Author: Momo Chan

I transmigrated into a Naga Sorceress. The System told me to go after the male lead, but by the time I arrived at his estate, his entire family had been slaughtered, and he himself was cleaved in two. From beneath a weeping willow nearby, the villain, Lord Kaelen, fixed his hawk-like gaze on me. His voice, a deep, resonant timbre like an ancient melody, was laced with chilling command: “There’s another one. Erase her.” A warrior, sword drawn, strode towards me. Without a second thought, I dropped to my knees and bellowed, “Father!” 1 I was just a corporate drone from the 21st century, forcibly bound to a System. It had given me two lives, and I’d already squandered one. This was my second attempt at a “capture target.” After my first failure, my memories of that attempt were wiped, and I was granted a new identity. This was my last chance. By the time I arrived, the male lead, Julian, was already sprawled in a pool of his own blood, a blade piercing his left chest. He struggled, inching closer to the dark-robed figure, his eyes burning with fury. “This humiliation, I swear, I will repay it tenfold in time!” “Host, don’t panic. The male lead’s heart is on his right side.” I sighed in relief at the System’s words. I’d wait for Kaelen to leave, then I’d save him. The dark-robed figure, Lord Kaelen, didn’t even bother to lift an eyelid, utterly ignoring Julian’s threat. With a flick of his finger, a wave of immense arcane pressure erupted, tearing Julian’s body cleanly in two. Blood gushed forth in a sickening spray. Me: ? System: ? “Host, fret not. We merely need to reconstruct him with enchanted lotus roots…” The System’s words died in its throat as Kaelen conjured a pack of spectral hounds with his dark magic. The hounds descended upon Julian’s mangled form, devouring him until only bones remained in moments. “Re… recon…” The System’s half-formed instruction devolved into a furious curse. “Reconstruct what?! He’s beyond saving!” “What do I do then?” I stood there, stunned. Before the System could answer, a violent gust of wind seemed to sweep around me. The next second, a powerful hand clamped around my throat. The man before me had stark white hair and eyes like chips of obsidian, his handsome face frozen under a layer of ice. His captivating, almond-shaped eyes held an expression of utter disdain, his high-bridged nose and sharp jawline accentuated by the fresh blood smears on his cheek, giving him a dangerously alluring aura. He had to be the legendary antagonist, Lord Kaelen. Thump! He flung me, and I slammed directly into a tree, tears springing to my eyes from the pain. Oh, by the Elder Gods, he’s going to kill me! I tried to flee, but he casually split the ground before me with a single strike of his blade, leaving a sheer cliff face. “W-what… what are you doing?” I stammered, collapsing onto the ground, desperately scrambling backward, my hands scraping against the rough tree bark. Kaelen reached out, and I was lifted into the air, my legs dangling helplessly. “I don’t know him! I was just passing by! Please, spare my life!” I frantically hammered at his arm, trying to appeal to any shred of humanity he might possess. He looked at me, his eyes resolute, his voice like frost-laden iron. “I leave no loose ends.” Then, the hand around my throat tightened, unmistakably intending to kill. This Wyrm, he was rumored to have existed since the primordial chaos, rarely seen, cold-blooded by nature, bound by no Celestial Sovereign. Meaning, even if the High King of the Heavens descended, Kaelen would fight him if he pleased. A thought flashed through my mind. My very being was a treasure trove! As soon as the idea formed, I clutched his hand tightly and blurted out, “I am Yuan, the Abyssal Serpent, a spirit serpent thought extinct! My Heartstone is a supreme alchemical ingredient. If you nurture me well, once my Serpent’s Heart fully forms, you may extract it to bolster your arcane power!” “Ah!” The words barely left my lips before an invisible force seemed to clench, constricting me, making it impossible to breathe. CRACK! His sharp claws plunged directly through my chest without a word, tearing out my Serpent’s Gallbladder. Gasp! He dropped me. I retched a mouthful of fresh blood, writhing on the ground in agony, every bone in my body feeling shattered. He gazed at the blood-soaked gall in his hands, his expression frigid and merciless, his voice as cold as steel. “Indeed, it is Yuan!” “It is…” I clutched my abdomen. The Serpent’s Gallbladder was the clearest mark of a Naga’s true identity. He had simply torn it out just to confirm who I was. “You’ve taken my gall, so I am now yours, Father!” Ignoring my searing pain, I heavily kowtowed to him. At my words, his hand, wiping blood with a silk handkerchief, paused. He turned, his eyes glinting with icy light like twin blades piercing me. “What did you call this Lord?” “Father,” I repeated, looking up, my voice firm yet utterly cowed. “If you’re not satisfied, I can find another address…” He didn’t even wait for me to finish before striking me again. This time, I truly felt as though my internal organs had been pulverized. Blood endlessly spewed from my mouth, the pain spreading to every limb. That single strike had completely crippled my magical reserves. “Within three days, I expect you to grow a Serpent’s Heart,” Kaelen said, his eyes chillingly narrowed, words like whips gracefully falling from his beautiful lips. I froze. Spirit Serpents, like Yuan, were born without hearts. A true Serpent’s Heart only formed from immense love, and its power could save all of existence. According to the System’s plan, I was supposed to fall in love with the male lead, use my heart to save him, and then ensure his happy ending with the heroine. But even setting aside the fact that the male lead was now gone, a heart wasn’t something you just grew on demand! “I need to fall in love first before a heart can form,” I managed to sit up with difficulty, assuming he didn’t know, and tried to explain. He looked down at me, his eyes cold, answering my explanation with a question: “Three days. Not enough time for you to love someone?” “…” I fell silent, then simply threw my hands up in defeat, offering my neck. “Alright, here. Cut here.” I was going to die in three days anyway. What use was living these extra three days? Might as well die sooner. Love someone in three days? Was he even listening to himself? A flicker of killing intent crossed Kaelen’s narrow, phoenix-like eyes, but it was quickly hidden. He curled his lips, his expression unreadable. “You remind me so much of her, in this state.” “Who?” I asked, full of confusion. He ignored me, turning and walking towards the forest behind him. Ignoring my pain, I quickly followed. Before us, he had conjured a graceful bamboo hut, surrounded by an ethereal, serene landscape. He reclined on a low divan, leisurely sipping from a goblet. “You’re waiting for someone,” I observed. Kaelen looked at me, his obsidian eyes like chips of ice. He finally spoke, a rare utterance, but it was only a single word: “Hm.” I was a little curious. Who was he waiting for? A friend? Someone like him… he had friends? He said nothing further. I sat on the ground, waiting, growing drowsy. I don’t know how much time passed, but then I heard footsteps, followed by sobs. I blearily opened my eyes. Not far away, a slender woman was clutching a pile of bones on the ground, weeping. “Julian, I’m too late. I’m so sorry… so sorry…” “No!” A long sword whistled past me, then directly pierced her heart. Before the woman could even react, Kaelen flashed before her, deftly pulling the sword from her chest. I watched, dumbfounded. So all this time, he wasn’t leaving, he was waiting for the heroine? Well, there went that. Now both the male and female leads were dead. Utterly, completely gone. The System’s stunned roar echoed in my mind. “My gods, my dearest System, by all that’s holy! He really did a thorough job of wiping them out!” The heroine turned, clutching her chest, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief. “It was you. You killed my Julian!” “You’re next.” Kaelen wasted no words, plunging the sword into her left chest again. Gag! The heroine choked out a mouthful of blood, then burst into maniacal laughter. “If I die, then no one will ever know… do you not wish to know…?” “No,” he interrupted, then, with a practiced swing of his blade, he simply severed her head. Clinging to her last breath, the heroine seemed intent on a mutual destruction. A blinding light suddenly flared around her, imbued with a consuming, lethal intent. “Look out!” Seeing this, I instinctively lunged at Kaelen, shielding him from the fatal blow. A searing, bone-deep pain ripped through my entire being. My consciousness began to fray, my body growing numb from the agony. “Foolish.” His low, cold voice suddenly echoed in my ears. Just before I collapsed, a warm, powerful hand encircled my waist. I struggled to turn my head. The heroine had already been pulverized into dust under his immense power. “Are… are you alright?!” I asked, my voice trembling with feigned concern. The heroine was utterly decimated; she wasn’t going to pose a threat. Might as well butter Kaelen up. He looked at me, his handsome face veiled in a thin sheet of ice. At my question, he simply lifted his eyes coldly. “Even without you, ten of her wouldn’t harm this Lord.” I lowered my gaze. Of course I knew that. Was I not just trying to show my loyalty? He suddenly crouched down, his long, elegant fingers lifting my chin. “Your face, so unlike hers, yet so similar in so many ways.” “Who is she?” I looked up, my eyes probing. He didn’t answer. The next second, he simply released my hand. I swayed backward, desperately trying to grab onto something, but I only caught him. Attempting to steady myself, I lost my balance and tumbled forward, straight into him. Our eyes met, startled, and then my lips pressed against his. The next moment, a sharp pang shot through my chest. I saw a fleeting flicker of pain in his eyes too. Cough! He abruptly pushed me away, turning his head to vomit a mouthful of fresh blood, his body almost imperceptibly trembling. I quickly retreated, feigning innocence. “I didn’t do it!” His eyes, filled with murderous intent, swept coldly over me. Then he turned, a shimmering arcane barrier rising around him as he began to recuperate. Just now, when his heart had glowed, I noticed it seemed to be only half complete. Could he have given half of his heart to someone else? Who could possibly make such a cold, ruthless Dark Lord sacrifice half of his very essence? “Now! Kill him!” The System’s ancient voice suddenly boomed in my ear. I wondered if my ears were malfunctioning. Wait, it didn’t tell me I was in a grand heroine’s script when I arrived! The System urged again: “The male lead is dead. Why keep the villain alive? Now’s your chance! Kill him!” “Huh? Who? Me? Kill whom? You want me to build an airplane with a screwdriver’s wages?” I grumbled inwardly. After following me for so many years, didn’t the System know my capabilities? Who could I possibly kill? Even a common priest could fight me for three hundred rounds! Besides, the secondary mission was simply to survive for a thousand years. If I succeeded, I wouldn’t need to capture anyone else to stay in this world. Why would I risk so much? I pulled my thoughts back, my gaze falling on Kaelen. His figure, stretched long by the light, his profile hidden in shadow, I couldn’t quite make out. Only his slightly trembling eyelashes and sharp contours were clear. “Are you… in a lot of pain?” I cautiously approached, and since I couldn’t touch him, I poked the arcane barrier. “…” A profound silence. He ignored me. I didn’t take offense, obediently sitting down beside his barrier. “How about I tell you a story to distract you?” I pulled out a pulp fiction novel I’d bought earlier. “I heard there’s a Widow Elara on the western mountains, and she and Old Man Finn have nightly shenanigans… Oh, this is a bit explicit, it’s what I like to read. You probably won’t. Let me find another one!” Just as I was trying to decide which story to pick, I suddenly felt a pang of hunger. I was about to go forage when the air around me abruptly turned wild with strange energy. “Serpentine demon, today is your day of reckoning!” As the words fell, countless thorny vines lashed towards me. But before they could reach me, a surge of power erupted, shattering the vines into dust. Kaelen slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes falling on the Archons who had appeared, their presence radiating silent, inherent authority. The Archons, sensing this invisible pressure, summoned their courage to explain. “This Naga has committed numerous atrocities. We are here to act on behalf of the Celestial Order.” “Nonsense! You just want my Demonic Core!” I clutched my chest, shivering. I might have committed a few minor, impious misdeeds, and yes, enjoyed some risqué literature, but “numerous atrocities” was a stretch! The Archons finished speaking, seeing Kaelen remain silent, they assumed he acquiesced. Just as they were about to attack me, the arm of their leader was suddenly severed, blood spraying. The Archon collapsed, screaming, his face contorted in agony. “This serpent is a demon. Slaying demons and defending the righteous is the duty of the Divines! Even if you intend to protect her, you must offer some reason!” an elder Archon demanded, his eyes blazing with anger as he looked at Kaelen. Kaelen calmly swept his hand, slowly rising to his feet. Though his expression was languid, his eyes held a fierce glint that brooked no argument. Abyssal energy began to emanate from him. “He’s of the Abyssal Host!” one figure cried out in fear. “Such potent abyssal energy! He’s no ordinary being!” another, a lower-ranking Celestial, swallowed nervously at the dense aura. Kaelen’s eyes held a faint, chilling resolve. “No one dares obstruct what this Lord intends. Why should reason be required?” The Archon with the severed arm, seeing such potent abyssal energy, recoiled two steps, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. “Just moments ago, he exuded pure Celestial energy! Now, how can he radiate abyssal power? Could it be…?” A single thought flashed through the minds of everyone present. Legend spoke of the ancient Dark Lord, the Abyssal Wyrm, who walked both the Celestial and Shadow Paths. Those who had not yet achieved true divinity were considered mere cultivators. The Celestial and Abyssal factions had long ceased open hostilities. If they were to attack Kaelen now, it would be a deliberate provocation, reigniting the war between the two realms. “Retreat, all of you!” The Celestials glared at me resentfully, their eyes filled with unyielding frustration. But ultimately, compelled by Kaelen’s immense aura, they bowed and departed. Silence returned to the area. I clutched my stomach, looking pitifully at Kaelen. “I’m hungry. I need to find something to eat.” He turned, glancing at me with a sidelong look. In an instant, a rabbit appeared in his hand. He disdainfully tossed it at my feet, his thin lips parting to issue a single word. “Eat.” I stared at the hopping rabbit on the ground, pausing before I spoke. “Is this… raw?” “Do serpents not eat raw?” he retorted, his gaze neither warm nor cold. Me: … I hadn’t eaten raw food in years; it upset my constitution. Resigned, I decided to go look for some fruit. But suddenly, the air stirred with chaotic energy again, and several more Celestials appeared before me. I immediately sensed trouble and quickly hid behind Kaelen. He turned and gave me a dismissive look, as if mocking my cowardice. “You wicked serpent! Today I will make a stew out of you!” one Celestial declared, rushing forward. Kaelen irritably raised his Blade of Reckoning to block him. The elder Archon frowned, looking at Kaelen, his tone authoritative. “Who are you, that you would protect her without regard for right or wrong?” “What has she done wrong?” Kaelen’s tone was unhurried, every word and gesture imbued with an inherent nobility that deterred casual offense. The elder Archon grew even more enraged. The next second, he revealed his true form – a mighty Gryphon, the bald spot on his head particularly noticeable. “She plucked my feathers! Plucked me bald! She’s not even a bird! Why did she pluck me?!” Kaelen listened to his outburst, then looked at me, a helpless expression in his eyes. “You have nothing better to do?” I rubbed my hands together, feeling a little guilty. “Making a nest! I need to hibernate, so it’s warmer.” “…” Kaelen took a deep breath. I could feel him forcibly suppressing his anger. Then, he simply tossed a high-grade Mystic Orb to the Gryphon. “We’re even.” It seemed he did have some sense of reason after all. But things were far from simple. Other elders who had accompanied the Gryphon, seeing the situation, also began to speak up. “She used my alchemical crucible for a barbecue, and it exploded!” “She made me a feather duster… using my own feathers! I am Lord Gryphon, the Sun-Strider!” “She played with my Sky-Soarer! Sent him all the way up to the heavens!” Kaelen frowned. “Is that also a crime?” “My name is Sky-Soarer!” “…” Kaelen tossed them a dozen more Mystic Orbs, and they left in high spirits. He turned back, his gaze like a knife, threatening to tear me to shreds. But in the end, he simply couldn’t be bothered, and turned to walk away. I scurried after him. “Listen to me, I can explain!” “No,” he refused curtly, without a hint of hesitation. “If you don’t listen, I’ll pluck your scales!” I tried to threaten. He stopped, glancing back at me, his gaze authoritative, like a warning. “Try it.” I instantly cowered, dropping my head. I grumbled reluctantly behind him, “You really are a wicked person.” “A good person would have joined them and executed you on the spot when the first one came for you,” he said, looking at me, his voice chillingly flat. I thought about it and realized he was right. Good thing he was a villain. If he were too righteous, he would have punished me long ago.

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At a wedding, I accidentally caught the bride’s bouquet. Right there, in front of everyone, Fred, my fiancé, publicly lambasted me, accusing me of being manipulative and trying to force him into marriage. Then, he chased after his tearfully distraught assistant, Chloe, who had run off. I tried to follow, to explain, but he drove off, dragging me for over ten yards before I managed to break free. It was a stranger who rushed me to the hospital for emergency treatment. After a near-death experience, I finally called my mother. “Mom, that arranged marriage you mentioned? I agree to it.” 1 After a week in the hospital, I took a taxi home alone. Standing before the familiar front door, I fumbled with my keys, but they wouldn’t turn the lock. There was no choice but to call Fred. The moment the call connected, Chloe’s sugary, high-pitched voice purred through the phone: “Fred’s in the shower. Olivia, is that you back?” Before I could reply, the door opened from the inside. The moment Chloe saw me, she bounced towards me like a startled fawn. “Olivia, I’m so clumsy! I lost the key, and Fred said he was worried a bad person might find it, so he changed the lock. You don’t have the new key yet, do you, Olivia? I’ll give you one later.” My eyes took in Chloe, wearing Fred’s oversized black shirt. And Fred, clad only in a bath towel. A misty haze clung to both of them, radiating an unsettling intimacy. I simply nodded, then dragged my luggage inside. Seeing my silence, my lack of protest, Fred dropped the towel he was using to dry his hair and explained, “Chloe’s pipes burst at her place, so she’s staying with us for a few days. Don’t misunderstand.” In the past, seeing a scene like this would have left me deeply unsettled. But now, I just felt bone-weary. The wound on my back hadn’t fully healed, a faint, taut ache reminding me of it. Looking at Fred’s face, all I could see was that day: his frantic search for Chloe, completely oblivious to me, trailing behind his car, bleeding onto the asphalt. In that moment, my love for him had completely dissipated, along with my fading consciousness. “I didn’t misunderstand.” I walked straight towards the bedroom, not looking back, dragging my suitcase behind me. “She’s just a young girl, with no family nearby. It’s not easy for her. I just wanted to lend a hand.” I met his gaze, silently. He had probably forgotten that I had been separated from my parents since childhood. That kind of hardship… no one understood it better than I did. “I said, I didn’t misunderstand.” Seeing him block my path, I had to stop and reiterate. “Olivia, you’ve been giving us dirty looks since you walked in. Can you just listen to me for a moment?” He tugged at my suitcase, chattering on. My patience snapped. I released the handle, frowning as I said coldly, “I told you, I really didn’t misunderstand!” The suitcase crashed to the floor with a dull thud. Ignoring Fred’s stunned expression, I walked around him and pushed open the bedroom door. Following the light filtering in from the living room, my eyes immediately landed on the black lace lingerie scattered across the bed. Only then did Chloe rush in from behind us, like a panicked deer. She scurried over, snatching the lingerie into her hands, her innocent wide eyes brimming with tears. “Olivia, this is my laundry, I put it here to dry. Please don’t overthink it.” I scanned the messy bedroom. “Hm,” I hummed, then turned and walked into the guest room without another glance. 2 By the time I finished showering, my mother happened to call. “Olivia, I’m glad you finally saw sense. Your father and I are getting old, and you’re our only daughter. All these years, you wouldn’t come and be with us because of that Fred boy, and you don’t know how much your father and I missed you. If he treated you well, it would be one thing, but it’s been ten years, and he’s still just dragging you along, clearly not truly sincere.” “Since you’ve finally decided to come back to us, how about we set the wedding date for ten days from now?” At my mother’s words, my hand, which had been drying my hair, paused. In the past, when my mother gave such advice, I would always firmly contradict her, telling her that Fred loved me. But this time, only silence remained. “Let’s push the wedding date to half a month from now. I want to celebrate Aunt Carol’s birthday before I leave. For everything else, you can decide.” I had just hung up the phone. The sound of the door closing echoed from the hallway. Fred strode over to me, carrying a takeout bag of “spicy seafood boil” he’d picked up on the way. He placed the bag on the table, then frowned, leaning in to try and see my phone. “What wedding date? I’ve told you many times, we’re still young. I don’t want to get married so early.” I pressed the phone screen dark, looking at his overly defensive posture. “It’s just a cousin on my father’s side. She’s inviting me to her wedding.” Hearing this, Fred dropped his guard. He opened the food containers on the table. When he mentioned Chloe, his eyes unconsciously softened into a smile. “I’ve settled Chloe in a hotel. The girl saw you weren’t happy, so she specifically bought this for me to bring back to apologize. She usually doesn’t even buy this for herself. Try some.” Looking at the shrimp and clams swimming in red oil, I didn’t pick up my chopsticks. Fred’s eyes flashed with displeasure. “Olivia Reed, that’s enough. Dragging this out won’t do anyone any good.” I smiled. “Ten years together, and you don’t even know I’m allergic to seafood?” With that, I turned and went back to my room. Fred followed me, his lips parted as if to speak, then closed again. The old Fred would remember my period dates, remember my headaches on rainy days, remember every significant anniversary for us. And he would remember, the first time he discovered my seafood allergy, how he’d held my hand, crying silently all night at my hospital bedside, consumed by guilt. Now, it wasn’t that he’d forgotten; it was just that Chloe liked seafood, and she happened to occupy his heart. He simply got confused. I didn’t look at him, raising my hand to arrange the ointment the doctor prescribed, one by one, on the nightstand. When he saw the scars on my back, his guilt intensified. He picked up the ointment from the table, about to apply it to my back. I was about to refuse when his phone rang at the perfect moment. It was so close, I clearly heard Chloe’s panicked sobs. “Fred, dearest, someone keeps knocking on the door! Is this hotel a shady place? I’m so scared! I heard some criminal gangs target girls living alone like me. Can you come and stay with me?” Hearing this, Fred clenched his phone tightly. “Don’t be afraid. Turn on all the lights in the room, and block the door with chairs or anything. Don’t open it, no matter what. I’m coming for you right now.” After hanging up, he explained to me, earnestly and seriously, “Olivia, Chloe might be in danger right now. I have to go out. I swear, I really just see Chloe as a sister. Don’t make a fuss about her anymore.” Without waiting for my answer, he hurried to the door. The ointment bottle was swept off the table by his coat, spilling most of its contents. I looked at the closed door and curved my lips. Every time he and Chloe crossed a line before, I couldn’t help but feel jealous and angry. And every time, he would call me petty and unreasonable. But Fred, rest assured, from now on, I will never argue with you again. 3 From that day on, Fred never came back. Chloe’s social media, however, updated frequently. Each post, subtly or overtly, boasted about how much Fred doted on her. I quietly added her to my blacklist. Then, on the wall calendar, I crossed off one date after another. Thirteen days left. I started busy preparing my resignation letter. My team leader, seeing the words “Getting Married” boldly written as my reason for leaving, chuckled and teased me about expecting an invitation to my wedding with Fred. She even suggested that marriage didn’t necessitate quitting my job. Not until I told her I wasn’t marrying Fred. She sighed regretfully, then stopped prying into my personal life. These days had been consumed by handing over my work. Once the handover was mostly complete, I suddenly found myself with free time, staring blankly at the calendar, which now showed “five days left.” I patted my cheeks, then began to pack my belongings. Fred and I had known each other for so long. This house was filled with our photos. I carefully tore out my half of all our joint pictures. Then, from the deepest corner of my closet, I pulled out a small wooden box. Inside was a camera, holding gigabytes of videos and photos we’d taken over the years. Besides the camera, there were also a thousand paper cranes he had folded for me in high school. The evening gown I wore for my college performance. Hundreds of love letters he had written… Looking at these things, my heart still felt heavy, a dull ache. After all, the Fred of old had truly cared for me. He hadn’t wanted to miss a single moment of my life. Sometimes, I would tease him, asking if he didn’t feel like he was wasting time remembering so much. He would just smile and playfully tap my nose, saying, “Of course not. I want to record it all, so when we’re old, we can sit in rocking chairs and look through them together.” After flipping through them for a while, I took all these items to the yard. Without hesitation, I set fire to the past, burning everything to ashes. 4 Time flew by. Fred never returned. These past few days, I had been constantly cleaning the house. I didn’t stop until I was sure not a single trace of my presence remained in the home. I looked at the calendar, a large “3” circled prominently. I began to select a birthday gift for Aunt Carol. Ultimately, I chose a jade peace buckle pendant. I hoped that in my absence, Aunt Carol would remain healthy and safe. Once all the arrangements were made, it was Aunt Carol’s birthday, the day before the wedding. In the interim, Fred had sent me a message explaining that he had an unexpected business trip, but I hadn’t replied. Later, he called again, questioning why I had sent insulting text messages to Chloe. He demanded I apologize to Chloe, saying that if I just admitted my mistake, Chloe, being pure and kind, wouldn’t hold a grudge. I found it ridiculous. After all these years, he actually believed I was capable of such a vulgar act. I simply hung up. His text messages bombarded me immediately: [Olivia Reed, you’re something else!] A few minutes later, another message arrived: [Olivia, I really don’t understand. Why have you become like this?!] … Aunt Carol was my mother’s best friend and Fred’s aunt. When my parents went to another city for business, they entrusted me to Aunt Carol. Later, Fred’s family moved in next door to Aunt Carol’s. Fred and I were in the same class, walked to and from school together every day, and slowly became close. After college, he confessed his feelings, and we naturally started dating. After we started working, he said he was worried it wouldn’t be safe for me to rent a place alone. He specially bought a house near my company and asked me to move in with him. Everything between us seemed to happen so naturally. The eighteen-year-old Olivia Reed probably never would have imagined this day with Fred, even if you killed her. Pushing down the chaotic thoughts that suddenly surfaced, I carried the cake and my carefully chosen gift, and knocked on Aunt Carol’s door. The moment she saw me, Aunt Carol warmly pulled me inside. After I confessed about the arranged marriage, she was utterly shocked. “But you and Fred, you two…” Yes, everyone who knew us thought we were a couple. This was why I wanted to leave quietly. I didn’t want to hear their constant sighs of regret. “We’re not right for each other,” I explained, offering no further details. But Aunt Carol took my hand, her eyes filled with pain. “Olivia, I know you have a good heart. There are things you can’t easily say, but I know in my heart. I heard about what happened at the wedding and with Chloe. You’re a good child, and Fred has wronged you. I had planned to make him apologize to you, right in front of you, and give him a good talking to, but since you’ve already made up your mind, then that scoundrel Fred is simply out of luck. You’re going to your parents to enjoy your life. It’s just… it breaks my heart to let you go.” “But you and Fred have been together for so many years. Does he know about this?” All these years, without my parents by my side, I had developed a tolerant and patient nature. Lying in the hospital bed, unable to find a single friend or relative to stay with me, I hadn’t cried. When Fred blamed me, when I saw him and Chloe together, I hadn’t cried. When I decided to give up on Fred, I hadn’t cried either. Yet now, tears uncontrollably welled up, as if all the grievances and sorrow of these past days had finally found an outlet. “I’ll tell him later,” I said, slowly lowering my head, letting the tears fall, one by one, onto the back of my hand. As for Fred… he never intended to marry me anyway. Telling him or not wouldn’t make much difference. Aunt Carol hugged me again and again, her eyes filled with sorrow. “How could this happen? Fred is so foolish, he used to love you so much.” I didn’t want to continue the conversation. After comforting Aunt Carol for a moment, I prepared to leave. But as I opened the door, I came face to face with Fred and Chloe. Chloe was clinging to his arm, her small face still flushed with excitement, and she planted a loud kiss on Fred’s cheek— “Fred, dearest, this trip made me so, so happy! You’re just too, too good to me!!!” Seeing me, Chloe awkwardly shrunk her neck, hiding behind Fred. “Olivia, you’re here too. Don’t misunderstand… I was just so happy.” Hearing Chloe’s words, Fred shielded her, his eyes wary as he looked at me. “She’s young and doesn’t know any better. Don’t hold it against her.” I curled my lips in a self-deprecating smile. The old Olivia Reed, seeing this, would surely have cried all night, wouldn’t she? Thank goodness, thank goodness, I truly didn’t love him anymore. “Hm, no offense taken.” Unwilling to get entangled with them, I mumbled a perfunctory reply, then turned sideways, trying to leave. But Fred deliberately blocked the exit. He frowned, scrutinizing me, as if searching for something on my face. But all he saw was my serene profile. There wasn’t a single hint of jealousy or sadness. This was simply too strange! His doubt intensified. He felt as if something was slipping from his control. The unease made him involuntarily clench my wrist. I couldn’t break free, and I didn’t want to cause a scene at Aunt Carol’s birthday, so I let him pull me inside. Aunt Carol’s eyes were still red. Seeing Fred and Chloe, she didn’t give them a kind look. “It’s a family birthday. What kind of behavior is this, bringing an outsider?” Chloe stiffened, her pitiful gaze falling on Fred. Fred finally released me, walking over to place their gifts together. “Aunt Carol, Chloe is my assistant. How can she be considered an outsider?” After saying that, he cast a cold glance at me. I knew he was angry about me blacklisting Chloe and about my supposed insulting messages to her. I pretended not to see, lowering my head and picking at my food. During the meal, he kept peeling shrimp for Chloe, his sharp gaze occasionally flicking my way. It was always like this… ever since Chloe appeared. Whenever I upset him, he would deliberately do things that made me sad and humiliated. And every time, I would become jealous, break down, apologize to him, begging him not to be angry. A wave of bitterness spread from my heart. My fingertips trembled, and my chopsticks accidentally fell to the floor. Aunt Carol glared fiercely at Fred, then handed me a new pair of chopsticks. Fred, across from me, had a glint of perverse satisfaction in his eyes. I ignored his gaze fixed on my face. Composing myself, I put a piece of plum-glazed ribs into my mouth. Two drama queens, let them act as much as they want. Aunt Carol’s cooking, though, would be hard to find once I left. Seeing this, Fred snorted, his actions growing even more outrageous. Not until Fred gently wiped Chloe’s mouth, their noses almost touching, did Aunt Carol finally lose her temper and slam her chopsticks down.

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In my past life, my girlfriend’s childhood friend had brazenly impersonated a rich scion, causing chaos wherever he went. When I exposed him, he flew into a rage and deliberately slammed his car into me. As I lay dying, my girlfriend Anastasia’s older sister, Charlotte, knelt and pleaded with her to save my life. But Anastasia remained utterly indifferent. “Impossible. Zachary is far too noble to dirty his hands for a little shrimp like him. Don’t get carried away just because you’re dating me; know your place!” Charlotte knelt for three days and three nights, only to be dragged away by Zachary, brutally assaulted, and left for dead. Until my heart finally gave out, Anastasia was still protecting Zachary, covering up his crimes, refusing to believe he had run me over, let alone brutalized her own sister. Reborn, I didn’t choose to humble myself and beg Anastasia to spare me a glance. Instead, I called my older brother, Liam. “Bro, there’s a guy impersonating me, causing trouble out there. Could you have someone deal with him?” “Also, the engagement with the Reed family we’ve been planning? I’m switching the bride. From Anastasia Reed to her older sister, Charlotte.” For years, I’d poured countless resources into the Reed family, only to raise an ungrateful viper. I wanted to see how arrogant Anastasia and her childhood friend would be without me backing them. “Alex Cole! You publicly humiliated me tonight; I’ll make you regret it! You were so arrogant when you exposed me, weren’t you? Did you ever imagine this day would come?” Zachary Thorne’s familiar voice rang in my ears before I could even process it. “You’re just a pathetic nobody, a penniless loser. Anastasia doesn’t even care about you. Even if I crush you into the dirt out here in the middle of nowhere, she’ll still protect me, believe it or not!” Dazzling headlights were rushing closer, the engine howling as if to run right over me. A searing jolt of pain ripped through my body. That’s when I truly realized I had been reborn. I was back in the exact moment Zachary had slammed his car into me. My shattered phone lay nearby, somehow having dialed Anastasia’s number. Her cold, disgusted voice was still echoing from the speaker. “Alex Cole, just stop calling me. I know you’re just jealous of Zachary and me, always looking for reasons to cause trouble. Zachary would never hit you with his car. That vehicle cost millions; it’s not worth totaling it just to run you over. No matter what you say this time, I won’t believe a word of it!” She fell silent after that, apparently waiting for my reaction. But unlike my previous life, I didn’t try to argue, to beg for help, or to convince her of Zachary’s true nature. Watching Zachary drive off, leaving me for dead, I painstakingly reached out, hung up the call, and used my phone’s last ounce of battery to dial another number. Once it connected, I gritted my teeth, suppressing the agony that wracked my body. “Bro, save me.” My ears buzzed, and I couldn’t quite make out his reply, but I knew, with absolute certainty, that my brother would come. I was Liam’s favorite, the future second-in-command of the powerful Cole family, and our family’s protection around me was absolute. These past years, living under a hidden identity and dating Anastasia, had already been the absolute limit of what they would tolerate. If they ever found out someone dared to harm me, they would unleash a thousandfold retribution, tormenting them until they begged for death. I was dragging my body, trying to crawl towards the edge of the road, when Zachary’s car suddenly reappeared, speeding back towards me. The window rolled down, and his eyes, dark and sinister, fixed on me. “Anastasia said you weren’t dead. She was right.” My heart plummeted. If he hit me again, I truly wouldn’t survive. I watched, helpless, as his foot stomped down on the accelerator. Just as despair threatened to consume me, a bright red sports car screamed into view from another direction, smashing head-on into Zachary’s Maybach. A woman sprang out of the car, rushing towards me, her voice laced with urgent concern. “Alex Cole, are you alright?!” It was Charlotte Reed, Anastasia’s older sister. Memories flooded back – her desperate pleas in my previous life, her agonizing fate, abused and left for dead by Zachary right by my hospital bed. A tide of complex emotions washed over me, but most profoundly, guilt and gratitude. I vowed to protect her this time, never letting her come to harm again. Without thinking, I pushed her away. “Don’t mind me, run!” But it was too late. Zachary materialized behind Charlotte, seizing her by the hair and yanking her back. Before she could even speak, he brutally kicked her. “You wretched bitch! Where did you crawl out from? Don’t you know who I am, Young Master Thorne? Daring to stop me from teaching this nobody a lesson? Do you have a death wish?!” Charlotte crumpled, clutching her stomach, cold sweat beading on her forehead. But she mustered all her strength and bit down hard on his hand. Zachary let out a howl of pain, then grabbed a heavy stone from the ground and savagely brought it down on her. Watching Charlotte’s head crack open and bleed, my heart ached with agonizing pain. “She’s Anastasia’s sister! You hurt her, aren’t you afraid Anastasia will come after you?!” Zachary paused, then a wicked smirk twisted his lips as he looked at her bruised face. He slapped her violently, sending her sprawling onto the ground, then reached for his belt. “So what if she’s Anastasia’s sister? It’s her honor that I even look at her. Besides, I’m the Cole family’s second young master. The Reeds owe everything they have to me. If I claim this woman was harmed by you, who do you think Anastasia will believe? Me or you? She’ll finish you off, and I’ll be completely off the hook!” I was frantic, but my legs were crushed, rendering me utterly immobile. All I could do was reveal my true identity. “Enough! I am the real Cole family scion! She is under my protection. If you dare lay another hand on her, I’ll leverage every connection the Cole family has to make your life a living hell!” Zachary burst into mocking laughter. “That’s a pretty convincing lie, but Young Master Liam has already personally acknowledged me as his brother! How dare you try to impersonate me here?!” My heart lurched. I had no idea about any of this. My parents had been deeply in love; there were no other illegitimate children. My brother Liam had personally promised me, time and again, that I was his only true brother. Where had this imposter come from? Before I could sort out my thoughts, Zachary’s face twisted into a sinister snarl, and he raised his foot, intending to kick me into the river that lay just beyond the road. Rolling down there would mean certain death. Just as I braced myself, trying desperately to find a way to save myself, Charlotte launched herself from behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around Zachary’s legs. “Alex, run! I’ll hold him here!” She bit him relentlessly, and Zachary was completely enraged, about to unleash his fury on both of us when the unmistakable thrum of a helicopter sliced through the night sky. The Cole family had arrived! Liam’s secretary, Mr. Chen, sprinted from the helicopter, immediately seeing to our rescue. Zachary was promptly knocked out and dragged away, but Charlotte, overwhelmed by the terror, had fainted. I urgently ordered them to rush her to the hospital for treatment, while my own broken bones were merely set and temporarily stabilized. I waited anxiously outside the emergency room for what felt like an eternity, until Charlotte was safely moved to a private room. Only then did the knot of dread in my chest finally loosen. I immediately called Liam to assure him of my safety. Hearing I was injured, Liam’s fury erupted. He slammed his fist on a table, his voice booming. “Who dared to harm you?! If I weren’t tied up with urgent matters, I would have flown there myself with Mr. Chen and broken every one of their limbs, making them beg for death!” I didn’t want him to escalate things too much just yet. “Bro, about the engagement with the Reed family, originally set for next month… I want to change the person.” Liam sounded surprised. “You’re not marrying Anastasia? You were so devoted to her for three years; I thought you’d never marry anyone else.” “No, I don’t want that woman anymore. I want Charlotte.” “And all the resources I poured into Anastasia over the years? I want every single one of them back!” I had treated Anastasia like the love of my life, but she’d treated me like a doormat, letting her friends insult me. In both lives, she had fiercely protected Zachary. I was utterly disgusted with her. Liam’s voice grew solemn. “Understood. Your word is law.” “I’ve recalled Mr. Chen, but I’ve left the Cole family’s personal security detail to protect you. Rest well and recover at the hospital. And don’t even think about trying to hide the extent of your injuries from me; I’ll have someone investigate thoroughly. If anyone laid a finger on you, I’ll make sure they lose ten!” This time, before I could reply, the call disconnected. I had wanted to ask about Zachary, but it seemed that would have to wait. I turned to walk towards Charlotte’s room, only to hear hurried footsteps echoing down the corridor. Looking up, I saw Anastasia’s furious face. She raised her hand and delivered a stinging slap across my face, her voice seething with uncontrollable rage. “Alex Cole, have you lost your mind?! You actually hired people to bully Zachary?! Haven’t you heard how fiercely protective his brother is of him?! You’re practically asking for a death sentence!” My face was still turned from the impact, but I managed a mocking laugh. “He’s a Cole? Then why is his name Thorne?” Anastasia scoffed. “What do you know? He’s a late-in-life child, the family’s most cherished and protected. It’s not strange for him to live under a different name for safety! He and I have been friends since childhood, and even I only just learned his true identity. What hope did a backwoods bumpkin like you have?” Just then, I saw Zachary, his face bruised and swollen, emerge from behind Captain Reynolds, one of our family’s security chiefs. Anastasia looked at me with smug satisfaction, clearly believing my downfall was imminent. I wondered why Zachary had been released, when Captain Reynolds walked directly towards me. I expected him to step in front of me, to protect me, but instead, he suddenly pulled a club from his belt and swung it violently at me. “What kind of trash are you, daring to bully our Young Master?! You’re looking for a fight! This is a lesson from the Young Master!” The blow connected, and blood streamed down my forehead, painting my vision crimson. My head buzzed, threatening to pass out. Yet, his eyes were bloodshot, truly looking like he was protecting his master. I was utterly bewildered. “You’re insane! Don’t you recognize me? I’m the Cole family’s second son!” But he spat, his expression feral. “You’re delusional! I’ve worked for the Cole family for nearly ten years, and I’ve only ever known Young Master Zachary! What are you, daring to impersonate him?!” Zachary finally stepped out from behind Captain Reynolds, his gaze cold and calculating, like a butcher eyeing meat on a chopping block. He turned to Anastasia. “Anastasia, what should we do about this? Tonight, I just wanted a quiet drink with friends, but your boyfriend here publicly accused me of impersonating the Cole family’s young master.” “Our family’s motto has always been discretion, so I tolerated it, even had him politely escorted to a car. But he then had the audacity to accuse me of hitting him with my car! Damaging the Cole family’s reputation, no less! How are we going to settle this score?” Every word he uttered was a blatant distortion of the truth, utterly absurd. But Anastasia’s face paled. She immediately grabbed my collar, yanking me out of my wheelchair. Then she kicked my knee, forcing me to my knees with a sickening thud. She ordered someone to hold my head, slamming it repeatedly against the floor. “Alex Cole, I never imagined you were this kind of person! Apologize to Zachary, now! Keep bowing your head until he’s willing to forgive you!” I trembled with rage, struggling to get back on my feet. My brother Liam had always taught me that a man’s knees are sacred, never to be bent except for those he loved most. Since birth, I had only ever knelt before my parents. What they were doing was a profound humiliation of my very being! Anastasia, seeing my struggle, merely sneered, her voice dripping with haughty arrogance. “Still refusing to accept reality? I’ll let you in on some insider information: the Cole family is finally formalizing an engagement with the Reed family, and I am the chosen bride.” “People of our standing don’t associate with penniless nobodies like you. Give up your pathetic ambitions of climbing the social ladder. Apologize to Zachary now, and perhaps, out of consideration for our past, I might even persuade him to spare your life!” Veins pulsed violently on my forehead, and I laughed, a bitter, mocking sound. “Anastasia, the Cole family will never formalize an engagement with you. You’d better start preparing to be disowned by the Reed family!” This seemed to ignite Anastasia’s fury. She snatched a nearby vase, smashing it against the ground, then picked up a sharp shard. Raising it, she aimed for my thigh. “You pathetic piece of trash! How dare you speak to me like that? If you insist on being stubborn, I have no problem turning you into a complete cripple. Let’s see how arrogant you can be then!” I was held down, unable to move, and could only close my eyes in despair. But the agonizing pain I expected never came. When I opened my eyes, I saw Charlotte, who had appeared out of nowhere, shielding me. Her hospital gown was soaked in blood, but she still stood defiantly in front of me, speaking in a weak voice. “Don’t believe anything Zachary says. He’s a despicable, immoral thug! He’s not a Cole family young master at all.” “And if you want to hurt Alex, you’ll have to kill me first!” Anastasia stared, aghast, at the crisscrossing fresh and old scars on her sister’s body, about to ask a question. But Zachary reacted faster, hiding the flicker of panic in his eyes. He roughly grabbed Charlotte and slapped her, bellowing.

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1 It was the third year of my engagement to Kris Stone when he found a dazzling racing star abroad. The day before Valentine’s, he deliberately brought the girl to me to break off our engagement. “Skye and I share the same passions,” he’d declared, his gaze dismissive. “A sheltered girl like you will never understand the thrill of racing.” I asked, my voice barely a whisper of protest, “Does it have to be today?” He chuckled. “Does calling off an engagement require a special date?” I simply nodded, offering no further argument. Only to enter the same race as him the following month. What he didn’t know was that I understood the allure of racing long before he ever did. Later, I married someone else on his birthday. His eyes bloodshot, he asked, “Does it have to be today?” I smiled back. “Weddings need an auspicious date, you know. Today is perfect.” When Kris came looking for me, it had been nearly half a year since I’d last seen him. He’d spent three years studying abroad, only to return home without a single word to me. Just days prior, an audio recorder had arrived in the mail, sent from overseas. The moment I pressed play, a chorus of laughter erupted. “Hahahaha, Ollie, you’re something else! Not only did you get your racing license, but you also snagged our hottest racing star! Come on, Skye, tell us, how fast does Ollie drive in bed?” A sultry female voice purred in response: “Is that even a question? Straight to the fast lane, baby!” A chorus of piercing shrieks immediately followed, threatening to rupture my eardrums. I lowered the volume on the recorder, continuing to listen. “So, Ollie, what are you going to do about your fiancée back home? Heard you two have been engaged for three years. Aren’t your folks pressing you to marry her?” My hands instinctively clenched into fists, and I cranked the volume to its maximum. “Fiancée? What did we know about love as kids? Chloe and I haven’t seen each other in over six months. At this point, she’s barely more than a free, high-end housekeeper for my parents. She’s obedient, easy to get rid of.” Someone snickered: “Well, leave it to our Ollie, managing to get the Hayes family’s eldest daughter to willingly play housemaid.” The recording paused for a few seconds. Then I heard Kris’s dismissive scoff: “Heh, well, who told her to like me so much?” After listening to that recording, my mind went utterly blank. I waited, numb, for Kris to return and offer an explanation. Now, his red Porsche was parked right outside my front door. The window was down, and he sat in the driver’s seat. One hand cupped the chin of the girl beside him, the other cradled the back of her head. They were locked in a deep, lingering kiss, utterly unconcerned by the world. Suddenly, I remembered the day Kris left for his studies abroad three years ago. In the departure lounge, he had gently kissed my cheek, his eyes bright with promises. “Chloe, wait for me. When I graduate, I’ll come back and marry you.” But it was as if he’d forgotten every single one of them. I took a shaky breath, stepping back awkwardly, forcing my gaze away. It seemed no explanation was needed now. A full ten minutes passed before I heard the car door creak open. Kris sauntered leisurely towards me, wiping the corner of his mouth. “Saw everything, did you?” he asked, his expression utterly nonchalant. “Let’s just call off our engagement, shall we?” “You’re a good person, but you just lack… personality.” “The kind of woman I like is confident, bold, full of life. And you, well, you’re none of those things.” The Porsche’s window rolled down a few inches. The girl in the passenger seat blew a casual whistle in our direction, throwing a playful kiss for good measure. Kris clearly adored the gesture, his face softening with doting affection. “Her name’s Skye. She shares my passions.” “A sheltered flower like you will never understand the thrill of racing.” Moonlight spilled across his face, but his gaze, when it found Skye, was softer than the moonbeams themselves. I struggled to suppress the turmoil churning inside me, my voice laced with a bitter edge. “Are you sure about this? Does it have to be today?” Kris paused for a few seconds, then chuckled. “Does calling off an engagement require a special date?” Right, I thought. I nodded slowly. “Alright, I understand.” Perhaps my calm reaction was more unsettling than he expected, because Kris looked subtly uncomfortable. “If there’s anything you need help with, let me know. For example, with your family, do you need me to explain things for you?” “No need.” Thanks to that audio recorder, I already knew everything I needed to. The Hayes and Stone families had been close for generations. When I was eighteen, my mother fell critically ill. It was thanks to Kris’s mother, who donated a kidney, that my mother’s life was saved. Before the surgery, she lay in her hospital bed, tears streaming down her face. “How will we ever repay this kindness?” Kris’s mother, half-joking, half-serious, had replied, “If you truly want to repay me, then let Chloe become my daughter-in-law, eh?” I stood rooted to the spot, completely bewildered, but it was Kris who spoke first, eager to agree. “It’s settled then, Auntie. I like Chloe. I’ll definitely marry her someday.” The young man made his solemn vow, as if he’d never break his word. And so, three years ago, Kris and I became engaged. I remained in the country, while he went abroad. Perhaps out of a sense of obligation, I diligently learned cooking and nursing, spending every spare moment caring for Kris’s parents. The rumors around town grew increasingly unpleasant. They whispered that I was Kris’s “doormat,” shamelessly acting as his family’s housekeeper even before marrying him. But thinking of my mother, I swallowed my pride and endured. To vent my frustration, I secretly took up racing, even winning several competitions. 2 Later, my mother’s illness returned, and she passed away. My father remarried, finding new happiness, and my standing in our home grew increasingly insignificant. It felt as if, other than Kris, I had no one left to lean on. But now, he was telling me he’d fallen for someone else. It dawned on me that to him, I was merely a fleeting infatuation from childhood, nothing compared to the rapid, intense spark he found in a matter of days. I expected tears, but not a single one fell. Instead, I silently retrieved the tokens we had exchanged during our engagement from the safe. It was an exquisite antique hair ornament, symbolizing a wife’s lasting bond with her husband. The one I had given him was a double-sided, intricately carved jade pendant from my mother, signifying the refined character and gentle nobility of a true gentleman. That pendant was the last, most precious thing my mother had left me. I arranged to meet Kris again. Since the engagement was off, it was only right to exchange our tokens back. Just after midnight, Kris updated his social media. He and Skye were tightly embraced, their hands forming a heart shape together. Kris’s caption read: “No special skills, just managed to snag the one I wanted on Valentine’s Day.” So, he was in such a hurry to break off our engagement because he wanted to go public with his new relationship on Valentine’s Day. I simply ‘liked’ the post. If they were so smitten, they might as well be locked together forever. Minutes later, a new message popped up on my phone. Adrian Vance: “Happy Valentine’s Day.” My brain froze for a few seconds as I stared at the name. I never expected him to be the first one to say that to me. The whispers in our circles always painted Adrian as someone of impossibly high standing, utterly out of reach. And I had only met him a handful of times through racing. Perhaps he’d sent it by mistake. But the very next second, another message suddenly appeared. “You deserve better.” Before I could even process Adrian’s words, I was drowned in a tidal wave of rumors. Practically everyone around me was buzzing about Kris having dumped me. My father lectured me harshly that morning, and even my stepmother offered sarcastic remarks about my worthlessness. I found it darkly amusing. When did the one who was wronged become the one to be shamed? Soon after, my inbox began to flood with private messages. “Heard Ollie found a new girlfriend? Hahahaha, and on Valentine’s Day, no less! Don’t know how you’ll ever recover.” “Well, you didn’t lose out completely these past few years. At least you learned how to cater to people, right, Chloe?” “He’s actually soft-hearted beneath that tough exterior. Just beg him nicely, and maybe he’ll come around. If not, a good old-fashioned scene might do the trick.” I ignored their taunts, blocking and deleting them one by one. All I wanted now was to retrieve my mother’s memento. I placed the hair ornament and the audio recorder into a small box. At the appointed time, I arrived at the designated location. But upon arrival, I realized I’d been tricked. A large table full of people, all of them Kris’s usual friends from back home. He and Skye sat in the center, laughing and chatting jovially with everyone. At the sound of the door opening, every eye in the room shifted to me. Kris offered an explanation: “Skye said she really wanted to meet my friends, so I took the opportunity to invite everyone. You don’t mind, do you?” Someone, eager for drama, quickly pulled out a chair for me. “Oh, Chloe’s here! Come, come, we were just waiting for you!” I didn’t sit. Instead, I placed the box containing the hair ornament on the table. “Here’s your item back,” I said. “Now, where’s mine?” Kris froze for a few seconds, then clicked his tongue. “Oh, damn, I completely forgot.” “Then please mail it to me as soon as possible. I have other commitments.” “Chloe, don’t leave! If you go, everyone will think I’m the home-wrecker!” She frowned slightly, feigning an innocent expression. I just smiled. “Aren’t you?” The private room fell silent. Skye’s face visibly darkened. Kris shot me an annoyed glance. “Sit down, Chloe. I’ll call my driver; he’ll bring it over in a bit.” While waiting for Kris’s driver to deliver the item, the group resumed their lively chatter. Kris was right; Skye was indeed quite audacious. She spoke with lively confidence, clearly the center of attention. Someone asked, “Skye, we heard you used to be a grid girl when you were abroad? Tell us all about it!” At that, her eyes lit up, and she grew even more animated. While I quietly sipped my tea, she launched into a detailed monologue, covering everything from racing rules to techniques, sounding as if she’d been a veteran of the sport for years. “Do you know,” she gushed, “I absolutely adore the racetrack! Not only do you get that adrenaline rush, but you also meet so many amazing, handsome drivers.” Skye shot a pointed glance at Kris, who was already gazing at her, his eyes full of tender admiration. She sighed dramatically. “Oh, it’s a shame, though. That racing license is just impossible to get! I’ve tried so many times and failed.” The others, unfamiliar with the racing world, found her stories utterly captivating. “Wow, Skye, you’re already incredible! None of the girls we know have ever even touched a race car.” “Yeah, Ollie, you’ve got great taste. Finding such a gorgeous and fierce girl!” Kris instinctively glanced over at me, but I just kept my head down, sipping my tea, not uttering a word. 3 Skye followed his gaze to me, then suddenly asked, “Chloe, do you know anything about racing?” At her question, a ripple of laughter immediately spread through the group. “Her? How could she understand such a thrilling sport? Miss Hayes barely steps foot outside her family estate; she’d probably faint dead away at the racetrack!” “Now, now, don’t say that. Who says Chloe never leaves the house? I’ve seen her running to Ollie’s place often enough. Tsk, who says knowing how to cater to someone isn’t a skill?” Skye’s eyes widened, and she gasped, covering her mouth in mock surprise. “Oh? Really? My apologies, then. That was rather tactless of me. But it’s fine, really. Everyone has their own unique value, after all.” Then she turned to Kris, pouting playfully. “Ollie, I’m terrible at catering to people. When we get married, you’ll definitely have to find your parents a maid as competent as Chloe, won’t you?” A fresh wave of laughter erupted around the table. I clenched my fists, then relaxed them. As soon as I had my memento back, I wouldn’t stay here for another second. Skye pulled a ticket from her bag and had someone pass it to me. “Chloe,” she said, “this is a ticket to next month’s race. I just happened to have an extra one. Ollie and I will both be competing, so you should definitely come and broaden your horizons, alright?” I looked at the ticket and smiled. Wasn’t this the very race I’d just registered for? Too fed up to argue, I drained my teacup, then looked up at Kris. “Ask your driver where my item is,” I demanded. Kris made the call, then his brow suddenly furrowed. “Chloe, it seems I can’t give you your item just yet.” I shot to my feet, a bewildered expression on my face. Kris rubbed his temples, not bothering to lie. “I distinctly remember putting it in the box, but… it’s suddenly gone.” What did he mean, ‘suddenly gone’? That was the only thing my mother had left me. I would turn the entire place upside down if I had to, but I would find it. Skye paid no attention to my exchange with Kris. She was standing, reaching for a bottle of red wine in the center of the table. As she bent, something around her neck was perfectly exposed. It was my intricately carved jade pendant! “Wait!” I quickly stopped her, pointing to her neck. “That jade pendant you’re wearing right now – that’s mine.” Everyone fell silent, their gazes fixed on us. Skye turned to Kris, unhurried. “Ollie, Chloe says this is hers, but how can she prove it?” Kris was momentarily speechless. He had never truly cared for me, so it was unlikely he had ever really looked closely at the token. But I remembered. “The carving on it depicts two dragons playing with a pearl, intricate and pierced through, with their bodies intertwined. On one side, there’s a faint yellow spot, a slight imperfection.” That pendant had never left my side before I turned twenty; every single detail of it was etched into my memory. Skye held up the pendant, examining it front and back, then turned to Kris, smiling. “Ollie,” she cooed, “even if it is Chloe’s, I’ve taken a liking to it. Can’t I just keep it?” “No, you can’t,” I stated, my voice firm. “You need to return it to me right now, immediately.” On this, I would not yield an inch. Kris stood, gently patting Skye’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort, then frowned at me. “Come on, Chloe, don’t make such a big deal out of it. It’s just a pendant. Name your price, and I’ll transfer the money to you right away.” What on earth was he talking about? I was so frantic, I felt tears welling. I shouted, “That’s the only thing my mother left me! It’s her memento, her last belonging! Don’t you understand?!” At my words, the private room plunged into an even deeper silence, a stifling, death-like hush. “A memento? Why didn’t you say so sooner! I don’t want anything so ill-omened!” Skye abruptly ripped the pendant from her neck and, as if it were trash, slammed it onto the table without a thought. CRACK— With a single impact, the jade pendant split in two, right down the middle. In that instant, an emotional tsunami crashed over me, swallowing every last shred of my composure. I finally snapped. I lunged forward, seized Skye by her hair, and slammed her head onto the table. With my other hand, I smashed a wine glass and aimed its sharp, jagged edge at her terrified face. “Ah! You’re insane!” Skye shrieked. The entire room erupted into chaos. Kris instantly grabbed my wrist, halting my next move. Glass had sliced into my hand, and blood trickled from between my fingers, staining his hand as well. “Chloe Hayes, can you calm down?! The item is already broken, and you’re bleeding!” I suppressed the murderous urge surging within me, violently yanked my arm free, and trembling, picked up the shattered jade from the table, trying to piece it back together, but it would never be whole again. Tears finally streamed down my face. I hadn’t cried when the engagement was broken, nor when others insulted me. But this time, I couldn’t hold back any longer. Kris tentatively touched my shoulder, a hint of guilt in his voice. “Stop trying. It’s already broken. Be careful; don’t hurt yourself further.” “Get lost!” I screamed at him, slapping him hard across the face. Under his stunned gaze, I carefully gathered the broken pendant pieces and walked out without a backward glance. Every last shred of affection I had ever felt for Kris was, at that moment, finally ripped out by the roots. I had nothing left to lose, nothing left to hold me back.

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I’d just hit the jackpot, winning a whopping fifty million dollars on the lottery, and I immediately called my boyfriend to share the unbelievable news. But the first thing he did was roar, “I’m swamped with work, I don’t have time for your pointless chatter! Unless you’re dead, don’t ever call me again!” The line went dead. I sighed, resigned, planning to deliver my last food order before claiming my prize. When I knocked on Room 301 at the hotel, the door opened to reveal my boyfriend, John Miller, who was supposed to be out of town on a business trip. John was wearing nothing but a bath towel around his waist, and behind him stood my best friend, Sarah Jensen, similarly wrapped in a towel. John and I stared at each other, eyes wide, for a full minute. “What are you doing here?!” “That’s what I should be asking you, isn’t it? Weren’t you supposed to be out of town on a business trip? Too busy to even pick up my calls, yet you’re here, playing cards with her?” John roughly yanked me into the room, then slammed the door shut. “Don’t yell out there, aren’t you ashamed?” My eyes blazed red with fury. “You should be ashamed! You two were cheating on me!” Sarah, still draped over John’s shoulder, drawled, “Don’t use such harsh words. I’m John’s real girlfriend. We’ve been together for over seven years.” So, I was the other woman. “You’re despicable!” I raised my hand to slap John, but he caught my wrist. “Natalie Sinclair, that’s enough! I never even liked you. Sarah was the one who encouraged me to be with you. Otherwise, do you honestly think I’d have stayed with you this long?!” Tears streamed down my face as I screamed at them, “Why?!” “For your money, of course, you idiot! You didn’t even go to college. You started delivering food right after high school, just to earn a few extra bucks to support John.” “You spent all your money on John. And when John took me on dates and bought me gifts, he was spending your money. I should actually thank you. Without you, what would John and I have spent?” I trembled with rage. “You’re utterly shameless! I’ll fight you both!” I lunged, grabbing Sarah by the hair, and we collapsed into a furious tangle. “Natalie, you’re pushing your luck! Let go of Sarah!” John, with surprising force, tore me away and landed a punch square on my face. I was stunned. Sarah seized the opportunity, lunging forward, pulling my hair and clawing at my face, cursing a blue streak. I was pinned to the ground, beaten by both of them. John showed no mercy, his punches landing with chilling force. All I could do was cry out in pain. I thought of all the years I’d spent with him. What an utterly pathetic joke it had all been. John and I both came from humble backgrounds. I was an orphan, and his elderly parents were struggling farmers with poor health. We had both gotten into college, but he’d convinced me to drop out and work, promising that once he graduated and found a good job, he’d marry me. I, foolishly, believed him. To earn more money and improve his living conditions, I didn’t even take Christmas Day off. While everyone else was celebrating, I was out in the snow and freezing temperatures, delivering order after order. Thinking back now, my seven years felt utterly ridiculous. They stopped only when they grew tired of beating me. I lay on the floor, bruised and battered, unable to get up. “John, how can you do this to me?! Aren’t you afraid your parents will disown you?!” Three years ago, John’s father had a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed. I had brought both of his elderly parents to the city and nursed them back to health. They had always told me I was like a daughter to them, swearing that if John ever dared to betray me, they would be the first to disown him. John scoffed. “You don’t actually think my parents treated you like a real daughter, do you? They just sweet-talked you to butter you up. If they didn’t say nice things, how would you have served them like a maid?” I refused to believe him. “No! Auntie and Uncle truly cared about me!” “You don’t believe me, huh? Fine, I’ll call them now.” With that, John dialed the number and put it on speakerphone. “Hello, Mom? I broke up with Natalie. I don’t want to pretend anymore. I want to be openly with Sarah.” “Son, your mother supports you. But if you break up with Natalie, will she still wait on your father and me? Will she still give us money for living expenses?” “Don’t worry about money, I just closed a huge deal. As soon as it’s signed, I’ll get a two hundred thousand dollar commission. Then I’ll hire a housekeeper for you two. She’ll definitely be better than Natalie.” “Oh, that’s wonderful! Natalie can finally get out of here. A food delivery girl who didn’t even go to college? How could she ever be good enough for my son!” I was completely dumbfounded, unable to believe what I had just heard. John hung up the phone and kicked me again. “Heard that? In my parents’ eyes, Sarah is the only daughter-in-law they want. And I’m about to be rich. Once I get that two hundred thousand, we won’t be in the same league anymore!” I laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. “Just two hundred thousand?” Sarah, now wearing her high heels, brought her foot down hard on my hand. “You wouldn’t make two hundred thousand delivering food for twenty years! Who are you trying to fool?!” She hooked her arm through John’s. “Darling, let’s go. This was supposed to be our special time, and Natalie the b*tch ruined it.” They walked out brazenly. I quickly called an ambulance, then the police. Luckily, I was wearing thick winter clothes, so no bones were broken. After my wounds were treated at the hospital, I went home. But when I reached the doorstep, I saw all my belongings thrown out onto the curb. My blood pressure shot through the roof. I pounded on the door. John’s mother opened it, and when she saw me, her face instantly soured. “Natalie Sinclair, my son has broken up with you. Now grab your things and get out!” I had already planned to move out, but I never expected them to just discard my belongings. “I paid the rent for this place. If anyone’s moving, it’s you! What right do you have to throw my things out?!” “The right of three people living here! That makes this our home!” In that moment, her true, conniving nature was fully exposed. I didn’t want to waste another second arguing. I was about to call the police again, when John returned with Sarah. “Why aren’t you two in jail?!” Sarah smirked triumphantly. “It was mutual combat, and you threw the first punch!” My lungs felt like they were about to burst. My hands clenched into tight fists, my nails digging into my flesh, but I didn’t feel the pain. John pushed me. “Why aren’t you gone yet? Are you still trying to cling to me? Let me tell you, there’s no way we’re ever getting back together!” I glared at them, my eyes burning. “You’ll all regret this. You’ll come crawling to me!” They burst into laughter, telling me I was dreaming. I only took a few things from the heap on the ground. After all, I had won fifty million dollars; there was nothing I couldn’t buy. After settling into a hotel, I went to the lottery office to claim my prize. The moment the fifty million dollars landed in my account, the knot of tension in my chest finally loosened. I couldn’t wait to see the expressions on John and Sarah’s faces when they found out I was a multi-millionaire. Just after I acquired a lavish, fully furnished penthouse apartment, I received a call from Sarah. “Natalie, we’re having our high school reunion this weekend. You absolutely have to come; everyone from our class will be there.” “Alright, I’ll be there.” “You’re not just saying that, are you? Will you actually show up, or just disappear that day?” “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come. It’ll be good to see old classmates after so many years. I’d like to see how everyone’s doing.” Sarah was organizing this reunion specifically to show off John’s two hundred thousand dollar earning, and to use the opportunity to humiliate me. Little did she dream that I was now the most powerful one in our entire class. The reunion was held at a five-star hotel. I made a point of arriving a little late. Under the gaze of all my former classmates, I glided in, impeccably dressed in a limited-edition haute couture outfit, and elegantly took my seat. “Excuse me, everyone, I apologize for being late.” Sarah immediately rolled her eyes at me. “Natalie, you’re being so pretentious. Does that fake outfit even buy you a ticket? Do you really think our classmates don’t know quality when they see it? Pfft.” Jessica Chen, the former class belle, sitting next to me, kept staring at the Hermes “White House” bag in my hand. “Natalie, can I borrow your bag for a closer look?” I generously placed the bag in her hand. “Of course.” “Jessica, what’s there to see in a fake bag? The real one costs over two million dollars. Even if you sold Natalie, she wouldn’t be worth that much.” Her comment drew a burst of laughter from the guys nearby. “This bag is real. I work at the Hermes store.” “Then Natalie bought a knockoff that fooled even you, the store employee.” “This bag is definitely real. A knockoff can’t replicate this craftsmanship.” Sarah immediately chimed in, dripping with sarcasm: “Oh, Natalie, you didn’t happen to ‘acquire’ that bag from some rich lady while you were delivering food, did you?!” “I know you’re afraid your classmates will find out you never went to college and are still delivering food, but you can’t steal someone else’s things to make yourself look good! That bag is worth a fortune; it’s enough to get you years in prison.” “Out of consideration for our past as classmates, we won’t report you. Just return the bag immediately and make a public apology. Maybe the rich lady will take pity on you and not press charges.” “Sarah, you need evidence when you make accusations. If you falsely accuse me of theft, I can sue you for defamation!” “I’m doing this for your own good, and you want to sue me? Everyone knows you’re broke. Stop pretending.” Jessica couldn’t help but remark, “Maybe Natalie hooked up with a rich guy.” “Jessica, you’re giving her too much credit. What rich guy would be blind enough to be interested in her?” Sarah walked directly in front of me, placing her own designer bag on the table beside mine. “See this? This is what real money buys. Ten thousand dollars.” She rolled her eyes at me. “Still pretending, you pauper.” Our classmates immediately looked at her with envious eyes. “Sarah, looks like you’re doing the best among us, carrying a ten-thousand-dollar bag!” Sarah beamed, thoroughly pleased with herself. “My husband is amazing. He just closed a huge deal, and his commission alone will be two hundred thousand dollars. Today, order whatever you want, everyone. My husband’s paying!” Everyone immediately began to flatter John, who was so puffed up with pride his chest seemed about to burst. John, menu in hand, lifted his chin and addressed the waiter: “Bring us all your most expensive dishes. One Australian lobster for each person. And open ten bottles of your most expensive wine!” I smiled. “As far as I know, that contract of yours hasn’t been signed yet, has it?” Sarah looked scornful. “So what? It’s a done deal, just needs the final signature.” “You haven’t even earned the commission yet, and you’re already buying such an expensive bag and ordering such costly dishes. What if the deal falls through, and you end up deep in debt?” “Shut your jinxing mouth! This deal is absolutely foolproof!” Once the food arrived, everyone started chatting idly. “Have you guys seen the trending news? A while ago, someone got incredibly lucky and won fifty million dollars in the lottery!” “Oh my God, I’m practically crying with envy! How many lifetimes would it take to spend that much money?!” “And I heard she donated a hundred million dollars right after winning, and even acquired several companies and invested in numerous projects. Those projects are all super profitable; it’s like money just makes more money!” “That person’s life is just too perfect. Not only did they get a windfall, but everything they invest in turns to gold.” Seeing their animated discussion, I couldn’t help but say, “Actually, that lottery winner is me.” The table fell silent for a moment, then erupted in uproarious laughter. Sarah laughed so hard tears streamed down her face. “Natalie, stop dreaming! With your pathetic luck, you couldn’t even win ten dollars, let alone five hundred million!” I merely offered a slight smile, offering no further explanation. Sarah then made a public announcement. “Classmates, John and I will be having our wedding in Bali! Everyone is invited; we’ll cover travel and accommodation!” “A Bali wedding must be incredibly expensive! You two are so extravagant!” “My husband is a top sales executive! He’ll have a continuous stream of big deals and commissions coming in. Of course, a top executive’s wedding needs to be grand!” After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, John called the waiter to pay. He swiped three credit cards, but it still wasn’t enough to cover the bill. “How is that possible? The credit limits aren’t enough! Bring me the bill; I want to see it!” The waiter handed him the bill. Our table’s total consumption was five hundred thousand dollars. John’s face immediately flushed with anger. “How can it be this much? Are you ripping us off?!” I scoffed from the side. “If you can’t afford it, don’t show off. I thought you were so rich, ordering all those expensive things.” John’s face burned with embarrassment, and he nudged Sarah with his elbow. “Lend me the five hundred thousand from your house sale first. I’ll pay the bill!” “No way! That’s my pre-marital asset!” “I’m not saying I won’t pay you back! I’m signing the deal tomorrow. As soon as the commission hits, I’ll pay you back immediately!” Sarah reluctantly pulled out her debit card and swiped it for the five hundred thousand dollars. My phone, lying on the table, suddenly chimed: “Bank transfer notification: Five hundred thousand dollars received.” All my classmates looked at me. Our class president, Mark, joked, “Natalie, how is it that as soon as John paid, you received five hundred thousand dollars? Could it be that the money they paid went directly to your account?” “Exactly,” I replied. “It went straight to my account. I just acquired this hotel. I was originally planning to treat everyone to dinner. But John and Sarah were so enthusiastic about treating you all, I didn’t want to argue with them.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “Natalie, can you stop pretending? You’ve been putting on an act since you walked in. You’re not embarrassed, but I’m so mortified for you I’m practically digging a hole with my toes.” “That voice notification? You can download any amount you want online.” I didn’t need to prove myself. I wasn’t there to flaunt my wealth. They had no idea yet that the company they were supposed to sign with had also been acquired by me. That deal was definitely not going to happen. Now that they had maxed out their credit cards, and wouldn’t be getting their commission, I wondered how they would repay their debts!

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On my wedding day, my fiancée publicly called off the ceremony, walking down the aisle with my best man instead. I stumbled out, shattered, only to be struck by a car in a brutal accident. The crash left me paralyzed, ending my dance career. In my darkest hour, Julian’s aunt, Seraphina Hayes, pulled me back from the Silverleaf River, where I’d considered ending my life. She married me in what tabloids called the “wedding of the century.” But on our third anniversary, I overheard her whisper to her assistant: “Same routine—switch Henry’s leg meds to vitamins. Delay his therapy again.” The assistant hesitated: “But if we keep delaying, he may never walk… You had him hit to paralyze him for Julian’s sake. Now Julian’s the star dancer, favored by your family. Must you still guard against Mr. Goldstein?” Seraphina snapped: “What does it matter? I’ll support him forever.” Her gaze turned distant, voice heavy with sorrow: “Since society won’t let me be with Julian, I’ll ensure his happiness—no matter who suffers.” 1 The truth hit me like a physical blow. I clapped a hand over my mouth, stumbling backward in sheer disbelief. How could I have been so blind? Every misfortune, every moment I thought was salvation, had been meticulously engineered by Seraphina herself! Tears streamed down my face, relentless and scalding. My heart felt as if it were being torn apart. Footsteps approached from inside. Panicked, I spun my wheelchair around, fleeing to the villa’s secluded backyard. Just then, the door to Seraphina’s private storage room, a place she always kept strictly off-limits, stood ajar. Inside, the walls were adorned with countless photographs and portraits of Julian, charting his life from infancy to adulthood. His dance certificates, his trophies, even replicas of the dance shoes and costumes he’d worn over the years – Seraphina had meticulously collected them all, displaying them like priceless treasures in glass cabinets. Every item, every inch of this room, screamed of her obsessive devotion to Julian. In the very center of the room lay adoption papers, clearly detailing her true relationship with Julian. Seraphina, I learned, had been adopted by Julian’s grandfather in her teens, meaning there wasn’t a single drop of shared blood between them. I laughed, a bitter, broken sound, tears still streaming. Seraphina, you truly played me for a fool! Very well then. Since this is the stage you’ve set, I will ensure they get the performance they deserve. Gathering my shattered composure, I left the room. As I exited the backyard, I bumped directly into Seraphina, who was hurrying towards me. She froze. “Henry, darling, why are you out here? And so far from the house? You didn’t… see anything, did you?” “No,” I replied, my voice flat. “Just took a wrong turn. Haven’t been out in the garden for a while.” Seraphina visibly relaxed. She knelt beside me, gently stroking my hair. “Silly boy,” she chuckled, “you’re getting more absent-minded as you get older, aren’t you? The guests are all here. Your wife will take you in for our anniversary celebration.” Her warm lips pressed against my forehead, but all I felt was a chilling, bone-deep cold. As we entered the grand ballroom, guests watched, their eyes filled with envy, as Seraphina guided my wheelchair. My gaze, however, locked onto the three-tiered strawberry cream cake dominating the center of the room. I am severely lactose intolerant. And strawberries? They’re Julian’s absolute favorite flavor. Sure enough, no sooner had Seraphina settled me into the seat of honor than Julian practically bounced over, tugging on her arm. “Aunt Sera, when can we cut the cake?” he whined playfully. “It’s your and Uncle Henry’s anniversary, but you got my favorite cake! That’s just cheating!” Seraphina, without a hint of shame, playfully tapped his nose. “Little glutton,” she teased. “First, let me give your Uncle Henry his gift.” Seraphina produced a bracelet and fastened it onto my wrist. I remembered a collector friend recently telling me, excitedly, how Seraphina had commissioned him to acquire a unique, fifty-million-dollar Patek Philippe timepiece. As a thank-you, he’d included a complimentary bracelet. Now, that very Patek Philippe gleamed conspicuously on Julian’s wrist. Meanwhile, the ill-fitting bracelet dangled loosely from mine. Later, during the dance segment, I sat below the stage, just as I did every year. Julian linked his arm through Seraphina’s and then addressed me: “Uncle Henry, since you can’t move your legs, I’ll take the opening dance with Aunt Sera. You don’t mind, do you?” Without waiting for my response, they glided onto the dance floor. Seraphina’s left hand rested on Julian’s shoulder, a gesture both restrained and possessive. Her right hand was intertwined, fingers locked, with his. Her almond-shaped eyes, brimming with tender affection, held no one but Julian. Though it was supposedly our wedding anniversary, this moment had become entirely about her and Julian. I had always believed Seraphina grandly celebrated our anniversary each year out of devotion to me, to ensure other high-society figures wouldn’t look down on me. Now, it was painfully clear this was her true motive all along: using our special day as a pretext, to legitimately draw closer to her true beloved. Whispers drifted from nearby guests: “Wow, Young Julian truly lives up to his principal dancer title, doesn’t he? He dances with such flair! If he and Ms. Hayes weren’t related, they’d look far more suited for each other than her crippled husband!” “Exactly! And while Ms. Hayes’ husband was once a prodigy in the dance world, he’s a mere shadow of his former self now, practically a wash-out! I bet Ms. Hayes will only keep him around for a few more years, then this used, broken man will be utterly worthless!” Seraphina, however, was utterly engrossed, dancing one number after another with Julian, oblivious to my predicament. Without her presence, these so-called high-society elites never bothered to mask their contempt for me. Their mocking voices grew louder, more spirited. Helpless, I fled the scene. I called my lawyer, instructing him to draft a divorce agreement. While I was at it, I secretly arranged for a ‘staged death’ service. 2 When the banquet finally concluded, I watched from my bedroom window as the last guests departed. Beneath the shadow of a sprawling oak, Seraphina stood for a long moment, her gaze fixed on Julian’s retreating figure, before she finally turned and came upstairs. The moment she entered the master bedroom, she pressed me onto the bed with an almost desperate urgency, raining down a torrent of kisses. “Henry, darling… tell me you love me, won’t you? I love you so much, so incredibly much. You’re mine! Only mine!” Fragments of past memories began to click into place, a horrifying mosaic forming in my mind. I finally realized: every time Seraphina was most desperate for me, it was always after she had seen Julian. Was I truly nothing more than a convenient substitute for her affections? A wave of nausea washed over me. I choked back a sob, tears welling in my eyes and spilling down my cheeks. Seraphina kissed away the dampness, finally regaining some semblance of control over her earlier, almost wild abandon. “Darling, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you somehow?” She began to murmur reassurances, kissing my skin, but her touch only intensified my revulsion. I pushed her away, scrambling to the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet, retching again and again, emptying the contents of my stomach. Seraphina gently patted my back, her expression one of profound concern, as if her heart was breaking for me. “Are you feeling better, sweetie? Should your wife call for a doctor?” A bitter laugh bubbled up inside me. A doctor? To prescribe more useless vitamins? “It’s nothing,” I mumbled, pulling away. “Just ate too much. I’ll be fine now that I’ve gotten it out of my system.” Seraphina nodded, helping me back into bed. Her soft hands gently massaged my stomach, attempting to soothe my discomfort. Suddenly, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was Julian. Her eyes lit up instantly. She answered the call, then rushed out of the room. “Julian has a stomachache,” she explained, already halfway out the door. “His wife’s out of town, and he’s terrible at looking after himself. I should go see what’s wrong.” I had no intention of stopping her. Once Seraphina was gone, I opened the divorce papers my lawyer had emailed, then went to the study and printed them out. On social media, Julian was already broadcasting updates: [Just mentioned I felt sick from too much cake, and Aunt Sera immediately rushed over to take care of me! ~] The photos showed Seraphina bustling in the kitchen, gently coaxing Julian to eat, and tenderly wiping his mouth. In three years of marriage, even when I was at my sickest, I had never once seen Seraphina cook for me. Another update popped up: The video showed Seraphina gently hand-washing a stained pair of Julian’s underwear. Julian, wrapping his arms around her neck, playfully teased: “Aunt Sera, you’re so good to me. What if I get divorced someday and marry you instead?” Seraphina’s expression turned serious. “You’re a grown man now, stop talking nonsense!” But I could clearly see the tremor of excitement in her hands when Julian said that. I switched off my phone and signed my name onto the divorce agreement. 3 Seraphina didn’t return that night. The next day, I made my way to the dance company alone. Today was the celebration banquet for Julian’s promotion to principal dancer, an event Seraphina and I were expected to attend together. Since my paralysis three years ago, I hadn’t set foot in this place, a place where I once earned countless accolades. And after the accident, the dance company had been swiftly acquired by Seraphina. She had told me then that she wanted to preserve this place for me, as it held so many of my memories. Now, it was blindingly clear: her sole intention, from the very beginning, was to personally elevate her beloved Julian to this coveted position. A bitter smile touched my lips as my gaze fell upon Seraphina, who was now stepping out of a car, arm-in-arm with Julian. She hurried towards me. “I’m so sorry, darling,” she began, a practiced apology on her lips. “The road was blocked last night, so I couldn’t get back.” Her excuse held no weight with me. I merely nodded, my expression blank. Seraphina seemed about to offer further explanation, but Julian suddenly stepped forward, taking control of my wheelchair. “Aunt Sera, there are so many industry bigwigs wanting to chat with you over there! I can keep Uncle Henry company here, so go on and network, don’t worry about us!” Seraphina hesitated, glancing at me with a flicker of indecision, before she walked away. The truth was, ever since Julian and my former fiancée betrayed me, I’d had no private dealings with him. Any interactions we had were usually due to his connection with Seraphina. I had no idea why he was suddenly acting so chummy. Before I could even speak, Julian wheeled me, unprompted, down the company’s Hall of Fame. Where my performance photos, certificates, and trophies once proudly stood, there was now only a display of his images and accolades. Julian didn’t even bother to keep up the pretense any longer. His smug voice drifted down to me from above: “So what if you were a prodigy? Henry Goldstein,” he sneered, “now you’re nothing but a pathetic cripple, stuck beneath my heel!” As he spoke, he moved in front of me, extending his leg in a blatant display of arrogance. “See these top-grain alligator leather shoes on my feet? Aunt Sera had them custom-made by the brand, just to congratulate me on becoming principal!” He paused, then his grin widened. “Do you like them, Uncle Henry? Oh, wait, how silly of me! You’re paralyzed, aren’t you? Even if you did like them, you couldn’t wear such precious shoes! Oh, and since I’m in such a good mood today, I’ll be merciful and tell you a little secret! Aunt Sera and I aren’t actually related by blood, you know~ Not only that, but we secretly dated for years! The only reason she married you was because I had my eye on your fiancée, and I didn’t want you getting in the way, so I asked her to string you along! Henry Goldstein, you’re truly pathetic now! You’ll never out-dance me again, and even the woman you married was just my cast-off, a charity case I threw your way. If I were you, I’d have died of shame by now, wouldn’t you?” I met his gaze, my eyes cold. “Shouldn’t you be the one dying of shame? You couldn’t compete with me on talent, so you only got your chance to shine once my legs were broken. With such dismal dance skills, have you ever considered a career change?” My words hit a nerve. Julian’s face contorted in a furious sneer, and he violently kicked my wheelchair. “Bastard! You’re a worthless cripple now, and you still dare to act so arrogant in front of me!” He wheeled me furiously towards the ornamental pond in the dance company’s outer garden, all the while chuckling darkly: “Doesn’t Aunt Sera just adore calling you Henry in bed? Oh, and my nickname is ‘Sugar,’ you know, because I loved sweets so much as a kid. Aunt Sera even gave it to me herself! Henry Goldstein, I want you to watch as I take everything from you! How about we conduct a little experiment? You can see for yourself who Aunt Sera truly cares about!” With that, Julian seized my wheelchair, pulling me, and himself, headfirst into the pond.

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The entire Stellar Federation knew it: Marshal Orion Thorne was notoriously brutal in bed—tireless, inventive, and utterly uninhibited. As his designated Psychic Stabilizer, I had replaced my organic limbs with mechanical prosthetics, transforming myself into the most “durable” woman by his side. One day, after my fourth mechanical arm had been twisted clean off, I went to the cybernetics lab for repairs. There, I saw Orion, his touch tender, gently kissing a fragile, un-augmented Human. His adjutant, startled, jokingly asked him, “Can’t you control your rampaging psychic energy? Why are you so rough with Seraphina Vance, yet so gentle with her?” Orion’s eyes were cold, dismissive. “I have to release it somehow. Lily is too delicate; I’m afraid of hurting her.” My heart shattered. Tears streamed down my face, hot and stinging. I pulled out my comm-unit and dialed a professor at the Federation’s Cybernetic Institute. “I agree to the body decomposition and consciousness upload to the Cloud. Come for me in three days.” 1 “Ms. Vance, have you chosen your new mechanical arm?” The gentle voice of the cybernetics salesperson broke through my daze, snapping me back to the present. I painfully pulled my gaze away from the sight of them, my voice hoarse and raw. “Just a standard model.” Before, to ensure Orion’s utmost pleasure, I always chose the most advanced, top-tier components for my replacements, then had them covered with a layer of premium bio-synthetic skin, indistinguishable from real flesh. But now, I had no intention of catering to him anymore. From the core-chamber behind me, Lily Carmichael’s saccharine voice floated out. “Orion, darling, you really shouldn’t! Such an expensive core, and you just bought it like that!” She giggled. “I only said it looked pretty; it’s not like I’d ever use it.” A core was what powered a mechanical prosthetic. I had struggled for a long time, trying to work up the courage to ask Orion about getting a better core for myself, just to lighten the burden of repair costs. But Orion, his back to me as he dressed, casually tossed a cheap, obsolete core my way. “You don’t need anything expensive. You’re always replacing your prosthetics anyway.” At the time, I thought his logic made sense. After all, one good core could buy thousands of prosthetic parts. But today, I knew the truth: it wasn’t that I didn’t need a good one. It was that I wasn’t worthy of one. My chest ached, a swollen, throbbing pain. I paid the bill, a dazed emptiness consuming me, and stumbled out the door. Repairs here were exorbitantly expensive; I always installed them myself once I got home. Late that night, Orion returned. He hung up his coat, then strode over and pulled me into his arms. “Seraphina,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble, “look what I brought you.” A dull gray core was pressed into my palm. Orion waited for me to jump up in surprise, to lean in and kiss his cheek. But I merely managed a stiff, strained smile, then gently refused. “I don’t need such a fine core.” This core, I knew, was nothing more than a complimentary gift that came with Lily’s purchase. Earlier, while scrolling through my datapad, I’d seen Lily’s shared life photos. That astronomical “pigeon blood” crimson core had been polished down, its essence removed, leaving only the useless parts, which she wore as a necklace around her neck. Orion’s brows instantly furrowed. He scrutinized me, his gaze sharp. “What are you trying to pull?” he demanded. “Didn’t you say before you wanted a good core? Now that I’ve given it to you, you’re giving me attitude?” Orion Thorne was the Federation’s Marshal. Even the supreme ruler of the Imperial Senate had to defer to him; no one dared defy him. What’s more, his psychic energy was notoriously unstable, liable to erupt at any moment. What I was doing was pure suicide. He grabbed my wrist, his lips twisting into a cold sneer. “I think I’ve given you too much leeway lately.” His voice dropped, laced with menace. “Strip. Now. And kneel.” 2 This was his usual method of humiliating me. Before, I always worried about angering him, afraid he would cast me aside. No matter how degrading his commands, I would obey. But this time, I acted out of character. I met his dark, brooding eyes, and softly, calmly, said, “Let’s end this, Marshal.” I never called him Marshal. Only Orion. I used that intimate address, hoping to pull us closer, to cling to that pathetic flicker of hope in my heart. Orion never corrected me, tacitly allowing my transgression. I was naive enough to believe I was special. The truth, however, proved how deluded I had been. The woman he truly cherished, the one he held in the palm of his hand, was Lily Carmichael. A storm brewed in Orion’s obsidian eyes. He gripped my throat, his voice low and menacing. “I’ll give you one more chance, Seraphina Vance.” His grip tightened. “What did you just say?” This was the prelude to his rage. I could already feel the agitated hum of his psychic energy, potent enough to crush me in the next second. But I offered a faint, sardonic smile. “Marshal, wouldn’t Ms. Carmichael mind you playing so… rough with me?” The mere mention of Lily’s name caused Orion’s expression to change instantly. His piercing gaze seemed to bore through my heart. “Don’t test my limits,” he snarled. Lily Carmichael was his limit. I was merely a tool for his release. I laughed at myself, a bitter, self-deprecating sound, but the tears, unbidden, streamed down my face. “I wouldn’t dare, Marshal.” Seeing my tears, Orion instinctively loosened his grip. He rubbed his throbbing temples, his brows furrowed. “Lily knows you’re my Stabilizer; she won’t mind. And when we’re married, you can still live here.” He never considered my wishes, dictating my entire existence. I had utterly had enough of this life. Fortunately, in three days, I would be free of it all. Orion seemed to think I had conceded. He reached out and ruffled my long hair. “Good girl. Go take a shower. Tonight, I’ll take you to see the Starglow Blossoms.” They were a critically endangered species across the entire galaxy, a symbol of unwavering love. Five years ago, Orion had brought one back for me. I treated it as a token of his affection, tending to it meticulously for a long time. When the flower withered, I was heartbroken for what felt like an eternity. Looking back now, I realized there was never any love there to begin with, which is why it never truly flourished. “I…” I wanted to say I didn’t want to go, but Orion’s sharp gaze pinned the words in my throat. Never mind. I couldn’t provoke him. If Orion suspected anything, a single command from him could make the Cybernetic Institute refuse my consciousness upload. Like a zombie, I followed him onto his private sky-jet. The landscape outside, from bustling metropolises to desolate wastelands, blurred past. My hands clenched tighter and tighter, afraid Orion was tricking me, leading me to my death. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll be there soon.” Orion’s voice was deep, sensual, carrying a hint of casual indifference. My choked breath slowly returned to a normal rhythm. He was right. If he wanted to kill me, he could do it in public, and no one would dare question him. In the distance, faint blue lights appeared, growing in number as we drew closer. I hadn’t expected so many. My eyes widened, a flicker of anticipation, however faint, stirring in my heart. Just then, Orion’s comm-unit chimed. Lily Carmichael’s helpless voice drifted out. “Orion, darling, I can’t sleep. I feel so awful.” She whined, “Come tell me a bedtime story.” 3 My heart plummeted, crushing all hope. All my expectations dissolved into nothingness. Orion had actually given her unrestricted access to his comms. No matter if he was in a top-secret meeting or on a critical mission, Lily Carmichael’s messages would play directly. My communications, however, were always on ‘do not disturb.’ My heart felt gripped again, each beat a thunderous ache. Even though I had decided to let go and leave, I couldn’t stop the anguish, pitying my past self. Orion slammed on the brakes after hearing the message, abruptly changing course. The Starglow Blossoms receded into the distance. As we passed a dark, barren planet, Orion opened the sky-jet’s hatch, his voice chillingly detached. “Get out.” I thought I misheard, turning my head stiffly to stare at him. This was a dangerous zone; space pirates were known to frequent these parts. But Orion, impatient, simply urged me again. “Lily always has trouble sleeping. I need to get her a companion droid.” The private sky-jet only had two seats. He wanted to buy Lily a droid, so I had to get off. I was abandoned on the desolate planet, my heart as dead and still as the world around me. Orion left without a backward glance, even accelerating to full thrust. My fingers trembled as I fumbled blindly with my comm-unit, trying to find a flight that could pick me up from here. I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until my comm-unit finally registered a response. I clasped my hands together, silently praying I would be safe until the flight arrived. “WHOOSH!” The deafening roar of a starship ripped through the silence of the void. I looked towards the vessel approaching in the distance, my face turning ashen. Space pirates! Ignoring everything else, I frantically initiated a video call to Orion. A regular message wouldn’t get through to him. The video connected, and I choked out a desperate plea for help. “Save me! There are space pirates here!” Orion’s voice, thick with suppressed rage, hammered against my heartstrings, shattering them further. “Seraphina Vance! I just got Lily to sleep! Is it really necessary to invent such a ridiculous lie just because I left you on another planet for a bit?! If you wake Lily, I swear I won’t let you get away with it!” He cruelly cut the video feed, convinced I was lying. The space pirates had intercepted the comms signal and located me. I was dragged onto their ship like a dead dog. “Isn’t this Orion Thorne’s Psychic Stabilizer?” A space pirate sneered, lifting my chin with the toe of his boot. “Stabilizer? She’s just a plaything for his release, isn’t she!” “You’re right! Probably already broken by Orion, too!” “Orion Thorne’s woman… just thinking about it gets me excited, hahahaha!” The inhumane torment lasted through the night and continued into the next day. My torso convulsed, my mechanical arms and legs completely ruined. I lay on the deck, my eyes empty, filled with utter despair. Around noon, the pirate captain’s comm-unit buzzed. Lily Carmichael’s delicate voice drifted from it: “Is she dead yet?” 4 I struggled to open my blood-crusted eyes, glaring at Lily Carmichael’s projection on the comm-unit, my heart seething with hatred. The pirate captain, confused, asked her, “No, she’s not dead. But wouldn’t it be better if she was?” Lily sneered, her voice turning venomous and chilling. “Sometimes, being alive can be far more painful than being dead. In a bit, just dump her back. Make sure it’s a big, noticeable commotion. I want to see what face she’ll have left to cling to Orion.” I had already decided to leave! Why were they doing this to me?! My throat was shattered, I could only scream and wail internally. My still-intact left eye, a mechanical one, stared blankly ahead, and I heard the faint whirring of gears grinding. A robotic voice chimed: [Recording complete.] No one knew that my left eye was a prosthetic. When I decomposed my body tomorrow night and uploaded my consciousness to the Cloud, Orion would receive this perfect gift. Lily Carmichael was so deeply entangled with these space pirates; if Orion continued to favor and protect her, it would be an act of treason and colluding with enemies! Even as Marshal, he would face the wrath of the entire Federation, eventually being annihilated by their combined forces. The space pirates, following Lily’s instructions, dumped me onto the busiest street of the Federation’s capital planet. In an instant, I became the focus of every passerby’s horrified attention. “Oh my God, so much blood!” “All her limbs are broken, and her right eye is gone. How horrifying!” Everyone exclaimed in shock. Suddenly, someone shrieked, “Look at her lower half!” A new wave of horrified whispers washed over me. I trembled with fear, desperate to hide, but with only my torso intact, I couldn’t move an inch. Someone recognized me, and many unpleasant words hung unspoken in the air, only making the situation more agonizing. Orion, upon receiving the news, arrived with astonishing speed. The surrounding crowds didn’t even need his troops to forcefully disperse them; they scattered like startled birds. This man, accustomed to battle and bloodshed, now trembled before my broken, mutilated body. His eyes reddened, veins throbbing at his temples. “Seraphina…” I remained utterly unresponsive, completely still. Orion, despite his severe germophobia, personally bent down and lifted me into his arms. “I’m so sorry. I never imagined it would be like this. I sent people to look for you, but they only found your comm-unit.” No matter what he said, I remained silent. He thought I was angry with him, blaming him. For the first time, he didn’t scold me for being unreasonable. It was only when he brought me to the Starfall Hospital that they discovered my larynx had been crushed; I simply couldn’t speak. He furiously ordered a relentless hunt for the space pirates. Then, in a rare display of tenderness, he spoke to me. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll stay with you always. I’ll get you the most expensive mechanical prosthetics, the finest core.” I finally reacted, my eye twitching. What’s the use of that? I thought. I won’t need a body anymore soon anyway. Suddenly, a knock echoed on the ward door. It was Orion’s adjutant. With Orion’s permission, he pushed the door open and whispered to him, “Marshal, Ms. Carmichael is here.” Orion abruptly stood up, striding quickly out of the ward. But it was too late; he collided head-on with Lily Carmichael. “Lily, why are you here? It’s all bloodstained in here.” Lily’s eyes were red and swollen from crying. “I came to apologize to Seraphina, boo-hoo.” She sobbed. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to tell me a bedtime story just because I couldn’t sleep.”

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My two older sisters, Lily and Daisy, were in a car accident and lost their memories. They forgot all about me, mistaking our parents’ friends’ son for their own younger brother. Lily, the eldest, gave him the inheritance our parents had left for me. Daisy, the second sister, used her influence to have my postgraduate study slot transferred to him. I thought they had genuinely forgotten me. Until one day, I accidentally overheard Lily say to Daisy: “Faking amnesia is exhausting. How about we just kick Ryan Brooks out? Then we won’t have to pretend anymore.” They wouldn’t need to kick me out. I would leave on my own, joining a twenty-year closed medical research program. For those two decades, I wouldn’t be able to contact the outside world or return home. When my sisters found out, they wept, heartbroken. 1 I was still carrying the cake, not yet through the front door, when I overheard Lily, my elder sister, speaking. “Alright,” Daisy, the younger sister, chuckled in response. “And without him, we can focus all our attention on little Ryan. It’s a win-win.” My entire body stiffened, and the cake in my hands nearly slipped. So, for the past six months, my two most beloved sisters, the ones I revered… they had been deceiving me. They hadn’t forgotten me at all. They knew Ryan wasn’t their real brother. Why? I couldn’t understand why they would lie to me like this. “But it’s his twenty-third birthday today,” Lily suddenly spoke again. “Wouldn’t it be a bit harsh to kick him out right now?” Lily still remembered my birthday. They remembered everything, yet for the past six months, they had treated me like a stranger. Countless times, they had thrown me out of the house. Countless times, they had showered Ryan with affection right in front of me. “He’s really looking forward to this birthday,” Daisy’s voice was utterly devoid of warmth. “That’s precisely why we need to make him leave today, on the day he anticipates the most. Only then will he truly give up and stop clinging to us.” The word “clinging” pierced my heart like a dagger. Thud. The cake I had lovingly baked myself dropped to the floor, the creamy frosting instantly smearing into a messy pile. In the past, on my birthdays, Lily and Daisy always prepared my cake. They would also prepare many delicious dishes for me well in advance. So, every birthday was the happiest day of my year. This time, I had also been full of anticipation. I hoped that my birthday might trigger some of their lost memories. But now, I knew. They had been faking their amnesia all along. 2 I walked into the house, carrying the ruined cake. Lily sat on the sofa, shelling pecans for Ryan. Daisy was peeling an apple for him, carefully drizzling it with honey. They used to treat me that way. Every time I came home for the weekend, they’d buy me tons of snacks, and they’d both play games with me. Actually, they’d been treating Ryan like this for months. They treated me like a stranger, greeting me with cold indifference every day I returned. They never even cooked for me. I’d told myself they had amnesia, so I hadn’t dwelled on it. “Ethan, come join us,” Ryan said, flashing a wide smile at me. He was the son of my parents’ friends. A year ago, his parents and mine were on a business trip together when they were involved in a fatal car accident. I was there too. In that critical moment, my father shielded me, saving my life. With his last breath, he told me, “You’re a man now, you have to take good care of your two sisters from now on.” I took his words to heart, willingly giving up my own dreams to stay in Glendale with Lily and Daisy. But soon after, they were also in a car accident, which resulted in their amnesia. When they woke up, they had forgotten me, believing Ryan to be their biological brother, and lavished him with affection. 3 “You, darling, are just too kind. These are from your big sisters, Lily and Daisy. Isn’t it better to have them all to yourself?” Lily said, stroking Ryan’s hair with a doting expression. Ryan chuckled. “Even though Ethan isn’t usually very nice to me, I believe I can win him over with my kindness.” Daisy cast a cold glance at me. “People like him can never be won over. Look at him, we’ve taken him in for so long, and not only is he ungrateful, but he keeps pushing his luck, shamelessly staying here, claiming he’s our brother.” A chill ran through me. My grip tightened on the ruined cake. Ever since they started faking amnesia six months ago, they’d treated me like a stranger, telling me to leave the Vance family home. But this was my home. I couldn’t leave. So every day, I told Ryan to get out, and I insisted to them that I was their real brother. But even though I presented evidence, even had DNA tests done, they refused to believe me. They claimed I was only pretending for their money. They’d tried to kick me out countless times; it was only by stubbornly refusing that I remained. Back then, I didn’t understand why, even with all the evidence laid bare, they wouldn’t believe me. Now, I finally did. I looked at Lily and Daisy, taking a step closer to them. I placed the ruined cake on the coffee table. Through the clear box, I could see the cream slowly melting, distorting the cake’s original shape. “Lily, Daisy,” I began, my voice choked with bitterness, “it’s my birthday today.” I couldn’t believe that the two sisters who had once been so loving towards me would now treat me so poorly for the sake of an outsider. They had to have a reason. I didn’t want to expose their pretense. I wanted them to tell me themselves. “How many times do we have to tell you? We are not your sisters!” Lily snarled, a look of disgust on her face. She probably forgot how much she used to adore me. Back then, she’d spend hours playing on the slide with me. She would always tell me, “Ethan, your big sister will always be with you.” “Exactly,” Daisy added, her face equally cold. “What does your birthday have to do with us?” Normally, she was such a gentle woman, and so gentle with me. She owned her own company and once told me, “Ethan, don’t worry when you strike out on your own. Your second sister will pave the way for you.” But now, they had both changed. Just like this utterly ruined cake, its original form completely unrecognizable. 4 Lily snatched the cake and tossed it into the trash can, looking at me with cold fury. “Ethan Vance, please don’t come to our house anymore. You’re not our brother, you have no right to live here.” I should have noticed the signs earlier. They claimed to have forgotten me, yet they remembered my name, Ethan Vance. They treated Ryan as their biological brother, yet they never questioned why his surname was Brooks. I had simply trusted my sisters too much, to the point of foolishness. I desperately wanted to expose their charade, but I held back. If I did, they would surely be angry, and then they truly wouldn’t want me anymore. A dull ache spread in my chest. I looked at them with pleading eyes. “Please, don’t make me leave. I… I only have you two.” I would never forget my father’s dying words. I wouldn’t give up on them. Lily paused, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of emotion in her eyes. But after a few seconds, she spoke again. “No. You’re not our biological brother, so you can’t live here. Ryan is our brother.” Daisy rose and pushed me towards the door, her resolve unwavering. The pain was unbearable. I couldn’t believe they hated me so much. “Fine. I’ll go.” If my absence would make them happy, I was willing to leave. I turned to go, but then I heard Lily say to Ryan, “Ryan, your parents left you a substantial inheritance. I’ve already transferred it to your name.” My body stiffened, and I almost thought I’d misheard. Because of the inherent risks in our parents’ work, before their accident, they had already transferred all their assets to my two sisters. At the time, because I wasn’t yet 18, they had asked Lily to manage my portion of the inheritance. But now, she had actually transferred it to Ryan. Even if they had a good reason to treat him well, they shouldn’t have given him my money. I had no income now, and that was the money I had set aside for my postgraduate studies. 5 “Lily, that’s my money! You can’t give it to him!” I spun around, glaring at Lily, a surge of anger rising within me. To my surprise, she grew even angrier. She stood up and slapped me across the face. “How dare you have the nerve! You’re not even part of the Vance family anymore, what makes you think that’s your money?! That money was left for Ryan by our parents!” My ears rang, and my face throbbed. “You keep saying Ryan is your and Daisy’s real brother, but why is his last name Brooks?” I stared intently into her eyes, catching a momentary flicker of panic. But it quickly vanished, and she calmly fabricated a story. “Ryan was living on his own for a long time, raised by other people, that’s why his name is Brooks. As for you, you probably just made up that name yourself! You’re not our brother at all.” A cold dread settled in my heart. I thought if I spoke my mind this bluntly, they would stop pretending. But they kept up the charade. Lily, Daisy, what hardship are you enduring that makes you treat me this way? 6 In the end, I was still thrown out of my home. On my twenty-third birthday, the only two family members I had in this world abandoned me. I went to the university alone, planning to stay in a dorm room. But when I went to complete the enrollment procedures, I was told I hadn’t actually been accepted into the university’s postgraduate program. I froze. I distinctly remembered receiving an acceptance letter. I frantically searched my backpack, only to find my acceptance letter was gone. The staff member then said to me, “Think carefully. Did you perhaps get it wrong, or did you offend someone, and your acceptance letter was stolen?” I wasn’t stupid. I immediately understood the implication of her words. It could only mean someone had deliberately prevented me from pursuing my postgraduate studies. As this thought crossed my mind, I suddenly noticed several of Daisy’s friends. They were laughing and chattering, “Daisy is so good to Ryan! For him, she didn’t hesitate to give him her own brother’s postgraduate slot.” “Right, I wonder how she could be so heartless, even faking amnesia to make her brother suffer.” “You don’t know, do you? It’s because Ryan’s parents died saving Ethan back then. So Daisy and Lily feel they owe Ryan a huge debt.” I froze. The accident had happened so fast. Ryan’s parents died instantly. In the end, it was my father who saved me. Just then, I saw Daisy’s friends walk over to a car parked by the curb. Daisy got out of the car, with Ryan following behind her. My heart tightened. I rushed over. “Daisy, please, let me explain. The car accident wasn’t like that at all.” 7 Daisy heard my voice and glanced at me. But her face showed no emotion, only cold indifference. “I told you, I am not your sister! Stop calling me that!” At that moment, I couldn’t care less about anything else. I just wanted to explain everything to her. “Ryan’s parents didn’t…” Slap! She struck me hard across the face. “Are you trying to disrupt Ryan’s enrollment today? I’m telling you, get out now, or I’ll have someone forcibly remove you.” Lily had slapped me earlier, and now Daisy had too. To think that in the past, they wouldn’t even let a finger touch me. Now, because of an outsider, they were repeatedly showing such cruelty towards me. I clutched my stinging face, looking at her. “Daisy, this postgraduate slot is mine. I worked so hard to earn it. You can’t just give it away to Ryan.” She knew perfectly well how much effort I had poured into preparing for that exam. I had studied day and night. Back then, she and Lily had even encouraged me: “Keep going, Ethan. Once you get in, we’ll take you to buy a car.” Daisy’s eyes flickered, avoiding my gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ryan earned this himself!” With that, she pulled Ryan closer, her cold expression softening into tenderness. “Your second sister will take you to complete your enrollment. Once that’s done, we’ll go buy you a car.” Then, without waiting for me to speak, she directly pulled Ryan away. Her friends, unable to watch any longer, tried to console me. “Ethan, postgraduate studies aren’t everything. Go find a job.” But I had already promised my mentor that if I didn’t get into postgraduate school this time, I would agree to join a twenty-year closed medical research program. Once I joined, there was no quitting mid-way. For those two decades, I wouldn’t be able to contact the outside world or return home. Now, my postgraduate slot had been stolen from me. I had to honor my word. 8 I wandered the streets, utterly lost. My comm-unit vibrated. A trending news alert on the HoloNet showed Daisy taking Ryan to buy a car. Because Daisy had a HoloNet account with a significant following, and people didn’t know her family background, only that she was a successful entrepreneur, they believed her when she posted that Ryan was her brother. This time, someone had filmed her taking Ryan to buy a car, and netizens were commenting on how envious they were. I was envious too. All of this should have been mine. But now, it had been stripped from me by my two own sisters. My heart ached with pain. Lily, Daisy, do you truly not want me anymore? I went to Lily’s company. Downstairs, I wove a small cat out of foxtail grass. Many years ago, when our family was still poor and lived in the countryside, Lily, Daisy, and I found our greatest joy in weaving various small animals from foxtail grass. Back then, they always told me, “As long as a family’s hearts are connected, we’ll always be happy.” But now, their hearts were no longer connected to mine. Lost in thought, I saw Lily exiting the company building. I rushed over, holding out the woven cat to her. “Lily, look, I made this myself.” I looked at her expectantly, trying to stir some familial affection in her. But she merely gave it a cold glance, then slapped my hand away, sending the little cat tumbling to the ground. Just then, Daisy and Ryan arrived. Daisy saw the woven cat and stepped on it, crushing it. My heart sank. I looked up at them. Lily said coldly, “Get lost. Just looking at you annoys me.” Daisy added, “Such a bumpkin. Only country folk make things like that.” And Ryan, looking utterly triumphant, seemed to be saying to me, See? Your sisters don’t want you anymore. I clutched my chest, a profound ache settling within me. Seeing them turn to leave, I quickly said, “Lily, Daisy, I’m leaving now. I won’t be coming back.”

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1 Immediately, all eyes fell on me. Ever since the previous department manager resigned, I had been in charge of all department affairs. Everyone had assumed my appointment as the new manager was a done deal, practically etched in stone. Then, right in front of everyone, Damien Voss pulled Cici Brooks into the company’s main chat group. They each posted a message, one after the other. Anyone with eyes could see their profile pictures were a matching set, clearly for a couple. The entire morning, the whole office was abuzz with gossip, completely engrossed in the drama unfolding. As for me, I was already planning to resign, so I didn’t much care about losing the position that should have been mine. After sending my resignation letter via email to HR, I took a rare moment of leisure and went to the breakroom to brew myself a cup of honey-ginger tea. I hadn’t even taken two sips when Cici walked in. She brewed a coffee and sat beside me, wearing the smug air of a victor. “Skylar Vance,” she began, her voice dripping with condescension, “I know you’ve been Damien’s little secret for five years, but I’m his real girlfriend. Now that I’m back, it’s time for you, the other woman, to know your place and quietly disappear. As long as you keep your mouth shut, just like before, I won’t cause you any more trouble.” As she spoke, she played a voice message. It was a little boy, Leo, buttering her up from yesterday: “Auntie Cici, wasn’t I awesome? You won’t forget the Transformers you promised me, right?” I knew it. I’d wondered why things had aligned so conveniently. Watching her malicious gaze, my gut screamed at me to leave immediately. But she snatched the tea cup from my hand and poured it over her own face. Then, she violently smashed the cup at my feet, shattering it into a thousand pieces. The already lukewarm ginger tea dripped from her face, soaking her clothes and disheveled hair, making her look utterly pitiful. This woman was truly ruthless in her schemes against me. She blocked my exit, then shrieked, her voice shrill and ear-piercing: “Skylar, what are you doing? Why are you doing this to me?!” Her screams drew a crowd of colleagues, eager for the drama. She didn’t forget to splash coffee on her chest, too, then, with practiced ease, rubbed her neck raw. I couldn’t take it anymore. I slapped her hard. Damien Voss, hearing the commotion, rushed over and saw me, perfectly fine, striking a disheveled Cici. Without a second thought, he raised his hand and slapped me back. “Skylar Vance! If you don’t want this job anymore, then get out!” Still seething, he shoved me violently, then scooped Cici up in a bridal carry and carried her to his office. I stumbled backward, my lower back slamming into the edge of the table. The pain made tears stream down my face. The HR Manager, who had been hesitating whether to approve my resignation, immediately waved a hand and signed it. Damien, still coddling Cici, didn’t even glance at the content, directly approving my departure. The Finance Department, quick to switch allegiances and curry favor with Cici, the future boss’s lady, immediately processed my final paycheck. I still had a substantial amount of client data to hand over, so I bundled all the files, preparing to send them to Damien. To my shock, my company email account had already been deleted. The only person with the authority to delete a departing employee’s account was Damien Voss. I sent him a breakup message on his phone, only to discover he had blocked my calls and messages there too. With a bitter understanding, I left the company. After going home to erase all traces of myself, I headed straight for the airport. 2 The plane taxied slowly down the runway. I forced myself to close my eyes and rest. My mind kept replaying the moment I opened Damien Voss’s safe while clearing out my last belongings. After we became official, I had personally crafted a pair of matching rings for us. Damien had refused to wear his, instead hiding them in his safe, protected by a password I didn’t know. He said they would be our wedding rings when we finally married. I had often ached with the desire to secretly open that safe, but no matter what combinations I tried, I couldn’t guess the password. Until I used the date of the concert—Cici Brooks’s birthday—and the safe clicked open. Inside, there were no matching rings I wanted to reclaim. Only carefully preserved photographs and a diary. The photos were of an eighteen-year-old Damien and Cici, smiling at each other. Even slightly faded with age, their deep affection for one another was palpable. The diary was filled with the mundane details of their passionate, youthful romance. After Cici’s sudden, unexplained departure, the diary entries had turned into endless yearning. No wonder, after being reunited, they had burned with such intense passion for each other. As for the rings I had made, they were likely long gone, tossed away by Damien just like all the other tokens of our relationship. If I had known he’d already discarded them, I wouldn’t have bothered to open the safe and pry into his sweet past with Cici. And I wouldn’t have had to see that, even while he was with me, his heart was still consumed by longing for his first love. They truly were a perfect match, a pair of absolute scoundrels. Cici hadn’t even broken up with him, just vanished. Damien hadn’t even broken up with me, just rekindled things with Cici. I had poured my heart and soul into loving him for five years, only to be nothing more than a passing amusement. Sleep began to claim me, a hazy fog creeping into my thoughts. For a moment, I found it hard to discern if the Damien Voss who once cherished me was real or merely a figment of my imagination. If he didn’t love me, why would he take on all the household chores, terrified I might suffer the slightest inconvenience? If he didn’t love me, why would he break into a sweat of anxiety when my Uncle George called, urging me to return to Northwood City, begging me not to leave him? If he didn’t love me, why would he plan with me to have two children and adopt a cat and a dog after marriage, even picking out their names? …But if he truly loved me, how could he turn around and be with Cici without even a decent breakup? If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t have denied me the most basic trust, letting me be gossiped about by colleagues as a conniving homewrecker trying to climb the corporate ladder. Dwelling on these things was utterly pointless now. From the moment I agreed to my Uncle George’s arranged match, Damien and I stopped belonging to the same world. The plane landed. Uncle George and my Mom had been waiting for what felt like an eternity. “Skylar, my dear, Mom finally has you back! What was so great about that Southern city anyway? All that rain, so much dampness. You’ve always been prone to illness since you were little, yet you insisted on staying there all these years!” “Sister, you shouldn’t have let Skylar go to college down South in the first place. If my old friend hadn’t been looking out for her, who knows how much hardship Skylar would’ve endured.” At the mention of Damien Voss, Uncle George quickly asked me, “You’re back to get married this time, did Damien say anything? He used to praise you to me constantly, saying you were a rare talent…” “He was just being polite, Uncle George, because of your connection. How could you take it seriously?” But my uncle disagreed. “I know him better than you do. He’s not one to easily praise anyone, his eye is incredibly discerning! Who knows who will ever catch his attention again? Back in the day…” It seemed everyone knew Cici Brooks was Damien Voss’s unforgettable, fiery first love. Only I, like a fool, had carried on a secret relationship with him for five years, wounding myself to the point of utter devastation.

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I couldn’t snag a train ticket home for the long Thanksgiving weekend, so I ended up booking a spot on a budget tour group. Desperate times, I guess. The tour guide, deliberately, ripped my tank top strap, then tried to strong-arm me into buying some ridiculously overpriced, ‘designer’ lingerie – almost three thousand dollars – threatening to leave me stranded if I refused. A mob of burly men surrounded me, closing in. I took one look, and a grin split my face. “Uncle Frank, Uncle Bob, Uncle Jim, Cousin Mark!” I chirped. “You guys came to pick me up?” The guide’s triumphant cackle choked in her throat. 1. The holiday travel rush was insane; getting a ticket home was a nightmare. So, I settled for the only option left: a tour group heading to a destination less than a mile from my own doorstep. It was basically a very expensive, very roundabout taxi. Departure was set for 4:30 PM. I arrived at the bus terminal at 4:20 PM, only to find the tour agency’s coach had already pulled out. My jaw dropped. I immediately called the agency owner, who, to his credit, ordered the bus to turn back right away. I stood there, fuming, for a full twenty minutes before the bus finally reappeared. The driver, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, was profusely apologetic. “I’m so sorry, miss! The guide told me everyone was accounted for, so I just drove off.” He seemed genuinely sorry, but the guide – Amber, I’d soon learn – stood blocking the entrance to the bus, her face a thundercloud. There wasn’t a hint of apology in her expression, even after seeing me, the passenger she’d left behind. She just rolled her eyes and marched back to her seat. She looked younger than me, her face artfully made up, but her gaze was cold, her tone sharp. “What are you staring at, old hag?” If I hadn’t been so utterly desperate for a ride home, I would never have chosen a tour bus during peak holiday season. But given my predicament, I decided to bite my tongue and endure. For now. I scanned the bus interior. Every single seat was taken. No spot for me. I forced patience into my voice. “Excuse me, where exactly is my seat?” Amber was engrossed in her phone, not even bothering to look up. A spark of annoyance flickered within me. I asked again. Amber slammed her phone down, then shoved me hard. “What’s there to ask? Everyone else showed up before four! You came so late, who knew if you were even coming? There’s no seat for you. Stand.” I burst out laughing, a furious, incredulous sound, and shoved her right back. “First, the confirmed departure time was 4:30, and I arrived at 4:20 – early. Second, you didn’t even do a headcount before telling the driver everyone was here; that’s your job, and you failed. What’s more, I asked you several times about my seat, and you ignored me, then put your hands on me. Looking for a fight, are we?” I leaned in closer. “And finally, a tour group has a fixed number of people. There has to be a vacant seat. If you can’t find one for me, then you can stand for the next five hours.” Five hours on a bus without a seat, after paying good money? Not a chance. Perhaps sensing I wasn’t a pushover, Amber glared at me, her eyes spitting venom. “You were late, so no seat. If you don’t want to go, take your refund and get lost.” I sneered. “Are you the boss? Did you decide 4:20 is ‘late’?” Just then, my phone buzzed. It was the owner calling. I answered, put him on speaker, and didn’t mince words. “Hey, sis,” I said, making sure Amber could hear every syllable, “the guide here says I was late and there’s no seat for me, so she’s telling me to ‘get lost.’” Amber’s eyes widened in panic. She lunged, snatching my phone and frantically pressing ‘end call.’ The very next second, her phone rang. It was the owner calling her. She got an earful, a blistering tirade that turned her face a sickly shade of green. She mumbled a grudging apology, then snatched back my phone with ill grace. The owner, still on video call with Amber, counted the heads on the bus. There was an extra kid. It turned out this boy was Amber’s nephew, Leo. When the poor kid was pulled from his seat, he started fussing loudly. Amber, without a shred of mercy, slapped him hard on the back. “Get up, and give your seat to this old hag!” My knuckles cracked as I clenched my fists. “I suggest you watch your mouth.” I’d been training in self-defense since I was little, and after starting college, I was practically living at the gym. My muscles were clearly visible even under my short sleeves. Amber bristled, but bit back her retort. Once the little boy was up, an elderly lady in the next seat immediately tugged my arm. “Come on, dear, sit down. Don’t bother with a crazy person. I’ve got some homegrown apples here, have a piece.” From the lady’s tone, it sounded like Amber had already made quite a scene before I even got on the bus. But just as the apple was almost in my hand, Amber snatched it away. “I said no eating on the bus! I get motion sickness! Are you deaf, old woman?” 2. Amber stuffed the confiscated apple into her own bag, glaring down at us. “Let me repeat the tour rules!” she announced, puffing out her chest. “Rule number one: Once you’re on this bus, I’m in charge. No one challenges me. Violators pay a hundred-dollar fine.” “Rule number two: I get motion sickness. No eating on the bus. See something, I confiscate it.” “Rule number three: No phone calls or video chats. Too noisy. I like peace and quiet. Anyone making noise gets kicked off.” “Rule number four: When we reach our destination, you buy whatever I tell you to. Otherwise, I’ll leave you there.” “Rule number five: To be determined later.” From behind me, a young man snorted. “Psycho.” Amber wheeled around, strutting up to him. “What was that? Think you can mess with me because I’m a girl?” She put her hands on her hips. “We girls are delicate flowers, you know? We need gentle care and protection. I bet you don’t even have a girlfriend, do you? Ugly, bad temper – no wonder no one wants you.” The young man bristled, about to rise, but his friend quickly pulled him back down. “Don’t bother with her. We’ll deal with this after we get home.” Amber continued her tirade for a while longer, until the other passengers, almost in unison, pulled out their headphones and slipped them on. I followed suit, hoping to catch some sleep and escape the madness. I’d barely drifted off when I felt a tugging at my bag. My eyes snapped open. Amber’s nephew, Leo, was there, his dirty little hands yanking hard at the character keychain hanging from my purse. When his hands couldn’t yank it off, he resorted to using his teeth. I was just about to get up when he suddenly plopped to the floor and let out a bloodcurdling shriek. “She kicked me! She kicked me!” Everyone who had been sleeping jolted awake. Amber rushed over, wrapping an arm around her nephew, her eyes glinting with calculated malice. “You kicked my nephew! You owe me money, right now!” She pulled Leo closer, her voice rising. “If you’ve hurt him, can you even afford the damages?” Little Leo, meanwhile, wailed dramatically. “I don’t want money! I want that toy! I want the toy!” The series was red-hot right now, and the one on my bag was a rare, hidden edition, easily worth a couple of hundred dollars on the resell market. Seeing the adorable rabbit now, slobber-covered and dirt-stained from the kid’s teeth, was utterly frustrating. But I had several more at home, and I just wanted to get through the rest of this awful trip smoothly. So, I unclipped the rabbit keychain and tossed it into the boy’s lap. He finally quieted down, clutching the rabbit and showing it off to Amber, who promptly snatched it and stuffed it into her own bag. That bag seemed to be a repository for all the things she’d forcibly taken from people. Leo, meanwhile, rummaged inside, pulled out a bag of chips, and munched away noisily. I just shook my head. A while later, the bus finally pulled into a service area. I got off to use the restroom, but when I returned, I found my carry-on bag being stomped on by Leo. The bag was full of expensive cosmetics I’d chosen not to take with me because of the weight, and now they were all shattered. My fists clenched. The anger that had been simmering all day began to boil. I marched straight to the small police station located beside the service area and filed a report. The station was swamped and understaffed due to the holiday rush, but they assured me an officer would be dispatched before the bus departed again. I returned to the bus, my bag still a chaotic mess from being ransacked. The fury in my heart intensified as I began to inspect the damage. Amber chose that moment to return from the restroom. Her nephew instantly held up a bottle of perfume. Amber’s eyes lit up. She snatched the bottle. “I told you I get motion sickness. I hate strong smells. This perfume is confiscated.” I looked her dead in the eye. “Your nephew destroyed my things. Are you going to pay for them, or buy me a new set?” Amber acted completely nonchalant. “He’s just a kid, he didn’t mean it! Why are you, an adult, nitpicking with a child?” “Besides,” she added with a dismissive wave, “your stuff looked like cheap fakes anyway. Probably not even worth a hundred bucks total. Are you trying to extort me?” My cosmetics were all high-end, genuine brands. Even just one of my foundations cost hundreds, not counting the rest. Amber, on the other hand, was decked out in obvious knock-offs. As she argued with me, her nephew was sitting in my seat, drawing all over my bag with my eyebrow pencil. Not only that, he stuck his finished chewing gum right on my bus seat. Amber just shrugged. “He’s just a kid. Go on, hit him if you dare? You wouldn’t.” Without a word, I grabbed the kid, gave him a swift, disciplinary swat on the rear, and he instantly burst into wails. Amber started to lunge forward, intending to rescue him, but I shot her a look. “You want a swat too?” She immediately bit her lip, holding back. Just then, a police officer finally arrived. Amber, the queen of pre-emptive strikes, immediately started yelling. “Officer! There’s a lunatic on our bus! She just assaulted my nephew!” “He’s just a kid, what does he know? This old hag just attacked him! Look what she did to my nephew!” The officer glanced at me, then turned his gaze to Amber. “He’s just a kid who doesn’t know better. What’s your excuse?” He folded his arms. “Willful destruction of private property. Do you know how many days that can get you in detention?” Amber’s face drained of color instantly. I didn’t want her detained, just compensation for my losses. I pulled out my mobile payment QR code. “These items were half-used, so you can pay half price.” My damaged items totaled around ten thousand dollars. With the officer present, Amber grudgingly transferred five thousand dollars to me. She glowered at me as if she wanted to skin me alive, then rolled her eyes and tried to sit back down. I grabbed her arm and firmly pressed her down onto my original seat. The chewing gum her nephew had stuck there? She could enjoy it herself. 3. After the police officer’s visit, Amber remained unusually quiet for the rest of the journey. The other passengers finally breathed a collective sigh of relief; people made video calls, chatted, and shared snacks. Amber kept glaring at me, hunched over her phone, typing furiously. I subtly peeked at her screen, catching a glimpse of a profile picture that looked strangely familiar. My mom texted again, asking where I was. Just ahead was the tour group’s first stop: a large department store. Our family owned it. I texted back: Almost at our store, I can just head home from here. But my mom wouldn’t hear of it. She insisted on sending someone to pick me up. “Your Uncle Frank and the others are already here. Don’t be a bother, just come straight home for dinner, okay?” The bus slowly pulled up to the back entrance of the department store. I was busy texting my mom, so I only got up after everyone else had already disembarked. But then Amber suddenly moved close, took a pair of small scissors from her pocket, and snip! Through my tank top strap. The holiday heat had been intense on the bus, so I’d shed my jacket much earlier, leaving me in just my inner camisole. Both the camisole strap and my bra strap, which were quite thin, were cleanly severed. I looked at her, my gaze icy, the anger accumulated throughout the day reaching its breaking point. “Are you seriously trying to get yourself killed?” Amber puffed out her chest, looking even more arrogant. “Let me tell you, my boyfriend is a cop. This is his hometown! You won’t get away with messing with me here!” She glanced around, lowering her voice slightly. “We still have the return trip, you know. If you keep crossing me, I’ll make your life hell. But, if you buy one piece of lingerie, we can call it even.” We were in the parking lot, and I instinctively clutched my chest, trying to cover myself. “How much?” She smirked triumphantly. “Not much. Just nineteen thousand.” Nineteen thousand dollars, and she called it “not much”? She was trying to pull a scam right on my family’s turf! I scoffed, a humorless, angry laugh. At that moment, a group of men started gathering around us. Amber’s eyes lit up when she saw them. “See?” she hissed triumphantly. “If you don’t buy it, I’ll have these men take you away!” I swept my gaze over the men’s faces, and my smile broadened. “Uncle Frank, Uncle Bob, Uncle Jim, Cousin Mark!” I called out, my voice clear and cheerful. “You guys came to pick me up!”

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