Author: Momo Chan

“If you ever want a divorce, you can have it at any time.” That was what Julian told me on our wedding day. I believed him. Two months later, the day his true love returned, I placed the divorce papers in front of him. Julian looked out the window, his expression completely blank. “It’s raining.” “I’m in a bad mood. Let’s divorce next time.” I stared at him. What?! 1 On the very night his beloved Chloe returned, fueled by the liquid courage of too many drinks, I slept with Julian. The trail of discarded clothes, starting right from the front door, was a testament to the desperate urgency of the encounter. Julian fought to keep his rationality, trying to push me away. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at me, his Adam’s apple bobbing slowly. “Mia, look at me. Look closely at who I am.” “If we keep going, don’t regret it.” I was panting slightly. Looking up at him, I grabbed his collar, stood on my tiptoes, and kissed him. What a joke. I’m sleeping with my legal husband. What’s there to regret? It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that I actually started regretting it. This guy’s stamina was terrifying. I tried to sneak away, but a hand wrapped around my ankle and dragged me right back. Warm breath ghosted over my ear. Julian’s voice was deep and husky, brushing against the back of my neck and sending shivers down my spine. “Be a good girl. Quitting halfway through is strictly prohibited.” 2 It was a night of pure, reckless indulgence. When I woke up, the space beside me was empty. A glass of milk and a sandwich sat on the nightstand, along with a sticky note from Julian. The words were overflowing with tender concern. Since our wedding, Julian had diligently played the role of the perfect husband. I often caught myself under the illusion that I was actually loved. But rationality always pulled me back. Julian was in love with Chloe. The person he was originally supposed to marry was Chloe. But my sister, who had always done exactly as she pleased, became a runaway bride. I heard Julian chased her all the way to the airport. For whatever reason, she didn’t get on that flight to France. Out of spite and anger. Later, when the families tried to shove me—the older sister he barely knew—at him as a replacement, he didn’t fight it. It was only when I excused myself to the restroom that he finally let slip a hint of exhausted apathy toward our relatives’ endless teasing: “Do I even have the right to refuse?” “Since you’ve all decided, I don’t care.” Because I wasn’t the person in his heart, it didn’t matter who it was. Anyone would do. On our wedding day, the very first thing Julian said to me was: “If you ever want a divorce, you can have it at any time.” I didn’t expect that a mere two months after the wedding, Chloe would return. I’ve always known exactly where I stand. Ignoring the breakfast on the nightstand, I picked up my phone and called my lawyer, Elena. “Draft a divorce agreement for me, please.” Elena’s shocked, dramatic squawking echoed through the phone. Outside, the sun was shining brightly, but a sudden, heavy downpour began. I couldn’t help but zone out, lost in thought. 3 That same evening, I placed the divorce papers directly in front of Julian. In the quiet study, the man sat there in a crisp white dress shirt, radiating an aura of aristocratic elegance and gentleness. He was completely different from the boy in my memories. I had only seen Julian fight once. It was in a filthy, secluded alley near the old campus of the university. To inflict maximum pain, he held a solid metal Zippo lighter in his fist, his strikes brutal and merciless. The sound of shattering bone echoed in the air, mixing with the other man’s agonizing screams. His slightly youthful, handsome face looked almost demonic as it became splattered with crimson blood. That was the first time I met the person Chloe talked about constantly. The sole heir to the Sterling Conglomerate. Violent, arrogant, and entirely fearless. Perhaps because that summer was unusually hot and suffocatingly humid, I inexplicably despised him. My thoughts snapped back to the present. Julian was still staring silently at the piece of paper. It had been so long I started to question his literacy. I couldn’t help but ask: “Do you not know how to read?” Julian finally moved. He turned his head to look out the window, his expression completely blank. “It rained all day today.” I followed his gaze to the damp windowpanes. Okay, and? “I’m in a bad mood. Let’s divorce next time.” Me: ??? … Over the next two days, Julian and I engaged in a bizarre, unspoken tug-of-war. Our text history was stuck on a message I sent that morning, reminding him to sign the papers. He had intentionally ignored me again. Me: [You’re running away.] Julian: [Running away is shameful, but it works.] A moment later, my phone buzzed a few more times. [You sleep with me and then dump me. You’re heartless.] What is he talking about?! Aren’t I graciously making way for his true love? [Are you mad because I made you uncomfortable last night?] [Fine, I admit I don’t have much experience, but you acting like this is really embarrassing for me.] [Besides, you were clearly enjoying it later on. /frustrated emoji] His blatant, shameless texts made my face burn. [You were the one who said I could have a divorce anytime I wanted.] Julian: […] [You talk too much. I’m blocking you for half a day.] When I tried to reply. A system message popped up: The recipient has rejected your message. Me: ??? This guy is acting like a literal child. 4 I originally planned to go home tonight, tie him to a chair, and force him to sign the papers. But halfway there, I got a call from my family’s main estate. Sighing, I turned the car around and drove to the family home. As soon as I walked in, I heard laughter and cheerful chatter spilling from the living room. “Chloe is getting prettier every day.” Chloe was sitting in the center of the room. The teasing and compliments from our relatives had turned her face a flush, delicate pink, making her look like a perfectly ripe peach. “She looks so perfect with that Sterling boy. Such a shame.” “If you hadn’t run away from the wedding, you’d be the future matriarch of the Sterling family right now.” Chloe quickly tried to stop them. “Julian is already married to my sister. It’s inappropriate to make jokes like that.” The relatives were completely dismissive. “What’s inappropriate about it? They’re married, but they can still get divorced.” “As long as the Sterling family agrees, swapping brides is nothing.” These were all relatives from my father’s side of the family. They had never liked me. Because I looked exactly like my biological mother. That poor, tragic woman. She risked her entire inheritance from her father to help a ruined man rebuild his business empire from scratch. And in return, she was betrayed over and over again. Ultimately, driven insane by depression, she died alone in a remote sanatorium. I scoffed, clapping my hands slowly as I walked toward the crowd. “Since when did the Harrison family start encouraging girls to steal their brother-in-law?” “But you are right about one thing.” “I’ve already handed the divorce papers to Julian.” I stopped walking, locking eyes with Chloe’s wide, innocent doe eyes. The corners of my mouth curled into a mocking smirk. “Do you want to go cry and whine to him so he kicks me out faster? Then you can finally take my place.” “Just like your mother did.” Chloe’s face instantly drained of color. Tears immediately pooled in her eyes, creating a picture of fragile victimization that would make anyone’s heart ache. “You ungrateful wretch!” My father’s furious roar echoed from behind me. I whipped around, only to unexpectedly lock eyes with a pair of dark, deep-set eyes swirling with unreadable emotions. “…” Why the hell was Julian here?!

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The youngest son of the Sterling family and I had despised each other for eight years. Later, my family went bankrupt. I ended up riding a rusty bicycle and selling breakfast burritos from a food cart near Ethan Sterling’s university. One day, he walked by, surrounded by his usual entourage, his face the picture of calm arrogance. But the moment he saw me, his entire body went rigid. He frantically shoved the cigarette he was holding into the hands of the guy next to him. “I wasn’t smoking! It’s not mine! I quit a long time ago!” 1 “Hey, Ethan, isn’t that Chloe Vance? Hahahaha! I heard her family went bankrupt. How did the little princess end up selling burritos on the street?” “Want me to get someone to flip her cart, Ethan? Maybe call campus security and play a little game of cat and mouse?” “Looking at her now, she’s not even a mouse. She’s a rat.” “Does it feel good to see her begging for scraps, Ethan?” … I followed the sound of the voices. One glance was all it took for my mood to sour. Back when my family was rich and powerful, I had made it my personal mission to put these arrogant, spoiled brats in their place. They whispered among themselves, laughing as they strutted toward my cart. “This tortilla is burnt. Is it even edible?” The girl who was currently buying a burrito from me frowned, unhappy that I had spaced out. “I’m so sorry, let me make you a fresh one. Just give me one minute.” I looked down and cracked a fresh egg onto the grill. Suddenly, a crumpled ball of trash hit my cart. “Selling burnt food? Looks like you don’t want this cart anymore.” The one speaking was Blake. He was the heaviest guy in their group, and in the past, I had beaten him black and blue more than once for bullying other students. When the girl saw Blake’s menacing look, she waved her hands frantically and ran off. “Never mind, keep it!” Blake kicked the wheel of my cart. “Chloe Vance. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The tables have really turned, haven’t they? I never thought I’d see the day.” “You look like a stray dog. It’s disgusting.” “Ethan, I’ll teach her a lesson for you!” The “Ethan” he was referring to was Ethan Sterling. My lifelong nemesis. He was standing a few feet away, walking over while surrounded by his posse. He was dressed head-to-toe in designer streetwear, his hair dyed a trendy ash-brown. I could smell his expensive oud cologne from a mile away. The youngest heir of the Sterling empire. Everything about him screamed pampered luxury and effortless perfection. He always looked so careless and lazy that it was hard to associate him with being a top-tier student at a prestigious university. Blake looked like a dog waiting for a treat, pausing until Ethan got closer. Then, rolling up his sleeves, Blake grabbed an entire carton of my eggs and smashed them onto the pavement. Yolk and shells splattered everywhere. I glared at the smug look on Blake’s face, grabbed my scalding hot metal spatula, and pointed it directly at his face. His legs visibly shook. He stumbled backward in terror, hiding behind Ethan. “Ethan, save me!” The young man stood in front of me, half a head taller than I was. My gaze slowly moved downward, landing on the lit cigarette pinched between his fingers. I frowned. The very next second, Ethan’s entire body went stiff. He rapidly shoved the cigarette directly into Blake’s mouth and held up his empty hands. “I wasn’t smoking! He was!” “I quit a long time ago!” 2 With the cigarette dangling awkwardly from his lips, Blake looked at Ethan in utter confusion. He mumbled around the filter, “E-Ethan, this isn’t yours…” Ethan clamped a hand over Blake’s mouth. “Smoke your cigarette and shut up.” The other guys in the group sensed something was off. They exchanged bewildered looks and started whispering. “What’s going on? Doesn’t Ethan want revenge?” “Someone said they saw Chloe running a cart here this morning, and he sprinted over faster than anyone. Wasn’t he coming here to gloat?” “Why does it feel like Ethan is… terrified of her?” “I’m not gonna lie, one phrase comes to mind: whipped.” “Shut up, it’s probably PTSD!” 3 Ethan and I grew up together. But we couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Ethan was the ultimate rebellious rich kid. Skipping class to street race, spending days at internet cafes playing games—no one could control him. But even though he slept through class and gamed all night, his grades were always at the very top of the class. Whenever the rankings came out, he would lean over with a punchable smirk and say: “You need to study harder, Chloe. Otherwise, you’ll just have to settle for inheriting your family’s billions.” The feud was cemented right then and there. Starting in middle school, every time he skipped class, I snitched on him. Then, armed with the “royal decree” from Mr. Sterling, I would personally drag him home by his ear. I didn’t spare his little gang of rich friends, either. Anyone who talked back got pinned to the ground until their parents came to pick them up. Ethan couldn’t beat me in a fight. He could only watch helplessly as I drove away in his favorite sports car, unplugged his internet router, and used jet-black hair dye to cover up whatever neon colors he had put in his hair. We hated each other’s guts. The year we graduated high school, I finally received a confession letter from my crush. But before I could read it, Ethan snatched it right out of my hands. When I went to find my crush later, he shook his head frantically and denied the letter ever existed. I stormed over to Ethan’s to settle the score, only to overhear him talking to his friends: “Chloe Vance is practically a barbarian. Any guy who likes a girl that violent must be completely blind.” I walked right up and slapped him across the face on the spot. 4 Ethan shot his friends a death glare, and the boys finally shut their mouths. I looked up at them, my tone perfectly calm: “If you aren’t going to buy anything, please step aside. You’re blocking my customers.” “Also, you’re paying full price for the eggs you smashed. Two dollars each.” Hearing this, Blake got defensive. “Customers? You call this a business? Are your burritos even fully cooked? You just wait, I’m calling campus security to kick you out—” I raised my heavy spatula, ready to chase him off. Instantly, the tall guy next to Blake stepped in to protect him. Blake looked down his nose at me. “Don’t think I won’t touch you. Do you honestly still think you’re the untouchable Vance heiress?” “Touch her and see what happens.” A freezing voice dropped like a hammer. Blake froze. He turned to look at the man who spoke, his eyes wide in disbelief. “E-Ethan… what did you say?” “Was I not clear enough? I said—” Ethan enunciated every syllable with lethal precision, “Touch her and see what happens.” Blake snapped his mouth shut and backed away in shame. Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets, took a step forward, and let his gaze fall on me. “I’m buying. How much?” “Eight dollars for a regular. Ten if you add bacon.” Ethan paused. “Add bacon.” I expertly cracked an egg onto the hot grill and poured a ladle of batter. When I glanced up, I caught Ethan secretly taking off his flashy earrings and silver chain. He was even using his hands to aggressively flatten his meticulously styled, gelled hair. I let out a short laugh and wiped the stray batter off my hands with a towel. “You don’t need to do that anymore. The Vance family is gone. Your nightmare is over.” Two months ago, a massive project my family’s company invested in collapsed. After liquidating all our assets to pay off debts and severances, my father had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. Overnight, I went from being a pampered heiress to a girl flipping burritos on the street. I was used to it by now. My family went from a massive, five-story luxury mansion to a cramped, 600-square-foot apartment. We went from eating Michelin-star meals every day to eating leftover rice and cheap bread. Right now, my only thought was working hard, making money, and surviving. As for Ethan Sterling, we were no longer from the same world. I wrapped up the bacon breakfast burrito, handed it to him, and lifted my chin toward the printed sign on my cart. “Venmo or CashApp. Show me your screen when it’s done.” Ethan frowned. After transferring the money, he held his phone up for me to see. “One hundred and fifty dollars? You sent too much.” Ethan turned his head, looking at my surroundings with a complex expression. “Are you out here every single day?” I glanced at him. “Not always.” Ethan muttered a quiet, “Oh.” The environment here really wasn’t great. Even though we were right next to the university and there were other food carts around, my spot was pretty deserted. That girl they scared off earlier was my very first customer of the day. This business really wasn’t easy. Ethan showed no signs of leaving. He took a bite of the burrito, his frown deepening. “My birthday is next month. Are you free?” In the past, he was forced by our parents to invite me to his birthday parties every year. The result was always me turning his party into a chaotic disaster. I couldn’t believe he was actually inviting me now. “I can be. But you know my situation. I won’t be bringing any fancy gifts.” Ethan scratched the back of his head. He still looked incredibly arrogant and aloof as he spoke. “Oh, whatever. It’s just that Coco misses you.” Coco. The little Pomeranian I had given him for his eighteenth birthday. (I had originally named her “Little Chloe” to annoy him, but it stuck). “Alright. I’ll bring some extra bacon for her.” The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence again. Ethan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else. Suddenly, a girl in a white tennis skirt came jogging over, puffing her cheeks out like an angry blowfish. “Ethan! Where have you been?! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” She was incredibly cute and sweet-looking, petite but curvy. Even I couldn’t help but stare for a second. When she noticed me, she looked slightly surprised, but offered a polite nod. “Hi there!” Ethan kept his hands in his pockets, looking down at her. “What are you doing here?” The girl looked away from me, stood on her tiptoes, and glared up at Ethan. “Don’t give me that! The professor told us to meet to discuss the math modeling competition. Did you forget again?” Ethan nodded, looking like he just remembered. The girl pointed at his earlobe. “When did you take your earrings out? I told you to take them out ages ago, otherwise your dad is going to get mad again.” When Ethan’s gaze flicked toward me, I tactfully looked away. “I know.” The girl stared at me intently for several seconds. I was getting a little confused, and our eyes met. She finally asked, “Do you guys know each other?” Ethan looked past me. “Yeah. We know each other.” Serena playfully swatted Ethan’s arm. “You didn’t even introduce us! Hi, I’m Serena.” I took in all their little intimate gestures. “I’m Chloe.” Serena thought for a moment. “Chloe Vance? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.” “It’s a beautiful name!” “Since you guys know each other, do you want to come to our birthday party next week? Ethan and I have the exact same birthday! Our families talked about it for ages and actually decided to host a joint party!” “Not that I wanted to share a party with him! Boys’ parties are always so loud and obnoxious.” “But, will you come?” Serena put her hands behind her back, tilting her head adorably. My tone was flat. “Sure, if I have the time.” Serena enthusiastically grabbed my hand. “That would be perfect!” The moment she said that, she immediately spun around, feigning anger at Ethan. “Okay, okay, the professor is waiting. Mr. Sterling, can we go now?” Without waiting for his answer, she grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the campus gates. I slowly lowered my eyes. Right then, Ethan suddenly turned his head and raised his voice. “Chloe, are you trying to cut ties with me?” I forced a smile. “No. Our relationship is exactly the same as it’s always been.” 5 After Ethan left, Blake stared at their retreating backs and sneered. “See that, Chloe? That is Ethan’s true match.” “Equal social standing, a match made in heaven!” Serena was a head and a half shorter than Ethan. To keep up with him, she had to walk incredibly fast. But Ethan had unconsciously slowed his pace to match hers. I looked away from them and smirked. “They do look good together.” “Chloe, the only reason Ethan didn’t mess with you today is because he’s a nice guy. He pities you. He doesn’t want to stoop to your level.” “If you’re smart, you’ll pack up this trash cart and roll as far away as possible.” I smiled and casually picked up my heavy metal spatula. Blake flinched, terrified. “Just scaring you. Blake, do me a favor and stop barking in my presence.” Blake desperately tried to reclaim his dignity. “You wouldn’t dare! If you harm a single hair on my head, the Blake family will destroy what’s left of the Vances. When that happens, your dad—the former CEO—will have to lick my shoes to apologize—” Before he could finish his sentence, I stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and cleanly flipped him over my shoulder. “Wipe your mouth. It smells like you’ve been eating shit.” Blake hit the pavement hard, groaning in pain and crying for his mother. I dusted my hands off. “You’re more than welcome to try me.” Blake scrambled up, clutching his face, and stumbled away. “You just wait!” I watched him run, then silently pushed my food cart a little further in the opposite direction. Looks like I’ll have to find a new spot to sell burritos tomorrow.

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The day I returned to the States and attended a college reunion. I inevitably ran into my childhood sweetheart and former love, Carter. After two years, he hadn’t changed a bit. He was always the center of attention wherever he went. I was about to go over and say hello when I overheard his friends gossiping about me. “Carter, the guys and I made a bet. That Vance girl who’s so desperately in love with you? The first thing she’ll do when she gets back is come crawling to you, begging to get back together.” “Man, you have the best luck. All these women constantly orbiting you. What’s the saying? You’ve got eight slices of cake; you can divvy them up however you want.” Carter noticed me walking toward him through the crowd. He smirked and said: “Don’t worry. Vivian can’t live without me. Didn’t she just obediently come back to the States just for me?” I walked right up to him and ruthlessly shattered his arrogant delusion. “Who said I came back for you? I came back because my family arranged my engagement party here. “I’m getting married, Carter. Regardless of everything, thank you for keeping me company all those years.” 1 “Even though I genuinely wish I could erase every single day I spent with you.” My words wiped the smiles off everyone’s faces. Carter’s face turned especially dark. “Vivian, watch what you say in public. Stop throwing a tantrum. What engagement? Are you just trying to make me mad the second you get back? “I know I made mistakes before, but you know Sarah and I are just friends. I haven’t even seen her since you went abroad.” “Yeah, exactly! Vivian, I can vouch for him. Carter really cares about you. Honestly, he hasn’t been doing great these past few years while you were gone.” Carter’s friends scrambled to smooth things over. If this were two years ago, seeing Carter try so hard to explain himself, I probably would have nodded with tears in my eyes and forgiven him instantly. But our relationship ended long before I ever left the country. “It doesn’t matter. Who you see and where you meet them has absolutely nothing to do with me anymore. “Oh, right. You actually know the guy I’m engaged to. You two probably haven’t seen each other in a long time.” “Who?” “What?” “I’m asking you who you’re marrying!” “Ethan Sterling.” 2 I looked at Carter’s expression of sheer disbelief. Thinking about how our relationship devolved to this point, perhaps it was fundamentally flawed from the very beginning. When I was little. The Vance, Hayes, and Sterling families were all very close. So, I had known Carter Hayes and Ethan Sterling since childhood. I was always a sickly child, so those two were incredibly attentive and protective of me. Thanks to them, I rarely encountered any real danger or hardship. But that kind of good luck doesn’t last forever. When I was in middle school, I was kidnapped by thugs hired by a rival corporation. Because I was the only daughter of the Vance family, my ransom value was incredibly high. The kidnappers used me as leverage to extort highly classified documents from my parents. I don’t know if it was a blessing or a curse, but while waiting to be rescued, I was so terrified that I passed out. I drifted in and out of consciousness. Because I was blindfolded, my hearing became hyper-sensitive. I heard a familiar voice arguing with the kidnappers. Then, the owner of that voice walked over to me and held me gently in his arms. He kept whispering to me, telling me not to be afraid, that everything was going to be okay. Feeling safe, I drifted back into a deep sleep. When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed. And Carter was asleep next to my bed, holding my hand. Later, my parents told me that Carter was the one who got me out. Carter also told me stories of how he bravely negotiated with the kidnappers to rescue me unharmed. From that moment on, I devoted all my attention and affection to Carter. I never bothered to investigate why Ethan, who disappeared that very day, was in a wheelchair the next time I saw him. Not long after, the entire Sterling family moved abroad so Ethan could get treatment for his legs. That was the last time I saw Ethan during our youth. After that, my life revolved entirely around Carter. I got into the same university as him and chose the same major, all just to be closer to him. But after we officially started dating, Carter’s possessiveness and temper escalated significantly. He wouldn’t let me interact with other guys. He wouldn’t let me wear nice clothes. If anything didn’t go his way, he would resort to emotional, and sometimes physical, abuse. Every time I was on the verge of breaking up with him, he would pull me back in with sweet words and perfectly timed displays of vulnerability. Even his friends joked that I loved him far too deeply. Until the day I discovered that Carter had been secretly dating an underage freshman behind my back. All the grievances and injustice I had swallowed over the years instantly broke the dam. That day, I calmly and quietly broke up with him. I was so calm that Carter genuinely thought I was joking. He completely ignored me and went right back to reviewing some business documents on his laptop. So, the very next day after I broke up with him, I packed a bag and moved abroad. 3 I originally just wanted to go abroad to clear my head and relax, but I never expected to run into Ethan. I ran into him at a hospital. Having not seen each other in years, we talked for a long time. He told me his legs were treated at this exact hospital. By some twist of fate, he eventually became a surgical resident there. It felt like we had traveled back in time to when we were kids. He asked me a lot of questions, including questions about Carter. I didn’t want to talk about Carter much. He probably sensed that, so he dropped the subject. After that day, we started seeing each other frequently. On his days off, Ethan would take me exploring all over the city. During his lunch breaks, I would cook delicious meals and bring them to his office to eat with him. Just like that, having him by my side made my days abroad bright, sunny, and peaceful. Looking back, that must have been when I fell in love with Ethan Sterling. Later, Ethan’s hospital organized a charity gala. He invited me to attend as his “only family in the area,” as he put it. I sat in the audience, watching him play popular songs on his acoustic guitar, genuinely happy that he had picked the instrument back up. After a few songs, standing under the bright, dazzling stage lights, he confessed his feelings to me, while the entire crowd cheered us on. In that moment, I said yes without a second of hesitation, because I had to admit, Vivian Vance truly couldn’t live without Ethan Sterling. Not long after becoming Ethan’s girlfriend, I had to return to the States because of some family business. Ethan had to stay behind for a bit longer to wrap up some work at the hospital. Before we parted ways, we agreed that as soon as he returned, we would start planning our wedding. I just never expected him to suggest inviting Carter to it. 4 Snapping back to the present, I noticed some commotion around me. Immediately, I realized something was wrong with Carter. The veins on his forehead were bulging, and his pale, slender hand suddenly reached out toward me, trembling violently. Seeing the situation escalating, his friends quickly grabbed him from behind to hold him back. Carter looked exactly like a feral, enraged beast. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared at me: “Vivian Vance! You are mine! You’ll be mine for the rest of your life, don’t you even dream of leaving me! “I don’t believe it. There’s no way you don’t love me! I know exactly how good you’ve been to me all these years! It has to be… that bastard Ethan must have brainwashed you!” I remained perfectly calm, because I was very familiar with this state of his. He suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks. The signs started showing shortly after his mother, Mrs. Hayes, abandoned their family. Everyone around us was shocked by Carter’s outburst. The eldest son of the prestigious Hayes financial dynasty, the famously rational, calculating CEO of the Hayes Corporation, losing his mind in public over a woman. Only I knew that right now, Carter was completely incapable of controlling himself. Carter cared about his image more than anything. Normally, even if he felt an episode coming on in public, he would suppress it with everything he had. An outburst like this was a first. I realized I was probably the only one who could calm him down right now. After hesitating for a second, I called his secretary and told him to bring Carter’s medication immediately. Honestly, I didn’t want his secretary to know I was back in the country so soon. Because the news would definitely reach Old Mr. Hayes’s ears. The old me worshipped Carter as my savior, treating him as the man I could entrust the rest of my life to. I never realized that to him, I was at best a trophy to brag about, a pawn in his games of leverage and profit. To advance his career, he messed around with the daughters of various CEOs behind my back, and even initiated our “breakups” just so he could offer me up to his business partners. Back then, I treated Carter as my entire universe. I believed that even if he didn’t know how to express it, he truly cared for me deep down. I thought that as long as I did what he said and acted obediently, he would come save me. His possessiveness was so strong, he wouldn’t let anyone else lay a finger on me. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Dead wrong! That night, I experienced the agonizing descent from hope into absolute despair for the first time. I learned exactly how torturous waiting could be. After I luckily managed to use my family’s status to intimidate the man and escape, I swore I would never, ever be soft-hearted toward Carter again. But then, a drunken, hyperventilating Carter appeared in front of me, suffering a massive panic attack. It was the first time I saw him lose control, and my first introduction to his severe anxiety disorder. I didn’t want to help him, but Carter claimed his condition was a direct result of the trauma he endured while saving me years ago. He only said that one sentence before passing out, and no matter how much I asked him about it later, he never brought it up again. Fortunately, I was able to temporarily calm his episodes, so every time he had one, I stayed by his side. But at the same time, every episode filled me with a deep, crushing sense of powerlessness. I knew I should stay away from him, even hate him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Looking back now, wasn’t that just another form of torture for the old me? After that day, I felt nothing but guilt toward Carter, because no matter what, I could never bring myself to love him again. Carter’s grandfather, Old Mr. Hayes, would always gently try to persuade me. He said he loved me dearly and desperately wanted me to be his granddaughter-in-law, but Carter was just too disappointing, too much of a bastard. Old Mr. Hayes always said he had let me down, and let my grandfather down. So, he always treated me much better than he treated Carter. Old Mr. Hayes is getting on in years now, and I didn’t want to cause him any more worry. It didn’t take long for Carter’s secretary to arrive, and Carter slowly began to calm down. However, his gaze never left me for a second, making me feel like I had needles in my back. Assuming my part was done, I was about to leave with my friend, but Carter’s secretary stopped me. He said Old Mr. Hayes wanted to see me. 5 Thinking about it, I really should go visit the elders since I just got back to the country, so I agreed. I had driven my own car, so I declined the secretary’s offer to ride together. Carter walked quietly in front of me the whole time. I had no idea what he was thinking. I was used to it. After an episode, Carter always went through a period of heavy silence. I got into the driver’s seat and was just about to start the engine when the passenger door was yanked open from the outside. “I’m riding with you. You said it yourself, when I have an episode, you have to stay with me.” Carter was always like this—showing weakness while still being incredibly stubborn. To him, this was his version of coaxing you, and you were supposed to be grateful for it. But now, I had absolutely no relationship with him, and I didn’t need or want to tolerate or accommodate him anymore. “Get out. “Don’t make me force you out!” Carter turned to look at me, his expression dark and suppressed: “Vivian, I don’t get it. What is so great about Ethan Sterling? Tell me, how exactly does he beat me? “We’ve been together for over a decade! You were only abroad with him for four years. “Stop throwing a tantrum. Let’s get back together, okay? I…” “Carter, do not compare Ethan to yourself. You aren’t worthy!” I cut him off coldly: “When I loved you, you hurt me the deepest. You are the last person on earth who has the right to ask for my forgiveness. “Get out of the car! I’m not going to sit here in a standoff with you. Even if Old Mr. Hayes invited me, I can always choose not to go!” I ignored him entirely, only listening for the sound of the door opening and slamming shut. After he got out, I stared blankly at his retreating back for a moment. I suddenly felt so exhausted. I had barely been back in the country for a few days, and I was already missing the time I spent abroad with Ethan.

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I was with Julian Sterling for three years. Then he got engaged to someone else, handed me a fifty-million-dollar check, and told me to get lost. Back then, I was too proud. I valued my dignity above everything else. I didn’t take the money. Two years passed, and my life had hit rock bottom. Coincidentally, a wealthy playboy started pursuing me. I said yes. On our very first date, he took me shopping. I didn’t hold back. I picked out seven figures worth of designer goods. But when it was time to pay, his card declined. The man was mortified. He immediately brought up his cousin, who supposedly held massive influence in the city. “My cousin happens to be in the area. I’ll just have him come over and handle it.” I said okay. But a few minutes later, when I saw the man who walked through the door, I was completely stunned. 1 At the checkout counter, Ethan Vance stared at the mountain of luxury goods and didn’t even blink. In that moment, I knew I had found the perfect boyfriend. Our meet-cute was ridiculously cliché. I was riding my electric scooter home from work and accidentally scraped his luxury car. He was on the phone at the time, his tone lazy and careless. “I’m breaking up with you. Is that so hard to understand, baby?” “It’s no fun if you take things too seriously.” He was the textbook definition of a wealthy playboy. Even after his car was scratched, he didn’t get angry. He just kept coaxing the girl on the phone while shooting me a highly suggestive look. Then he waved me off, telling me to go. I hesitated for a second, then left. Two years ago, I would have insisted on paying for the damage, even if it meant taking on a debt I couldn’t afford. But not anymore. The past two years had brutally taught me that ‘pride’ is the most useless thing in the world. Aside from a pretty face, I had absolutely nothing. So later, when he suddenly appeared outside my office building, I wasn’t surprised. A long time ago, I learned from a specific person that there are people in this world who are simply born different. They are arrogant, they burn money like paper, and getting whatever they want is effortless. They fundamentally believe that money can solve any problem. The sales associate quickly tallied the total and announced the exorbitant number. I did some quick math in my head. Once I break up with Ethan, this haul will be enough to buy a modest two-bedroom apartment and a decent car. How wonderful. Just as I was mentally celebrating, the sales associate spoke up, her voice hesitant. “Sir, this card…” It was declined. Ethan cleared his throat awkwardly, snatched the card back, and raised an eyebrow. “Give me a sec.” He pulled out his phone and dialed a number with practiced ease. After hanging up, he turned to me. “My cousin is just a few blocks away buying gifts for his fiancée. He’ll be here in a minute to cover it.” I offered him a sweet, understanding smile. “Okay.” Since I started dating Ethan, I had heard rumors about this cousin. People always spoke of him with a mix of awe and fear— “That guy is serious news. I’m telling you, dating the young Mr. Vance is fine, but do not mess with his cousin.” “I heard he has a fiancée. They keep it very low-profile, but she’s from a major family. They’re supposedly very much in love.” It was just gossip. I listened to it, but didn’t care. But since I was about to meet him, I spent a few minutes mentally preparing my best smile and practicing my introduction. Yet, when the man finally walked through the door, my brain completely short-circuited. I stood frozen in place, my body rigid. Ethan stood next to me, wrapping his hand around mine. “Mia, say hi to my cousin.” “Cousin.” I heard my own voice. It was trembling. The man looked perfectly calm. He gave a faint nod. As if he had never seen me before in his life. “Mm.” Then, he walked right past me. We were so close I could catch the faint, familiar scent of his woodsy cologne. When we were together, he never wore this cologne. Because I didn’t like it. But looking at it now, nothing in this world stays the same. For example: I used to be his girlfriend. And now, I’m his cousin’s. 2 Julian swiped his black card, glancing casually at the mountain of designer bags and clothes. He frowned slightly but didn’t say a word. Ethan immediately started complaining to him. “Someone definitely snitched to my dad again and got my accounts frozen.” “Bro, I’ll transfer this back to you in a few days, I promise.” While we were waiting earlier, Ethan had mentioned that Julian was incredibly principled. Ever since they were kids, he had been notoriously strict with all his younger cousins. He didn’t believe in free handouts. He would provide resources or project funding, but only if you proved you actually had the skills to handle it. “My cousin is totally fine with spending money on us, but it has to be for something productive.” Funding a shopping spree for a new girlfriend? Yeah, he would absolutely demand to be paid back. But this time, Julian just gave Ethan a deeply unreadable look. “Don’t worry about it.” “Huh?” Ethan asked, looking genuinely shocked and flattered. “Does this mean I don’t have to pay you back next time I ask for money either?” Julian smiled. His expression was ice-cold. “No. Just this once.” Ethan rubbed his nose, completely missing the tension. “I knew it! You’re the best.” “My girlfriend is incredibly grateful, too.” “Girlfriend?” Julian repeated the word, finally deigning to look at me. I pressed my lips together, meeting his gaze. “Thank you.” He ignored me, exchanged a few more words with Ethan, and then turned to leave. Before he walked out, he handed his black card to Ethan. “Take it. Buy whatever you want.” Ethan eagerly took it, looking at Julian with absolute adoration. “Bro, you are literally my savior.” We shopped for a while longer until the sun started to set, then finally left the mall. Ethan had all the purchases delivered directly to my apartment. The street was relatively empty. He looked at my face, a suggestive glint in his eye. He traced my wrist with his thumb, then leaned in to kiss me. I didn’t pull away. He pressed closer, smoothly parting my lips. I clenched my fists tight, freezing in place. However, the very next second, his phone rang. “Tsk.” He reluctantly pulled away and pulled out his phone. The moment he saw the caller ID, his annoyance vanished instantly. “My cousin needs me. He says it’s an emergency. Wait here for a minute, I’ll have my driver take you home.” I told him not to worry about it, I could just call an Uber. He thought for a second. “Alright, text me when you get back.” After he left, I was just about to hail a cab. A sleek luxury car glided smoothly to a stop right next to me. The tinted window rolled down, revealing the sharp, aristocratic profile of the man inside. He turned to look at me. His gaze dropped immediately to my lips, lingering there for a long, heavy moment before he finally spoke. His voice was deep and freezing. Just two words, but they made my heart violently seize. “Get in.” 3 Bathed in the pale moonlight, I stood frozen on the sidewalk. Staring at Julian Sterling. Seeing my hesitation, he didn’t rush me. He simply raised an eyebrow. And drawled lazily. “Mia.” I lowered my head. “Mr. Sterling.” “Can I help you?” Honestly, when I saw him earlier, I was terrified. I never imagined my luck could be this catastrophically bad. The very first guy I date after leaving him turns out to be his cousin. I was pretty satisfied with Ethan. I wasn’t planning on breaking up with him anytime soon. My breakup with Julian was incredibly messy and humiliating. I was terrified he was going to expose our past to Ethan. Knowing Ethan’s personality, he would dump me immediately. Dating your cousin’s ex-girlfriend? That’s a massive taboo. Especially since Ethan practically worshipped Julian like an idol. Julian stared at me intensely. After a long silence, he let out a low, dark chuckle. It was laced with confusion, and absolute, unfiltered mockery. “You don’t actually think I still have feelings for you, do you?” I didn’t expect him to be so brutally blunt. I felt a rush of deep humiliation. Because a minute ago, that was exactly what I thought. From the time he left the mall until now, at least two hours had passed. Which meant he hadn’t gone anywhere. He had been sitting here waiting for us the entire time. Then, he deliberately called Ethan away. And now he was telling me to get in his car. The night was dark, and we were completely alone. We used to share an incredibly intimate history. And when we broke up, I knew for a fact he was still deeply in love with me. I still remember it clearly— We were having dinner at a high-end restaurant. He sat across from me, meticulously peeling shrimp for me. He knew it was my favorite. He didn’t stop until my plate was overflowing. While I ate, I teased him. “My roommate told me some freshman has been asking around about you. She said she wants to ask you out.” Julian was two years older than me; he was an alumni. Shortly after graduating, he founded his own tech company, which became wildly successful. The university had invited him back as a guest speaker. I was in the student council and had been assigned as his liaison. He was incredibly famous on campus. Everyone knew him as a brilliant, self-made tech prodigy. But he was also incredibly low-profile. For the longest time, no one knew that his last name, Sterling, connected him to the elite Sterling family from the ultra-exclusive Funing Road district. Anyone from that neighborhood was basically royalty in the capital. The first time I met him, I was shaking with nerves. He noticed and offered a lazy, relaxed smile. “Do I look scary?” I quickly shook my head. “No.” He was naturally gorgeous, and he carried himself with an effortless, magnetic confidence. Half the girls on campus were completely obsessed with him. We interacted a few more times, and the tension between us grew. His text replies went from one-word answers to long, detailed paragraphs. My roommates watched it all happen and hyped me up constantly. I was young and easily influenced, so I couldn’t hold back. I confessed my feelings to him under a streetlight on campus. And then I boldly leaned up and kissed his cheek. The moon was exceptionally bright that night. He looked down at me, staring in silence for a very long time, before letting out a soft sigh, looking at me like he was completely defenseless against me. “Are you sure?” “Yes!” From that day on, we were together. But very few people knew. On campus, only my closest roommates were aware. And now, sitting in this luxurious restaurant, Julian went completely quiet after I mentioned the freshman who wanted to pursue him. My smile faded. I couldn’t read his expression. “What? Do you actually want to go out with her…” He slowly wiped his hands with a napkin, raised his eyes, cut me off, and said with absolute seriousness: “No.” “I want to marry you.” 4 Clatter. The fork slipped from my hand and hit the porcelain plate. For someone as reserved, aristocratic, and disciplined as Julian, in the three years we had been together, those were the most romantic words he had ever spoken. His eyes were incredibly dark, locked onto me intensely. I smiled. “Okay.” But that was as far as the fairy tale went. Because I was too naive, I completely missed the hidden depth and complication in his eyes. Because just a few days later, I saw him walking out of an exclusive VIP club, his arm wrapped tightly around another girl. The girl was wearing a stunning, diamond-encrusted white dress that looked unimaginably expensive. She had her face buried in his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck, looking incredibly intimate. A classmate standing next to me gasped in envy. “That’s Julian Sterling’s fiancée. I walked past their private room earlier and heard everyone cheering, asking when the wedding is.” “I had no idea he was that Julian Sterling! I just saw the club owner bowing and calling him ‘Young Master Sterling.’” In the capital, there were very few people the owner of that specific club would deferentially call “Young Master.” My mind completely blanked. I couldn’t understand. Wasn’t he my boyfriend? The next second, they reached a luxury car. I was just about to storm over and demand an explanation, when I saw the woman in Julian’s arms lift her face and kiss him directly on the lips. Julian’s body went completely rigid, and then he forcefully shoved her away. But my devastation didn’t lessen. After they drove away, I pulled out my phone and called him. “I saw everything.” He froze, then let out a heavy sigh through the phone. “Give me two years, okay?” “Our families have been close for generations. I can’t get out of this engagement right now.” That was the moment I finally understood. His “self-made startup” was just a billionaire heir playing a game. Even if it failed, he would still live a life of absolute, untouchable luxury. His background was so elite that there was no universe where we could be together. People in his social stratosphere didn’t marry girls like me. But he sounded so incredibly resolute on the phone: “Two years. I promise we will get married. But… during this time, I can’t give you an official title.” Saying he “couldn’t give me a title” was just a polite way of saying I would be his secret mistress. Back then, I was fiercely proud. I absolutely refused to accept that kind of humiliation. “Julian, what kind of woman do you think I am?” I fought back tears, my voice absolute and uncompromising. “We’re done.” He came looking for me many times after that. I refused to see him every single time. Even my roommates tried to convince me. “I can tell he genuinely loves you and wants to marry you. Just endure it for a bit. Waiting two years isn’t that bad. With a family background like his, sometimes he really doesn’t have a choice.” I didn’t say a word. Everyone kept telling me he loved me. But did his love give him the right to act like a god, casually ordering me to remain his nameless, hidden secret, shoving me into such a degrading, pathetic position? He was born with the world at his feet. So he naturally assumed I would obediently and silently stay by his side. He was absolutely certain I could never leave him, that I would wait for him. But he would never understand what that truly meant for me. It meant—that when another woman hugged him, kissed him, or even slept with him, I wouldn’t have the right to say a single word. I wouldn’t even have the right to be jealous. Because I would be the shameful, hidden secret. To him, and the people around him, it was “only two years.” They truly couldn’t fathom why I was being so difficult. The last time we saw each other was at the restaurant where I worked part-time. He sat alone at a table, ordering the most expensive items on the menu. When I brought his food, he just stared at me in total silence. It wasn’t until I turned to leave that he suddenly reached out, gripping my wrist so tightly it hurt. His voice was strained and tense as he said, “If you just say yes, you’ll never have to do this kind of work for the rest of your life.” He had enough money to guarantee I’d never have to worry about a single thing until the day I died. If it were me today, I probably would have said yes. But back then, I just glared at him coldly, and slapped him across the face. “I don’t need your charity.” He stood there, the corners of his eyes slowly turning red, remaining silent for a very long time. A crowd had gathered around us. They were all watching the spectacle, mocking him. But he didn’t care at all. He just said, his voice incredibly soft: “Just wait. I’ll marry you eventually.” It sounded like the arrogant delusion of a young man. But that very night, his best friend tracked me down. His name was Lucas. I had met him a few times and we had shared a few meals when Julian and I were together. After Julian and I broke up, he had actually tried to mediate and convince me to go back a few times. But this time, he wasn’t trying to convince me. Instead, he handed me a check. “Here. For you.” “He’s getting officially engaged. It’s the daughter of the Lu family. She’s not as pretty as you.” He laughed, looking me up and down. “And she’s not as stubborn as you, either.” “Honestly, I’ve never seen Julian care about a girl this much. Do you have any idea what he went through to…” He stopped himself, sighing. “Forget it. If Julian knew I told you, he’d kill me.” I calmly unfolded the check, counting the zeros several times to make sure I was reading it right. Fifty million. I had never seen that much money in my entire life. “Take the money. Do whatever you want with it, live a good life. Julian told me to tell you he’s coming back for you.” I ripped the check to shreds right in front of his face. I took a deep breath, holding onto my anger, and said: “Tell him this.” “I don’t want his money. Tell him to stop humiliating himself.” What I didn’t know was that Lucas was on the phone with Julian at that exact moment. Every single word I said was broadcast directly into Julian’s ear. I completely and utterly trampled his pride and dignity into the dirt. As soon as I got in the cab, I received a text from him. [Mia, you better not regret this.] Seeing that message, I wasn’t angry. I just pictured the expression on his face as he typed it. It was probably incredibly cold, tinged with a heavy dose of helplessness. Because why wouldn’t he feel helpless? Despite being the ultimate golden boy, despite having the entire world revolving around him, he couldn’t control everything. There was finally something he couldn’t keep. I pressed my lips together and typed back. [I won’t.]

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My boyfriend lost a game of Truth or Dare and had to kiss a girl in the room. Before he could even lean toward me, Sarah violently shoved me aside and planted her lips on his. “Stop fooling around. Today is your sister-in-law’s birthday.” Carter pinched her cheek with a doting smile. Everyone stared at me, sprawled awkwardly on the sofa, too afraid to breathe. Sarah giggled. “Don’t be mad, Chloe. Carter has never even seen me as a girl anyway.” Carter also chimed in, trying to placate me. “It was just a game. Don’t be such a sore loser.” Everyone expected me to throw a massive, hysterical fit. But instead, I just quietly took off my engagement ring and gently slid it onto his childhood best friend’s finger. “Let me know when the wedding invitations go out.” 1 “Carter, you taste so sweet! What did you eat?!” Sarah’s coquettish voice echoed through the private karaoke room. Carter had been gazing at her with absolute fondness. It wasn’t until he noticed the dead silence in the room that he finally looked over and saw me shoved onto the sofa. He let go of Sarah’s cheek and lightly patted the back of her head. “Stop fooling around. Today is your sister-in-law’s birthday.” Sarah pouted. “Aw… Chloe wouldn’t be that petty, right? It was just a dare~” With that one sentence, nobody in the room dared to make a sound. This wasn’t some silly little punishment like a slap on the wrist or a flick to the forehead. This was a kiss. A few people were already shrinking back into their seats, because usually, this was the exact moment I would explode into a screaming match. However, I simply, slowly took off my engagement ring, walked over to Sarah, and gently slid it onto her finger. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly. I smiled. “Let me know when the wedding invitations go out.” Everyone was completely dumbfounded, including Sarah. “Chloe Vance, it was just a game. Do you really have to do this?” Carter’s voice was freezing cold. “I know it was,” I replied with a soft smile. “I’m just helping you guys have more fun.” Carter’s face visibly darkened into a thunderous scowl. Sarah tugged on his sleeve. “It’s okay, Carter. It’s my fault. I didn’t know Chloe was such a sore loser.” Saying that, she pulled the ring off and threw it at me. “Here. Stop being mad. Have your ring back. I didn’t mean anything by it.” The ring hit me square in the face with a sharp sting, then clattered onto the floor with a metallic clink. Everyone in the room stared at me with wide, horrified eyes. But I just calmly picked the ring back up. “Since you don’t want it, it doesn’t have any use anymore.” With that, I tossed the ring straight into the trash can. “Chloe, are you crazy?! That’s your engagement ring!” “Quick, quick, quick! Get it out!” “Where did it go?! Why can’t I find it?!” Everyone scrambled frantically, digging through the trash can. But it was already full of watermelon rinds, banana peels, and even some vomit. Finding a tiny ring in that mess was impossible. Sarah panicked too. She gripped Carter’s hand tightly, her eyes turning red. “Carter, how did this happen? Why is Chloe overreacting so much?! Did I really cross a line? But we grew up together, we’ve never had boundaries…” The very next second, Carter stepped in front of her, shielding her behind his back. “Stop looking for it!” Everyone froze, standing around the trash can, staring at Carter. His eyes were freezing cold, glaring at me like he wanted to bore a hole through my skull. “If you can’t handle a game, why play? “Now you’ve ruined the mood for everyone. Are you happy?” A suffocating knot formed in my chest. Sarah was the one who kissed my boyfriend. I stepped aside to accommodate them. How did I become the one ruining things for everyone else? If this were the past, I would have definitely started screaming and crying, furiously pointing out that Sarah was the one in the wrong. But now, I couldn’t muster even a single ounce of interest in arguing. Instead, I turned around and grabbed my purse. “I’m leaving then. Have fun, guys.” 2 As the door closed behind me, I heard someone speak up tentatively. “Um… today is Chloe’s birthday. Is it really okay that she just left?” Carter’s voice was laced with deep irritation. “Just ignore her. It’s about time she learned to fix that temper of hers. Actually, Sarah was just hired as a lecturer at my university. Let’s have Sarah blow out the candles instead.” The room quickly livened back up. The voices that were supposed to be wishing me a happy birthday were now shouting, “Congratulations on the new job, Sarah!” My face felt cold. I wiped my cheek. I didn’t even realize when I started crying. But I wasn’t sad. I just felt absolutely nothing inside. 3 Growing up in the faculty housing complex of a university, I had admired Carter, the resident academic genius, since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I was always quiet and awkward. I never fit in with their group. I would always sit by my window, enviously watching Carter and Sarah chase each other and play. I studied like my life depended on it. Every time I saw our names ranked next to each other on the school’s honor roll, I would be incredibly happy. But I wasn’t as bubbly and cute as Sarah. Between Carter and me, we were always just polite strangers. It wasn’t until we both got into the same university, and Sarah went to a lower-tier college where she started dating someone else, that I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings to him. Heaven smiled on me. He said yes. From that day on, every single decision I made revolved around him. When he decided to stay at the university to teach, I gave up a prestigious opportunity to study abroad. My advisor pleaded with me countless times. She brought up my older peers who had returned from abroad to secure million-dollar salaries, become distinguished scholars, and achieve full professorships at incredibly young ages. But I just blushed and told her: “As long as I can have a stable, peaceful life with him, that’s enough for me.” I poured absolutely everything I had into him. All I wanted was him. Yet he had never once considered me. Standing in the freezing winter wind, I let out a long, heavy breath and called my former Ph.D. advisor. “Professor? Excuse me, but… is that project you mentioned before still looking for people?” My professor paused for a split second before her voice exploded with excitement. “My dear girl, you finally figured it out?! “Of course we need you! This project practically has your name on it! Your junior colleague was begging and crying to join, but I still refused her! When do you plan on coming over? I’ll personally pick you up from the airport!” I smiled. “Give me about two weeks, Professor. I’ll head over as soon as I tie up loose ends here.” 4 Even though I wasn’t leaving immediately, I asked for all the detailed documentation on the project. Ireland has a significant time difference. By the time I hung up the phone, it was already getting dark for my professor. And for me, it was the middle of the night. My head was throbbing and heavy. I ran a hot bath, and as I sank into the water, the tension in my muscles finally started to ease. Exhaustion completely consumed me. Listening to the soft music playing, I drifted into a deep sleep. When I opened my eyes again, it was because of the sound of the front door opening. “Chloe?” It was Carter’s voice. His voice echoed through every room in the apartment, growing increasingly frantic. Until the bathroom door was pushed open, and his voice dropped low. “Chloe.” His gaze carried a hint of blame. I couldn’t fathom what he was angry about. Was he mad that I wasn’t sitting in the living room waiting for him like I usually did, ready to start a massive fight and interrogate him about his relationship with Sarah? “Oh, you’re back. Sorry, I fell asleep. I didn’t hear you.” Gripping the edge of the tub, I turned my head. “Could you please step out?” My attitude was polite but incredibly distant. He frowned. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted. “I didn’t come back earlier because Sarah had too much to drink. Her ex-boyfriend was harassing her, and I couldn’t just leave a girl alone…” “I know. Safety first, right?” He froze. I gave a soft chuckle. “You’re… not mad?” I laughed out loud. “What is there to be mad about? You guys grew up together. What’s wrong with walking your childhood friend home? Especially since she lives alone.” For a split second, the look Carter gave me was one of pure disbelief. I waited for a moment, and when he didn’t move, I just stood up to grab a towel. We lived together anyway. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen everything before. It was just that I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Wrapping the towel around myself, I turned to leave. He grabbed my wrist forcefully. “Chloe, can you just say what’s actually on your mind?” I paused. “What am I supposed to say?” He hesitated. “Don’t you… normally have a lot to say?” I thought about it for a second. It was true. In the past, every time we fought over Sarah, I was always the one relentlessly arguing, refusing to let it go. But I’ve realized that people only lose control and go crazy when their hearts are completely full of love. I didn’t feel anything anymore. Naturally, I had nothing left to say. So, I gently pushed his hand away. “Stop fooling around. It’s past 2 AM, and I have experiments to run tomorrow.” His hand, which I had pushed away, hung frozen in mid-air. I yawned. “Don’t stay up too late either. I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.” With that, I actually got into bed and closed my eyes. There was no sound from outside the door for a while. And then. SLAM! A deafening crash jolted me right as I was about to fall asleep. It was Carter. He slammed the door and left. I knew exactly why he was mad. He had finally, rarely, offered me an olive branch. And I actually refused to take it. 5 I slept incredibly well that night. The next morning, yawning, I ordered delivery. When I opened the door, there was already a birthday cake sitting on the dining table. Carter was sitting behind the cake. “A belated happy birthday, Chloe.” I froze in place, my food delivery app still open on the payment screen. “I know what happened yesterday upset you. We really couldn’t find the ring.” His long, pale fingers gently slid his phone across the table toward me. “That style didn’t really suit you anyway. Pick out a new one. Sarah can be a bit childish, so please don’t hold it against her. Kissing is a huge deal to us, but she’s always been careless and impulsive since we were kids. You…” “You actually got a custom cake made for me? Thank you so much!” My sudden exclamation cut off whatever else he was going to say. He stared at me, completely dumbfounded. “Chloe?” I leaned over the cake, reading the inscription aloud. “Wishing my baby is eighteen forever.” “What a sweet message. Thank you, I really love it!” He frowned. “Chloe…” I was busy pulling out plates and forks, but looked up when he spoke. “Yeah?” He lowered his eyes. “It’s nothing.” My voice was full of genuine delight. “This place has the best buttercream in the whole city. I can almost never get a reservation. You really put a lot of thought into this.” He gave a soft “Mhm,” his tone quiet and unreadable. “Chloe, the ring…” “Here, this is the biggest piece! You can’t let it go to waste!” I placed the largest slice of cake directly in front of him. Then, picking up a smaller piece for myself, I took a bite. “Is this a new flavor? It’s really good.” “Chloe.” He frowned deeply. “Can you please look at what I’m showing you?” I looked down. On his phone screen was the official website for Darry Ring (DR). The diamond ring brand famous for the rule that a man can only customize one ring in his entire lifetime. My hand trembled slightly. I couldn’t even imagine how ecstatic I would have been if he had shown me this screen just one day earlier. But now, I just continued enjoying my favorite cake. “No thanks. Those are just marketing gimmicks. It’s too much of a hassle.” “Chloe?” Carter looked at me like I was being completely unreasonable. I smiled. “Really, I don’t care about that kind of stuff anymore. Don’t waste your money. Getting me this cake already makes me very happy.” Finishing my piece, I placed the empty plate on the table. “I have a meeting today, so I have to leave early. Remember to put the plates in the dishwasher.” Then, I turned and went into the bedroom to change. Scraaape. The sound of a chair being pushed back sharply. I turned around. Carter was putting his phone away. “Suit yourself. I’ll order one for Sarah. She likes this kind of stuff.” With that, he truly slammed the door and left. He hadn’t touched a single bite of the cake. For the next few days, I didn’t see him at the university at all.

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During the year we were madly in love, Julian died in a tragic car accident. Everyone expected me to fall apart, but I didn’t shed a single tear, nor did I cause a scene. Two years later, I accidentally walked into the wrong private room at a club. Julian was sitting there, passionately making out with a young girl. His friends scrambled to explain things to me: “The car crash was really bad, Mia. Julian was in a coma, practically a vegetable. He only just woke up, but he has amnesia… We didn’t want you to live in constant anxiety, so we kept it a secret.” Julian gently pushed the girl away, walked up to me, and furrowed his brow. “So, I hear you’re my fiancée? Even though I have no memory of you, seeing as you’ve been so devoted to me all this time, I suppose I can fulfill the promise and marry you.” I smiled faintly and replied, “They’re messing with you. We don’t know each other.” Julian didn’t know that on the very day he “died,” I received a video. In the video, Julian was laughing and telling his friends: “The thought of only sleeping with Mia for the rest of my life after we get married? I just can’t do it. “I’m going to fake my death and play the field for a few more years. Make sure you guys comfort her, don’t let her do anything drastic.” He also didn’t know that during the two years he was playing dead… I had found someone else. 1 The friends in the room froze for a second before frantically trying to persuade me: “Mia, how can you say you don’t know him? We were the ones who kept it from you, it wasn’t Julian’s fault!” “Yeah, Mia, we did it for your own good. We didn’t want you worrying yourself sick. Now that Julian is finally awake, please, don’t throw a tantrum.” The room was filled with accusatory tones. Before I could respond, a mocking scoff cut through the noise. Julian stood up from the sofa, a cigarette pinched casually between his fingers. He spoke with a lazy, arrogant drawl: “If she says we don’t know each other, then fine. Saves me the trouble of taking responsibility.” The girl standing next to him immediately clung to his arm, looking up at him with a mix of shyness and nervous excitement: “Julian… I know you! If she’s going to be so ungrateful… I-I’ll gladly marry you, okay?” Julian didn’t answer her. He just cast a cold, indifferent glance in my direction, then wrapped his arm around the girl’s waist and leaned in to kiss her. Seeing this, his friends immediately formed a human wall, blocking my view. They tried to comfort me: “Mia, Julian has amnesia. You know he loved you more than anything before the accident.” “Yeah, Mia. You just need to show him some love and care so he can get his memory back. Stop acting like a spoiled brat.” I opened my mouth, ready to tell these ‘friends’ exactly where they could shove their advice, but a sudden, sharp pain shot through my abdomen. My face instantly drained of color. I didn’t stay a second longer. I turned around and walked straight out of the room. I left so quickly that no one inside even had time to react. Only after I was completely gone did they turn to Julian, sighing heavily: “Julian, you took it too far. Mia is genuinely hurt and jealous. Her face went completely white. What if she really dumps you over this?” Julian smirked, sitting back down on the plush sofa. “Mia is easy to manage. We haven’t seen each other in two years; there’s no way she doesn’t miss me. “Besides, I supposedly have amnesia right now. Once I’m done having my fun, I’ll just tell her my memory came back and that my actions weren’t my own. I won’t even need to apologize. I’ll just crook my finger, and she’ll come running right back.” 2 Once I was out of the room, I couldn’t hold on anymore. I crouched down on the floor. The waves of agonizing pain radiating from my stomach drained every ounce of strength I had, making it impossible to even reach the restroom. Until a shadow fell over me. A familiar, deep voice echoed above: “What’s wrong? Heartbroken? Hoping to rekindle an old flame?” I looked up. A short distance away, Arthur Sterling was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me with a cool, detached gaze. He was dressed entirely in black. He had a sharp, straight nose, and his eyes were hidden in the dim lighting, making it impossible to read his expression. Under the faint light, the lines of his thin lips were sharp and elegant. In that split second, a profound sense of unjust grievance swelled in my chest. To my complete embarrassment, tears actually started falling from my eyes. Arthur panicked instantly. He dropped his arms and practically sprinted over to me. “Don’t cry. I won’t say it again. I promise.” He was in incredibly good shape, strong and solid. With one arm, he effortlessly scooped me up from the floor. The crisp scent of cedarwood filled my nose, subtly tugging at my heartstrings. I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered: “My stomach hurts…” Arthur paused for a fraction of a second. “Is it early?” I nodded. My lips accidentally brushed against his jawline as I rested my head against his broad shoulder. Arthur carried me to his car, turned the heat on high, and said: “Wait here. I’m going to buy you some supplies.” With that, he shut the door and walked away. The dim yellow streetlights cast a warm glow over his tall, retreating silhouette. Not long after, a video call popped up on my phone. It was Arthur. “They’re out of the brand you usually use. Do any of these look okay?” I was just about to pick one when a familiar, obnoxiously surprised voice echoed through his phone. Julian, with his arm wrapped tightly around his new girl’s waist, swaggered into the convenience store. He looked Arthur up and down, exclaiming: “We invited you out for drinks tonight and you bailed! Turns out you’re busy buying tampons for a girl! “Are you on a video call with her?! Let me see! Who on earth finally managed to melt our resident iceberg?!” Julian reached out, trying to snatch Arthur’s phone. I instinctively jerked my face away from the camera. But Julian never laid a finger on the phone. Arthur simply shot him a single, freezing glare, and Julian immediately pulled his hand back. “Alright, alright! If you’re going to be that protective of your new girl, at least bring her out to meet us sometime! “Oh, by the way, Arthur, I ran into Mia earlier. She walked into the wrong room and caught me kissing someone else. Scared the hell out of me! Luckily, the guys covered for me and told her I have amnesia. Once I’ve had my fun, I’ll ‘recover’ my memory. “Honestly, bro, you totally saved my life. I wasn’t ready to settle down, and that fake death idea you gave me worked like a charm!” The video feed jolted violently, and the next second, the call was abruptly disconnected. 3 Arthur returned ten minutes later. He didn’t make eye contact. He just handed me the bag of supplies, quickly got into the driver’s seat, and locked the doors. “I had someone prepare hot ginger and jujube tea at my place. Do you… want to go back and drink it?” His voice carried a hint of nervous hesitation. I couldn’t help but find it slightly amusing. Arthur Sterling was a notoriously wealthy and powerful heir in the capital’s elite circles. He was also Julian’s absolute best friend. In the past, whenever I joined Julian for dinners or events, Arthur was always there. Back then, he was incredibly cold and distant toward me. Whenever the group teased Julian and me, demanding we show some PDA, Arthur wouldn’t even glance in our direction. Sometimes, he even looked openly disdainful or disgusted. Because of that, everyone in their social circle assumed he absolutely hated me. Until… on the exact day of Julian’s ‘fatal’ car crash, I received a video. A video sent directly to me by Arthur. In the video, Julian was laughing and telling his friends: “The thought of only sleeping with Mia for the rest of my life after we get married? I just can’t do it. “I’m going to fake my death and play the field for a few more years. Make sure you guys comfort her, don’t let her do anything drastic.” What I didn’t know until tonight was that the entire ‘fake death’ scheme was actually Arthur’s idea. This man was incredibly calculating. 4 When we arrived at Arthur’s villa, before my feet even touched the pavement, he scooped me up into his arms. After I took care of things in the bathroom, Arthur laid me gently on the bed and handed me his phone to play games on. Once I finished the hot ginger tea, he naturally stripped off his shirt, lay down beside me, and began gently massaging my lower stomach. The overhead lighting cascaded down like a sheer veil, highlighting the sculpted lines of his abs. Every muscle seemed to tell a hidden story, practically begging to be explored. I thought about it, so I did it. Arthur’s eyes instantly darkened, and he caught my wandering hand. “Behave.” I ignored him. He cupped the back of my head and crushed his lips against mine. Two years was more than enough time for him to learn exactly how my body worked. When things reached a fever pitch, he gripped my hand. His voice was a ragged, hoarse whisper: “Help me—” I had discovered Arthur’s terrifying stamina the very first time I got drunk and slept with him. It wasn’t until my wrist was aching so badly it felt like it was going to fall off that he finally finished. Just as he was about to carry me to the bathroom to clean up, a phone rang from the edge of the bed. It was Arthur’s phone. I had accidentally rolled over and hit the ‘Answer’ button. “Arthur, I’m thinking of throwing a massive engagement party with Chloe, just to piss Mia off. What do you think? “When she saw I was alive, she didn’t even ask how I was doing! She just got jealous and stormed off, and she hasn’t even tried to contact me! “Clearly, two years apart gave her an ego. I need to break her down a bit. I want her to experience the agony of losing me all over again. I’m going to plan something epic, and I need you to…” Julian’s voice blared through the speaker. But he was abruptly cut off. Because I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a sharp gasp. Not because of Julian’s psychotic rambling, but because something else had suddenly woken back up. And it twitched aggressively in my hand. 5 I shot Arthur a furious, embarrassed glare. Julian’s voice continued through the phone, sounding incredibly amused: “Wow, Arthur! What the hell are you doing right now? Is there a woman with you?! Tell me, is it the same girl you were video chatting with earlier?!” After two years apart, and the fact that I only made a brief, muffled sound… Plus, Julian had been surrounded by countless women over the past two years, so he didn’t immediately recognize my voice. Arthur clearly had absolutely no intention of engaging with Julian. His dark, intense eyes were locked entirely on me, overflowing with desire. I glared at him again, wrenched myself out of his arms, and tried to scramble to the other side of the bed. But before I could even make it one step, Arthur grabbed my ankle and dragged me right back. Julian kept talking: “Bro, you HAVE to bring her out and introduce her! I need to see the saint who finally got the iron tree to bloom! And hey, now that you’re finally playing the game, you can’t turn down the girls I introduce you to anymore! “Oh, right, the engagement party. Originally I wanted you to invite Mia so she’d have to watch, but since I know you hate her…” Before Julian could finish, Arthur impatiently hung up the phone. He tossed the phone onto the mattress, scooped me up with one arm, and carried me to the bathroom. When we finally emerged, three hours had passed. Arthur looked incredibly satisfied. I shot him a death glare and collapsed onto the bed, refusing to acknowledge him. I picked up my own phone and saw a new text message. It was from one of Julian’s lackeys. Two years ago, Julian had integrated me into all of his social circles. [Mia, Julian is getting engaged to someone else in seven days! You need to come talk some sense into him! I don’t want him to regret this when he gets his memory back! This isn’t what he truly wants!] I read the message once, deleted it, and tossed my phone aside. I am not the kind of person who goes looking for drama when I have nothing better to do. What did Julian’s engagement have to do with me? Arthur reached out, trying to pull me back into his arms. I glared at him and swiftly shimmied to the far edge of the bed. I absolutely refused to endure another three or four-hour marathon! 6 The news that Julian wasn’t actually dead, and was about to get engaged, spread like wildfire. A ton of my friends reached out. Some offered sympathy, some aggressively cursed Julian out for being a scumbag, and some clearly just wanted front-row seats to the drama. My college roommate, Lily, called me, absolutely screaming about Julian. “When I heard Julian was alive, I was so incredibly happy for you! But then I hear he’s getting engaged to someone else?! That is completely fucked up! So what if he has amnesia, does that give him the right to betray you?! You’re his actual fiancée! Has no one told him that?! “Absolutely not. I am not letting my best friend get humiliated like this! I’m going to find out exactly where this engagement party is, and we are going to crash it and get justice!” I laughed. “People get divorced all the time; engagements can be broken too. My relationship with him died two years ago. Whatever he does now has absolutely nothing to do with me.” Lily remained fiercely indignant. “I just can’t stomach this… You waited for him for two years! I watched you stay single this entire time!” I choked slightly on the cookie I was eating. Who was waiting for him? It’s just that Arthur and I hadn’t made our relationship public yet. Lily spent another ten minutes trying to convince me to go confront Julian with her. When I firmly refused again, she sighed heavily. “Fine, fine. Do you want to go out tonight, then? We haven’t hung out in forever. Drinks are on me tonight!” Having nothing better to do, I agreed. Lily picked the location. She arrived before me. Looking at the massive, luxury hotel in front of me, I felt a wave of confusion. “Didn’t you say we were going to a bar? Why are we at a hotel?” Lily’s eyes darted around guiltily as she grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. “Bars are so unsafe at night! What if we get drunk and something bad happens? A high-end hotel is much safer! Plus, we can get some amazing food. It’ll be great!” She dragged me straight into the building. The moment the doors to the grand ballroom swung open, my expression turned to ice.

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In our past life, Chloe and I were adopted on the exact same day. Chloe, the bubbly little sunshine, was taken into a cold, strict, and unforgiving family, eventually driven to depression and suicide. And I, the gloomy, cynical one, was taken by a warm, loving family… only to be returned. After being sent back to the orphanage, I was severely isolated and eventually met the same tragic end as Chloe. Reborn into a new life, Chloe asked, “Should we…” Without hesitation, I said, “Switch.” 1 When the two couples came to choose, I noticed Chloe’s hands were trembling non-stop. It was entirely different from the eager anticipation she showed in our past life. I knew immediately: Chloe had been reborn too. As for me, I maintained my usual gloomy, apathetic expression. To my surprise, Chloe actively came over to comfort me. “Don’t worry, they’ll definitely pick you.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. They’ll just send me back anyway.” Hearing my words, Chloe’s eyes went wide. In that momentary eye contact, we rapidly communicated our shared memories. In our past life, Chloe was adopted by the wealthy and powerful Sterling family. However, when she enthusiastically threw herself into her new home, the freezing reality of the Sterlings left her bruised and broken. The Sterlings adopting a daughter from an orphanage seemed like nothing more than fulfilling a quota. They had no love for Chloe. They only offered programmatic, perfunctory care, along with a mountain of strict rules to control her. Chloe tried. She tried using her lively, obedient nature to earn some warmth, but all she got was severe self-doubt. Under that suffocating atmosphere, Chloe sank deeper into depression every single day. Finally, she took a leap from a high building, finding her only release. As for me, I was adopted by the Miller family. Mr. Miller was a middle school principal, and Mrs. Miller ran a kindergarten. Both of them possessed an endless, overflowing enthusiasm for children. They desperately wanted me to respond with that same level of enthusiasm. But no matter how hard I tried to fake it, I couldn’t. In the end, the Millers were disappointed and returned me to the orphanage. After returning, I became the ‘ungrateful brat’ in everyone’s eyes. Many of the other kids resented me for wasting a precious adoption opportunity, leading to severe isolation. Coupled with the news of Chloe’s death, I lost all will to live. I never expected we would both be reborn. 2 Just like in our previous life, both the Sterlings and the Millers wanted Chloe. Just standing there, she radiated the vibrant energy of a sunflower. Who wouldn’t like her? Being chosen by both meant one family had to give her up. In our past life, the orphanage director stepped in to smooth things over. She pushed Chloe toward the Sterlings and suggested the Millers take me instead. The Millers, noting that I looked somewhat similar to Chloe, agreed. In this life, the exact same stalemate occurred. But this time, without waiting for the director to step in, I proactively walked toward the Sterlings and said, “Choose me. I can become exactly what you want.” Mr. and Mrs. Sterling were stunned. Meanwhile, Chloe sprinted to the Millers’ side, smiling sweetly. “Thank you so much for wanting to take me home.” The Millers joyfully accepted her. And just like that, the Sterlings had no choice but to agree to my request. So, in this life, Chloe went to the Millers. And I, Ava, went to the Sterlings. 3 The Sterling family currently consisted of three people. With me, there were four. Arthur Sterling was the father, Victoria was the mother, and Julian was the older brother. All three were entirely consumed by their work, so the house was usually cold and empty. We only saw each other during dinner. Honestly, I loved the quietness of the day. I could read my manga in perfect peace. When the maids asked, “Miss Ava, would you like [insert food] for lunch today?”, a simple nod was all it took. As for their muttered complaints of “Why doesn’t she speak all day?”, I just pretended I didn’t hear them. Dinner time, however, wasn’t nearly as relaxing. Even when Arthur put food on my plate, it sounded like an order. “Eat this piece of fish.” I immediately held up my bowl to receive it, replying with equal seriousness, “Understood. Thank you, sir.” An eerie, awkward silence instantly fell over the dining table. Even Julian, who had treated me like thin air since I walked through the door, shot me a glance. Victoria finally spoke up. “You don’t need to be so formal at home.” Except, her expression was freezing cold when she said it. I nodded. “Understood. I see.” Victoria sighed. She looked at Julian and said, “Starting today, remember to teach your sister some proper etiquette and rules.” Julian rolled up his sleeves and gave a low, dark “Okay.” 4 The next day, Chloe rushed over to meet me. After jumping out of the car, she enthusiastically waved at the driver’s seat. “Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!” “Bye, sweetie!” A warm laugh echoed from the car. I knew Chloe going to the Millers was exactly the right choice. The first thing Chloe asked when she saw me was, “How are things at the Sterlings’?” Before I could answer, she sighed. “Actually, asking is pointless.” However, Chloe told me a lot more about the Sterling family. It turned out the reason the Sterlings went to the orphanage in the first place was because their biological daughter had died in an accident. They wanted to adopt a girl of a similar age to fill the void. This was entirely Arthur and Victoria’s idea. Julian was vehemently opposed to it. He believed that his sister was gone, and she shouldn’t be replaced by a new one. That’s why, in our past life, Julian’s attitude toward Chloe was always abysmal. Chloe warned me repeatedly, “No matter how Julian treats you, absolutely ignore him.” 5 But it was impossible for me not to interact with Julian. Per Victoria’s orders, he had to teach me the rules of high-society living. Julian called me into his study. The moment I stepped inside, his handsome face instantly radiated pure ice. He frowned and snapped, “Don’t you know how to knock?” I replied rigidly, “I apologize. I will try again.” I stepped out, knocked several times, and only went back in after. Julian continued to scrutinize me. “In a few days, it will be your Aunt Victoria’s birthday. Many people will be here. What will you say when you meet them?” I said expressionlessly, “Hello, I am Ava. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Julian looked at me. “Do you not know how to smile?” “I am not naturally inclined to smile.” Julian: “…” Finally, he said to me, “Being like this will make it very hard for people to like you.” That’s fine. I don’t really care about that. However, Julian seemed slightly shocked to see a faint, disdainful smirk ghost across my lips. “A dead pig doesn’t fear boiling water,” he scoffed coldly. Keep insulting me. What if I actually start enjoying it? 6 Since Julian declared I was too difficult to teach, Victoria decided to take over personally. Aside from when I was at school, Victoria would make time to supervise me during my other activities, like piano and tennis lessons. While I was playing the piano, Victoria sighed repeatedly. “Why do your hands look like chicken claws?” “In the past, every time it was my birthday,” Victoria continued, “Lily would come out and play the piano. Making you do it right now is like trying to teach a pig to sing.” Lily was the Sterlings’ deceased daughter. I looked at Victoria and said, “I can do it next year.” “Next year?” Victoria said casually. “That depends entirely on your performance.” Even though I was impervious to most things, when Victoria said that, my sharp instincts picked up on the key information. So I said, “I will perform well. Please don’t send me back.” “So you are afraid of that.” A slight ripple appeared in Victoria’s usually cold expression. “Ava, I recall you saying you were willing to become whatever we wanted you to be, correct?” I nodded. “Yes.” “What if I want you to become just like Lily?” I remembered the family portrait hanging in the villa. The Lily in the photo looked gentle and elegant. I had learned a little bit of drawing in the past, so I imagined myself as a model mimicking Lily, and successfully produced a soft smile. Victoria was instantly captivated. She looked at me critically. “Not bad.” That day, I practiced in the soundproof piano room until the early hours of the morning, eventually falling asleep on the bench. The nanny found me there the next morning. When Julian found out, he was disgusted by how desperately I was trying to flatter them. But Victoria was very satisfied. 7 Victoria’s birthday arrived. As the banquet approached, the Sterling family dressed impeccably. As for me, I was wearing a snow-white cocktail dress that Victoria had prepared, with a beautiful ribbon clip fastened in my styled hair. But after I put it on, a fully suited Julian walked in, ripped the ribbon clip from my hair, and demanded of Victoria: “What right does she have to wear the same clothes as Lily?!” Victoria: “Because she is your sister now.” Julian pointed at me and said, “How is she my sister?! My sister is dead!” Victoria’s face darkened. “You are not the master of this house yet. Not unless I’m dead too.” “Fine. Perfect.” Julian sneered. He turned to me. “Ava, listen to me. You do not deserve this.” I didn’t say a word. Julian locked onto me with a piercing glare. “Ava, do you have absolutely no self-respect?” Hearing that, I froze for a moment. I sort of understood why Chloe had found the Sterling household so suffocating. I could imagine that if she were here, she would be drowning in a tidal wave of grievance and injustice right now. But I seemed to have been born missing a crucial sensitivity chip. No matter how harsh the words were, when they hit my ears, it was like dropping a coin onto a pile of cotton—it didn’t even make a muffled thud. “I apologize. I will be more mindful next time.” Julian turned to Victoria. “Mom, look at her. Look at how pathetic she is.” Victoria said in dissatisfaction, “Ava, have you forgotten what I told you?” Oh, right. Be like Lily. I held my hand out and said gently, “Brother, please give the hair clip back to me.” I just needed to follow orders. Julian shuddered violently. He immediately threw the butterfly clip back at me and ordered, “Do not ever call me that again.” Sorry, but Victoria makes the rules in this house. 8 Chloe also attended the banquet because the Millers and the Sterlings were acquaintances. Chloe stealthily pulled me aside and pulled out a wallet. She said, “Ava, I get so much allowance now! Did you buy Aunt Victoria a birthday present? You absolutely cannot skip the present. If you don’t have enough money, I’ll give you some.” “No need, I have money. Just save yours. What if in the future…” I paused. I originally wanted to say, what if the Millers don’t want you in the future? But then I remembered Chloe wasn’t me. The Millers would adore her. I continued, “I already gave Aunt Victoria her present.” “What was it?” “Aunt Victoria likes watercolors, so I painted her a picture.” Chloe: “Then she must love it.” Before giving it to her, I wasn’t sure if Victoria would like it. But this morning, when I saw that watercolor painting sitting in the trash can, I knew she didn’t really like it. Oh, she disliked it very much. While Chloe and I were talking, Victoria came over and pulled me away, telling me to go greet the guests.

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I genuinely thought I was dating Liam. That is, until he casually said: “Hey, my girlfriend is coming to visit. You should probably stay somewhere else for a while.” I completely froze, the words slipping out before I could stop them: “Aren’t I your girlfriend?” His response was an unapologetic, mocking laugh. “Seriously? I was just messing around, and you actually took it seriously?” 1 I pressed my swollen, feverish lips together. For a terrifying second, I couldn’t tell if he was joking or being completely serious. Liam’s devastatingly handsome face was inches from mine. His alluring, slightly slanted eyes held a faint, teasing smirk—the kind of look that made people weak in the knees. I turned my head away. The floor from the entryway to the living room was littered with our discarded clothes. Just a second ago, we were completely intertwined. “I’m dead serious this time.” Liam grabbed my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. “It’s Chloe. The childhood sweetheart I’ve always loved. You can’t ruin this for me, okay?” My nose stung. I violently ripped myself from his grip and looked down. Chloe. I hadn’t heard that name in years. When Liam first came to live with my family, he would cry out her name in his sleep almost every night. He constantly begged his mom to let him go see ‘Chloe,’ but she always firmly refused. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but he eventually stopped bringing it up. He stopped saying her name. I thought he had forgotten… Seeing me stay silent for so long, Liam leaned down, inspecting my face. “Wait, seriously? You didn’t actually fall for me, did you? I’m five years younger than you! You really want to be a cradle snatcher?” He threw his head back, laughing as he sprawled out on the sofa. “If my mom knew this was how you were ‘taking care’ of me, what do you think she’d say?” His words felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head, chilling me to the bone. I blinked rapidly, stubbornly refusing to let the tears fall. “I-I’ll go pack my things.” I shoved his legs off of me, frantically grabbed my clothes from the floor, and pulled them on. I practically sprinted into my bedroom, grabbing whatever clothes I could find and shoving them into a suitcase. Liam threw on a pair of sweatpants and leaned against my doorframe, arms crossed, watching me in silence. The profound, agonizing shame of feeling completely naked and exposed in public crushed me so completely I couldn’t even lift my head. 2 I genuinely believed Liam and I were dating. We lived under the same roof. We did everything together. We hugged, kissed, and made love in every corner of this apartment, exactly like a couple. He loved the nightlife, often staying out at clubs until the early hours of the morning. No matter how late it was, he would always call me to come pick him up, claiming it was an exclusive “girlfriend privilege.” When his frat-bro friends chanted for us to get married, he would pull me into his arms and say I was the boss of the house, warning them not to scare me away. He would wrap his arms around my neck and whine until I made him midnight snacks. And when the nosy aunties downstairs chased me around trying to set me up on blind dates, he would grab my hand, kiss me right in front of them, and publicly claim me. But apparently, in his mind, every single one of those things was just a hilarious joke. Dragging my suitcase to the intersection, I felt completely, utterly lost. For the past five years, my entire life consisted of exactly two things: Liam, and work. Now that I had left his apartment, I literally didn’t know where to go. “If you don’t know where to go, go make some money.” My director took my suitcase from me, looking at me with deep sympathy. “Fuckboys play with your feelings. Money doesn’t.” She slid a transfer application form across her desk. She had asked me to transfer to the corporate headquarters with her countless times. I always refused, claiming I preferred “stability.” The real reason, of course, was that I didn’t want to do long-distance with Liam. But now… “You aren’t still in love with him, are you?” I stared blankly for a second before answering honestly, “I don’t know.” Claiming I felt absolutely nothing would be a lie. We had known each other for nineteen years, and we were in love… Wait, no. We were in a situationship for five years. You don’t just erase that kind of history overnight. But I still took the transfer application. Leaving was the most dignified exit I could possibly manage. 3 I just didn’t expect to step foot in Liam’s apartment again so soon. Liam’s phone was turned off again. Unable to reach him, his mother defaulted to calling me. She gently reminded me to take good care of him and drop off his lunch. I didn’t even have a chance to explain our current situation to her. After agonizing over it, I caved. When I was eleven, Aunt Sarah married my dad, bringing Liam with her. It was the first time I had ever experienced a mother’s love. Later, my dad was killed in a horrific car accident, and the severe injuries I sustained left me with a permanent limp in my right leg. For three agonizing days in that hospital bed, I was consumed by absolute despair and terror. I didn’t even dare close my eyes. Right when I was at my most isolated and broken, Aunt Sarah and Liam rushed to the hospital. “Don’t be scared. You still have me and Liam. We will always be your family.” Her voice was so gentle, and the way she wiped away my tears was so tender. Even after she eventually reconciled and remarried her ex-husband, she never neglected me. She even used my father’s entire life insurance payout to send me abroad for specialized medical treatment. I could say no to anyone in the world, except Aunt Sarah. But when I opened the door, the painfully familiar apartment felt like a silent interrogation, forcing me to confront the memories I was desperately trying to suppress. Flashbacks of our intimacy assaulted me, ultimately freezing on the humiliating image of me fleeing the apartment last night. The vase I had accidentally shattered in the entryway was already replaced. The sunflowers I bought yesterday were gone, replaced by a massive bouquet of red roses. My favorite Stitch plushie was missing from the sofa, and the living room was spotlessly clean. For Liam, this was practically a miracle. Ever since I moved in, I was the one who did every single chore, big or small. I couldn’t remember the last time he had voluntarily cleaned anything. “Liam? Liam?” I called out softly. The door to his bedroom was shut tight. No answer. I gripped the takeout bag tighter. After a few seconds of hesitation, I pushed the handle down. “Liam? Your mom wants you to wake up and eat…” The bedroom was thick with a very specific, undeniable scent. Clothes were scattered haphazardly across the rug. Under the tangled duvet on the bed, two bodies were pressed intimately together. One of them was Liam. My voice woke him up. He aggressively rubbed his face, his morning voice dripping with intense irritation: “What do you want?!” The girl next to him stirred, her eyes half-closed as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck, before settling back into a peaceful sleep. The reality of the scene crashed over me like a tidal wave, wave after agonizing wave completely obliterating my thoughts. My brain was entirely blank. It actually hurt. “My mom made you bring me food again? How long has that been sitting there? It’s probably soggy by now. Just eat it yourself.” “I’m not making her eat takeout on her first day here anyway. I’m taking her out to a nice place, and then I’ll cook for her tonight.” Liam propped himself up on one elbow, revealing a chest covered in fresh hickeys. His utterly dismissive tone echoed in my head. It felt like I was choking on glass. 4 I remembered my thirtieth birthday. I had been so incredibly hopeful, just wanting him to personally cook me a simple bowl of noodles for tradition. And how did he respond? Oh, right. He threw his phone aside, wrapped his arms around me, bit my earlobe, and used that low, magnetic voice to lazily reject me: “So greedy. I already took the day off to stay home with you, isn’t that enough? Cooking is too much work. Let’s just order takeout so we don’t have to wash dishes.” In that moment, the smile froze on my face, and all my quiet hopes shattered into dust. As he shamelessly continued to initiate intimacy, I forced myself to swallow the disappointment. I rationalized it, telling myself that as a stereotypical “straight guy,” it was completely normal for him to lack romance and understand the importance of milestones. But looking at him now. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. He just couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort for me. “Liam, is this the older lady who lives with you? I want to get up, do you think she could… give us some privacy?” The woman’s soft, groggy voice cut through the silence. Her large, shimmering eyes stared directly at me. The older lady who lives with him? I instinctively looked at Liam. He was the one who had sneaked into my company dorms multiple times while I was at work, packing my things and moving them to his apartment. He was the one who explicitly told me that this was my home now, and that I was the woman of the house. But right now, he couldn’t even be bothered to look at me. He was entirely focused on gently running his fingers through the woman’s hair. I opened my mouth, but swallowed the words before they could escape. Anything I said would just make me look like an even more pathetic, desperate clown. I turned around and practically sprinted out the door, feeling exactly like a humiliated, defeated coward. Staring at the completely cold bowl of wonton soup in my hands. I aggressively cursed my own cowardice and hated myself for crying so easily. And Liam wasn’t about to let me go quietly. Barely thirty minutes later, he called me. “Didn’t I specifically tell you not to ruin this for me?! Can you use your brain for one second?! You’re thirty years old, do you not know how to knock on a bedroom door?!” “Your little stunt terrified Chloe! She was being perfectly polite to you, and you just threw a fit and ran off! Now she feels incredibly awkward, and I have to spend all my time trying to calm her down!” “This is an absolute nightmare! I never should have taken pity on you and let you stay here!” His voice grew louder and more piercing with every word. My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. My hand was shaking. Just as I finally gathered the courage to speak, the line went completely dead. I was the one who was completely blindsided, humiliated, and publicly degraded. How did I end up being the one who did everything wrong? 5 I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined our relationship would end up like this. The first time I met Liam, he was only 6 years old. He barely came up to my waist, but he stood in front of my dad and swore, in his squeaky little voice, that he would never let anyone bully me. From that day on, whenever he wasn’t in school, he was basically superglued to my side, following me around like a little tail. In other families, the older sibling compromises for the younger one. In ours, it was the exact opposite. Whenever he got a new toy, he would look at me with big, expectant eyes, insisting I play with it first. Whenever he had a delicious snack, the very first bite was always offered to me. After school, he would always wait for me at the gates. The second he saw me, he’d launch himself at me like a happy little deer, excitedly chattering about everything that happened that day. Even when relatives gave him red envelopes for Lunar New Year, he would immediately hand all the cash over to me, looking incredibly proud as he asked me to keep it safe for him. A younger brother like that was literally an angel. But all of that joy and warmth was violently annihilated in a car crash three years later. After my dad passed away, a tiny Liam knelt in front of his grave and solemnly swore he would protect me forever. When his parents got back together, he literally went on a hunger strike, threatening his grandparents until they finally agreed to let me live with him. When his grandmother called me a “cursed jinx,” he didn’t hesitate for a second. He immediately stepped in front of me to defend me, and spent all his saved-up allowance on candy to make me feel better. All those warm, beautiful memories were real. But now, he was saying he regretted it. When he was twenty, he snuck into my room, his face burning red, and clumsily stole my first kiss. He didn’t say he regretted it then. Throughout the years, playing all those ambiguous, flirtatious games with me in front of all his friends… he didn’t say he regretted it then. When he turned twenty-five, and we finally crossed that final line, half-resisting, half-yielding… he didn’t say he regretted it then. And now, just because my presence made his precious childhood sweetheart slightly uncomfortable, he was completely obliterating all the laughter, the tears, the deep affection, and the years of companionship we had shared. The massive, agonizing chasm between the past and the present finally broke me. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. … I only want to see you, only want to see you, in the future and the past… My ringtone suddenly shattered the silence. The name ‘Liam’ glared mockingly on the screen. I hesitated. My emotions were a chaotic, tangled mess. After agonizing over it for a long time, I finally answered: “Aunt Sarah told me to bring you lunch. If there’s an issue with that, you can…” “Mia. I’m so sorry.” A soft, sobbing voice interrupted my defense. It was Chloe. “Liam just told me he yelled at you. It’s all my fault for being so sensitive and making you feel bad. He was just overly anxious about me, and he lost his temper. I’m apologizing for him. Please don’t take it to heart.” “I know an apology isn’t enough. If you have time in the next few days, I want to take you shopping to make it up to you. You can pick out whatever you want. Please, just give me a chance to fix this.” Chloe’s tone was incredibly humble and apologetic. It completely threw me off. After all, she had almost nothing to do with what actually happened, yet Liam, the one solely responsible, was aggressively defending her. Right on cue, frustrated by my prolonged silence, Liam sounded even more annoyed than Chloe: “Mia, Chloe is literally apologizing to you personally! What more do you want?! Don’t forget that if it wasn’t for me and my mom, you’d be a crippled, useless orphan on the streets!” Liam’s words were like a jagged knife plunged directly into my heart. He ruthlessly tore open my deepest, most agonizing scars, dragging my most vulnerable insecurities into the light, offering them up as a sacrifice to the woman he truly loved.

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After being hit by a car, the doctor told me I had suffered a head injury and might experience amnesia. When I woke up, I jokingly asked the man sitting by my hospital bed who he was. He paused for a second, then replied that we were just friends. 1 I stared at Arthur, who had just uttered the words “just friends,” his face a mask of cold detachment. He definitely wasn’t joking. The words “Gotcha” died in my throat. I could only look at him in silence. I suspect if the hospital hadn’t called him directly, he wouldn’t even be here. But I didn’t question him. I just paused, then forced a polite, oblivious smile. “Oh, really? I’m so sorry to trouble you, then.” He gave a curt “Mm,” looking at his phone screen as if my presence was a massive inconvenience. “Since you’re awake, I’m heading out. Things to do at the office.” Before I could even process what was happening, he was on his feet and heading for the door. Just as he pulled the door open, perhaps driven by a microscopic shred of remaining conscience, he glanced back and tossed out a generic: “Get some rest.” The polite smile stayed plastered on my face until the door clicked shut. Only then did it drop, leaving me completely expressionless. No one knew Arthur and I were dating. We were college sweethearts. After graduation, we moved to the city together and both landed jobs as marketing strategists at a top-tier firm. We were young, but we knew the stigma around office romances, so we mutually agreed to keep our relationship a total secret. Four years later, we both got promoted to branch managers, leading competing teams. At that point, going public was even more out of the question. So, we remained a secret. I had hesitantly asked him a few times if we should just tell people—it wasn’t strictly against company policy—but he always brushed me off, changing the subject. Honestly, right now, I didn’t even know if we still counted as a couple. Well, today I got my answer. The doctor told Arthur I might have temporary amnesia, but also stressed there was nothing to worry about and I would recover quickly. Knowing all that, and knowing the logic didn’t add up, he still looked me in the eye and called us “just friends.” He obviously didn’t care what would happen when I “got my memory back.” He didn’t care if I actually had amnesia or if I was just messing with him. He had probably been wanting to break up for a long time. Makes sense. If we don’t break up, how can he officially pursue Chloe? 2 A woman’s intuition is more accurate than military radar. Even before this incident, our relationship had grown stale. We had been together for too long. From sophomore year of college to now, it had been seven years. We knew each other as well as we knew the lines on our own palms. He couldn’t hide any changes from me. The shift started when a new intern, Chloe Lee, joined his department. She was fresh-faced and pretty. Her last name was Lee. The HR rep who handles employee files once gossiped with me that in the ‘Father’s Name’ section of Chloe’s intake form, she wrote ‘Richard Lee’—the CEO of our company. A wealthy heiress slumming it in his department. At first, that was Arthur’s excuse for taking such good care of her. “I can’t exactly afford to offend her, can I? Besides, she’s practically a child. Totally not my type. You’re overthinking it.” I didn’t bother pointing out that this “child” was actually two years older than me. I accepted his excuse in silence. Later, I couldn’t tell if he just didn’t care enough to hide it, or if he genuinely wanted me to find out. About two weeks after Chloe started, I logged into a music streaming app Arthur hadn’t used in ages to find some background music for a presentation. I noticed he and Chloe were following each other. He hadn’t listened to music in two years because work had been so crazy. This was an account we shared back in college. We used to listen to music together all the time; our shared listening history was over 13,000 hours. Back then, he even made a playlist named after me. It was filled with cheesy love songs that reminded him of me, artists I liked, songs I shared on social media, and tracks he listened to when he missed me during our long-distance summer breaks… I checked. He had deleted that playlist. His recent listening history was filled with trendy K-pop songs—stuff he had zero interest in, but that Chloe listened to constantly. We work in marketing. I told myself he was just trying to stay updated on what younger demographics were into. I was just overthinking it. So I didn’t say a word. I just quietly logged out of his account. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t make a scene or throw accusations without hard evidence. After all, the person who wins the poker game is always the one who talks the least and hides their expressions the best. Of course, his “coincidences” and “shared interests” with Chloe didn’t stop there. In early February, his team took on a massive project. I was leading my own team out of state, handling a different campaign. I only heard rumors that the main client contact for his project, a British executive, was notoriously difficult to work with. After working a 14-hour day without even having time to eat, I tried calling him to ask how the project was going. He didn’t answer. Assuming he was busy, I shot him a text instead. He never replied. Later, I saw he had posted a team photo on his social media. Chloe was standing right next to him, flashing a peace sign and a brilliant smile. The project had clearly gone well. His caption read: “Know the enemy, know yourself.” Chloe posted the same photo with the caption: “A hundred battles, a hundred victories.” I clicked on his profile and saw he had changed his status to match hers. It was an inside joke, a shared moment of triumph that only the two of them understood. His previous status had been: “Sailing through the night, guided by the clear moonlight.” Because my name is Mia. Mia Claire. ‘Claire’ meaning clear moonlight. I don’t know if he thought of me for even a second when he erased our shared status. Probably not. Because he never returned my call, and he never replied to my text. But he did leave a comment on Chloe’s photo: “Eat something soon. Don’t ruin your stomach.” I rubbed my own empty, aching stomach, and turned off my phone. That was strike two. 3 I was discharged from the hospital three days later. The doctors kept me under observation and finally cleared me. I hadn’t received a single message from Arthur the entire time. Someone did, however, send a bouquet of Cappuccino roses—my favorite. Holding the flowers, I decided to give Arthur one last chance. Sitting in the hospital corridor, I called him. It rang for a long time before he finally answered. I kept my voice gentle. “Arthur, I’m being discharged today. Do you have time to come pick me up?” We both tacitly avoided mentioning the “amnesia” or the “just friends” incident. We pretended it never happened. He was silent. After a long pause, he said, “I’m sorry, Mia. I’m completely swamped right now. I can’t get away. Do you want me to call you an Uber?” “What are you busy with?” I asked calmly. He paused again. He was probably surprised; I was usually so understanding and rarely pressed him for details. I knew for a fact that our first quarter projects had just wrapped up. This was our downtime. But he claimed he was busy. He didn’t answer. I sighed and hung up the phone. When a man stops loving you, it’s incredibly obvious. I remember right after we graduated, I had a severe stomach virus at 3 AM. Before I passed out, I managed to call him. When I woke up, he was sitting by my hospital bed, his eyes red. He was wearing one slipper and one sneaker, and both were for the left foot. I couldn’t help but laugh weakly. He looked terrified, his eyes brimming with tears. “Don’t laugh. When I opened your door and saw you on the floor, my heart literally stopped.” “Next time, call 911 first! What if I hadn’t answered? It’s too dangerous.” I had smiled at him then, completely dependent and trusting. “But to me, you’re the safest option.” See? He used to care about me so much. We really did have a beautiful, genuine, passionate history together. Even though it was almost completely unrecognizable now, remembering those distant moments still brought a bitter, self-deprecating smile to my face. I shook my head and tossed the expensive bouquet into the nearest trash can. “Didn’t you like the flowers?” a voice asked from behind me. I turned around. It was a man I didn’t recognize. He pointed at the trash can and apologized. “I’m so sorry. My driver accidentally hit you yesterday. I brought you to the hospital and contacted your emergency contact, but I had an urgent meeting and had to leave.” “The flowers are a get-well gift. I’ve also taken care of all your hospital bills. I’m truly sorry for the inconvenience. If you need anything else, please let me know.” I let out a harsh, silent laugh. Even the flowers were from a stranger. I looked up, offering a polite, composed apology. “I’m sorry. I assumed someone else sent them.” I sighed internally. I have always been a reasonable, dignified person. But having good manners doesn’t mean I’m weak or easily manipulated. Arthur and I were completely, irrevocably done. 4 When I got back from the hospital, Arthur was already home. I unlocked the door and walked in. He was sitting on the sofa, the TV playing some variety show he had absolutely zero interest in. He was staring at his phone, texting someone, a soft smile playing on his lips. The screen’s glow illuminated his face. It was an incredibly tender look. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had seen that smile directed at me. I stopped in the entryway. He was so engrossed he didn’t even hear the door open. I finally called his name softly: “Arthur.” He dropped his smile instantly and looked up. My eyes fell on his hands. He reflexively locked his phone screen and placed it face down on the sofa. He looked at me, genuinely surprised. “You’re back?” That was the moment I finally broke into a real smile. Laughing at him, and laughing at myself. I looked at him gently, my tone distant and indifferent. “We need to talk.” Our breakup was highly “civilized.” We are both very pragmatic people. The entire process didn’t take long at all. We are mature adults; we value maintaining a facade of decency. When everything is laid bare, there really isn’t much left to discuss. It’s just a mutual, unspoken understanding. After I said “Let’s break up,” he didn’t ask why. He just stayed silent. I imagine, in that moment, he felt a profound sense of relief. After a long pause, he finally muttered an “I’m sorry.” I didn’t accept his apology. I just calmly outlined the logistics of our separation. My tone was flat, my expression completely devoid of sorrow. My reaction clearly surprised him. After I told him he needed to move out as soon as possible, he suddenly interrupted me. “Mia, you don’t seem sad at all.” He frowned, his eyes locked onto my face, scrutinizing me with intense curiosity, as if he genuinely couldn’t understand. Men are truly pathetic creatures. Even when he no longer loves me, even when this breakup is exactly what he wanted… seeing me so calm and unaffected bruises his ego. In his mind, I should have been crying hysterically, begging him to stay. Only then would his annoyance be mixed with a satisfying dose of superiority. I looked at him, feeling absolutely nothing. I didn’t tell him I had already done all my grieving. I grieved when he ignored my messages but instantly commented on Chloe’s social media posts. I grieved when he deleted the playlist he made for me just so he could listen to the K-pop Chloe liked. I grieved when he stared at me while I was faking amnesia and told me we were just friends. And I grieved while he was lost in the thrilling, ambiguous tension of a new romance with Chloe, right under my nose. To me, he was like a benign tumor. It was there, it wasn’t immediately fatal, but I knew if I left it alone, it would eventually turn malignant and slowly drain the life out of me. There was nothing to fear. As long as it was still benign, I just needed to cut it out completely. The pain is temporary. I will heal. Before Arthur finished packing and left, I asked him one final, calm question. “Arthur, did you change your mind because Chloe is Richard Lee’s daughter, or simply because she is who she is?” He stopped in the entryway and looked back. He was just as tall and broad-shouldered as the day I met him in college, but his handsome face had lost its youthful innocence, replaced by a cold, calculating maturity. I always thought of him as that boy on the campus quad, his face red as he clumsily confessed his feelings to me. It wasn’t until this exact moment I realized that, somewhere along the line, he had morphed into a ruthless adult, meticulously weighing the pros and cons in a sea of corporate ambition. He paused for a long time before finally saying, “Mia, people always want to climb higher.” That single sentence made me laugh out loud. I respected him for being at least seventy percent honest. I looked at him and smiled, a genuine, sincere smile. “Arthur, then I wish you the best of luck. May you soar to the top and get everything you ever wanted.” His eyes lingered on my face. Deep in his gaze, there was a fleeting hint of melancholic regret. But that regret was microscopic compared to his burning ambition. Finally, he sighed and said, “Mia, don’t hate me.” I didn’t even bother replying. 5 The worst part about office romances is that even after you break up, you can’t just elegantly disappear from each other’s lives. No matter what happens, you still have to go to work. When my cab pulled up to the office building, I saw Arthur and Chloe. They weren’t alone; the rest of his team was there too. It was lunchtime. They were probably heading out to eat. Chloe was vibrant and animated, a bright, flirtatious smile on her face. She was walking backward, facing Arthur, gesturing wildly as she talked. Arthur had a soft smile on his lips, watching her with incredible tenderness. He kept an eye on the traffic and pedestrians behind her, gently pulling her arm to steer her away when she almost bumped into someone. It was a painfully familiar, yet entirely alien sight. After we broke up, he seemed genuinely happy. I stayed in the cab until they disappeared into the dim sum restaurant down the street. Only then did I look away. The cab driver looked at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes gleaming with gossip. “You got a crush on that tall, handsome guy?” I smiled and clarified, “That’s my ex-boyfriend.” The driver’s expression instantly shifted from gossip to agonizing awkwardness. He looked like he desperately wanted to comfort me but didn’t know how. I graciously let him off the hook. “It’s fine. It hasn’t affected me at all.” When I walked into the office, Emma saw me and her face lit up. “Mia! You’re back! You didn’t even let us come visit you in the hospital.” I smiled as I walked to my desk. “It was nothing major. Look, I’m perfectly fine. How’s the post-mortem on the Hong Kong project?” She followed me into my office, handed me a stack of printed reports, and then glanced nervously out into the bullpen. Seeing it was mostly empty, she leaned in and whispered, “Mia, before you look at the data, I need to tell you something.” I set the files down and looked at her. For some reason, she looked incredibly indignant. “Mia, you know Albert is transferring to manage the Nanjing branch next month, right? Everyone is saying the vacant Director position is basically a toss-up between you and Arthur.” “You two have been neck-and-neck in performance for years. I’m not trying to gossip, and honestly, if it came down to pure merit, whether you or Arthur got it, we’d all respect the decision.” “But… but…” She hesitated, biting her lip, looking like she was struggling to find the words. I smiled, my tone gentle. “It’s okay. It’s just us here. Tell me.” She took a breath and whispered, “A few days ago, I saw Arthur and that new intern, Chloe, hugging in the breakroom.” The rumor that Chloe was the CEO’s daughter was an open secret in the office. Emma was furious because she believed Arthur was playing dirty to win the promotion. I traced the edge of the report folder, suddenly fighting the urge to laugh. While I was sitting in a hospital bed, staring at my phone and wondering why Arthur had completely vanished, he was busy wrapping his arms around his new golden ticket. But it was entirely expected. I let out a self-deprecating laugh, and even had to comfort Emma. “It’s fine. HR decisions are made by upper management. We just need to focus on doing our jobs well. Whatever happens, happens.” Emma sighed heavily, and I lowered my head to review the data. When Arthur knocked on the glass door of my office, I was genuinely surprised. In my mind, even though our breakup was relatively peaceful and we hadn’t burned the bridge completely, that just meant I was a rational adult. It didn’t mean Arthur and I were suddenly going to be casual work buddies who could chat like nothing happened. Unless absolutely necessary, I assumed neither of us would want any private interaction ever again. Until I found out why he was there. He stood in front of my desk, tall and imposing. His eyes swept over me before he finally spoke. “Mia, I thought you would have resigned by now.” His tone sounded like a mix of friendly advice and a veiled warning. “Mia, we were together for seven years. Don’t accuse me of being ruthless. Albert leaves for Nanjing next month. One of us is going to take his place as Director.” “If I were you, I would start making other plans and finding an exit strategy.” I stared at him. I understood exactly what he was implying. He was absolutely certain he was going to get the promotion. He was telling me to quit. Because once he became Director, and his girlfriend was the CEO’s ‘daughter,’ he would inevitably force me out to avoid any awkward workplace gossip. This “warning” was his version of being “kind”—giving me a head start to find a new job. I could accept a man’s infidelity and his change of heart. After all, feelings are fragile and rarely survive being tested. But I never imagined he would completely abandon his basic humanity. I looked at him like he was a complete stranger. Under his gaze, I uttered my first curse word of the day: “Arthur, you are absolute garbage.” He took it in silence. 6 My first direct confrontation with Chloe happened a week after that conversation with Arthur. After breaking up with me, Arthur—who had insisted on keeping our relationship a secret for years because “office romances are bad”—went incredibly public with Chloe. I saw their disgustingly sweet posts on social media. Coworkers flooded the comments with congratulations. Only our mutual friends from college messaged me in shock, asking what happened. I didn’t reply to a single one. The day Chloe cornered me was a perfectly ordinary afternoon. The office was mostly empty; people were either out to lunch or napping at their desks. I was in the breakroom, grinding coffee beans. As the rich aroma filled the air, Chloe appeared behind me. I turned sideways to give her room to pass, but she didn’t move. She just stood there, looking me up and down with a highly suggestive smirk, and dropped the bomb: “I know you and Arthur used to date.” With her round, baby-doll face, she was shorter than me. I looked down at her calmly, raising an eyebrow in a silent, questioning expression. She looked up at me, her eyes slowly scanning my face. Disappointed that I didn’t give her the dramatic reaction she wanted, she paused before continuing: “I saw the playlist he named after you. And your matching statuses—’Sailing through the night, guided by the clear moonlight.’ Your secret relationship wasn’t as secret as you thought.” I remained silent, patiently waiting for her to finish. She said, “My… my dad really likes Arthur. You know how it is. Arthur is young, ambitious, mature, and driven. My dad says Arthur reminds him of himself when he was young.” “My dad wants to groom him for leadership. Arthur’s potential is limitless. And, conveniently, I really like him, and he likes me.” “Now we’re together. But Mia, your presence here is a bit of an eyesore. I strongly suggest you do the smart thing and resign.” That’s when I finally understood her game plan. First, a show of dominance, then a thinly veiled threat, and finally, a ‘helpful’ suggestion that I quit. I held my coffee cup, my expression perfectly calm, my tone even. I even let a small smile slip as I looked down at her. “Ms. Lee, any employee termination requires a formal HR process. I’m not sure if your little speech today is meant to fire me, or what.” “If you’re trying to fire me, company policy dictates that HR needs to schedule a formal meeting and provide me with valid grounds for termination.” Her face went pale, then flushed red. Perhaps she hadn’t expected me to be so unyielding. Before turning to leave, I watched her expression falter and added one final detail: “Oh, by the way. Any personnel changes regarding managers or higher require the direct, personal approval of the CEO. Which means, the only person in this entire company who can fire me… is the CEO. Ms. Lee, you are merely an intern in Arthur’s department. I think you’re overstepping your bounds.” I didn’t stick around to watch her face contort. I took my coffee and walked out. Not long after my little chat with Chloe, Albert’s official transfer notice to the Nanjing branch was announced. Before he left, the CEO hosted a farewell banquet. The entire management team was required to attend—all the department heads. We all knew that besides saying goodbye to Albert, this dinner would also serve to announce the critical leadership changes at headquarters. When the HR manager dropped the invitation on my desk, Emma was the only one who looked physically ill. I had personally mentored her. She leaned over my desk, first cheering me on, and then saying with absolute solemnity: “Mia, no matter what happens, our entire team has your back. If things go south here, we’ll all leave with you and go somewhere else.” I laughed, lightly tapping the invitation against her forehead. My voice was gentle. “What are you talking about? It’s just a dinner. Did you forget my life motto?” “When you hit water, build a bridge. When you hit a mountain, carve a path. What’s there to be afraid of?” Besides, the person who was going to lose this battle… definitely wasn’t going to be me.

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Right after high school graduation, I got engaged to my honorary “younger uncle.” But he only ever treated me like a kid. On our first night in our new home, my hands trembled as I reached up to untie his tie. He brushed my hands away with a lazy, mocking smile. “Do you honestly think I’m such an animal that I’d sleep with the niece I raised?” The very next day, he used a business trip as an excuse and flew overseas. Two years later, we ran into each other at a karaoke bar. At that exact moment, a senior from my university was publicly confessing his love to me. And my “uncle”? He was leaning against the wall, holding a drink, watching the whole show with absolute indifference. … Later that night, I sat nervously in the backseat of his Maybach, while he pinched my chin, studying me intently. “I raised you with my own two hands. Do you really think you could ever run away with anyone else?” 1 I only stepped out of the karaoke room to get some fresh air. I never expected to run into Liam Vance, the “younger uncle” I hadn’t seen in over two years, right there in the hallway. And I definitely didn’t expect to get cornered by a senior student confessing his feelings at the exact same time. I shook my head, completely flustered. “I’m sorry, Matt, I…” “Chloe, is it because I’m four years older than you?” He cut me off, clearly having prepared his speech in advance. “Actually, older guys know how to take care of you better. Like me, for example…” Liam was leaning lazily against the wall a few feet away, holding a drink. He looked completely detached, like he was watching a theater performance. Matt had probably been planning this confession for a long time. The moment he finished his sentence, the rest of the people from our private room poured out into the hallway, surrounding us. “Say yes! Say yes!!” “Come on, Chloe! Matt is so handsome, and he’s rich too!” “You definitely won’t regret it!” I waited for the cheering to die down before biting my lip and finishing my sentence. “I’m sorry. I already have a boyfriend.” A short distance away, Liam slowly lifted his eyes. Matt frowned, his patience visibly wearing thin. “You’ve been using that ‘I have a boyfriend’ excuse since freshman year! How come none of us have ever seen him?!” “Call him right now, and I’ll believe you!” “Yeah, Chloe. You always use that excuse to reject people. It’s so obviously fake.” I was getting a little annoyed now. I argued back, my voice muffled but firm: “We’re getting married this year. Why would I lie to you?” Honestly, I realized it shortly after seeing Liam in the hallway. I was about to turn 20. He flew back to the States this time specifically to marry me. And knowing him, shortly after we got the marriage certificate, he’d probably leave again. Being rejected so publicly made Matt furious and humiliated. “Getting married?!” “Are you playing me for a fool, Chloe?!” “Did I give you too much leeway?!” He pointed a finger directly at my face, his expression turning ugly as he prepared to curse me out. But before he could speak, a much larger, stronger hand grabbed his finger and ruthlessly bent it backward. A shrill, agonizing scream echoed down the entire hallway. 2 The one who acted was Liam’s bodyguard. He followed it up with a sharp kick to the back of Matt’s knees. Unable to support himself, the senior student dropped straight to his knees right in front of me. Hearing the commotion, the club manager rushed over. Acting as if we weren’t even there, he bowed slightly and scurried straight to Liam, his face pale with panic. “Mr. Vance, is there a problem?” “Did this kid do something to upset you?” Liam didn’t answer. He simply raised the hand holding his drink, and the manager immediately took the glass with both hands, bowing subserviently. Liam looked at me, raising one eyebrow, a faint smile on his lips. “Aren’t you going to come over here?” The crowd that had been cheering just moments ago was now dead silent. They even voluntarily parted to create a clear path for me. I obediently walked over to Liam’s side, catching the faint, clean scent of alcohol on him. One of the girls from my group mustered her courage and asked me, her voice trembling slightly: “Is this… your boyfriend?” Liam had always treated me like a child. He definitely wouldn’t appreciate me making bold claims like that on my own. I shook my head to deny it, introducing him: “This is my younger uncle.” Liam’s face remained completely unreadable. He just casually rubbed his left ring finger—right over the engagement ring I had put on him two years ago. The manager, completely unable to read Liam’s mood, was sweating profusely. “Has your anger subsided, Mr. Vance…?” “If not, I can have my guys teach this kid a proper lesson!” Liam raised a hand to stop him. “No need.” He then ordered someone to go back into his private room and fetch his suit jacket. Holding it in one hand, he turned to me. “Do you want to keep playing, or are you coming home with me?” The curiosity burning in the eyes of everyone behind me was practically overflowing. There was no way I was staying here to be interrogated. I subconsciously moved a little closer to him, seeking safety. “Uncle Liam, I want to go home.” 3 The moment we got in the car, the driver immediately raised the privacy partition, making me feel incredibly awkward. The cabin was so quiet I could hear the steady hum of the tires on the highway. Beside me, Liam sat with his eyes closed, rubbing his temples. I curled my fingers nervously on my lap, gathering my courage before speaking softly: “Uncle Liam, do you have a headache?” “I… I can massage it for you.” It had been almost six months since we last saw each other. The dynamic between us had reverted to a stiff, polite boundary line. The man’s deep, magnetic voice held a hint of a chuckle, making it impossibly alluring. “Oh? And I should just let you work hard for me?” “The second I got off the plane, I was dragged to that welcome party. I didn’t even have time to tell you I was back.” It took me two seconds to realize he was explaining his presence at the club to me. “It’s okay.” I unbuckled my seatbelt, kneeled on the seat, and straightened up. I reached out and placed my hands on his temples, massaging them earnestly. Since his eyes were closed, I finally dared to openly trace the lines of his face with my gaze. He really was incredibly handsome. His features weren’t overly delicate, nor were they too sharp or aggressive. He was just simply more handsome than anyone I had ever met. A sudden, sharp honk shattered the silence. The driver slammed on the brakes. Inertia threw me violently forward and to the side. “Ah—” Just as I thought I was going to crash into the door, a pair of strong hands caught me by the waist. I was pulled effortlessly onto Liam’s lap, sitting sideways across his legs. I instinctively threw my arms around his neck to steady myself. Our eyes met. His ink-black pupils clearly reflected my utter bewilderment. At this proximity, the smell of alcohol coming from his collar was much stronger. Snapping out of it, I tried to scramble off his lap. But Liam’s hands clamped down on my waist, trapping me completely. He stared directly into my eyes and suddenly asked: “Are you dating someone?” I looked at him in sheer confusion, having absolutely no idea where that question came from. “What…?” Liam calmly scrutinized my face. Suddenly, he raised a hand, pinched my chin, and tilted my face up. I unconsciously held my breath, too nervous to look at him. Liam was drunk. The intimidating aura he usually kept carefully restrained was now fully unleashed. “You’ve grown up. And your courage has grown with you.” “Uncle Liam…” I gripped the fabric of his shirt at the shoulder, calling his name with a slight tremble. The man’s murmurs grew quieter, yet they seemed to harbor some unspoken, obsessive possessiveness. “I raised you. Doesn’t that mean you belong to me?” He smirked slightly. “How could you ever dare to run away with someone else?” I wasn’t entirely sure what Liam meant by that, and I definitely didn’t dare to interpret it romantically. After all, over the last two years, we had probably spent less than three months actually in the same room together. And he had rejected me before. He certainly couldn’t be talking about ‘liking’ me. But right now, he was drunk. He was only going to hear what he wanted to hear, and he refused to let me go. I had to put my confusion aside for the moment. I clumsily lifted my arms and wrapped them around his shoulders. Fighting the intense heat rising in my ears, I whispered: “I am yours…” “I won’t run away.” As a reward, Liam gently kissed the top of my head. “Good girl.” 4 I had called our housekeeper in advance, asking her to prep the guest bedroom for Liam. But when we got home, he completely ignored it and followed me straight into the master bedroom. His intention was obvious. Honestly, this was bound to happen sooner or later. After all, in half a month—on my 20th birthday—Liam and I were getting our marriage certificate. When my hands reached for his tie, my heart was pounding so loud I half-suspected he could hear it. Facing the terrifying unknown, I couldn’t tell how much of what I was feeling was anticipation versus pure fear. Liam lowered his eyes, watching me silently. A few seconds later, just like two years ago, he gently brushed my hands away. “You’re still terrified.” I pressed my lips together tightly. “I’m sorry, Uncle Liam.” But it was different from two years ago. This time, it was more nervousness than actual fear. Liam wrapped his hand around my wrist and lifted it. He tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips against the fragile skin of my inner wrist. “You don’t need to apologize.” That night, I slept curled up in Liam’s arms. But my body remained subconsciously tense the entire time. In the dead of night, Liam gently stroked the back of my head. “Do you want to marry me?” I nodded slightly, giving the perfect, obedient answer. “I do.” As if to prove my point, I snuggled even closer into his embrace. I think… I might actually have a little bit of a crush on Liam. 5 Liam and I actually had an arranged marriage set up since we were kids. He was 9 years older than me and had never taken the ridiculous arrangement seriously. He told me to call him “Uncle Liam.” When I was little, during the years my dad was abroad expanding his business, Liam was the one who took care of me. But during my senior year of high school, my dad’s company faced bankruptcy. My dad went gray overnight. He finally sat me down, his voice heavy with desperation: “Chloe, will you marry Liam right after you graduate?” “We don’t have to get the legal certificate right away. We can just have the ceremony first.” “My company desperately needs funding from the Vance family…” I was incredibly resistant. I didn’t want a loveless marriage. Besides, at that time, I truly only saw Liam as an uncle figure. But then, my dad ended up in the hospital from severe overwork and exhaustion. Sitting by his hospital bed, I finally compromised. However, when my dad went to discuss it with Liam, he rejected it without a second thought. The next day, the moment I got home from school, my dad dropped to his knees in front of me. He cried hysterically: “I’m so sorry, Chloe.” “After you graduate… go to Uncle Lee. Please…” “Liam doesn’t want you, and I have absolutely no other options.” “Uncle Lee is the only one willing to help me.” That “Uncle Lee” was seven years older than my dad. He had a massive beer belly and was already balding. More importantly, he already had a wife. My dad was shaking violently as he cried. Blood was seeping through the bandages on his wrists. After Liam rejected him, the pressure from the debt collectors broke him, and he tried to slit his wrists. But he survived. So now, he was forcing me to essentially sell my life instead. 6 I ran through the pouring rain all the way to Liam’s house. When Liam opened the door and saw me standing there, my school uniform completely soaked through, he frowned deeply. He pulled me inside. “What happened?” Tears and rainwater mixed together, dripping onto his hardwood floor. I helplessly grabbed his sleeve and begged him: “Uncle Liam, please marry me… Please…” I didn’t want to die, and I couldn’t just stand by and watch my dad die either. My only option was to beg Liam for help. I knew I shouldn’t burden him like this. So the moment he agreed, I resolved myself to spend the rest of my life repaying the massive debt I owed him. The night of our engagement party, we went back to the new house he had bought. Liam had been toasted round after round by the guests, and his steps were slightly unsteady. I had been mentally preparing myself for this all day. But my hands still wouldn’t stop shaking when I reached up to untie his tie. Liam leaned back on the sofa and dodged my hands. Resting his head on his hand, he looked at me with an amused, mocking expression. “What are you trying to do?” I squeezed my sweaty palms together, closed my eyes, and leaned in to kiss him. Liam tilted his head back, dodging me again. He let out a short laugh, looking at me like I was a child throwing a ridiculous tantrum. “You don’t need to do this.” “Or do you honestly think I’m such an animal that I’d sleep with the niece I raised with my own hands?” He pushed off the armrest, stood up, and headed for the guest bedroom. I grabbed his hand, fighting back my panic, and looked up at him. “It’s fine… ” “After all, we’re going to be married eventually anyway.” Liam frowned and scoffed lightly. He reached out and flicked my forehead, a bit harder than usual. “Stop acting crazy, little girl.” “Just go to sleep.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “391684”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel