Chapter 4

My parents wanted to invest in a new luxury maternity and baby care brand, offering a premium, all-in-one service from pregnancy to postpartum care.

Since Austin was a guy, he obviously had no advantage here. My parents handed the project proposal directly to me.

That night, while I was brainstorming ideas for the project, I walked past Austin and Lily's bedroom. I heard some very explicit sounds coming from inside.

*I guess a fake pregnancy is convenient—you don't even need to worry about birth control.*

After some heavy panting, I heard their pillow talk.

"Austin, I really want to help you with the business."

"Your sister is the one your parents love. You saw how they treated her at dinner today."

"If we don't grab the power now, it’ll be too late once your parents hand the company over to Chloe!"

Lily’s voice was incredibly soft and manipulative. She knew exactly how to trigger Austin's insecurity.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I'm pregnant. Why don't you let me run the new maternity brand?"

Holding his sweet girl in his arms, my brother probably forgot his own name. He agreed instantly.

"Okay, okay. I'll beg Mom and Dad tomorrow to make Chloe hand the project over to you."

At the breakfast table the next morning, Lily smiled warmly at my parents.

"Chloe has never been a mother before. But I'm literally carrying the next-generation Vance heir! This project is just so much more fitting for me!"

She grabbed my mother's hand and placed it on her completely flat stomach.

"Mom, feel that? Your grandson can't wait to make you proud!"

"If I can build a successful brand while carrying him, he’s going to grow up to be so smart!"

My parents smiled warmly, saying all sorts of sweet things.

In a situation like this, it was almost impossible for them to say no.

She kept calling them "Mom" and "Dad," using her fake pregnancy to guilt-trip my parents and force me out of the project.

*Do you really think you can fly that high? Sure, let me help you fly all the way to the sun.*

I smiled sweetly, wrapping my arm around her shoulder in a show of sisterly love.

"Let Austin and Lily do it, Mom. I really don't mind."

"I can't wait to see how smart the baby is when he's born, either."

Seeing that I didn't object, my dad went along with it and handed the project over to Lily.

Since I had always been highly competitive, my mother noticed something was off. She came to my room that night to talk to me.

"Chloe, if you don't want to give it up, I can get it back for you."

"This is the company's biggest new launch in five years. It's a massive opportunity!"

Of course, I knew how valuable the opportunity was.

But my graduation exhibition was just around the corner, and I was busy restoring the sculpture my idiot brother had smashed.

In my past life, Lily had been sent to Europe, so she had some basic education.

But in this life, with Austin's promise of making her a "wealthy billionaire's wife," she had dropped out of high school. She knew absolutely nothing about business.

With a person like her at the wheel, even a mountain of gold would turn to trash. I didn't need to worry about her threatening my inheritance at all.

There would be a thousand other business opportunities, but graduation only happened once. I wasn't going to let them ruin my chances of graduating with honors.

I gladly handed the maternity project to her. I wanted to see what kind of mess this fake-pregnant girl would make.

With Austin’s help, Lily actually managed to make the maternity brand look quite successful initially.

I wasn't sure how things were running internally, but her marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements certainly created a massive buzz.

The brand was trending on Instagram and TikTok, and several competitors even started copying their aesthetic.

It looked like a highly mature brand.

But how could competitors be copying them when they hadn't even established a solid customer base yet?

How exactly did she achieve this?