I laughed at myself and slowly stood up with the help of the servants and went to the hospital.

The smell of disinfectant overwhelmed me. I was told the news that I lost my child and I wouldn't be able to bear children in the future because of this.

The tears came first but soon followed by a sense of relief.

It was a good thing that no one else would suffer.

I took a taxi home from the hospital and just happened to bump into Alex.

Seeing him, I suddenly thought of the coldness in his eyes during the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

He saw how Alana was making things difficult for me, but he didn't say a word.

He even turned and went into his study after seeing me fall.

At that moment, he was casually reading the newspaper. He didn't even raise his head to look at me when he noticed my return.

"Don't blame Alana for what happened today. Back then, you promised my mother to look after Alana for money. Her arrogance and bad temper are your doing."

His voice was indifferent as if the matter of Alana almost killing me was nothing important.

He even pinned the blame on me.

I lowered my head to cover the emotions in my eyes, not saying a word.

After not getting a response for a while, he actually raised his head to look at me.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"My child is gone."

Alex looked at me, then suddenly loosened his tie and walked towards me. "It's good that the child is gone. It'll be more convenient for us."

I understood what he meant and raised my head to look at him in shock.

Back then, although it was his mother who suggested I marry him, he was still the person who had the final say in things.

All of this happened because I looked almost the same as Alana's biological mother, Helen Jones.

I knew he loved this face more than anything else.

He loved this face so much that he was willing to keep me around and sleep with me even though he had no feelings for me at all.

He wasn't even willing to use protection.

With that, I became pregnant with his child.

As an orphan, I was unwilling to have an abortion, so I kept the child until today.

However, I didn't expect that after just having a miscarriage, Alex still wanted to do it with me!

It seemed that the reason why Alana was so heartless was because his father was the same.

I furrowed my brows and forced myself not to throw up. Then I pushed him away.

Under his shocked and angry gaze, I said indifferently, "I've already done what your mother asked of me and that is to take care of Alana until she comes of age. I'll be leaving tomorrow."

I had been with them for over 10 years, but Alex had never talked about getting married.

I felt that I was just a nanny that they could abandon at any moment.

It was a good thing though. At least there wouldn't be anything holding me back when I decided to leave.

Alex's face darkened immediately.

"Are you still mad at Alana, Irene?"

I lowered my head and didn't say a word. He thought he had guessed right and snorted. "Since when have you become so narrow-minded? Besides, you're an orphan. Where would you go after leaving the Greenwood family?"

He thought he had me, so his voice was full of disdain.

I removed the necklace from my neck and placed it on the table.

"I'll go back to the orphanage after leaving the Greenwood family."

I knew Alex had no feelings for me from the day I decided to be with him.

He and Helen were childhood sweethearts both from affluent families. They were a perfect match in terms of status and looks. They also deeply loved each other.

At the time, the only reason they were willing to let me into the family was because I had the same face as her, and I could take care of Alana.

So, I had always made sure to leave myself a way out.

As long as I received the agreed-upon money, I would leave the Greenwood family and return to the orphanage.

That place was my real home.

But I didn’t understand—clearly I had fulfilled my duty and honored our agreement, yet Alex was unwilling to let me go.

"Mr. Greenwood, I have already done everything I promised your mother. Alana... has also grown up. I’ve stayed in the Greenwood family's residence long enough. Rumors are all over the place. If I continue to stay here without any name or status, it would be a disrespect to your late wife."

The man stared at me for a moment, and suddenly a smile spread across his face.

"So that’s what you’re worried about. Then don’t be. Helen had always been broad-minded and wouldn’t care about things like that. You just want to marry me and that won’t be a problem. As long as you stay obedient and treat Alana well, I wouldn’t mind marrying—"

"No." I shook my head. "You misunderstood. I don’t want to marry you, and I definitely don’t want to register our marriage."

The moment those words fell, a dark, stormy look surged in his eyes.

If it had been in the past, I would’ve already been trembling, apologizing, and trying every way possible to calm his anger.

But I had grown tired of living so humbly.

"I don’t want to stay in the Greenwood family anymore. I want to go back to the orphanage, to be with the dean, and take care of the children. Alana has already grown up and is extremely annoyed by me. She doesn’t need me by her side anymore. As long as Mr. Greenwood gives me the promised payment, I will leave right away—"

With a loud crash, Alex swept everything off the table.

"Shut up! Seems we’ve treated you too well, to the point where you think you can come and go as you please! I’m telling you, without my permission, you can forget about leaving the Greenwood family!"

Then, he turned and left, ordering several servants to lock me in the room.

The heavy door was shut tight, and that night, only water was brought in.

The servant who detained me looked apologetic and said that Alex had ordered to starve me for a few days as a lesson.

I was shocked by his shamelessness. I never thought this man would not only break his promise but also use such disgusting methods to torture me.

My body was already weak from a recent miscarriage, so I had no choice but to lie on the bed and think of ways to escape.

The next morning, just as sunlight streamed into the room, I heard a commotion outside the door.

"What? That woman really tried to leave? And Dad locked her up?"

Alana’s piercing voice rang out from outside. After a few futile pleas from the servants, she kicked the door open.

She strode into the room and saw me lying weakly on the bed.

A wicked smile curled at her lips as she grabbed my hair and yanked me up.

"I heard you argued with Dad yesterday. You’re such a pathetic loser—after staying in the Greenwood family for over a decade, and still no one likes you."

The sharp pain on my scalp made me frown deeply.

"Alana, let go of me!"

"Oh? You dare yell at me now? What, you really think you’re my mom?"

She pulled even harder, then flung me back onto the bed.

My nose hit the mattress and a sour sting spread through it, my eyes filling with tears before I could stop them.

Alana laughed even louder. "I heard you didn’t eat last night, so I kindly brought you a meal."

She snatched the lunchbox from the servant beside her and threw it on the ground.

I coughed violently by the smell of blood.

Alana was delighted by the sight of my suffering.

"This is the price you pay for daring to live out the dream of replacing my mother!"

Alana's laughter filled the room.

"Look familiar? After all, it was inside your body for a few months!"

Alana laughed maniacally, her eyes wide as if hoping to catch a trace of fear on my face.

Seeing her so cruel and heartless, my heart felt like it had dropped into an icy abyss.

She had once been such a sweet and obedient girl.

As a child, she was born through a difficult labor, leaving her physically weak and prone to allergies and indigestion. Because of that, every single meal she ate had to be prepared by me.

But back then, I was just a beginner in the kitchen, and cooking for a toddler was complicated. My hands were always covered in cuts.

Thinking of that, I held back tears and held out my blood-red hand in front of her.

"I never once wanted to replace your mother. Everything I’ve done over these years was simply to take good care of you."

Alana froze, and for a moment, panic flashed in her eyes—but it was quickly replaced by fury.

"Don’t try to fool me! I’ve already found out the truth. You married into the Greenwood family just for the money! It was Grandma who promised you a huge sum, that’s why you agreed to take care of me. You even secretly became pregnant—obviously you just wanted to stay in the Greenwood family and enjoy all this wealth and luxury!"

Looking at the sheer hatred on her face, I lifted my teary eyes and stared straight at her.

"Alana, why do you hate me so much? Haven’t I treated you well all these years?"

Her panic was obvious. She couldn’t find any words for a long while.

What could she even say?

For over 10 years, I had poured almost all of my energy into her.

Every bite of food, every piece of clothing—everything had been prepared by me.

This girl had always been frail and delicate. There were many things she couldn’t eat.

I remembered all of her habits and preferences clearly, down to the smallest detail.

When she was five, she fell seriously ill and nearly stopped breathing.

I carried her on my back to the hospital, praying to every god I could name at the doors, begging for her to be saved.

Even when I made the deal with Alex’s mother, Jane, I had warned myself—

Never give your heart to the wealthy. Their world had no place for sincerity.

But in the end, I still fell too deep. And I lost completely.

Alana’s face turned red with rage until she practically screamed her next words.

"So what if you were good to me! It was all for the Greenwood family's money! If you really loved me, if you saw me as your own daughter, you never would have gotten pregnant! You never truly cared about me, and I will never see you as my mother. I hate you!"

After shouting at me, she turned and stormed out of the room.

But the moment she reached the stairs, she ran straight into a woman.

She looked up, ready to lash out—but stopped dead in her tracks.

"Mom?"