Chapter 3 A Pre-planned Scheme

The living room was full of people. Apart from Theodore and my father-in-law, Benjamin Cloud, my mother and Sabrina were also present. The white dress Sabrina wore suited her well, making her appear even more elegant than usual.

Everyone looked at me as soon as I walked through the door. Sabrina even blatantly cast me an almost taunting and smug look.

As for my biological mother, Melody Wood, she was hugging her precious eldest daughter, chatting away without even sparing me a glance.

Theodore approached me and held my hand.

His tone was filled with guilt as he said, "Darling, I happened to bump into Dad when I accompanied Sabrina to the hospital for her pregnancy checkup yesterday. So—"

Before he finished speaking, I was already standing before everyone else.

He remained silent as he pulled me to sit down. Still confused, I suddenly heard Benjamin's cold voice, questioning sharply, "Isabella Smith! Who gave you the nerve to have your sister get pregnant using Theo's sperm behind the Cloud family's back?"

When I heard that, I looked up in astonishment. "No, that's not…"

"What do you mean by 'no'? I've told you, haven't I? Sabrina could always seek the help of a sperm bank if she wants to get pregnant. But you insisted on letting Theo have a child with Sabrina, claiming that you have no son and we're a family!

"Yet, you actually want to pin all the blame on me and Sabrina now that the truth has been revealed?! Isabella, you truly are a cruel woman!" My mother raised her voice and interrupted me before I could finish explaining.

"Mom!" I gazed at her in shock. "I had raised my objections this whole time. You were the one who forced me to agree to everything, remember?"

"Nonsense! There was no way Theo could just stand there and watch me force you! You were the one who threw a tantrum and used Esme to threaten him into agreeing!"

My mother's confident look made me indistinctly believe I had heard it wrong. Even though I knew she always favored Sabrina, I never expected that there would be a day I actually met with the scenario of her sacrificing me for Sabrina.

But why? I was her daughter, too!

As I mused, the chill of my utter disappointment gradually spread from my heart to the rest of my body.

Then, I looked at Theodore with the last glimmer of hope, anticipating that he could defend me. However, he avoided looking at me and remained silent. I couldn't believe he would unhesitatingly acquiesce in my mother's lies.

Benjamin, who was sitting nearby, remarked impatiently, "That's enough. What's done is done, so what's the point of you even arguing about it now? Since Sabrina is already carrying Theo's baby, we should just let her deliver the baby.

"Once it's born, we will tell the public that it's your baby with Theo and have it raised under you. As for Sabrina… she should stay here in Cloud Manor for the time being and nurse her health."

As I listened to him talk, I simply found every word that escaped his lips nonsensical.

So, was he implying that after forcing me to let Sabrina use Theodore, I now had to be used again, just so they could legally register the child under my name? How absurd!

Unable to put up with them any longer, I abruptly stood up and prepared to snap back. But just as I was about to speak, a petite figure suddenly ran in from outside the door.

"Take that, you evil woman! You can't steal Daddy from Mommy!" Esme charged toward Sabrina like a skyrocket and pushed her violently.

When my mother saw that, she reacted by grabbing her and flipping her over. Meanwhile, Theodore rushed over, raised his hand, and slapped Esme hard.

Since Esme was only four years old, she naturally was no match for the two adults. As a result, she was thrown to the ground by her grandmother and father, and her forehead banged against the coffee table.

All it took was a moment for Esme's cheek to turn red and swollen. In fact, a big bump had formed on her forehead.

I immediately hugged the frightened and aggrieved Esme in my arms. My heart ached so much that my fingertips were trembling as I tried to comfort her.

Suddenly, Theodore exploded with emotion. "Is this how you raise our daughter? She's still so young. Yet, she already has a vile temper and goes as far as knowing how to use foul language!

"Did I ever condemn you for not giving birth to a son for the Cloud family, even after five years of marriage? And now, Sabrina is willing to put herself in a tight spot and give birth to a child for us to raise.

"I don't understand why you would still make a fuss when you can have a son at no cost?" he questioned me and Esme furiously.

"Mommy doesn't want a free son! She can give birth to one herself!" Esme retorted loudly.

"You're just a kid. Why are you meddling in adult affairs? Grace, come over and take her away," my mother commanded on the sidelines with her face full of utter disgust.

After shooting me a glare, my mother turned to lavish praise on Sabrina and Benjamin, "Please don't mind her. She has taken after her mother. Sabrina is much more tactful than Isabella, so the son she will give birth to later will surely have a promising future.

"Benjamin, just be ready to welcome your grandson!"

"Sure, sure. I will never treat Sabrina shabbily if she can really give birth to a son for the Cloud family," Benjamin said as he looked at Sabrina with satisfaction.

Sabrina gave a sheepish smile, her eyes brimming with affection as they met Theodore's. The two literally resembled a loving couple. In fact, they currently looked even more like a cozy family compared to Esme and me.

At this moment, a realization finally hit me.

It became painfully clear—they had planned this all along. The idea of letting Sabrina get pregnant using Theodore's sperm so that she could have a child of her own was just a way to fool me.

Once they found out that Sabrina was pregnant with a son, they would immediately stage such a family drama to force me to accept it.

No one asked for my opinion. Benjamin merely glanced at me before instructing calmly, "From today onward, you and Theo should move back here together. Let Theo spend more time with Sabrina.

"You should also reduce the time you spend outside, so that people won't notice anything wrong."

Confinement—the approach my mother had applied. Now, Benjamin also wished to use the same approach. Yet, the most preposterous part about their approach was that the one they confined this whole time was always me.

When I noticed that Esme was wriggling in my arms and trying to say something, I patted her tense back and calmed her down.

Before I left, Sabrina shot me a look of triumph.

She knew very well she had gotten the upper hand over me today.

If she could use the baby to force me to admit my defeat today, she could definitely use it to force me to divorce Theodore someday so that she could become Mrs. Cloud.

I walked behind her expressionlessly, ignoring her boastful demeanor. What she didn't know was that I had no desire to cling to a man who had betrayed me. Still, they had no right to assault Esme like that.