[Chapter 1]

"I have given myself to you. Why don't you break up with Natalie?" the woman asked in a seductive, breathless voice. She was half-naked and hovering above a man.

"Don't mention her name when we are making out." The man was so excited that he squeezed the woman's breasts and moaned in pleasure.

The woman seemed dissatisfied as she didn't get the answer she wanted. "No way! She is an adopted daughter — even our dog holds a more important position in our family than she does. What's so good about her?"

The man didn't say anything. He gripped the woman's waist and thrust harder, which made her scream and moan his name.

Natalie Quinn stood in front of the door, listening to everything in the room. Her tired eyes turned cold as she understood what was going on.

She had just returned from the hospital.

Hannah, who had raised Natalie ever since she was a child, was diagnosed with advanced liver cirrhosis three months ago. The woman needed a liver transplant right away. Natalie had to gather the money to pay the medical expenses.

To make her situation worse, her younger sister hooked up with her boyfriend. Natalie felt her life was falling apart.

"Did you hear me? You have to tell me your decision tonight. It's either her or me. The choice is yours." Cassie Quinn pounded on Steve Carter's chest, desperate to hear his answer.

Natalie kicked the door open and glared at the couple. "Let me save you the trouble. He is just a man. You can have him if you want."

Although Natalie sounded nonchalant, her heart broke to watch her boyfriend cheat on her with her sister.

Steve was Natalie's college classmate. He was a handsome man from a wealthy family. He had chased after Natalie for three years.

He had confessed his love to her again right before their graduation.

It was on the playground of their college. Many people were around, and almost all the students had witnessed the romantic scene. The crowd cheered, and Natalie finally agreed to be his girlfriend.

The pain of betrayal crushed her. Looking at the two people in front of her, Natalie clenched her fists, her nails sinking into her flesh.

Steve hurriedly pushed Cassie away, put on his pants, and got out of the bed.

Cassie almost fell down. Natalie's words ignited her anger.

She had put a lot of effort into hooking up with a wealthy, handsome man like Steve.

Natalie had won his heart without doing anything, which infuriated Cassie.

After all, Natalie was just an adoptive daughter.

"What the hell are you saying? You sound like you dumped Steve. It's Steve who dumped you, bitch!" Cassie sneered as she pulled the quilt closer to her body. Then, she looked at Steve and asked, "Steve, what did you say to me just now? Tell that to Natalie!"

Steve had slept with Cassie purely out of impulse. The woman had seduced him, and he lost control of himself.

He kneeled and grabbed Natalie's wrist. "Natalie, please forgive me. I didn't know what I was thinking."

Although tears filled her eyes, Natalie looked at him with disgust. Once Natalie set her mind to something, no one could change it.

She withdrew her hand from Steve's hold. "I'm sorry, Steve. I don't want anything that's tainted by Cassie. You two are a perfect match. Let's break up."

Cassie was taken aback. Steve was on the verge of a breakdown, but there was not even a trace of sadness on Natalie's face. Anger surged through her veins because she didn't achieve what she had wanted.

Natalie didn't have the time to talk to them. Cassie had always been competing with her ever since they were kids and she enjoyed taking away whatever belonged to Natalie. She used to snatch Natalie's toys. Now that they had grown up, she snatched her boyfriend as well.

Natalie was used to it. She was only worried about Hannah's medical expenses now.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard the clacking of footsteps from the corridor.

"It's late at night. What's with all the noise?"

Natalie's adopted parents, George Quinn and Lauren Duncan, rushed over after hearing the commotion.

George walked into the room first. His eyes widened in horror when he saw his daughter sitting on the bed wearing nothing — except for the quilt wrapped around her. "What the hell are you doing? You are going to get married soon. What are you doing with another man?" he bellowed.

Cassie hugged herself and looked at George with bloodshot eyes. She gritted her teeth to suppress her rage.

The Klein family and the Quinn family had an agreement to get their kids married when they grew up. Her fiance was an illegitimate child, and the Klein family had driven him out of the house a long time ago. He was poor and didn't even have a decent job. He was just an idler who wasted his time doing nothing. Cassie didn't want to marry him.

She felt she deserved someone better than him.

"I'm pregnant!" Cassie said, pointing at Steve. "I am pregnant with his child. So I can't marry anyone else. You better cancel the wedding."

Steve was dumbfounded. He had slept with Cassie only a few times. How could she get pregnant?

"What nonsense! You must marry into the Klein family!" George was fuming with rage. He wanted to slap Cassie for acting stupid.

After all, the wedding was a matter of his prestige. What could he tell the Klein family if they asked the reason for calling off the wedding?

Lauren protectively stood in front of her daughter. She was protective of Cassie and seldom scolded her. Her husband was seething mad, and she couldn't watch him shout at Cassie.

"George, why are you mad at Cassie?" Lauren cried. "Natalie is also a daughter of the Quinn family. She can also marry into the Klein family."

George and Lauren didn't have any child for the first few years after they got married. Due to the pressure of the elders of the Quinn family, they had to adopt Natalie. Years later, Lauren finally got pregnant and gave birth to Cassie.

The whole thing only made her hate Natalie even more. Natalie's existence was proof of her infertility. The mere sight of her adopted daughter irked Lauren.

After giving birth to Cassie, Lauren became partial toward her daughter and despised Natalie.

Later, as time went by, Natalie grew up to be a better woman than her daughter in every aspect. That seemed to intensify her hatred for Natalie even more.

Lauren's words enraged Natalie. "You had agreed to get Cassie married into the Klein family, not me," she roared. "Why are you planning to get me married just because your sweet daughter has been banging someone?"

"We have raised you all these years. It's time for you to repay our kindness, Natalie," Lauren said in a low voice, her eyes twinkling with cunningness. "Don't you want that maid to have the surgery? We will pay for the medical expenses as long as you marry into the Klein family in place of Cassie."

A complacent smile emerged on Cassie's face. She felt Natalie and the illegitimate son of the Klein family would be perfect for each other.

Natalie gritted her teeth as Lauren's words infuriated her. However, the doctor's words flashed in her mind. Hannah didn't have much time left.

Natalie had just graduated and couldn't afford to pay for Hannah's treatment.

Although George and Lauren adopted Natalie, they never really cared about her. Hannah, the maid of the Quinn family, raised Natalie. Hannah was like the grandmother Natalie never had. She couldn't leave her alone.

Noticing her hesitation, Lauren walked up to Natalie. "You will have to marry someone in the future. Why don't you help us by marrying the son of the Klein family? I will give you the money as soon as you get married."

Natalie's feet trembled as everyone in the room stared at her. She needed money to pay Hannah's medical fee.

Tears finally streamed down her cheeks. She lowered her head and replied in a low voice. "Okay, I'll marry him."