He Stole My Dream of Motherhood

Married for seven years, Julian Sterling and I tried every single way to get pregnant, but nothing worked.

Looking at my body, bloated from all the hormone injections and medications, Julians eyes would turn red.

Hed hug me and say, Claire, its all my fault. My sperm count is practically zero. I can never make you a mother in this lifetime. But I swear, I will love you with my entire life to make up for it.

I believed him.

For his sake, I gave up on having children. I even locked up the beachfront Malibu mansion I had fully decorated for a future baby, just to cut off any painful memories.

Until today, when I received a call from the prestigious Royal Swan Ballet Academy.

"Mrs. Jian, your daughter Lily just pushed her dance partner off the three-foot-high stage! The other child has a broken leg. Please come with Mr. Sterling immediately!"

My brain went completely numb. I had never been pregnant. Where the hell did a daughter come from?

I rushed to the academy, only to see my supposedly sterile husband holding a beautiful little girl tightly in his arms, shielding her.

And standing right next to them was his unforgettable first loveEvelyn Ward.

On the incident report, the home address listed was none other than my private Malibu mansion.

It turned out that my compromise, my mansion, and my money were nothing but a cozy nest he had built for another woman!

Well. Im going to see how deeply in love you two really are once my money is completely out of the picture.

The lights at the charity gala were blinding.

On stage, the auctioneer was holding up a crystal angel statue, his voice booming through the microphone: "Six million dollars! Offered by Mrs. Claire Jian! Do I hear any higher bids?"

I held up my paddle, my expression calm.

Julian had been staring at this angel statue in the catalog for days. He told me his mother had been suffering from terrible migraines lately,

and he wanted to win the auction to give it to her as a peace offering to soothe her mind.

In our seven years of marriage, Julian had treated me incredibly well. His only flaw was his diagnosed male infertility.

To make up for this regret, his love for me was almost pathologically obsessive. And because I loved him, I went out of my way to be the perfect daughter-in-law.

I didn't even blink when paying the hundreds of thousands of dollars for his mother Beatrice's annual "wellness spa retreats."

"Buzz!"

The moment the gavel fell, my phone vibrated violently inside my clutch.

It was an unknown number.

I lifted my gown and walked out to the terrace of the banquet hall to answer it.

"Hello, is this Claire Jian?" a sharp, anxious female voice demanded over the line. "This is the Royal Swan Ballet Academy! Your daughter, Lily Sterling, pushed the lead dancer off the stage during rehearsal! The other girl has a broken leg, and her parents have already called the cops. You and Julian Sterling need to get here right now!"

The early autumn night wind blew over me, but I felt like I had been plunged straight into an ice bath.

"You have the wrong number," I said, my fingers gripping the phone so hard they turned white. "I dont have a daughter."

"Thats impossible!" The woman immediately read off a list of information.

"Lily Sterling, seven years old. Father: Julian Sterling. Mother: Evelyn Ward. The emergency contact listed under your name, Claire Jian, with this exact phone number! Mrs. Jian, your kid caused a massive accident. Playing dumb won't get you out of this!"

Julian Sterling.

Evelyn Ward.

These two names were like poison-tipped nails driven violently into my eardrums.

Evelyn was Julians college sweetheart. Seven years ago, when Julian proposed to me, he deleted all her contact info right in front of me and swore they would never see each other again.

But now, not only were they seeing each other, they had a seven-year-old daughter?

"Mrs. Jian? Are you still there?!"

"Send me the address."

I hung up. The cold wind against my back made me shiver, but my mind was suddenly incredibly clear.

Without even picking up the angel statue I had just won, I stepped into my high heels and walked straight into the dark night.

The Royal Swan Ballet Academy was located in the most expensive district downtown.

When I pushed open the heavy doors of the rehearsal hall, the room was already in absolute chaos.

"You need to give us an explanation today! My daughter is supposed to audition for top international companies, and now her leg is broken! Can you even afford to compensate for that?!"

A woman dripping in diamonds was pointing her finger and screaming at a man.

The man, who was bowing his head and repeatedly apologizing, was Julian. The very same Julian who, before leaving the house, had kissed my forehead and told me he had to work late at the office.

And hiding behind him was a little girl dressed in a custom white swan tutu.

She was clutching the hem of Julian's designer suit jacket, sobbing uncontrollably. "Daddy, I didn't mean to... I'm scared..."

"Don't be scared, Lily. Daddy's here. Daddy will protect you."

Julian knelt down, his heart clearly breaking for her. He pulled her into his arms, reached into his pocket, pulled out a strawberry gummy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

Standing at the doorway, my stomach turned.

Julian had severe OCD and absolutely hated sweets. He would frown even if I ate a single piece of candy near him.

Yet, in the pocket of his hundred-thousand-dollar custom suit, he kept strawberry gummies just to comfort this little girl.

"Oh, my poor baby! Who dares to bully my sweet granddaughter!"

A familiar figure suddenly rushed in from the hallway.

My mother-in-law, Beatrice, who was supposed to be resting at a private high-end wellness clinic because she "couldn't handle the outside draft," was running like a track star.

She was holding a pink thermos and immediately threw her arms around Lily, kissing her face.

"Mom."

I walked forward, my heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. My voice was like ice.

The room fell into a dead silence.

Beatrice froze.

Julian snapped his head up. The moment his eyes met mine, every drop of color drained from his face, and his pupils shook with sheer terror.

"Cl... Claire? What are you doing here?"

He instinctively let go of the little girl and tried to stand up to walk toward me, but a fragile-looking woman next to him quickly grabbed his arm.

She was wearing a simple, elegant white dress, her eyes red and tearful.

It was Evelyn Ward.

"Claire..." Evelyn looked at me timidly, tears streaming down her face. "It's all my fault. Please don't blame Julian. The child is innocent..."

I ignored her completely and stared straight into Julian's eyes.

"Julian, weren't you working late at the office?" I took a step closer, backing him down. "Aren't you sterile? Didn't you say I was the only woman you'd ever have in this life?"

Panic took over Julian. He violently shook off Evelyn's hand and rushed over, trying to grab my shoulders.

"Claire, let me explain! It's not what you think! Lily is Evelyn's child with another man. That man ran out on them, and Evelyn was struggling so hard on her own.

I was just... just helping out an old classmate. I'm only her father on paper!"

"On paper?"

I let out a cold laugh and turned my gaze to the family showcase board on the rehearsal hall wall.

Right in the center hung a massive family portrait.

Julian was in casual wear, holding a beaming Lily, while Evelyn leaned her head happily on his shoulder.

Underneath the photo, the home address was clearly printed: "Malibu Mansion, Rose Garden No. 1."

That mansion was my pre-marital property. It was the only inheritance my late parents had left me!

"Julian, you're not just her dad on paper. You actually used my private mansion to register her school records?"

My voice wasn't loud, but every word cut like a knife.

Julians face was whiter than paper. He shook his head frantically. "Claire, don't misunderstand! That mansion has been sitting empty anyway.

To get Lily into this academy, we had to show proof of a multi-million-dollar property. I only borrowed the address! They have never actually lived there, I swear!"

"Yes, exactly!" Beatrice chimed in, quickly finding her voice. "Claire, don't be so petty. You can't even get pregnant anyway. T

he Sterling family needs an heir! Even if Lily isn't Julian's biological child, she calls me Grandma. What's wrong with me loving her? What's wrong with using an empty house address?"

I looked at this mother and son, feeling a wave of sheer absurdity.

"I" couldn't get pregnant?

Years ago, during our fertility checks, Julian was the one whose medical report showed zero active sperm.

He had literally knelt in the pouring rain, slapping his own face, begging me not to leave him. To save his pride, I had told everyone that my body was too weak to carry a child.

And now, they were throwing that lie back in my face as if it were my fault.

"Are you Claire Jian?" the mother of the injured girl sneered, looking at us.

"I don't care about your family drama. But today, if I don't get three million dollars in compensation, this isn't over! Since that mansion is yours, you are paying for this!"

The school administrator also stepped up, handing me an incident liability form.

"Mrs. Jian, since you are listed as the primary emergency contact and the owner of the registered property, please sign here."

I looked down at the paper.

"Mother's Name: Claire Jian."

"Contact Number: My private cell number."

"Home Address: Rose Garden No. 1."

They hadn't just stolen my house; they had stolen my identity. Evelyn had been walking around using my name, enjoying the social status of being Mrs. Sterling!

I pulled out my phone and took high-definition photos of the liability form, the family portrait on the wall, and the three guilty faces in front of me.

"Claire, what the hell are you doing?!" Julian lunged to grab my phone.

I stepped back, dodging his hands. My eyes were dead.

"Julian, I'm not signing this, and I'm not paying a single penny."

I looked around the room, making sure my voice was clear enough for everyone to hear. "I, Claire Jian, am declaring right now. I do not have any children.

This girl, Lily, has absolutely nothing to do with me. As for the Rose Garden No. 1 mansion, I have never authorized anyone to use it. If you dare forge my signature on any documents, I will see you in federal court."

Without giving Julian another glance, I turned on my heels and walked out into the night.

The cold wind hit me again. I kept my back straight, but my tears finally broke free, streaming down my face.

Seven years of marriage. Seven years of devotion. It was all a meticulously planned scam.