I was Julian's child bride, raised by his family. On our wedding day, he died in a tragic accident, falling into the ocean. While I was drowning in grief, my parents-in-law suggested I marry his younger brother instead. I was just about to refuse when a string of comments suddenly appeared in mid-air right in front of me: [Ugh, the evil supporting female character is so annoying, constantly clinging to the male lead. Thank God he faked his death to escape the wedding.] [Does she really think that just because her dad died saving the male lead's parents, she can use that guilt to force him to marry her? She deserves to be a widow for the rest of her life!] I stared blankly for a long time before wiping away my tears. "Okay. I'll marry him." 1 My husband, Julian Sterling. Died by falling into the ocean on our wedding day. The search and rescue teams scoured the waters for twenty-four hours. They never found a body. They only recovered the car he had been driving. After Julian's funeral. My mother-in-law held my hand, her eyes red from crying. She said she couldn't bear to see me become a widow at such a young age, and she couldn't bear to lose me as a daughter-in-law. She gently urged me to marry her younger son, Liam. I froze, and was just opening my mouth to decline. When a string of floating text suddenly materialized in front of my eyes. [The evil supporting female character is so annoying, constantly clinging to the male lead. Thank God he faked his death to escape the wedding.] I paused. Male lead? Who were they talking about? [She's literally the daughter of a chauffeur and a maid. How is she worthy of the male lead? Does she really think that just because her dad died saving the male lead's parents, she can use that guilt to force him to marry her? She deserves to be a widow for the rest of her life!] That's when I finally understood. The "male lead" these people were talking about was Julian. And the "evil supporting female character"... was me. 2 I was originally the daughter of the Sterling family's chauffeur and housekeeper. Twenty years ago, my parents-in-law were targeted by hitmen. My parents sacrificed their own lives to ensure they escaped safely. At only three years old, I became an orphan with no one in the world. Out of profound gratitude, my parents-in-law betrothed me to their son, Julian, who was the same age as me. They promised they would never let me suffer a single hardship for the rest of my life. Over the years, Julian and I grew up together. We went to the same schools, got into the same university, and I yielded to his every whim. I did it all just to give peace of mind to the parents-in-law who doted on me. I never expected that Julian would rather fake his own death than marry me. I looked at my parents-in-law. They had lost so much weight and aged visibly from the grief of losing Julian. A surge of fierce anger ignited in my chest. If he didn't want to marry me, he could have just said so! Why go to the extreme of faking his death and causing them so much agonizing heartbreak?! Beside me, my mother-in-law was still trying to persuade me: "Liam is only three years younger than you. He's twenty now, the perfect age to get married." [Tsk, stop trying to convince her. The evil supporting female character would never marry Liam. She's obsessively in love with Julian and only wants to play the tragic, devoted widow for him.] [Six months from now, the male lead is going to return with the pregnant female lead. They think his garbage parents will finally stop pressuring him, but they refuse to let the female lead into the house! They demand the male lead take responsibility for the evil supporting female character instead! The evil female character tortures the female lead, and the garbage parents and Liam help her do it.] [Don't get mad, guys! The evil female character eventually gets what's coming to her and dies. Liam dies trying to protect her, and the garbage parents drop dead from the shock. Our male and female leads will have the last laugh!] [And don't even feel bad for those relatives! Spoiler alert: the male lead was switched at birth! His biological parents treat him amazingly later on. Unlike this fake family that only sides with outsiders!] Watching the comments scroll by, my hands slowly clenched into tight fists. Julian wasn't even their biological son?! Thinking about my incredibly kind, loving parents-in-law and the sweet, obedient Liam meeting such horrific ends filled me with absolute fury. 3 I looked directly at my mother-in-law and gave a firm, decisive nod. "Mom, I agree." [Is the evil supporting female character having a psychotic break? Did she find out the male lead is still alive and intentionally marry his brother to make him jealous?] [Pfft, dream on. The male lead only has the female lead in his heart. She could stay a virgin widow for him her entire life and he still wouldn't spare her a single glance.] Stay a virgin widow for Julian? In his dreams! Since he wanted to marry someone else... I'd gladly grant his wish. But. As long as I drew breath. I would absolutely never let my parents-in-law or Liam suffer the fate those comments described. My mother-in-law froze in shock, then her eyes welled up with red. She grabbed my hand tightly. "Oh, my sweet girl." Julian and I had held a wedding ceremony, but we hadn't legally registered the marriage. We weren't a legally recognized couple. So, acting quickly under my parents-in-law's direction. Liam and I went to the courthouse, got our marriage license, and became legally wed. However, since the eldest son of the Sterling family had just "passed away." The house was still shrouded in deep mourning. We didn't hold a second wedding ceremony. 4 Exactly as the floating text predicted, six months later. Julian returned, bringing the pregnant female lead with him. My parents-in-law and Liam weren't home. When the butler escorted them inside, I was the only one in the grand living room, quietly eating lunch. The moment Julian walked in and saw me, his brow furrowed in deep disgust. "Mia, why are you still squatting in my house?" I looked up at him. Julian was dressed in plain, cheap clothes, looking utterly exhausted and worn down. He was noticeably thinner than before. He had a tan and looked incredibly haggard. It seemed that without the Sterling family's financial backing for the last six months, he had eaten quite a bit of dirt out in the real world. As for the female lead, Chloe. She was petite and slender, the textbook definition of a fragile, innocent white flower. Her stomach showed a slight bump, and she was currently cowering timidly against Julian's chest. I elegantly dabbed my mouth with a napkin, watching them with a calm, amused expression, and didn't say a word. [The male and female leads finally survived their hardships and made it back! Soon, the Sterling empire will belong to them, they'll have a spectacular wedding, and become the happiest couple in the world!] [Why isn't the evil supporting character saying anything? She must be so thrilled to see the male lead alive that her brain short-circuited, right?] Thrilled? I scoffed internally. Over the past six months... Liam and I had grown incredibly close. In the boardroom, we were a flawlessly synchronized team. At home, under the loving gaze of our parents, we retired to the same bedroom every night. What started as stiff and awkward had gradually become completely natural and comfortable. As for Julian, he no longer caused even the slightest ripple of emotion in my heart. Furthermore, I had already uncovered the truth about Julian's actual lineage. When my mother-in-law gave birth to her first child, medical malpractice resulted in a stillbirth. Terrified of taking the blame, the delivering doctor panicked. Coincidentally, the doctor's sister had gotten pregnant out of wedlock and delivered a baby boy on the exact same day, but couldn't afford to raise him. Knowing the Sterling family was incredibly wealthy. The two sisters hatched a plan and swapped the babies, passing the sister's son off as my mother-in-law's child. My original plan was that if they never came back, I would keep this secret buried forever to spare my mother-in-law the heartbreak. But since they had the nerve to return, there was no way I was letting my in-laws continue to be deceived by these parasites! 5 Seeing me stand there in silence, Julian's face twisted with impatience. "I asked you a question! Are you deaf?" "Let me make this crystal clear: I wouldn't marry you then, and I won't marry you now. Chloe is the only woman I will ever love. She is carrying the eldest grandson of the Sterling family! My parents value their bloodline above all else; they will never force me to marry you now! If you know what's good for you, pack your bags and get out of my house!" The woman in his arms, Chloe, nestled against his chest like a fragile bird, speaking in a soft, whispery voice: "Julian, is this the woman who was obsessively stalking you and insisting she'd only ever marry you? Since your parents love her so much, will they refuse to let me marry you?" Julian patted her back comfortingly, his voice dripping with tenderness. "Chloe, you are the one I love. And now that you're carrying my child, my parents will absolutely accept you. Don't worry." Chloe shot me a timid, fearful glance, as if terrified of me, and buried her face back into his chest. This only fueled Julian's anger toward me. "What are you just standing there for?! You're nothing but the daughter of our maid! If it weren't for my parents, you'd be rotting on the streets! Hurry up and prepare a room for my Chloe, and welcome us properly!" I stared at Julian, the comments about my in-laws' tragic fate flashing through my mind. A tidal wave of emotion surged within me. I wanted nothing more than to order security to throw this disgusting pair out into the street. But I couldn't. Right now, my parents-in-law still didn't know the truth about Julian's bloodline. To them, their eldest son, whom they had raised and loved for twenty years, had just miraculously returned from the dead. They would be absolutely ecstatic. If I threw him out now. It would break their hearts. I stood up and calmly instructed the maids to prepare a room for Chloe and Julian. Chloe immediately teared up, looking deeply distressed. "Julian... she's the lady of the house... I shouldn't have come back with you..." Hearing this, Julian pulled Chloe tightly into his arms, looking at her with profound heartache. Then he shot me a freezing glare: "Who do you think you are, ordering the Sterling family staff around?! Get upstairs and clean Chloe's room yourself! If you don't serve her perfectly, I'll have you thrown out of the Sterling estate!" 6 Right at that moment, my young husband, Liam, returned home from his university classes. As soon as he walked through the door, he heard Julian's enraged shouting. Then, he saw Julian's face. He froze completely. He clearly hadn't expected him to still be alive. Quickly, a bright smile spread across his face. "Brother! You're alive! Mom and Dad are going to be so incredibly happy!" Then, as if remembering something. His gaze shifted to me, his expression momentarily twisting with complex emotion and a hint of profound melancholy. Even though Liam and I had been married for six months, and we slept in the same room to ease our parents' minds. We hadn't consummated the marriage. Usually, I slept on the bed, and he slept on a mattress on the floor. Julian patted Liam's shoulder and announced, "Liam, let me introduce you. This is your sister-in-law. She's pregnant with my child." Liam finally noticed Chloe huddled in Julian's arms. His eyes widened in sheer shock. He looked at me again, opening his mouth but unable to find the words. Seeing Liam's gaze, Julian shot me another look of pure disgust and explained with a scoff: "I have zero feelings for Mia, and I will never marry her. Now that I have a wife, she has no right to stay in my house. I'll talk to Mom and Dad and have her pack her bags immediately. Don't feel bad for her, Liam. Our family raised her for twenty years; we've more than repaid whatever debt we owed her." Liam's brow immediately furrowed in anger. He said sharply: "Brother, watch your mouth. Mia is a permanent member of the Sterling family. Absolutely no one has the right to tell her to leave!" Julian's face instantly darkened with displeasure. [What kind of black magic did Mia use to brainwash Liam and the garbage parents?! They'd rather side with an outsider than the male lead!] [The male lead is the eldest son of the Sterling family! How dare Liam disrespect him for Mia?! He deserves his miserable death!] [Don't be sad, guys! The male lead's biological parents treat him like a king later! He doesn't need this trash family or this trash brother! They only care about outsiders anyway!] Reading the floating comments, I let out a cold laugh in my head. Want to have your cake and eat it too, huh? Fine, you love your biological parents so much? I had already hired private investigators to track them down. Very soon, I'd reunite them for a beautiful, happy family reunion! 7 When my parents-in-law received the news that Julian was alive. They were overwhelmed with joy and immediately rushed home from the office. Julian and Chloe had already changed into expensive, luxurious designer clothes. They were sitting on the plush sofa, clinging to each other sickeningly. Liam and I sat on the opposite sofa, staring straight ahead, completely ignoring them. Chloe nervously twisted her fingers. "Julian, do you think your parents will hate me...?" Julian comforted her confidently. "My parents have always wanted a grandchild. Once they hear you're carrying the Sterling family heir, they'll love you unconditionally." He then shot me an icy glare, letting out a dismissive scoff: "Don't worry about her. She's just a maid's daughter. How could she possibly compete with the mother of the eldest Sterling grandson?" He turned his attention back to me. "I'm warning you, don't even think about bullying Chloe. Otherwise, forget about me—even my parents won't tolerate your existence in this house!" Chloe chimed in with her soft, breathy voice. "Julian, please. Her parents did serve your family for years. Even if they didn't do anything spectacular, they worked hard..." Julian tilted his chin up, snorting coldly. "Her whole family is just a bunch of servants." Liam's face turned livid, and he opened his mouth to snap back. I grabbed his sleeve and shook my head gently. I had warned him earlier that no matter what garbage came out of Julian's mouth today. He was to ignore it. He glared at me, aggressively yanking his sleeve out of my grip. He let out a cold huff and didn't say anything else. But he aggressively turned his body away from me, radiating pure, unadulterated sulking energy. Living in the same room with Liam all this time. This was the very first time he had ever been genuinely mad at me. I actually found it quite novel, and honestly, kind of cute. As for Julian. He was just a pathetic clown with a fast-approaching expiration date. He wasn't worth my energy. If our parents walked in and saw the brothers screaming at each other over me. It would only break their hearts. 8 Right on cue, the floating comments started scrolling rapidly across my vision again. [The evil female character obviously still can't let go of the male lead. Even when he's sitting there with another woman, she still instinctively protects him!] [She's loved him for years, of course she doesn't want Liam fighting with him! She's only acting submissive now because the male lead is watching. The second he leaves, her jealousy will explode and she'll start torturing the female lead!] Julian saw me hold Liam back, and a cold smirk crossed his face. He gave me a look that screamed, "I knew it." He clearly shared the exact same delusions as those comments. I couldn't be bothered to acknowledge him. Just then, the butler's voice echoed from the hallway. "Mr. and Mrs. Sterling have arrived." My in-laws were home. I put on a bright smile and stood up to greet them. But Julian violently shoved past me, shooting me a look of pure mockery. "Right now, the only thing my parents want to see is me, and their eldest grandson." With that, he grabbed Chloe's hand and marched out to meet them. Chloe followed timidly behind him, but the triumphant, ecstatic gleam in her eyes was impossible to hide. Liam stood next to me, his face as dark as a thundercloud. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white. He looked ready to murder Julian. I grabbed his hand and gently shook my head at him. Our parents just got home. This isn't the time to fight. Liam's fury only intensified. He glared at me, clearly struggling to suppress his rage, and hissed: "He's already replaced you with someone else, and you're still protecting him?!" I opened my mouth, desperate to explain. But Liam had already stormed out of the room in a furious huff. I followed him out. I saw Julian shoot me a freezing look before leading Chloe directly up to my in-laws. "Mom, Dad. I'm home." He immediately gestured to Chloe beside him, unable to wait another second: "This is Chloe. She's carrying your grandchild." "She is the only woman I will ever love. I am absolutely not marrying Mia." "The only person who will ever be the lady of the Sterling house is Chloe." Chloe offered them a picture-perfect, demure smile. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling." 9 The next second. My parents-in-law completely froze. They stared blankly at Julian and Chloe. Then, their eyes darted behind them, landing on me and Liam. Finally, they looked at each other, exhaled a simultaneous, massive sigh of relief. And broke into identical, radiant smiles. "Good. It's wonderful that you're back." My mother-in-law took Chloe's hand. She slipped an incredibly rare, hundred-thousand-dollar jade bangle off her own wrist. And slid it onto Chloe's, smiling with genuine maternal warmth. "Such a sweet girl." They had been agonizing over how to break the news to Julian. The news that I was already married to Liam. But now that Julian had brought home his own woman. It was the perfect, miraculous solution for everyone. As they walked into the main living room. Chloe looked absolutely thrilled, shooting Julian a look of pure worship. I even heard Julian cast a disdainful glance in my direction before whispering to Chloe: "I told you not to worry. The eldest grandson of the Sterling empire is infinitely more valuable to them than the daughter of some maid!" Chloe nodded eagerly, then added with fake concern, "But your sister... she's so deeply in love with you. Will she hate me?"
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