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.

The funeral was set for three days later. I tried to escape the basement many times but failed every time. Unexpectedly, I was released the next morning.

Pale-faced, I squinted at the sun outside and instinctively curled up.

But the sight that greeted me was the drowsy Anne, who was wearing my treasure pajamas. She was leaning against Lucas's embrace, with the bite mark on the back of her neck, as a testament of their intimacy.

"Anne just woke up and wants breakfast. The house also needs cleaning and her things must be tidied properly. Thank you for your hard work, Nova.” With that, he prepared to take her back to her room.

“Yes, Sir,” my voice remained calm, even though I was treated like a servant.

To maintain superficial peace, I had no choice but to comply. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Anne's lazy expression on the sofa and I gritted my teeth in hatred.

Then by accident, I shattered an exquisite glass cup and the sound brought the two of them over.

“That was my favorite cup! How are you going to pay me back?” Anne’s shrill voice pierced the room and her fake sobs filled the air.

Lucas furrowed his brows and soothed her patiently, "She is probably just careless. She was just trying to cook for you …."

“So what! Lucas, you won't stand up for me and why do you still care about her?” Anne's eyes quickly filled with tears and she looked upset.

Lucas had no other choice but to comply. As punishment, Anne threw all my stuff into the basement and made me live there.

I stood frozen there, gritting my teeth and looked at him with fury. But he only looked at Anne lovingly. "Fine, you can do whatever you want. Are you satisfied now?"

He even had his assistant toss all my belongings into the basement. Seeing me frozen in place, he pulled me aside. “You know her temper. Anne's my only sister. We should give her some slack.”

"Don't worry, Nova. I'll promise to hold a wedding for you. After all, you're the only one in my heart."

After saying that, Anne tugged him away. The two of them sat at the dining table, feasting on the fruit of my labor.

I went alone to the bathroom to tend to the cuts from the broken glass. Blood flowed everywhere, but neither of them realized it.

As tears fell onto the pool of blood, my heart was still as the ripples it made. Once my father was buried, I planned to leave this place of sorrow.

On the day of the funeral, I arrived early. The funeral home was filled with sunflowers, my father's favorite flowers.

As I stared at my father's ashes, I broke down. All the pent-up frustration and pain in my heart poured out. I could not accept the fact that I had lost both of my parents and it was all because of Lucas.

When we were preparing to get engaged, my father thought I was still too young and only my mother gave her blessing.

She worked herself tirelessly to prepare for the wedding, while Lucas shirked every responsibility, leaving me and my mother to handle everything.

Then his career was booming. After rumors of his impending engagement spread, I faced relentless public and private criticism and abuse. I was even stalked and threatened. But he did not care. He only told me not to take it seriously.

And yet the real irony was that when Anne was abroad and threw a tantrum because her classmate gossiped about her rude act, his concern for her made him so moved that he shed tears for her.