I was born destined to be fertile. The kind of woman who brings heirs into the world as if it were destiny. My womb had never failed me.

The Schuyler family had practically begged me to marry into their family. The reason was simple.

For three generations, the Schuyler family had only produced a single heir each time. Their bloodline was hanging by a thread.

The patriarch of the family, Albert Schuyler, went everywhere looking for solutions. Doctors, fortune tellers, shamans, anyone who could give him hope.

In the end, every prediction pointed to me.

After I married Jack Schuyler, my first pregnancy was twins.

The entire Schuyler family exploded with joy. Albert donated to every church and fortune teller alike, kneeling in gratitude.

Before the babies were even weaned, the Schuyler family business began to thrive. Everyone said that it was the blessing of having noble heirs.

Wedding gifts, properties, and company shares.

The Schuyler family spared nothing. They treated me like a queen, terrified that I might suffer even the slightest.

Until the day I gave birth to my third child.

Jack Schuyler's true love, Bianca Chance, barged into the delivery room, screaming at me, "You shameless tramp! You're nothing but a breeding sow! One baby after the other! Are you trying to trap Jack with your womb? You disgusting woman! Jack had said that everything you give birth to will just be burdens sooner or later!"

I pressed a hand on my wound and looked at her.

Burden?

Fine.

I would take these so-called burdens with me.

As for the Schuyler family's precious bloodline, they had to figure out how to continue it on their own.

It had only been three hours since I was wheeled out of surgery. The anesthesia had not even worn off yet.

That was when Jack Schuyler's true love, Bianca Chance, barged into my VIP maternity suite.

She grabbed the glass from the nightstand and hurled it right at my face, hitting my forehead.

Warm blood trickled down my forehead, blurring my vision.

"Thea Summers, you're nothing but a breeding sow!" Bianca yelled as she pointed at me. "You have one baby after the other! Are you just trying to trap Jack with your womb? You disgusting woman!"

I was in so much pain I could barely breathe. I clutched the sheets, my fingers digging in so hard the IV line in my hand tore, blood seeping back into the tube.

"Your children are just a burden to the Schuyler family! They're a burden!"

Bianca turned to look at the newborn Luke, the third of my children, in the crib. Luke was wrinkly and sleeping soundly.

"Small eyes and a flat nose–he looks like a pauper! How could he be an heir to the Schuyler family?"

Bianca sneered and strode over. She reached over and grabbed Luke's face, squeezing it tightly.

"Wah!" The baby's sharp cry pierced the room.

Something in me snapped as all the blood rushed up to my head. I didn't know where I got the strength, but I quickly got out of bed.

The moment my feet touched the ground, the wound on my abdomen was so painful I saw black, but I had no time to waste.

I pounced on Bianca and grabbed her by her hair. Then, I slapped her twice.

Bianca fell to the ground, clutching her face and screaming.

The doors opened. Jack, in a business suit, entered with a darkened gaze. He saw Bianca on the floor and quickly went over to help her to her feet.

"Bianca, what's going on?!"

Bianca buried herself in Jack's arms, sobbing and shivering. "Jack, I just wanted to see the baby, but Thea jumped on me and hit me."

Jack glared at me. "Thea, what the hell is wrong with you? Bianca, out of the goodness of her heart, came to see you! How could you hit her?"

I held onto the side of the bed. Blood trickled down into my mouth, salty to the taste.

I pointed at my face and said with a trembling voice, "Jack, are you blind? Look at the wound on my head. Look at the handprint on the baby's face!"

Jack swept a gaze on my forehead. He said in a tone so indifferent it made my heart sink, "Bianca never had children. She doesn't know how to control her strength when playing with a baby. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? You had three children. Can't you just be a little more tolerant?"

I looked at him in complete disappointment.

When I first had the twins and was bleeding in labor, he accompanied Bianca to an art gallery.

Now, just three hours after I gave birth to our third son, he let her bully me in my hospital room.

Getting no response from me, Jack's voice turned colder. "Thea, know your place. If my parents weren't superstitious, believing you had some fertility blessing, do you think you could have ever married into the Schuyler family?

"The Schuyler family's business boomed in the past few years, all because of me. Not because of how many children you had.

"I'm warning you. If you ever lay a finger on Bianca again, you and your children can get lost."

The room sank into a terrifying silence. Only Luke's sobs remained.

I wiped away the blood on my face and chuckled at Jack.

"Alright then, Jack. Remember what you said to me today. I'm not going to continue the bloodline of the Schuyler family. I'll also be taking back everything your family gained from me."

I picked up my phone and dialed my brother, Taylor.

"Taylor, please come to the City Hospital. I'm taking my son home."

Jack was still there, standing, by the time I ended the call.

He did not panic at my words, no. Instead, he snickered. "Thea, have you gotten the acting bug? Don't think calling your brother will scare me."

He hugged Bianca tighter and said in an even more condescending tone, "Your brother's tiny company doesn't even make enough in a year to cover my family's taxes. The moment you walk out of this room, you won't be able to afford the best baby formula. Leaving the Schuyler family, you are nothing."

Bianca, in Jack's arms, was dabbing her tears before shooting me a smug smile.

I said nothing.

Enduring the stabbing pain in my abdomen, I bent and lifted Luke from the crib.

It felt like my stitches were about to split open. With every step, I could feel my clothes soaking through with sweat and blood.

At that moment, the doors burst open.

Jack's parents, Robert and Mary, rushed in. They had heard the commotion.

The moment Mary saw the blood on my forehead, she shrieked, "Oh my God! Thea! What happened to you? Who did this?!"

Robert was staring at Bianca, who was in Jack's arms. His gaze darkened.

Bianca lowered her head shiftily and greeted them softly, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler."

Mary ignored her and tried to help me.

"Lie down! You had just given birth! How could you be out of bed?

"Jack, what are you still standing there for? Call the doctor!"

I stepped away from Mary's hand and said calmly, "No need for that, Mary. Jack said that I'm only a tool for giving birth to children. Since I have done my duty, it's time for me to leave."

Robert furrowed his brows and glared at Jack. "You brat! What did you say to her?"

Jack looked impatient. "Dad, don't listen to her. She slapped Bianca twice. I only said a couple of things to her. She's always threatening divorce whenever something happens. We shouldn't indulge her."

Robert was so furious that he was trembling. He pointed at Jack and berated, "You idiot! Did you know back then…"

"I know. You're superstitious about all that fate nonsense," Jack rudely interrupted. "But I call the shots in Schuyler Group now. Even if I divorce her, I'll take the family to higher heights."

I was standing in the middle of the room with Luke in my arms, looking at this family.

Robert and Mary had indeed treated me well the past three years, but what they truly valued was the children in me.

"Robert, Mary," I said, "thank you for all your care over the past three years. Jack is right, however. I don't belong in this family.

"My brother has gone to the Schuyler Residence to pick up the twins. In the future, my children will have nothing to do with the Schuyler family."

Robert immediately snapped, "Absolutely not! The children are Schuylers! You can't take them away!"

Jack sneered. "Thea, who do you think we are? The children bear the Schuyler family name. You can't take them."

Right at this moment, a synchronized sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway.

The door opened.

My brother, Taylor, entered. Behind him were eight bodyguards in black suits. All of them were broad-shouldered and imposing, instantly blocking the entrance.

Jack was bewildered. "Taylor, what.. Why are you here? What's with all the people?"

Taylor walked over to me. When he saw the blood on my forehead, his gaze instantly turned murderous.

Ignoring Jack, he took over Luke from me and handed him to a bodyguard. Then, he took off his jacket and placed it over me.

"Thea, the car is downstairs. Matthew and Mark are already in the car. Let's go home."

Robert's eyes reddened with anxiety. "Taylor, this is robbery! We're calling the police!"

Taylor turned to look at Robert and Jack. "Call the police? Sure! Mr. Schuyler, might I remind you that you had unlawfully detained my sister and allowed someone to assault her? Shall we go to the police station to discuss this further?"

He pointed at the hospital corridor and continued, "The Summers family has a forty-percent share in this hospital. I'd like to see who'd try stopping me from taking my sister."

Jack's face instantly paled.

"W-what? The Summers family… How on earth did you have that much money to buy the hospital's shares?"

Taylor sneered. Saying nothing, he led me out of the room.

Robert wanted to rush over, but the bodyguards stopped him.

When I walked past Jack, I stopped in my tracks. I looked at Bianca in his arms, then I looked at the arrogant man in front of me.

"You said that the Schuyler family will still be doing fine without me, didn't you, Jack? Well, you'd better guard your wealth properly from today onward."

I left the room without looking back.

Jack, behind me, yelled angrily, "Fine! Just go! You'd better not regret it and come begging me to take you back, Thea!"

During the month of the divorce cooling-off period, Jack lived a comfortable life.

He had signed the billion-dollar development project in the suburbs of Kin City.

When the media interviewed him, he sat in front of the camera in a perfectly tailored suit, saying that Schuyler Group's success was a team effort, and it had nothing to do with superstition or fate.

He said it with complete confidence.

Bianca sat beside him, smiling along.

Later, she posted a cropped photo of a medical report on social media with the caption, [Looking forward to welcoming a new life.]

The comments flooded in with congratulations.

[Mr. Schuyler has been doubly blessed! What a lucky man!]

[It seems that the fertility luck has changed hands! Ms. Chance had only just entered the family, and she immediately got pregnant.]

Bianca even deliberately called me to mock me, "Thea, did you hear? I'm pregnant, too. Jack said that this was the baby that he was hoping for. He doesn't want anything to do with your burdensome children. You can have custody of the children. He doesn't care about them at all."

I said nothing, which made Biance even more smug.

"By the way, Jack told me to tell you that he's giving me the mansion that you used to live in as my maternity house. If you have any belongings there, get them out, or I'll get them thrown out tonight."

I replied calmly, "Congratulations. I hope you can keep the Schuyler family bloodline alive."

With that, I hung up.

I sat by the window, looking at the skies turning dark. Luke slept soundly, breathing lightly.

Jack did not want custody. To him, the children were a burden. They were not worth the effort of fighting over.

Fine.

He was going to get exactly what he wanted.

On the day that the divorce was finally finalized, the Fenton family sent a message, saying that the patriarch of the family, Henry Fenton, wanted to treat me to dinner.

I agreed.

I did not expect news to leak, of course.

That night, I had just sat down in the private room when the doors were opened. Jack and Bianca entered.

He gave a casual greeting to the others present, took a seat nearby, and simply stayed.

The dishes were served. Wine was poured.

Bianca picked up a glass of wine and raised it to me.

"Thea, care for a drink?"

"No." I place my cutlery down. "It has just been a month since my C-section. The incision hasn't healed. Alcohol might reopen it."

Jack said without looking up, "Refusing to drink at an occasion like this? How rude."

Bianca poured a glass for me and pushed it toward me.

"It's only one glass. If you don't drink, everyone will think that you don't respect them."

I pushed the glass away and said nothing.

Bianca stopped smiling. She turned to the other side and said to the others, "Ms. Summers always had a lot of rules. Back when she was in the Schuyler family, she was always like this–what she could touch, what she couldn't. Honestly, it was exhausting taking care of her."

She paused for a while before continuing, "I mean, it's understandable. She had three children. Her body's probably wrecked."

Some lowered their heads and drank in silence, while others looked away.

Jack placed his glass down and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Thea, let's be honest. Whether that fate of yours is true or not, people in this circle know the truth. You might be able to fool one family, but you won't fool another."