Chapter 3

The very same man who said those cold words to me bought an entire estate for Nicole overseas, filled with precious flowers.

Watching them embrace and kiss in the sea of flowers, I suddenly laughed so hard I cried.

After I took photos as evidence, I dug out the fake marriage registration certificate.

That day, we had our wedding registration at home because Sam didn't want me to go through tiring procedures. Thinking back, those were probably actors he hired, huh?

I ripped the wedding certificate to shreds and threw it into the trash.

Going back to the bed, I found that seeing his face didn't make my heart flutter anymore.

I couldn't fall asleep the entire night, my heart filled with sorrow.

The next day, Sam still had the nutritionist prepare me a lavish breakfast.

In the past, I would have been touched by how much he cared, but I knew that all of this paled in comparison to what he did for Nicole after last night.

Every nutritious meal I had, Nicole tried it first. Not only that, but her meals were personally prepared by Sam too.

Thinking of this, I suddenly felt so disgusted that I hunched down, dry heaving, and Sam immediately tried to hold me steady.

"What's wrong, Penny?" He asked, before a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Wait, are you…?"

Irony was the only thing I felt as I looked at his expression.

What was he happy about? That he had another convenient gift that he could use to curry favor with the one he truly loved?

"I'm not… You know my health has never been good, and getting pregnant has become even harder after all those miscarriages…"

Sam comforted me, his voice gentle, "Don't say that, Penny. That's not your fault, so I won't blame you, okay? Take care of yourself, and I'm sure we'll have a healthy baby in the future!

"Cheer up, okay? Today's Mom's sixtieth birthday, and a lot of people are going to celebrate, so we can't miss out. Come with me and have some fun, yeah?"

Then, as if remembering something, his tone shifted.

"Oh, but we're secretly married, and Mom doesn't know either, so if anyone asks about your identity…"

I knew what he was going to say, so I cut him off calmly, "I know. I'll say that I'm your assistant."

"You're the best, Penny."

At the hotel, I immediately came across Nicole affectionately clinging to Sam's mother, Greta. In her custom-made gown, she made a show of taking Greta's pulse, and said that she'd live until she was two hundred years old.

Greta was so pleased that she immediately took off the bracelet on her hand, wanting to gift it to Nicole.

That bracelet was an heirloom passed down in the Wilson family, only to daughters-in-law.

Nicole simpered when she caught sight of me, but she said, "This is too precious, Ma'am. I can't take this.

"Sam brought his girlfriend here, see? That's your future daughter-in-law who might even give you five grandchildren, so give it to her instead."

Greta glanced at me, her gaze filled with unfiltered disdain as she saw me in my plain one-piece dress.

"Girlfriend? That's nothing more than a little assistant in Sam's company. Gosh, so young yet so shameless… Did you know that she had babies before marriage, and they ended up being five stillbirths? Honestly, I'd say she deserved it.

"Back in my day, a woman like her would have been stoned for being so shameless! She's a far cry from a self-loving girl like yourself, Nicole.

"Sam's at the age where he should get married, so I'll tell him to marry you today."

This wasn't the first time I attended a function held by the Wilsons as an assistant.

Years ago, Sam said that his mother looked down on my upbringing, and didn't want me to become part of their family. He told me that he didn't care, however, and that I was the one he loved, so he said that we'd get registered for marriage while he worked on changing Greta's mind.

I was touched by how strongly he wanted to be with me, so I didn't refuse.

To be fair, I didn't expect to wait eight whole years.

Once his mother caught wind that I'd given birth to five stillbirths, she was convinced that I was a promiscuous woman who slept around with men everywhere, calling me cheap and demanding Sam to throw me out.

In the past, Sam would at least try to act like he was protective of me, but now? All he had in his heart was Nicole, so I was the last thing he thought about.

Hearing his mother's words, he pretended to hesitate, but ended up saying, "Well, if you say so… I'll be heading on a business trip the day after tomorrow, so Nicole can go with me. We'll have our wedding there."

When he spoke, there was no hesitation in his words whatsoever.