Chapter 1

Everyone in our circle knew I was a professional gold digger.

I married Holt Sterling purely for his money.

He treated me like a substitute for his true love, and I treated him like an ATM.

Then Holt's first love—his stepsister—came back from overseas. Just when I should've gracefully bowed out, I suddenly realized I couldn't let go.

After all, good-looking, generous sugar daddies are hard to come by.

While I was figuring out how to cling on shamelessly, I caught Holt prying the gemstone from my mom's ring to impress Zara Young. That ring was her only memento.

Holt watched my face go pale and impatiently pulled out his checkbook:

"Name your price. I'll double it."

Looking into his cold eyes, I sobered up fast.

People should waste less time on pointless emotions and more on good old-fashioned cash.

I immediately looked up with a big smile:

"Triple. What do you say?"

Holt froze.

Then, like he'd expected this all along, he scoffed and shook his head.

His pen slashed across the checkbook with a bigger number. With a sharp rip, he tore it off and held the check out to me.

"Half a million dollars."

"That old ring is worth fifty grand tops. I'm giving you ten times that. Satisfied?"

I'd only seen that many zeros back in Chengdu.

When I took it, my eyes crinkled into crescents:

"More than satisfied! Way more!"

Seeing how happy I looked, Zara squeezed the newly pried gemstone, looking both pleased and irritated.

She'd come today just to put me down.

She'd intentionally mentioned how nice the main stone on my vanity ring looked, sure Holt would pry it out for her.

When I walked in and caught them red-handed, I was supposed to break down and make a scene like some scorned wife. Then she could play the scared little innocent, making Holt hate me even more—maybe even kick me out.

But Zara never expected I'd be this cheap to buy off.

Fuming, she couldn't help snapping at me:

"Sandra, are you really this materialistic?"

"Mrs. Lily said that ring was your mom's only keepsake. If you're this heartless toward your own family, how could you possibly care about Holt? And this lousy stone... here, take it back!"

"Touching things from people like you makes me feel dirty!"

The gemstone hit the floor by my feet, rolling a few times and picking up tiny scratches.

Holt watched Zara's over-the-top reaction with a barely noticeable frown.

But I wasn't even mad. Instead, I bent down to pick it up, blew off the dust, and said slowly:

"Zara, there's something Mrs. Lily probably didn't tell you."

"My mom was a human trafficker. The first kid she sold was me. Later, when she saw I'd made something of myself, she tried to weasel back into my life. So she splurged on this ring as a gift, claiming she wanted to make amends."

"I said no and turned her in. She got the death penalty. She's been gone for years."

I stuffed the gemstone in my pocket and gave Zara a huge grin:

"So trading this little trinket for half a million? Total steal! But since you hate it so much, Zara, I'll just keep the cash windfall."

"Thanks a bunch, Zara!"

Zara was left tongue-tied, her anger caught in her throat.

I was loving every second of her frustration, channeling my inner trophy wife to twist the knife:

"You must be exhausted after your trip, Zara. Mrs. Lily prepared the guest room for you. You should get some rest."

Then I gave Holt a suggestive look and purred:

"Well... honey, I'll head up to the bedroom first."

"I'll be waiting for you in our room."

As I walked away, I could practically hear Zara grinding her teeth behind me.

Sigh. I'm a pro at this gold-digging thing.

Don't mess with my career when this is just your little hobby.

Back in our bedroom, the ring setting Holt had pried apart was still on the vanity. I pulled the gemstone from my pocket and set it next to the pieces.

With a quiet sigh, I hunted for glue to try putting it back together.

My mom sold me to a childless couple.

Forty thousand yuan. Since I was a girl, she settled for thirty thousand and dumped me cheap.

I was six—old enough to remember everything and start working.

Funny thing, that couple had their own son a few years later. My adoptive parents turned around and sold me again.

Twenty-three thousand six hundred yuan. Sold to some old drunk who said he'd raise me to be his wife.

Two years later, the drunkard drowned after getting wasted.

Finally, no more being passed around. I scraped by and grew up on my own.

My birth mom sold me for cash. My adoptive mom did the same.

So don't call me materialistic. I probably never even knew what "love" felt like growing up. I've spent my whole life worrying about money, not love—that's been my constant.

All that lovey-dovey stuff? A few days of real work will cure you of that fantasy.

Luckily, I love money, and money loves me right back.

I was lost in these messy memories when Holt's voice suddenly came from behind:

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't know... that was your mom's keepsake."

I turned around, shook my head, and gave him my professional smile.

"It's fine. You compensated me, right?"

"With this much cash, I could buy a whole jewelry store."

Holt glanced at the glue in my hand and didn't look convinced. He probably thought I was just being stubborn. His eyes dropped, and his expression got complicated for a second.

Seeing him go quiet, I paused and picked up my phone to keep going:

"Oh, right. There's actually something I needed to tell you..."

Before I could finish, Zara's panicked scream suddenly came from the guest bedroom down the hall:

"Holt! Hurry—"

Holt's face darkened instantly. Without hesitating, he turned and ran out.

My hand holding the phone froze midair, the screen showing an electronic prenatal test result: [6 weeks pregnant].

I watched Holt's hurried back view as the screen dimmed, and the smile slowly faded from my lips.

See? Money's the only thing that never lets you down.