Chapter 1

I was heading to a hotel to discuss wedding plans with Liam's family when a mysterious package arrived.

Inside was a diary. The handwriting was messy, but every word screamed anguish, chronicling my tragic and difficult latter half of life.

The little girl who wrote it called me "Mom."

It began: If I could, I'd never let Mom marry Dad, and certainly not give birth to me, because they are both devils!

But my fiancé was so devoted to me, and his mom treated me like her own daughter. We were about to become a family…

The diary had no ending; the "mystery" waited for me to decipher.

As my experiences slowly began to overlap with the diary's entries, I started my furious counterattack!

The name, birth date, teacher profession, and love for dance recorded in the diary perfectly matched mine.

I was completely shocked, a cold dread seeping into my heart. I couldn't help but flip another page.

The diary read:

"Before Mom died, she told me about her tragic life. She couldn't protect me anymore and urged me to seize every chance to escape."

"Back then, Grandma and Dad promised Mom an engagement gift of $68,000. But after they found out Mom was pregnant, they not only didn't give her a single penny but also secretly took all her dowry and drained years of Mom's savings."

My mouth fell open, goosebumps prickling my skin, a shiver running down my spine.

Because it was true. I was pregnant; I'd just found out this morning.

And I was actually planning to tell them the happy news of my pregnancy when we met later.

My mind felt like it had crashed, a total blank.

Before this, I'd even suspected the diary was a cruel prank from my psycho ex.

But no one else knew about my pregnancy except me.

What the hell was going on?

Before I could sort things out, my phone rang with an irritating chime:

"~Babe's calling, babe's calling, your honey is calling!~"

It was my personalized ringtone for my boyfriend, Liam.

I instinctively pressed the answer button, and Liam's incredibly gentle voice came through:

"Honey, we're on our way. Have you and your parents left yet?"

Liam and I met through a mutual friend. He was sunny, handsome, ambitious, well-mannered, and had a respectable, high-paying job—the perfect match for all my fantasies about a partner.

After we started dating, he was even more devoted, gentle, and considerate.

In a society where fear of marriage and parenthood was rampant, I felt incredibly lucky to have found such wonderful love.

Because of all this, I simply couldn't connect him with the word "devil."

"Hello?honey?"

I shook my head sharply, clearing my mind a little, and replied:

"Yeah, I'm here. We're about to arrive. Drive safe, you guys."

I closed the diary, pocketing my confusion, and headed out with my parents.

As soon as we met, Liam gave me a big hug and gently kissed my forehead.

He was also incredibly polite to my parents, fetching them drinks and water without being asked.

My parents beamed, thrilled with their dream son-in-law.

At the dinner table, both sets of parents exchanged pleasantries before getting to the main topic of the day: the engagement gift and wedding arrangements.

Brenda, Liam's mom, looked at me, her face all smiles:

"Chloe's a good girl. It's a blessing for our family that Liam gets to marry her. We discussed it, and we'll give an engagement gift of $68,000. The rest of our savings will go towards a down payment for a new house for them, with both their names on the title."

"Young people these days don't like living with their elders, I understand that. I also have some savings left to help them with the mortgage so they don't have too much pressure. What do you thinkm, dear?"

My parents' faces were filled with relief and surprise. They hadn't expected my future in-laws to value me so highly.

In our area, an engagement gift of $40,000 was already considered very generous.

Liam's dad passed away early, but he'd left them a good sum of money from his early business ventures, which allowed Liam to complete his education and achieve what he had today.

Now, they were offering $68,000 and buying a house with my name on it—it was the utmost sincerity.

Anyone would be moved to offer their heart.

But as I heard "$68,000" for the engagement gift, my body began to tremble slightly.

It matched. It matched the contents of the diary…