Chapter 1

I just picked up a pure and adorable little girl.

Suddenly, words flashed before my eyes like a system alert.

[Get rid of Luna Carter quickly. Don't fund her education or nurture her talents.

[Once she spreads her wings, she'll become the scientist you could never be, and she'll even steal your husband.]

I paused, then glanced toward my best friend, Elina Ford.

I said, "Let's go buy some meat. I'm going to make Luna an especially nice dinner tonight."

After all, I already had a sister who was going to become a scientist.

I didn't need a husband anyway.

*****

"Stella, the pop-ups are back," Elina, my bestie, said excitedly, pointing at the pop-ups in front of us.

This wasn't the first time this had happened.

Because of those pop-ups, I realized I was living in a novel.

The first time those pop-ups appeared, they warned me not to drink the red wine someone handed me, or I'd get played and left with nothing.

I pretended I'd taken antibiotics, and sure enough, I overheard the guy who tried to toast me ranting on the phone, complaining I was way too cautious for him to make a move.

Two months ago, the pop-ups told me not to invest in a TV drama, or I'd lose everything.

I listened and didn't invest, and when the show aired, the ratings were abysmal. Every investor lost their shirt.

A week ago, the pop-ups warned that a third-rate actress had just signed with Victor's company and was scheming to get into his bed.

This time, I just ignored it.

Sure enough, the next day, the media exploded with news.

[Victor was caught in a late-night rendezvous with a rising starlet; the two holed up in a hotel for three hours.]

After that, Elina and I started treating those pop-ups like our personal talisman. They always kept me out of harm's way.

But this time, I stared at the pop-ups in front of me.

[Send Luna away now. You're paying for her college and teaching her every skill she needs.

[When she gets stronger, she'll become the scientist that you could never be, and she'll steal your husband from you.

"She's just pretending to be innocent, but she's actually a wolf in sheep's clothing."

I just smiled to myself and didn't pay the pop-ups any mind.

Instead, I swiped them off the screen.

Elina stared at me, biting her lip. "Stella, what are you doing?

"Honestly, I think the pop-ups are probably right. Luna's not as sweet as she pretends to be. Maybe you should do what they say, like you always do, and just get rid of her."

I turned to Elina with a smile.

I asked, "Do you remember the first time we met Luna? What did you say?"

She tilted her head, thought for a moment, then blushed.

She said, "Oh, right. She was wearing just a long-sleeve shirt and sandals in the dead of winter. She looked really miserable, and I asked you if we could help her."

I smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Since we brought her home from the orphanage, she's one of us now. Family, just like you and me."

Elina bit her lip and mumbled, "But the pop-ups say she's gonna steal your husband."

I just smiled faintly and said nothing.

The pop-ups also said she'd become one of the top scientists in the country.

Female scientists are still pretty rare, even now.

If I'd kept going to school back then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this.

Elina noticed I was zoning out, and her eyes started to fill with tears.

"Stella, maybe it's time to put the past behind you," she whispered.

I couldn't forget it.

Before I married Victor, I was the best student in school.

Everyone said I'd be the greatest scientist one day.

But Victor, the richest man in Crofast, set his sights on me.

With my dad seriously ill and our family business barely hanging on, he made his move.

He wanted me as his wife.

And so, I ended up marrying Victor.

My dream of becoming a scientist vanished overnight.

The Sterling family had a strict rule. Once you were married in, my only job was to be a wife and mother, no career, no ambitions.

Back then, Victor's sister spotted my study books and snickered, "Wow, Stella, you really hit the jackpot. Just because you're pretty, you landed yourself in a rich family. Why even bother dreaming about being a scientist?

"Just act cute for my brother, and he'd probably pull the moon down for you."

Her mocking words stung, cutting deep into my heart.

Everyone thought I'd soared to the top, but no one ever cared about what I truly dreamed of.

Snapping back to reality, I packed up the steak I'd just made into a lunchbox.

"Elina, it's been ages since we last went to Neotech University," I said.

Elina caught on and headed down to the underground garage to grab the car.

Right at the door, out of nowhere, a glass of water was thrown straight into my face.

"Oh, it's Mrs. Sterling. For a second there, I thought some clueless thief was after my earrings. My apologies," she sneered.

A seductive figure blocked my way, covering her mouth as she laughed mockingly.

I looked at her calmly.

It was Sophie Young, the third-rate actress who'd made headlines just a few days ago.

She'd used her looks to climb the social ladder, and ever since she hooked up with Victor, the city's richest guy, she'd been strutting around with her nose in the air like she was better than everyone else.

Elina was so mad she nearly punched something.

"Who let this psycho in? Move it," she snapped.

Sophie shot me a look from head to toe, her lips curled in a mocking smirk.

"Stella, why are you dressed so frumpy? You look like some housewife at the farmer's market. People might think Mr. Sterling is neglecting you," Sophie sneered.

She was blatantly picking a fight, and Elina was so mad she looked ready to pull Sophie's hair out.

"Elina, let's not stoop to her level. Let's go change," I said, holding her back.

Just as we turned to leave, Sophie snarked from behind.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you're still pining for your ex. Too bad he's already pushing up daisies," she mocked.

I raised my hand and slapped her on the face.

"Care to repeat that?" I shot back.

Everyone knew that first love was strictly off-limits in the Sterling family.

But Sophie just couldn't help herself. She was deliberately poking the bear, testing the family's boundaries.

I just preferred dressing plainly, nothing flashy.

But to people like Sophie, that was all the proof they needed that I was still stuck on someone from my past, and she looked down on me for it.