Chapter 3

After Ryan’s birth mother died in the line of duty, she entrusted him to Aunt Carol.

Busy with her work, Aunt Carol then handed him over to her brother, Arthur Kingston, who lived abroad, to raise.

To outsiders, Ryan was Arthur’s foster son.

So, after marrying Arthur five years ago, I became Ryan’s foster mother.

In the five years since our marriage, no one in the Kingston family dared to raise their voice at me, let alone lay a hand on me.

Ryan, oblivious to the truth, thought his words had simply caused Aunt Carol to misunderstand.

He started explaining frantically.

“No, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, I was just saying— ”

Before Ryan could finish, Jessica snatched my hand and lifted the wedding ring, a ring Arthur had spent three months creating by hand, into the light.

“You’re married?!”

Ryan stared at me in disbelief, grabbing my hand.

His face cycled from white to green, then flushed red.

“Samantha Kingston, don’t you think you owe me an explanation?!”

My wrist throbbed from his grip. I yanked it back forcefully and started rubbing it.

“Let go! I have nothing to explain to you.”

Ryan's eyes darkened, his lips parted, but no words came out.

Five years ago, it was he who had publicly declared at the wedding that he was marrying Jessica, not me.

Shouldn’t he be happy I was married? Why was he complaining?

A flicker of unnoticed triumph crossed Jessica’s eyes as she feigned surprise.

“Since you’re already married to someone else, why are you still trying to win over Aunt Carol?”

“Are you trying to play games, hoping to marry Ryan too, so you can walk all over our family of three and the entire Carter family? Five years ago, my family wronged you, but the entire Carter family belongs to Dad. Doing this shows you have no respect for him!”

Jessica was a master at taking a minor incident and twisting it into something excessively manipulative.

And the culprit, always, was me.

It was like that when I was living at home, and it continued after I met Ryan.

The old me would have fought desperately to clear my name.

Now, I just saw it as a joke.

But Ryan took it seriously, his eyebrows twitching with rage.

“Samantha Kingston, you disgusting woman, you’re a curse on any family you join! You deserve to be abandoned by your father, just like your mother!”

Before I could even react, there was a sharp *smack*, and Aunt Carol’s full force sent one of Ryan’s teeth flying.

Bright red blood splattered across the back of my hand, a sickening spray. I grimaced in disgust.

Ryan turned his head, clutching his face, staring at Aunt Carol in disbelief.

“Aunt Carol… ”

“I’ll kill you, you witch! If it weren’t for you, she wouldn't have hit Daddy!”

Leo, who had been silently hiding behind Jessica, suddenly lunged like a wild animal, slamming into my stomach.

No one had time to react. I was caught off guard and knocked to the ground.

A sharp cramp seized my abdomen, and a sudden, terrifying warmth flooded between my legs.

I stared at Aunt Carol in terror, tears bursting forth.

“Save my baby… ”

Even Aunt Carol, who had witnessed countless life-and-death situations, was horrified by the sight of my unstoppable bleeding.

She quickly dialed 911 for an ambulance.

Jessica, having recovered her composure, stopped Aunt Carol, feigning an air of experienced wisdom as she argued.

“Don’t let Samantha’s tricks fool you. I think she just got a little bump from Leo, and her period started early.”

“She’s so desperate to marry Ryan, how could she possibly get pregnant with some other guy’s kid? It’s all a ploy. If you fall for it, you’ll walk right into her trap!”

Ryan, still dazed from the shock, gradually started echoing her words.

“She’s right! Samantha is just like her mother, full of schemes. Otherwise, why would her father eventually lose patience and abandon her?”

He then stared at me with disdain, pinching his nose.

“Samantha Kingston, how disgusting can you be? You knew your period was coming, why didn’t you prepare? Do you know every single tile you’re lying on was personally overseen by my father for my mother? Now it’s stained with your blood. Aunt Carol not killing you is a miracle! Now get out!”

I clutched my stomach, curled into a ball. Cold sweat soaked my clothes, and I trembled uncontrollably from the pain.

Aunt Carol quickly scooped me up, practically in tears with worry. Her clenched fists, seeing the culprit was just a child, helplessly relaxed.

She could only keep urging me not to sleep.

“Don’t you dare sleep! Just hold on a little longer, the ambulance will be here any second.”