Chapter 2

Blake instinctively stepped in front of me.

"It's nothing, Mom, I'm just disciplining a servant."

Mrs. Reed frowned.

"Hurry and take care of it. When Autumn arrives, escort her directly to my study. I still need to set a date with her for the wedding..."

"Mom! I'm not marrying Autumn Reed!"

Blake was furious. "Didn't we already agree? Scarlett is the one I'm marrying!"

Scarlett immediately tilted her chin up haughtily.

"Exactly. I'm a Sterling, not some cheap nobody you can compare to me!"

Mrs. Reed's frown deepened. "Shut up! Blake, how dare you talk about Autumn like that!"

"And you, Scarlett Sterling, even if the engagement has been changed, don't get ahead of yourself!"

Blake waved his hand dismissively.

"Mom! I know you raised Autumn for eighteen years, and even a dog would develop feelings, but at the end of the day, she's just a low-class adopted girl!"

"Scarlett is the only daughter of the Sterling family! With the Sterlings backing me, once I'm the heir, we won't have to grovel to Uncle Foster ever again!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Mrs. Reed's face paled dramatically.

Before Blake could react, Mrs. Reed rushed downstairs and slapped him hard.

"Shut up! Our whole family relies on him, have you forgotten? And your uncle is about to marry Pearl Sterling!"

I seized the chance and struggled with all my might, finally pushing away one of the security guards.

Mrs. Reed, who had been furious a moment ago, saw me with my hair disheveled and my face contorted in pain.

Her expression instantly changed. "Autumn? What happened?! Let go of her!"

Mrs. Reed panicked. She immediately ripped the cloth from my mouth and helped me up.

Blake, still angry, said, "Who's Pearl Sterling in the Sterling family, Mom? Have you lost your mind—"

He had no idea that Pearl Sterling was the name my real parents had picked for me when I returned home.

I forced a smile, about to tell him, but the old injury on my knee flared up, an excruciating pain that almost choked off my voice.

"You idiot! Of course, there's a Pearl Sterling in the family! She's the future lady of the house!"

Mrs. Reed no longer bothered with her stupid son.

She quickly contacted the family doctor and had me moved to the treatment room.

Mrs. Reed stood by my bedside, a forced smile plastered on her face, cautiously handing me a list and a ruby ring—Foster's engagement token.

"Autumn, Foster has set the wedding date for three days from now. That jerk Blake is being impossible, I'll make sure he—"

Her words were cut short by Blake bursting in.

"Mom! How long are you going to keep favoring Autumn Reed?! Scarlett is going to be your daughter-in-law!"

With a slam, he slapped a pregnancy test with two lines onto my bedside table.

"Scarlett just took it. You're going to be a grandma!"

"Scarlett Sterling's parents love children. Once Scarlett has the baby, they'll definitely help me out!"

I watched him coldly. My parents did love children, but they would only love their own children.

If this had happened before I returned to my real family, maybe his plan would have worked.

Seeing the pregnancy test, Mrs. Reed's expression went from surprise to alarm, then she cautiously looked at me. "Autumn, what do you think about this child?"

I'd taken pain medication, and my voice was hoarse.

"Is getting pregnant out of wedlock something to brag about?" I'd meant for them to just get married already, but Blake completely misunderstood, pointing at me and shouting.

"Autumn Reed! If you'd just been a good, obedient girl, I might have even allowed you to be a nanny for my son!"

"But it's too late now! I'm kicking you out today!"

"Mom, you don't have to worry about Scarlett leaving me. With a baby, she'll definitely marry me. Soon, the Reed and Sterling families will all be mine!"

I just glared at him, coldly.

"You don't deserve it!"

I turned to Mrs. Reed, whose face was pale with fright from Blake's outburst.

"Don't call me Autumn anymore. Call me by my real name."

Each word was a cold, hard stone. "Call me Pearl Sterling."