The Johnson family was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. For the sake of a hundred million, Ashton Johnson agreed to get engaged to me.

But on the day of our engagement, he never showed up. I waited alone at the amusement park, humiliated beneath the glow of spinning lights.

Late that night, I stumbled upon a post from his alternate account.

It was a pregnancy report, with Isabelle Hansen's name written across the top in bold, undeniable letters.

Then Ashton sent me a message.

[You wanted the engagement, and I’ve given it to you. I can’t choose my wife, but you don’t get to decide who my lover is.]

[Isabelle is pregnant. In public, I’m your fiancé. In private, I’m the father of her child.]

[I need four days a week to be with her and the baby, or the wedding’s off.]

I stared at the screen, then let out a cold laugh.

Did he really think I had begged for this engagement?

There were men lined up from Orlando to Paris who would kill for a chance to marry into the Castellano family.

At the engagement party, ninety-nine heirs from the most elite Orlando families stood in a perfect row, waiting for me to choose.

I waved my hand with a dramatic flair.

“Rock-paper-scissors. Whoever wins gets the spot.”

——

That day, the skies opened up with the worst storm of the century.

I stood at the amusement park gate in the rain for ten hours. Soaked to the bone and shivering with cold, my father finally sent a driver to pick me up and take me home.

On the way home, I kept refreshing our chat. The top of the window still showed the video calls I made, unanswered, ignored, like they never mattered.

Not even one reply from Ashton.

When we pulled into the driveway, my father stepped out and helped me from the car. His expression was dark, his voice heavy with disappointment.

“What’s so good about that Ashton boy? Worth standing in the rain for ten hours?”

“The contract’s signed, and the hundred million is gone. Can’t you see him for what he is now?”

I placed my trembling hand over his, my voice quiet but resolute.

“You’re right. I don’t want Ashton anymore.”

“That kind of ungrateful trash isn’t worth your tears.”

My father’s expression froze as if he hadn’t heard me right.

“What? You said…”

“Yeah. I said I don’t want Ashton. I haven’t even married him yet, and he’s already cheating. What’s he going to do after the wedding, treat me like a doormat?”

“You can go ahead and let those ninety-nine candidates you lined up take their chances. Rock-paper-scissors, whoever wins, I’ll marry. The Castellano family doesn’t need a son-in-law cursed with bad luck.”

The moment the words left my mouth, everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying in my bedroom, the scent of warm sheets wrapped around me.

Ashton sat at the edge of the bed, his face dark as night. The second he saw me awake, his expression sank even deeper.

“Are you serious? I miss one date, and you go running to your family to tattle?”

“Do you have any idea how bad Isabelle’s morning sickness was today? She nearly passed out! And to you, a human life matters less than some silly date?”

He didn’t give me a chance to speak. His words came at me like machine-gun fire.

“I already agreed to marry you. Isabelle is just a mistress I keep on the side. Can’t you be a little more tolerant? What more do you want? Your possessiveness is insane. You might as well put a leash on me!”

After he finished venting, I looked at him with calm indifference.

“Is that what you think I am?”

My composure only ignited his anger. He shot up from the bed.

“What else? You think my dad’s a fortune teller?”

“One call from him and I’m ordered to come here and ‘recognize my place.’”

“Kate, I agreed to this marriage alliance, but I’m still a free man. I’m not your dog!”

As I stared into his bloodshot eyes, I suddenly realized that explaining anything was useless.

“Fine. Think whatever you want. Forced love is never sweet. I’ll give you what you want.”

His face twisted in frustration again. He raked a hand through his short hair, clearly agitated.

When he turned to face me, his tone softened just a little.

"I'm not saying it like that. It's just... Isabelle has no one else, and I worry about her."

"Her child is illegitimate. It won’t threaten your place. Why must you keep targeting her?"

"As long as you agree to give me four days a week with Isabelle, the wedding can go on as planned."

That once-handsome face now made my stomach turn.

I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side.

"Don’t bother. I won’t marry you. Give all your days to her. Congratulations, you’re free."

"You talk so self-righteous. If you’ve got guts, stop using money to control people! Hypocrite!"

He threw those words over his shoulder and stormed out without a single glance back.

Tears slipped down silently, soaking the pillow beneath me.

Eight years of one-sided love ended just like that, dead and buried in a single night.

I didn’t sleep a wink. By morning, a fever burned through me, climbing to 39°C.

When the maid brought breakfast and pressed her hand to my forehead, a scream of fright escaped her lips.

My father hurried me to the hospital for an IV drip.

Two hours later, the fever finally broke.

While I was paying the bill alone, I unexpectedly ran into Ashton, who had come with Isabelle for a prenatal checkup.

Isabelle leaned weakly against him, her hands gently resting on her barely visible belly.

With a soft smile, she murmured, “The baby was so good today, didn’t make a fuss. Do you think he heard what you said yesterday?”

Ashton’s face softened with a tenderness I had never seen before. He gently flicked the tip of her nose.

“Silly girl, the baby hasn’t even properly formed yet. How could he possibly hear anything?”

“I don’t care, I don’t care! He definitely heard! You’re not allowed to say a single bad thing about the baby. My baby is definitely the smartest in the world.”

Ashton instantly lost his temper but then nodded obediently.

“Yes, yes, yes. Isabelle is always right. The baby takes after you, smart and beautiful.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of me.

Isabelle deliberately stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

I quickly ducked behind the corner, my heart aching so fiercely it was hard to breathe.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to let go of what I felt for him. But despite my efforts, my eyes reddened without warning.

When I went to pay the bill, Isabelle approached me alone, flashing the dazzling engagement ring on her finger.

“Miss Castellano, hello. I assume you already know who I am after yesterday.”

“From now on, we’re both women serving Ashton. Please take care of me.”

The bitterness I had barely held back exploded into a fierce storm inside me. My face hardened, cold and sharp.

“You’re dirty. Don’t think everyone else is as low as you.”

“Serving a man? How dare you say something so vile? Ashton might be a treasure to you, but to me, he’s not even human.”

After paying the bill, I turned to leave.

Suddenly, Isabelle grabbed my wrist and yanked me down toward the floor.

After a brief struggle, she let out a sharp, desperate scream, choking on her sobs.

“I’m sorry, Miss Castellano, it’s all my fault. I should never have fought you for Ashton. Please, please don’t harm my baby. The child is innocent!”

“I knew Ashton first. I’m willing to give him up to you. I want nothing but for the baby to be born safely. Isn’t that enough?”

Her sobs quickly drew the eyes of everyone nearby.

Other patients and their families began whispering, then pointing fingers at me.

“Snatching another woman’s man and now playing the victim? Mistresses these days have no shame at all!”

“I despise homewreckers more than anything. Filthy trash!”

“Money doesn’t make you better than anyone! Bullying a pregnant woman, what kind of heartless person are you? Apologize right now!”

The flood of accusations crashed over me, drowning out any chance to speak.

Before I could even open my mouth, Ashton rushed over without a moment’s hesitation.

Holding Isabelle in his arms, Ashton turned and shot me a vicious glare.

"Kate, are you following me?"

I looked up at him, disbelief thick in my voice.

"I already told you, Isabelle won’t threaten your position. Why can’t you just leave her alone?"

“Following you?”

“Ashton, have you lost your mind?”

“This is a hospital! I—”

Before I could finish, he cut me off sharply. “Enough! Kate, do you know what I hate most about you?”

“I hate how you think money makes you superior. Are all the people here blind?”

His lips curled into a cold sneer, disdain written all over his face.

“Money can buy an engagement, but it can never buy real love.”

“Kate, people like you will never know true love in this lifetime!”

Watching Ashton stand up for Isabelle, the crowd around us began to murmur in approval.

He straightened his back and spoke coldly, “Hand over that riverside villa. The air there is good. Let Isabelle stay there during her pregnancy. That will settle everything.”

Rage clouded my thoughts. My eyes flared red in an instant.

“Are you serious? That villa is my mother’s inheritance! And you want your mistress living there? On what grounds?”

Isabelle sobbed so hard her voice broke, soft and pitiful, “Ashton, actually, Kate… she isn’t—”

“You don’t need to defend her. I know exactly what kind of person she is!”

“If she hadn’t interfered, we’d have been married long ago!”

He shot me a sharp glare, his eyes full of scorn.

“You think spending a hundred million buys you the right to marry me.”

My body swayed uncontrollably. I could barely remain standing.

This was the man I had loved in secret for eight long years.

How blind I must have been back then.

I wanted to tell him I had already called off the engagement and had no intention of bothering Isabelle.

But Ashton gave me no chance to speak. He ordered the bodyguards to drag me into the car.

The Maybach sped toward the riverside.

Inside, Ashton held Isabelle tightly in his arms, his glare burning with fury directed straight at me.

“Where’s the room key? Hand it over.”

“In your dreams!”

Ashton’s face darkened, malice practically dripping from his eyes.

He glanced at the bodyguard, who immediately stepped forward and began searching me.

“If you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for not giving you a chance.”

My scream nearly shattered the car roof.

Ashton covered Isabelle’s eyes with his hand, never sparing me a glance.

Still weak from illness, I barely had any strength left.

The bodyguard tore my outer clothes to shreds.

Only the sheer dress underneath clung to me, barely covering my body.

All the dignity I had left was trampled into the dirt.

Tears of despair slipped silently from the corners of my eyes.

At last, the bodyguard found a wallet, and the nightmare finally came to an end.

Ashton handed the room key to Isabelle.

He passed the black card to the bodyguard.

“Go to the nearest mall. Buy everything in the maternity store. Nothing under ten thousand dollars. I don’t want anything that could harm Isabelle or the baby.”

After speaking, he wiped his hands on a tissue with clear disgust, as if my wallet were a filthy thing.

The bodyguard was dropped off halfway.

My fever flared again, and I slipped back into unconsciousness.

In my haze, I faintly heard Ashton’s voice, laced with venom.

I was kicked twice.

“Quit faking! Get up!”

“Kate, can’t you hear me? Don’t make me throw you out of the car!”

“You’ll stoop to anything for sympathy, huh? Isabelle’s pregnant and weak, so now you’re pretending too?”

“Perfect. If you’re pregnant, I don’t have to go through with the engagement. Still not moving? Want me to call your family and tell them?”