Lily was the little sister of my fiancé’s best friend. She was a mistress to a mafia Don—a sugar daddy—until his wife found out, and the clip of Lily getting beaten up ended up on the local news.

Yet, somehow, everyone thought the woman getting dragged on TV was me. People at work who never liked me jumped at the chance to pile on. One of them even pointed right at my face and called me shameless.

I tried to explain, “My fiancé is Sam Johnson, the CEO of Johnson Group. He’s handsome and ranked third on the Forbes list. Why would I become a mistress to a sugar daddy?”

However, no one believed me. If anything, they looked at me like I was even more pathetic.

One coworker sneered and pointed to the TV. “You’re not just morally bankrupt; you’re a liar. The CEO’s fiancée? That’s not you.”

The TV was playing a breaking news segment titled: First Appearance of Johnson Group CEO’s Fiancée.

And there Sam was, arm in arm with Lily, officially announcing their relationship.

When I saw the news, I lost it, desperate to find my fiancé, Sam Johnson, and confront him. However, when I finally did, he still had his arm around Lily Aldrige’s waist.

He pulled me aside to where no one else could hear us and said seriously, “The news is fake. Don’t take it to heart. You will always be my wife. Lily is going through a critical point in her graduation process. She can’t afford a scandal right now. You’ll have to bear with it for now.”

I stared at the man who was supposed to become my husband, my eyes cold. “So your solution was to twist the truth and let people think the woman getting beaten up in the video is me? And that press conference—you calling Lily your fiancée—was that just to make it look like I was the mistress?”

Sam looked away, guilt written all over his face.

I was shaking with anger, and just as I raised my hand to slap him, Lily shoved me back.

She gasped and threw herself into Sam’s arms. “How could you hit Sam? He’s just helping me out with my situation. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

I gave a bitter laugh as tears welled up in my eyes. “Oh really? In that case, why didn’t you come forward and admit you were the one in the video?”

Lily’s face went pale. Her voice trembled as she began to cry. “It’s all my fault, Amy. I’ll explain to everyone right now.”

“Enough!” Sam snapped. “Do you have to push me like this, Amy?”

He hugged Lily tighter, looking at me with red-rimmed eyes. “You know Lily’s my best friend’s sister. Before he died, he told me to take care of her, and I promised him I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”

I took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the sadness rising in my heart. “So I’m the one who has to suffer instead? Does my reputation mean nothing to you? Do you have any idea what people are saying about me?”

“As long as you don’t let it get to you, those rumors can’t hurt you,” Sam said. “When this all blows over, we’ll get married. You’re so kind, Amy. I know you’ll understand, won’t you?”

I stared at the man I had loved for years, feeling like I didn’t know him at all.

Just as he turned to comfort Lily, gently wiping away her tears and preparing to leave with her in his arms, I spoke, “Sam, I’m pregnant.”

He froze mid-step.

Before he could say a word, Lily pulled away from him, wiped her tears, and said sweetly, “Sam, I think I should tell the truth now. I’ll take responsibility. Amy’s pregnant. I don’t want your baby to be labeled an illegitimate kid…”

Sam turned to me, his eyes full of pain. His voice trembled. “It’s still early. It’s okay. We won’t tell anyone yet. Once the baby’s born, we’ll make a formal announcement. No one will remember the scandal by then.”

I felt like the ground had collapsed under me. My body went numb.

“Don’t you care? You’re okay with our child being born labeled an illegitimate kid? You’re okay with people saying his mother was someone’s mistress? You want him to grow up with no friends?”

Suddenly, Lily burst into tears again. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’ll leave. I can’t allow your child to grow up with that kind of stigma.”

Like someone snapped out of a trance, Sam held her close again. He looked at me with guilt and hesitation.

“I’m sorry, Amy. Lily’s like my sister. I promised to take care of her. I can’t just leave her behind.”

I laughed bitterly, completely broken. “So you're fine with the world thinking I was a mistress to a sugar daddy? You're fine with my child growing up being called an illegitimate child?”

“Please, Amy. Don’t get so worked up,” Sam begged. “You’re the one I love most. I will marry you. Just be patient. Once the scandal blows over, I’ll tell everyone the child is mine—not some illegitimate kid.”

He looked at me with pleading eyes, but I just stood there rigidly, my gaze fixed on the man I once trusted with my whole heart. His gaze dropped to Lily in his arms, eyes filled with affection and concern.

As they walked away, side by side, I couldn’t breathe from the pain. I touched my belly, tears pouring down my face.

I whispered to myself, “I’m sorry, my baby. Your father doesn’t want us.”

I wandered back home in a daze. Sam and I had been living together for the past six months, and our wedding was supposed to happen in three months. However, I wasn’t even sure if there was a point in going through with it anymore.

Without another word, I packed a suitcase, grabbed my things, and walked out. Thankfully, I still had an apartment nearby—the one my mom left me before she passed, filled with her favorite decorations.

As I pulled up to the apartment building, thunder cracked across the sky, and moments later, heavy rain started pouring down.

The moment I unlocked the front door and stepped inside, I knew something was wrong.

My mom’s favorite genuine leather couch cover had been swapped out for a bright pink one, and the little potted plants she gave me were gone, too. The entire apartment had been redecorated in some kind of childish, cartoonish theme.

Then, I heard Lily’s laugh coming from the bedroom. Fuming, I stormed over and shoved the door open. Even the bedroom had been changed.

Lily was lounging on the bed, while Sam was crouched on the floor massaging her feet. When Lily saw me, she looked smug, like she was showing off.

“Amy, Sam is just the sweetest. He saw me struggling in heels, so he’s giving me a foot massage.”

“Shut up!” Sam snapped and glared at her.

In response, Lily clutched her stomach and looked at him with big, teary eyes. “Sam, why are you yelling at me? What if you scare the baby?”

The baby? Was she pregnant too?

My vision blurred with rage. I charged forward, trying to drag her off the bed. However, before I could touch her, a strong force yanked me back. It was Sam, and he shoved me to the ground.

“Amy, what are you doing?” he shouted.

That was when he noticed the bruise forming on my arm, and the anger in his eyes turned to guilt.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to push you that hard! But you were out of hand. Lily’s pregnant. You can’t just attack her…”

Worried, he reached out to help me up, but I smacked his hand away.

“So she’s pregnant, and she gets treated like royalty, but it’s fine for you to throw me to the floor?”

Tears streamed down my face. I looked at him with nothing but disappointment.

“Why did you take her here?” I yelled. “Who gave you the right to touch anything in this apartment? You know how much this place meant to me!”

Sam looked stunned by my outburst. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, trying to calm me down.

“She didn’t have anywhere else to go. Someone tried to hurt her at a hotel, and she was too scared to stay there again. I couldn’t bring her to our place either. She’ll stay here just for now. As soon as we find her a place, I promise she’ll leave.”

“This was my mom’s home!” I cried, struggling in his arms. “How could you bring another woman here and let her change everything? Sam, I hate you!”

I pounded my fists against him, but he held on tightly.

“Okay, okay,” he said quickly. “We didn’t throw anything out. Your mom’s stuff is all in the storage room. I’ll take Lily away right now if that’s what you want.”

“Get out!” I screamed. “Both of you, get out of my house!”

I grabbed everything I could reach—pillows, picture frames, anything—and hurled them at them like a madwoman.

Lily shrieked and darted out of the room, knocking things over in the hallway with a loud crash. Sam let go of me immediately and ran after her. He helped her up, and soon, they both left my apartment.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Sam.

“Amy, please don’t be mad. I’m taking Lily away for now. It’s storming tonight, and she’s been scared of thunder since she was a kid. I have to stay with her tonight. But I swear, I’ll come back to you tomorrow.”

I sank to the floor, covered my face with my hands, and broke down crying. Outside, lightning lit up the sky, and thunder rumbled through the city, drowning out the sound of my sobs.

I didn’t know how long I cried for, but it wasn’t until a dull pain started throbbing in my stomach that I finally snapped out of it.

I gently placed my hand over my belly and forced myself to stand.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered. “I used to be so excited to meet you, but your father doesn’t love us anymore. He doesn’t deserve to be your dad… and I can’t bring you into a world so full of cruelty.

“I’m sorry.”

Once I calmed myself down, I threw out everything Sam and Lily had brought into this place. Then, I opened the storage room, only to see everything I held dear had been tossed carelessly onto the floor.

The pain in my heart tightened. I knelt down and quietly began picking up the pieces, tears falling as I moved.

Three out of five small flower pots were shattered, and the plants inside were nearly dead, barely holding on. My mom’s pure white Persian rug, the one I’d taken such good care of, was now covered in muddy footprints, like someone had stomped on it on purpose.

The leather couch cover had been torn in several places with deep, jagged slashes that couldn’t be repaired. Everything I’d spent years maintaining had been destroyed, just like my relationship with Sam; it was broken beyond recognition.

I cleaned until past midnight before finally collapsing onto the bed.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by loud banging on the front door. Still groggy, I stumbled over and opened it, only to be slapped across the face.

Sam’s mother, Mary Johnson, stood on the other side, her expression cold.

“I always knew you were worthless,” she snapped. “But I didn’t think you’d cheat on Sam to be someone’s mistress? Are we not giving you enough money, that you needed a sugar daddy for kicks?

“You’re a disgrace! No wonder your family went bankrupt. You’re filthy, through and through. You’re not good enough for my son! Sam knows what kind of trash you are now, and he’s done with you. I’m here to tell you: pack your bags and leave this city. Stay away from my son, forever.”

The sting on my cheek burned hot, and I could taste blood in my mouth. However, I held back my tears and looked her in the eye, calm and steady.

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll stay away from your son,” I said. “But you’d better keep him away from me too.”

She sneered. “You think you’re some precious gem? You’re trash. Crawl back to wherever you came from.”

“Mom! What are you saying? I’m not calling off the wedding! Amy is pregnant with my child. She’s going to be my wife!”

Suddenly, Sam’s voice cut through the air as he ran over.

Mary froze, her face going pale. “What did you just say? She’s pregnant? Even if she is, it’s not your child. That illegitimate kid has nothing to do with our family!”

She gave me a filthy look before turning back to Sam, her voice rising with anger. “You told me yesterday that Lily’s pregnant with your child, so you have to marry Lily—now! If she stays unmarried, her reputation will be ruined."

“As for this one…” she sneered, eyeing me from head to toe. “I guess her sugar daddy’s got some energy left, huh? To think he even managed to knock her up. Get her out of here, Sam. Do you want her dragging our family name through the dirt?”

Sam looked conflicted. His lips parted, then closed again, eyes flickering with hesitation.

For a moment, I hoped maybe he would speak up to defend me and our child. However, he didn’t. He said nothing as his mother humiliated me.

Instead, he said, “I love Amy more than anything, so I care about none of those. I’ll raise this baby like it’s my own.”

He then pulled me aside and whispered, pleading with his eyes. “Lily’s pregnant, and the doctor said her uterine wall is too thin. If she gets an abortion, she might never be able to have children again.

“You know she’s about to graduate, so she can’t risk the scandal of being an unwed mother. Even though I’ll marry her, it’s just temporary. As soon as her child is born, I’ll divorce her and marry you instead.

“We’ll be a family—just you, me, and the baby. Everything will go back to the way it was.”

I stared at him, completely numb. It felt like my blood had frozen over, and my heart was hollow, like someone had carved it out.

To protect Lily, he let his mother shame me and insult my child. He’d rather have her call it an illegitimate kid than say a word.

Right then, all the love I had for this man vanished. I was done.