally capable. And now, she was branded by Scarlett as someone who had slept her way to the top. “Some people in your company…” Her gaze swept over the messy conference room. She shook her head. “I’m afraid I cannot condone this behavior.” 3 After Ms. Sarah left, Lucas still maintained his detached, almost ethereal composure. “So the deal is off. Money and power are fleeting, Aurora. Your greed is insatiable.” I took a deep breath. I still couldn’t understand how Lucas’s parents, notorious for their cunning and manipulative nature, could have produced such a weak-willed son. Meanwhile, Scarlett’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reed, were still wailing, demanding an explanation from me. “Our innocent daughter came to your house and somehow ended up pregnant! How is she supposed to live now? You must give us an answer!” Bystanders gathered, watching the scene. I couldn’t help but sneer. “She shamelessly got pregnant out of wedlock! It’s clear the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – you raised a delinquent daughter, what does that have to do with me? And Scarlett, you’re fired!” Scarlett scoffed, clearly prepared. She pulled out her phone and aimed the camera at me. “You can’t fire a pregnant employee! I’ll sue you! ‘Sterling Enterprises, heartless corporation, fires pregnant employees! Aurora can’t have kids, so she forces her staff to get abortions!’” Using the name of Sterling Enterprises, the live stream was instantly flooded with viewers, commenting wildly: [What’s wrong with being pregnant? Can’t pregnant women work?] [Hayes Corp. needs to learn some laws! Firing pregnant employees is illegal!] … I almost laughed. Mr. and Mrs. Reed thought I was out of options, pushing me to find the man who got Scarlett pregnant. I nodded, agreeing readily, then pulled out my phone, pretending to live-stream a “search for the baby daddy” for Scarlett’s unborn child. Scarlett suddenly shoved her parents away. “Idiots! What do you know? This is the baby I worked so hard to get! Once I give birth, I’ll marry into a rich family!” She turned to me, her eyes glinting with a secret mix of defiance and triumph. She was probably imagining kicking me out of the Hayes household once her baby was born. Mr. and Mrs. Reed were stunned. Their eyes darted around, then they suddenly proposed that I should personally take care of Scarlett’s baby-to-be. “You also need to give us another sum of money to cover the cost of our daughter’s pregnancy!” It sounded as if Scarlett was pregnant for me. Lucas nodded too. “It’s our responsibility to care for the vulnerable.” I pondered for a moment, then suddenly nodded. “Fine.” “Scarlett is my employee, after all. Since she’s pregnant, of course I’ll take responsibility.” Right in front of them, I not only arranged for Scarlett to move back into the villa but also called a doctor, ordering the highest level of prenatal care for her entire pregnancy. Scarlett thought I was caving in because of her baby. She swelled with smug satisfaction, bossing me around. “You! Go make me some bird’s nest soup! The best golden blood swallow!” The many housekeepers stared at her in astonishment. “Scarlett, what’s wrong with you? That blood swallow was specially bought by Lucas for Aurora! How can a mere employee like you eat it?” Scarlett sneered. “So what if I’m an employee? My belly is far more precious than hers!” “…What’s there to be proud of, being pregnant and unmarried?” Everyone else thought she’d lost her mind, but I wasn’t angry in the least. Instead, I smiled sweetly and personally brought her a bowl of the blood swallow. Scarlett grew even more smug. “At least you know your place.” She put on airs, tasted the bird’s nest, then turned to boss the housekeepers around, hitting and scolding them if she was even slightly displeased. She even secretly ordered a wedding dress identical to mine. I let her do as she pleased. Six months passed, leading up to Lucas and my wedding. Business magnates arrived in droves. The officiant, as per tradition, asked, “Lucas, do you take Aurora to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Lucas delicately pursed his lips, just about to say “I do,” when a voice suddenly cut through. “I object!” 4 Scarlett, also dressed in a wedding gown, stood at the end of the aisle, her voice ringing clear. The officiant, likely encountering this for the first time, asked in astonishment, “Who are you? On what grounds do you object?” Scarlett, nearly six months pregnant, looked triumphant, as if she were about to crush me underfoot. “Because I am the future lady of the Hayes family, and I am carrying Lucas’s child in my belly!” The words caused a ripple of shock throughout the entire hall. In front of everyone, Scarlett vividly recounted how she had stolen the little balloons, gone to the clinic, and undergone IVF. Then, she dropped to her knees before Mrs. Hayes, her voice brimming with eagerness. “Mom! My belly carries the Hayes family’s only grandchild!” Mr. and Mrs. Reed, behind her, chimed in. “That’s right, dear in-laws, our daughter is a great hero for your Hayes family! How can a hero only be a mere maid!” They pointed at me. “It’s all that malicious woman’s fault! She can’t tolerate our Scarlett. Dear in-laws, you must uphold justice for our daughter!” Mrs. Hayes’s face flushed with embarrassment. She instinctively glanced at me, then at Scarlett, who was proudly displaying her belly. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. After a moment of thought, still considering the Sterling family backing me, she spoke coldly. “Guards! Get this crazy woman who’s spouting nonsense out of here!” Scarlett’s wails froze. She stared at Mrs. Hayes, dumbfounded. She failed to consider that Lucas and his mother were originally just one of Mr. Hayes’s many illegitimate children. He only became the Hayes Corp. heir because I had taken an interest in him. To Mrs. Hayes, how could an unconfirmed baby outweigh the influence and power of my Sterling family? Seeing the security guards approaching, Scarlett gritted her teeth and suddenly lunged towards a window. “Lucas! This is your child in my belly! If you don’t acknowledge him, I’ll jump from here!” Amidst the uproar, I clearly saw a flash of amusement in Lucas’s eyes. “Aurora, she’s pregnant and carrying a child. Why are you so aggressive?” Aggressive? I scoffed. It seemed this rose was too tempting; even Lucas, who usually feigned aloofness, couldn’t help but be swayed. Too lazy to engage with him, I finally spoke. “Scarlett, are you absolutely sure the baby in your belly is Lucas’s?” Scarlett nodded without hesitation. “Just because you can’t get pregnant, you think no one else can? My baby is absolutely, genuinely, a Hayes family bloodline!” “Oh~” I drew out the sound, the smile in my eyes deepening. The next second, the main doors suddenly burst open. A middle-aged man rushed in, grabbed Scarlett, and shouted, “Honey!”
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