My family is on the brink of bankruptcy, and I beg my fiancé to help us with emergency funding.

He turns me down cold, then gets engaged to Nellie White without hesitation.

Just when I'm out of options, my childhood friend shows up with an investment contract and a marriage proposal.

I say yes without thinking twice. But even with his help, our company can't escape ruin.

My father, unable to bear the blow, suffers a heart attack and dies.

At the funeral, overwhelmed by grief, I faint. In my haze, I overhear a conversation between my childhood friend and his friend.

"You've already crushed Talitha’s family. When are you going to take her uterus for Nellie?"

"On the wedding day," he replies casually. "I'll stage an accident, then operate on her myself. Her uterus will be Nell's. I can't give Nell happiness in this life, so I'll give her a wedding gift. I hope it makes her happy."

Turns out his so-called devotion was just so he could take my womb. Even his proposal to me was just a way to remove all obstacles for the woman he loved.

Even then, Ambrose Sinclair's friend was still trying to reason with him. "Talitha's a good woman. Why are you doing this to her? You're really not planning to have kids with her?"

"I don't love her, so it's better if we don't have kids. I'm already spending the rest of my life with her. I have nothing left to give."

Ambrose spoke gently, but each word struck like a blow.

His friend pushed further. "What happens if she finds out you're the one who destroyed her family? How do you expect her to live with that?"

"I don't care. I just want Nell to be happy. If Talitha were still the Fanning heiress, Nell could forget about marrying Kendrick," Ambrose replied. His tone was devoid of guilt.

I wanted to confront him—to ask how he could be this cruel, to ask how he could lie to me like that. But I couldn't make a sound. It was as if my throat had clamped shut.

My hands moved to my stomach on their own. I was already one month along. And yet, the child's father didn't want it.

I had imagined, so many times, how thrilled Ambrose would be when I told him. Now, though, that joy felt like a sick joke. It was a cruel twist of fate that cut deeper than I ever thought possible.

Maybe I had already cried too much. But right then, I couldn't shed a single tear.

It wasn't until the sound of footsteps faded that I slowly opened my eyes.

When Ambrose walked back in, the same gentle smile was on his face. It was as if nothing had happened.

"Tali, you're awake. Are you thirsty?" he asked.

I didn't say a word, so he continued, "I was thinking we could get away for a bit. Maybe go to the beach. You seem really worn out lately."

As he spoke, he handed me a cup of chamomile tea. It was the right temperature, exactly how I liked it.

Ambrose's eyes brimmed with concern. He knew all my habits and always found a way to soothe me.

Back when Kendrick Thorne had turned his back on me 77 times, Ambrose kept proposing without hesitation.

I thought he loved me, and that no one could ever love me more. But in truth, it had all been an act.

"I don't want to marry you anymore," I stated.

Panic flickered in his eyes at that. He reached for my arm, flustered.

"Why? Did I do something wrong? I promise, I'll never do it again."

Then, he pulled out a small box from his pocket. "Look! I had our wedding rings custom-made. Please, don't be upset."

I wanted to speak. However, the only thing that came was tears.

"Tali, talk to me. What's wrong? You're scaring me," he pleaded. He pulled me into his arms.

I could hear his heartbeat against my ear. Just as I began to calm down, his phone rang.

It was none other than Nellie White.

In an instant, everything inside me collapsed again.

Ambrose released me and stepped back before answering. Moments later, his expression darkened.

"Something came up at the hospital," was all he said.

With that, he grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door.

I stared at the ring he'd left on the bed. It was shaped like a four-leaf clover—Nellie's favorite design.

So, was it ever really meant for me?

No. Just like Ambrose's love, it had never belonged to me.

"The fetus is too small. I wouldn't recommend a procedure just yet. Come back in a week," the doctor told me.

I walked out of the examination room in a daze. My mind had gone completely blank. A week felt unbearably long. It was as if time had decided to stand still.

I wandered aimlessly down the hallway. To my surprise, I saw Ambrose supporting Nellie. His face was etched with worry.

She leaned against him as they walked. With a weak but playful tone of reproach, she said, "It's just a little stomach pain. You're overreacting. Did you really have to make me go through all those tests?"

"You've got a stomach issue. From now on, I'll cook your meals and bring them to your office," he replied. His eyes were full of concern.

"It's just mild acute gastritis. If you start bringing me food every day, won't Talitha be upset? She's always been sensitive."

Nellie was always ready to take a jab at me, but never without that sweet, innocent tone. It was as though playing the victim made her look more considerate by comparison.

Ambrose's expression changed almost immediately.

"Don't mind her. You know how I feel about…" he responded. His voice was laced with a bitterness he tried to hide.

However, he cut off abruptly when he saw me.

"Tali, what are you doing here?" He quickly added, "Don't get the wrong idea. I just happened to run into Nell when she wasn't feeling well. It was on the way, so I brought her here."

I nearly laughed. Nellie lived on the east side of the city, while the hospital was on the west side. "On his way", huh?

How could he keep a straight face while telling such a pathetic lie?

"Stay with her," I said coolly, unwilling to look at either of them for a moment longer.

As I turned to leave, Ambrose chased after me. It was evident that he was desperate to explain.

"I'm fine. I'm not mad. Just tired," I interrupted.

I refused to hear a single word of his excuses. Then, he noticed how pale I looked.

"Are you okay? You don't look well. How about eating out tonight?"

…

As I got into Ambrose's car, a thought crossed my mind. He had never cooked for me, not even once.

So, I asked, "Do you know how to cook?"

He froze momentarily before saying, "Of course not. It's too much of a hassle. Once we're married, I can hire a housekeeper if you don't feel like cooking."

I closed my eyes and tried to hold back the disgust bubbling up inside me. He didn't even bother to fake it.

…

That night, Ambrose took a phone call and left in a rush.

Not long after, Nellie sent me a message. It was a mirror selfie, and she was wearing my wedding dress. Ambrose, on the other hand, was crouched beside her. He was carefully adjusting the hem.

She wrote, "Oh no, what do I do now? Your fiancé says I look better in it."

Nellie never missed a chance to flaunt. Back then, she boasted about how much Kendrick adored her. Now, it was Ambrose.

But I no longer cared about all this.

I rose to my feet and headed straight for Ambrose's safe. I tried two combinations, yet both were wrong.

After a moment of thought, I entered Nellie's birthday. Sure enough, the lock clicked open.

Inside were a few documents, and I recognized them immediately. They were the files from the projects that had bankrupted my family.

Ambrose had dumped 200 million dollars into rigging the deal, all to bring my family down. I couldn't help but marvel at just how far he could go for Nellie.

My hands trembled as I picked up the documents. That was when I saw a journal lying beneath them.

There was a four-leaf clover stamped on the cover.

I opened it to reveal Ambrose's handwriting. Every line was dripping with affection for Nellie.

It turned out that he had fallen for her the moment he first saw her at my place.

"She's the only one who matters. I'd give up everything for her. Even if I don't love Talitha, I can still tolerate being with her every day," he had written.

My fingers lingered on the word "tolerate", tracing it again and again. A beat later, tears began streaming down my cheeks.

At that moment, I received a text.

It was a message confirming that my immigration paperwork was in process. On top of that, the plane ticket had been issued.

I wiped my tears and decided to give Ambrose one hell of a wedding gift.

Ever since the scandal with Kendrick and that young model broke out, Ambrose had barely been home. And whenever he did show up, he was always in a rush.

He claimed that he was overwhelmed with surgeries at the hospital. But I knew exactly where he'd been.

While he was gone, I used the time to clear the house of anything that had to do with me.

…

It was the day of the procedure. I lay on the cold operating table, begging the doctor to let me keep whatever was left of the pregnancy.

My hands shook as I touched it, hoping to sense the faintest sign of life. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.

The baby had come at the worst possible time, but maybe that was for the best. After that day, I no longer had anyone left in this world.

…

Once the surgery was over, I dragged my weakened body home.

Just as I slid the key into the lock, the door swung open from the inside.

Nellie appeared in my silk nightgown. Her hair was still damp. It was clear she had just stepped out of the shower.

She leaned lazily against the doorframe. Her voice was laced with provocation as she drawled, "Well, look who's back. Hey, Talitha."

I'd never understood her hostility. I had picked her out of a group home, sponsored her, and never once held back when she needed help.

Knowing she was born with a congenital uterine condition, I found the best doctor to treat her. When she started college, I let her live with me so she wouldn't have to worry about housing.

And still, she carried this deep resentment toward me.

Worst of all, she knew my mother had a heart condition, and yet still chose to bring up Kendrick's infidelity at her most vulnerable moment. The stress was too much. In the end, my mother passed away.

I shot Nellie a piercing look. "You're enjoying the thrill of being the other woman, aren't you?"

Her smug expression faltered. But almost immediately, her face twisted with scorn as she spat, "You're the other woman. So what if you're some heiress? At the end of the day, they love me. You're the one nobody wants, so you're the real third party here!"

"Thanks for helping me take out the trash, then," I shot back with a sneer.

Furious, Nellie shoved me.

I was too weak to hold my ground and stumbled backward before slamming hard into the sharp corner of the shoe cabinet. All at once, a piercing pain shot through me, followed by a tearing ache in my lower abdomen.

Meanwhile, Nellie dramatically collapsed to the ground. She clutched her stomach and yelped.

Ambrose, who had been in the kitchen cooking, came rushing out at the sound of the commotion.

His eyes locked onto Nellie first. Without hesitation, he bolted straight to her, not even sparing me a glance.

"Nell, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Nellie sobbed uncontrollably. Her voice shook as she stammered, "T-Talitha shoved me the second she walked in. I-It hurts…"

Only then did Ambrose notice me. I was leaning weakly against the cabinet. Despite that, his first instinct was to snap.

"If you've got a problem, take it out on me! How could you lay a hand on her? She's been fighting with Kendrick and has nowhere else to go. So, I told her she could stay for a couple of days."

Once upon a time, whenever Nellie accused me of something, Ambrose would step in right away.

"Tali would never do that," he'd say with conviction.

He used to come to my defense like he was doing for her now. Unfortunately, this time, the same protective tone was turned against me.

I clutched my abdomen as waves of pain crashed over me. Then, my vision blurred.

Nellie slumped into Ambrose's arms, saying, "Don't blame Talitha. She's never liked me. It's okay. I'll leave."

Her voice was soft, yet I caught the glint of triumph in her eyes.

Ambrose was very protective of her. He glared at me and barked, "Talitha Fanning, apologize to Nellie now!"

With that, he grabbed my arm, trying to drag me toward her.

That was when I felt something warm trickling down my leg. A second later, another wave of pain tore through me.

"Ambrose… I don't feel so good," I muttered. My voice was barely above a whisper.