1 In my last life, I had a fight with my billionaire boyfriend. The second I saw the positive pregnancy test, I ran. My best friend, Jessica, found me. She begged me to get an abortion, to "get rid of the bastard's kid." She didn't take me to a real hospital. She took me to a shady, unlicensed clinic. I bled out on the table. Liam Sterling, my boyfriend, showed up too late. All he found was my body. He was the one who had me cremated. Not long after I died, Liam inherited his family's hundred-billion-dollar fortune, becoming the world's most eligible bachelor. I woke up, back in the present, staring at another positive test. As I was scheduling the abortion, tiny voices suddenly erupted in my head. "Oh, good. Great. The 'runaway pregnant girl' script. How original." "Dad is the sole heir to a three-generation, hundred-billion-dollar fortune. You're about to die on a table so your 'best friend' can slide into your spot. Then you'll be a picture on the wall while they live happily ever after." "How can one person be so stupid?" That last one stung. I was so angry I nearly choked. I was trying to eat takeout, and my anger was so intense that I snapped the plastic spoon in half. Another little voice immediately piped up. "If you went back to him right now, Dad would probably burst into tears of joy." "Forget takeout. Your spoons would be made of solid gold. You'd be an instant billionaire." This was insane! They were all insane! How... how could I have been so stupid? 2 "A woman with no backbone is just a doormat, Ava!" "You're breaking up with Liam, and the first step is getting rid of that baby!" As soon as Jessica finished, the voices in my belly started again. "Yeah, yeah, you talk a big game. You're just so jealous you're about to pop. If Mom listens to you, she'll be dead in three days." I froze. What had I said in my last life? Oh, right. I'd gotten all fired up, marched right into that clinic with Jess, and declared that I didn't care about money, only "true love." "I was with Liam because I loved him, not for his money!" "Without love, this baby will never be happy!" I was such an idiot. I died without even seeing him one last time. The ten-million-dollar check he gave me when we fought, the two condos he put in my name... I didn't take any of it. Stupid. So, so stupid. Remembering what happened next, I snapped back to reality. "I'm tired," I said. Jessica's smile froze, then cracked. She grabbed my arm, her composure slipping. "Tired of what? The most important thing right now is the abortion!" "Liam's family is huge. When he finds you, he's going to throw money at you to make you go away. He'll humiliate you! You can't be that weak woman!" She was pulling me toward the door. I took a step back. "Tomorrow." "I haven't slept in days. I'm just... so tired." Jess's eyes darted around, clearly frustrated, but she finally relented. "Fine." Jess's family was comfortable—way better off than mine—but compared to Liam's family, they were nothing. The second I started dating Liam, she was in my ear, pushing me to break up with him. "You have to have some self-respect, Ava. Don't be a gold digger." "You can't buy love. Rich guys just play with girls like you. You're a toy." "If you take his money, you're no better than a mistress." ... This time, I didn't go anywhere. I got back in bed. My two little passengers were stunned. "Whoa. Did Mom just get... smart?" "Doesn't matter. That evil woman has Mom hidden away. Dad can't find us." Hearing that, I paused. I had no money. Jess was waiting to take me to that clinic, a one-way trip. My parents were poor, and I was their only kid... All that pride and "self-respect" Jess had force-fed me... it didn't change the fact that what I needed most was money. You can't let your pride get in the way of your survival. And I hadn't even taken the money... I thought about my last life. About Jess and Liam's "wedding of the century" after I was gone. The jewels, the estates, the cars. I felt a bitter laugh rise in my throat. I wasn't hesitating anymore. I picked up my phone and dialed his number. He hadn't blocked me. The twins went silent. The second he picked up, I swallowed hard. "Liam... I'm pregnant." My palms were sweating. The line was dead quiet. I thought he didn't believe me. "It's yours. And it's twins." CRASH! I heard something shatter on his end. The twins in my stomach started screaming. "AAAAAAAAH! MOM SAID IT!" "SHE TOLD HIM!!" Liam's voice came through the phone, rough and shaky. He sounded like he could barely hold the phone. "Ava. Where are you?" "I'm coming to get you." I hung up, my hand on my stomach, my heart hammering. This time, I was having these babies. And I was going to find out just how "comforting" money could be. 3 That night was hell. I got up in the middle of the night for water and saw the light on in Jess's room. She was in front of her mirror, laughing and crying to her reflection. "It's such a shame, Liam. Ava was just so insistent on getting rid of it. She hates you... she always said you were beneath her..." "I tried to talk her out of it, I really did." "She just wouldn't..." My eyes widened. She was... practicing. She cried, then checked her reflection, tilting her chin. "This is my best angle for crying." "As soon as Ava's dead, I'll have my chance. I'll be there to 'comfort' Liam. I'll take her place." The twins were furious. "She's already rehearsing the sequel!" "A little early for a victory lap. Mom getting back to Dad is just step one. This witch has a much bigger move planned." A backup plan? I didn't even think. I just raised my phone and hit record. I finally got back to sleep. The next morning, Jess was pounding on my door, telling me to hurry. I groggily checked my phone. A text from Liam. "Fifteen minutes out." He'd sent it fifteen minutes ago. It was 7:30 AM. "Ava, let's go! We have to get to the clinic!" "The faster this is over, the better! You hate it when Liam tries to buy you, right?" She was so frantic, but I was barely listening. The millions he'd wired to my account... I'd listened to her and sent it back. I'd even slapped him and told him not to "insult" me. The jewelry he sent... I'd refused it. I'd gone with Jess to a street fair and bought a five-dollar woven bracelet instead. Thinking about it made my toes curl. She always had a way of turning his kindness into an attack on my dignity. And I realized: she was just jealous. The knocking on my door got more frantic, but just as I went to open it, we heard a heavy pounding on the front door. Jess jumped, terrified. She hissed at me to hide. The twins went wild. "IT'S DAD!" Liam was here. Jess, panicking, saw the men in black suits behind him. She composed herself and blocked the doorway. "Liam! You're here... for Ava?!" "She's here! Just wait, I'll go get her!" She slammed the door in his face and ran back to me, fumbling with her keys to lock the deadbolt. She grabbed me, her face a mask of panic. "Ava, Liam's here!" "He brought a bunch of guys. He must know you're pregnant." "You're a normal person. You don't know what families like his will do. They won't let you go! You have to run!" She shoved me toward the back stairs. "There's a car waiting for you downstairs. It'll take you somewhere safe." I looked at the dark, terrifying stairwell. We were on the thirteenth floor. "Classic. She's trying to separate them, create a 'misunderstanding'!" "The second Mom gets in that car, the 'driver' will drug her, take her to the clinic, and get the 'procedure' done. When she's dead, Jess will say Mom did it to herself. No witnesses. That evil bitch!" My palms were sweating. I wasn't waiting. I shoved Jess aside and sprinted for the front door. I threw it open and launched myself straight into Liam's arms, burying my face in his chest. "What took you so long?" I whimpered. Liam didn't say a word. His arms just wrapped around me, pulling me tight. Jess came running up behind us, her face twisting in rage when she saw us. I caught her expression and smirked. Want to hurt me again, Jess? Not this time. 4 Liam put me in his car without giving Jess a second glance. As the bodyguard closed my door, Jess lunged, grabbing the handle. "Ava! Are you really going with him?" "Did you forget everything you said to me?!" Her voice was a threatening hiss. I paused, then gently pried her fingers off the door and pulled it shut. As the car pulled away, I snuggled into the warm coat Liam had brought for me. "I'm so happy for you, Jess. Really. You should be happy for me, too!" "What do you mean?! Yesterday you were screaming about getting an abortion!" Her shriek was cut off as the car accelerated, leaving her in a cloud of exhaust. As her words echoed, the temperature in the car dropped about twenty degrees. I felt Liam's gaze burning into the side of my head. The twins started up again, this time in a stage whisper. "Ah, the great romance." "One is emotionally constipated and loves her to death. The other is a clueless ditz who loves drama. This is our fate. This is our life." I cleared my throat and finally met Liam's intense gaze. "So... now what?" Given his family, this was a problem. We were from different worlds. I'd never really thought about a "future." Liam's expression was unreadable, which only made me more nervous. "Now," he said, his voice flat. "You rest. And you grow the babies." He was keeping them. I, and the two passengers in my stomach, let out a collective sigh of relief. "Yes! We live another day!" "Mom's not an idiot this time!" We went from the car to a massive villa with a garden, and a full staff dedicated to my "diet and comfort." I took a sip of the soup, looked at the feast laid out for me, and felt myself floating. All I had to do was relax and let Liam take care of me. But the twins wouldn't shut up. "Mom's not just going to sit back and enjoy this, is she?" "In a few days, Liam's family is going to hate her. That snake Jess has a backup plan. She's going to frame Mom for stealing company secrets and get her thrown out." "Tragic." ...What? That was her backup plan? I was healthy, and the babies were fine. Liam started working from home to be with me. I didn't understand any of the documents in his study, but the twins' words made me sick with worry. That night, I turned to him in bed. "Liam... what if your parents find out? What if they... what if they make me leave? Or try to take the babies?" He looked at me, his expression softening. "They won't make you leave." I found out what he meant the next day. His mother, Mrs. Sterling, was even more intense than he was. She showed up with an entourage, carrying bags of jewelry, clothes, and even a box full of solid gold baby rattles. The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up. "My dear child! I saw the hospital report! Twins! And both so healthy!" She grabbed my hands, beaming. "Liam's father and I met in college, just like you two! The Sterlings are one-track-minded. We're built for love. Liam told us about you the day you started dating!" "He said he was dating you with the intention of marriage!" I was floored. The twins were ecstatic. "TWO heirs! To a hundred-billion-dollar fortune!" "If Mom hadn't been an idiot... if we'd just been born... I can't even imagine how happy we'd be!" "The whole family loves us. It was only Mom, obsessed with her stupid novels and listening to that witch, who kept insulting them. Calling them 'soulless money-grubbers' and refusing to even meet Grandma." ...Those words. I had said those things. Every gift Mrs. Sterling had sent via Liam, Jess had "counseled" me to reject. I'd thrown them out. I'd told him to stop "insulting my dignity." And Liam... Liam had never told his mother what I'd done. He'd protected me. I couldn't breathe. My face was burning. Never again. I am so done being a melodramatic idiot. I graciously accepted every single gift. Mrs. Sterling was delighted and invited me to the Sterling family dinner. The twins went nuts. "The family dinner! It's the official announcement!" "We're in! Mom has officially entered the fortress!" As Liam watched me, a small smile playing on his lips, my phone buzzed. It was Jess. I was about to ignore it, but then I saw the image she sent. "Ava? We need to talk."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "385775", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel