I had been dating a lawyer named Lucas Dubois for three years. But in the past three years, he had cancelled our wedding ninety-nine times. The first time he did was when his assistant mishandled work and he left me alone at the beach. This caused me to have a fever for three days straight.

The second time was when his assistant caught a cold, so he rushed away to deliver the medicine. Since I was left alone at a drinking party, I was forced to drink several glasses of liquor, which caused the fetus to give signs of distress and I suffered a difficult labor.

On the hundredth promised wedding, as I prepared to walk down the aisle, I discovered another bride already standing at the altar. And standing before me was Lucas’s assistant, who was also his beloved foster sister, Anne Adam.

"You know that she is frail and often sick. Her only dream was to wear a wedding dress once. So, since the perfect opportunity came, I agreed," Lucas reasoned.

Tears welled in my eyes as I watched the ring meant for me slip onto Anne's ring finger.

Late that night, the police called me. They said my father was seriously injured in a car accident. And, I rushed to the scene.

But when I got there, I saw Lucas holding a trembling Anne in his arms. "Nova, please don't be upset. Anne is also traumatized. Can you forgive her?”

As I looked at my father’s dying body, I couldn’t help but remember the day my child passed away in my arms, so I immediately sued Anne.

The night before the trial, Lucas presented a mediation agreement to me and said, "Let me handle the case for Anne. Nova, please sign this agreement."

When the negotiation failed, he had his assistant knock me unconscious to force my signature. That was when the aftereffects of my difficult labor struck and I clutched my lower abdomen and sobbed.

He then transferred a dollar and fifty cents to me with a look of disdain. "You love to buy a dollar and fifty-cent items, right? Consider this money as my payment for your uterus…"

I had only used a dollar and fifty cents for clothes and bought a dollar and fifty cents for daily necessities for his sake, but now he used it as a weapon to humiliate me.

Due to the pre-trial mediation agreement and Lucas's defense, Anne could walk away free, but my father died in the hospital.

Three months later, when I produced condemning evidence against them, Lucas knelt before me, begging for forgiveness.

1

When the police reviewed the highway surveillance footage, it was revealed that Anne had been speeding while clutching a wine bottle, which led to the tragedy.

In front of my father's blood-covered and barely clinging to life’s body, I held back my tears and cooperated fully with the police investigation.

"Anne is a pitiful child." Lucas's tone carried nothing but concern for her.

"Nova, forgive her, please. She is still young." He gently pulled the terrified Anne to her feet.

His soft words made her break down completely, so he cradled her in his arms.

When the ambulance finally arrived, Lucas still insisted that the medics take Anne first, even though my father had already closed his eyes in exhaustion.

"She is too scared. Please treat her first,” he pleaded, his grip on the ambulance door tight with tension.

But the paramedics, seeing that my father was dying, quickly realized his condition was far more severe. They roughly wrenched Lucas's hand away and lifted his father into the ambulance.

This made him so furious, but when he turned, he acted as if nothing had happened while urging me to forgive her.

Although tears were staining Anne's cheeks, her eyes brimmed with disdain as she looked at me.

Seeing my father's horrific injuries reminded me of the child who had slipped away in my arms all those years ago—all because of her.

That year, I suffered a severe hemorrhage during difficult childbirth. Though the baby survived, I lost all strength and passed out.

When I awoke, Lucas appeared in the hospital room with his so-called “assistant.” She held the fragile infant with malicious intent, then dropped the child hard onto the floor when her grip slipped.

Despite emergency resuscitation, the baby stopped breathing. My heart shattered so completely I could barely breathe.

“She was just too excited when she saw the baby. Nova, forgive her,” he had said callously.

I held my child and wept through the night in the pouring rain, only to hear him making excuses for her. Those casual words haunted me for years.

“Nova, your father is certainly not in danger. Anne is crying terribly … so, perhaps you should...”

Smack! Before he could continue, a loud slap cracked against Anne's face.

“I will take you to court! Everything must be settled once and for all.”

I glared at her, my eyes blazing with fury. Covering her swollen cheek, she looked away guiltily, unable to meet my gaze and burrowed into his embrace.

Later, Anne was taken away by the police and placed under custody. Lucas just stood frozen in place, his brow furrowed and his teeth clenched.

The night before the trial, I was preparing to visit my father in the hospital when I was knocked unconscious by men in black and carried away.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a basement. A court settlement agreement lay before me, leaving my mind blank.

“I’m sorry, Nova. This was the only way to bring you here.” Lucas sat across from me and continued, "Sign this agreement and I'll handle Anne's situation.”

I lifted my head, my expression resolute. “She must pay the price! For what she did to my child and to my father!”

The dim basement light obscured Lucas's face, but the chill radiating from his icy gaze sent shivers down my spine.

“She's still young. It was just a minor mistake. Why are you so relentless?” He produced a check for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars that he had prepared. Then he urged me to sign.

Rage boiled within me, my eyes blazing with fury. “This is murder! My father was my only family. Don't think money can fix this.”

But he just frowned and turned away. Then his assistant beat me mercilessly behind him and all I could do was clutch my stomach and weep bitterly. The pain was so great that my back was drenched in cold sweat.

Hearing my constant wailing, Lucas turned his head and transferred a dollar and fifty cents to my account.

"Stop clutching your stomach just to win my sympathy. Your child had long gone."

"Hey, you love buying a dollar and fifty cents stuff, right? Well, alright then, I'll buy your uterus for a dollar and fifty cents. That should settle it. Stop crying!"

My vision blurred with tears. For years, I had lived frugally for him. I only bought household items and wore clothes that only cost a dollar and fifty cents.

This was the same man who once praised my simplicity and diligence, but now he used that one dollar and fifty cents as a way to humiliate me.

My heart ached so much that I could barely breathe. As I fainted, Lucas had his assistant sign the agreement for me, then walked away satisfied with the document in hand.

Curled up in the basement corner, I watched him leave with a smile on his face. As despair washed over me, I closed my eyes.

“According to the pre-trial mediation agreement, Anne Adam and Nova Bright have reached an agreement. The charges are dismissed.”

The staff removed Anne’s handcuffs and she ran straight into Lucas’s arms in excitement. "Lucas, in these past few days without you, I was filled with fear and dread. The detention cell was so cold and lonely. Thank goodness you're here."

"I didn't mean for the car accident to happen. That day, I was just too excited that we could finally get married." Anne's tears spilled down like broken pearls.

Lucas fixed the staff present with a stern gaze. “Rest assured, I'll resolve any grievances you have. And, don't worry about the accident. Nova has forgiven you.” His tone softened as he gently stroked her head.

Everyone knew how biased he was toward Anne. After she returned to the country, fresh out of college, he made her his personal assistant.

When she did not do her job well, he did not mind. When she wanted to post intimate photos with him on social media, he ignored the fact that I was his official girlfriend.

Whenever I discovered it and confronted him, he always said the same excuse, "Anne is immature and so are you. She had no parents before joining our family, so she only started living well after joining us. If I didn’t treat her well, she would be too pitiful."

Whenever Lucas and I were together, his phone would ring nonstop, then his flustered expression gave everything away.

Anne would sob over some trivial matter, such as tripping while walking, being gossiped about by coworkers, or work being tough. And to him, it was as if the sky had fallen.

I swallowed my anger, but he always told me not to take it personally. Yet he was always the first to rush to her side.

At every crucial moment, Anne would always be his first choice and I was always the one who was left behind.

At first, I believed his words because I thought Anne was just a young woman. But the police investigation revealed she had deliberately killed my father while still partially conscious.

Meanwhile, Lucas merely offered me a half-hearted plea for forgiveness and promised that she'd be punished. But I didn't need to guess what that punishment would be.

It would be nothing more than freezing her card for days, letting her go hungry and locking away her favorite clothes and bags. Over the past years, I had witnessed this meaningless “punishment” countless times.

Anne had sabotaged my wedding ninety-nine times. Slowly, I began to notice that Lucas and Anne had crossed the line of the appropriate behavior of foster siblings.

When the time of the one hundredth wedding came, Anne appeared in the main hall wearing a wedding dress ten times more exquisite than mine. Every guest below the stage gazed with envy, blessing the divine couple on stage.

Meanwhile, I stood out like an intruder crashing someone else's wedding and the one hundredth ceremony was canceled just like the others.

“Nova, you know Anne has always wanted to wear a wedding dress. I'm sure you'll agree about this. Next time, I'll definitely make up to you for the wedding...”

Slowly, as I regained my consciousness in that basement, I could feel my lower abdomen still throbbing with pain. At that moment, Anne’s shrill, sharp laugh stabbed into my ear like a knife.

"Are you finally awake, Nova? I'm sorry for keeping you sleep for so long. Anne's fine now. Just apologize to her and I'll pretend this never happened.” Lucas, seated in the corner, spoke up.

I stared in confusion, then snapped back to reality.

Anne stood before me, looking radiant and refreshed. In her hand, she clutched my phone.

"Wow, you're a very thrifty woman, Nova. You are even interested in one-dollar and fifty-cent items. No wonder Lucas bought your uterus for a dollar and fifty cents."

Suddenly, my phone rang. It was the hospital staff informing me that my father had passed away.

I glared at Anne's frivolous eyes as rage made my voice shake, "Why did my father lose his life while you stand here unscathed! Heaven will never forgive you.”

My expression turned grave as I stared intently at her, but I did not expect that it would provoke her.

She slapped me hard across the face and instantly, I was bruised and swollen. Then she casually ordered her assistant behind her to beat me. I clutched my stomach and wept uncontrollably.

All her innocence's act had gone when she yanked my hair viciously and was ready to strike me again. "Lucas has already bought your womb. Stop pretending to be in pain—his heart belongs only to me.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I watched Lucas, sitting silent in the corner. I prayed he would intervene, but his silence clearly sanctioned her actions.

After a tense standoff, he finally said, "Anne, don't be so impulsive. You'll only hurt your hand.”

His comment made my whole body tremble and my heart twisted in agony as hope left my heart.

Late at night, I sat alone on the basement window sill, unable to sleep. While clutching my stomach, I buried my face and wept.

As I gazed at the bright moonlight, I recalled the moment Lucas and I first met.

We were campus sweethearts. Our first meeting happened before the flower wall on campus. His clean, neatly pressed shirt caught my eye. I was wearing a white dress my mother had made for me and my classmates jokingly said we're wearing a couple's outfit.

Instantly, we both blushed and Lucas couldn't hide his delight the moment he saw me. Gradually, we grew closer.

On the first snowfall after graduation, he knelt before me at my doorstep and confessed his love. "Nova, will you be mine? I want to protect you forever."

The moonlight was bright that night and his eyes were brimming with tenderness. I shyly nodded my head.

The moonlight remained unchanged, yet beneath it, everything had shifted beyond recognition.

I stared at the photo of Lucas and me on my phone screen. It was taken when he promised to marry me. However, the one dollar and fifty cents transfer on the screen stabbed my heart like a blade.

Compared to his wealthy family, mine was nothing. After we started dating, I never bought expensive gifts, knowing every little thing counts. Back then, Lucas never stopped praising my virtue and kindness, yet now he mocked me with his words.

Suddenly, my phone rang. It was my brother.

He was adopted by our parents years ago. After coming of age, he went abroad to build his life and we never saw each other again.

“I know about Father's situation. Nova, rest assured, I will stand by your side. I'll handle Father's funeral arrangements. How have you been lately?”

His concern instantly brought tears to my eyes. Fighting back the sobs, I simply replied, “Don't worry about me.”

It seemed my brother heard the unspoken truth in my voice because he asked, "Nova, like I had said before … whenever you need me, you can always come to me.”

I didn’t answer him, but nodded silently.