Elsie's POV
“Sure, my husband dotes on me,” Maggie said with a smug smile, resting a hand on her belly, “but after all, he only had one daughter for the past twenty years. Of course, he still listens to her most of the time.”
She let out a soft chuckle. “But that’s okay. Once I give birth and our three sons turn a month old, we’ll hold the wedding and the baby celebration together. It'll be a big event.”
Since we were all classmates, everyone already knew I had sponsored Maggie through school. No one could believe that the student I helped would turn around and become my stepmother. No matter how you looked at it, it was the definition of betrayal.
One by one, people started turning to me, asking if it was really true.
I clenched my jaw, struggling to keep my emotions in check. Then I forced the words out, “Yes. It’s true. She really did marry… my dad.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, the room fell into stunned silence, followed by an uproar.
Maggie’s face darkened when she saw everyone’s shocked expressions shift to disgust.
“Oh, don’t act like you’re all too noble to care about money,” she snapped, glaring at the crowd. “Why do you think you work so hard in school? Isn't it to get a good job, make money, and give your future kids a better life? Don’t pretend you’re above it.”
Proudly, she continued, “All I did was take a shortcut you all wish you could take but can’t. And let me tell you, I took fertility drugs just so I could carry triplets and secure a better future for me and my children. That’s called planning.”
“This society doesn’t mock gold-diggers anymore. It mocks the poor. And I didn’t even cheat or steal. I got married and had kids, fair and square. What’s so laughable about that?” she added, brows arching upward.
Maggie was seven months pregnant by now, and I really didn’t want to fight her, not after putting up with so much for so long. Blowing up now would’ve made all that patience pointless.
So I just let out a heavy sigh and turned to leave, saying nothing.
But some of my classmates, especially the ones I had helped in the past, couldn’t hold back. They stepped up one after another, their voices sharp and filled with disbelief.
“This is disgusting. Elsie gave you the chance to change your life, and you repay her by seducing her father?”
“How can you be so ungrateful? Don’t you remember crying on your knees, thanking her?”
“Even if we had the same shortcut, we wouldn’t have taken it. We want to change our lives too, but we’re doing it the right way. Not by climbing into someone’s bed.”
“Love? Please. If Elsie’s dad weren’t rich, would you even look at him?”
“You’re just like the snake in that old fable that bit the farmer who saved it.”
The words stung, and although everything they said was true, Maggie couldn’t handle it. Months of being pampered like royalty in the villa had made her thin-skinned and arrogant. She exploded in rage, pointing at everyone and shouting, “My sons will inherit everything the Ramseys own! And you useless people? You’ll be working for them someday!”
Then she turned to me, venom in her voice. “And you, Elsie. I was going to wait until the babies were born before sending you abroad. But now? You turned everyone against me. The moment I give birth, I’m kicking you out of the family, and you’ll be out on the streets!”
Just then, someone in the crowd spoke up with a puzzled look. “Wait… something doesn’t add up.”
Everyone turned to him as he frowned, thinking aloud. “I remember Elsie's parents passed away years ago. She never had a father after that. So… how exactly did you marry her dad and end up pregnant with his kids?”
