I am the sole heiress of the Sterling dynasty, yet my greatest flaw, apparently, is being a woman. Everyone said the three wards my father selected and raised—my potential suitors—were the true successors. Yet, they never once looked at me with anything other than indifference. I flirted with Ethan Cole a hundred times, only to be met with countless looks of disdain. I thought he was just cold to all women, until I saw him holding the hands of the housekeeper's daughter, Mia Banks, swearing an oath: "I only agreed to the engagement to repay the Sterling family for raising me. Once I take control of the company, I will marry you with all the glory you deserve. As long as Serena doesn't hurt you, I’ll give her a few million to go live her life abroad." "You are the only wife in my heart." On the eve of the shareholders' meeting, my father asked me to make my choice. I thought of the evasive eyes of those three men and smiled: "I'm a Sterling, after all. Marriage should be about maximizing benefits." "I choose Adrian Hale of the Hale dynasty." My father frowned deeply. "Adrian Hale was paralyzed in a car accident five years ago. He’s not only disabled but rumored to be incapable of intimacy. Are you sure?" ...... 1 My tone was soft but firm. "In our social class, true love is a fairy tale. Since it's all about interests, naturally, I should choose the Hale family, who offer the greatest advantage." My father's face was grave. "That may be true, but the three young men I raised for you... did none of them catch your eye?" Father loved Mother deeply, but she passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm the year I was born. He couldn't bear to remarry, yet he couldn't rest easy leaving the colossal Sterling empire in the hands of a daughter. Taking a friend's advice, Father adopted three orphaned boys. He wrote his will early: whichever one I chose would rule the company alongside me, suppressing the other board members. Father loved me, but that didn't conflict with his belief that a woman couldn't hold up the sky of the Sterling empire alone. I looked at him. "Although Adrian is paralyzed and supposedly impotent, modern medicine is advanced. I can have his heir through IVF. He is the sole heir to the Hale fortune. Rather than choosing an orphan to help the Sterlings, I'd prefer a powerful ally." Father nodded slowly. "Since those three didn't have the skill to keep your heart, there's no need for them to stay at Sterling Industries." If I merely said Ethan didn't love me, Father would have forced Ethan to his knees, questioning what right an adopted son had to refuse me. I didn't want Father to use years of gratitude to kidnap Ethan morally, nor did I want to force a loveless marriage. Besides, Ethan's words had already frozen my heart. A clean break was the greatest mercy I could offer. As we walked out of the office, Father shot a sideways glance at Ethan. After Ethan dutifully saw Father off, he turned to frown at me, his eyes filled with disgust. "What did you tattle about this time?" I hadn't even spoken when Caleb Reed, standing nearby, scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? Probably complaining that we didn't play with her or pamper her." Leo Pierce, the third of them, looked at me with undisguised contempt. "Serena Sterling, the era of royalty is over. Do you really think having money makes you a princess who the world must revolve around?" The three of them stood united, using sharp words to pierce me. I was genuinely puzzled. "If none of you wanted to marry me, why did you never tell my father?" Father had groomed them, yes, but he never forced them. If they had said "no," Father would have given them a sum of money and sent them abroad to live freely. In the end, they just couldn't let go of the wealth behind the Sterling name. Leo, the most temperamental, clicked his tongue impatiently. "Easy for you to say. You know we're living under someone else's roof. We're practically dogs raised by the Sterlings. What right did we have to refuse?" Ethan looked at me with a grim expression. "If you're going to choose me, just get it over with. I only hope you won't make life difficult for Leo and Caleb." 2 Hearing this, Leo and Caleb looked visibly moved. Watching Ethan's expression of self-sacrificing martyrdom, I felt nothing but bitterness. Before I could speak, Mia Banks suddenly appeared. The moment she saw me, she shrank behind Ethan as if terrified. Ethan instinctively shielded Mia. "She didn't do anything. Just let her go today." I looked at them in confusion, realizing that the three men who were supposed to protect me were now forming a human wall around Mia, terrified I would bully her. Five years ago, when Mia first came to the estate, she gave me a hair clip. I reciprocated with a bracelet worth a hundred thousand dollars as a welcome gift. But the moment I opened the jewelry box, Ethan snatched it away. He shouted, "You’re trying to take the only keepsake her mother left her?" I looked at Mia, wanting her to explain that she had given it to me voluntarily. Instead, Mia suddenly burst into tears. "It wasn't Miss Serena who took it... I gave it to her voluntarily." "Miss Serena is very good to me. She even gave me a bracelet. I'm really not aggrieved." She cried so pitifully that the three men, reminded of their own status as orphans, saw red. They questioned me with righteous indignation: "Even if you're the Sterling heiress, you have no right to force someone to give up their mother's legacy!" "The hair clip might be cheap, but its meaning is far greater than this expensive bracelet. Give it back to Mia!" "You're as domineering as ever, only caring about your own happiness." My face fell. Thinking it was a misunderstanding, I suppressed my anger and handed the clip back to Mia. But when she reached for it, she didn't hold it firmly. The clip fell and shattered. She bit her lip and screamed at me: "If you'd rather destroy it than return it to me, why put on this show?" Ethan, who hated seeing the weak bullied, threatened me coldly: "Apologize to Mia right now, or don't blame me for calling off the engagement!" Back then, I had already confessed to Ethan, telling him I wouldn't marry anyone else. Ethan used that against me, forcing me to bow my head to Mia. I was too young and too afraid of losing the love of my life to defend myself. So I apologized. And that apology lasted for five full years. Since then, whenever Mia saw me, she acted like a mouse meeting a cat—either trembling in fear or bursting into tears. 3 But I hadn't done anything... I looked at Ethan coldly. "If you're so afraid I'll bully Mia, maybe you should tie her to your belt." Ethan frowned at my sarcasm. "Are you threatening me? What do you want to do to Mia?" Leo clapped his hands, pointing at me. "Is it because we gave the 'Ocean of Stars' to Mia? Are you planning to use that as an excuse to torture her?" Caleb looked at me with cold eyes. "You have everything, Serena. But no one has ever celebrated Mia's birthday. It's just an aquarium project. Do you have to be so petty?" My eyes turned icy. "The Ocean of Stars?" The Ocean of Stars was an underground aquarium project that started construction the year I was born. In the southeast corner, there was a massive panel of imperial green jade. Through the shimmering water, it reflected light like a cosmic galaxy. It was nearing completion six months ago. Father had given the finishing task to Ethan, intending for him to present it to me at my birthday banquet next month. But now, the gift that belonged to me had become Mia's. My gaze landed on Ethan. He was in charge of the final phase. Without his permission, no one could enter the unopened aquarium. Ethan looked guilty under my scrutiny and turned his head away in annoyance. "Mia grew up in the countryside working for a living. She's never seen a proper starry sky. I just wanted to grant her a wish. Besides, doesn't the ownership still belong to you?" "Stop being unreasonable. Fine, I'll announce our engagement at your birthday party next month. Are you satisfied now?" Looking at Ethan's charitable expression, I almost thought I was the adopted one. Yet no one present felt anything was wrong. Instead, they felt sorry for Ethan. "Why make such a sacrifice? Serena is spoiled and vicious. Marrying her is worse than becoming a monk." "Serena is probably dizzy with joy right now. Her wish is finally coming true." "Sob... Ethan, please don't ruin your life for me. I'll kneel and beg Sister Serena. I'll be her servant. I'll do anything..." My throat was dry as I spat out a sentence: "I won't marry you." Ethan raised an eyebrow in surprise and skepticism. Leo and Caleb looked at each other, terrified I might say I wanted to marry them instead. Being so despised by the three people I grew up with... if I didn't leave now, I wouldn't be able to hold back my tears. 4 I turned to leave, but Mia grabbed my wrist. Her eyes were red as she begged me: "Please don't make things hard for Ethan. The three of them were adopted by your family; they already feel inferior. If you're angry because they gave the Ocean of Stars to me and want to tell Mr. Sterling, I'm willing to apologize." She looked ready to make a scene, her forehead already red. Ethan helped her up with a pained expression and glared at me. "You say you won't marry me, but you better mean it! Using retreat as an advance to bully Mia—what kind of skill is that?" "You just want to use this to complain and force Mia away, don't you?" I looked at Ethan coldly. "I don't know what you're talking about, but rest assured, I will absolutely not choose you as my husband." I thought Ethan would drop it, but he grabbed my hand. "If not me, who? Caleb? Leo?" "Leo loves art and needs to study abroad. Caleb yearns for freedom. Isn't ruining me enough? You want to ruin them too?" Ethan took a deep breath. "As long as you promise not to target Mia from now on, I will marry you. Stop making a scene, okay?" His eyes were filled with exhaustion, as if I had been torturing him for ages. I looked deeply at Ethan. "Everything will be as you wish." He was afraid I would bully Mia, and he didn't want to marry me. Once I married Adrian Hale, all his worries would be solved. I didn't seek Ethan out for the next month. It wasn't until the day of my birthday banquet that he appeared with a cold face. Caleb and Leo followed him, looking equally unhappy. I frowned at my assistant. I had explicitly said that the engagement announcement today wasn't about them, so there was no need to invite them. But the assistant shook her head frantically, signaling she didn't know—they had come on their own. I sighed helplessly and pretended not to see them. The guests were more enthusiastic than I was, greeting the three of them warmly. "Young Mr. Cole is truly promising. The project you secured last month brought in millions, didn't it? No wonder Miss Sterling is devoted only to you." But I was the one who negotiated that project. Ethan just signed the papers. "Young Mr. Pierce has a temper, but he hates evil. Miss Sterling surely won't suffer any grievances with you." I laughed internally. Leo was the one who bullied me the most, viewing me as a viper he wished he could exterminate. "Young Mr. Reed is handsome and talented. Miss Sterling can't go wrong choosing you." The three of them moved through my birthday party like fish in water, acting like the hosts. I frowned, wanting to stop this farce, when all three of them suddenly looked down at their phones.
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