Author: Momo Chan

When I arrived at the private club, Liam was sitting at the head of the table. His expression was controlled, but the corners of his eyes were red. A circle of trust-fund kids were holding their breath. Seeing me felt like seeing their savior. They practically stood at attention: “Good evening, Mrs. Sterling.” The girl sitting next to him panicked when she saw me. Her eyes red, she turned to him and pleaded, “Liam, I’m back. Are you really going to go home with her?” I walked over and picked up a bottle of red wine from the table. “Liam. Go home, or get your head cracked open. Pick one.” 01 The private room was so quiet that all you could hear was the uneven breathing of the people inside. Liam lifted his heavy eyelids to look at me. In that single movement, I could clearly sense his intense irritation. The rich kids standing in a circle, terrified of being caught in the crossfire, silently shuffled backward to a safe distance. I stood perfectly still in front of them, gripping the neck of the wine bottle. After a long pause, a smirk tugged at the corner of Liam’s mouth. “Who called your sister-in-law here?” The moment the words left his mouth, all the color drained from the face of the girl sitting next to him. She looked like she was about to shatter into a million pieces. She clung to Liam’s arm, her voice trembling as she asked: “Liam, are you… are you really going home with her?” I let out a scoff, pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked her dead in the eye. “Chloe, while I’m still trying to hold myself back, I suggest you get out of here on your own.” A single tear slid down her cheek. “Since you know who I am, do you also know…” I cut her off. “I know. I know you’re the one that got away. I know he still keeps a framed picture of you on his desk.” A shy blush crept up Chloe’s neck. A sudden spark lit up her eyes as she gently rested her head against Liam’s shoulder. “Liam, I came back for you. Divorce her. Even after all these years, marrying you is still my biggest dream.” “I know you aren’t happy. You’ve suffered so much these past few years.” Liam tried desperately to maintain his usual poker face, but the bulging vein on his temple betrayed the intense emotions surging within him. He slowly raised his hand, reaching out to gently stroke Chloe’s back. I smiled coldly, shattering their tender moment. “Well, Mr. Sterling. It seems you don’t want to go home.” “My apologies, then.” I raised my arm high and brought the heavy glass wine bottle crashing down directly onto Chloe’s head! 02 CRASH! The sound of shattering glass was instantly drowned out by the terrified screams erupting in the room. Chloe, deathly pale, stared at Liam, who had thrown himself over her, shielding her in his arms. A mixture of dark red wine and bright red blood was gushing from a deep gash on his temple. “Liam! Liam! Are you okay?! Oh my god, are you okay…” Chloe scrambled out of Liam’s protective embrace, her hands shaking violently as she helped him sit back down. Frantically, she grabbed a fistful of napkins from the table and pressed them desperately against his bleeding forehead. The napkins were instantly soaked through with blood. Chloe whipped her head around and screamed at me like a madwoman: “You psycho!!! Are you trying to kill someone?! How could Liam ever marry a psycho like you?!” Liam caught his breath after a moment. He took the napkins from her, wiped the mix of blood and wine out of his eyes, and pulled Chloe back. “Chloe, don’t provoke her.” “Are you hurt anywhere?” Chloe’s lip trembled. She held out her hand. There was a tiny, maybe one-centimeter scratch from a piece of flying glass. Liam instantly jumped up, a look of absolute panic on his face. He carefully cradled her hand and started leading her toward the door. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? Come on, I’m taking you to the hospital right now.” I looked down at my own hand, hanging limply by my side. Blood dripped steadily from my fingertips, soaking into the plush carpet, disappearing without a trace. I had been running on fumes all day at the corporate office. I had a massive meeting with a crucial client and barely managed to choke down a few bites of a sandwich for lunch. The second I finally got off work and saw the text someone sent me, I rushed straight to this club. Liam. I was exhausted, starving, and sleep-deprived. And I was bleeding, too. How did the brave boy who once scraped his hands raw and took a brutal beating to save me from kidnappers turn into this complete stranger? A wave of severe dizziness hit me. The room spun wildly. Purely on instinct, I grabbed the edge of the table and collapsed heavily into the chair. I heard someone call out to him: “Liam, your wife is bleeding too! She doesn’t look good at all!” Liam’s voice drifted back from down the hall. “She’s a tough woman. She can handle it herself.” I looked up. His retreating back was so resolute, so utterly unfeeling. Whatever. This just meant that when I finally closed the net, I wouldn’t have to feel a single ounce of guilt. 03 I looked up at the trust-fund kids. These notoriously arrogant playboys of the city’s elite were standing perfectly still, looking at me with genuine concern. I smiled and waved them off. “I’m starving. Someone get some food in here.” “Yes, ma’am! Right away!” Tyler, the heir to the club’s ownership, was the most eager to please. He immediately barked orders at the staff to clear the table and bring out a fresh feast. Watching them scurry around, it felt just like when we were kids, and they used to follow Liam and me around, calling us “Big Bro” and “Big Sis.” When did “Big Bro” stay “Big Bro,” but “Big Sis” turn into “Sister-in-law”? Probably ever since I was five years old, when my nanny kidnapped me for ransom. Liam, who was only eight at the time, managed to piece together the tiny clues the nanny left behind and found me before the police ever did. When I woke up from passing out, I was strapped to Liam’s skinny back. He was gritting his teeth, his legs trembling under the weight, slowly carrying me out of that terrifying abandoned factory. That image was permanently burned into my soul. The elders in our families always joked that for the rest of his life, I would be Liam’s one and only exception. His favorite person. But… then Liam met the girl of his dreams. Unlike me, who lost my mother in that kidnapping and was strictly raised to be a ruthless corporate heir—everything I did was for the family business and for revenge. But Chloe? She would never raise her voice at Liam. She would never aggressively demand he read financial journals or learn eight different languages. She would sit quietly by his side, watching him with a gentle, adoring smile. She was willing to cook for him. Willing to spend hours sitting with him in lectures she didn’t even understand. She did all these things for him. Things I could never do. The environment I grew up in only taught me how to calculate risks and weigh pros and cons. Until Chloe got into a huge fight with Liam because he was just too rich. She said she could never fit into his world. She turned around and flew across the ocean. Liam didn’t chase after her. I knew he had massive ambitions. He wanted control of the Sterling family empire, and he wanted control of mine—the Vance family empire. Before he secured both empires, he wouldn’t abandon me for Chloe. So, when Liam proposed, I said yes without hesitation. Liam gave me every ounce of romance that money could buy. I enjoyed it with a clear conscience. I knew better than anyone that the Sterling empire and the Vance empire would eventually both be mine. All the beautiful things he bought with his money? I was just enjoying my inheritance early. I ate my food in silence, my brain rapidly running through every step of my master plan. I had been planning this for over a decade. I refused to let there be a single flaw. Maybe I was too quiet, because Tyler couldn’t take the tension anymore. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “Sarah! You’ve never shown any mercy to the women buzzing around Liam!” “Why did you back down today?!” Way to poke the bear. The entire table went dead silent. I smiled faintly. “Because she’s Chloe.” The “one that got away” is a lethal weapon. One strike, and it’s fatal. I pulled out my phone. The screen was completely blank. No missed calls, no texts. I figured Chloe’s “life-threatening” scratch was probably fully healed by now. 04 Just as I expected, Liam didn’t come home that night. I sat in the living room the entire night, watching the city go from pitch black at midnight to the gray light of 7 AM. I knew my era had finally arrived. When the clock struck 8, I was dressed impeccably. I used heavy concealer to hide the dark circles under my eyes and stepped into my chauffeured car right on time. I never expected to see Chloe at the office. She was wearing a brand-new, tailored business suit, sitting at the desk in the outer office of Liam’s executive suite. When she saw me walk past, she immediately stood up and offered a bright, professional smile. “Good morning, Ms. Vance.” The smug, victorious smirk playing on her lips, paired with her innocent, harmless face, made my blood boil. My face darkened. I immediately called the HR Director up and loudly demanded to know what the hell was going on. Since when did the company start hiring random strays off the street? Chloe looked so humiliated she wanted to sink into the floor. Her face flushed bright red, tears welled in her eyes, and under my aggressive interrogation, she couldn’t utter a single word. When I get angry, no one in the company dares to breathe. After delivering a few harsh reprimands, I suddenly felt bored by the whole charade. I waved my hand dismissively at the HR Director: “Fire her. Give Ms. Chloe whatever severance package is legally required, down to the last penny.” Chloe, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly snapped her head up. Tears streamed down her face like broken pearls. “Ms. Vance, I’m begging you. I really need this job. Please, don’t fire me.” “You live high up in your ivory towers, while people like me only survive on your charity. Are you really going to strip away the one small right I have to make a living?!” Such classic, manipulative victim-blaming. I lifted my gaze, looking past her trembling shoulders to the heavy oak door behind her. Right on cue, the door swung open, and Liam stood there, his face like thunder. “Sarah Vance. You might come from old money, but that doesn’t give you the right to throw your weight around and bully people.” “She is my executive assistant. Not yours.” With just one sentence, he drew a massive, uncrossable line in the sand. He walked forward, took Chloe’s hand, looked around at the terrified staff, and announced in a booming voice: “From this day forward, Ms. Chloe is my executive assistant. I take full responsibility for every word she says and every action she takes.” So this was what his ‘exception’ looked like. I didn’t say a word. I took two steps back, turned around, and walked back to my own office. Right before it was time to leave for the day, my assistant reminded me that I had an incredibly important gala to attend with Liam that night. A massive contract I had been negotiating for six months was riding on this dinner. I took several deep breaths, psyching myself up. I changed into my evening gown, touched up my makeup, and walked over to Liam’s office. Just as I raised my hand to knock, the door opened from the inside. Chloe, wearing a stunning evening gown, was walking out arm-in-arm with Liam. They were laughing and chatting happily. I froze in my tracks. It was early autumn. A draft blew through the hallway, chilling my bare shoulders. Liam stopped walking and shot me a look of pure, icy indifference. “From now on, my Executive Assistant will accompany me to these social events.” “We won’t need to trouble you anymore, Ms. Vance.” The two of them walked past me toward the elevators. “Liam, I’ve been personally managing this project for six months.” Liam’s voice drifted back to me, growing fainter as the elevator doors opened. “Starting today, it’s being handled by my Executive Assistant.” 05 Liam personally intervened and signed the contract on Chloe’s behalf. Before the project even officially launched, the paperwork authorizing Chloe’s massive commission payout landed on my desk. I refused to sign it and sent the paperwork straight back, untouched. Even without the commission check, it didn’t stop Chloe from becoming the most famous woman in the corporate headquarters overnight. Her fame even spread to our business partners. That day, I received a call from Chairman Chen, one of our oldest associates. “Sarah, what have you been so busy with lately? You haven’t come by to have tea with your Uncle Chen in ages.” I laughed. “Uncle Chen, you’re the busy one! How do you even have time to call me?” Chairman Chen hesitated for a long time before finally saying: “Liam recently bought a standalone luxury villa from one of my developments. The registered owner on the deed is Chloe.” “They’ve probably already moved in.” The teacup in my hand tilted sharply, spilling hot tea all over my desk. Counting from the very first night he didn’t come home, Liam had been gone for 29 consecutive days. My master plan was fully in motion. I had gone from lying awake all night with anxiety to falling asleep the second my head hit the pillow. I was carrying the immense weight of two family empires on my shoulders. Petty romantic drama was not the main theme of my life. Tyler and his group of trust-fund friends had reached out to me multiple times, wanting to intervene and get justice for me. I stopped them every time. Everything was going exactly according to plan. I didn’t feel wronged or victimized in the slightest. These kids didn’t understand. When two evenly matched powerhouses collide, they can build an empire together… or they can completely destroy each other. The knot tied by time could only be unraveled by time.

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During the most desperately broke year of my life, I used an anonymous alt account to cyberbully the university’s arrogant billionaire heir every single day. [So what if you’re handsome? You still just have two eyes and a nose.] [Wearing that white button-down every day like you’re starring in a movie. Stop acting so pretentious.] [I hate fake, high-and-mighty rich people like you the most! Why isn’t your money mine?!] [I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!] Later, my phone broke and I had to send it in for repairs. When I finally turned it back on a few days later, my messages exploded. The billionaire heir: [Why didn’t you say you hated me today?] [Did you find a new target?] [Are they sexier than me?] [Image: v-line_abs.jpg] [Or do they have more money than me?] [Image: bank_account_balance.jpg] [I’m not showing you this for any specific reason. Don’t overthink it.] [Actually, you can overthink it if you want.] [But I’m not easy. Only my girlfriend gets to enjoy my body and my money.] [Seeing as how desperate you are for cash, I suppose I could consider you.] [But you have to make the first move.] [Say something.] [Fine, you win. I accept your pursuit.] [Baby, what are you doing? Come pay attention to your boyfriend (‘ε`)~] Me, staring at my newly fixed phone: [?] 1 I was an incredibly broke, deeply cynical college student. My mother was severely ill in the hospital, and my father was drowning in gambling debts. Every dime of my college tuition was paid for by student loans. While everyone else was enjoying the golden years of college—eating out, partying, traveling, and taking selfies—I was grinding through four or five part-time jobs a day just to survive. I was worked like a dog. Every night, I’d drag my exhausted body back to the dorms, only to be forced to listen to my rich-girl roommate casually flex her lifestyle. Which elite gala she attended, what artisanal pastries she ate, which luxury designer bags her endless line of suitors bought her. After working myself to the bone all day, I’d lie in bed, physically exhausted and desperate for sleep. But listening to her brag made my eyes burn with so much jealousy I couldn’t close them. I had to scrape together tuition for the next semester. I had to stay hyper-vigilant against the debt collectors showing up at our door. On my phone, the hospital bills for my mom’s treatment updated daily, draining my account like a leaky faucet. Even if I did absolutely nothing all day, the money still vanished from my account, penny by agonizing penny. I was terrifyingly broke! Meanwhile, a single piece of jewelry on my roommate’s wrist cost more than several months of my blood, sweat, and tears. Whenever she complained about how “boring” her life was… I practically ground my molars into dust. Why can’t I be the one who’s bored?! 2 Tonight, just as I was finally drifting off to sleep. CRASH— Something was violently smashed onto the floor. I jolted awake instantly. I had finally found a moment to rest, and being violently woken up made a fire ignite in my chest. I looked over and saw my other roommates crowding around the rich girl, trying to comfort her. “Lily, it’s Carter Sterling! He’s literally the king of the university!” “Yeah, if my dad told me I was arranged to marry him, I’d be smiling in my sleep.” “I heard his family’s wealth is basically a GDP, and they donated four buildings to the school!” Lily kept her chin high, her face twisted in an arrogant sneer as she threw another textbook on the floor. “So what?! I hate that my family is trying to arrange my marriage! Am I just an object for them to control? I don’t care if he’s the sole heir to the Sterling conglomerate, I just don’t like him!” Hearing that sentence, my teeth ground together, my face contorting with rage. If you don’t want the arranged marriage, give it to me! I’ll take it! Marrying the heir to the Sterling empire meant my entire life would be permanently set on easy mode. Listening to Lily’s pathetic complaints, the fire in my chest grew hotter. Thinking about having to wake up at 6:00 AM tomorrow for my first shift made me even angrier! Some people had everything handed to them without lifting a finger. I was basically crawling on the ceiling in the dark, consumed by pure, unadulterated jealousy. The frustration just wouldn’t dissipate. I knew who Carter Sterling was. He was the most famous guy on campus; finding his WeChat ID wasn’t exactly difficult. The hard part was getting him to accept the friend request. After my roommates finally went to sleep. I stared at my phone screen with a deadpan expression. I logged into my burner account and sent him a friend request: [So what if you’re handsome? You’re still totally unlikable.] I knew he would never accept it. It was purely a way to vent my toxic rage. My phone buzzed. A few seconds later, the screen showed he had accepted my friend request. Him: [?] My fingers, which had been typing out a second venomous insult, froze. His profile picture was a vast, pristine blue ocean. It stood in stark contrast to my profile picture, which was just a pitch-black square. It made me feel even more like a rat hiding in a sewer. In the safety of the dark, I shed my daytime persona of the frugal, hardworking, sweet girl. I typed out a string of bitter, spiteful words: [Do you think sending a single question mark makes you look cool and aloof?] [Stop acting so pretentious stop acting so pretentious stop acting so pretentious.] Him: [Who are you?] Me: [A cynical, spiteful beautiful girl.] Him: […Why did you add me?] Me: [I hate how you rich people always look down on everyone. Just because you asked doesn’t mean I have to tell you. I won’t!] Him: [Fine. Blocked.] When I tried to send another message, a red exclamation mark appeared. But honestly? I felt incredible. I had found a brand-new way to vent my miserable life. Every time my rich roommate showed off in the dorm, or threw a loud tantrum while I was trying to sleep. I used my burner account to unleash a barrage of cyberbullying on her arranged fiancé, the Sterling heir. I just kept sending him new friend requests. [Why are you sleeping? I can’t sleep, so you don’t get to sleep either!] [I hate fake, high-and-mighty rich people like you the most! You have everything, yet you still act so moody and dramatic!] [Everyone only surrounds you because of your money! Without your money, you’re nothing!] [Why isn’t your money mine?! Ahhhhhh why!!] [I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!] I treated Carter Sterling like my personal emotional dumpster. I gleefully chanted my dark, toxic curses. Carter Sterling: […Enough.] The system showed we were friends again. When did he accept my friend request this time? Me: [Did I give you permission to accept my request? Block me again.] Him: [Did I do something to offend you?] Me: [Yes!] Him: [What?] Me: [You have more money than me. I hate everyone who has more money than me.] Him: […Do you ever sleep? You always message me in the middle of the night.] Is it because I don’t want to sleep?! It’s because your arranged fiancée is staying up late watching K-dramas with no headphones and ruining my sleep! If I can’t sleep, no one gets to sleep. I typed darkly: [Because cynical beautiful girls only roam at night. By offending me, you’ve offended the rat in the sewer!] He replied with a sticker of a sighing cartoon cat. My heart felt immensely lighter. After expelling all that toxic energy, my physical health genuinely felt better. I fell into a deep, comfortable sleep. 3 A month later, the university held its annual sports festival. I woke up at the crack of dawn to volunteer, handing out water to the athletes. Carter Sterling was there. On the basketball court, he and his teammates moved with flawless synergy. His movements were fluid and explosive. Every time he went for a dunk, his jersey rode up, exposing a glimpse of his abs, causing the girls in the bleachers to scream like they were at a concert. It was giving me a massive headache. I already wasn’t sleeping well. I stared blankly at the golden boy dominating the court. His jawline was razor-sharp, his nose perfectly straight. Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose down to his collarbone. A girl shyly handed him a bottle of water. He took it and offered a polite “Thank you.” Courteous and gentlemanly. The girl covered her face and ran away, her heart practically beating out of her chest. She even bumped into me in her panic. I cursed internally. Noticing Carter’s gaze drift my way, I slapped on a bright, customer-service smile and told him he played a great game. The second he turned away, I aggressively rolled my eyes. I’m the one working the hardest here! I still had to clean up the entire court later. I crawled back into my dark mental space. I take back what I said before. Besides being filthy rich, Carter Sterling also had a face that could ruin lives. Why did the universe favor him so much, while I was treated like an NPC? Handing him water was treated like some supreme honor. It’s not fair! Those basketball shoes he was wearing cost enough to pay off all my dad’s gambling debts. And he was just casually stepping on them. My face twisted in pure bitterness. “Excuse me, are you Chloe?” Suddenly, the guy who had just walked away turned back around. I didn’t have time to fix my face, so my features just twitched awkwardly. “Are you okay?” His voice was laced with genuine concern. Carter was much taller than me. Standing right in front of me, his shadow completely swallowed me. I guiltily covered my twitching face, terrified he’d realize I was the cyberbully: “I’m fine, I-I just… my blood sugar is a little low.” He looked at me with gentle detachment. “Carrying all this water by yourself must be exhausting.” He bent down and helped me carry the remaining cases of water. He even called over a few of his friends to help me pick up all the empty plastic bottles left on the bleachers and throw them in the trash. The sun was blinding. My eyes stung with tears. Why is this billionaire heir suddenly acting like a saint?! Doesn’t he know I can recycle those empty bottles for cash?! My heart bled, but my last shred of poor-person dignity wouldn’t let me scream at the billionaire and his elite frat brothers: “Put the bottles down! Let me do it!” After they finished cleaning up, Carter saw my expression of utter devastation. He assumed I was just overwhelmed with gratitude. “No problem, it was nothing. Our game caused a mess, it’s the least we could do.” Fake! I couldn’t fathom why the school’s golden boy was suddenly being so helpful. Did my dark, cynical rants actually make him start pitying the working class? As they walked away, they weren’t quite out of earshot, and I could hear their conversation. “Carter, why are you suddenly playing the knight in shining armor? Trying to hit on her?” “No way. Carter didn’t even look twice at the girl from the arts campus. Why would he go for some broke girl whose sweater is literally pilling? You know what a clean freak he is.” “Speaking of which, hasn’t Carter been chatting up some girl online lately? How’s that going? Did you hit a home run yet?” The guys erupted into laughter. Carter’s sharp eyes narrowed, and he laughed, cursing at them. “Fuck off, all of you.” “You guys have way too much free time.” I knew it! Just a typical, sleazy rich playboy. He has an arranged fiancée, and he’s still casually hooking up with girls online. After silently roasting him with pure disgust, I sprinted to the trash cans to fish out the empty water bottles. They were still worth money! 4 The world of a poor, cynical college student is incredibly monotonous. Part-time jobs, classes, sleep. Surviving was fine, dying was also acceptable. Lying in bed, I unlocked my phone, desperate to look at something that would bring me a tiny ounce of joy. I opened my main WeChat account, and the first thing I saw was Lily posting photos of her three new Hermès Birkin bags. Disgusting! I switched to my burner account. And the first thing I saw was Carter posting videos of himself racing sports cars and working out at the gym. Pretentious! My vision went dark. I felt even more exhausted. I am going to war with you rich people! I started maliciously harassing Carter again. [Why do you have so much money?! I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!] He seemed to be in a good mood today, and actually replied. Him: [Are you really struggling for money?] [I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!!!] Carter Sterling has transferred $5,000 to you. Me: [!!] I could collect recycling for years and never see that kind of money. Him: [Do you still hate me?] Me: [Don’t think that…] Carter Sterling has transferred $50,000 to you. I clutched my chest. I counted the zeros. Tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands… [Do you still hate me?] As someone who literally saved money in increments of ten dollars, I had never witnessed such a direct, aggressive display of wealth. My morals were severely tested. Me: [Honestly… you’re not that bad.] He sent a voice memo. I instinctively tapped it. The man was laughing. His voice was cold, yet incredibly magnetic, the final syllable dragging out lazily. “I’m just… ‘not that bad’?” I almost dropped my phone. Why is he using that tone of voice?! Did he really think I would be seduced by his fake charm? He had merely blinded me temporarily with his overwhelming wealth. [Of course you’re just ‘not that bad’. Don’t think that just because you have money, you’re a flawless human being.] Him: [For example?] Me: [Wearing that white button-down when you play basketball is incredibly pretentious. And in the library, when that girl confessed to you, you ripped up her love letter right in front of her and threw it on the floor. Did you ever think about the janitor who has to clean that up…] Him: [Are you stalking me?] Stalking him?! As if! It was just that every time he caused a scene, I happened to be working a shift nearby. Is it my fault I have too many part-time jobs?! [I wouldn’t waste my time stalking you. I wish you would disappear from my sight forever.] Him: [So it sounds like we’ve definitely met in person.] Realizing he was quietly interrogating me to figure out my identity, I panicked and immediately deleted the rest of my drafted complaints. No matter what he sent after that, I only replied: [I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!] He suddenly changed the subject: [You hate when I wear white button-downs. So what do you like? I’ll wear whatever you want.] What kind of line was that? Did he really mean he’d wear whatever I told him to? I let my malice run wild: [I like it when you wear absolutely nothing, and I walk you around on a dog leash.]

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In the morning, Arthur and I finalized our divorce. By the afternoon, he had taken our daughter and boarded a flight back to New York. Staring at the divorce decree in my hands, I realized this piece of paper was the sum total of our five-year marriage. I sold my house in Seattle and quit my job. With that, my last remaining ties to Seattle were severed. On the Amtrak train heading back to my hometown, I received a call from my daughter. She asked why I hadn’t gone with them to New York. I smiled and replied calmly, “Didn’t you cry and scream that you didn’t want me to be your mommy anymore?” “Don’t worry, you’ll have a new mommy very soon.” 01 When I arrived at my hometown, I saw my grandmother standing by the front door, leaning on her cane, looking out for me. Beside her was a cute little girl, staring at me with wide, curious eyes. In the past, whenever I saw a child, I would happily go over and give them a hug. But now… I didn’t like kids anymore. My grandmother told me she was the granddaughter of our neighbor, Mrs. Higgins. The girl’s parents had died in a tragic accident, leaving her as their only child, so she had been sent to live in the country with her grandmother. I nodded, a spark of sympathy igniting in my chest, but I still couldn’t bring myself to like children. The little girl looked at me with her big, round eyes and said, “Auntie, you’re so pretty.” I forced a tight smile, didn’t reply, and helped my grandmother back into the house. A little while later, Mrs. Higgins came over and took the girl home. In the middle of the night, the blaring sirens of an ambulance woke us up. I opened the door and saw Mrs. Higgins being loaded onto a stretcher. The little girl stood behind them, her face covered in snot and tears. Later, the police took the little girl away. Two days later, my grandmother told me with a heavy sigh that Mrs. Higgins had suffered a massive heart attack and hadn’t made it. I suddenly thought of that poor child, feeling a deep pang of sorrow. I asked my grandmother, “What about the little girl? Does she have any other relatives besides Mrs. Higgins?” My grandmother thought for a moment and told me she seemed to have an uncle in the next county over. I felt a sense of relief. At least the little girl would have a place to stay. The next morning, I opened the front door and found the little girl sitting on our neighbor’s porch, shivering violently. It was obvious. The uncle didn’t want to take her in and had sent her right back. My grandmother looked at my face and told me she wanted to adopt the girl. I didn’t say a word. I just took the little girl’s hand and marched straight to the police station to figure out her situation. In the end, I filled out the adoption paperwork. From that day on, a girl named Luna was officially part of our family. 02 After a month of chaotic adjustments, I finally settled down in my hometown. Luna used to be a very cheerful girl, but losing her family members one after another had taken a heavy toll on her. She went from a girl who loved to laugh to someone who was quiet and rigidly serious. Even though she was so young, she acted incredibly mature for her age. She learned to read my moods, helped me with chores, and even followed my grandmother into the vegetable garden to help carry her basket. Every time I saw how incredibly well-behaved Luna was, I couldn’t help but think of my own child, far away in New York. The little princess the Sterling family held in the palm of their hands: Chloe Sterling. If Chloe wanted to eat fresh steak, someone would probably buy her a whole ranch. If Chloe wanted to go swimming, someone would gift her a luxury resort. Luna often woke up crying in the middle of the night, asking if I was going to abandon her too. I would hold her tightly, stroke her hair, and answer, “No. Mommy wants to live a happy life, and I don’t want to make the people around me sad.” “So, Luna, Mommy is going to make sure you’re always happy. Do you believe Mommy?” She stayed silent for a long time, then hugged me fiercely. “Mommy, Luna will stay with you forever. Luna wants to make Mommy happy, too.” Time slipped away, little by little. Luna grew up day by day. When she turned seven, Luna started elementary school. For years, I picked her up and dropped her off every single day, rain or shine. I held Luna’s hand as we walked home. She was always very quiet on the way. Sometimes, when she saw other little girls throwing tantrums at their parents, Luna would just glance at them and tell me that people need to stay calm. I couldn’t help but laugh. Luna was becoming more and more mature every day. Just as we walked into our front yard, a little girl in a frilly tutu came sprinting toward me. “Mommy!” I took a step back, and Luna caught the little girl, who almost tripped. “Little girl, you have the wrong person.” I looked up at the man sitting across from my grandmother. “Sir, I think you have the wrong house.” Chloe instantly burst into loud, hysterical tears. I looked at my grandmother, who sighed helplessly and pulled Luna inside the house. The year I returned to my hometown, I told my grandmother I would never contact the Sterling family again. My grandmother knew my past and didn’t ask any questions. Later, after we adopted Luna, my grandmother rarely ever thought about the great-granddaughter with the nasty temper. Arthur walked over to me and stared, completely silent. I stepped to the side, leaving the path to the door open, silently telling them to leave. Chloe, seeing Luna go inside, wiped her tears and hugged my leg. “Mommy, I missed you so much! Please come back to New York with us!” I smiled gently, patted her head, took her hand, and led her outside the gate. I turned to Arthur. “Mr. Sterling. Let’s talk outside.” 03 Looking at Arthur’s familiar face, memories of our past flooded back. Everything from before felt like a story out of a cheesy novel—interesting but ultimately meaningless. My grandfather and Arthur’s grandfather had been in the military together when they were young. The story goes that my grandfather was honorably discharged early because he took a bullet saving Arthur’s grandfather’s life. Because of that, before my grandfather passed away, our families were incredibly close. The year I graduated from college, rumor had it that Arthur had beaten up the son of a prominent family in New York. The Sterling family, afraid of retaliation, sent Arthur to Seattle to lay low for a while. That day, I got a call from my grandfather asking me to pick someone up from the airport. As a recent grad, I had been running around all day doing interviews and was completely exhausted. Without even having time to wash up, I quickly gathered my things and rushed to the airport. When I arrived, Arthur had already been waiting at the entrance for a long time, looking incredibly impatient. He was sitting on his suitcase, casually scrolling through his phone, smiling one second and frowning the next. The moment I saw him, all my exhaustion from the day vanished. A boy shining as brightly as the summer sun is the easiest thing in the world to fall for. For me, a secret crush was just a pursuit—trying to get closer and closer to him, knowing I might never reach the finish line. I knew the gap between our families was like an uncrossable chasm, but I couldn’t stop my heart from racing. After Arthur spent half a month with my grandparents in the country, he got incredibly bored. Not long after, my grandfather called to tell me Arthur was moving to the city and asked me to help him find an apartment. I knew my grandparents were getting older and their lifestyle was completely different from Arthur’s. But I was so swamped with work that I completely forgot about it until I found Arthur standing outside my apartment door. Arthur didn’t complain. Once he found out I lived alone, he casually dragged his suitcase in and moved into my rented apartment. During the time we lived together, I learned that he had a childhood sweetheart back home. The whole reason he was exiled to Seattle was because his sweetheart had been harassed by a drunk friend of that prominent family. Furious, Arthur beat the guy up, but the other family had deep connections. Left with no choice, the Sterling family sent him to Seattle while they used their connections to smooth things over and beg for peace. Their childhood romance was the kind that made people envious. And as a bystander, I constantly heard about their passionate love, their cold wars, and their explosive arguments. During the three months Arthur lived in Seattle, he left traces of his existence all over my apartment. One night, knowing Arthur had gotten into another massive fight with his sweetheart, I assumed he had gone to bed early. When I opened the door, I found Arthur passed out on the floor. I quickly helped him onto the sofa and went to the kitchen to get him some water. In his drunken haze, Arthur pulled me into his arms and demanded to know why I had brought him home. In the chaos, I still don’t know exactly how the mistake happened. 04 I still remember the look in his eyes when he woke up. Cold, even ruthless. As if I was the one who had wronged him. Even though I had dated before, this was my first time doing something like this. That day, under his freezing glare, I ignored the soreness in my body and fled the apartment. That night, the name he kept calling out was hers. It was so passionate and lingering. Even during the years we were married, he never called my name like that. It truly was: The falling flowers yearn for the flowing stream, but the unfeeling stream cares not for the flowers. 05 There was a massive oak tree outside my grandmother’s house. In the summer, people would gather under its shade to cool off. But now it was late autumn. Aside from the falling leaves, there was only a chilling silence in the air. Arthur and I stood under the tree, the withered landscape stretching out behind us. “What do you want to say?” Arthur stared straight at me. “Have you forgotten the terms of our divorce agreement?” “What do you mean?” “Our marriage ended four years ago.” “Over the years, I’ve followed the agreement to the letter. I’ve never once tried to contact you.” “And based on Chloe’s reaction, someone in your family has been talking about me a lot.” “She was only three when we separated. There’s no way she would recognize me instantly like this.” Arthur took a step forward, turning to look at Chloe, who was playing nearby. “My grandfather constantly reminds her about you and shows her your pictures.” “If that’s the case, why did you show up at my house?” Arthur offered a faint smile. “We went to the house in the city and found out you sold it.” “So I brought her here to your hometown to find you.” I closed my eyes briefly and said, “You know you aren’t welcome here.” “I’ll let it slide this time, but take her and leave. Now.” I was a strict mother, but Chloe had been spoiled rotten by the Sterling family for years. If we spent any real time together, she would only hate me more. It was better for her to leave now. Arthur didn’t say anything. He just took Chloe’s hand and left. I thought that was the end of it. Two days later, Luna told me that Chloe had transferred to her school and was even in her class. When I heard that, I sat on my porch and thought for an entire afternoon. It didn’t matter. I had to keep living my life. I couldn’t let the two of them disrupt my peace. 06 My hometown wasn’t highly developed, but for people who had lived in the city their whole lives, it was like a hidden paradise. During my marriage, I had put my career on hold to be a full-time housewife. But now, I wanted to use my own two hands to build a better future. So, in my hometown, I opened a bed and breakfast, a restaurant, and a cozy little lounge. As more and more people visited the town, my businesses thrived. Influencers frequently came to my places to check in and post photos. Since Arthur hadn’t officially told me about the school transfer, I pretended I didn’t know. Then one day, Chloe was dropped off at my B&B by a chauffeur. The driver told me Arthur was away on a business trip for a few days. Unlike last time, Chloe didn’t throw a tantrum or try to drag me away. She just sat quietly on a stool and did her homework. With my tacit approval, the driver started dropping Chloe off every single day. Chloe looked exactly like me, but her temper and personality were entirely Arthur’s. When she was little, she would only sleep if I held her. Even eating and drinking required me to feed her personally; she wouldn’t touch food from anyone else. Looking at her chubby little face and hearing her sweet voice call me “Mommy”… I felt like all the suffering I had endured was completely worth it. But the moment she realized she didn’t have to depend on me… She learned how to lie. She learned how to throw tantrums at me. She even told me right to my face that she preferred “Auntie Evelyn,” who was always dressed in glamorous, expensive clothes. After Evelyn filled her head with stories of New York’s wealth and splendor… Chloe had angrily demanded: “Mommy, why are you keeping me and Daddy in this poor, ugly place?! I want Auntie Evelyn to take me to New York!” “I don’t like a mommy who just stays at home all day! I want Auntie Evelyn to take me out to play every day!”

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The day the mistress my fiancé had been keeping outside finally gave birth, he brought the newborn baby to me. He presented the child as my birthday gift. In front of everyone we knew, Carter Sterling looked me in the eye and asked if this baby was enough to finally make me give up on him. At that exact moment, I realized with absolute certainty that there was no future for us. So, after chasing him for seven long years, I chose to walk away. Seeing my surrender, Carter didn’t even spare a glance at the infant. He reached out, his touch intoxicatingly gentle, and brushed his fingers through my hair. “Chloe, it doesn’t matter who you fall for next. Your Carter will help you win his heart.” Later, when I ended up with his closest friend, the usually aloof and untouchable heir lost his mind, desperately trying to destroy the wedding everyone else was blessing. Someone told me that the girl Carter had been hiding away was pregnant. I didn’t believe it. But late that night, I still found myself knocking on Carter’s bedroom door after he got home. The sound of the shower echoed from inside. A minute later, Carter opened the door, a towel slung low around his waist. “Come in.” I instinctively clenched my hands into fists, looking at the fiancé I had secretly loved for seven years. I stepped slowly into his room. With his damp hair messy and falling into his eyes, he lounged lazily on the sofa, casually pouring himself a glass of red wine. He looked at me standing near the door with a playful, teasing glint in his eye. “What do you need?” I stared at the tips of my toes, unsure of how to even ask the question. I had always known. Carter didn’t like me. I was five years younger than him, just a fiancée forced upon him by his family. But I liked him. I liked him so much. I liked him so much that even though there was a constant, revolving door of women by his side, I never once questioned him about it. But today, after hearing that the girlfriend he had been keeping for months was pregnant, I lost my composure for the first time. I had to confront him. While I was lost in my thoughts, Carter had already walked over to me, wine glass in hand. His large, heavy hand clamped down on my chin, lifting my face with an unyielding grip. He brought the half-empty glass of wine to my lips. “Be a good girl, Chloe. Drink.” A low, unexplainably excited laugh rumbled in his chest. “Tomorrow is your birthday. I prepared a special gift for you. You’re going to love it.” That night, I completely forgot the reason I had gone to his room in the first place. I lay in bed, my cheeks burning, listening to my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to arrive. Chapter 2 Carter threw an incredibly lavish birthday party for me this year, inviting practically everyone in our elite social circle. It was massive. But as the party dragged on and eventually drew to a close, the man who promised me a gift never showed up. I stood by the grand entrance, staring out into the driveway with stubborn hope. But the warm, flickering flame that had burned in my chest all night felt like it was slowly freezing into solid ice. Carter had always loathed our arranged engagement. He actively resisted it. Why would he suddenly change his personality overnight? Just as I turned around, utterly disappointed, a smooth, magnetic voice called out from the distance. “Chloe!” Dressed in a bespoke, immaculate black tuxedo, he had finally arrived. Trailing behind him was a middle-aged woman dressed like a nanny. She was holding something bundled in her arms. Carter looked at me, his eyes burning with intensity. “Did I keep you waiting? I had to go pick up your gift.” Under my anxious, expectant gaze, the nanny pulled back a corner of the blanket, revealing a tiny, sleeping infant. “My newborn son, Chloe. I’m giving him to you.” The smile on Carter’s face vanished instantly. He stared dead at me. In the fraction of a second our eyes locked, I suddenly understood exactly what the look in his eyes meant. Before anyone in the stunned crowd could react, Carter spoke again. “Chloe, is one bastard child enough to make you finally give up on me?” “If it’s not, give me a year. I’ll have another one for you.” I can’t even describe what I felt in that moment. It was as if every emotion had been drained out of my body. I felt like a marionette with its strings brutally severed. I just stood there, completely numb. Until the sharp, echoing crack of a slap shattered the deafening silence of the ballroom. Chapter 3 Muffled groans of pain seeped through the heavy oak doors of the study. Two solid wooden canes had already been broken across his back. But Carter refused to lower his head or admit he was wrong. When I knocked and pushed the door open, Carter was kneeling on the floor, his back perfectly straight. He shot me a look of pure, chilling indifference. As if he were making sure I heard him clearly, his lips parted. “I won’t marry Chloe. I’d rather die.” “If you try to force me down the aisle with her again, I’ll father an entire army of bastards for her to raise.” Grandpa Sterling’s eyes bulged with fury. He raised his heavy walking cane high into the air, ready to strike again. “How is Chloe inferior to any of those trashy women you parade around?! What exactly do you dislike about her?!” Carter turned his head. His detached, apathetic gaze landed heavily on me. Just that one look made my blood run freezing cold. We had been by each other’s sides for over a decade, yet he hadn’t developed even a microscopic shred of affection for me. In that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that there was no future for us. We were a dead end. “Grandpa Sterling, please cancel the engagement.” I looked up, meeting the old man’s heartbroken, pitying eyes, and slowly slid the heirloom jade bangle off my wrist. “I don’t believe I’m inferior to anyone. If he doesn’t love me, someone else will.” Under my unwavering insistence, we formally returned our engagement tokens. The engagement that had tied us together for over ten years was finally, exactly as he wanted, severed. It would no longer chain him down. Carter slowly, painfully pushed himself up from the floor. A flicker of genuine shock flashed through his eyes. He never expected me to give up on him, and he definitely didn’t expect me to do it so decisively. “Chloe, can you really stop yourself from clinging to me?” I nodded. Carter’s gaze lingered on me, seemingly still doubting the weight of my promise. I let out a bitter, hollow laugh. “Carter… I don’t love you anymore.” His eyelashes fluttered. He stood in silence for a long moment before letting out a soft, almost imperceptible, “Mm.” When the nanny rushed in holding the screaming, crying newborn, Carter didn’t even spare his son a single glance. Instead, he closed the distance between us, destroying any path of retreat. He reached out, his touch intoxicatingly gentle, and brushed his fingers through my hair. “Chloe, it doesn’t matter who you fall for next. Your Carter will help you win his heart.” I didn’t answer him that day. Because starting from that exact moment, I had permanently evicted him from my universe. Chapter 4 The day I moved out of the Sterling estate, I didn’t take a single thing that had to do with Carter. I politely refused Grandpa Sterling’s desperate pleas for me to stay. Carrying nothing but a single, medium-sized suitcase, I walked away from the house I had lived in for over ten years. But just as I reached the front gates, a young woman sprinted toward me, blocking my path. The second she looked up, I recognized her. She was the woman who had stayed by Carter’s side the longest. She was the biological mother of his son. She recognized me too. She bit her bottom lip hard, helpless tears spilling over her cheeks. “Miss Davis… please, I’m begging you, don’t take my baby away.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, painting a perfect picture of maternal agony. “I know you hate that I’m with Carter. As long as you give my baby back… I swear I’ll leave him.” My heart gave a sharp, painful throb. After all the years I spent chasing Carter, in the eyes of his women, I was just the vicious, manipulative, desperate fiancée who wouldn’t let go. I let out a self-deprecating laugh and was just about to speak. But Carter stepped out of a sleek black car that had just pulled into the driveway. “Don’t worry. No one is taking our child.” With his long strides, he closed the distance and was at the woman’s side in seconds. It was as if she had instantly found her savior. She leaned weakly against his chest, tears streaming continuously down her face. Carter wrapped his arm securely around her waist and shot me a dark, warning glare. “Chloe, don’t forget the promise you made.” I tapped the handle of my suitcase. “Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten.” Carter’s eyes drifted down. When they landed on my suitcase, his expression turned noticeably colder. “Hmph. Moving out the exact second the engagement is broken. People are going to think the Sterling Corporation went bankrupt and we can’t afford to feed you.” “Chloe, I forbid you to leave.” Chapter 5 My grip on the suitcase handle tightened slightly as I met Carter’s icy, hostile stare. “The engagement is over. If I stay here, that’s when people will really start gossiping.” With that, I stepped toward the edge of the stairs to leave. But Carter’s hand shot out, wrapping around my arm in a vice grip. “I said, I forbid you to leave.” To my memory, this was the first time Carter had ever truly lost his temper with me. When you don’t care about someone, even giving them a passing glance feels like a waste of energy. Right now, I found myself completely unable to read the man standing in front of me. But it didn’t matter what he said. I wasn’t staying. I violently wrenched my arm out of his grasp and looked pointedly at the young woman behind him, who had miraculously stopped crying. “Miss Vance is right here. You should really start paying attention to boundaries, Carter.” “Once you marry Miss Vance, it would be highly inappropriate for me to be living under your roof.” That hit a nerve. Carter was genuinely furious now. He shoved my suitcase backward. It tumbled down the concrete steps with a loud clatter, cracking the hard shell. His jaw was clenched tight, his eyes dark and menacing. He stared at me for a long time. And then, he suddenly laughed. “Right. I almost forgot. Mia and my son are moving in today. Having you around would definitely be an eyesore.” “In fact, your old bedroom will make the perfect nursery for my boy. Even if you begged to stay today, I’d throw you out. Get lost, Chloe.” With that, he didn’t spare me a second glance. He grabbed the hand of a visibly thrilled Mia Vance, and without looking back, walked into the mansion. SLAM. The heavy front doors shut firmly behind them. I stood alone in the driveway and slowly walked down the steps to pick up my broken suitcase. I didn’t feel heartbroken. Instead, I felt a profound sense of relief. Relief that after seven years of loving Carter Sterling, I had finally, completely stopped. I straightened my spine and walked out of the gates, my steps steady, resolute, and unwavering. Chapter 6 Living on my own wasn’t nearly as lonely or cold as I had imagined. My childhood friends—my core group of girls—found out I had moved out of the Sterling estate. They started making up wildly creative excuses to crash at my new place every single night. In the dead of night, the apartment was quiet. Two of my friends were sharing the bed with me, while two others were sprawled out on makeshift pallets on the floor. I don’t remember who asked the question first. “Chloe… are you really, truly done with Carter?” I lay with my hands behind my head, staring blankly at the ceiling, my voice perfectly calm. “Yeah. I’m done.” “My brother told me that ever since you moved out, Carter has been a dark, brooding mess. He hasn’t even cracked a smile around his frat brothers.” “Do you think he just realized he actually loves you, and now he’s regretting everything?” I burst out laughing, sitting straight up in bed. That was easily the funniest joke I had heard all year. Realizing he loved me after over a decade? Carter’s emotional processing speed would have to be slower than dial-up internet. When I finally stopped laughing, I lay back down and closed my eyes. “A daydream is more realistic than him actually loving me. Go to sleep!” One of the girls, feeling suffocated after being cooped up in my apartment for days, suggested we go out and blow off some steam. She picked the ultra-exclusive VIP club Carter frequented. I had only been there once, and I was brutally thrown out halfway through the night. Carter had literally dragged me by the collar to the club manager, forcing him to assemble the entire staff just so they could memorize my face. “This person right here. Never let her through these doors again.” That night, under the scorching, judgmental stares of dozens of strangers, I was so humiliated I couldn’t even lift my head. In front of outsiders, Carter had never, ever protected my dignity as his fiancée. After that incident, whenever I knew Carter was going to be somewhere, I subconsciously avoided it. But now? I wasn’t living under his roof anymore. I wasn’t his fiancée anymore. And most importantly, he no longer occupied any space in my heart. I could go wherever I wanted and do whatever I pleased. Seeing me nod in agreement, my friends exchanged excited glances and immediately dragged me to the vanity to do my makeup. Chapter 7 I looked at the stranger staring back at me in the mirror. She was wearing a sleek, strapless black dress and heavy, dramatic makeup. It felt incredibly foreign. For the past seven years, to get Carter to look at me for even a second longer… I had constantly, meticulously modeled myself after the girls he dated. Every single one of Carter’s exes fit the “pure, innocent, and fragile” archetype. Mia Vance, the woman who had lasted the longest, was the textbook definition of it. We breezed past the bouncers and walked right into the VIP suite. But halfway through the party, the heavy doors were pushed open without warning, and a group of men swaggered in. The man walking at the very back, his face a mask of dark thunder, was Carter Sterling. The second he walked in, his eyes locked onto me like radar. His dark gaze swept over every inch of my body, taking in the dress and the makeup. Then, radiating an intense, suffocating pressure, he marched straight up to me. “Who gave you permission to be here?” This time, I didn’t drop my head. I stood up, tall and confident. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore. “We don’t have any ties to each other anymore. Why can’t I be here?” “Carter, you’re stepping way out of your jurisdiction.” Carter clearly hadn’t expected the girl who had always been as meek and obedient as a bunny to suddenly bare her claws at him. For some inexplicable reason, it felt like something had lightly scratched at his heart. The dark, brooding anger instantly dissipated. He let out a low scoff, physically shoved the guy sitting next to me out of the way, and claimed the seat right beside me. But barely a few minutes after sitting down, Carter’s leg kept “accidentally” brushing against mine. Every time I shifted away, the corner of his mouth would curl up into a smirk, and he’d close the gap again. Finally, I hit my breaking point. I practically shot up from the sofa. While the entire room watched in dead silence, I marched straight to an empty seat in the far corner of the massive booth. But the second I sat down, one of my friends leaned in and frantically whispered in my ear. “Look to your left. That’s Julian Vance!” Julian Vance was the eldest son of the Vance dynasty. He finished his Ivy League degrees by age twenty and returned home to take absolute control of the Vance conglomerate. He was ruthless, cold-blooded, and entirely devoid of human empathy. And above all else, he was a massive germaphobe. No one was allowed within a three-foot radius of him. And I had just blindly thrown myself directly into his restricted zone. From across the room, Carter let out a sharp, mocking laugh, clearly anticipating my brutal, imminent humiliation. The laugh dripped with pure schadenfreude. I gingerly started to stand up, my back not even fully straightened yet. But the man sitting next to me slowly opened his closed eyes. His gaze landed on my awkward, half-standing posture. His voice was like crushed ice, yet carried a trace of lazy indifference. “You don’t need to leave. Sit down.”

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Three years ago, Liam Carter bullied me relentlessly at school. I begged him to let me go, but he just stepped on my hand and called me trash. Three years later, he was on his knees, crying and begging me not to leave him. I gave his words right back to him. 1 Backed into a corner by the school’s notorious bully, I sent one last text to my online boyfriend. At that exact moment, the bully’s phone dinged. Liam pulled out his phone. The icy cruelty in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a soft, tender warmth. [Be good, Summer. I’m busy right now, just give me a minute.] The second he hit send, my phone gave a faint vibration. It was the special notification tone I had set for my online boyfriend. I stared at him in utter disbelief. He was standing under the streetlight, and his perfect profile and elegant features were exactly the same as my sweet “Liam” from our photos. But the dark, ruthless sneer on his face, a cigarette dangling from his lips, was completely at odds with the gentle boy I knew online. For a moment, my mind couldn’t process it. Was this my sweet, loving boyfriend, or was this Liam Carter, the terrifying school bully and Chloe’s boyfriend? “Liam, she’s the bitch who slashed my bag! She’s just jealous because she’s too broke to buy one herself. Poor people are always causing trouble!” Chloe pointed at me viciously, her eyes shining with smug triumph. “I didn’t…” I didn’t ruin Chloe’s bag. Earlier that day, Chloe had tried to slap me for absolutely no reason. When she swung again, I dodged. She lost her balance, fell hard, and completely trashed her brand new twenty-thousand-dollar designer bag. She screamed at me to pay for it. When I said I couldn’t, she threatened me, saying her boyfriend, Liam Carter, would handle me. Everyone knew Liam. He was a rich kid from a powerful family. Rumor had it he had serious connections, fought like a complete psychopath, and wasn’t afraid of anything. People were terrified of him. They called him a monster. But I never, ever imagined that my sweet, gentle “Liam” online and the monstrous school bully were the exact same person. Liam stood up straight and slowly walked toward me. The warm yellow light spilled over him, but his gaze was as freezing as ice. His tall frame loomed over me. I instinctively clenched my fists. Then, I heard his cold, detached voice. “Two choices. You pay for it, or you get on your knees and apologize.” His cold, dismissive attitude was lightyears away from the tender, affectionate boy on my phone. I couldn’t describe the twisted feeling in my chest. In a moment of pure, stubborn defiance, I stared back at him and said, “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t ruin her bag?” Liam stared at me for a few seconds, then let out a sudden, mocking scoff. “You really don’t know what’s good for you.” He turned away, his voice dripping with impatience. “Teach her a lesson.” The blood in my veins turned to ice. My ears started ringing. His cronies forced me to my knees. They slapped me relentlessly and kicked me in the stomach. The pain was so agonizing I couldn’t even scream. Liam leaned casually against the wall, completely indifferent to what was happening, smiling tenderly at his phone screen as if waiting for a message. I curled into a tight ball, taking every punch and kick, the tears streaming down my face unstoppably. The result of being beaten by several grown men was that I couldn’t get up for a very long time. Two of my teeth were knocked loose, and the blood I coughed up stained my collar red. I lay there like a dead fish for three solid hours before I finally scraped together enough strength to crawl home. I didn’t dare tell my parents. They were honest, hardworking people from a rural town. They had moved to the city to give me a better life, but they were already struggling just to make ends meet. Honestly, the only reason I was bullied was because we were poor. Every time they called me “hick,” “cheap trash,” or sneered, “Selling you wouldn’t even cover the cost,” it felt like knives in my heart. That was when I learned that being poor meant you didn’t deserve dignity. You only deserved to be stomped into the mud. “Hiss—” I quietly applied ointment to my bruises. It hurt so much. My phone kept chiming with that special notification tone. It was all messages from my sweet “Liam.” [Summer baby, are you home yet?] [You should be home by now, why aren’t you replying? ~] [Did I do something to make my baby mad? …] Even though his tone was still affectionate and sweet, a deep chill ran down my spine. I typed out several responses, but deleted every single one. Finally, I just sent: [You only went to the library tonight?] There was a slight pause on his end, then a quick reply. 2 [Yeah! I was studying hard today!] As if to prove it, he even sent a photo of himself in the library. In the photo, the boy was wearing a crisp white shirt, a bright, sunny smile lighting up his face as he stood by the bookshelves. He looked refined, gentle, and utterly perfect. But it was all a complete lie. I was so incredibly thankful I had never sent him a picture of myself, and that he hadn’t recognized me. It gave me the chance to see exactly who he really was. Terrified of falling behind in my classes, I didn’t dare skip school. Right after morning study hall, Chloe dragged me into the girls’ bathroom. She and her squad cornered me by the sinks. “Summer, how do you even have the nerve to show your face? Tsk, tsk. Did Liam not hit you hard enough last night?” “Haha, maybe she’s just thick-skinned because she’s so cheap. She’s so ugly and poor, if it wasn’t for that thick skin, she’d have killed herself by now!” “No wonder her name is Summer Pig. She’s got the hide of a pig!” The girls beside her hurled every degrading insult they could think of. Then, a bucket of filthy mop water was dumped directly over my head. It ran down my hair and soaked into my collar. The rank, damp smell made me want to vomit. “Tsk, tsk. Summer, you really are as ugly and filthy as a pig!” She grabbed a handful of my wet hair and slapped me twice across the face. Then, looking completely disgusted, she washed her hands and strutted out of the bathroom. I slid down the tiled wall, collapsing onto the floor. I buried my face in my knees, biting my lip to stop the tears from falling. Chloe locked me in that bathroom for the entire morning. It wasn’t until the lunch bell rang that someone finally let me out. I foolishly thought that would be the end of it. But Chloe wasn’t done. For the rest of the week, my desk was constantly trashed, and my homework mysteriously vanished. After a few times, my teachers stopped believing my excuses. Chloe haunted every single corner of the school I tried to hide in, taking immense pleasure in humiliating me. During evening study hall, I hid in the library, studying for hours before finally packing up to go home. I just wanted to avoid Chloe. But Chloe hadn’t left. She and her squad were waiting for me right by the library exit. She slapped my thermos out of my hand. With a loud crash, the coffee I drank to stay awake splashed all over my legs. My freshly washed white pants were instantly stained dark brown. I glared at her furiously. I opened my mouth to speak, but then I saw Liam’s warning look. He was standing right next to her, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes full of contempt. “Tsk. Summer, do you have a problem?” Chloe shoved me hard. I fell backward, landing directly in the puddle of spilled coffee. The smell of cheap coffee mixed with the dirty floor made my stomach churn. Her followers erupted into cruel laughter, mocking me for looking like a pig rolling in slop. They even tried to force me to drink the coffee off the floor! My face was mere inches from the dirty tiles when the librarian arrived to lock up and saw what was happening. “What is going on here?!” Chloe and her minion quickly let go of me. Chloe put on a bright, innocent smile and said to the librarian, “We’re just playing Truth or Dare with Summer!” “Yeah! Summer lost, so her dare was to drink the coffee off the floor!” “No!” I desperately shook my head, looking at the librarian pleadingly. “Ma’am, they were forcing me.” The librarian frowned. Just as she was about to speak, Chloe immediately jumped in, smiling sweetly. “Ma’am, don’t listen to her. She’s just trying to get out of her punishment!” “Summer, don’t be a sore loser. A loss is a loss. Why are you running to the teacher?” Chloe deliberately twisted the narrative, pinning the blame entirely on me. Her followers quickly chimed in. “Yeah, Summer, you’re taking this way too seriously.” “It’s just a game! If you didn’t want to do the dare, you didn’t have to tattle!” There were so many of them, and their stories matched perfectly. Sure enough, the librarian believed them. Her face darkened as she looked at me, then back at Chloe. “Alright, enough. You’re at school to study. No more of these pointless games!” The librarian walked away. She clearly didn’t want to get involved. Chloe looked down at me from above, smiling smugly. “See that, Summer? They’re all on my side. No one is ever going to believe you.” “Running to the teachers won’t save you. I have a hundred ways to make sure I never get in trouble, but you? You aren’t nearly as lucky!” 3 My heart turned to ash. I didn’t even hear what they said after that. I sat by the library doors for a very long time, until all the lights on campus were turned off. It wasn’t until a patrolling security guard started shouting my name that I realized I had been sitting in a puddle of freezing coffee for hours. I stumbled home in a daze. My mom was angrily scrubbing dishes in the sink. “You’re old enough to know how to keep yourself clean! How did you get your clothes so filthy? I don’t have the money to buy you new ones.” “You won’t focus on your actual studies, insisting on this useless art nonsense! It costs me twice as much to support you! It’s a sin! Why can’t you be more like your cousin back in the village? She’s hardworking and sensible.” I had heard my mom’s complaints so many times I was completely numb to them. But today, I felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to cry. I ignored her and locked myself in my room. My phone started buzzing relentlessly. It was Liam. [Summer, are you out of study hall yet?] [Hurry up and reply!] [Baby, did I do something wrong? You’ve been so cold the last two days.] [Don’t ignore me, it breaks my heart.] It breaks his heart? Yeah. It would. Even though Liam and I were only dating online, I knew exactly how dependent he was on me. He demanded to be texting me twenty-four seven. He was a boy who grew up starved for love and completely lacked a sense of security. His childhood was overshadowed by severe family trauma. Ever since his mother died, he had become incredibly dark and negative. I had appeared right at that critical moment, staying by his side and pulling him out of that agonizing darkness. Since then, he had been like a puppy rolling over to show its belly, giving his entire heart to me. He used to say: [Baby, you are the only light in my life.] [Baby, I’m slowly becoming a better person for you. I’m studying hard, eating right… I’m going to be the perfect boy you want…] [Baby, I love you the most. Stay with me forever, okay?] I thought about the things he had said, and then I thought about him helping Chloe torture me. My fingertips trembled. [Liam, if someone bullied you, what would you do?] I asked him. [Get revenge, obviously. Make their life a living hell.] [Why are you asking, Summer? Is someone bullying you? Tell me who it is, I’ll handle them for you!] [It’s nothing.] I didn’t need him to. Liam, I have my own ways of making the people who bully me suffer. 4 During art class, Chloe walked past my easel, deliberately knocking over my paint bucket and ripping my canvas. “Summer, do cheap, low-class trash like you really think you deserve to study art? Art supplies are expensive. Can your pathetic family even afford this?” She strutted away, practically glowing with smug satisfaction. I silently started cleaning up the spilled paint. Half the bucket was gone, and my canvas and other tools were ruined. I sealed up the remaining paint and took my dirty brushes to the bathroom to wash them out. I felt a heavy gaze fixed on me. I turned around and saw Liam. He was leaning against the wall, a cigarette in his mouth, looking at me with absolute mockery and disgust. Like I was a clown. I gripped my brushes tightly. He made no move to leave. When I tried to walk out the bathroom door, he blocked my path, trapping me against the wall. “Tomorrow, you are going to apologize to Chloe.” His tone left no room for argument, his eyes full of threat. “But I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t ruin her bag.” I gathered my courage and met his stare. The next second, he pressed the burning cherry of his cigarette directly into my arm. “Cut the bullshit!” “It was a twenty-thousand-dollar bag. Just apologize. Don’t push your luck.” “I’m losing my patience. If you don’t apologize, you know exactly what’s going to happen to you!” Liam walked away. I clutched my burned arm, massive tears rolling down my face. When I got home that night, my mom started complaining again. She told me to quit art, saying our family couldn’t afford my dream. Finally, my dad told her to drop it. Before I went to sleep, my dad came to my room. He told me to just focus on studying hard. He promised the family would find a way to support my art. Looking at my dad—his hair turning gray far too early, his stiff glass eye—my heart ached terribly. When my dad was young, a delinquent kid in our village had hit him, blinding him in one eye. He had to get a prosthetic. Ever since then, whenever it rained or he overworked himself, the eye would ache and burn. But even with that, he carried the weight of our entire family on his shoulders. “Dad, I’m going to start a work-study program. Trust me, I’ll start making money soon.” My dad smiled proudly, telling me not to worry about money. Then he asked, “You haven’t seemed like yourself the last few days. Did something happen at school?” I shook my head. He said, “If anyone is bullying you, you have to tell us.” I nodded, reassuring him. They were already working so hard. I couldn’t add to their worries. After surviving on my own for so long, growing wild and stubborn, I always found my own ways to handle things. Chloe thought I was a soft target she could crush whenever she wanted. But did being poor mean I had to swallow my pride and accept the abuse? The day Chloe demanded twenty thousand dollars, I had already secured the security footage showing her tripping and ruining her own bag. After all, poor people like me have to be hyper-vigilant against scammers. I kept the bruises from the alley and the bathroom as evidence. I also managed to get a copy of the security footage from outside the library. I hadn’t replied to Liam much over the past few days, and he was completely blowing up my phone. I had 99+ unread messages. I opened them and read them one by one. [Summer, what are you doing? Are you so busy you can’t even talk to me?] [Summer, did I do something wrong?] [I’m sorry, baby. If I did something wrong, just tell me. I’ll fix it. Please don’t ignore me.] [Summer, are you… are you leaving me?] Reading that last message, I knew Liam was panicking. Liam, so you really do get your heart broken, huh? Don’t worry. The real heartbreak hasn’t even started yet. 5 Before I could finish reading his messages, Liam started calling me incessantly. I didn’t answer. Instead, I texted him back. [I’m not leaving you.] [Really?] Liam clearly didn’t believe me. He was far too insecure. [Then promise you won’t ignore me anymore, Summer. It hurts too much.] My fingers hovered over the keyboard. After a brief silence, I replied: [Okay.] Liam’s tone instantly brightened: [You’re the best, Summer. I want to see you as soon as possible. Can I come find you?] Liam and I had originally agreed to meet in person after we graduated high school. But now, he was clearly too desperate to wait. Maybe he could sense that I was pulling away from him. [Summer?] [You said you’d stay with me forever. You won’t break your promise, right?] I could hear the careful, desperate fear of loss in his words. A pang of sourness rose in my chest. I had been so determined to break his heart, but for a split second, I actually wavered. I asked him: [Liam, you said you were slowly becoming a better person for me. Is that true?] [Of course, Summer. I’m trying so hard.] His answer was immediate and firm. As if the guy who casually terrorized his classmates wasn’t him at all. He truly had two completely different faces. [Then you have to promise to be a good, just person. At the very least, you can’t do bad things.] I texted back. Liam, I’m giving you a chance. You had better stick to your word. … Chloe’s campaign against me was far from over. To force me to apologize, she weaponized public opinion. She posted the story of her ruined bag on the school forum. Instantly, she transformed from the abuser into the victim. She played the pathetic, wronged innocent, claiming she only wanted an apology. She took the moral high ground, preaching that poor people shouldn’t covet luxury items, that my vanity was bankrupting my family, that I was ungrateful and didn’t appreciate my parents’ sacrifices… Her “kindness and justice” won everyone’s sympathy. Overnight, the entire forum was flooded with comments attacking me. “If you’re poor, stop trying to act rich!” “This is classic ‘if I can’t have it, I’ll destroy it’ behavior! That is so malicious. Summer makes me sick!” “Yeah! Get that bitch Summer out of this school!” “I heard Chloe’s boyfriend, Liam Carter, beat her up a few days ago.” “Good! Taking a beating to pay off a twenty-thousand-dollar debt? I’d take that deal too!” “Summer needs to apologize immediately!” In the most vicious, highly-trafficked thread attacking me, I uploaded the video. The video clearly showed Chloe tripping, ruining her own bag, and then immediately blaming me. The people cursing my name went dead silent. I had planned to release the video today anyway. Chloe’s massive exposure was exactly what I needed. It gave me the perfect platform to publicly humiliate her. After hitting post, I calmly went to school.

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I lost my memory. I remembered everyone else, but I completely forgot about him. Looking at Oliver’s dark expression, I asked tentatively, “Are you my… boyfriend?” His fingers paused over his laptop keyboard, and his voice grew even colder. “I’m your brother. Your biological brother.” I stared at his incredibly handsome face, which looked absolutely nothing like my parents, and fell into deep thought. Before I could figure it out, Oliver leaned in to feed me my medicine. The collar of his shirt was slightly unbuttoned, and I caught a glimpse of a tattoo resting just below his collarbone. —Mia. What kind of “biological brother” tattoos his sister’s name on his chest? 1 Our family has a secret. A secret that my parents and I all know, but Oliver doesn’t. Oliver isn’t my parents’ biological son. When he was ten years old, both of his parents died in a tragic car accident. He was so devastated that he developed a dangerously high fever that wouldn’t break. When he finally woke up, his memories of the first ten years of his life were completely wiped clean. His uncle’s family eagerly took over the house his parents left behind, but they completely neglected him. During the entire time he was unconscious in the hospital, they never visited him once. Oliver’s father and my father had been best friends. So, my dad decided to take him in and raise him until he became an adult. My mom fully supported the idea. “It’s fine. It’s just one more child. Our family can afford to raise him.” I, on the other hand, was very confused. I tugged on my dad’s shirt and asked, “If Oliver becomes my brother, does that mean I can’t marry him when I grow up?” My question made both my parents burst out laughing. My dad ruffled my hair and said, “You can still marry him. Oliver isn’t legally adopted; he’s not on our family register. He’s just going to live with us.” Even though I didn’t fully understand the legalities, I felt a lot better. As long as I could still marry him, who cared if he lived in our house or if he was a little slow? None of that mattered! I was overjoyed. I grabbed my favorite stuffed bunny and was about to run into his room to play, but my mom stopped me. She frowned slightly. “Mia, Oliver lost his parents and his memory. To keep him from being overwhelmed with grief, we’re going to treat him exactly like he’s your real brother. We’re going to give him a warm, loving home. You have to promise Mommy and Daddy that you’ll help us keep this secret, okay?” Back then, I nodded clumsily, agreeing to my parents’ well-intentioned lie. And we kept that secret for ten whole years. 2 Ten years later. Oliver was twenty, and I was seventeen. We had both reached an age where we understood how the world worked. And this secret… it felt too cruel to just drop on him. Neither my parents nor I could bring ourselves to tell him the truth. My mom looked at me, a little conflicted. “Mia, you’re all grown up now. Do you… still want to marry Oliver?” I shook my head, silently refusing. For one thing, I couldn’t bear to shatter his reality just to satisfy my own desires. For another, over the past decade, Oliver had treated me exactly like a blood sister. He didn’t show a single ounce of romantic interest in me. Why should I force it? But even though I said that, deep down, I still hadn’t really let him go. One weekend. I was scrolling through TikTok and came across a video about step-sibling romance tropes. Out of habit, I opened the comment section. The top comment was: [Like this comment so it gets recommended to my brother and scares the crap out of him.] I thought about it for a second and hit ‘like’. I figured Oliver would never see it on his feed anyway. I was so wrong. That very night. He actually took a leave of absence from his college dorm and came home. When he appeared in my bedroom with a face as dark as thunder, I still didn’t grasp the severity of the situation. Until he confiscated my phone. His tone was deadly serious: “Mia, your final exams are in three months.” I brushed it off. “I was just relaxing on the weekend…” Oliver took a deep breath. “Then shouldn’t you be watching something educational, or genuinely relaxing? Instead of liking that messed-up, inappropriate garbage?” Oh. So he did see it. Maybe it was the moonlight filtering into the room that made me reckless. Without thinking, I reached past Oliver, locked my bedroom door, and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind. “But Oliver, I really, really like you.” Oliver’s entire body went completely rigid. It felt like tension, or maybe even fear. Before he could pull away, I let go of him voluntarily. “I’m kidding! It’s just a novel trope, don’t take it so seriously.” In the dead-silent bedroom, I clearly heard Oliver let out a massive sigh of relief. That night was the only sleepless night I had when I was seventeen. 3 When I was twenty. I wasn’t getting along with my college roommates, so Oliver picked me up to stay at his apartment for the weekend. He was a perfect gentleman and let me take the master bedroom. But of course, a massive thunderstorm rolled in that night. The apartment was huge, and I was terrified of being alone in that room. So, just like when we were kids, I sneaked into Oliver’s bed. I knew it was wrong, but subconsciously, I always felt like he belonged to me. Besides, he was twenty-three and had never had a girlfriend. That meant I still had a chance. I pressed my freezing hands against his warm, broad back. Oliver jerked awake, as if startled from a deep sleep, and quickly flipped on the bedside lamp. The sudden, bright light made me squint. Oliver’s voice was rough, sounding almost like a warning: “Mia, we aren’t kids anymore.” In that instant, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head. I shakily started to get up, intending to crawl back to the master bedroom. But as I moved, I accidentally caught sight of the tattoo just below his collarbone. I immediately threw myself back into his arms, tracing the tattoo with my fingers. I smiled brightly. “Oliver, do you have a secret crush on me?” Oliver’s jaw clenched. He didn’t answer. He just coldly slapped my hand away. I felt like I had uncovered the world’s biggest secret, so I kept teasing him. “But Oliver, I’m your sister. Your biological sister.” Suddenly, a crack of thunder rattled the windows. The temperature in the room dropped, and I shivered. Oliver grabbed the edge of the duvet and wrapped me tightly in it, terrified I would catch a cold. I took advantage of the situation, snuggling deep into his chest, and reached out to poke his abs, acting as intimately as a real girlfriend. Before I could even enjoy the moment, Oliver caught my wandering hand. His voice was terrifyingly calm: “You aren’t my biological sister.” I froze, looking at him in utter disbelief. “What did you say?” He knew? Since when did he know? Faced with my shock, Oliver’s eyes gradually cleared. He didn’t say another word. He just scooped me up—blanket and all—carried me back to the master bedroom, and dumped me on the bed. He dropped a single sentence: “Whatever. Go to sleep.” Then he turned to leave. In a panic, I grabbed his sleeve. “Oliver, what do you mean?” He tucked my hand back under the covers, his voice muffled and distant. “It’s late. Go to sleep. We can talk about whatever it is in the morning.” But… when I finally rolled out of bed the next morning after tossing and turning all night… Oliver was nowhere to be found. There was only a warm plate of breakfast on the dining table, along with a sticky note he left behind. [Eat your breakfast. Be good.] He was treating me like a toddler. Chewing on my sandwich, I finally realized that Oliver had also learned how to run away from his problems. 4 After returning to campus, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Oliver had said. When my parents called, I even felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of panic. But they sounded completely normal, chatting with their usual parental concern, entirely oblivious to Oliver’s weird behavior. So, right before hanging up, I cautiously asked, “Mom, Dad… has Oliver said anything to you guys lately?” My parents were totally confused and immediately asked if we had gotten into a fight. Feeling incredibly guilty, I made up an excuse and quickly hung up the phone. We hadn’t technically gotten into a fight, but he was definitely, unilaterally avoiding me. It had been three days, and he hadn’t replied to a single one of my texts. Monday. Me: [Are you hiding from me? I don’t bite…] Tuesday. Me: [If you’re a man, text me back. If you understand, type ‘understood’!] Wednesday. Me: [If you don’t reply, I’m going to ambush you at your office. I’m actually going.] … Even a cornered dog will jump a fence, and a pushed rabbit will bite. If I didn’t show him I meant business, he was going to treat me like a total pushover! Staring at the screen full of unanswered green text bubbles, my anger boiled over. I decided to call an Uber and head straight to his corporate building. But I never expected that my Uber would get into a massive car crash on the way there. And that I would take a nasty hit to the head. 5 When I finally woke up, I was staring groggily at a sterile white hospital ceiling. My brain was still booting up. It wasn’t until I heard my parents sobbing that my hearing finally kicked in. My throat was incredibly dry. “Mom, Dad… what are you crying about?” Through their broken, tearful explanations, I managed to piece together what had happened. I forced a weak smile. “Hey, it’s fine! Surviving a disaster means good luck is coming, right?” Seeing how optimistic I was, my parents finally stopped crying. I went right back to joking around with them like nothing had happened. Amidst the laughter, a tall, unbelievably handsome man walked into the room. His deep, intense eyes locked onto me, making my heart skip a literal beat. This was, without a doubt, the most handsome man I had ever seen in real life. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long, elegant fingers. Every single feature was flawlessly tailored to my exact type. I was so mesmerized that I accidentally blurted out, “Man, the messy fringe haircut really is superior to the curly mop.” Hearing this, the handsome guy smirked slightly and asked, “Did that car crash knock all the sense out of your head?” I suddenly realized my behavior was a bit rude. I straightened the collar of my hospital gown and asked in my sweetest, most polite voice, “Excuse me, handsome, but who are you?” I was in a private VIP hospital room. He was either in the wrong room, or he was here to visit me. But I absolutely did not know a guy this hot. The second the words left my mouth, my mom’s hand, which had been peeling an apple, stopped dead. My dad was the first to react. “Mia, you don’t recognize him?” I shook my head. “Should I?” Was he some distant relative? Like a cousin or something? But there was no way my brain would let me forget a guy this gorgeous. I scanned him from head to toe one more time, but still drew a complete blank. When I tried to force myself to remember, a sharp, dull ache pulsed through my nerves. My condition made the handsome guy’s brow furrow deeply. He immediately rushed out to get my attending doctor. After a thorough examination, the doctor explained that I was suffering from temporary selective amnesia and told them not to panic. Hearing the doctor’s reassurance, my parents let out a massive sigh of relief. The handsome guy’s face, however, grew darker by the second. I figured he must be someone incredibly close to me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be this furious. I looked at him cautiously. “So… what exactly is our relationship?” He didn’t say a word. He just walked over to the table by the window, sat down, pulled out a laptop, and started aggressively typing. It looked like he was working, but it felt much more like he was throwing a silent tantrum. Sensing the toxic atmosphere, my parents quickly made up an excuse and slipped out of the room. The tension in the air was suffocating. I ran through eight hundred different relationship scenarios in my head before finally settling on the most logical one. Looking at Oliver’s dark expression, I asked tentatively, “Are you my… boyfriend?” His fingers paused over his laptop keyboard, and his voice grew even colder. “I’m your brother. Your biological brother.” I stared at his incredibly handsome face, which looked absolutely nothing like my parents, and fell into deep thought. Before I could figure it out, Oliver leaned in to feed me my medicine. The collar of his shirt was slightly unbuttoned, and I caught a glimpse of a tattoo resting just below his collarbone. —Mia. What kind of “biological brother” tattoos his sister’s name on his chest?

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My protégé had just stolen a five-million-dollar wealth management contract right out from under me. She stood there, waving the freshly signed receipt in my face, looking incredibly smug. “Mentor, the client specifically asked to open the account under my name. I couldn’t exactly push the business away, could I?” “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. You’re getting old, and you move too slow.” “Don’t look at me with that bitter, wrinkly face! Tell you what, I’ll treat you to a bubble tea to make up for it.” Somehow, her words twisted the situation to make me look like the petty one. And of course, the branch manager stepped in to play peacemaker, telling me not to be so hard on the “young girl.” Had they both forgotten that my portfolio practically funded over half of this entire branch? Chapter 1 I rushed back to the office right on time, only to hear the news that my client had been poached. I went straight to Chloe. Chloe had completely dropped her usual sweet, respectful act. Holding the signed receipt, she looked at me with absolute justification. “Mentor, you can’t blame me for this.” “You weren’t here. We couldn’t just leave a VIP client sitting in the lobby waiting, so I stepped in to host him for you.” “If it wasn’t for me, you would have completely offended the client! And instead of thanking me, you’re accusing me of stealing your commission?” “Besides, Mr. Vance insisted on buying the portfolio through me. What was I supposed to do?” “I couldn’t just reject the firm’s business!” “At the end of the day, you were the one who was late, Mentor. Who else is there to blame?” I had a 10:00 AM appointment with the client. He arrived exactly five minutes early. In what universe does a five-minute window naturally lead to closing a five-million-dollar deal? She claimed she didn’t use my name to secure the signature. Bullshit. Right then, my phone buzzed with a text from Mr. Vance: [Hey Elena, are you feeling alright? I just realized my portfolio manager isn’t listed as you. Did you guys have some internal restructuring?] What could I say? I had to lie and tell him it was a system error, assuring him that I was still his dedicated wealth manager. After replying, I looked back at Chloe’s unapologetic face and demanded, “Did you use my name to poach my client?” “Chloe, do you have a death wish in this industry?” Stealing clients is the ultimate taboo for wealth managers. For her to do it this blatantly, there was no way management didn’t know. Furthermore, I was her mentor. I had personally trained her from her very first day on the job. If word got out that she stole a client from her own mentor, no firm in the city would ever hire her again. “While this is still quiet, I strongly suggest you go to operations and transfer that account back to my name.” Mixing threats with reason was the absolute limit of my patience. I genuinely hoped she would be smart enough not to blow this up and make everyone look bad in the office. But Chloe just looked at me with a cocky, lackadaisical smirk. “Mentor, you must be joking.” “Why would I hand over my client to you?” “Just because you’re my mentor, I’m supposed to surrender my commission?” “You neglected the client. I managed to retain him. That’s my skill. Being my mentor doesn’t give you a free pass.” “I might be a fresh grad, but I’m not some pushover you can just bully.” Wow. She actually thought she was taking a brave stand. I was so furious I actually laughed. I reached out to grab the receipt from her hand to go fix the transfer, but she blocked me. “Mentor, why are you so mad?” “Aren’t we all just regular employees here? Nobody is better than anybody else.” “As long as the client signs with our firm, what difference does it make whose name is on the paper?” “Tell you what, I’ll buy you a Starbucks. Get the most expensive Frappuccino on the menu. Consider it a thank you for everything you’ve taught me.” Looking at her triumphant, smug face, I wanted to slap myself. Chloe had been glued to my side since she was hired right out of college. She was my junior from the same university, graduated from the same finance program. Naturally, I took her under my wing and invested a lot of time in her. I poured my heart and soul into teaching her how to source leads and maintain client relationships. Over the past few months, Chloe had consistently ranked number one among the new hires. I had been genuinely happy for her, frequently offering advice when she made missteps. I even taught her the unwritten rules of corporate gifting for high-net-worth clients during the holidays. I never, in a million years, expected her to stab me in the back. “I can’t afford your coffee.” “And don’t call me Mentor anymore. I clearly have nothing left to teach a ‘superstar’ who steals her colleagues’ clients.” I was seething. But Chloe just shrugged carelessly. “Fine, don’t drink it. Saves me money.” “Why are you acting like such a victim? You’re getting older, your reflexes are slow. Are young people not allowed to be ambitious anymore?” “No matter who you tell, I’m in the right here.” “You’re just a washed-up older woman. I called you Mentor to be polite, did you really think you were that important?” “Honestly, I don’t want to call you that anyway. From now on, every man for himself.” “But Mr. Vance is officially my client now. So stop dreaming about stealing him back.” Chapter 2 I didn’t bother listening to the rest of her tough-girl speech. I turned on my heel and marched straight to the Branch Manager’s office. Manager Sterling seemed to already know exactly why I was there. Before I could even speak, he started trying to pacify me. “Elena, listen. The ink is already dry on the contract. If you start fighting your own protégé over a client, it’s going to look terrible for everyone.” “Besides, you weren’t here. Making a VIP client wait that long is a failure on the firm’s part.” “Chloe was actually covering for you.” I suppressed the fire burning in my chest and explained calmly: “When Mr. Vance arrived, I was already pulling into the parking garage. Chloe deliberately parked her car horizontally across the access aisle, which is why I was delayed by a few minutes.” “I already spoke to Mr. Vance on the phone. Why did Chloe still process the paperwork under the pretense that she was acting on my behalf?” I shoved my phone across the desk, showing him Mr. Vance’s text. “Mr. Vance still has no idea what actually happened. Who exactly is stealing whose client here?” My tone sharpened. Manager Sterling’s face hardened in response. “Elena, I think you’ve let your ego get way out of control lately.” “I have never heard of a wealth manager making a VIP wait. You made a mistake, and now you’re blaming your coworkers?” “Chloe fixed your massive screw-up. Instead of thanking her, you’re accusing her of theft?!” “If it wasn’t for her, Mr. Vance probably would have walked right out the door!” Now I understood perfectly. Manager Sterling and Chloe were in this together. For him to defend her this aggressively… it was impossible not to suspect he had orchestrated this whole thing. Seeing my face flush with anger, Manager Sterling softened his tone, switching to his usual manipulative tactics. “You’re her mentor. Her securing a massive client is partly a reflection of your excellent training.” “Tell you what, I’ll approve two days of PTO for you. Go home, rest up, and really think about whether your behavior today was professional.” “Elena, you need to learn to be content. Your monthly commission is the highest in the entire branch. You make more money than I do.” “What more do you want?” Carrot and stick. It was his classic playbook, and he thought it would work on me. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten one crucial detail: I didn’t apply for this job. I was aggressively headhunted by the previous branch manager. I brought a massive book of business with me. My portfolio brought in an average of nearly $15 million in new daily deposits, essentially subsidizing the salaries of over half the staff in this building. My high income was entirely due to my own hustle and connections. It had absolutely zero to do with his “leadership.” In that exact moment, I made the decision to jump ship. “Manager Sterling, since the commission for Mr. Vance’s account is going to Chloe, I’ll be sure to contact him and let him know. Also, I expect Chloe to reimburse me for the expenses incurred in securing his business.” “From the day I started courting Mr. Vance until this morning, I’ve spent roughly $1,500 out of pocket on gifts and dinners. I’ll compile an itemized expense report. Please make sure Chloe is aware she needs to pay it.” His eyes widened in absolute shock. “Elena, you are being completely ridiculous.” “Those were your personal, out-of-pocket expenses! Why should Chloe reimburse you?!” “Just because you claim it was for client maintenance doesn’t make it a firm-mandated expense!” “I think you’re just bitter and trying to sabotage our most promising new hire!” “Elena, we’re all veterans here. The firm needs fresh blood to survive. You can’t just hoard the top-biller spot forever. You have to leave some room for the rookies to grow.” “This matter is closed. Mr. Vance was hosted by Chloe, and he signed the paperwork with Chloe. He is her client.” “If you’re feeling generous, you should actually transfer a few more of your accounts to your protégé. But if you aren’t, you at least shouldn’t stand in the way of someone else’s ambition.” “Elena, I’m warning you for your own good. Don’t try any underhanded tricks.” I honestly couldn’t hold it in anymore. I burst out laughing. I had never heard of anyone “hoarding” the top-biller spot like it was a reserved parking space. Every top-performing wealth manager in this industry either had massive generational wealth connections, insane luck, or legendary networking skills. I had never heard of a veteran willingly handing over their top rank to a rookie out of the goodness of their heart. Manager Sterling had been parachuted into this role from the IT department. He was a classic case of an amateur trying to dictate to a professional. I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him anymore. I pulled out my laptop, opened the HR portal, typed out my formal letter of resignation, and hit send. Chapter 3 As I walked out of the manager’s office, Chloe happened to be strolling by, still waving that signed receipt. Seeing me, she smirked and flicked the paper in my direction. “Got the door slammed in your face, huh?” “Elena, the times have changed. In today’s market, results are the only thing that matters. Seniority means nothing.” “You only have a big portfolio because you got lucky and entered the industry a few years before I did.” “Did you honestly think it was because of your skill?” “If you actually had skill, Mr. Vance wouldn’t have signed with me so easily.” With that, she adjusted her collar, put on a sickeningly sweet voice, and strutted into the manager’s office. “Manager Sterling~ See, I told you I could close Mr. Vance!~” “Look~ The five million dollar transfer went straight into my account, just like a good boy~” Chloe didn’t bother keeping her voice down. She clearly wanted me to hear every word. I paused by the door, waiting to hear Sterling’s response. “Chloe, don’t get arrogant just yet. You still have a long way to go to catch up to Elena.” “As far as I know, she single-handedly accounts for over half the growth in this branch’s AUM. If you can figure out a way to take over her portfolio…” “Don’t worry, Manager Sterling! I can absolutely handle it.” “I shadowed her for months. I already memorized all her little tricks for client retention.” “It’s just chatting them up and sending them cheap gifts. Those rich people love feeling like they’re getting special treatment. Give them a few minor perks, and they’ll come begging to deposit their money.” She paused, perfectly timing her pivot to flatter him. “But mostly, it’s because our firm’s products are so strong.” “Under your brilliant leadership, Manager Sterling, our branch is already the top performer in the region. Everyone in the industry is so jealous we have you!~” That hit the exact right spot. Sterling had always felt insecure about being an external hire with no finance background. He knew the staff didn’t respect him and only kept their mouths shut because of his title. But he wasn’t completely blind. He could feel the resentment. Chloe’s aggressive flattery inflated his ego to the size of a blimp. “Mm. I knew I didn’t misjudge you.” “I don’t know why Elena walks around acting so high and mighty. She’s literally just selling the products we provide.” Chloe immediately agreed. “Exactly! If it wasn’t for your brilliant strategic direction, she would be nothing.” “She actually thinks her success is entirely her own doing.” “She’s just a sales rep. People call her ‘Manager’ to be polite, and she actually thinks she’s an executive?” “Zero self-awareness.” Their voices dropped lower, but I could still clearly hear Sterling’s smug reply. “My advice to park your car horizontally across the aisle worked perfectly, didn’t it?” “If it wasn’t for my strategic guidance, you never would have stalled her that long.” “Experience matters, Chloe. You still have a lot to learn from me.” Chapter 4 Listening to the two of them plotting and whispering in the office, I couldn’t stomach another second. I headed straight for the HR department to expedite my offboarding. Linda, the HR Director, stared at me in absolute shock. “What?! Elena, you’re resigning?!” “If you leave, what is this branch going to do?” “Did Sterling try to screw you over?” “Oh my god. I used to think he was just incompetent. Now I realize he’s actually brain-dead!” “He spends all day micromanaging formatting issues instead of doing actual business! I’ve rewritten this staffing report ten times! He just told me the tenth draft is worse than the first!!!” I tried to calm Linda down, explaining the entire situation with Chloe and the poached client. She immediately approved my resignation in the system. “I am pushing this through with priority!” “She actually had the nerve to steal your client?! After you specifically asked all of us to look out for her when she was hired?!” “What an ungrateful little snake.” She was even angrier than I was. After dragging Chloe’s name through the mud for another five minutes, she looked at me hesitantly. “So… that five million dollar commission really just goes to Chloe?” “She just gets away with it?!” “I am so mad my blood pressure is spiking! Elena, what do we do?!” I patted her back and gave her a deeply mysterious smile. “Don’t worry, Linda. They aren’t getting a dime out of this.” Chapter 5 My resignation was immediately forwarded to Corporate HQ. Linda secretly texted me to let me know that Manager Sterling had written a massive, 500-word essay in the “Manager’s Comments” section, entirely dedicated to assassinating my character and calling me arrogant. “His ability to twist the truth is honestly impressive.” “He wrote that you constantly neglected clients, slacked off during work hours, were frequently absent from the office, and spent your entire workday just chatting with people.” “Even an HR rep like me knows that a wealth manager’s job is literally to network and chat with clients. How does the branch manager not know that?” “I’m just sad you won’t get your severance package. That would have been a massive payout.” Looking at the notification that Corporate had already approved my resignation, I replied calmly: “Linda, do you know how much interest my clients’ portfolios generate on a daily basis?” “Every day I leave earlier is a massive financial win for me.” Everyone at the branch only knew that I was recruited here with a $15 million portfolio already under my belt. Maintaining a massive daily deposit growth rate isn’t just about having good financial products. Honestly, without serious connections, it’s mathematically impossible. With that much liquid cash, these CEOs aren’t idiots. Why would they park their money with me just to earn standard, low-tier interest? If it wasn’t for the $150 million trust fund my dad set up for me, combined with him constantly dragging me to high-level networking dinners with his billionaire friends, I never would have hit those numbers. It wasn’t like other firms hadn’t tried to poach me. But this firm actually had decent products, the benefits were good, and most importantly, it was a ten-minute drive from my house. My dad only ever asked one thing of me: come home for dinner more often. Saying goodbye to Linda, I went back to my desk to pack up my things. After working here for years, I did have some sentimental attachment to the place. I backed up all my client chat logs to my personal cloud, wiped my desktop hard drive clean, and took all my physical notebooks containing my clients’ personal preferences to the heavy-duty paper shredder. Only then did I grab my box to leave. Unfortunately, I bumped into Chloe, who had just returned from a long lunch break at the salon. She dramatically pointed at my cardboard box. “Elena, why are you resigning?” “Are you scared my numbers are going to crush yours next month, so you’re running away while you still have your dignity?” “Oh well, it’s totally normal. You couldn’t stay the top-biller forever.” “Sigh. The economy is tough right now. Without my elite networking skills and background, bringing in new deposits must have been exhausting for you.” “Maybe you could try cold-calling people from the phone book?” Her face was twisted into such a punchable, smug sneer. I couldn’t wait to see how long she’d be smiling. To avoid the drama, I brushed off the spot on my shoulder where she had accidentally bumped me, my tone dripping with sarcasm: “The firm’s entire future rests on the shoulders of exceptional talent like you.” “Keep up the hard work. You wouldn’t want to disappoint Manager Sterling.” She was momentarily speechless, her face flushing bright red before she glared at me. “I don’t need you to tell me that!” “Don’t worry, the student has already surpassed the master. You’re just old and useless now.” I ignored her pathetic taunts and started saying my goodbyes to the veteran staff around the office. They looked genuinely sad to see me go. Several of them hugged me, whispering, “When you make it big, don’t forget us!” Right then, Chloe aggressively shoved her way through the crowd and violently slapped the cardboard box out of my hands. “Leaving in such a hurry, Elena? Are you trying to steal company property?!” “I need to inspect everything in that box!”

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My best friend and I just got hit with the ultimate plot twist. We’re both pregnant. Unexpectedly. She’s carrying the child of an A-list movie star ex, and I have the baby of a terrifyingly powerful billionaire tycoon. Given that neither of these men seems to have “fatherhood” on their bingo card, my bestie suggested the impossible: “What if we just dump the dads and keep the kids?” I didn’t hesitate. “I’m in! Where you go, I go!” So, we grabbed our positive tests and fled the country, kicking off our happily ever after in paradise. Until two years later. Her baby went viral on TikTok because he looks exactly like the movie star father. And the camera caught me and my daughter in the shot. That very night, my bar was surrounded by a fleet of black SUVs. Before I could dial 911, my hands were pinned behind my back with a leather belt. He grabbed my waist, his voice raw with terrifying fury: “Go on. Call them. But guess how many times I’ll ruin you before the cops even show up?” 1 Heartbroken and single, my best friend Avery dragged me to a high-end bar to forget. She was just about to run her hand over a male model’s abs. When Oscar-winning actor Ethan Cole slammed through the bar doors. Ethan didn’t bother with a disguise. He stalked over, furious, pointing at the model who looked remarkably like him. “Who is he? Avery, are you using him as a substitute for me?” Avery looked up, a cold smirk playing on her lips as she stood up. “What? You used me as a substitute for Chloe St. James. Why can’t I find someone to replace you?” “Besides, your family’s heirloom diamond necklace is already on someone else’s neck.” Ethan choked on his own words. His voice went pale as he tried to explain, “I told you, I didn’t give her that necklace.” Avery: “Fine. Go get it back.” Silence fell between them like a roaring river, making the bar’s noise seem even louder. Ethan stood frozen for a long moment before finally sighing out, “I’m sorry. I can’t.” Even though she expected that answer, the expression on Avery’s face shattered. Her eyes were red. She grabbed her purse, gave me a look that said call me, and strutted out of the bar on her high heels. Ethan nodded to me, then chased after her. Thinking about the last few times Ethan had easily coaxed her back. I panicked and yelled, “Ava! Don’t you dare soften! This is a matter of principle!” “Break up! You absolutely have to break up this time!” My throat was raw from shouting. Suddenly, a hand with long, elegant fingers handed me a slice of watermelon. I looked at the hand, my heart fluttering a bit. Damn, I thought, this male model really knows how to treat a girl! I turned around, smiling: “Hey sweetie, what’s your name?” The second the words left my mouth, I froze solid. The male models in the booth were gone. Only Dominic Sterling was standing behind me. Chiseled features, a sharp jawline, and eyes looking at me like they were filled with ice. Terrified, I took a step back, but he grabbed my wrist. Dominic Sterling looked at me, a dangerous half-smile on his face: “You like ‘sweeties’?” “Fine. Let’s go home! I’ve got something sweet for you to see all night long!” 2 That night, Dominic Sterling had me pinned against the floor-to-ceiling window until dawn. The view overlooked the entire city skyline from a penthouse in one of the most expensive zip codes in the country. If it weren’t for Dominic, I wouldn’t even have the right to be in this neighborhood. But of course, I wasn’t Dominic Sterling’s girlfriend. At best, I was his high-end kept woman. During my first year trying to make it as an actress, I met a director who tried to impose the “casting couch” rules on me. Even though I rejected him at the dinner table multiple times, he kept pushing. Just as his hand was about to slide under my dress, Dominic appeared. He defused the situation with a single, careless sentence. He was the powerful, untouchable billionaire mogul, and I was just a fresh-faced, struggling nobody. Dominic’s pursuit wasn’t obvious. No massive, public displays of affection or gifts. But he took care of me everywhere, plus he had that face that could put any Hollywood leading man to shame. Over time, it was a lie to say I wasn’t smitten. But I knew my place. A kept woman is a kept woman. There’s a world of difference between that and a real girlfriend. I understood completely: we were never destined for a happy ending. I was always going to leave. “You’re still distracted?” Probably to punish me for not focusing, Dominic’s movements behind me grew harder: “What are you thinking about? Thinking about your ‘sweetie’?” I gasped out loud, my fingernails digging into his arm. I bit my lip and shook my head. But my response clearly didn’t satisfy him. He flipped me over: “Don’t worry. I’ll give you something to think about.” A long time later, after the storm calmed down, Dominic carried me to the bathtub and held me in his arms. While I was recovering, I suddenly asked, “I heard your older sister, Eleanor, is back?” “Yeah.” Dominic had always been close to Eleanor. She practically ran the entire Sterling family’s affairs. Most importantly, I heard Eleanor brought a woman back with her this time. A woman who was supposed to be Dominic’s arranged fiancée. Thinking about this, I cautiously asked, “Can I meet her?” Dominic’s eyes snapped open. He scrutinized me for a moment before coldly saying, “No need.” Of course. A kept woman wasn’t worthy of meeting the family. I hid the disappointment in my heart and smiled at him: “Okay.” That night, Avery, who said she would call me, never did. It wasn’t until noon the next day that she finally sent a message. [Relax, we didn’t get back together.] 3 I thought my life would just go on like that. Until a month later, when Avery and I realized Aunt Flo was late for both of us. We agreed to go to the doctor together. The moment the ultrasound results came back, we both stared at the words “Pregnancy Confirmed” on the paper, falling into a collective silence. Avery grabbed my ultrasound results and criticized me for failing to protect myself. “You said you were going to ditch him after getting some acting roles! You didn’t use protection?” “I did!” I protested loudly. But then I thought about the intensity against that window that night. My voice dropped: “But… it might have broken.” Avery rolled her eyes, too tired to even roast me. Now it was my turn to grab her results. I yelled, “You’re roasting me? What about you! You don’t even have a boyfriend! Whose kid is this? Some random hookup?” Avery’s eyelashes fluttered. She shot me a guilty look and muttered, “It’s Ethan’s.” “Whose?” I thought I heard wrong, my face turning into a confused mess. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and yelled in my ear, “My ex! Ethan Cole!” My ears were ringing. I mumbled, dissatisfied, “Okay, okay, Ethan Cole. You don’t have to yell!” Avery was broken up, and Ethan still had his ‘white moonlight’ ex, Chloe St. James. And me? I was Dominic Sterling’s hidden mistress. His fiancée had just returned to the country. Thinking about this, we looked at each other and sighed. Clearly, neither of these men would want to claim these babies. After a long silence, Avery grabbed my hand and said hesitantly, “What if… we just dump the dads and keep the kids?” I thought about it: “Fine. Dominic has been pretty generous over the years. Plus, with the money I made acting, it should be enough to buy a nice place in Australia.” “We can get a dog, a cat. One villa, two moms, two kids.” This is our retirement plan! 4 Let’s go! Even though Ethan was still hounding Avery, they were broken up and not living together, so she could leave anytime. But my situation was much trickier. During that time, I was trying to figure out how to propose ending this relationship, but I couldn’t find the right opportunity. Until one night, Dominic staggered home, completely wasted. The moment the door opened, the smile on my face completely froze. Dominic was half-collapsed on a beautiful woman. And this woman… I had seen her in the media photos taken the day Eleanor returned to the country. Dominic’s fiancée—Isabelle Reed. “Hi, you must be Seraphina Vance. Dominic is drunk. I brought him home.” Her eyes were kind as she looked at me. Different from what I imagined, Isabelle Reed seemed to know everything about me and Dominic. I managed a forced smile, took him from her, and put him on the sofa. Isabelle didn’t leave. She looked around the penthouse, smiled, and asked, “Can I have a glass of water?” I walked to the kitchen island without a word. Her casual chatter followed me. “I heard that while I was abroad, you were the one taking care of Dominic. Thank you.” “I’ve seen your movies. It’s really not easy for a woman without a background to make it in Hollywood.” “Eleanor mentioned it. She said she wanted to meet you at the Sterling family dinner soon. Did Dominic mention it to you?” The hand pouring the water froze mid-air. I turned around and calmly met Isabelle’s eyes. In her gaze, there was no mockery of my hidden status, and no arrogance about her own background. The only thing there was the sheer confidence that belonged to the true, future Mrs. Sterling. The kind of confidence I could never feel, no matter how long I stayed by Dominic’s side. In that moment, the massive stone hanging in my heart finally crushed down. I knew, without a doubt, it was time for me to go. That night, after Dominic fell asleep, I packed up my belongings. Because I always suspected this day would come, I didn’t have much in Dominic’s apartment. I left all the expensive jewelry Dominic had given me. I only took one woven rope bracelet. Dominic and I had gotten them together years ago at a spiritual retreat. We each have one. It was a wish for safety and happiness. I had been trying to think of how to say goodbye with dignity, in person. But perhaps, an in-person goodbye wasn’t necessary. On the gray silk sheets, Dominic’s face was still as breathtaking as the first day I met him. He always thought he chased me. He didn’t know that I fell in love at first sight, too. My heart was filled with bitterness and sadness. I sent him one last message on his phone: [I’m gone. Don’t look for me. Have a nice life.] Before I left, I blocked his number. Dominic Sterling, I hope your life is safe and happy… 5 Avery and I have been living in Melbourne for three years now. We both gave birth to healthy babies. Avery’s son is named Leo, and my daughter is named Maya. When Leo and Maya turned three, Avery started a social media account showing off the kids, but without showing her own face. I opened a high-end bar in Melbourne. Life was great. We had money and free time, and my bar had plenty of hot young bartenders to look at. Until one day, a comment appeared on one of Avery’s videos. [Is it just me, or does this little kid Leo look a lot like Oscar-winning actor Ethan Cole?] Since Ethan had posted childhood photos of himself online before. As soon as this was said, netizens immediately dug up old photos for comparison. Without comparing, you wouldn’t know. Once you compared, it was a total shock. You couldn’t even say they looked alike. They were identical! Leo became an overnight viral sensation! A ton of people started tagging Ethan Cole on Twitter, joking about it. Netizens also asked Avery: [Who’s the dad?] Avery gave a sarcastic reply: [He doesn’t have a dad. Self-cloning.] Seeing netizens questioning if she was a mistress and if the child was illegitimate, she just got sarcastic again. [If you knew who his dad was, you’d think I was incredibly unlucky.] However, the very next second after she posted that, an account named Ethan Cole replied below. [Are you sure about that? Avery Vance.] The account name was Ethan Cole. The profile picture was Ethan Cole. Most importantly, he directly called her Avery Vance. Saying this was just a crazed Ethan Cole fan was a stretch. So Avery was terrified and immediately deleted all her replies and set her account to only allow friends to comment. That night, she came to my bar to complain, terrified that Ethan would find her and take Leo’s custody away. I told her to stay calm. Australia is a massive country. Even if that person really was Ethan Cole, he couldn’t find her exact address just from a few viral TikToks. Seeing her still worrying herself sick, I suggested taking her out to clear her head the next day.

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On the live broadcast of the hit parenting reality show. Every single person there was taking cheap shots at my mom. I blurted out, “Ma’am, my mommy and daddy taught me to be polite when I go out.” “Are you not polite because you don’t have a mommy?” My mom panicked and immediately clamped her hand over my mouth. “Kids say the darndest things! Kids say the darndest things!” The live chat exploded: [Just goes to show, trashy moms raise trashy kids.] But later, I carried my mom through all the show’s games purely on skill. I completely dominated the evil twin boys. And when every single toddler on the show started following me around and calling me “Boss”… The internet changed its tune: [Okay, maybe I was a little too loud earlier…] 1 After I died, I woke up inside a novel. I had transmigrated into the body of the four-year-old daughter of a scandalous, heavily blacklisted actress. My biological dad was literally the richest man in the country. My mom was drop-dead gorgeous. The day I crossed over, I hid in my massive bedroom and laughed to myself for an entire afternoon. With this kind of generational wealth, I couldn’t even imagine what kind of “hardships” I could possibly suffer in this lifetime. The only downside was my mom’s terrible public reputation. The second she popped her head out in public, she got obliterated by the internet. But my mom was a glutton for punishment. Even knowing how bad her reputation was, she still stubbornly and diligently took on jobs. One day, I came home from kindergarten with a miserable look on my face. She scooped me up, showering my face with kisses. “Baby, Mommy accepted an offer for a new show! Do you want to go play with Mommy?” Hearing the words “go play,” my eyes literally sparkled. God knows how agonizingly helpless it feels for a twenty-something soul to be forced to attend kindergarten. Getting my enthusiastic approval, my mom and her agent signed the contract at lightning speed. When my dad found out, he called an emergency family meeting. He started by having a deep, earnest conversation with my mom, gently asking if she really had to take this specific job. My mom slapped the contract on the table. “If I back out now, the penalty is five million.” The air in the massive living room fell dead silent for three seconds. My dad leaned back into the plush sofa, a teasing smirk playing in his eyes. “Evelyn, I’m not bankrupt yet.” Ultimately, I wasn’t fully present for the conclusion of this family meeting. My mom handed me off to the nanny. I sat in my ridiculously extravagant playroom, rolling my eyes so hard I saw my own brain. The filthy transactions of adults! 2 My dad walked into my room with lipstick smeared all over his face. He looked down at his four-year-old child and began his solemn lecture: “Chloe, you’re a big girl now.” “Daddy’s brave little girl can definitely take good care of Mommy, right?” Seeing that I remained completely unmoved, my dad pulled out his ultimate weapon. “If you make sure Mommy has a great time on the show, you can take a whole week off from kindergarten when you get back.” My eyes lit up instantly. God knows I had exhausted every trick in the book trying to skip kindergarten. Evelyn was a softie. As long as I cried hard enough and looked pathetic, she’d cave and let me stay home. But if Julian—my dad—was the one doing the drop-off? He would just give a cold scoff, roll up the sleeves of his bespoke suit, expertly toss me into the classroom, and walk away without a second glance. “Make it two weeks,” I countered. He frowned slightly. He seemed to be wondering why he was negotiating with a toddler. “Forget it. I’ll just pay the five million penalty.” I desperately grabbed onto his suit jacket. “Deal!” 3 The second week after signing the contract, the production crew arrived unannounced. My mom and I had secretly moved into one of our other properties a week prior. Before the cameras even started rolling, my mom’s agent had already greased the palms of the building’s management. The doorbell rang early in the morning. I answered it. Standing right next to the director was the agent lady. I flashed them a massive, brilliant smile. The camera crew immediately shoved their lenses into my face. One of them, probably the field director, asked me in a sickly-sweet voice, “You must be Chloe! Where’s your mommy?” I lifted my chubby little face and told her, “Mommy is sleeping. You can’t bother her.” Then I pushed the heavy door open, inviting them inside. Once the crew was in. They asked the agent if they could shoot some b-roll around the house. Hearing this, I specifically ran over, grabbed the director’s hand, and dragged her toward my mom’s bedroom door. With a deadly serious expression, I declared, “You can’t go in this room!” The director gave a signal, and the cameraman immediately swooped in. On camera, my squishy, dumpling-like face looked incredibly stern. “Mommy works very hard taking care of me! Mommy needs to rest!” As for why I specifically went out of my way to say this… Because I knew the truth. This variety show was a live-streamed event. Which meant that right now, behind those lenses, there were thousands of haters waiting to tear my mom to shreds for any minor mistake. In the original novel, this exact show was the catalyst. My mom inexplicably became the sacrificial lamb used to make another guest look good. The other actress on the show blew up in popularity because she and her son painted a picture of absolute, harmonious perfection. My mom, on the other hand, was cyberbullied so mercilessly that she was forced to retire from the industry. This time, I absolutely refused to let that happen. Only by experiencing it firsthand did I realize… Just how incredible of a mother she truly was. 4 So, on camera, I scurried around the various rooms, looking incredibly busy. While dragging my own little suitcase out to pack, I also took all the luggage my dad had secretly prepared for my mom and laboriously dragged it, piece by piece, into her massive suitcase. The live chat: [Evelyn knew she was going on a show, and she’s still not awake at this hour?] [That’s totally normal. I thought everyone knew Evelyn acts like a diva.] [Her daughter is so cute though! Let Auntie give you a kiss!] [She’s so young, how could she possibly know how to do all this? It’s just a people-pleasing personality.] [Didn’t she marry into a billionaire family?] Just as I was finishing up, my mom stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She immediately scooped up my busy, hardworking self. She started furiously kissing my chubby cheeks. “How is my baby so cute?” “Mommy’s little sweetheart.” It wasn’t until she suddenly noticed the room full of strangers and cameras… That her face instantly turned beet red. She quickly hid her face behind me. I sighed heavily. Moms! 5 By the time we arrived at the filming location. The other families were already there. My mom and I each dragged a suitcase. Seeing us walk in, the other guests gave the cameras a lukewarm, polite greeting. In the original novel, my mom had tried to drag me over to join their conversation. And was met with thinly veiled mockery. So this time, I grabbed my mom’s hand. I pointed to a chair off to the side. “Tired. I want to sit.” My sweet, milky voice instantly cleared my mom’s brain of any other thoughts. She abandoned the suitcases and effortlessly hoisted me into the chair. Then, she pulled a cheese stick out of her pocket. I munched on the cheese stick while observing the dynamics of the other guests. But before I could even finish it. One of the twin boys from another family spotted my snack. He charged at me like a little torpedo. He smacked his lips. “What are you eating?!” I waved the cheese stick in front of his face. Then, I took a massive bite. Chew, chew… He raised his little hands, trying to follow the movement of the cheese stick, but grabbed nothing but air. Filled with tragic grief, he burst into wails. “Mommy! I want to eat too!” God knows, I only wanted to mess with the kid a little. Unfortunately, I was just pretending to be a kid. He was an actual kid. Seeing him cry, my mom panicked and quickly dug another cheese stick out of her pocket. She had packed extras this morning, terrified I might get fussy in a new environment. But giving him that cheese stick… Made things spiral completely out of control. First, he waved the cheese stick triumphantly at his twin brother. The other twin immediately lunged at him to steal it. In less than three seconds, the two of them were violently wrestling on the floor. The twins’ mother, a famous pop singer named Taylor, rushed over to pull them apart. But their combat skills were surprisingly high, and neither was willing to surrender. When she found out the brawl was caused by a single cheese stick… Taylor’s face turned black. She marched straight toward us. Looking at my mom with outright hostility, she demanded, “Did you give Dylan that cheese stick?” My mom wasn’t very familiar with Taylor. After all, she had been laying low for a long time. Since having me, she only took on minor jobs every year. Plus, the sheer volume of her haters meant that anyone who got close to her risked getting dragged down too, so she naturally didn’t have many friends left in the industry. And right now, the cameras were entirely focused on the brawling twins. Almost no one was paying attention to our corner. Taylor sneered at my mom. “Evelyn, did you do that on purpose?” “I know you’re desperate for a comeback.” “But resorting to cheap stunts to steal screen time?” My mom immediately shielded me behind her, desperately trying to explain that she hadn’t meant any harm. But Taylor wasn’t listening to a word she said. “Hmph. Keep your dirty tricks to yourself. We all know exactly how you slept your way to the top.” How my mom got to the top? No one knows better than me! Obviously, it was because my dad used every manipulative trick in the book to coax and con my mom into marrying him! Seeing this woman acting so aggressively. And even trying to throw mud at my mom, I peeked out from behind her legs. In a sweet, childish voice that was surprisingly loud, I asked, “Ma’am, are you calling my mommy bad names?”

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When I finally got pregnant and was preparing to dump the father and keep the baby, I accidentally discovered my boyfriend was the heir to a massive corporate empire. I patted the one-million-dollar check in my pocket, ready to toss it at him as a breakup fee, and then caught a glimpse of the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist that I had always assumed was a fake. God damn it, he’s actually filthy rich! Terrified he would fight me for custody, I hid my pregnancy and skipped town overnight. [I’m tired of paying for your life! We’re done, you broke loser!] Two days later, I was dropping serious cash in a high-end maternity boutique. Suddenly, someone yanked the hood of my sweatshirt backward. “Baby, care to explain why you’re stocking up on prenatal vitamins?” 1 My family owned a plot of land out in the suburbs. After three generations of hard work, my grandfather had built a massive, sprawling farmhouse on it. It wasn’t pretty. It was just big. So big I could literally ride a Razor scooter laps around the living room. Even though the house was huge, it wasn’t worth much. Because everything surrounding it was just farmland and dirt roads. Until one day, the city council rezoned our area for a massive new sports stadium complex. My childhood home, that big, ugly farmhouse… was demolished. A bright red circle with an ‘X’ was spray-painted on our exterior wall, and the warm home I grew up in vanished. It transformed into a freezing, hard sixty million dollars sitting in our bank account. With a heavy heart, I walked away from my home without looking back, officially becoming a newly minted member of the nouveau riche. 2 I’m an only child. My parents’ expectations for me were incredibly low: just be happy and stay alive. When we were poor, my parents were extremely relaxed about the concept of marriage. “Luna, sweetie, if you find someone you like, get married. If not, don’t worry about it. It’s not like we have a throne to pass down. As long as you’re happy.” Once we became millionaires overnight, their tune changed drastically. “Luna Sterling. You don’t have to get married, but you absolutely must have a child. We actually do have a throne to pass down now.” Look at that. They even started using my full legal name. They were getting formal. I completely agreed with their logic and began my hunt for an outstanding specimen of a man. As everyone knows, truly excellent men rarely circulate on the open market. After five rounds of blind dates, the guys were either gold-diggers drooling over my family’s new fortune, or arrogant heirs from established corporate families who looked down on my “new money” status but still wanted to bleed me dry. Summary: Not a single usable candidate. I gave up on blind dating entirely and decided to source my own material. I looked high and low until my sights landed on an exclusive, high-end private club downtown. I paid a hefty premium just to get my hands on a membership card. Rumor had it their male hosts were top-tier gorgeous, and they strictly sold companionship, not their bodies. Hilarious. I didn’t need them to sell their bodies. If I saw one I liked, wouldn’t a little wave of my finger be enough to hook him? A young, rich, beautiful woman like me is practically impossible to find. A lowly club host? He’d be eating out of the palm of my hand. 3 My master plan failed immediately. I hit a massive roadblock on my very first deployment. I booked a private VIP room and requested the club’s newest, most handsome host to keep me company. The club was massive. Hoping to catch a glimpse of some other eye candy along the way, I refused the hostess’s offer to escort me, just asking for directions instead. I wandered through a maze of hallways, currently standing in front of two doors, deep in thought. Was it room “886” or “668”? Instant amnesia. I pulled out my phone to double-check when the slightly ajar door of room 886 was pushed open by a draft. A deep, raspy male voice drifted out. “Come in.” Oh, sweet Lord. That has to be my guy. His voice was incredible. This was an ultra-exclusive club. “886” was exactly the kind of tacky, uncultured room number a newly rich person like me would pick. I didn’t hesitate. I pushed the door open. Sure enough, a man was leaning back on the leather sofa. His suit jacket was draped over the backrest. The sleeves of his black dress shirt were rolled up halfway, revealing lean, muscular forearms. You didn’t even have to look closely to see the prominent veins. His collar wasn’t unbuttoned, but his tie was slightly loosened. That half-undressed, effortless vibe? Who wouldn’t fold instantly? Well, I definitely did. But what stood out even more than his body was his face. If he debuted in Hollywood right now, he’d be an A-list star in minutes. He was on a completely different level than the usual guys you see around. He seemed to have had a few drinks and was resting with his eyes closed. I made a decent amount of noise walking into the room, but he didn’t even twitch an eyelid. I swallowed hard and slowly crept toward him. No wonder his base rate was three thousand dollars just for drinks. For this kind of premium quality, I’d gladly pay ten grand! The man spoke without opening his eyes: “Clean yourself up. We’re going to my room.” Huh? Clean what up? Me? Or him? Go to his room? To do what?! Didn’t they say these guys didn’t sell their bodies?! Coming on this strong right out of the gate… even if he was gorgeous, I had standards! I asked completely seriously, “Can you show me your most recent STD panel first? I’m a little paranoid.” I wasn’t about to catch something and bring it home! The man finally opened his eyes. His brows furrowed tightly. He didn’t say a word. I tried to be accommodating. “I can pay extra.” His face remained a blank, freezing mask. Damn it. Nobody told me these club hosts had such fragile egos! He wouldn’t even show me his medical records! I was physically thrown out of the room by him. I was furious. I was definitely not requesting him next time. No, wait… I probably will. He was seriously, objectively hot. 4 I ran into the hot host again. This time, on my university campus. Hard to believe, but even after five rounds of blind dates, I still hadn’t graduated college. It wasn’t my fault. The decent guys on campus were all taken. The single ones either weren’t interested in dating, or they were total players. Twenty-two is the prime age for everything, including having kids. Have them early, recover early, and they grow up early. My family has money. I didn’t need to stress over education funds. My grand master plan: Get the baby-making done before I turned twenty-five. I still had three years. Spotting the host, I very “casually” shifted my designer bag so the massive ‘LV’ logo was practically flashing in his face. Just a little subtle flexing. He walked right past me without a single reaction. Excellent. You’ve officially secured my attention, sir. I sprinted in front of him and blocked his path. “Hold on! You’re one of the low-income scholarship students here, right?” I saw him with my own two eyes. He just walked out of Room 306 in Building A. The campus PA system had been blasting all morning, announcing a mandatory meeting for all low-income students in that exact room. No wonder he had to moonlight at that shady club. I flashed my most confident smile. “How about this? You become my guy. I’ll give you twenty grand a month, and you never have to do that kind of dirty work again.” He raised an eyebrow. “Twenty grand?” Not enough? Makes sense. His base rate for one night was three grand. I gritted my teeth. “Fifty grand.” He looked at me, an amused, unreadable expression on his face. “Which ‘dirty work’ exactly?” See? I knew there was no problem that throwing more money at couldn’t solve. Since he had accepted my arrangement, he belonged to me now. “You don’t need to go back to that club. I’m taking care of you now.” I laid down my very reasonable terms: “Of course, I still need to see your medical records. I can go with you to the clinic tomorrow.” He narrowed his eyes, clearly calculating something. Suddenly, he smirked. “Deal.” I was incredibly pleased with myself. I had officially secured myself a hot, broke college boy. 5 My broke college boy’s name was Oliver Vance. He wouldn’t tell me anything else about himself. I figured he was probably worried that if news of our arrangement leaked, it would ruin his reputation on campus. As a generous, forgiving sugar mommy, I completely understood. Oliver was in perfect health. Not a single red flag on his medical panel. The only slight issue was… he was incredibly, painfully pure. He wouldn’t even let me hold his hand. It took until month two for hand-holding, and month three for a quick peck on the lips. And then… total stagnation. No further progress. Until the day I graduated. On graduation day, I was buzzing with excitement. By then, I had been paying his allowance for six months. To maximize our time together, I had rented an apartment near campus, and we had been living together for three months. Living together for three months and not crossing the final line? If I told anyone, I wouldn’t even believe it myself. Using my graduation as the perfect excuse, I demanded a gift. Oliver was in the kitchen washing vegetables, prepping dinner. I wrapped my arms around him from behind. “Mr. Vance, I graduated today! Where is my present?” He turned off the faucet. “It’s in my room. I’ll give it to you after dinner.” I shook my head against his back. “No. I don’t want that present.” He chuckled softly. “You haven’t even seen it yet, and you already don’t want it?” I nodded emphatically. “There is only one present I want today.” I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck. “I’ve been paying your bills for six months. It’s time you made a substantial contribution.” “Tonight, your only job is to please your sugar mommy.”

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