Chapter 3

Mark was fired on the spot. The replacement supervisor treated everyone fairly.

Maya’s easy work days were over. I expected her to throw a tantrum.

Yet, surprisingly, she acted as though a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders, beaming with excitement every day.

I figured she must have succeeded in spending that fateful night with Ethan.

A month later, the fall semester began, and our cleaning shifts were moved to the evening.

During lunch at the campus dining hall, I purposefully carried a bowl of hot fish soup past Maya's table. She instantly gagged, clutching her mouth.

"Oh my god, Maya, are you pregnant? Did you and your boyfriend not use protection? You're still in college; getting pregnant out of wedlock looks terrible!"

I shouted in exaggerated shock.

In my past life, it was Maya who publicly humiliated me by screaming about my pregnancy in front of everyone.

I didn't have a boyfriend, so nasty rumors spread like wildfire across campus, claiming I had seduced a hotel manager and was acting as an escort for wealthy sugar daddies.

Although there was no hard proof and the university didn't expel me, my scholarships and financial aid were completely stripped away.

Coupled with my mother's crushing medical expenses, the judgmental stares of professors and peers, and the predatory creeps cornering me, my dignity was shredded into pieces.

For money, I willingly became an incubator for the Hayes family.

In this life, if Maya wanted the Hayes family's fortune, she was going to pay the exact same price.

"That's impossible! I took the pill!"

"Maya, you didn't buy that pill from the little pharmacy down our street, did you?"

I looked at her with faux pity.

"That place was packed with counterfeit and expired drugs. It got raided and shut down by the health department last week."

Horror drained the color from Maya’s face. She dragged me straight to a clinic for a blood test.

When the positive confirmation report was placed in her hands, she broke down into hysterics right there, sobbing and demanding an immediate abortion. It was as if the baby wasn't a golden ticket to high society, but a monstrous curse set to destroy her.

Her reaction puzzled me. Wasn't this exactly what she wanted?

"Maya, you're pregnant. Even if you want an abortion, shouldn't you tell Luke?"

"No! He can never know! The baby is definitely his, but I just started college! If he finds out, he'll force me to drop out and marry him! Please, keep this a secret from him. I have to get rid of it!"

I nodded reassuringly while secretly hitting 'save' on the audio recording on my phone.

The next morning, she asked me to accompany her to the abortion clinic.

Not long after Maya was wheeled into the procedure room, just like in my previous life, Mrs. Hayes arrived with a squad of bodyguards, storming the room and hauling her off the table.

Hiding in the hallway, I watched. Maya started out trembling and terrified.

Until Mrs. Hayes declared, "The child in your womb is the eldest grandson of the Hayes dynasty. You are not touching a single hair on that baby."

The confusion on Maya’s face flickered for only a microsecond before exploding into pure, unadulterated ecstasy. She looked as though she had been struck by a multi-million-dollar lottery ticket falling from the sky.

Watching her obediently follow Mrs. Hayes out, I shook my head with a cold smile.

Every gift bestowed by fate comes with a hidden price tag. It’s never free.

In my previous life, everyone in high society knew I was merely a surrogate tool who would never become Mrs. Hayes.

Even so, the socialite heiresses desperate to marry into the Hayes family never spared me.

They didn't just want me to miscarry; they wanted me dead.

During the eight months I stayed in the Hayes mansion, I was rushed to the ER six times—every single incident an intentional setup.

Twice, I nearly lost the baby. Three times, I barely clung to life. One vicious assault damaged my left eye, leaving me permanently blind on that side.

Yet not a single culprit was ever held accountable.

It was my comatose mother and the fragile heartbeat growing in my stomach that gave me the strength to endure that living hell.

In this life, it was Maya's turn to enjoy that "blessed" life.