Chapter 1

Yasmine Smith had been married to Charlie Listford for seven years when their adopted fraternal twins accidentally fell down the stairs, leading to them needing urgent blood transfusions.

Yasmine thought of using the blood that Charlie had previously donated to the blood bank, but their doctor shook his head and explained, "My apologies. We cannot accept blood transfusions from direct blood relatives."

Yasmine froze in shock. Then, she replied, "My husband isn't biologically related to the twins."

However, the doctor simply showed her his computer screen. "Our system clearly states that Charlie is the biological father of these twins. Their biological mother is Zara Lane."

Seeing her disbelief, the doctor showed her the paternity test. It read, "Charlie Listford has a 100% probability of being the biological father."

The black ink against the stark white paper burned into her retinas, making her eyes ache.

"Zara Lane…" she muttered.

Zara was a poor student whom the Listford family had funded. She was also a teacher at the orphanage from which Yasmine had adopted the twins.

Back then, Zara had relentlessly pursued Charlie, who eventually grew frustrated at her advances. He had cut off all of her funding.

Now, though, Yasmine was being told that her adopted fraternal twins were actually Charlie and Zara's biological children.

…

The kids were in a critical condition. Amidst Yasmine's panic, Charlie's best friend had shown up and told the blood bank to go ahead with the blood transfusion.

He looked perplexed and was about to say something to Yasmine, but a phone call had him hurrying down the corridor.

Yasmine tiptoed behind him and heard his conversation with Charlie.

"Charlie, the kids are no longer in critical condition. Yasmine hasn't noticed anything yet. Maybe you should come here and take a look yourself."

"Thank you," Charlie said. His strained voice grew slightly more relaxed. "I'm with Zara. She fainted when she heard what happened to the kids. Once she's better, I'll go to the hospital."

His friend sighed. "Making Yasmine raise your and Zara's biological kids is just a bomb waiting to explode. Even though Yasmine is infertile, you shouldn't have…"

He trailed off before continuing, "Zara was just a low-income student that the Listford family decided to help through funding. You used to claim it felt gross to even look at her. If it hadn't been for Mrs. Listford Senior and the drugs she slipped you, you would never have had children with Zara!"

Charlie spoke, his voice so raspy that it sounded painful. "Don't say that about her. Zara is a great person. It was cruel of me to make her part from her own flesh and blood. As for Yasmine…"

His voice shook and he sighed before continuing, "She's loved by me and has an adorable son and daughter. Compared to Zara, she has nothing to complain about."

The call ended, and Yasmine dragged herself back to the ward. She felt numb, as if life had been sucked out of her.

She stared at her children sleeping peacefully and began to feel a sharp ache spreading out from her chest.

Charlie and Yasmine had been childhood sweethearts. Everyone used to talk about how much he loved her.

When they played house as a kid, he would only want her as his bride. He would dress up in his kid-sized tuxedo and hold her hand like a gentleman. "Yasmine, please be with me for the rest of my life!"

In high school, he would tear apart all the love letters she received and fight any guy who dared to confess to her. While she was exasperatedly applying ointment to his injuries, he would be smiling as if he had just won the lottery.

The night he proposed, he yelled her name a thousand times from the roof of the observatory. Yasmine remembered how the diamond on the ring had glowed under the moonlight, and how the sky had been littered with stars.

He went down on one knee and carefully slipped it on her finger. "Yasmine, I will spend the rest of my life dedicating my love to you, and only you."

She thought they would live happily ever after, until the incident on their wedding day happened.

Charlie had been an assassination target. Before the dagger could pierce into his heart, Yasmine had taken the blow for him.

The dagger landed squarely in her lower stomach, causing blood to seep through the pure white fabric of her wedding dress. The injury left her highly unlikely to ever conceive a child.

At the time, Charlie had knelt by her bedside with eyes that were red from crying. He clutched her hands tightly as he swore, "Yasmine, even if we can't have kids, you'll be the only woman I'll ever marry."

During the first year of their marriage, she had been pampered and treasured by the Listford family.

After the first year, though, Josephine Green, Charlie's grandmother, began to loathe Yasmine for being infertile.

That day, she had been forced into seclusion by Josephine once again. Charlie stood up for her every time Josephine forced her into seclusion, but that night, he only returned at around 3:00 am.

He smelt like alcohol and held her tightly in his embrace as he murmured over and over again, "I'm sorry. I love you."

Yasmine didn't understand why. All she knew was that Charlie treated her ridiculously well for ten months after that. Even Josephine was being much more agreeable.

Ten months after that, Zara Lane, who was a teacher at an orphanage, brought a pair of fraternal twins to their doorstep.

Yasmine looked at Zara, whose eyes bore a striking resemblance to Yasmine's own. She thought about how desperately Zara had once pursued Charlie and felt disgust forming in her chest.

"Yasmine, shall we adopt them?" Charlie said, holding one child in each arm as he approached her. "I don't want you to miss out on the joy of being a mother."

She had felt tears in her eyes from how touched she was. At the time, she thought Charlie loved her more than he did himself.

Yasmine had only just realized that Zara had been pregnant for those ten months in between the two events.

As for Charlie, he had simply guilt-tripped her into raising his biological children for him. He was only nice to her to hide his own guilt.

…

Yasmine's face simply grew paler at the sight of the blood seeping through her children's bandages.

They had gotten injured because she had been tidying their room and had happened to pick up a photo album, which caused them to start clawing and scratching at her to get it back.

However, after they snatched the photo album away from her, they had been in such a hurry to run away that they tripped and fell down the stairs.

"Is this how you take care of the kids?" Charlie said, suddenly walking into the hospital room.

Yasmine turned back and frowned at the sight of a teary-eyed Zara leaning against him for support.

Zara stumbled on her feet at the sight of the kids on the hospital bed and said in a choked voice, "Ms. Steele, did you do this to them just because they aren't your biological children?"

The twins began to stir and slowly opened their eyes.

Zachary Listford pointed at Yasmine with a weak finger. "Mom pushed us down the stairs."

"Tell Mom to go away! I don't want to see her!" Rachel Listford cried out.

Yasmine's face turned paper-white. "I didn't!"

The kids began to cry and reached out to Zara. "Mom is evil! We only want Ms. Zara to be our mom!"

Yasmine's heart ached. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Enough!" Charlie barked sharply. His deep frown emphasized his disappointment. "Yasmine, get out. You're disturbing the kids' rest."

The door closed loudly, but Yasmine could still hear Zara sobbing as she said, "It's all my fault. The kids got bullied because I sent them to live with someone else."

There was still a gap in the door, and Yasmine could see Charlie kissing Zara.

Yasmine went back to their mansion as if she were escaping from everyone else. The photo album was left open on the floor.

Every time she flipped a page, she felt her heart being sliced open.

The photo album was filled with pictures of Zara, Charlie, and the twins.

Yasmine's tears landed on the pages. Eventually, a smile appeared on her face as she looked at their bright, happy grins.

If Charlie was willing to lie to Yasmine, then he would have to suffer the consequences of her leaving him.

Chapter 2

Yasmine stayed seated on the floor for a long time until the clock chimed loudly at midnight.

She stumbled back to the bedroom and began to pack her things.

When she pulled out her marriage certificate with Charlie, her fingertips unconsciously dug into the paper.

The embossed golden letters on the certificate shone so brightly that they made her eyes hurt.

Yasmine never thought she and Charlie would end up getting a divorce.

She lost her balance, causing her back to slam against the bookshelf. A few books fell onto the floor.

She held back the ache she felt in her shoulder and picked them up, only for her eyes to glaze over when she saw their covers.

The books that had fallen had all been storybooks.

Zachary and Rachel would always pester her for bedtime stories. The two of them would curl up in her arms as they said sweetly, "Mom, we love you."

Back then, she would have the kids in her arms while Charlie had his arms around her. A simple "Darling, you've worked hard today" was enough to melt away all the exhaustion she felt.

In Yasmine's memory, he had been the perfect husband and father.

He always kissed her with a smile before saying, "The more I do, the less tired you'll be."

That was why he had been extremely involved with the kids since the moment they were born.

Even while Zachary and Rachel were still in their cots, he would bathe them and make their bottles for them. He would even spend the whole night comforting the kids whenever they cried, so Yasmine could get a good night's sleep.

When the twins were learning how to speak, he taught Zachary how to play the piano and braided Rachel's hair. He would always tell the kids about how he and Yasmine fell in love.

Besides, Charlie was good to the kids without disregarding Yasmine at all.

Her closet would always be filled with the newest designer gowns, and he would come up with endless surprises for her during every anniversary.

The kids took after him and loved Yasmine to pieces. Every single day was filled with their sweet voices calling out for her.

That was until Zara appeared once again. Charlie said that the orphanage needed to conduct follow-ups with the adoptive family.

From that day onwards, the twins had begun to treat Yasmine like their enemy.

They purposely threw paint on her and knocked over the meals she cooked for them. They would even bite and scratch at her arms like little beasts.

"I hate Mom!" became their new motto.

She tried her best to discipline them, only to be faced with even more hatred. She finally understood why.

Blood was thicker than water. No matter how kind Yasmine was, she would always be an outsider compared to Zara.

Yasmine tossed away every single present she had given to Zachary and Rachel.

The tip of her finger was suddenly sliced open by the edge of a journal. Blood began to seep through the thin opening.

She decided to open the journal and saw a family of four on the first page.

The kids had used bright colors to decorate the area around Charlie and Zara's space. When she flipped the page, she saw a picture of herself with a bright red "X" over her face. The words "Evil hag!" were written next to it.

Zachary had shown the page to Zara, who had giggled at the sight.

When Yasmine asked to have a look, Rachel had stuck out her tongue at her. "We're not showing you!"

Charlie had reassured her, "Don't take it to heart. They're just kids."

Looking back at it now, she had been the butt of the joke all along.

Yasmine finished looking through the journal with trembling fingers.

The kids had written down fond memories that they shared with Charlie and Zara in their childish scrawl.

As she read their messy handwriting, Yasmine found the image of Charlie in her head slowly becoming unrecognisable.

During Children's Day, Charlie had taken Zara and the kids camping under the stars. The kids wrote about his gentle smile.

That day, the kids had locked Yasmine in the seclusion room, where cockroaches and other bugs roamed the floors and walls. Charlie, however, was happily catching fireflies with Zara.

On Valentine's Day, Charlie booked the whole aquarium just to satisfy one of Zara's childhood dreams.

That day, Zachary had purposely hidden roses in Yasmine's headboard, knowing she was allergic. She had been rushed to the hospital covered in red welts, while Charlie carried a tired Zara on his back as they strolled through rows of shops.

On Yasmine's birthday, Charlie had lied and said he had a work trip. He had gone to Pearlton and surprised Zara with fireworks above Pearlton Spire.

That day, Rachel had smashed a bequest from Yasmine's mother and tossed Yasmine's puppy, Snowie, off the fourth floor. While Yasmine was crying over the bloody remains of her puppy, Charlie had been passionately kissing Zara next to a beautiful river.

Every single word pierced through Yasmine's chest like poisoned darts.

The kids' honesty had shown Yasmine the cruel truth—Charlie had betrayed their marriage.

After those events, when he helped her apply ointment to her welts, prayed for her outside the operating room, or made the children apologize to her, it had all just been an act.

Yasmine buried her face in her palms as her shoulders shook while she let out broken sobs.

She finally managed to tidy up the mess and called the Listford residence.

Half an hour later, the butler carefully passed her a folder of documents.

"Mrs. Listford Senior has written up the divorce agreement. All you need to do is sign here. She will deal with Mr. Listford herself. This check is your reimbursement from her. Please take it."

Yasmine clutched the check tightly as she scanned the number of zeroes on the check.

Yasmine knew Josephine had wanted her to divorce Charlie since the moment she lost the ability to have children, but since she was Charlie's savior, Josephine had to wait for her to bring it up on her own accord.

"Yasmine, please don't hate me. You can't bear children, and Charlie simply must continue the family name," Josephine had said over the phone with a sigh. Her words kept echoing in Yasmine's head.

Yasmine nodded. "Okay. I'll take it."

She would never owe Charlie or the Listford family anything ever again.

The moment she signed her name, she heard a noise coming from the front door.

Charlie suddenly entered the room.

When he noticed their butler's flighty gaze, he frowned and hurried forward.

"Yasmine, what did you just sign?"

Chapter 3

Yasmine's hand froze momentarily before snapping the pen cover back on the pen. She replied, "It's the trust fund I'm setting up for the twins."

She scoffed self-deprecatingly as she watched his frosty gaze begin to thaw.

"What is it? Are you here to condemn me?" she added.

Charlie grabbed her hand and pulled her into his embrace.

"I'm sorry. I lost my temper back at the hospital," he said, rubbing against her cheek as if trying to placate her. "I checked the cameras. The kids' memories probably got all jumbled up from fear. Let's just leave this in the past, alright? We don't have to bring it up again."

He leaned down, clearly trying to solve everything with a kiss, like how he usually did. This time, however, Yasmine turned away to avoid it.

She felt a sense of revenge-like satisfaction at the sight of the shock in his eyes.

"Let's send Zachary and Rachel back to the orphanage," she said softly. "I'll go overseas to get treated for my condition. We'll have our own kid."

Charlie's expression immediately darkened when he heard that.

"It's been six years. It would be hard to part ways even with a pet dog, let alone two children. How could you have the heart to say that?"

His grip tightened as if he wanted to break her wrist.

Yasmine instinctively began to fight back from the pain and accidentally hit her head against the corner of the picture frame behind her. She became dizzy from the impact and could feel blood beginning to drip from the back of her head.

Her tears began to stream down her face, dampening the back of his hand. She didn't know if she was crying from pain or heartache.

She had raised two ungrateful brats because of how big her heart was.

Perhaps due to the heat of Yasmine's tears against his hand, Charlie immediately came to his senses. He softened his tone and said, "Yasmine, I just don't want you to go through the pain of childbirth. It would hurt so much."

His deep gaze reminded her of the passionate teenager he had once been.

During their high school biology class, he had volunteered to experience a simulation of labor pains. After the class, he had hugged her tightly with tears in his eyes as he said, "Yasmine, let's not have any kids, okay?"

Even though he was more mature now, his sincere love had become something fake and rotten.

She wanted to pull away from him when his phone began to ring loudly.

Charlie looked at the caller ID and immediately pushed her away. He went to the corner to pick up the call.

She watched as his gaze softened and the corner of his eyes curved in a smile. "I have to drop by work for a bit," he said to Yasmine before hurriedly leaving. The sight pierced through Yasmine's skin like a thousand tiny needles.

She looked behind her and saw that the wedding picture behind her was splattered with her blood.

Just like her marriage to Charlie, it had ended in a tragedy.

That night, she didn't tuck the kids in for bed.

Rachel and Zachary, who had already been discharged, couldn't stop complaining.

"Why isn't Mom telling us a bedtime story tonight? We just told a little lie. Why is she so petty?"

"I hate Mom! I want Dad to chase her out so that Ms. Zara can be our new mom!"

Yasmine turned off her phone, cutting off the live feedback from the baby monitor in the twins' room.

They would get their wish soon, once the divorce proceedings were finalized in a month.

The next day, she wasn't awoken by her usual alarm at 6:00 am. Instead, it was the loud laughter and voices from downstairs that had woken her up.

Charlie was helping Zara put on her apron as she fed the kids their breakfast with a smile on her face.

Zara looked more like the lady of the house than Yasmine had.

"Zara, you got some milk on your lip," Charlie said as he reached out and held her face with one hand. He gently wiped her bottom lip with his handkerchief. "That's it."

"Ms. Zara, your bedtime stories are so fun. You're not like my mom. She's stupid and slow," Zachary said as he gazed adoringly at Zara, complimenting her generously.

"Ms. Zara, can you marry Dad and become his wife?" Rachel asked as she held onto Zara's hand and swung it around. Yasmine had never seen such a sweet, obedient side of Rachel.

Even though they might not have meant for her to hear it, Yasmine's heart still ached when she heard them.

Suddenly, as if they could sense her presence, the four of them turned and saw her standing at the foot of the stairs.

When he saw Yasmine, Charlie immediately stepped away from Zara and walked toward Yasmine.

"Yasmine, there's a fundraising event at the orphanage tomorrow. Zara would like you to join."

His tone was sincere, but it left no room for argument.

Yasmine nodded gently and turned to leave when Zara suddenly called after her.

She held Yasmine's hand as she looked at her gratefully. "Ms. Steele, thank you for supporting our orphanage."

However, as she reached out to hug Yasmine, a smirk flashed across her face as she whispered, "Mr. Listford said he thinks of me whenever he calls out to the kids."

Yasmine stumbled back to her room, feeling her palm stinging painfully.

She looked at the bloody crescents that Zara's nails had left in her flesh and murmured the twins' names to herself.

Zachary and Rachel. The first two letters of their names spelled "Zara".

Yasmine's tears began to stream down her face and onto the scratches on her palm, causing it to sting even more painfully.

She was so stupid.

She was so stupid that she hadn't even noticed such blatant betrayal.

…

On the day of the fundraiser, Yasmine went to the orphanage on her own.

The moment she stepped inside, she saw Zara holding onto Charlie's arm as she smiled sweetly.

Zara was wearing a white dress that made her look like a breath of fresh air. Charlie had on a classic suit, making him look sleek and handsome.

Zachary and Rachel were next to them. Together, the four of them looked like a picture-perfect family.

One of the guests approached them and gushed, "You must be Mrs. Listford! The two of you make such a beautiful couple."

Zara's face flushed as Charlie froze momentarily. He didn't say a word to deny the guest's assumptions.

Yasmine smirked mockingly.

He used to talk about how much he hated Zara.

However, he was looking at her with a sweet lover's gaze.

The director of the orphanage started the fundraising event soon enough, kicking it off with an opening speech.

The crowd's gaze was immediately drawn to the screen behind him.

Chapter 4

The director of the orphanage started off by thanking Charlie and Zara. Tears formed in his eyes as he said, "If it weren't for Mr. Listford's support and Zara's hard work, our orphanage would not have made it this far."

The screen lit up with pictures of Charlie and Zara.

Charlie had given up a deal worth tens of millions so he could volunteer with Zara at the orphanage.

He donated ten million to the charity foundation that he had started in her name.

The hands that controlled the industry at his every beck and call were shown at a piano class, playing a duet with Zara.

Yasmine sat in the audience as her face grew steadily paler. She felt like a rat stealing glances at other people's happiness.

Just as she was about to lose her composure, the screen suddenly began to flicker. Suddenly, private pictures of Zara began to fill the screen.

The pictures showed Zara in short, sexy dresses as she sat on the laps of many different men while dancing provocatively.

There were pictures of her passing liquor to men through mouth-to-mouth and pressing up against them as she writhed seductively. Some of the tycoons in the pictures were well past their 50s.

There were words typed out in a bloody font next to the pictures.

"Zara Lane, the slut who ruins families!"

"You'll die for trying to take my place as Mrs. Listford!"

The room was silent enough for people to hear a pin drop.

However, everyone could tell how badly edited those photos were.

Yasmine froze, feeling her mind going blank. She could hear the twins scream from not too far away. "Ms. Zara!"

Zara had almost fainted from how hard she was crying.

Charlie exuded a terrifyingly chilly aura as he ripped the cord from the wall and carried Zara onto a long bench. He began to console her softly.

However, the glare he shot at Yasmine was full of hatred.

He began to approach her, and she began to stumble backward.

She was forced to stop when his strong hand closed around her throat. He glared at her. "Why?"

Yasmine was forced to look up at him, feeling her heart ache from both a lack of oxygen and heartbreak.

She managed to choke out the words, "Don't you believe me?"

He was the one who said he would stand up for her even if she destroyed the world.

Perhaps the sorrow in her eyes finally woke him up, because he froze and eventually released his grip.

Suddenly, Rachel crashed into his embrace with a red, tear-streaked face.

Zachary pointed a finger at Yasmine as he said loudly, "Rach and I both saw her! It was Mom who tried to embarrass Ms. Zara!"

Yasmine's face grew pale.

She immediately said, "I didn't. They're lying."

"Why would they lie?" Charlie said as his gaze became sharp once again. His hands were trembling as he continued, "Yasmine, what happened to you?"

Before she could reply, Zara suddenly fainted.

In his rush to get to Zara, Charlie shoved Yasmine aside, causing her to slam into the edge of the table.

The scar on her lower stomach from the attack she had taken for Charlie suddenly began to burn with pain.

The kids were next to her, but they simply stared at her coldly.

"If it weren't for Mom, Ms. Zara wouldn't have fainted!"

"Evil Mom! It's all her fault!"

The very next second, they pushed over the catering table in front of Yasmine.

The champagne tower immediately crashed to the floor as the wax from the candles dripped onto her arm, leaving a big ring of blisters on her skin.

However, Charlie was too anxious in his rush to get Zara to the hospital.

He was too preoccupied to even look back at Yasmine.

…

When Yasmine came to, she found herself in the sauna room of their house.

It felt incredibly hot. She felt like she was roasting over an open fire.

Fear filled her every pore as she watched the temperature on the thermometer slowly rise.

She was dizzy from the heat and mustered up the strength to bang against the door, calling out, "Is anyone there? Open the door! Let me out!"

However, all she heard was Zachary's evil giggle.

"She shouldn't have done that to Ms. Zara! Let's turn it up all the way to 212°F and hear her beg for mercy."

"What if Dad finds out?" Rachel asked, frowning.

"Don't worry. Dad likes Ms. Zara so much that he'll be on our side for sure!"

Yasmine's sweat mixed with her tears and dripped onto her dry, cracked lips.

Her breathing was becoming faster and faster as her vision grew blurry.

She was terrified of high temperatures.

Their high school had caught on fire once. The thick, dark smoke had almost suffocated her to death.

Amidst the bright flames, Charlie had run into the school to save her without caring about his own safety.

His back was bloody from the flames burning his skin, but he still managed to smile as he dried her tears. "I just want you to be safe."

The man who had once treasured her life like his own was now pushing her past the point of no return.

Suddenly, her lower stomach clenched painfully, and she felt a warm gush of liquid rushing out of her.

She finally couldn't stay upright any longer. Her bloody fingers dropped to the ground as she collapsed. There was so much blood around her that it began to seep out from under the door.

Before she lost consciousness, she thought she heard a panicked, helpless voice calling out.

The voice was hoarse from shouting her name.

"Yasmine!"

Chapter 5

When Yasmine woke up, she found herself in the hospital.

She stared at the ceiling as the nurse changed her IV drip.

"Excuse me," she croaked out. "Who sent me here?"

"Mr. Listford did."

Yasmine's eyelids fluttered in surprise. Her heart suddenly felt a bittersweet twinge.

The very next second, the nurse said admiringly, "Mr. Zachary and Ms. Rachel said you were their maid. Mrs. Listford is staying in the ward right next to yours. When she heard about your accident, she immediately asked Mr. Listford to upgrade you to a VIP ward. They're such a kind couple."

After six years of raising Zachary and Rachel, she was just a maid to them.

Yasmine bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her tears, but felt her eyes growing damp anyway.

The nurse was about to ask something when the doctor entered.

"You almost had a miscarriage," he said with a sigh. "If you push yourself too hard, not even God would be able to save your baby next time."

Yasmine's eyes widened at the news.

After a moment of stunned silence, she finally uttered the unbelievable conclusion she had come to. "I'm pregnant?"

After she took the stab for Charlie, he had seen many doctors across the world with her, and she had downed many forms of bitter medicine and remedies.

However, the conclusion had always been the same—the chances of her getting pregnant were basically zero.

Now, though, fate seemed to be playing a huge joke on her.

"Yes," the doctor said. He could tell that her disbelief was genuine and consoled her gently. "You need to take care of your body so you can have kids as adorable as Mr. Zachary and Ms. Rachel."

Yasmine instinctively put her hands over her lower belly and looked down with a bitter smile.

No one knew that those two little devils had been the very reason she almost lost her baby.

Every day spent in the hospital felt like a year to Yasmine.

Just a room away, Zara's ward was always filled with chuckles and bright voices.

The kids would tell her about their day at kindergarten, drawing out gentle giggles from her.

Charlie would carefully pick up a mini apple pie and feed it to her.

Yasmine's fingers trembled when she received the leftovers from Zara's teatime snack.

Alex Lawson, who was Charlie's assistant, dipped his head slightly as he explained, "Mr. Listford is very busy with work. He told me to remind you to take good care of yourself."

She suddenly remembered how she had fallen sick with a high fever during their senior year of high school.

Charlie had openly skipped class to go to a city in the south so that he could buy Yasmine her favourite desserts.

When he gave her the box of mini apple pies, there had been red marks on his arm from where the hot box had rested against his skin.

But now, their marriage was about to end.

Yasmine's tears landed on the remaining mini apple pies.

What was she going to do about her baby?

…

Yasmine dragged her weak body to the counter and got herself discharged early.

The moment she entered the house, she saw Zachary and Rachel on the sofa. They had just come back from kindergarten and were stuffing their faces with snacks.

They scowled at the sight of her. "Mom, why are you here?"

Yasmine changed into comfortable slippers as she said expressionlessly, "Because I'm the woman of the house."

Zachary angrily stomped his feet and began to show off something he was holding, as if trying to anger her.

"Look! Ms. Zara bought me this new game console!" he bragged. "I wish she were my mom!"

Rachel added eagerly, "She also bought me makeup!"

Yasmine listened quietly without feeling even a twinge of emotion.

She thought about how Zachary's grades had once suffered because of his video game addiction, and how Rachel's sensitive skin was susceptible to red rashes.

She would have cared back then, but they no longer had anything to do with her.

At her silence, the twins exchanged glances as their eyes darted around mischievously.

Suddenly, the two of them dragged her to the dining table and said, "Mom, you haven't eaten, right?"

Zachary ran to the kitchen and brought out a tub of bloody pig remains.

"Oh no!"

The moment he cried out, Yasmine felt the slimy remains fall all over her. The sticky, darkened blood stuck to her hair, making her look like an evil monster.

Zachary and Rachel cheered loudly at their success. "Ugly, evil Mom! You got fooled again!"

"This is what's left over from the delicious meal Dad told the cook to make for Ms. Zara! It would have been a waste if that meal were yours!"

The horrible stench wafting off the remains all over her caused Yasmine to retch uncontrollably.

Rachel suddenly asked suspiciously, "Does Mom have a baby in her belly?"

Zachary shattered a plate on the ground angrily. "If she has a baby, it will steal away the money and attention that belongs to us!"

Yasmine tried to hold back her nausea. All she wanted was to go to the bathroom to take a shower.

Right as she walked toward the stairs, the twins began screaming behind her. "You can't have a baby! Only we can be Dad's babies!"

She was about to look back when she felt a force shoving her from behind.

"We hate you!"