The day I came back to the Bennett family as the real heiress, Romina, the fake one, looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and said she wanted to give the engagement back to me.

"Don't bother. I'm already seeing someone."

I rested a hand on my barely noticeable belly and said, half joking, "If you feel that bad about it, how about you just cash me out instead?"

The words had barely left my mouth before a few lines of text drifted across my vision.

[lmaooo the villainess is still scheming for money at a time like this. can we please skip ahead to the part where the male lead puts her in her place.]

[I came for the sweet romance between the lead and the fake heiress heroine, not some side character throwing a fit because she's got a baby bump to wave around]

[spoiler from me! the villainess gets thrown out of the family, the lead ends up hating her, and she dies in childbirth. throwing confetti!]

I clicked my tongue. How could I possibly cling to a strange man?

Then footsteps came from behind me.

Romina walked over, crying, and introduced me. "Orlando, this is my sister, Ophelia. The engagement was supposed to be hers."

I turned around, and my whole body went rigid.

It was the patron who'd kept me for five years, the father of the child I was carrying.

The instant Orlando saw me, his pupils shrank to pinpoints.

A heartbeat later, his face smoothed back over.

He gave me a polite little nod, the smile at the corner of his mouth both warm and distant, and said lightly:

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Ophelia."

Then he took Romina's hand and brushed his thumb over the ring on her finger, his voice seven parts tender, three parts annoyed.

"Don't say things like that. You're the one I'm marrying. You're my Donna."

The comments hit a fever pitch.

[sugar overload warning!]

[incoming! the villainess is about to use the baby to force a wedding!]

[lmao! the lead loves the heroine, he's not about to coddle some side character!]

Once the shock wore off, I pulled myself together.

So much for getting Orlando back. That road was a dead end.

Fine, Orlando. You were the one forcing my hand.

If we couldn't talk feelings, then we would talk money.

I gave him a faint smile. "Pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Hale."

The comments stalled for a second, then boiled over.

[that's it? why isn't she making a scene?]

[tsk, this side character is faker than a knockoff handbag.]

[didn't see that coming, the villainess is a high-class bitch. interesting!]

Orlando seemed thrown by how agreeable I was. He stole a glance at me, careful not to let it show.

My mother, Clara, asked offhandedly, "You said you're seeing someone? How far along is it?"

The whole room's attention swung back to me.

I glanced at Orlando.

He held the smile on his face, but his fists curled tight without him noticing.

I spread my hands and laughed:

"He went back home to get married. So right now, the two of us have exactly no relationship."

Everyone blinked, not sure how to follow that.

My father muttered something and patted my shoulder gently, comforting me.

The smile stayed on Orlando's face. So did his clenched fists.

Romina lit up and threaded her arm through mine. "Sister, you really don't want the engagement?"

"Of course not! It's not the Middle Ages!" I couldn't have sounded more certain.

A second later I added, "And like I said, the offer stands. If you feel guilty, just cash me out."

Everyone assumed I was still joking and laughed along.

I was the only one stewing. How were they all this slow on the uptake?

More comments rolled in.

[truly the villainess, money-crazed to the core!]

[I'm just waiting! no way she doesn't go crawl to the male lead later and play the victim!]

My father laughed and clapped my shoulder. "That's my girl, so gracious! The man who walked out on you is a complete idiot!"

A crack split open in Orlando's smiling mask.

A moment later, my mother smiled:

"Romina's not strong, and she looks worn out. Let's wrap up your welcome party here."

"Ophelia, let me show you to your room first."

My room was at the very end of the hall.

I pushed the door open. The room was cramped and cold, a mess inside.

My mother brushed it off:

"Bear with this for now. Romina's lived in her room for twenty years. It wouldn't be right to make her move."

"You're the older sister, and you just got back. You should give her a little grace."

I looked at the room, smaller than Romina's walk-in closet, and nodded. "Okay."

After my mother left, Orlando walked in.

"Effie, I don't want our history getting out. These past five years, I paid you everything I owed you."

He said it slow and deliberate, every word spelled out, like he was talking to someone simple.

"Romina is my Donna. You need to know your place."

My hand went to my stomach on instinct. The test I'd gotten yesterday was still in my purse.

I'd thought coming back to the Bennetts would put us on equal footing.

I'd thought being the real Bennett heiress would finally let us be together openly.

Turned out it was all just something I'd thought.

Something sour twisted in my chest. My nails bit into my palm until they drew blood.

I forced out a smile and looked up at him. "Of course. But you still owe me one last payment to keep me quiet. Thirty million."

He froze where he stood.

I flashed him an OK sign. "Don't forget now, Don Hale. Thirty million."

Then I shut the door in his face.

What I'd said actually got under Orlando's skin.

He slammed a hand against the door, about to say something, when footsteps sounded down the hall.

I peeked out. It was Romina, carrying a plate of pastries.

She saw me and Orlando alone together, and her eyes went red on cue.

"Sister... do you blame me for taking your engagement away..."

Fat tears splashed onto the floor.

"The marriage between the Hales and the Bennetts was always meant for you, the real daughter..."

"Sister... if you love Orlando, I, I can step aside..."

It made my skin crawl.

Did I say a word? Did I try to take anything? She comes out swinging with the innocent act, ready to "give him up" for me.

Funny how that generosity vanished the second I asked her to actually pay me.

I was about to fire back when my mother heard the commotion and came over.

Her face was dark, her brow furrowed, her voice cold and hard as iron.

"Ophelia, why do you stir up chaos the moment you come back? Romina isn't well, she can't take this kind of shock!"

"What are you doing pestering Orlando? Don't you know he's Romina's fiancé?"

My father snapped, "Don't pull this kind of scheming in my house!"

[oh ho! here we go! waiting for the villainess to throw a fit!]

[here it comes! the limited-time item "unborn baby" is about to get its big moment!]

I sighed. "You've got it all wrong. Orlando and I were just discussing a business deal. He's interested in buying in."

I looked at him. "Right, Orlando?"

Orlando's face went stiff. Slowly, he nodded.

"I'll go rest, then."

I shut the door.

Through the gap, I heard my mother soothing Romina.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. Mommy's here. No one's going to hurt you."

[did the villainess take the wrong pills? did she grab the wrong script?]

[the side character's faking it harder and harder. fine by me, the higher she climbs, the harder she falls!]

The comments kept scrolling, but I'd lost interest in reading them.

My phone buzzed.

A transfer from Orlando. Five million.

The note read: You're being sensible. Here's your hush money.

I replied immediately. "Still twenty-five million short, Mr. Hale."

I tossed the phone aside and buried my head under the covers.

I wasn't nearly as indifferent as I made myself look.

All that toughness was just stubbornness, the only way I had to keep my dignity.

My mind drifted back without permission.

The year I turned eighteen, I was passing through an alley and found a man lying there, covered in blood.

He stopped me from calling for help and begged me to take him somewhere instead.

While he spoke, those eyes, deep and blue as the sea, never left me.

His eyes were a bottomless pit that pulled at your soul. Anyone who met that gaze would fall right in.

I did what he asked and took him where he wanted to go.

Only later did I learn he was the son of the Hale family's Don, the next in line to inherit the title.

He survived. To repay me, he asked me out.

Little by little, he fell for me.

At least, that was what I believed.

We ended up together.

He wouldn't let me work. He said he'd take care of me for the rest of my life.

Five years. Eighteen to twenty-three, the best years of a woman's life, I gave them all to him.

But he told me he was going to be the Don, and a Don's marriage isn't his own to choose.

He said he loved me. He just loved the family's interests more.

Yesterday I found out I was pregnant. Before I could even tell him, the Bennetts came and reclaimed me.

I thought I'd finally become worthy of him.

Then he told me the woman he was marrying had always been Romina.

Even though I was the real Bennett daughter.

Outside, rain started to fall, soft and steady, like someone crying.

I listened to it for a while, then opened my email.

There was one message I hadn't answered, a business plan Damian had sent me.

I kept my reply short. "I'm in. I'll invest thirty million."

A man who strayed was lower than a dog. But he couldn't just walk away clean either.

Thirty million. Not a dollar less, Orlando, or I won't let you off.

[case closed! so the villainess wants the thirty million to bankroll some other pretty boy!]

[lmao, how pathetic, she has to use the male lead's money to buy the side guy's love.]

[you're all wrong! this is just a tactic, she's obviously doing it to needle the male lead!]

The comments kept guessing, smug as ever.

I got up, pushed the window open, and looked out at the distance, planning everything that came next.

The wind blew in, carrying rain.

It was cold, but it woke me up.

The next morning at breakfast, Romina ground me a cup of coffee by hand and smiled sweetly.

"Sister, I recommend the Moretino single-origin beans. You'll love them."

Oh? If you were so eager to wait on me, I wouldn’t hold back then.

I held out my hand and gave her a sweet smile. "Thank you."

As Romina passed me the coffee, her foot slipped.

Scalding coffee splashed across my thigh. My skin flared an angry red on contact.

Romina fluttered her hands, helpless, head bowed, tears falling. "Sister, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..."

My mother frowned, scolding. "Ophelia, you can't even take a cup of coffee without dropping it? What if you'd burned Romina?"

[zero out of ten for this performance, the secondhand embarrassment is unreal!]

[the male lead's about to show up, she's working herself up for the big move!]

Right on cue, Orlando appeared.

Romina threw herself into his arms, sobbing. "I... I'm so clumsy... I burned my sister..."

Orlando's eyes filled with concern. He murmured to her for a moment, then turned a cold stare on me.

"Romina made that coffee for you herself. What are you playing at?"

I glanced down at my nearly cooked skin, pulled out my phone with my payment QR code on the screen, and walked over to Romina.

"Don't cry, Romina. I'm not blaming you at all."

"Thank you... thank you, Sister... I really didn't mean to..."

"Let's not dwell on it." I cut her off and held the payment code up in front of her. "But we should settle the medical bill, yeah?"

Romina froze.

I waited a beat. When she didn't move, I waved the phone in front of Orlando instead.

"Or... will Mr. Hale cover it for his fiancée?"

Orlando's face went dark and he said nothing. My mother jumped in to smooth it over.

"Is money really the issue here? Your sister's been frightened. That's what matters."

"You're so good at making money. I suppose it's fine if you don't get a share of the family fortune. We'll just give it all to Romina."

My father snorted. "I agree."

Orlando nodded too. "After the wedding, I'll set aside part of the family business for Romina as well."

Tsk. That was the heroine for you. A couple of tears and she got everything.

Be as generous as you liked. You still owed me my bill.

I lifted my leg, pointed at the red, raw skin with one hand, and kept waving the payment code in front of Orlando with the other.

"No objections from me. But settle the medical bill first."

[the villainess has actually lost it... why won't she just make a scene...]

Orlando's hands shook as he pulled out his phone. His voice cracked with fury. "Sent."

Another five million.

The note read: Take it. Stop giving Romina a hard time.

I sighed and texted back, "Please. I'm the victim here. And you still owe me twenty-five million."

Orlando read it, and his face went darker still.

He didn't so much as look at me. He wrapped an arm around Romina and walked out.

I didn't care where he went. As far as I was concerned, he was off rounding up the cash.

If he didn't pay the balance today, I'd chase him for it tomorrow.

By evening, Romina pushed open my door, sniffling.

"Sister, my pink diamond ring is gone! Orlando gave it to me as an engagement gift..."

She held up her phone to show me a photo.

The smile froze on my face.

I knew that ring.

A year ago, Orlando took me to a Sotheby's auction and told me to pick anything I wanted.

I chose that seven-carat pink diamond.

He bought it without a word.

But he never gave it to me. When I finally couldn't help asking, he said flatly, "Oh. Gave it to someone else."

So from the very start, it was always going to be Romina who won.

[the villainess is shook! she totally stole it!]

[here for the face-slap arc!]

Orlando followed her into my room, voice ice cold. "Ophelia. That doesn't belong to you. Hand it over."

My mother arrived too, face grim. "Are you getting back at your sister? If you took it, give it back now."

"Sister..." Romina wrung her hands. "If you like it, I can give you other jewelry, but not this ring..."

I almost laughed out loud.

What, now I had to prove my own innocence?

Fine. But it would cost you.

"How about a bet?"

I looked at them, daring them, and said it slow and clear. "Ten million. We go check the security footage and see if I actually took it."

Silence.

I pressed them. "Well? Or we can make it five million."

While we were still at a standstill, a maid came running. "Found it! Miss Romina! The ring slipped down into the crack by the bed!"

Orlando blinked, then couldn't help looking at me.

[okay I'm shook! it really was a misunderstanding!]

[hold on, something's off about this villainess, she really doesn't seem to want the male lead anymore...]

The comments stopped agreeing with each other and split into two camps.

Orlando cleared his throat and transferred me another sum, his voice low. "I'm sorry. It was a misunderstanding."

I checked it and muttered, "Why'd you only bet five million? Cheapskate."

Orlando's jaw clenched. He looked one breath away from bursting a vein.

I ignored him, shut the door, and opened my phone.

I booked an appointment to terminate the pregnancy.