Nicole blushed. "But I haven't had the chance to pick out a wedding dress yet… Oh, and the ring…"

Before she could finish speaking, twenty sets of exquisite and lavish wedding gowns were brought into the room. Each set was a custom creation by a world-famous designer, and they had to be ordered years ahead.

All the wedding dresses had different styles and matching diamond rings, each diamond as big as a pigeon's egg.

One of the pink diamonds, I recalled, was auctioned at the price of two hundred million dollars just last month.

Clearly, Sam came prepared.

Nicole's heart was filled with joy, and she pressed a kiss on Sam's cheek.

"Wow, these all fit me perfectly! And did you think that I wouldn't notice that twenty was the number of years we've known each other? You're so thoughtful!

"Hey, don't tell me you've been plotting to marry me ever since we were kids!"

She acted coy, feigning anger, and Sam just smiled and didn't say a word, but his gaze said it all.

I looked down at my simple wedding band, the one Sam had given me when he asked me to marry him. It was a bit too small for my finger, and had always been painful to wear, but I never took it off.

Right then, I noticed how the size was the same as the ones he picked out for Nicole.

Ah, so that was the truth.

It wasn't that he was careless or that he forgot, but that he reserved all the good things in life for Nicole.

Standing there, I felt like nothing more than a court jester.

I silently retreated to the restroom, splashing my face with cold water from the faucet to make it seem like I wasn't crying.

The moment I stepped out of the restroom, I was greeted with a warm hug. Sam handed me a lovely bottle of perfume, his tone gentle, as if trying to coax a pet, "Are you jealous? Today's Mom's birthday, so I just went along with it. This is all just temporary, and those dresses are all just for show!

"Once Nicole and I go overseas, I'll tell her that we are lawfully wedded. I promise that after I finish my work this month, I'll tell her about our relationship and give you the wedding you deserve, alright? Can't you be a good girl and understand me?

"I know you like perfumes, so I went through a lot of trouble to get my hands on this one! This is the latest creation of a world-class perfumer. Can't you see how much I love you?"

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth, knowing where exactly that perfume came from.

That perfume was actually one of the wedding favors for Nicole and his wedding ceremony. He had invited over a thousand guests, and each and every one of them would receive a bottle.

This perfume was nothing more than a weak attempt at placating me.

A notification popped up on my phone, reminding me the time I scheduled for the surgery, and Sam caught sight of it. "Penny, are you having a surgery?"

I stuffed my phone back into my bag and squeezed out a weak smile. "It's nothing, just a spam message. Anyway, don't worry. I understand."

Sam pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "I knew my Penny's the most sensible girl there is. I'll go welcome the guests and come home to keep you company later, alright?"

I nodded, but quietly tailed him after he left. However, it wasn't to the main hall, but upstairs instead.

One of the doors to a guest room was left slightly ajar, and inside, Nicole gently whined, wearing a sexy piece of lingerie, "What took you so long, Sam? I've been waiting for ages…"

"Oh, Penny was just feeling under the weather. How about we cancel it for now? We have lots of time to do it after we get married, after all, so…"

Nicole wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her voluptuous figure pressing tightly against him. "Aw, do you want to leave me all by myself? We haven't been together for so long… Don't you miss me?

"We're going to get married soon, so won't you let me give you a baby? You don't have to wear protection tonight, and you can do it as many times as you want… I'll be good, please?"

Sam's gaze darkened instantly, his restraint completely shattering. He pressed Nicole down onto the bed, losing himself in a frenzy of passion.

The scene grew increasingly unbearable, their ragged breathing stabbing at my heart like a blade.

Not able to watch any longer, I immediately turned and fled.

I had just left the hotel before I suddenly felt nauseous again, and I crouched on the ground, dry heaving.

Suddenly, a chilling stream of wine was poured onto my head.

After the deed was done, Nicole casually threw away the bottle of wine and smirked mockingly. "Are you a sow, Penelope? How in the world are you able to still get pregnant after five miscarriages? I study medicine, so you can't trick me—I know signs of pregnancy when I see them.

"I'm going to become Sam's real wife soon, and you're nothing more than just a useless substitute for me. You're the outsider in this relationship, and he's just using you to satisfy his physical needs, got it? That child inside your womb will never be anything more than a bastard.

"Right, do you want to know what happened to your past five stillborns?"

Then, she took out her phone and shook it in front of my eyes, as if she was showing off, and my entire body shuddered in anguish.

"Amazing, isn't it? You can try and give birth as many times as you want, but those mongrels will only end up just like this!"

Not able to hold in my rage, I raised my hand to attack her, but I hadn't yet had the chance to do a thing before Nicole quickly took a few shards of glass from the ground and swiped it toward her palm.

Blood immediately flowed down her arm, and she screamed.

Sam, hearing the commotion, rushed over and shoved me away immediately.

Holding Nicole tight, he turned and shouted, "What are you doing, Penelope?!"

Before I could even say anything to defend myself, Nicole started sniffling. "Sam, today's the day we announce our wedding, so I just wanted to invite Penelope for a drink! But then, she accused me of stealing you from her, and even attacked my hand! I wonder if she's become mentally unstable after losing all those children…"

Sam shot me a dark glare, like a venomous snake. "I decided on marrying Nicole, so you could have taken up your frustrations with me, not her! She's a doctor, so her hands are used to save lives in the hospital! How could you hurt her? How could you be so cruel?

"No wonder those babies ended up becoming stillborn, they didn't want to live with a vicious mother like you! This is what you deserve!"

I stared at him incredulously, as if the man in front of me was a stranger. Then, I pointed at Nicole, and shouted, "What I deserve? Then what about you two?

"Why don't you tell me why my babies were healthy when they were in my womb, but ended up dying after they were born? Tell me what you did with their bodies!"

Sam frowned. "The doctors just didn't manage to find their defects while they were in your womb, which might I add, was caused by your terrible health! I've already buried them, so why are you bringing them up now? Apologize to Nicole, now!"

My hands weakly fell to the sides of my body, and I scoffed at myself.

I already knew that was what he was going to say, but why did my heart still ache so much?

I picked up a glass shard from the ground and immediately cut off my pinky finger, blood spurting out immediately.

"Penny!" Sam was shocked, his eyes going wide.

"You're right, Sam. I'm sure Nicole needs her hands to carry out her precious job, so now that it's hurt, I'll pay her back with my finger. Is that enough for you?"

After that, I turned and left.

Seeing my receding figure and the blood on the ground, Sam felt a sudden wave of unease, trying to call out to me, but Nicole clung to his arm.

"Sam, my hand hurts so much…"

Sam hesitated for a long moment, and in the end, he didn't come after me.

Before I entered the operating room, he called.

"How is your hand, Penny? Don't worry, Nicole's fine. It was my fault today. I knew that you felt guilty about the children's deaths, so I shouldn't have said that to you.

"I promised Mom that I'd get married to Nicole. Even if it's just for show, my mom would be angry if we postponed it. She's up on her years now, and her heart's not doing well, so I'm worried…"

I cut him off. "I'm fine, so take care of Nicole. Don't make your mother worry."

Sam smiled. "Hey, why are you still calling her that? She's our mom, silly! Don't worry. I'll make sure she acknowledges you!

"I'll be going overseas the day after tomorrow, so I'll go home and keep you company with good food, alright?"

After I hung up, I turned to look at the hospital room door, which was slightly ajar. Inside, the television was playing the news.

"Wilson Group's CEO, Sam Wilson, dotes on his fiancee, summoning top specialists from across the country overnight to treat a tiny cut on her palm!"

I looked at the doctor beside me. "I'm ready. Let's begin."

Even with anesthesia, I could still feel the cold instruments stirring inside me.

And so, I lost another child.

As I stumbled out of the hospital, I clutched my empty abdomen, tears flowing down my face.

'I'm sorry, baby. In your next life, don't choose me as your mother again.'

The next day, Sam didn't return, only giving me a call, "Sorry, Penny. I wanted to keep you company today, but Mom was feeling sick, so I wanted to check in on her."

However, just a minute prior, Nicole had just posted on her social media.

She was wearing a bathrobe, while Sam was half-naked, kneeling on one knee and rubbing her foot lovingly, his gaze filled with tenderness and face still flushed with lingering desire.

Clothes were scattered all over the floor, a clear sign of what had just transpired.

I promptly gathered all my things and burnt them to a crisp.

On the morning of the third day, I got a message from Sam as soon as I got to the airport.

"Penny, are you awake? Don't forget to eat breakfast, alright? I really don't want to leave you. I miss you so much!"

"Be a good girl and wait for me to come home, okay? I'll bring you a gift. Gosh, I miss your lips… If only I could kiss you right now…"

I lifted my gaze and saw him holding Nicole in his arms, kissing her while using a free hand to text me.

Honestly, I was impressed.

I didn't bother to reply, only tapping on the pictures I had saved on my phone and scheduling it to be sent to Sam's business email at a later time.

After that, I turned and walked towards a different boarding gate.

Meanwhile, Sam had just arrived at the wedding ceremony overseas. Greta and the other guests had already been waiting, and the venue was bustling and lively.

Looking at his phone, Sam realized I hadn't replied to him, and his heart grew uneasy. After a few moments, he called his assistant, "Order the madam a flight ticket to where I am, yeah? She's probably lonely since I'm not home.

"We're going to be married by tomorrow anyway, so she won't be able to do anything even if she knew."

Later, Sam had just walked onto the stage hand in hand with Nicole, when the assistant rushed to him, waving his phone.

"Sir, this isn't good! Mrs. Wilson has found out that you gave her babies to Miss Porter as specimens!

"Just a few hours ago, she got on a plane headed to another country, and I just got word that the plane crashed!"