Cole Jackman married me to repay a life‑saving debt.

Eight years after I entered the Jackman family with tens of billions, his long‑lost, unreachable first love, Ashley White, returned, with her child.

Because Ashley had a nightmare, she claimed my son, Oliver Jackman, would bring misfortune to her child. Cole believed her without hesitation. He sent Oliver to an abandoned monastery deep in the mountains, forcing him to fast for seven days to “purify” whatever darkness Ashley imagined.

I knelt before him, pleading, “Oliver has a heart condition. He won’t survive seven days without food.”

Cole, busy preparing nutritious meals for Ashley, didn’t even look at me. “He won’t die from a few days of hunger. If he can’t endure this, he doesn’t deserve to be my son.”

He locked me in the basement for the entire seven days.

By the time I reached Oliver, he was already gone.

I carried him home in my arms, his small body cold and still.

Cole kicked me aside as he pulled Ashley into his embrace. “You’ve ruined our son! He’d even pretend to be dead just to deceive me. If you can’t discipline him, I’ll find him a new mother.”

I wiped the tears from my face and dialed my older brother, Emilio Darcy.

“Withdraw your investment,” I said, my voice steady for the first time in years. “Bankrupt the Jackman family.”

I was locked in the basement. Only the sound of rats scratching at the walls kept me company in the darkness.

I cried and pleaded, “Cole, please spare Oliver. He’s only seven years old. I’ll climb all six thousand stone steps on my knees and fast for seven days in his place.”

Cole Jackman said impatiently, “If you hadn’t hired someone to crash into me and then pretended to save me, I would never have married you. Ashley wouldn’t have been so heartbroken that she was taken away and forced to suffer in the mountains. You should bear the consequences of the marriage you forced. Only a mother who lies and harms others could give birth to a child with such dark energy.”

I collapsed helplessly on the ground, tears streaming down my face. “I never hired anyone to hurt you.”

Cole retorted coldly, “The evidence is right in front of us. Your acting skills are impressive, but you won’t fool me again.”

He turned to the guard. “Starve her for three days. Not a drop of water. Let her reflect.”

I had pushed Cole out of the way of that car. I was the one thrown aside, the one who suffered broken bones and internal injuries, the one who lay unconscious for seven days.

He proposed to me after I woke up. For eight years, he treated me with tenderness. He would panic if I so much as burned my hand.

However, Cole's unattainable first love, Ashley White, who had disappeared for eight years, returned. My life-saving grace became a lie, and I was branded a despicable liar.

For three days and nights, I had neither eaten nor drunk anything. My lips were cracked, and even my breath tasted of blood.

In my daze, I seemed to hear Oliver’s voice from the day he was taken away.

“Mom, don’t cry. I’ll be good. Then Dad won’t hate me. I’ll pray for Ms. White so Daddy won’t be angry with you.”

The maid tossed a few pieces of bread onto the floor. “These are Ms. White’s leftovers. She gave them to you out of kindness. Be grateful.”

I forced myself to swallow, thinking, 'I can't die. I have to find Oliver.'

The maid sneered. “You’ll even eat food thrown on the ground. Pathetic. No wonder Mr. Jackman prefers the noble Ms. White.”

Ashley’s so‑called nobility came from the emerald jewelry set I had given Cole. It was my mother’s heirloom. He handed it to Ashley simply because she said she liked it.

Oliver had merely spoken up, and he was punished to kneel all night.

Time blurred until the basement door was kicked open.

Harry Jackman rushed in and helped me up, guilt written across his face. “Nicol Darcy, Oliver survived six heart surgeries. He’ll pull through this time too. You invested your entire dowry into the failing Jackman Group and hid it from Cole so he wouldn’t feel inferior. You saved this family. Cole wronged you.”

Harry and I arrived at Mount Silva. The stone steps leading up the mountain were covered in bloodstains.

Harry clutched his chest as he struggled to breathe, his cane nearly slipped from his grasp.

I trembled as I climbed, imagining the suffering Oliver must have endured with every step.

When I pushed open the monastery door, I saw Oliver lying motionless on the ground.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I stumbled over to Oliver, staring in disbelief at the dark purple lividity on his body and his knees that revealed the bone beneath.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I screamed, “What did I do wrong?”

I gathered Oliver into my arms, holding him close.

Harry stared in horror. “Cole is bewitched by Ashley. He didn’t mean for this to happen. I’ll make him repent. Please… don’t withdraw your investment from the Jackman Group.”

Cole invested most of the Jackman Group’s funds into newly developed real‑estate projects. If I withdrew my investment, the company’s financial chain would snap, and bankruptcy would be inevitable.

Harry had asked me to invest the same way eight years ago. He hoped I could save the legacy built by three generations of the Jackman family.

I knelt in the family hall for three days, broke ties with my own family, and married Cole. I ignored my brother Emilio Darcy’s warnings and poured my entire dowry into the Jackman Group. Even my last remaining relative grew disappointed in me for it.

And what did I receive in return?

I stood up with Oliver in my arms and said calmly, “Cole saved me from drowning ten years ago. I repaid that debt. Now that Oliver is gone, I have no reason to stay in the Jackman family.”

Harry bent over, looking as though he had aged ten years in an instant. “I’ll call Cole right now. You can deal with him however you want. Just… give him a chance to make up for this.”

It took Harry dozens of calls before Cole finally answered.

Cole’s cold voice came through the speaker. “Grandpa, I already married Nicola like you wanted. What more do you want from me.”

Harry shouted, “You said you loved her! Why did you hurt her and Oliver?”

Cole replied with irritation, “Nicola hired someone to run me over and then pretended to save me. She tricked me into loving her, so she deserves karma. I only made Oliver pray and fast for a few days. Is that worth getting angry about? Ashley hasn’t been eating well, so I need to take care of her. Tell Nicola to stop causing trouble.”

Starve for a few days? Even a healthy adult would be in trouble if they starved for seven days, let alone Oliver, who had a heart condition and whose legs were worn down to the bone.

Harry coughed violently, blood staining his lips, before collapsing. “The Jackman family is doomed…”

He was rushed to the hospital, and I took Oliver home. I needed to change his clothes before sending him off.

The housekeepers in the yard looked at Oliver in my arms with horror.

"He's covered in blood. He’s so thin… it’s frightening.”

"Thankfully, Ms. White is pregnant with Mr. Jackman's child."

“We must take good care of Ms. White now. She’s the real mistress of this house.”

Entering the living room, Ashley was startled by the sight of us. She raised an eyebrow at Oliver before throwing herself into Cole's arms. "Nicola just can't stand me and wants to scare me to death! I'm haunted by Oliver's malevolent aura, having nightmares day and night. Why doesn't Nicola feel any remorse?"

Cole frowned, carefully holding her in his arms. He sneered and kicked me away violently. "Ashley has a poor appetite, so I'm taking her out for French food. You've corrupted our son. He would even fake his death!"

I fell to the ground, Oliver's lifeless body slamming onto the floor from my arms.

I quickly pulled him into my arms. "Don't be afraid. Oliver, don't be afraid."

Cole kicked him lightly with irritation. “Enough pretending. Get up. Ms. White still isn’t feeling well. Were you unwilling to kneel? Or did you sneak food?”

When Oliver did not move, Cole grabbed my chin harshly. “He’s just like you, always lying. You two are such good actors. I should send you both to a film studio. If you can’t discipline him, I’ll find him a new mother. Ashley will take that role from now on. When I get home, I expect him to serve her respectfully.”

Ashley gently comforted Cole. “Cole, don’t be angry. Nicola is just jealous because you’re so kind to me. When Oliver becomes my son, I’ll discipline him properly.”

Cole replied coldly, “If she hadn’t deceived me into marrying her, you wouldn’t have been so heartbroken that someone could trick you into the mountains and make you suffer. She owes you. What she’s enduring now is nothing compared to what you went through.”

He held Ashley close and walked out.

Ashley glanced back at me with open contempt, triumphant, almost smug.

I carried Oliver upstairs to change his clothes, but several housekeepers blocked my way.

“Mr. Jackman said this room has good lighting. He wants Ms. White’s unborn child to stay here in the future.”

“It’s bad luck to have… that… in the room. Mr. Jackman and Ms. White will be upset if they find out.”

Anyone could see Oliver was gone, anyone except his father, who still insisted he was pretending.

Oliver had died alone in that abandoned monastery because of Cole’s blind faith in Ashley’s words. Yet Cole never believed a single thing his own son said.

The new clothes I had bought for Oliver hadn’t even been brought to his room yet. I dressed him carefully.

The crematorium’s furnace burned through the night. A staff member handed me an urn containing his ashes.

I planned to leave with Oliver’s ashes, to bury him beside my parents. I just did not know how to face my brother, Emilio, the brother I had disappointed by giving up everything for love.

I had barely stepped out of the funeral home when Cole called.

I hung up. He called again.

When I finally answered, his voice was sharp with anger. “If you’re not home in an hour, I’ll flush that emerald necklace down the toilet.”

My composure cracked. “That’s my mother’s keepsake.”

Back home, Cole and Ashley were on the sofa, wrapped around each other. Cole’s hand slid beneath her clothes.

Ashley leaned against him, breathless. “Cole, stop… Nicola will get jealous. She didn’t come home all night. I wonder where she went.”

Cole kissed her ear. “Why care about her? Looks like I was too gentle, you still have the strength to talk.”

Ashley swatted at him playfully. “You’re impossible.”

I stood there calmly, emotionless. “Where is my mother’s keepsake.”

Cole stopped and sneered. “I had it made into an anklet for Ashley. Your things only deserve to be under her feet. Now bring Oliver out. His prayers weren’t sincere. He’ll kneel for another seven days. I’ll have someone watch him, so he doesn’t eat a single bite.”

My restraint snapped. I slapped him. “You monster. Oliver is gone. I’m holding his ashes.”

Cole froze, then snatched the urn and hurled it to the floor. “No one dies from a week without food. Do you think I’m stupid? And he wasn’t even mine. He wasn’t premature — he was full‑term. Three months ago, I saw you with that man, getting into a car together. Don’t think you can use this ‘prayer’ excuse to fake his death.”

The ashes scattered across the floor under Cole’s feet.

I had given birth early because I was severely injured saving him.

That man he saw was my brother. I had begged Emilio, who was already disappointed in me, to help Cole secure that land in the east of the city. I didn’t want Cole to lose sleep over it.

My hands trembled as I gathered the ashes back into the urn. I let out a hollow laugh. “Cole, I’ve never lied to you. That man is my brother.”

Cole’s pupils tightened. He paused, then chuckled. “Still lying? You’re an orphan. I’m marrying Ashley next month. You two will share the same ranking. She’s pregnant, you’d better take good care of her.”