Elsie's POV

I let out a deep sigh and helped Marshall to his feet.

“What’s really going on?” I asked.

He lowered his head, clearly embarrassed, and narrated, “At first, I had no idea Maggie was the underprivileged student you were sponsoring. She started pursuing me, and honestly, I didn’t think much of it. But not long after we got together, she told me she was pregnant with triplets.”

Marshall didn't look that old, but let's face it. He was not young anymore. There was no way Maggie actually liked him for who he was. She probably ran into him one of the times he came to school to visit me, and decided to make a move.

I was worried he was being played, but then Marshall admitted it himself.

“I found out the truth later. I knew she was only with me for money. But I’m getting older. I’ve always wanted children of my own. So please, Elsie, don’t expose me. At least not until the babies are born.”

I wanted to say no. After everything I’d done for Maggie, this betrayal cut deep. But maybe that was exactly why I couldn’t bring myself to reject him. I gave him a small nod and followed him back to the VIP room where Maggie and the others were waiting.

“You have my blessing,” I said. “Go ahead with the marriage.”

With my approval, Maggie quickly married Marshall and got her hands on a marriage certificate.

Marshall originally planned for them to live in his suburban house, but Maggie didn’t like the idea. She kept saying she wasn’t in it for the money, but insisted on moving into my villa instead.

Her excuse? She wanted to “bond” with me.

What a joke.

As soon as she moved in, her true colors came out. Whenever Marshall wasn’t home, she dropped the sweet act completely and became downright unbearable.

“Elsie,” she’d sneer, arms crossed over her baby bump. “I’m carrying your three brothers, and you think it’s okay to serve me this garbage?”

“I asked for a steak, and you just gave me steamed vegetables? Are you kidding me?” she snapped. “I may have been some poor charity case before, but I’m your stepmother now. If I weren’t such a kind person, I would’ve kicked you out of here already.”

But whenever Marshall came home from work, Maggie flipped the switch instantly. She’d morph into the picture of a gentle, fragile wife.

“I just had steamed vegetables today,” she’d say, tears brimming in her eyes. “It wasn’t much, but Elsie’s right. Eating too much will make me gain weight. And I know you’d hate that... I mean, I’m just a girl from the countryside. I’m lucky to have anything at all.”

Marshall knew I wasn’t the kind of person to mistreat someone, but he still scolded me now and then just to make her happy. I found the whole performance ridiculous, but in the end, I played along for the sake of peace.

Watching Maggie act like this left me speechless. I had treated her with nothing but kindness. I paid for her education and even planned to give her a position in my family’s company after graduation. But clearly, she had no intention of building her future honestly. All she wanted was to use her unborn children to secure a place in high society.

Months passed. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was afraid I’d break down and spill the truth before she even gave birth. To keep my sanity and avoid ruining everything, I moved into a small villa closer to campus.

I thought moving near school would finally give me some peace. But I was wrong.

Maggie wasn’t done with me. She actually chased me all the way to school.

Since she hadn’t been back on campus since marrying Marshall, her sudden appearance, heavily pregnant, caused a stir. Everyone was shocked and crowded around her, asking when she got married and why they hadn’t been invited.

With a smug little smile, she pointed at me and said in a sharp, sarcastic tone, “Blame Elsie! I’m her stepmother now. Yet she kept saying I wasn’t good enough for her dad. Although she agreed to let us get the marriage certificate, she refused to let us have a proper wedding.”

Elsie's POV

“Sure, my husband dotes on me,” Maggie said with a smug smile, resting a hand on her belly, “but after all, he only had one daughter for the past twenty years. Of course, he still listens to her most of the time.”

She let out a soft chuckle. “But that’s okay. Once I give birth and our three sons turn a month old, we’ll hold the wedding and the baby celebration together. It'll be a big event.”

Since we were all classmates, everyone already knew I had sponsored Maggie through school. No one could believe that the student I helped would turn around and become my stepmother. No matter how you looked at it, it was the definition of betrayal.

One by one, people started turning to me, asking if it was really true.

I clenched my jaw, struggling to keep my emotions in check. Then I forced the words out, “Yes. It’s true. She really did marry… my dad.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, the room fell into stunned silence, followed by an uproar.

Maggie’s face darkened when she saw everyone’s shocked expressions shift to disgust.

“Oh, don’t act like you’re all too noble to care about money,” she snapped, glaring at the crowd. “Why do you think you work so hard in school? Isn't it to get a good job, make money, and give your future kids a better life? Don’t pretend you’re above it.”

Proudly, she continued, “All I did was take a shortcut you all wish you could take but can’t. And let me tell you, I took fertility drugs just so I could carry triplets and secure a better future for me and my children. That’s called planning.”

“This society doesn’t mock gold-diggers anymore. It mocks the poor. And I didn’t even cheat or steal. I got married and had kids, fair and square. What’s so laughable about that?” she added, brows arching upward.

Maggie was seven months pregnant by now, and I really didn’t want to fight her, not after putting up with so much for so long. Blowing up now would’ve made all that patience pointless.

So I just let out a heavy sigh and turned to leave, saying nothing.

But some of my classmates, especially the ones I had helped in the past, couldn’t hold back. They stepped up one after another, their voices sharp and filled with disbelief.

“This is disgusting. Elsie gave you the chance to change your life, and you repay her by seducing her father?”

“How can you be so ungrateful? Don’t you remember crying on your knees, thanking her?”

“Even if we had the same shortcut, we wouldn’t have taken it. We want to change our lives too, but we’re doing it the right way. Not by climbing into someone’s bed.”

“Love? Please. If Elsie’s dad weren’t rich, would you even look at him?”

“You’re just like the snake in that old fable that bit the farmer who saved it.”

The words stung, and although everything they said was true, Maggie couldn’t handle it. Months of being pampered like royalty in the villa had made her thin-skinned and arrogant. She exploded in rage, pointing at everyone and shouting, “My sons will inherit everything the Ramseys own! And you useless people? You’ll be working for them someday!”

Then she turned to me, venom in her voice. “And you, Elsie. I was going to wait until the babies were born before sending you abroad. But now? You turned everyone against me. The moment I give birth, I’m kicking you out of the family, and you’ll be out on the streets!”

Just then, someone in the crowd spoke up with a puzzled look. “Wait… something doesn’t add up.”

Everyone turned to him as he frowned, thinking aloud. “I remember Elsie's parents passed away years ago. She never had a father after that. So… how exactly did you marry her dad and end up pregnant with his kids?”