Part 1The Billionaire Heiress's Choice: Three Fosters or the Paralyzed Tycoon?

I am the sole heiress of the Sterling family empire, but my gender is considered a flaw.

Everyone said the three foster sons my father groomed were the true heirs, while I was just a placeholder. They never spared me a glance.

I courted Liam Sterling hundreds of times, only to receive his countless looks of disdain.

I thought he treated all women with such cold indifference, until I saw him kneel before Lily Blackwood, the chauffeur's daughter, swearing an oath:

"I only agreed to marry her to repay the Sterling family for raising me. Once I take control of the Sterling empire, I will marry you with the grandeur you deserve. As long as Seraphina Sterling doesn't hurt you, I can give her a few million to live out her days abroad."

"You are the only wife in my heart."

On the eve of the shareholders' meeting, my father asked me who I would choose.

I recalled the evasive gazes of those three men and smiled:

"After all, I am the Sterling heiress. Marriage should maximize benefits."

"I choose Alexander Thorne of the capital."

My father frowned: "Alexander was paralyzed in a car accident five years ago. He's not only wheelchair-bound but also impotent. Are you sure?"

* * *

My voice was soft but firm. "In our class, true love is a myth. Since it's all about profit, naturally, I choose the Thorne family, which offers the greatest benefit."

My father's expression was grave. "That may be so, but of the three boys I raised for you, did none of them catch your eye?"

My father loved my mother deeply, but she died of a sudden brain hemorrhage the year I was born.

He couldn't bear to remarry, yet he couldn't rest easy leaving the vast Sterling empire solely in the hands of a woman.

Following a friend's advice, my father adopted three orphaned boys.

He wrote his will early on: whichever one I chose would help me run the company and suppress the other board members.

My father loved me, but that didn't conflict with his belief that a woman couldn't hold up the enormous Sterling Corporation alone.

I looked at my father. "Although Alexander is paralyzed and impotent, I can use IVF to have his child. He is also the sole heir of the Thorne family. Rather than choosing an orphan to support the Sterling family, it's better to choose a powerful ally."

My father nodded. "Since the three of them didn't have the ability to win your heart, there's no need for them to stay in the Sterling Corporation."

If I merely said it was because Liam didn't love me and I didn't want to force him, my father would surely make Liam kneel before me and question what right a foster son had to refuse.

I didn't want my father to use years of kindness to blackmail Liam, nor did I want to force Liam to marry me, creating a resentful couple.

Moreover, the words Liam had spoken had thoroughly chilled my heart.

Parting ways amicably was already my greatest mercy.

As he walked out of the office, my father glanced sideways at Liam.

After obediently seeing my father off, Liam turned and frowned at me:

"What did you tattle about this time?"

His eyes were full of disgust and impatience, as if I had committed some heinous crime.

Before I could speak, Chase next to him sneered:

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Probably complaining that we three didn't include her or pamper her."

The remaining one, Noah, also looked disdainful. "I say, Miss Sterling, the old days are gone. Do you still think having some money makes you a princess everyone must revolve around?"

The three of them united against a common enemy, using sharp words to sting me.

I was baffled. "If none of you want to marry me, why did no one ever tell my father?"

Although my father intended to groom them as potential husbands, he never forced it.

As long as they said no, my father would immediately prepare a sum of money to send them abroad to live freely.

In the end, they just couldn't let go of the wealth behind the Sterling name.

Noah, the most hot-tempered one, clicked his tongue impatiently:

"That sounds nice, but you know we're living under your roof. We're just dogs raised by the Sterling family. What right do we have to refuse?"

Liam looked at me with a grim expression. "If you want to choose me, then choose me. I just hope you won't make things difficult for the other two in the future."

Hearing this, Noah and Chase were instantly moved.

Seeing Liam's expression of self-sacrifice, I only felt immense bitterness in my heart.

Before I could say anything, Lily suddenly appeared.

Seeing me, she acted frightened and hid behind Liam.

Liam instinctively blocked Lily. "She didn't do anything. Just let her go today."

I looked at them in confusion, only to find that the three who were supposed to protect me were all shielding Lily, afraid I would bully her.