On my first day acknowledging my biological family, my newly-found rich mother pushed a bank card across the table toward me. "One million a month. You don't have to treat me like a real mother, just act the part in front of outsiders. Don't embarrass me." I froze for half a second. The next second, I dropped to my knees, hugged her leg tightly, and refused to let go. "Mom! Why are you still negotiating terms with me? Our bond as mother and daughter is ordained by heaven! Whoever tries to tear us apart will be struck by lightning!" She frowned. "...Watch your mouth." I immediately changed my tune. "I understand, I understand. Keep a low profile. We'll just call this an emotional support subsidy. I accept." Twelve million a year. Forget acting like the perfect, loving daughter—for that kind of money, I'd sweetly call the fake heiress "Sister" right here and now, and I'd sound sweeter than honey doing it. 1 My knees hurt a bit; the marble floor they laid down was too hard. But the smile on my face didn't slip one bit. Evelyn Sterling, my newly recognized biological mother, had clearly never seen a spectacle like this. "Get up," she said. "What kind of behavior is this?" I briskly stood up from the floor. "Okay, Mom. Whatever you say goes." "Let me make the ugly truths clear up front," she said, leaning back into the sofa and crossing her legs. "Mia has lived in this house for twenty-two years. She has poor health, a heart condition, and can't take any shocks. To the outside world, you two are twins. She is the older sister, and you are the younger one. I don't want to see any petty jealousy or drama over favor." I took the card with both hands and shoved it securely into my pocket. "Don't worry," I said, standing so straight I was practically saluting. "As long as the money is in place, Mia is my absolute queen of a sister. If she wants to drink water, I will absolutely not hand her a Coke. If she wants to walk, I will absolutely not let her sit in a wheelchair. Oh, wait, I mean—I will carry her on my back." Right at that moment, a girl appeared, leaning against the second-floor banister and looking down. This was the fake heiress who had occupied my place for twenty-two years, Mia Vance. Her eyes were red. Looking at me, her tears fell before she even spoke a word. "Mom... is this... Miss Betsy?" According to the typical script of a soap opera, this was the moment I should point at her nose and call her a thief. But I didn't do that. How was she an enemy? She was my cash cow from another mother! If it weren't for me having to cater to her delicate feelings, would Evelyn be paying me such a high salary? Mia bit her lip. "Miss Betsy, I'm so sorry. I was the one who stole your life... If it bothers you, I can move out..." Evelyn's face darkened, and she was just about to speak. "Sister! What nonsense are you talking about!" I widened my eyes, looking absolutely heartbroken, pulling out the same level of sincerity I used when hustling tourists to buy cheap power banks at the bus terminal. "What do you mean 'steal'? That sounds awful! For these twenty-two years, you've been suffering in this wealthy family on my behalf!" Mia was dumbfounded. The tears hung on her eyelashes, unsure whether to fall or not. "Huh?" I tightly gripped Mia's hands, my voice dripping with genuine emotion. "Sister, look at you, you're so thin! The food in a rich family must taste awful, right? So many strict rules, right? The pressure must be immense! I heard rich people have to play the piano, paint, ride horses, and socialize every single day. How exhausting! I'm different. I fed pigs and chopped wood in the village; my body is strong, and I have a great appetite. A tough life like this is only fit for a rough person like me. Having you suffer all those hardships in my place for so many years... as your sister, I feel so guilty!" Mia opened her mouth but couldn't squeeze out a single word for a long time. I struck while the iron was hot and turned to Evelyn. "Mom, look at her, she's treating me like an outsider! From now on, with me around, no one gets to bully my sister. Sis, just live here in peace. Live exactly how you used to. I promise I won't talk out of turn, I won't cause trouble, and I absolutely won't make our parents worry." "Enough. Since we've cleared the air, let's eat." 2 Just as I picked up my chopsticks, a middle-aged man walked in. This was my biological father, Richard Vance. I say "biological father," but he actually married into the family. The Sterling family had the money, and he had the looks. The script back then was probably the classic poor boy marrying the rich heiress. "So this is the one... who came back from the village?" He took off his coat, handed it to the maid, and walked over while unbuttoning his cuffs. "Why is she dressed like that? And look at her posture." I looked down at myself. The clothes I bought off a cheap discount app weren't great, but they weren't revealing either. Richard sat down. He didn't acknowledge me, but instead placed a piece of fish into Mia's bowl. "Mia, eat more. You look so haggard these past two days, it breaks Dad's heart." Mia glanced at me and said softly, "Thank you, Dad. Dad, my sister just got back, you should serve her some too." What a magnificent white lotus. Even now, she didn't forget to draw his aggression toward me. Sure enough, Richard slammed his chopsticks onto the table. "Her? What hasn't she eaten out in the country? Does she need me to serve her?" "Since she's back, she has to follow the Sterling family's rules. Wash off all that country dirt on you, don't embarrass your mother when you go out. Also, that name of yours, what was it again? Betsy? It's horribly tacky." He waved his hand in disgust. "We're changing it tomorrow. I've already thought of one. You'll be Isabella Vance." The million-dollar monthly salary covered enduring my mother's bad temper, but it didn't say anything about putting up with her husband's insufferable attitude. I discreetly gnawed on a piece of pork rib and glanced up at Evelyn. Evelyn acted as if she didn't hear a thing. Understood. If my biological mother didn't speak up, that meant this fell under the category of "extra, uncompensated labor." I put down my chopsticks and wiped my mouth with a napkin. "Dad, I can't change this name." Richard's eyes bulged. "What did you say? You just walked through the door and you dare talk back?" "I'm not talking back." I looked perfectly sincere. "The name Betsy might be rustic, but it was given to me by my adoptive parents. Even though they didn't treat me well, beating and scolding me for no reason, and making me feed pigs and farm, they still raised me for twenty-two years. If I change my name the second I come back here, what will the outside world think? They'll definitely say the Sterling family is using its wealth and power to bully people, and they'll say I'm a vain gold-digger who forgot her roots." I sighed deeply. "I don't care about myself; if people poke my spine and gossip, so be it. But Mom is different. Mom is an entrepreneur, and the Sterling Group has an image to maintain. If the media spins this as a wealthy family forcing the true heiress to change her name, attempting to erase twenty years of a parental bond, wouldn't the stock price plummet?" I turned to Evelyn, looking entirely like a daughter considering her mother's best interests. "Mom, am I right? Losing hundreds of millions over a trivial name isn't worth it." Richard pointed a trembling finger at me. "You... you're twisting logic! What does this have to do with stock prices?!" "How is it not related?" I asked, feigning surprise. "Netizens these days hate the rich the most. Dad, do you not go online? Oh, right, you usually just drink tea and play golf. You don't manage the company's affairs, so it's normal you wouldn't know." "Enough." Evelyn finally spoke. "Betsy makes a valid point. A name is just a code; changing it back and forth is too much trouble. Let's just stick with Betsy. I think it's fine. It's grounded." The way Mia looked at me from the sidelines completely changed. I flashed her a wide grin, picked up a piece of cheesy lobster, and popped it into my mouth. This rich family food tasted amazing. Some people are fine living off someone else's dime but can't swallow their pride to do it. Not me. I was going to stand tall while I made this money. After dinner, Evelyn called me into her study. "You're very smart," she said. "Thank you for the compliment, Mom." I stood respectfully in front of her desk, hands folded. "Do you know why I brought you back?" "Because blood is thicker than water?" I asked tentatively. Evelyn scoffed. "Because Mia's fiancé only acknowledges the true Sterling bloodline. We need to secure an alliance with the Kensington family. Mia is a fake, so the marriage couldn't proceed. Plus, Mia's health is poor; she wouldn't survive the torment of the Kensington family's wild playboy. Therefore..." "You have to marry him in her place." Whoa. I knew money didn't fall from the sky. So this was the catch. A high-society arranged marriage, a wealthy second-generation heir, acting as a substitute bride. Wasn't this an entirely separate, massive contract? "That's going to cost extra." The words slipped out before I could stop them. Evelyn froze for a second, then laughed. "Deal." She pulled open a drawer and tossed another card onto the desk. "This is an advance on your dowry. I'll add an extra five hundred thousand a month for emotional distress. As long as you lock down the Kensington family, you'll inherit half of the Sterling family's assets in the future." "Mom, just watch me. Forget a rich playboy; even if he were the Devil himself, I'd have him completely whipped." 3 The next day at noon, to celebrate my return, several relatives from the extended Sterling family were invited to lunch. I didn't stand on ceremony; I sat down and was ready to feast. But before my chopsticks even reached out, Richard spun the lazy Susan, stopping the platter of premium abalone right in front of Mia. "Mia, your health is weak. Eat more to nourish yourself." The lazy Susan spun a full circle and stopped in front of me, presenting a plate of plain stir-fried greens. Richard glanced at me. "Betsy, your stomach is used to simple, coarse food. Eating rich food suddenly will cause indigestion. Dad is doing this for your own good. Eat more greens to cleanse your system." Mia looked troubled and said softly, "Dad, that's not very nice... My sister just got back..." "What's not nice about it?" Richard raised his voice. "Casting pearls before swine—giving it to her is just a waste." Seeing me remain silent, Richard assumed I was cowed and got even more energized. He poured himself a glass of red wine and swirled it. "Speaking of which, our Mia is the truly lucky one. Originally, that marriage with the Kensington family was meant for you. Thank goodness your health is poor. That Liam Kensington... tsk tsk. Who in our circle doesn't know about him? He's a master at eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. I heard he has a violent temper too. Just last month, he supposedly broke a young model's leg." He took a sip of wine and patted Mia's hand, looking relieved. "Only a thick-skinned, wild girl from the country is fit to jump into a fiery pit like that. That's what you call a pot finding its perfect, matched lid. Trash belongs with trash. A perfect match." Tears started falling from Mia's eyes again. "Dad, don't talk about my sister like that..." "Dad is telling the truth!" Richard, high on his own words, continued. "That kind of rich heir is just a piece of garbage. If it weren't for the business benefits, our Sterling family wouldn't even bother giving him the time of day! Only someone who's never seen the world, like Betsy, would treat him like a prize." I glanced at Evelyn, who was sitting at the head of the table. Understood. It wasn't convenient for my biological mother to publicly rip her husband a new one, so her biological daughter had to do it for her. I stood up. Richard, who was spraying saliva as he spoke, was caught off guard by my sudden movement. "What are you doing? Getting up to serve rice? You have absolutely no manners..." I gave him a brilliant, beaming smile. The next second, I gripped the edge of the heavy marble table with both hands, grounded my stance, and flipped it with all my might. The entire table of abalone, bird's nest soup, red wine, and broth drew a decidedly ungraceful parabola in the air before crashing heavily onto the floor. The greasy abalone sauce splashed perfectly all over Richard, instantly ruining his custom-tailored suit. "Ah...!" Mia screamed and hid in Richard's arms. Richard was dumbfounded, his finger pointing at me trembling. "You... you... you're rebelling! Are you insane?!" I dusted off my hands, my face the picture of righteous indignation. "Dad! You are going way too far!" I pointed at the mess on the floor, my voice even louder than his. "Who is Liam Kensington? He is my future husband! He is a future, intimate business partner of the Sterling family! In front of so many people, you publicly insulted the heir of the Kensington Group, calling him garbage and a piece of trash! If word of this gets out, what if the Kensington family pulls their investment? What if the Sterling Group's stock plummets? What if Mom's life's work is destroyed in a single day?!" I clutched my chest, looking absolutely heartbroken. "It's fine if I, Betsy, suffer a little grievance. Even if you force me to eat chaff and swallow vegetables, I'd accept it. But you can't joke about the future of the Sterling family just to elevate my sister! You are undermining Mom's hard work! You are cutting off our family's financial lifeline!" Richard was suffocating under the heavy accusations I hurled at him. "You... you're spouting bullshit! I am your father, what's wrong with me saying a few words..." "You are my father, but you are also a man who married into the Sterling family for their money!" I took a step forward, my aura dominating. "You eat the Sterling family's food while simultaneously smashing the Sterling family's pots! You are biting the hand that feeds you! I, Betsy, will be the first to stand against this kind of ungrateful behavior!" Richard trembled with rage and tried to lunge forward to hit me, but slipped on the oily soup covering the floor and face-planted spectacularly. "Enough." Evelyn's voice chimed in at the perfect moment. She set down her napkin, not even glancing at Richard on the floor, and swept her gaze toward me. "Since no one has an appetite, we won't eat. Betsy, Liam scheduled a meeting for this afternoon. Go get cleaned up." I nodded obediently. "Okay, Mom. I'll go right now. I promise to dress up beautifully. I absolutely won't embarrass our family, and I absolutely won't let that fifty million dollar dowry go to waste." With that, I stepped over my groaning biological father and headed upstairs without looking back. Behind me, I could faintly hear Evelyn's cold voice: "Mop the floor. And from now on, if anyone dares to speak out of turn at the dinner table again, no one eats." 4 The meeting with Liam took place at a private club. The lighting was dim. The legendary rich playboy was sprawled on a sofa, a cigarette pinched in his left hand, a drink in his right, the top three buttons of his shirt undone, looking utterly impatient. "Oh, so this is the... village girl the Sterling family found?" "I heard you fed pigs in the countryside? What, did the Sterling family think you and pigs were similar enough, so they specifically brought in a professional to raise you?" His group of wealthy, idle friends burst into roaring laughter. I wasn't angry. I picked up an empty glass from the table and poured myself a drink. "Mr. Kensington, you must be joking. Feeding pigs requires getting up early and staying up late, mixing feed, and shoveling manure. It's highly technical work. Taking care of you is much simpler. As long as the money is right, if you tell me to go east, I absolutely will not go west. If you tell me to beat a dog, I absolutely won't chase a chicken." Liam froze for a second, seemingly not expecting me to be so blunt. He sat up straighter. Just as he was about to speak, the door to the private room was pushed open. A woman in a long white dress barged in. "Liam..." Her voice trembled, and she only had eyes for Liam. "Are you really going to marry... this country woman?" Liam's face instantly darkened. I raised an eyebrow. I knew the answer to this one. According to the dossier Evelyn gave me, this was Liam's "white moonlight"—his unforgettable first love, Audrey Sinclair. Back in the day, she dumped him because she thought he was a useless slacker, and ran off with a sports student. Now, hearing that Liam was getting married, she came running back to play the deeply affectionate ex. Before Liam could even open his mouth, Audrey had already marched up to me. "You're Miss Betsy, right? I know you're only marrying Liam for the money. How much do you want to leave him? One million? Two million?" Two million? Who was she looking down on? My net worth was currently calculated in the hundreds of millions. "Miss Sinclair," I said, looking at her. "Please mind your words. I am currently Liam's fiancée, the future Mrs. Kensington approved by both families' parents. Coming in here and throwing money at me—isn't that a bit disrespectful to my professional ethics?" Audrey was stunned. "What professional ethics?" I took a step forward, blocking her from Liam. "Taking care of Mr. Kensington is my job. My client... oh wait, my fiancé is currently drinking and in a bad mood. You barge in here, crying and making a scene, and even try to use money to insult his taste. Are you trying to ruin my work environment, or are you questioning Mr. Kensington's taste?" Audrey was so angry her face turned pale. "You... how can a person like you be worthy of Liam! Liam and I have an emotional foundation!" "An emotional foundation?" I sneered and looked back at Liam. I found this guy watching me with intense interest, showing zero intention of intervening. I turned back, directing my full firepower at Audrey. "Miss Sinclair, emotions are too abstract. They don't hold their value. You say you have feelings, so why did you run away back then? Now that you're back, is it because that sports guy got tired of you? Want to eat the grass from the pasture you left behind? I'm sorry, but I've already fenced off this pasture. Whether it's fresh grass or dead grass, it's mine, and no one else gets to touch it!" 5 Tears finally spilled from Audrey's eyes after my rapid-fire takedown. She stopped talking to me, bypassing me to look at Liam, and pulled out an old watch from her purse. "Liam, this is the very first gift you ever gave me. I've kept it all this time... Are you really so heartless as to let a rural shrew humiliate me like this?" In that moment, I saw a flicker in Liam's eyes. That was the little spark of rekindled old flames! Absolutely not. If that spark turned into a fire, my fifty million dollar dowry would burn to ashes. With lightning speed, I snatched the watch from her. "Oh my, the leather strap is all worn out, and Miss Sinclair still kept it? You really are thrifty." I held the watch up to the light and clicked my tongue twice. "However, given Mr. Kensington's current net worth, this cheap flea-market stuff isn't worthy of him anymore. Since Miss Sinclair doesn't want it anymore, do you want us to help you throw away the trash? No problem, I'll do the dirty work. No need to bother Mr. Kensington." With that, I opened my hand. Plop. The watch fell into the ice bucket on the table. "Betsy!" Audrey shrieked, reaching out to scratch my face. I dodged to the side, using the momentum to fall right into Liam's arms. "Hubby! Help me! A crazy woman is attacking me!" That single "Hubby"—I screamed it with soul-stirring, echoing melodrama. Liam's body stiffened for a second, but he didn't push me away. He reached out a hand and blocked the frantic Audrey. "Enough." "Are you done causing a scene? If you're done, get out." Audrey looked at him in disbelief. "You're defending her? You're actually defending this shameless, money-grubbing woman?" Liam laughed. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer against his chest. "She's doing it for the money, isn't that great?" Liam looked at Audrey, his eyes full of mockery. "Loving money is the cleanest motive of all. It's much better than someone who preaches true love but whose heart is entirely filled with calculation." After saying that, he looked down at me. "Let's go, wifey. I'll take you shopping." My eyes instantly lit up. "Okay, Hubby! I want to buy the most expensive things!" Audrey was still wailing and throwing a fit behind us, but I no longer had the time to pay attention to her. I walked out of the private room with Liam and got into his limited-edition sports car. I thought he was going to take me to buy some jewelry or something, but he drove straight to the largest luxury mall. "That 'Hubby' rolled off your tongue pretty smoothly earlier." He rested one hand on the steering wheel, looking at me with a half-smile. "What kind of reward do you want?" I immediately sat up straight and pulled out the notes app on my phone. "Mr. Kensington, let's be honest with each other. That 'white moonlight defense battle' just now was a high-risk operation. I need a bonus. However, since you're offering gifts, I won't hold back." I pointed at the Hermes store ahead. "I want that bag, and that diamond necklace, and..." Liam raised an eyebrow. "Is your taste really that tacky?" "Tacky?" I shook my head. "Mr. Kensington, you don't understand. These things hold their value! They're hard currency! If you ever kick me to the curb, I can sell these things and keep living the good life. This is called risk hedging." Liam was stunned for a long moment, then suddenly slumped over the steering wheel, laughing uncontrollably. "Betsy, you are truly one of a kind." He tossed a black card at me. "Go swipe it. As long as you can piss Audrey Sinclair off to death, I'll buy this whole mall for you."
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