I was maliciously infected with a disease. In retaliation, I seduced Caleb Taylor, a wealthy heir. Four months later, Caleb became my boyfriend. On Christmas Eve, after a date, I deliberately lured Caleb to a hotel. The next day, Christmas Day, Caleb received a gift box. At the very bottom of the box was a greeting card, with a terrifying message: *Welcome to the world of the virus.* This was my special Christmas gift to Caleb. That Christmas night, someone knocked on my door. I opened it, and it was Caleb. He was panting heavily, his face etched with panic. I feigned concern and surprise. “What’s wrong, Caleb? We still have a while before we’re supposed to go out. Why are you here so early?” Caleb’s eyes were red-rimmed, his brows deeply furrowed. He bent down and hugged me in the entranceway. “Ava, I’m so scared.” He buried his face in my neck, and I gently patted his back, soothing him. “I’m here. What happened?” My tone and actions were tender, but a cold smile played on my lips. Caleb pulled me inside and showed me the Christmas gift box. He didn’t notice my eyes flicker when I saw it. He took out the card from the very bottom and held it out to me. “Look, I don’t know who sent this to me. Do you think… I really got infected?” Holding the card that had been in my hands just that morning, I narrowed my eyes. Turning to Caleb, I held his hand and calmly reassured him. “Don’t worry, it’s just a prank.” After over a year of manipulation and deception, Caleb truly prioritized me above all else. See? His first reaction to trouble wasn’t to go to his family, but to come straight to me. 3. This “prank” was so disturbing that Caleb told his family. When Chloe Taylor, Caleb’s sister, heard about it, her reaction was strange. “Bro, this kind of disease spreads in peculiar ways. Either you’ve been messing around, or… could it be Ava who infected you?” “What are you even saying?!” My heart jolted at Caleb’s sharp, furious retort that echoed through the phone and shocked me, sitting on the couch. Caleb’s brows were tightly furrowed as he snapped, “Don’t you dare accuse Ava! Not even as a joke!” A sigh of exasperation came from the other end of the line. “Fine, fine. Guess someone’s just jealous and trying to mess with you.” The moment Caleb hung up, he quickly shuffled over to me in his slippers. “Ava, you have to believe me. I’ve never cheated! Not before, not ever. I’ve always been faithful, I swear!” Of course, he hadn’t been messing around. I was the one who infected him. For several days, Caleb remained deeply uneasy. Even when I tried to get close, he pushed me away. Had he found out? No, that couldn’t be right. I couldn’t take it anymore and confronted him. “Caleb, what’s going on? Are you trying to cut me out of your life?” Caleb, still wearing a mask, tried to approach me, then instinctively pulled back. He mumbled an apology. “No, Ava, it’s not like that. I’m just afraid of ‘what if.’ If I really am infected, then… maybe we should break up.” I stepped closer, pressing him back, until he had nowhere left to retreat, pinned against the wall. I ripped off his mask. “First of all, this disease isn’t transmitted through saliva.” A muffled, weak voice responded, “I know. I just… I can’t shake this feeling. I don’t want you to be in any danger.” I tilted my head up and kissed his lips. “I don’t care. Even if you really have it, I don’t care.” *Hah. Of course, I don’t care.* *The sooner you’re infected, the sooner you can join me in hell!* 4. Two weeks later, Caleb went for a hospital check-up. Nothing. Four weeks later, another check-up. Still nothing. He hadn’t been infected. *What luck. He actually dodged it.* *What a pity.* I was tired of playing this game with him. It was my birthday that day. Caleb had arrived at my place early, cooked a huge meal, and was waiting for me to come home. When he saw I still wasn’t back, Caleb went into the bedroom to look out the window at the street below. I texted him back: *Just arrived at the gate.* In the time it took him to turn around, Caleb noticed the medical records and medication on the table. He picked them up to examine them. The more he read, the more horrified he became. His hands clutched the documents tightly, the veins on his trembling fists bulging. I walked into the bedroom, saw the scene, and instantly understood. “So, you found out.” Caleb sharply turned to me, staring intensely, his eyes bloodshot. “Why?” I gave a cold laugh. “Why what?” Caleb held up the medical records and rushed towards me. “Why did you hide your illness from me? Why did you send me that kind of gift box on Christmas? Why… did you trick me into going to that hotel?” The room fell eerily silent. Suddenly, I burst out laughing. I took a step forward, looking up to meet Caleb’s gaze. “You really are lucky, aren’t you? As for *why*… go ask your dear sister, Chloe Taylor!” “Go ask her if she remembers Anya Miller!” Caleb listened, his face filled with shock, then he abruptly turned and left. 5. Caleb sped down the road, screeched into a bar, and dragged Chloe out. Chloe, who had been in high spirits, was annoyed and about to curse him out. But seeing her usually gentle and cheerful brother’s grim face, she didn’t dare utter a sound. Caleb pulled Chloe to a quiet spot. Chloe, still bewildered, was about to ask what was going on. “Tell me, who is Anya Miller?” Chloe froze for a moment, then her face stiffened. “How do you know about her?” Caleb roared, “Don’t you dare try to change the subject! What exactly did you do to Anya Miller?!” Back in college, Anya Miller and I were in the same year, but different departments. Back then, my name was Anya Miller, not Ava. At that time, there was a senior who was very popular with the girls, and he and I grew quite close. I liked that senior, and Chloe liked him too. Chloe was spoiled and arrogant, a real princess with a terrible temper. No, she was worse than that. She was a truly nasty piece of work, enabled by endless pampering. Chloe gathered a few people to corner me outside my dorm. They threatened me, telling me to stay away from Daniel, or I’d regret it. I wasn’t going to back down. I was an orphan with no family. Why should my feelings be dictated by others? Surely, these people wouldn’t actually dare to do anything to me on campus, right? But I was wrong. I was too naive. Those people put dead mice in my bed, poured red ink all over my closet. My dorm room became a living hell for my roommates. They shoved me into a foul-smelling ditch, taking countless humiliating, ugly photos. They spread rumors around school that I was selling myself, that I was involved with shady characters off campus. Chloe herself never appeared during any of this. I went to the teachers, but they couldn’t do anything. I went to the school administration, only to be warned about my own conduct. Why? Why was I suffering, yet no one helped me? “Chloe Taylor’s family donated a whole building to the school. Can *you* do that?” “Oh, I forgot. You’re just a parentless orphan, aren’t you?” The terrifying faces of Chloe’s cronies were right in front of me, mocking, jeering, filled with pure malice. Yes, I couldn’t. I was a poor student, an orphan with no one to back me up. How could I ever fight against them? I distanced myself from Daniel. But Daniel found me. “Anya Miller, I like you. I don’t believe any of those rumors, they’re baseless, they’re just trying to slander you!” I looked at Daniel, exhausted. “Then, Daniel, can you help me? I’m scared, I’m really scared. I don’t know what to do anymore.” Daniel hugged me, his broad, warm hand gently patting my back. “I’ll help you. Don’t be afraid.” Isolated and helpless, with no one to turn to, I clung to the only lifeline I saw. Days passed, much calmer. I thought Chloe had seen Daniel protecting me and decided not to harm me further. Until that day… It was a departmental outing. I drank a little, which was unavoidable, and texted Daniel. When I went to the restroom, a hand suddenly clamped over my mouth from behind, dragging me into another private karaoke room. I struggled with all my might, but the person behind me was incredibly strong. I couldn’t move them. In that moment, I wished for just one person to appear, anyone, as long as they could save me. But there was no one. The hallway was empty. I watched, helpless, as the door slowly closed. The music in the room was deafening. No one would hear my cries for help. The person behind me blindfolded me, then roughly and savagely forced a debilitating drug down my throat that made my body go completely limp. I was violated. The next day, I took emergency contraception and rushed to the police station to report it. They found nothing. For three agonizing weeks, I felt like I was being tormented in hell, but they couldn’t find a single lead! Three weeks later, I started feeling nauseous, vomiting, and generally unwell. I went to the hospital, and the doctor told me I had been infected with a disease. When the results came back, the doctor’s somber tone and sympathetic gaze made me collapse in the hospital corridor. I felt a chill spread through my entire body. So many patients came and went around me, so many people, yet I felt completely alone. Like I was the only one abandoned by this world. When I saw those people on campus again, one of the girls leaned close to my ear and whispered, “That’s what happens when you cross Chloe Taylor.” I snapped my head towards her. “You guys? This is illegal! I’ll report you!” I thought no matter what, they wouldn’t do something this harmful and illegal. But I was too naive. She looked straight ahead, her breath on my ear like a viper’s hiss. “Go ahead and report us. It’s been so long, do you have a single piece of evidence?” It turned out that from beginning to end, Chloe Taylor had orchestrated everything. She had kept her hands clean, never once appearing herself. Simply because I hadn’t yielded to her wishes, she wanted to destroy me. 6. “SMACK!” A stark red handprint bloomed on Chloe’s face, the sound sharp and clear. Chloe’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Bro!” Caleb was dizzy with rage, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “Don’t call me bro! How could you do something like that? How could you harm someone over such a petty thing?!” After composing himself, Caleb sat down, leaning his head on his hand, and questioned her, “When you called me, asking for my help, was it all a lie? Was it just to harm Anya Miller?” Chloe lowered her head, knowing she was in the wrong. Back then, Chloe, wanting to get back at me, knew that what she was doing was illegal and needed help destroying evidence. So, Chloe called Caleb, crying. “Bro, someone outside of school is bullying me! Can you find some people to help me deal with her?” Caleb, who was far away overseas at the time, had no idea how many terrible things his sister was doing behind his back. Always doting on his sister, Caleb only knew she was being bullied by bad people. Without a second thought, he found some guys to help. “Just make sure to keep things in proportion.” He never imagined *this* was the kind of help she needed. Caleb was incredulous. “You deliberately lied to me to destroy someone else’s life? Chloe! How spoiled have you become all these years? How can you lack even basic human decency and morals?!” “Hahahaha, so, I was the one who pushed her into hell with my own hands. I was the one who harmed her!” With a crash, the glass in Caleb’s hand shattered on the floor, splintering into pieces. 7. A hesitant, slow knock echoed at the door. I opened it, and it was Caleb again. He stepped inside, looking at me urgently. “Ava, I’m so sorry, truly sorry. I didn’t know Chloe wanted those people to do something like that. I’m truly sorry. It’s my fault, it’s Chloe’s fault. I’ll drag her here tomorrow to apologize to you. I’ll do anything you want!” I violently shook his hand off, sneering. “Apologize? If an apology could fix things, what about all the suffering I’ve endured for years? What about my prime years, now reduced to perhaps less than a decade of life?! My whole life has been ruined by your family!” Caleb’s eyes were red-rimmed. “Ava, whatever it takes to make you feel better, I’ll do it.” I took a step forward, a sarcastic smile playing on my lips. “What makes you think you can atone for Chloe’s sins? Fine. Why don’t you try getting this disease yourself and see my pain?” Caleb choked on his words, stammering. “I… I…” “Hah, you can’t, can you? I knew it.” I turned away dismissively, unwilling to look at him any longer, and walked back into the house. My arm felt warm as Caleb grabbed it. “Ava, can you tell me? Did you genuinely like me when you first approached me, or was it…” Caleb’s eyes flickered, filled with hope. I only found it laughable. I lazily tilted my head, letting out a soft scoff. “Of course, I deliberately approached you. You didn’t really think you were charming enough to make me fall for you, did you?” The grip on my arm loosened. Caleb recoiled as if in pain, muttering, shaking his head. “So you planned to get close to me all along? Is that right?” “What else?” Caleb’s lips twitched slightly, his voice hoarse. “Then, did you… ever like me, even a little?” My expression remained unmoved. “No.” The hope in his eyes vanished, and his gaze dimmed. “Fine. Fine. So you’ve been acting this whole time, playing with my emotions!” Caleb left.
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