Author: Momo Chan

For ten years, I pursued Daniel. In that time, I cured his disability and helped build his billion-dollar empire. On our wedding anniversary, his obsessive lover stood on the company rooftop for the ninety-ninth time. He said, “I’ll go check on her,” and later that night, he let her straddle his lap in a hotel room. “Willow’s aloofness…. it’s boring.” His contemptuous laughter pierced through me. He no longer loved me. I turned to leave and was hit by a car, losing our unborn child. The system asked if I wanted to go home. I said yes. The price was that he had to end my life with his own hands. At his yacht birthday party, he whipped me until I was half dead. My face was disfigured, my hair cut short, and I was framed as a murderer. Then he threw me into the deep sea. As seawater flooded my nose and mouth, I heard the system notification: “Target has personally terminated. Command fulfilled.” Later, he knelt in the ruins, searching for my belongings. Meanwhile, I stood arm in arm with my new husband at a seaside chapel, exchanging rings. Sunlight fell on the diamond ring on my finger, illuminating the ten days he had once spent waiting outside my coffee shop. Those ten days were bought with ten lifetimes of reincarnation. “I am sorry. And I wish you happiness.”

Willow POV On the fifth anniversary of my marriage to Daniel, that system-assigned pursuer Quinn appeared once more. Today marked her ninety-ninth death threat. A massive love confession banner hung from the rooftop terrace of Daniel’s skyscraper. She stood outside the railing, threatening to jump if he did not come to see her. It was the same staged performance as every time before. The first ninety-eight times, Daniel either had his security team handle it with blank efficiency, or simply ignored it altogether. But this time, I heard him grit out, “I’ll go see her.” My heart dropped. I didn’t stop him. Daniel left. He was gone all night. His phone went from ringing out to powered off completely. When I found the private club suite and stood before the half-open door, the sight inside froze the blood in my veins. There was the billionaire, always depicted in the media as distant and ascetic, hailed as the industry’s most untouchable tycoon… Now letting Quinn, who was barely dressed, straddle his lap, her hips moving, her eyes glazed. Quinn’s coquettish voice drifted out. “You know, Willow still thinks you’ve been ignoring me all this time. If she knew you’ve secretly come to me every single time since the tenth attempt, her face would be priceless.” “Her…” Daniel let out a contemptuous laugh. “She acts clever, but she’s the easiest to fool. I used to think that cold front of hers was special. Now I see it’s just boring.” So all his devotion, and his public disdain for Quinn-it had all been an act from the very beginning. I’d been played for a fool, watching them carry out nearly ninety secret affairs in corners I never noticed. Nausea instantly surged up my throat. I used every ounce of strength to shove the door wide open. The two tangled figures inside started, both looking toward the door in unison. I caught a flash of undisguised panic in Daniel’s eyes, but almost instantly, it transformed into irritation at being interrupted. “Daniel,” my voice came out hoarse, my whole body trembling so much I could barely stand. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” Daniel unhurriedly straightened his shirt. “If Quinn fails her pursuit, the system will erase her. I can’t just stand by and watch her die…” Before he could finish, a sharp crack rang out-I’d used all my strength to slap him across the face. Daniel’s face jerked to the side. When he turned back, the last trace of warmth had vanished from his eyes. “Willow, I do love you.” “But we’ve been together for ten years. Ten years. Just looking at you exhausts me. You can’t expect me to eat only one dish for the rest of my life-I’d get sick of it.” His gaze swept over Quinn hiding behind him. “She’s different. Young, vibrant, knows how to cry and make a fuss… like you used to be.” After speaking, he looked at my instantly pale face and added, as if bestowing charity: “Don’t worry, the position of Mrs. Daniel will always be yours. When I’ve had my fun and dealt with her situation, I’ll naturally come home to you.” I felt frozen to my core. “I can’t accept this. Either you cut ties with her completely, or we get divorced!” Daniel laughed derisively. “Divorce? Willow, where would you even go without me?” “Don’t forget-you gave up your only chance to go home for me.” His cruel words were like salt poured on my bleeding heart. Unbidden, scenes from many years ago flashed through my mind. Fifteen years ago, when I first came to this world, the first person I met was the teenage Daniel, sitting in a wheelchair with nothing to his name. I healed his legs, accompanied him from having nothing to where he is now, helping him become a top-tier tycoon. The day the mission succeeded, I was supposed to leave. It was Daniel who knelt on one knee in front of a church in the pouring rain, his eyes burning as he promised me before that ring: “Willow, I, Daniel, swear that I will never love another in this life. If I break this vow, may God punish me.” I was cold-natured by disposition, and trust in human hearts was what I believed in least. But facing that Daniel, I softened. For the first time, I wanted to take a gamble and gave up my chance to go home. Later, Daniel did indeed pamper me into someone everyone envied. He would use snow machines to cover the entire estate in the blazing summer just because I mentioned wanting to see snow. He would bankrupt and destroy an entire family because I was mistreated. He wanted to announce his favoritism to the whole world, holding me in the palm of his hand every moment. But now, he casually told me he was bored. I don’t know how I escaped that suffocating place. On New York’s streets, cars came and went. I walked aimlessly, feeling my heart ache as if a piece had been carved out, my vision blurred. The next second, the harsh sound of brakes and a violent impact came simultaneously. My body was thrown up and fell heavily down, finally sinking into darkness. When I regained consciousness, the strong smell of disinfectant filled my nose. I heard the doctor’s anxious voice. “The patient is awake. Have we contacted her family?” “Called several times, but they all got hung up on…” The doctor cursed under his breath, then turned to look at me. “Ma’am, I’m sorry to inform you that when you were brought in, you had suffered impact trauma. We couldn’t save the baby.” Baby? My eyes flew open, my hand instinctively moving to my abdomen. I was pregnant? Without my knowledge, a life had come and quietly left. Even the baby didn’t want to stay here anymore? This thought was the final straw that crushed all my attachment to this place. I closed my eyes and called out silently in my mind. “System, I want to go home.” A long-absent, cold, mechanical voice responded at once. “Command received. Per world rules, departure now requires the Target, Daniel, to personally terminate your life.” “However, Daniel will also suffer rule backlash, forfeiting all health and wealth bestowed by you. Does the Host confirm execution?” Images of Daniel and Quinn together flashed before my eyes. I did not hesitate. “Confirm.” “Acknowledged. Departure in ten days.” “Countdown begins.”

Willow POV Daniel didn’t come to the hospital until noon the next day. “My assistant said you were in the hospital-that’s when I found out you’d been in a car accident. Why didn’t you tell me immediately?” As he spoke, he leaned down to touch my face. I noticed the very fresh love bites on his neck and tilted my head slightly to avoid him. He paused slightly, about to speak when his phone rang. “Daniel, my stomach hurts so much…” Quinn’s tearful voice came through clearly. Daniel’s expression changed. “Don’t be scared. Send me your location-I’ll be right there.” He put away his phone and looked at me. “I have something urgent I need to handle. Rest well, and I’ll make up our anniversary to you next time.” “No need,” I said softly. “We don’t need to celebrate it anymore.” Daniel frowned, seeming to want to say something, but ultimately turned and left. That evening, I was brought home. The car had barely stopped when I saw Quinn at the door, her smile radiant. “Willow’s back?” Quinn linked her arm through Daniel’s. “Daniel was worried about my health, so he insisted I come stay here.” Daniel’s tone was flat. “Quinn needs care. It’s more convenient if she stays here. I hope you understand.” I said nothing, went straight inside, and headed upstairs. The next day was the corporation’s anniversary gala. As the CEO’s wife and company co-founder, I had to attend. Except this time, the person standing beside Daniel was Quinn. “Is that Daniel’s new flame? His wife is right there-this doesn’t look good…” “Looks like this Quinn has some serious skills.” The whispers floated into my ears. I simply lowered my eyes, showing no emotion. Halfway through the banquet, I wanted to go to the restroom to collect myself. Just as I reached the outer area of the restroom, I heard Quinn’s lowered but unmistakably smug voice from inside. “Don’t worry, Daniel is completely devoted to me now. Once I get his…” My footsteps stopped abruptly. I held my breath. Still in shock, Quinn emerged from inside. Seeing me, she froze for a moment, then her face took on its usual fake smile. “Willow, you’re here too?” I didn’t respond. Seeing this, Quinn moved closer, her words carrying barbs. “Daniel wore me out so much last night-I’m sore all over. What if I get pregnant? I have no experience. Willow, why don’t you teach me?” “Teach you?” I finally looked up, staring at her coldly. “A year with Daniel doesn’t compare to one night with you-I have nothing to teach.” Quinn pressed her advantage, reaching out to pull me. “Why don’t I ask Daniel to let you watch and learn from the side? That way, when I’m gone, you won’t be completely clueless.” I shook off her hand, feeling utterly disgusted. “No thanks. Watching two pieces of trash together would dirty my eyes.” Quinn stared at me. Her smile collapsed instantly, her eyes turning dark enough to drip poison. I turned and left, returning to the banquet hall, my mind in chaos. Without thinking much, I picked up the half-glass of champagne I’d left on the table earlier and drank it down. Within minutes, my body began to feel hot, and my head started spinning. I immediately realized-the drink had been drugged. “Willow, why are you here all alone?” Quinn’s persistent voice sounded again. She approached with feigned concern, then exclaimed in a volume everyone nearby could hear. “Oh my God! Why is your face so red? And you’re sweating so much-this reaction looks exactly like you’ve taken some kind of dirty drug!” She covered her mouth, her eyes wide, but her tone was full of malicious insinuation. “At such an important event today, Willow, you didn’t arrange to meet some man for something exciting, did you?” All eyes turned toward me. I felt terrible all over, wanting to tear Quinn’s mouth apart, but my body wouldn’t allow it. I could only grit my teeth and look at Daniel. “Daniel…take me home… I’ve been drugged…” Daniel looked at my flushed face and rapid breathing, then heard Quinn’s suggestive words. His expression darkened instantly. He strode forward and grabbed my wrist hard-so hard it made me cry out in pain. “How would you just get drugged for no reason? Willow, you’d better explain this clearly!” Looking at his suspicious eyes, my heart went cold. My body grew hotter and hotter, my mind barely conscious. I suddenly shook off Daniel, grabbed a fruit knife from the table, and slashed my own arm. The intense pain made me groan, cold sweat instantly beading on my forehead, but my mind cleared somewhat. “Call the police!” I gasped, staring hard at Quinn. “Check the surveillance! Whoever tampered with my drink-once the police arrive, one check will reveal everything!” At the mention of police, Quinn’s face instantly drained of color, her eyes darting around nervously. Daniel saw her guilty look, something flickering in his eyes. He pressed down on my hand reaching for my phone, his tone cold and hard. “Enough! Isn’t this embarrassing enough?” “Nothing irreversible actually happened. Do you have to make a scene at the police station and let the whole city laugh at you?!” Without giving me a chance to argue, he ordered the bodyguards behind him: “Take Mrs. Daniel to the hospital! Treat her wound!” The next second, I was half-dragged, half-carried out of the banquet by two bodyguards.

Willow POV For the next two days, I locked myself in the guest room to recover. On the third evening, Daniel came in carrying a velvet jewelry box. He sat down beside the bed and held out the box. Inside was an expensive diamond necklace. “For you.” I didn’t take it. Didn’t even glance at it. Daniel looked at my indifferent profile. After a moment of silence, he spoke. “Are you still upset about what happened at the banquet?” He did not wait for an answer. “Quinn knows she was wrong. She is young and likes to joke. Since you are older, you should be the bigger person.” I jerked my head up, looking at him in disbelief. He clearly knew Quinn had drugged me. He clearly knew I had almost been publicly humiliated or worse. Yet he wanted to brush it aside with “she’s young” and “just joking”? A chill shot from my feet straight to the top of my head. Voice trembling, I forced out one word: “Get out!” Daniel’s expression darkened. He seemed surprised by my reaction. He suppressed his displeasure, stood up, and looked down at me from above, his tone carrying a final warning: “Keep the necklace. This matter ends here. Willow, remember what I said-don’t go looking for trouble with Quinn.” With that, he turned and left. The moment the door closed, I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out, but my trembling shoulders still betrayed my anguish. That afternoon, I was organizing some old clothes I rarely wore to donate when the guest room door was violently flung open with a bang. Daniel had returned, his face iron-dark. He rushed over in a few strides and grabbed my wrist viciously. “Willow, didn’t I warn you not to touch her?!” He yanked me so hard my wound hurt. I struggled. “What are you going crazy about now!” “I’m going crazy?” Daniel’s eyes were sinister, the words practically grinding through his teeth. “Quinn just got hit by a car. The doctor said she almost became a vegetable. You dare say you didn’t arrange it?!” “It wasn’t me!” I immediately protested. “Who else but you!” Daniel didn’t believe me at all. Rage had burned away his reason. He suddenly began dragging me outside. My struggles were useless against his absolute strength. He roughly dragged me out of the villa and shoved me into a car. The car sped all the way to a deserted road in the suburbs. Daniel pulled me out of the car. Another black sedan pulled up right behind us. Quinn got out of the passenger seat, gauze taped to her temple. Seeing me, she immediately showed a frightened and aggrieved expression, shrinking behind Daniel. Daniel looked at Quinn’s weakened state, then turned to me with murderous eyes. “Whatever she suffered today, you’ll pay back double!” Dread shot through me. “What do you want to do?!” Daniel didn’t answer. He took out a coil of rough tow rope from the trunk. Despite my desperate struggles and screams, he tied my hands tightly with the rope. Then he secured the other end firmly to the tow hook on the rear of his black sedan! “Daniel, let me go!” I screamed, unable to believe he would do this. The next second, I saw Quinn get into the driver’s seat, her face showing undisguised malice and satisfaction. Daniel looked at me like I was an inanimate object, coldly spitting out two words: “Drive.” The engine roared. The car suddenly started! I felt a tearing pain in both hands. My entire body was violently slammed to the ground by an enormous force. I was dragged like a piece of torn cloth. Pain engulfed my whole body. Blood quickly stained the road beneath me. I don’t know how long it lasted before the car finally stopped. I lay barely alive in a pool of blood, my clothes torn to shreds, exposed skin covered in horrific wounds. Daniel walked over, looked down at me coldly, left one sentence-“Take her to the hospital”-then turned and left with Quinn in his arms. I watched their departing figures, my vision blurred by blood and tears, until I finally couldn’t hold on anymore and blacked out.

Willow POV When I woke again, blinding white filled my vision. Daniel sat on the sofa nearby. Seeing me awake, his expression was calm. “I’ve already paid all the medical bills. Rest well. If you hadn’t gone too far, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.” I closed my eyes, too lazy to even give him a glance. Daniel waited a few seconds. Getting no response, he rarely softened his tone. “All right. Didn’t you want to hold your birthday party on a yacht this year? Quinn has already arranged everything. You just need to show up. Stop throwing tantrums.” I kept my eyes closed, as if I’d heard nothing. After two more days in the hospital, I calculated that only three days remained. I had one more thing I had to do. Find Buddy a safe home. Buddy was a stray dog Daniel and I had picked up together on the street when I first came to this world at fifteen. I only wanted him to live in peace. But once I left, there was no guarantee Quinn wouldn’t poison him. With this thought, I ignored my still-unhealed body and forcibly checked myself out of the hospital. Dragging my still-aching body back to the villa, I was greeted only by deathly silence. I searched every corner of the house but couldn’t find that white figure that always wagged its tail and bounded toward me. My heart sank bit by bit. I immediately found Daniel in the study. “Where’s Buddy?” Daniel looked up from his documents, his tone as flat as if discussing the weather. “Quinn is allergic to dog hair. I had someone send him to the estate in the suburbs.” He paused, then added, “It’s just a dog. Don’t make a big deal out of it.” My heart plummeted to rock bottom. Without another word, I grabbed the car keys and rushed out. At the suburban estate, I found that dark storage room. Pushing open the door, a heavy smell of blood hit me in the face. Buddy lay collapsed in the corner, covered in blood. His white fur was stained red. Only faint breathing proved he was still alive. My tears burst forth instantly. I threw myself over, my hands shaking so much I could barely hold him. I demanded hoarsely of the watching worker: “What happened?! Who did this?!” The worker answered trembling: “This afternoon, Miss Quinn came. Said the dog barked at her and she wanted to personally teach it a lesson. She beat it with a baseball bat…” Hatred instantly consumed me. But I couldn’t spare another thought. I scooped up the dying Buddy and stumbled to the car, pressing the gas pedal like a madwoman toward the city. Before we reached the city, the small, warm body in my arms gave a final, gentle twitch, and the breathing stopped. Buddy was gone. He died in my arms. I pulled over on a desolate stretch of road and sat there, holding his body while it was still faintly warm, for what felt like an eternity. Finally, I found a quiet spot in the suburbs and buried him with my own hands. When I returned to the villa, it was already late at night. Quinn was leisurely nestled on the living room sofa with a face mask. Hearing movement, she lazily looked up. Seeing me covered in dust, my soul seemingly lost, a mocking smile had just curved her lips. But before that smile fully formed, I rushed over, grabbed her hair, and violently yanked her down from the sofa.

Willow POV Quinn screamed. Before she could react, my fists and slaps were already raining down on her. “Psycho! Help! Daniel, save me!” Quinn had no ability to fight back-she could only shield her head and shriek. The nearby servants were all stunned. No one dared step forward. Just then, Daniel returned. The moment he entered, he saw me pinning Quinn to the ground and beating her savagely. “Willow! Stop it!” He rushed forward and forcefully pulled me off, immediately pulling Quinn protectively into his arms. I was yanked by his tremendous force, stumbling backward. Losing my balance, I fell heavily to the ground, my forehead striking the hard corner of the coffee table. Warm blood instantly gushed out, blurring my vision. I saw Daniel staring at the blood streaming down my forehead, his pupils contracting sharply. He instinctively loosened his arm around Quinn and took half a step forward. Words of concern almost escaped his lips. “Daniel… it hurts… She went crazy and attacked me the moment she came back…” Quinn’s aggrieved crying came at just the right moment. Daniel’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air, then withdrew. He held Quinn, looked at me with blood flowing from my temple, his tone carrying habitual accusation and favoritism. “Willow! What are you going crazy about now!” I wiped the blood flowing to my eyelid roughly with the back of my hand. “Buddy is dead. She personally beat him to death with a bat.” “You’re lying! I didn’t! Daniel, how could I do such a thing…” Quinn cried even more pitifully, her whole body trembling. Daniel frowned, looking at me, his tone impatient. “Quinn is kind-hearted. She’s not that kind of person. Don’t slander her.” He paused, then added: “Besides, it’s just an animal. It died-that’s all. Is it worth making such a huge fuss and attacking someone?!” Hearing him speak so dismissively about Buddy’s death, wave after wave of pain stabbed through my heart. I remembered that when we first found Buddy years ago, Daniel had also patiently fed him, played with him, smiling and saying we were family. But now, those shared warm memories, along with Buddy’s life, were as cheap as grass in his heart. The last weak connection had also broken. I suddenly felt that any argument was utterly meaningless. Exhausted, I stood up and turned to go upstairs. But Daniel blocked my way. “Apologize to Quinn.” My footsteps didn’t pause. “Dream on!” As if thoroughly enraged by my attitude, he grabbed my wrist. “If you won’t apologize, then let Quinn hit you back.” I jerked my head up, staring at him in disbelief. “Daniel! You dare let her lay a hand on me-just try it!” But Daniel turned a deaf ear to my warning. His eyes immediately signaled to the security personnel behind him. The bodyguards rushed forward, grabbing my arms from left and right, pinning me firmly in place. Daniel looked at me struggling continuously. His Adam’s apple rolled once. Finally, he just looked away, his jawline tense, and said in a low voice to Quinn: “Do it!” With that permission, Quinn dropped all pretense of pity from her face. She raised her arm and slapped my face hard. Crack! A sharp sound exploded in the living room. My face was knocked to the side. Half my cheek immediately swelled with a bright red handprint, burning painfully. I jerked my head back, my dark eyes boring into Quinn’s face. Quinn raised her hand again. Crack! An even harder blow. I felt my lip split, blood seeping out. Quinn’s expression was extremely satisfied. Looking at my wretched state, she lifted her foot, and the sharp heel kicked viciously at my shin bone. The piercing pain made my knees buckle. If the bodyguards weren’t still gripping me tightly, I would have collapsed on the spot. Throughout it all, Daniel watched coldly-watched me take the beating in his hands, watched my face swell, my lip split, watched me curl up in pain but still keep my spine straight. I saw his brow furrow tightly. “Enough.” When Quinn seemed about to kick again, Daniel finally spoke to stop her. The bodyguards released me. My legs gave out. I collapsed to the floor, my body trembling violently. Daniel looked down at me, his voice cold. “Now we are even. Remember this. Do not touch Quinn.” Having said that, he stopped looking at me. He turned and put his arm around Quinn’s waist, his voice softening. “Are you feeling better now? Let’s go upstairs.” Quinn leaned softly against him and answered sweetly. Before leaving, she did not forget to give me, still collapsed on the floor, the unmistakable look of a victor. In the living room, only I remained, curled up on the ground. My face swollen, my lip split, the spot on my shin kicked so hard the bone felt broken. But none of this compared to the pain of having a piece of my heart carved out alive. I suddenly remembered many years ago, when I first came to this world. I was cornered in an alley by thugs. It was a boy in a wheelchair, with a useless leg, who dragged himself in front of me. He used all his strength to shield me, shouting, “Don’t you dare touch her!” But now, the one who let another woman slap me across the face was also him. I began to laugh quietly, a hoarse sound. It echoed in the empty living room, uglier than crying. I wiped the blood from my lip roughly with the back of my hand. Then, supporting my body which felt ready to fall apart, I slowly pushed myself up from the floor. Right on time, that cold mechanical voice sounded in my mind: “Three days remaining until departure from this world.”

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My twin brother Steven’s wife, Clara Hayes, had just given birth to their daughter when he ran off with my girlfriend. Furious, I used our identical faces and claimed Clara. Ten years later, Steven returned. By then, his daughter was healthy and beautiful. Clara’s company was on the brink of an IPO. My once-wealthy ex-girlfriend, however, was bankrupt. Steven sneered. “I’ve returned your girlfriend. Now return the family you stole from me.” I gritted my teeth and agreed. That night, I booked a flight to leave. But on the way to the airport, Clara slid into my lap and whispered, “You’d really leave? Tell me, is she better than I am?” When my brother eloped with my wealthy girlfriend, Mia Winters, he even had the audacity to send me a photo of them together. His message read: “Goodbye. You couldn’t beat me growing up. You never will.” Rage coursed through me. I stared into the mirror at the face I shared with my twin, and a plan crystallized. That same night, I stood at Clara’s door, ready to become Steven If he could abandon his wife and newborn daughter in my city, then he had no right to complain about how I chose to… care for them! Clara seemed uncomfortable with her husband’s sudden change in behavior. But at that time, her business was struggling. She naturally assumed I was angry because she wasn’t making money, dragging me down and burdening our daughter. She thought my temper was justified. So she became even more submissive toward me. Every time I criticized her harshly, she would just silently lower her head and promise she would soon give us a better life. I knew Clara was docile, but I hadn’t expected this level of submission. So I turned my focus to his daughter, Emma. I’d raised her since she was three. In her eyes, I was her father. But I was a strict one. The food I cooked was terrible, and my temper was worse. I scolded her constantly. Every time, she would press her lips tight, her small hands clutching her dress, looking up at me with eyes swimming in tears. “Daddy, please don’t be angry. I’ll go kneel outside. Please don’t hurt yourself being upset.” Mother and daughter were cut from the same spineless cloth. That was my conviction, right up until the day I went to pick her up from kindergarten and saw a circle of children kicking and punching her Something in me shattered. I had never laid a hand on her. I went straight to the principal. The ringleader bullying her was the heir to the city’s leading corporation. The principal advised me to drop it, implying I’d be ungrateful to cause trouble. So I walked out and punched the boy’s father-the CEO-right in the jaw. Clara spent the next hour apologizing profusely, bowing and scraping in a way that made my blood boil. After forcing them to cover the medical bills, I took the mother and daughter by the arm and led them out of there. On the way back, Clara seemed like she wanted to say something but hesitated. I shot her an irritated look. “What? You think I was too impulsive?” She coughed, awkward. “It’s not that…” “Then save it!” I cut her off, my voice sharp. “Either you find a backbone so your daughter never has to be bullied again, or you stay silent.” “Or let me handle it. That’s better than having the whole family be cowards!” I didn’t expect Clara to actually do it. Now, that CEO had to send me gifts through intermediaries just to get a meeting with Clara. The Hayes family had truly made a name for themselves in New York. No one dared to bully Emma anymore. After I stood up for her at the kindergarten that time, seeing her thin, bony frame, I gritted my teeth and spent my own money to buy lots of nutritional supplements, even though Clara was still in debt. “Look how skinny you are! No wonder people bully you! Don’t call me Dad until you’ve fattened yourself up!” Under the supervision of this stepfather, Emma not only gained weight, but also achieved a healthy body fat percentage. Whether in terms of strength or status, no peer dared to lay a hand on her anymore. Everything was good. Emma saw me as her father. She would brag to everyone about how I’d faced down the CEO in front of the principal. Clara also saw me as her husband. After her success, she kept pushing company shares into my hands, showering me with luxury cars and deeds to properties, never thinking of herself. Me, who’d never known money-I started to believe this life could last forever. Then my brother came back. And pulled me out of my beautiful dream with Clara.

“Actually, these ten years of happiness were all stolen by you.” Steven sat across from me, blowing a smoke ring into the air. “Although I eloped with your girlfriend back then, my wife and daughter are still my wife and daughter. “That’s no reason for you to take over my family.” He flicked his cigarette ash. “I won’t pursue the matter of you usurping my place. Now, I’m returning Mia to you. “You return my wife and daughter to me.” I clenched my fists. Mia had gone bankrupt not long ago. Her financial situation was even more desperate than Clara’s had been back then. “You really know how to pick your timing. “Steal your brother’s girlfriend when your wife is struggling, then come back to be the good husband after you’ve had your fill?” Smack! The ashtray shattered at my feet. My brother looked down his nose at me. “Is that any way to speak to your own brother?” “And let’s be clear, Lucas Reed. So what if I had a fling with your girlfriend? You seduced my wife. You stole my daughter.” “That was my child, born to my wife. Who’s the real disgrace here? Think about it. Which one of us is truly despicable?” The air left my lungs in a sharp rush. He stood up, came to my side, and looked down at me. “If you dare to cling on shamelessly, I’ll expose everything you’ve done. “When that happens, we’ll see who gets cursed out more-you or me.” I didn’t really care about being cursed out. All my life, having enough to eat and drink had been my only desire. When I was dating Mia, didn’t plenty of people call me a gold digger? I just thought of Emma. The way she sweetly called me Daddy. If this matter were exposed, what would she think? What would Clara think? Taking a deep breath, I said, “Give me three days.” Steven frowned. “What for? Don’t I need to pack my things? “Shouldn’t I clean up the traces I’ve left behind? “Don’t I need to write you a memo about how the mother and daughter have changed over these ten years?” Steven’s expression improved slightly. He sneered. “If you dare to play any tricks, I guarantee you’ll be utterly disgraced!”

During dinner, both Clara and Emma noticed something was wrong with me. Right after we finished eating, she came to the bedroom, holding my arm and looking at me. “Is someone causing you trouble?” “Clara, what would you do if you had to change husbands one day?” The smile on that docile, honest face cracked inch by inch. “You want to divorce me?!” I cupped her face. “Why are you panicking? I’m just curious.” “Never!” She said through gritted teeth. It was rare for her to be this assertive with me. “If you leave, I’ll stay single with Emma for the rest of my life. “If you die, I’ll raise Emma until she’s eighteen and then come find you!” I quickly covered her mouth. I didn’t like hearing her say unlucky things. “What if-I’m saying what if. “What if one day, someone who looks exactly like me came to replace me? Would that be okay?” My brother and I had competed with each other since childhood, and we never made a point of introducing our partners to each other. Clara didn’t know he had a twin brother. “Honey.” She gripped my hand. “What kind of partner lives with someone for ten years and then doesn’t care when an identical face shows up? “That would only mean they don’t love enough. “And in this world, no one loves you more than I do.” I forced down the corners of my mouth that wanted to turn up. “You’re being cheesy.” She didn’t mind. She kissed my lips, then turned to heat up milk for me. This was how we had spent our days together over the years. Even in the beginning, when my mockery hurt her the most, she would endure the grievance and heat milk for me. I don’t know from which day I started hoping I could drink the milk she heated for me for the rest of my life. Maybe feeling guilty, Clara publicly gifted me an entire building the next day. The ribbon-cutting ceremony set New York abuzz. She publicly announced that I would be her only husband for life. That evening, I rushed to the banquet venue. But I found a familiar figure already there, wearing the exact same suit as me, chatting and laughing with the very elites who knew me.

Catching sight of me from the corner of his eye, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my God, Mr. Reed, you really do have a twin brother!” “Steven…” I looked at him in surprise. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze full of disdain. “Here’s the ‘good brother’ I mentioned-the one trying to crawl into his sister-in-law’s bed.” I clenched my fists. “No wonder Ms. Hayes handed you a whole building out of nowhere. Gotta prove her loyalty, right?” “Everyone knows how devoted Ms. Hayes is. Even if you two look the same, it doesn’t mean a thing.” “Honestly, real love can tell twins apart in a heartbeat. This homewrecker should quit his cheap tricks.” Those high-society types I used to laugh with couldn’t even tell us apart. Just because Steven showed up first, they accepted him as the “me” they once knew. Steven continued along with their narrative. “I was afraid you’d have those crooked thoughts again, which is why I never introduced you to your sister-in-law. “But all these years, I’ve never treated you unfairly. “Every time you said you had no money, didn’t I send you money? What, now you want to skip over me and ask your sister-in-law for money directly?” “You!” Rage surged through me. Just as I was about to step forward to argue, a look of panic suddenly flashed in my brother’s eyes. My hand hadn’t even touched him when he stumbled and crashed into the champagne tower. “Why are you pushing me!” The champagne tower toppled as he hit it. Countless glasses fell on him, drenching him. Everyone hurried to separate me from him. “You’re too ungrateful! You were the one who seduced your sister-in-law, and now you’re pushing your brother!” “Coming here dressed in the same clothes as your brother! Have you no shame!” “Don’t think being identical to your brother makes you special. Ms. Hayes wouldn’t want someone like you who sells himself!” Just as I was about to say something, a familiar voice came from behind me. “What are you all doing!” “Clara!” I turned around. But that figure walked right past me and helped Steven up. “Baby, are you hurt? Let me see.” Steven just kept biting his lip, his eyes rimmed red, shaking his head. He didn’t utter a word, yet his silence made everyone feel the overwhelming weight of his grievance. “Daddy!” A small figure rushed over and clung tightly to my brother. “Daddy! Are you okay?” Seeing the daughter I had raised, my brother first froze. Then he smiled with reddened eyes, touching her face and shaking his head. “Daddy…” Emma hugged my brother and cried her heart out. I suddenly realized that with my brother, she showed far more emotion than she ever did with me. They say blood ties are the hardest bonds to break. It turned out that even though Emma hadn’t seen her father in ten years, as long as that blood connection existed, Emma could still recognize her father at first glance in a sea of people. And then run to her father. “Sir.” Clara helped my brother stand up and looked at me coldly. “Although you’re my husband’s twin brother, that doesn’t mean you can bully my people. “He’s your brother, but more importantly, he’s my lover.” I clenched my fists. “For what you did today, I’ll contact a lawyer to pursue your legal responsibility.” I suddenly laughed. Yesterday she said that if an identical face didn’t matter, it was only because the love wasn’t deep enough. So Clara didn’t love me enough after all.

I promised Steven that the next day I would write a memo about the mother and daughter’s changes over the past ten years. Then pack up my things and leave. To prevent any mix-ups, after the banquet ended, it was still me who went home with Clara and her daughter. I leaned against the bed without saying a word. Clara carefully came to my side, gently holding my hand. “What’s wrong? Still angry at your brother?” I pulled my hand away without speaking. She shamelessly grabbed it again. “I told you, you’re the only man in my life. “He has the same face as you, but that’s not an advantage. “I just find it disgusting.” I suddenly looked up at her. “Don’t you believe me?” She clearly thought I was my brother. “Tomorrow, I’ll have someone send your brother abroad and never let him come back. “How about that?” I looked at her for a while before speaking. “No need.” Tomorrow, I would go abroad myself. After lying down, I turned my back to Clara. She continued talking, trying to get my attention. “I heard your brother caught feelings because his girlfriend hit rock bottom? That was Mia, right?” I frowned, impatient. This was the story my brother had spun about me. He painted me as a pathetic man who first leeched onto a rich girl. Then, when she fell from grace and his sister-in-law rose to power, he tried to move on to her instead. “Mia’s trash. If he was into her, that says enough about him.” The words sat like a weight in my chest. To claw back a shred of dignity, I muttered, “She was alright. Knew her way around a bed.” Then, a pair of warm hands gently circled me from behind. My back sank into a soft embrace. “Nothing in this world could ever come between us, love.” “Mm.” I closed my eyes. After I leave tomorrow, you can have your great romance with him for all I care. While Clara was at work and Emma was at school the next day, I handed over the past ten years’ work to Steven. Then, taking the check he gave me, I wheeled my suitcase out the door. I didn’t plan to go back to Mia. The plane ticket was for Paris. With this money in hand, I didn’t need to worry about the future. The car I’d booked arrived at the hotel after dark. I got in and closed my eyes to rest. But not long after we started moving, the driver pulled over. I opened my eyes. “Why are you picking up someone else?” Instead of answering, the driver got out. I was about to call him back when my door opened. The person stepping in stole my breath. “Mia is good in bed?” Clara’s voice came from above me. The next second, her weight settled in my lap. She cupped my face, looking down. “I’m so much better. Care to find out?”

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In the third year of my marriage to Dominic Chase, I discovered a physical defect. I’d lost my ability to conceive and could never get pregnant. I was devastated, but Dominic suggested adopting a child from an orphanage. Together, we found a sweet little girl. On the day we were supposed to officially adopt her, I noticed a birthmark on the girl’s hand while signing the paperwork. I immediately said I didn’t want her, but Dominic insisted on adopting her. So I asked him for a divorce. Everyone stared at me in shock. Dominic asked, “Just because she has a birthmark on her hand? You want to divorce me over that?” I replied seriously, “Yes.” Dominic thought I was being unreasonable. “But the birthmark is only the size of a pea! We can have it surgically removed. Is this really worth making such a big deal over?” I laughed coldly. “After we divorce, you can raise whoever you want. Raise as many as you like—I don’t care.” Dominic’s face filled with disbelief. “Miranda Caldwell! What’s gotten into you? You want to divorce me over a child? What did she do to upset you? There’s no need to take it this far.” I stared at him, my voice devoid of emotion. “Her or me. Choose.” Dominic looked at me like I was a stranger, his eyes full of shock. “She’s just a child. Such a small child, abandoned by everyone. Don’t you have a heart? Besides, she didn’t choose to have that birthmark. Why does it matter so much to you?” I cut him off. “Fine. Divorce.” Dominic’s face turned pale. I said nothing more. The atmosphere turned glacial. The orphanage staff exchanged uncomfortable glances until the director broke the awkward silence. “Mrs. Chase, Rosie has always been the sweetest child at our facility. She never cries or makes a fuss, and she often helps the other children.” “Many people have wanted to adopt her before, but Rosie refused to leave. Today, when she finally met your family, she really took to you.” My father-in-law, Bob Chase tried to smooth things over. “Miranda, dear, I think this child is lovely. Medical technology is so advanced now—if you don’t like the birthmark, we can easily have a doctor remove it.” I remained silent, insisting on the divorce. Dominic approached me, carefully taking my hand. “Can we talk about this at home?” His voice was filled with hurt and pleading. I yanked my hand away, showing him no mercy. “No need. When we get home, I’ll have my lawyer draft the divorce papers. Make sure you come sign them.” Seeing my resolve, my mother-in-law, Nancy Smith’s face filled with alarm. “What are you saying? You’ve been married into our family for three years with nothing to show for it. Now that we know the problem is with you, you’re throwing a fit about adopting a child.” She pointed her finger at my nose. “I never imagined you were this petty. Are you trying to end the Chase family line?” Nancy brought up past grievances one by one. “Whenever you wanted late-night snacks, no matter how late it was, my son would get up and make them for you. He never complained once.” “You only like cake from that one shop downtown, so my son would stand in line for an hour every day to buy it for you.” “Do you have a conscience? Our family has treated you well. All I want is a grandchild. What good are you if you can’t have children?” Nancy clutched her chest and cursed at me, calling me an ungrateful wretch with every sentence. I grabbed my bag to leave. The little girl approached me, looking pitiful. “Mommy.” I pushed her away in disgust. Chloe Chase caught the girl. “Miranda, she’s just a child. If you don’t like the birthmark on her hand, fine—but did you have to push her down?” “Why are you taking your anger out on a child? All she wants is a family. What’s wrong with calling you mommy?” I glanced at her coldly. “You can let her call you mommy.” Chloe immediately panicked, flustered and stammering. “Miranda, don’t talk nonsense. This is the child you and Dominic were going to adopt.” “You know it’s supposed to be Dominic’s and mine. Why are you butting in?” Chloe had no response to that. She bit her lip tightly. “Enough!” Dominic’s body trembled. “Honey, can we please talk about this in private? Just sign the papers. I’ve already called everyone here. Please, just give me this one courtesy.” “You can yell at me all you want when we get home.” I refused outright. “No need. Just sign the divorce papers when you get home.” I turned to leave. Behind me, there was a thud. Dominic had dropped to his knees in front of everyone.

“Please sign it, okay?” Dominic wrapped his arms around my legs, preventing me from leaving. Nancy looked like she was about to faint from anger, repeatedly telling him to get up. In all our arguments before, no matter how fierce, he’d never knelt down. They say a man’s knees hold gold. Yet here was Dominic, kneeling for a child who had no blood relation to me. Dominic, do you really care about her that much? I turned my head to look at the girl hiding in Chloe’s arms. Very pretty. Very well-behaved. Very much like her. I laughed at myself and bent down to pry his hands off one finger at a time. “Stop making a scene!” Dominic’s eyes reddened with frustration, tears falling. I looked up and surveyed my surroundings. The obedient child, the angry mother-in-law, the silent crowd. My kneeling husband. Somehow I’d become the villain in this story. All because of a pea-sized birthmark, making demands and threatening divorce over three years of marriage. “I’ll say it again. Divorce.” With that, I left without hesitation. I went home alone and contacted a lawyer to draft the divorce papers. I waited until late at night before the whole family finally came home. They were laughing and chatting, everyone carrying bags full of gifts. Rosie was surrounded in the middle, the center of attention as they entered. As soon as Dominic came in, he saw me sitting in the living room. His smile immediately vanished. “Honey, the director said she could stay at our house for a few days.” “I know you don’t like her. Don’t worry—I’ll send her back in a few days.” Dominic looked at me carefully. I avoided his gaze. “No need. Let her stay.” “Really? Honey, have you changed your mind?” I slammed the divorce papers heavily on the table. “Sign them.” Dominic shook his head, begging desperately. “Honey, I’m sorry. If you don’t want to adopt her, we won’t. Please don’t divorce me, okay?” “I can’t live without you. Why, honey? Why do you insist on divorcing me?” Nancy pulled Dominic away. “Are you seeing someone else? Are you using this to end our family line?” “Since you married into our family, have I ever mistreated you? When you couldn’t get pregnant before, I never said a word, afraid of upsetting you.” “I’m old now. I just want a grandchild around me, someone to call me grandma. Is that wrong?” Nancy grew more agitated, crying as she accused me. Chloe walked up to me holding Rosie, then suddenly dropped to her knees. “Miranda, I know marrying into our family was beneath you. You were born with a silver spoon, a real princess, and we’re just an ordinary family.” “You’ve never experienced life on the streets, but I have. I know what it’s like to have no home. It’s so painful—I even thought about dying.” “I can’t bear to see her go through what I did. Miranda, I know you look down on unwanted children like us. I know you’ve told Dominic many times that you don’t like me. If you take her in, I’ll leave this house immediately.” Chloe’s words were so pitiful they tugged at everyone’s heartstrings. I slapped her hard across the face and said sternly: “Don’t you have any idea why I won’t take this child?” Dominic suddenly stood up and backhanded me with a heavy slap. I fell straight off the sofa and hit my forehead on the corner of the table. Everything spun. Warm liquid ran down from my eye. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to.” Dominic stared at his hand in disbelief, frantically moving to cover my wound. I shoved his hand away, grabbed my bag, and headed for the door. Bob called after me with a threat: “You dare leave? If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back to this house!” “If we divorce, you won’t get a penny!”

I dragged my exhausted body back to my parents’ house. My mom hugged me with concern. “Sweetheart, what happened to your face?” “Where’s Dominic? Didn’t he come back with you?” I buried myself in my mother’s embrace, tears soaking my face. “Did you and Dominic have a fight? What happened?” My mother’s gentle comfort opened the floodgates of all my grievances. “Mom, that child…” After I told my parents everything, they were stunned. “I never imagined Dominic was that kind of person. How could he have the nerve to do such things!” “Divorce him. We don’t want a penny of their money. We don’t need it.” My father grew angrier as he spoke, even wanting to rush to the Chase house and confront them, but I stopped him. The next day at the office, I went to get the divorce papers. When I reached the top floor and pushed open Dominic’s office door, I saw him and Chloe together, amusing Rosie. When they saw me, Dominic immediately stood up. He looked at the wound on my face with concern. “Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yesterday.” “You know Chloe is the most cherished person in our family. I can’t stand to see her suffer even a little.” Dominic grabbed my hand and pressed it to his own face. “I lost my head yesterday. Hit me, okay? As long as it makes you feel better, you can hit me or yell at me all you want.” I pulled away, saying coldly, “I’m here for the divorce papers.” “What’s wrong with you, honey? Tell me, please.” These past two days had drained all my energy. “I just want to divorce you. I’m tired. I don’t love you anymore.” Dominic refused to listen, just kept shaking his head. “That’s impossible. Honey, what did I do wrong? I’ll change.” “You’re lying. How could you not love me anymore? If you don’t like her, we won’t adopt her. If we can’t have children, that’s fine. I only need you.” Dominic held me tightly, as if trying to merge me into his body. “Dominic! Can’t you understand plain English? I have one requirement—divorce!” I said each word deliberately: “Do you want me to spell out all the dirty things you’ve done?” “Honey, what did I do wrong? Tell me and I’ll change.” Dominic appeared calm on the surface, but I caught the flash of panic on his face. Chloe interrupted him. “Dominic, just let her go. This ungrateful woman doesn’t remember any of the good things you’ve done. Her conscience has been eaten by dogs.” “With so many women out there, you must have been blind to pick her.” Dominic slapped her. Chloe covered her face in disbelief. “Apologize to Miranda.” Chloe stubbornly turned her head away, tears welling in her eyes. “If you won’t sign, then I’ll see you in court.” With that parting shot, I walked out of the office. As I rode the elevator down, many people whispered behind my back, glancing at their phones. I grabbed one of their phones. “What are you gossiping about me?” The company group chat had 99+ messages pinging. “I heard that child is the CEO’s daughter. He said so himself.” “Mrs. Chase is really being unreasonable. Who would even notice such a tiny birthmark?” “That child looks so cute and well-behaved. I’d want to adopt her. How could anyone not like her?” “It’s her own fault for not being able to have children. Now she’s taking it out on the kid. Poor CEO, stuck with such a shrew at home.” Chloe suddenly sent a message: “Anyone else gossiping gets fired.” The group chat immediately went silent. I laughed coldly. Chloe really had some nerve. Riding on Dominic’s coattails all the way to Executive Secretary.

A few days later, a pile of things appeared at my doorstep. Thrown in a messy heap. All my belongings from the Chase house. I saw my favorite teddy bear lying in the dirt. I stared at it for a long time before picking it up. This was the token of love between Dominic and me. The night we made it official, I suddenly wanted a stuffed bear. It was too late—most shops were closed. Dominic ran six miles before finding a store that sold them. It was such a cheap bear. I’d seen plenty of more exquisite, cuter stuffed animals. But I’d fallen for this one specifically, making it my favorite thing. I took a photo and sent it to Dominic. “You’re quite the actor when it comes to playing devoted.” He didn’t reply for half the day. “Honey, it wasn’t me. I would never do something like this!” I didn’t want to hear his excuses anymore. I blocked him directly. That evening, torrential rain poured down outside, raindrops hammering against the windows. Accompanied by the doorbell. I opened the door. Dominic stood there, soaked through. Water dripped from his clothes. His hair covered his eyes, his lips pressed in a tight line. “Come inside first.” No matter how I pulled, he wouldn’t budge. “No. Honey, I won’t come in unless you forgive me.” “Then stand outside.” I shut the door directly. Soon after, I saw Dominic leave on the security camera. I laughed coldly. What a fool, still believing in him. The rain lasted all night. When I opened the door the next morning, Dominic was standing there again. Still wearing yesterday’s clothes, still soaked through. “Honey, can you forgive me now? I stayed outside all night.” Dominic’s voice was full of grievance. “What are you pretending for?” Just as I was about to continue, Chloe appeared. She rushed over in a panic, helping Dominic up. “Are you insane? You made Dominic stand in the rain all night. Have you lost your mind?” “You have physical problems yourself, so you take it out on everyone else. Aren’t you disgusting?” Dominic pretended to look hurt, seemingly holding Chloe back but not saying a word in my defense. They made me laugh with anger. I didn’t want to waste any more words on them. Chloe held up her phone to my face. “Look at the disgusting things you’ve done. Dominic puts up with you, but other people won’t tolerate your princess attitude.” The phone showed a video. The subject was Rosie. Rosie was being interviewed by reporters, telling them how I’d rejected her because of the birthmark on her hand. She cried as she spoke, looking utterly pitiful. The orphanage director was there too, revealing my cold attitude that day. The entire internet was attacking me. “Oh my god, Rosie is so adorable. How could she say such things? Making such a small child go through this—how traumatic.” “She’s so young but already so mature. She finally had a chance to escape that life, only to encounter this.” “I really feel for her. If you didn’t point out that birthmark, I wouldn’t even notice it. This woman is deliberately causing trouble.” Everyone was cursing me. They even exposed my identity. Every day people threw eggs at my family’s company entrance. The company stock plummeted. I was under siege from all sides. Seeing my parents come home looking worried, I wanted nothing more than to tell the public the truth immediately. I reassured them: “Don’t worry. At the press conference, I’ll make them pay.” On the day of the press conference, many reporters camped outside waiting for me. As soon as I appeared, cameras and microphones were shoved in my face, flashbulbs constantly going off. I ignored them and walked expressionlessly to the stage. Soon after, Dominic’s family appeared too. My former in-laws looked at me with disgust, not even sparing me a glance. Behind them was Chloe, holding Rosie in her arms. Perfect. Everyone was here. As soon as I sat down, reporters swarmed forward: “Ms. Caldwell, what’s your take on the orphanage incident?” “Ms. Caldwell, did you really refuse to adopt Rosie because of the birthmark on her hand?” … I took the microphone and spoke slowly: “I did indeed refuse to adopt Rosie because of the birthmark on her hand.” The room instantly erupted. I continued: “I have two things to show everyone.”

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The day after our wedding, my husband said he didn’t know me. I spent three million dollars on a house and a new car combined! Now my husband looked at me in horror, claiming he was single. The car and house were both his. Come on! I put all my life savings into this！ I was furious and went to find my husband’s friends to prove it. But they all said they’d never seen me before. I went to City Hall to make a scene. The staff thought I was mentally ill and called the police. But the police thought I was the problem: “Desperate for a man? Married a husband in your dreams? What kind of man wouldn’t recognize his wife the day after the wedding?” After the police mediated, they also concluded I had issues. I desperately tried to get my assets back, but instead got accused of marriage fraud and extortion. My husband posted videos of me losing it online, and I became a laughingstock across the internet. Everyone was convinced I was mentally ill. Finally, unable to bear the harassment, I was hit by a car and killed in my distracted state. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day we registered our marriage. 1 “Good, now you two newlyweds get a little closer!” The pain of being hit jolted me upright. “I’m not going through with this wedding!” Liam grabbed me in panic. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you again?” But Mr. Williams, the clerk, tossed over the already-stamped marriage certificate. “The process is complete. If you want a divorce, you’ll need to get a new number and wait in line.” Divorce? Wouldn’t that mean I’d have to split all my assets with Liam fifty-fifty? I couldn’t swallow that. I had to find the flaw quickly. I looked around and confirmed this was definitely the largest City Hall in the area. Even the surveillance cameras were blinking their red lights. But why was I not in any of the footage in my previous life? I grabbed the marriage certificate. I randomly stopped a newlywed couple to compare. Every detail was the same. Liam looked at me, confused. “Honey, you’re not worried this marriage certificate is fake, are you?” I looked again at this familiar man. It took me three years from dating to marriage. I’d spent at least five hundred thousand dollars on him. But in just over ten hours, he’d ask with an innocent face: “Who are you? Why are you in my house? How could you possibly be my wife?” An inexplicable rage rose in my chest. I slapped him across the face. Then I rushed back into City Hall. I was going to see what the system showed this time! Liam followed, holding his face. He watched me stare blankly at the words “Married” on the screen. This was so bizarre! Everything seemed to follow proper procedure! The young woman who’d directed the photos came over to ask me: “If there are no more issues, you can come over here to collect your gift. Please don’t delay the next couple’s registration time.” She’d taken really good shots for me at the time. I’d even added her on social media to thank her. But when I came to City Hall to question things, she claimed she’d never seen me. Even our chat history had been completely deleted. I’d analyzed her expression repeatedly. All her reactions had been genuine. The staff had even less reason to give me trouble. After all, they wanted to register as many marriages as possible. But in my previous life, he also said he’d never processed paperwork for me! Could I really be having a mental breakdown? 2 “Honey, since we’re already married, let’s head back. Mom and Dad are still waiting for us to have dinner!” Liam gently adjusted my collar. Looking into his eyes, I almost doubted I’d only had a nightmare. He had good values, good upbringing, and a deep respect for women ingrained in his bones. Plus he was an orphan, so I didn’t have to worry about mother-in-law conflicts. I was an only child, and my parents kept urging me to get married quickly. Now we’d already gotten the certificate. I couldn’t embarrass the elders on our wedding day, could I? I pulled him under the surveillance camera. “Hold up the marriage certificate, say ‘I love you, honey,’ then kiss me.” If this was a premeditated conspiracy, Liam would deliberately avoid the cameras. But he just stood there grinning like an idiot. “Honey, you’re so fun!” I called Mr. Williams over too. “Today’s a happy occasion. I want you to share in our joy. Let’s take a photo together!” He gave us his most sincere blessings. I really had nothing left to say. Using the excuse that I’d lost something, I went to the surveillance room again. I secretly recorded everything from when Liam and I got our certificate to when we kissed. Then I sent it to all my friends on my contact list. I also posted it on all my social media platforms. Liam’s eyes sparkled. “Honey, you really love me so much! Being so public about it—I’ll post it too!” Oh, I just wanted to make sure I had evidence in case something went wrong again. I silently complained to myself. Then I logged into the system and took screenshots of all the information proving Liam and I were married. This time I’d definitely have complete insurance! By the time we got to the hotel, all our relatives were already waiting. Mom and Dad praised me for finding a good husband. No different from my previous life. Liam made rounds toasting all the relatives. Drawing a chorus of praise. But I kept my eyes glued to the wedding photos being passed around. They better not suddenly get swapped out! I ate this meal in fear. But fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. Back home, I deliberately called over a bunch of friends ahead of time. They all witnessed my marriage under one roof. They couldn’t possibly claim not to know later, right? When the noise died down, I clutched the marriage certificate tightly, afraid it would vanish into thin air. It wasn’t just about my marriage. More importantly, it represented my entire fortune! “Honey, you won’t suddenly forget about me, will you?” Liam came over and kissed me. His eyes sparkled. “Even if I lost my memory, I’d fall in love with you all over again.” I breathed a sigh of relief. This marriage had to work out perfectly this time! All night, I kept the marriage certificate under my pillow. But when I woke up the next morning, Liam was screaming in horror again, like he’d seen a ghost. “Who are you? Why are you sleeping in my bed?” 3 I didn’t have time to be shocked—I knew something had gone wrong again. I quickly pulled out the marriage certificate and shoved it in his face. “Don’t yell yet! I don’t care if you really lost your memory or you’re faking it, but we got married yesterday!” He widened his eyes and flipped open the marriage certificate. After looking at it for just a second, he suddenly burst out laughing. “Are you sick? You buy a fake certificate from a street vendor and claim you married me?” This again! I’d checked it over and over so many times yesterday! I could recite the patterns on it from memory! I snatched it back, about to speak. Then I froze too. How did this obviously fake marriage certificate appear again? I quickly lifted the pillow. But from the headboard to the foot of the bed, I couldn’t find the original certificate anywhere! Liam sneered and pushed me away. “Got nothing to say now? Stop putting on this act!” “If you leave now, I might consider not calling the police.” Angry and anxious, I quickly logged into the official system to show him our marriage information. But the content actually showed I was unmarried again! No matter how many times I refreshed, I couldn’t find any trace of marriage! I was completely dumbfounded. Liam kicked me right off the bed. “Can’t keep the lie going, can you? I’m calling the police to arrest you right now!” He pulled out his phone to dial 91

My blood was boiling. Without thinking, I knocked his phone away. “You’re a man with no money and no background—why would I commit marriage fraud against you?” “It’s all real! I bought the house too. If anyone should leave, it’s you!” He acted like he’d heard the funniest joke. He laughed so hard he couldn’t stand straight. He pointed at my nose mockingly. “You bought the house? If you’re so capable, show me the property deed!” Back then, to give Liam a sense of security, I hadn’t even added my own name! Seeing me fall silent, Liam laughed even harder. Without a word, he dragged me straight to the stairwell. “Everyone come look! This shameless woman snuck into my house in the middle of the night trying to sleep her way to the top!” Neighbors immediately poked their heads out. Seeing me in pajamas with messy hair, they all showed expressions of contempt. “There really are more and more shameless women these days!” “She probably got ahead before by being some old man’s mistress.” I was about to explode with rage. In my previous life, I was denied marriage and treated as a lunatic. In this life, I was being treated as a mistress. Why was it so difficult for me to have a normal marriage? The neighbors pointed and whispered. Security guards rushed over with batons. To avoid being dragged away in humiliation, I quickly dialed Liam’s friend’s number. As the call connected, my heart jumped to my throat. “This is Violet. You know that Liam and I got married yesterday, right?” I was filled with hope that he’d testify for me. But the voice on the other end was completely confused. “What? Liam got married? Did you dial the wrong number?” My heart instantly went cold. The mocking laughter around me grew louder. Some people even held up their phones to record. “She even investigated my friend’s phone number! This is downright sinister!” Liam looked at me with nothing but disgust and indifference in his eyes. Security rushed up, warning me to get lost. I was on the verge of despair. Suddenly, I remembered the safe at home. “In the innermost room, there’s a white safe. The password is my birthday, 0823.” “If you just open it, you’ll naturally be able to prove my identity!” Liam looked at me like I was an idiot. As if waiting to watch me make a fool of myself, he didn’t hesitate at all. He brought out the safe right then and there. And opened it in front of everyone. Everyone’s eyes fixed on it. Inside, besides the property deed and gold bars, there was a photo of me with Liam’s family. Thank goodness last night I’d felt uneasy and secretly tucked this inside. I let out a long breath: “Now you have to believe me, right?”

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I went to the hospital for a prenatal checkup because of my pregnancy, and the parents filed a joint complaint against me. “At such a critical time, you as a teacher should be on call 24/7!” “You dare to running off to the hospital?! what if we parents can’t find you? How can you still call yourself a teacher?” “Women really aren’t suited to be teachers, especially not math teachers. Too many issues affecting their work!” I was both angry and anxious listening to this. Over the past two years, I had carefully planned and raised my students’ overall performance by two grade levels, even postponing my own wedding for this. Though the pregnancy was unexpected, I never dared to take leave to avoid disrupting the students’ emotions. I had even become more dedicated than before. Yet these parents condemned me as irresponsible and subjected me to gender discrimination. What broke my heart even more was that after the students learned I’d been reported, they were completely indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with them. Things had come to this point, so I simply quit. A few months later, these parents blocked my doorway: “Ms. Griffin, please come back.”

I was pregnant, just over two months along. This baby seemed particularly considerate—I had no adverse reactions. I just needed routine checkups, and the doctor said I could continue working as long as I watched my activity level. My due date was in July, and I had already prepared my review materials in advance. I just needed to implement them step by step. I had even reported this to my supervisor. After comprehensive consideration, to avoid student resistance, they insisted I remain as their teacher. I never expected that after one parent complaint, the principal would change his tune and blame me first. Though angry, I still patiently replied: “Hugo’s mom, you’re a woman too. You should understand the pregnancy process. The first few months allow for normal work. Besides, my due date is late July. Right now my energy isn’t significantly affected. I guarantee it won’t impact my class responsibilities.” Hugo’s mom replied in a shrill voice: “You guarantee? With what? Precisely because I’m a woman, I know how terrible a pregnant woman’s condition can be. Plus, pregnancy makes you lose IQ for three years. In your state, how can you guarantee teaching quality? The kids only have one final sprint left—this is the most critical time!” After she finished, other parents kept liking Hugo’s mom’s message. Wendy’s dad: “Hugo’s mom’s anxiety is completely normal. Women teachers are just trouble. How could you get pregnant at such a crucial time? This is completely irresponsible!” Lily’s mom: “Last semester, grades barely improved and she took leave to get married. I was already worried about what would happen if she got pregnant now. Turns out she really did!” Zack’s dad: “We initially saw her credentials were decent. The school kept assuring us you were a good teacher, so we agreed to let you teach. Sure enough, here comes the trouble.” This was blatant gender and professional discrimination. I couldn’t help but argue: “Parents, I’ve explained very clearly—I went for my checkup on the weekend. It won’t take up work time. I currently have no other symptoms, I’m in good condition, and I haven’t used my pregnancy as an excuse for special privileges. I’ve always put work first. If I really wanted to slack off, I could easily use pregnancy as an excuse to resign from my teaching position.” Hugo’s mom sneered: “Words are cheap. You just got pregnant and haven’t shifted into that role yet. How can you guarantee you’ll stay in good condition throughout your pregnancy? At the end of the day, it’s about the bonus money. Who doesn’t know teachers get better pay, and you’re teaching the honors class, which adds to your teaching resume.” Hearing these words, my heart went ice cold. High school teachers could be said to be the hardest-working teachers. As a teacher, there are endless meetings and endless class affairs to handle. I also had to constantly adjust review plans and maintain communication with parents. Every day was like being a spinning top that never stopped. Yet the parents couldn’t understand and continued attacking me: “That’s why women teachers are risky. First marriage, then pregnancy, then childbirth. The trouble is pregnant women are emotionally sensitive. Who knows if she’ll be taking care of the students or if the students will be taking care of her?” “No wonder. She’s using her pregnancy to hog the position just to earn a bit more baby formula money!” “Ah! That’s so unethical. Our children are in their most critical final year. We can’t let this ruin everything!” “Get lost! Stop being a teacher. You’re harming others and yourself. You can be short on money, but you can’t lack humanity!” “Ms. Griffin, put yourself in our shoes. If your own child were in this class, would you want a pregnant woman as their teacher?” The questioning kept flooding the screen. I’m someone with stable emotions, but at that moment even my hand holding the phone trembled slightly. For money? If it were for money, why would I become a teacher?

I have a PhD in mathematics. When I first graduated, I had my pick of jobs. But because I grew up in a small town, I decided to become a teacher in an area with scarce educational resources. Yet these parents blamed me at every turn. Just then, Chinese teacher Ms. Garcia spoke up to calm things down: “Parents, let’s not talk about anything else. Why did Class 9 become the honors class? Wasn’t it because Ms. Griffin single-handedly built it up? Her ability is beyond question. Maintaining the status quo is better for the students. There’s no need to worry about things that haven’t happened yet, right?” Class 9 was originally the group with the weakest performance. I had voluntarily taken on the challenge and used two years to steadily improve their grades. The student with the best math scores in the entire school was in my class. The parent group fell briefly silent. Hugo’s mom: “What does the kids’ hard work and improvement have to do with the teacher?” As soon as she said this, the other parents chimed in: “Student success depends on natural talent. A teacher’s role is just supervision. How can we let a pregnant woman do proper supervision work?” Reading their words, my eyes reddened slightly. The students did work hard, but let’s not forget that both society and schools now have a trend toward adultification. Children have poor self-control. Guiding them to study actively and focus on their studies—this ideological work isn’t easy. But I had done it. They saw the results of the students’ progress but ignored how much research and sweat I had put into it. I often used diverse methods to teach students new problem-solving approaches. Sometimes to reward their progress, I’d buy stationery and notebooks out of my own pocket. Precisely because I had benefited from the country’s welfare, I wanted to pass on this simple emotion. More than profit, I was loyal to my heart in doing this work. But now these parents were saying their children’s improved grades had nothing to do with me. That I was dispensable. They completely denied everything about me. My heart went cold: “Since you parents believe students’ grades depend entirely on themselves, then how does my weekend prenatal checkup affect them?” Provoked by my words, the parents exploded again: “Students’ grades are easily affected by emotions. Since you’re pregnant, students will instinctively not want to trouble you. So what’s the point of having you as a teacher?” “Exactly. When students forget to eat while doing problems, or when they feel unwell, they’ll have to consider your physical condition first. They’re already exhausted—now they have to read your moods too?” “You’re a teacher. You should be taking care of students in every way, not having students take care of you.” They disparaged me as worthless. My eyes darkened. Just then, Ms. Garcia called me and told me not to argue with these impossible parents. I could understand the parents’ concerns. Finally, I patiently typed: “Parents, I’ve received your concerns. I sincerely ask you to trust me. I guarantee that my pregnancy absolutely will not affect my work. If anything unusual occurs, I will voluntarily step down from my teaching position.” Ms. Garcia sent a message: “Parents, please stay calm. I will do my best to assist Ms. Griffin and absolutely won’t let what you’re worried about happen.” However, Hugo’s mom sneered: “This pregnant woman is indeed stupid and can’t understand plain language. We told her to stop being a teacher, but she’s still clinging to the position. She really is greedy for money and fame!” These words stung my eyes.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at myself. All along, I had accompanied these students for over two years, constantly adjusting study and review plans according to their individual situations. Everyone had received one-on-one tutoring from me, especially in mathematics, where our class had a massive lead over others. Fine. I gave up being this thankless teacher. Stroking my belly and holding the review plan I’d prepared earlier, I walked into the classroom. The students’ faces changed drastically when they saw me, especially when they received another huge stack of review problems. “Teacher, I’m sick of doing these problems.” “I’m dead tired right now. Can we please stop with all this problem-solving? I can’t take it anymore!” I gave my usual spiel: “This is an important period. After the exam, you’ll have a three-month vacation. Then you can do whatever you want!” “Teacher, if we get into good universities, how much bonus will you get?” Hugo stood up, looking at me mockingly. I was slightly stunned. “I asked about other classes, and none of them are like ours—keeping us locked up at lunch, not letting us go back, constantly pushing us to study, study, and study more. I heard you won’t be our teacher soon, so stop wasting effort exploiting us.” Exploiting? What kind of word was that? Did they think they were taking exams for me? Hugo was the biggest gossip in our class, with a mouth like a megaphone that leaked every piece of news. Realizing this, standing on the podium, I looked around at the other students’ reactions. They showed irritation and indifference. The one thing they didn’t show was… reluctance to see me go. They seemed to wish I would leave quickly. From their eyes, I understood they must think they were working toward good universities for my bonus and credentials. I closed my textbook. “Anyone who doesn’t want to do the practice problems, return the papers.” Then I watched as all the students unanimously placed their papers in front of me. I picked up the papers and left the classroom. Immediately after, I heard a burst of joyful laughter. “Finally free! No more looking at that ugly face!” “Her test papers are so hard. Every problem she creates is difficult. You lose half your hair doing just one.” “Finally we can breathe. I’m getting fried chicken tonight to celebrate.” My steps paused slightly, then I straightened my back and left the teaching building. For the first time, I questioned whether I should continue being a teacher. The next day, Class 9’s teacher was changed to a male teacher. He taught English. He had just graduated from college not long ago and also had connections with the principal. Hugo’s mom had already done her research. The new teacher lived near the school, making it convenient to supervise students. “Mr. Morris may be young, but he’s very easy to talk to, answers almost any question, and he’s an Ivy League graduate.” “Hugo’s mom, thank you for thinking of our children. I don’t think pregnant women make good teachers.” “Right, it’s kind of unlucky.” Seeing the group’s discrimination against pregnant women, I finished the handover with Mr. Morris and quit the group. When the principal saw my resignation letter, he frowned: “Ms. Griffin, this is wrong of you. Parents make a fuss—that’s all. You don’t need to threaten me with resignation.”

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My husband Derek’s online shopping orders suddenly included a baby stroller. But we don’t have any children. When I asked him why he bought a stroller, he said it was a gift for a coworker’s baby. I believed him. But the next day, I found that same stroller in an Instagram post from Lily Carter, a student I’d been sponsoring. “Our baby is already four months along. Your daddy has already prepared the stroller for you.” The photo showed a hand wearing a diamond ring resting on the stroller handle. That ring looked exactly like Derek’s custom-made wedding ring. I checked Derek’s bank statements and discovered he’d transferred three hundred thousand dollars to Lily not long ago. I didn’t cry or make a scene. I turned around and called my father: “Dad, Derek not only cheated on me, he even has a child. I’m going to leave him with nothing.” My father quickly responded: “That bastard! Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll contact a lawyer right away. He dares to treat you like this? We’ll make him pay!” I forced down my disgust and continued scrolling through Lily’s Instagram. One month ago: “We finalized our house today! The neighborhood is amazing! Thank you to my special someone for giving us this warm home.” The photo showed a property deed. This was the house Derek had bought with my money, claiming it was an investment. He’d turned around and given it to his mistress. The thought of him using my money to support his mistress and illegitimate child made me sick. Two months ago: “My love says he loves me and baby the most, and will give us the best life. Tonight’s steak was incredible!” The photo showed an upscale restaurant with premium steaks on the table—the kind I couldn’t even bring myself to order. I remembered that day. I’d suggested celebrating my promotion at that restaurant, but Derek had frowned and said it was too expensive. We’d ended up eating takeout at home instead. Four months ago: “I’m pregnant! Baby, your daddy is so happy he’s acting like a fool!” The photo showed her and Derek with their fingers interlaced over her belly. Each photo cut into my heart like a knife. Derek sat on the couch scrolling through his phone. I wondered if he was chatting with Lily right then. Looking at his hypocritical face, the love in my heart completely transformed into hatred. Derek, you think you can get away with this? I’m Victoria Hayes, and I don’t take this kind of treatment lying down. I walked into the study and opened my laptop. As the heir to SGA Group, I had plenty of ways to make him regret this. I first had someone investigate Lily. Lily was a student I’d sponsored through college. She’d even visited our home twice. I’d welcomed her warmly back then. And now both of them had betrayed me. On the surface, she and Derek barely knew each other. Who would have thought they’d been hiding a child behind my back! Our last contact was six months ago when she told me she’d graduated and landed a job at a good company. Through my investigation, I discovered she’d joined Derek’s company. What infuriated me was that neither Derek nor Lily had ever mentioned this to me. They must have started their affair even earlier to be hiding this guilty secret! These two! The next morning, Derek gently woke me as usual. “Victoria, breakfast is ready.” He kissed my forehead. “I have an important client meeting today. I might be home late.” I forced a smile. “Okay, your work comes first.” A flicker of something crossed his eyes—probably surprise that I was being so agreeable. “Victoria, I’ll probably be busy the next few days. Don’t read too much into it.”

“I understand.” I nodded obediently, sneering inside. Busy accompanying Lily to prenatal checkups, right? After Derek left, I immediately drove to his company. As a business partner, I had legitimate reasons to be there. I went straight to Derek’s department. He was in the conference room. Through the glass window, I saw him focused in discussion with colleagues, the picture of a dedicated professional. Who would have guessed this seemingly upstanding man was doing such things behind the scenes? I turned around and saw Lily standing not far away holding coffee. She wore the company uniform with her hair in a ponytail, looking pure and innocent. I walked over, feigning surprise: “Lily? You work here?” Lily clearly hadn’t expected to run into me. Her expression changed and the coffee cup in her hand wobbled. “Y-yes, I just started recently.” “How wonderful.” I smiled and approached her. “You should have told me. We could look out for each other.” “I didn’t want to bother you…” Her voice grew quieter as she lowered her head. I could feel her nervousness. She didn’t dare meet my eyes, her fingers unconsciously twisting together. “How could it be a bother?” I deliberately patted her shoulder. “By the way, how have you been? I haven’t heard from you in ages.” “Pretty good, everything’s fine…” she answered vaguely. At that moment, Derek emerged from the conference room. Seeing us standing together, his face instantly froze. “What are you doing here?” He quickly walked over, subtly positioning himself between Lily and me. “I came to see your work environment.” I smiled and linked my arm through his. “And to see Lily. You didn’t even tell me she works here.” Derek forced a smile. “I only found out recently myself. Haven’t had a chance to tell you yet.” “I see.” I nodded, not exposing his lie. At lunch, I made a show of asking if work pressure had been too much lately and whether he felt unwell. As he ate the food I served him, he said emotionally, “You care about me the most, Victoria. I’m so lucky to have you.” Watching his fake performance, I nearly threw up. “By the way,” I said as if suddenly remembering, “my friend mentioned a nice property development. Should we look at houses too?” Derek’s chopsticks paused. “Look at houses? Our current place is fine, isn’t it?” “But that place is too small. If we have children later, there won’t be enough room.” I tested him. His expression clearly changed. “Children aren’t urgent. We’re under enough financial pressure as it is.” Ha. When buying a house for Lily, he didn’t mention financial pressure. “True, let’s wait then.” I agreed on the surface while seeing his ugly nature crystal clear. That afternoon, I used the restroom as an excuse to deliberately pass by Lily’s workstation. She was chatting with a colleague. I heard her say, “The doctor said the baby is very healthy. Already four months along.” “You’re so lucky. Your boyfriend treats you so well—bought you a house and takes such good care of you,” the colleague said enviously. “I know. He said once the baby is born, he’ll marry me.” Lily’s face glowed with happiness. Marriage? I laughed coldly. He was still married to me and already planning to marry someone else? Then Lily noticed me. Her face went white. “Victoria.” She stammered as she stood up. I walked over with a gentle smile. “I just found out you’re pregnant? Congratulations.” She instinctively protected her belly. “Thank you.” “But you haven’t mentioned your boyfriend. How does he treat you?” I continued. “Very well,” she said, not daring to meet my eyes. “That’s good. Young people should cherish what they have. Don’t let yourselves be deceived.” I looked at her meaningfully, then turned to leave.

Walking out of the office building, I took a deep breath. Lily, you think hiding in the shadows means I can’t touch you? I’ll show you what a wife is capable of! Derek came home very late that evening, reeking of women’s perfume. “Client entertainment. Had a few drinks.” He burped. “I’ll take a shower first.” While he showered, I went through his phone. Lily: “Darling, the checkup went great. The doctor said the baby is very healthy!” Derek’s reply: “That’s wonderful! My precious! I’ll take you shopping for baby supplies tomorrow.” “You’re so good to me, darling. I love you!” “I love you and our baby too. Once he’s born, we’ll be a real family.” Reading these messages made me nauseous. They had everything planned out, just waiting for me, the wife, to disappear. Dream on! I put the phone back where I found it and plastered an innocent smile on my face. When Derek came out of the shower, I went up to massage his shoulders. “You’ve been working so hard. There really have been a lot of client dinners lately.” He enjoyed my service, a flash of smugness in his eyes. “It’s all for our future.” “By the way,” I mentioned casually, “I ran into Lily at your office today. The student I used to sponsor, remember? She seems to be pregnant. So young and already having a baby.” Derek’s body visibly stiffened. “Is that so? I hadn’t noticed.” “She looked pretty far along. Probably four months or so.” I continued probing. “Young people these days don’t know how to protect themselves.” He fumbled for something to say. I sneered internally while maintaining a concerned expression. “I hope her boyfriend is responsible. Otherwise, it would be too pitiful.” “He probably will be.” Derek was already sweating. The next day, I had my private investigator continue tracking their movements. Sure enough, Derek took Lily to an upscale baby boutique where they intimately selected baby items. In the photos, Derek had one arm around Lily’s waist and his other hand on her belly, his gaze tender in a way that reminded me of how he’d looked at me when we first married. Even worse, they went to a jewelry store and picked out a two-hundred-thousand-dollar diamond ring for Lily. I saved all these photos as evidence for the divorce. That afternoon, using shopping as an excuse, I went to the mall where Lily frequently appeared. I soon spotted her at a café chatting with a friend. I sat in a corner not far away and listened to their conversation. “Lily, are you sure about this? He’s a married man,” her friend said worriedly. “What does it matter? He doesn’t love his wife. He only stays married because her family has money,” Lily said dismissively. “He said once I have his son, he’ll find an excuse to divorce her.” “But what if he’s lying to you?” “He won’t. Look how good he is to me.” Lily showed off her hand. “This ring cost two hundred thousand. He bought me a house too. If he weren’t serious, would he spend this much money?” Her friend still seemed concerned. “But if his wife finds out…” “So what if she does?” Lily smugly touched her belly. “I have his son. That’s my trump card. Men all want their own bloodline. He won’t abandon us.” “Besides, that woman—three years of marriage and still no kids. I got pregnant right away with a boy. Who do you think he’ll choose?” Hearing this, I nearly lost control on the spot. Twenty-eight years old made me an old woman in her eyes? I forced down my rage and kept listening. “He promised me that once the baby is born, he’ll make our relationship public and let me be his wife.” Lily looked dreamy. “Then I won’t have to answer to anyone anymore.” “Does this Victoria know yet?” “Probably not. Derek puts on such a good act at home, never slipping up. She still thinks I’m just the student she sponsors. How would she guess I’m pregnant with her husband’s child?” Lily laughed smugly. “Even if she knew, so what? I have a son and she doesn’t. I’m the winner.” Enough! I couldn’t stand to listen anymore. I got up and left the café. Outside, I called my father. “Dad, we can make our move.”

“Are you certain about this? Once we start, there’s no turning back,” my father said seriously. “I’m certain.” I said through gritted teeth. “They’ve gone too far. I need to show them the consequences of betraying me!” “Alright, you have my support. We’ll begin tomorrow.” After hanging up, I watched the setting sun, the fire of revenge burning fiercely in my heart. The third day was a weekend. Derek said he was meeting a client, but he was really going to accompany Lily. I pretended to believe his lie and saw him off as he drove away. Then, in my capacity as CEO of SGA Group, I called an emergency board meeting. “Everyone, I have an announcement to make.” I stood at the conference table, my voice calm and forceful. “Effective immediately, all collaborative projects between SGA Group and Horizon Tech are terminated.” The board members exchanged glances. Horizon Tech was Derek’s company. “Victoria, why? Horizon Tech has been an important partner,” a board member asked, confused. “Because their CEO, Derek Hayes, has engaged in seriously inappropriate personal conduct that violates business ethics,” I said coldly. “It conflicts with our company’s values.” “But terminating the partnership so abruptly will incur penalty fees.” “I’ll cover the penalties,” I said without hesitation. “This is a matter of principle. No compromise.” After the meeting, I immediately contacted Derek’s company’s other major clients. Leveraging SGA Group’s influence and my personal connections, I quickly made them concerned about Derek’s company too. By afternoon, Derek’s phone was flooded with calls from clients. I leisurely sipped tea at home, listening to him anxiously take calls on the balcony. “Sally, why suddenly terminate the partnership? We’ve been working together so well…” “David, is there some misunderstanding? We can negotiate the price…” “John, please reconsider. Our company can’t survive without this project…” Watching him in a panic brought me satisfaction. Derek came home that evening looking dejected and worried. “I ran into some work problems today.” He tried to appear strong in front of me. “What happened?” I asked with concern, sneering internally. “Several major clients suddenly want to terminate partnerships. I don’t know why.” He rubbed his temples in distress. “Could competitors be sabotaging you behind the scenes?” I pretended to analyze. “Possibly…” His eyes flashed with suspicion. “Several companies have been trying to steal our business lately.” I secretly gloated. He still didn’t know the real enemy was right beside him. “Don’t overthink it. We’ll deal with problems as they come.” I gently comforted him. “Worst case, my family can help out.” Derek looked at me gratefully. “I’m so lucky to have you. Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do.” Hypocrite! If I was so great, why did you betray me? But soon he wouldn’t be saying that anymore.

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My sister and I both fell down the stairs at the same time. Pregnant, I hemorrhaged and miscarried, my life hanging by a thread. But my husband, Ethan, the hospital director, summoned all the doctors to Clara’s room to conduct a full-body examination on her—she’d only fractured a bone. I begged Ethan to save me, but he just snapped at me impatiently, “Can you stop making a scene at a time like this? Do you know Clara’s leg is broken?!” In the end, I died in a corner where no one noticed. But after learning of my death, Ethan—who had hated me the most—lost his mind. In the last three minutes before my death, my soul drifted to Ethan’s side. At that moment, he sat beside Clara’s hospital bed, his face full of worry as he murmured, “Clara, don’t scare me. Wake up soon.” My brother, Marcus, looked furious. “If that bastard Autumn hadn’t failed to protect her, how would Clara have ended up like this? Just wait until I get my hands on her!” I stood nearby watching, bitterness welling up in my heart. Marcus, you don’t need to lift a finger. I’m already dead. Dead from your indifference. The doctors formed a circle around Clara’s bed. After confirming she only had a fracture and nothing serious, one of the older doctors finally dared to mention me, asking cautiously, “Director, are you really not going to check on Autumn? She fell down the stairs, hemorrhaged from a miscarriage, and her condition seems extremely critical. She urgently needs emergency treatment.” The concern on Ethan’s face instantly turned to disgust as he shouted, “What trick is she playing now? Is she faking it? She hurt Clara like this and still doesn’t get it!” I stared at him blankly, my dead heart suddenly stabbing with pain. I was his wife, carrying his child, and he truly didn’t care about me at all? Suddenly, Ethan picked up his phone and called me. A nurse had just brought the phone to my ear when what I heard wasn’t the concern I’d hoped for, but the same old scolding: “Autumn, when are you going to get over here and apologize to your sister?” I finally felt my heart turn cold, no longer harboring any expectations. That’s right—he didn’t care about me at all. Come to think of it, when I was first brought into the hospital, I begged him to save me. All he said was, “Can you stop making a scene at a time like this? Do you know Clara’s leg is broken?!” Then he turned and left without looking back, taking all the doctors to look after Clara. Where would he find the heart to love me? The nurse couldn’t stand it anymore and took the phone. “Director, Autumn really can’t hold on much longer.” But Ethan, convinced I was making a scene, laughed coldly. “What, how much did she pay you to help her put on this act? I never thought she’d have this kind of skill!” As soon as he finished speaking, Clara, who’d been pretending to be unconscious for so long, finally woke up, putting on a weak voice. “Marcus, Ethan, how is my sister?” Looking at the “sweet and understanding” Clara on the hospital bed, Ethan’s expression became even more disgusted. “Autumn, can’t you be sensible like her? You hurt her this badly and she’s still worried about you. If you don’t get over here and apologize within three minutes, don’t bother coming to see me again!” Ethan hung up, his chest heaving with anger. Marcus stood beside him, looking displeased. “Why call her over? Haven’t you caused Clara enough misery already?” Clara couldn’t hide the smugness on her face. She lowered her head silently, putting on an expression full of guilt as she looked at Marcus and Ethan. “Marcus, Ethan, don’t be angry. My sister has always resented me for getting the house our parents left behind. It’s only natural she blames me.” I found it laughable. Even with me dead, Clara was still driving wedges between people. But Marcus and Ethan would never see through it. In their eyes, Clara would always be the more obedient and well-behaved child compared to me. It would never occur to them that during that shopping trip, it was their beloved Clara who pushed me down the stairs with her own hands. Sure enough, Ethan’s face immediately turned cold. “She’d do something this vicious over a house? Her heart’s rotten through and through!” Clara said sweetly, “Ethan, don’t be angry. Maybe my sister just hasn’t thought things through yet. She didn’t mean to fight with me over it…” Ethan’s expression softened instantly. “Clara, you’re just too kind. That’s why your sister bullies you like this.” That was Clara—always knowing exactly what to say to please them. I knew that even if I stood right in front of them and told them about all of Clara’s vicious behavior over the years, they would just slap me hard across the face and say I was talking nonsense, jealous of my sister. Over the years, I’d gotten used to it. While they were talking, my younger brother Ryan came rushing in, anxiously checking on Clara’s injuries. As soon as he learned his youngest sister had been hurt, he immediately caught a flight from out of state and rushed back without stopping. Like Marcus and Ethan, his eyes were only on Clara. After confirming Clara was unharmed, Ryan finally breathed a sigh of relief, his face full of anger. “I said it all along—Autumn is the jinx of our family. For a house, she’d even try to kill her own sister!” Clara took the opportunity to act coy. “Don’t be angry. Even if my sister pushed me down the stairs, I’m sure she didn’t mean it!”

Hearing this, the whole family exploded! Marcus slammed the table. “What? She’s the one who pushed you down the stairs?!” Ethan ground his teeth in fury. “That vicious creature—I’ll never let this go!” Ryan’s eyes were even more vicious, as if he wanted to tear me to pieces. Clara’s heart jumped, as if afraid things would get out of hand and be exposed. She quickly said, “Don’t be mad at my sister, okay? Maybe I remembered wrong. No matter what, she’s still my sister. She wouldn’t do something like this!” Ryan gently patted her shoulder. “You’re just too innocent. You have no idea how evil people can be. We’re so lucky to have a sister like you. Let’s not talk about that disaster anymore. Just focus on recovering.” The setting sun’s rays fell on Clara’s hospital bed. Watching them together like this, an indescribable bitterness surged through me. In that instant, I felt even my soul seemed so out of place. As if I wasn’t their family member, just a stray dog. I wanted to escape, but my soul was tightly bound to Ethan’s side. I couldn’t make a sound either, could only let them humiliate me. A few days later, under the family’s attentive care, Clara was discharged. Ethan busied himself packing things. Marcus drove the car to the hospital entrance early, afraid she’d have to walk even one extra step. Ryan wouldn’t even let her put on her own shoes. On the way home, Ethan grumbled irritably, “Autumn’s really not worth anything. Her sister’s being discharged and she hasn’t come to visit even once, let alone apologize. Just wait till I get home—I’ll teach her a lesson!” Marcus glanced at him. “I told you, keeping her at home is just asking for trouble. Something was bound to happen eventually.” Hearing the word “lesson,” my emotions were complicated. A flood of memories rushed into my mind. Marcus’s hatred for me began with that car accident. I was sixteen that year. Our family of five was on a road trip. I got carsick and felt terrible, so Dad pulled the car over temporarily. He and Mom both got out to buy me medicine. That’s when an out-of-control truck crashed into us from behind. Dad and Mom used their bodies to shield me. I survived. They died. From that day on, Marcus believed I had killed our parents. As the only adult, he controlled our parents’ inheritance. My sister, being “the youngest and most pitiful,” received all his compensation and affection. And I became the most superfluous person in this family. On my eighteenth birthday, I hid the last intact family photo of Mom and Dad under my pillow. Clara discovered it. She tore the photo to shreds right in front of me. I lunged forward like a madwoman to grab those pieces, and pushed her. She sat on the floor, stunned for a second, then burst into tears. When Marcus burst in, he saw exactly that scene. “Autumn!” He grabbed my hair and dragged me to the living room, throwing me hard onto the floor. “Killing Mom and Dad wasn’t enough? Now you want to hurt your sister too?” He beat me while shouting, “You jinx! Why didn’t you die with Mom and Dad? Are you alive just to keep hurting people?” My younger brother Ryan stood in the doorway, glanced once, said nothing, and walked away. From that day on, I never dared treasure anything again, never dared have emotions, never dared approach my sister. I became a shadow in this house, a transparent person who should have disappeared long ago. Until now, when they’d left me in that cold emergency room.

As soon as they got home, Clara lay down on the sofa. The moment she said she was hungry, Ryan couldn’t wait to pull out his phone to order her favorite takeout. Usually so careless, he carefully studied the reviews of various restaurants on the food delivery app, afraid of letting Clara eat something that didn’t suit her taste. Marcus pulled out a latest model luxury brand handbag, saying it was a discharge gift for her, celebrating her safe return. Ethan cleaned Clara’s room inside and out, placing aromatherapy and calming essential oils, saying it would help her relax and rest better. Clara just lay comfortably on the sofa playing with her phone, yet she held the whole family’s heart. And me—my soul that had returned with them—only felt this all-too-familiar place was bone-chillingly cold. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I saw a figure I knew all too well—my childhood friend, Derek. He’d just returned from abroad. As soon as he entered, he expressed concern for Clara’s health. “I heard Clara was being discharged today, so I specially bought some things to visit her.” Clara immediately put down her phone, acting shy. “Sorry you had to make a special trip. I’m fine now.” Derek gave her a warm smile. That face that had always been sunny and cheerful in my memory now seemed inexplicably strange to me. Suddenly, he changed the subject. “Where’s Autumn?” If he hadn’t mentioned me, the whole family probably would have forgotten my existence. Hearing my name, Ethan’s face darkened. “Why bring up that disaster? I said a few words to her and she didn’t even come home. But that’s fine—since she likes being out there so much, she should just never come back. Die out there. At least then home would be peaceful, instead of her constantly stirring up trouble!” Derek quickly nodded. “Good that she’s not coming back. At least she won’t disturb Clara’s rest.” Ryan came out carrying water, teasing, “So, are you leaving the country again this time? Clara, you’d better pay more attention, or someone else might snatch him away.” Derek lowered his head slightly. “I originally planned to visit Clara today, and also… clarify some things with Autumn.” An indescribable sourness churned from my heart to my throat. I laughed bitterly at myself, turned around, and didn’t want to look anymore. Not being loved—I’d gotten used to it long ago. After dinner, Ethan became somewhat irritable for some reason. He returned to the bedroom alone, searching for something on his phone. I walked over and glanced—he was looking for my phone number. Then he repeatedly called me, but no one ever answered. After a while, Ethan threw his phone hard on the ground. “Still dare not answer my calls? Think anyone actually cares about you?” I really wanted to tell him I was dead—how could anyone possibly answer the phone? But then he called that hospital nurse. “What trick is Autumn telling you she wants to pull? Tell her for me not to refuse what’s good for her. Get back here right now and apologize to her sister, and I’ll still allow her to come home!” The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. “Director, Autumn died a week ago. She fell down the stairs that day, hemorrhaged from a miscarriage and urgently needed emergency treatment, but all the doctors had been summoned by you to Clara’s room. There were no doctors available to treat her…” Hearing these words, Ethan’s pupils dilated in shock. He froze in place. He refused to believe it, recalling the scene from that day, frowning confidently. “That’s impossible. She and Clara went together. Clara’s already been discharged—how could she be hurt that badly?” “Don’t think I can’t see through this little trick. Isn’t she just trying to make me care about her by causing trouble?” “I’m warning both of you—stop this endless scheming together! Or you’ll both regret it!” Seeing that Ethan refused to believe it no matter what, the nurse sighed softly and said helplessly, “Director, I’m really not lying to you. If you don’t believe me, go to the morgue and see for yourself.”

Ethan became somewhat nervous, pacing back and forth in the room, his footsteps heavy and urgent. “You liars, ganging up to deceive me—you really don’t know your place!” Without waiting for the nurse to say anything more, he angrily hung up the phone. Seeming to have heard Ethan’s outburst, Marcus opened the door. “Derek’s still here. What are you shouting about in your room?” Ethan clutched his phone to his chest with both hands, looking helplessly at Marcus. “The nurse from the hospital just said Autumn is dead. It can’t be true, can it?” Marcus rolled his eyes dismissively. “How are you so gullible too? If she was really hurt that badly, someone as scheming as her would have dragged Clara down with her. How could Clara still be standing here perfectly fine?” Derek also came over to comfort Ethan. “That’s right. Autumn… she’s got nine lives. She’s not that easy to kill.” Ryan said dismissively while playing on his phone, “Wouldn’t it be better if that annoying pest died? What’s there to worry about?” Although I’d long known everyone favored my sister, I never imagined I’d be so worthless in their eyes. After all these years, even if they didn’t like me, they should have understood me somewhat. With my personality, how could I possibly do something so despicable, or joke about my own life and death for attention? Under everyone’s “reassuring” words, Ethan straightened his back and resumed his usual arrogant manner. “First thing tomorrow morning I’m going to the hospital to expose them! If Autumn’s not in the morgue, I’ll break her legs! And that nurse—I’ll fire her too!” Light rain suddenly began pattering outside the window. Their casual words were like loud slaps across my face, but I couldn’t make a sound from the pain. By now, I clearly understood—everyone had been hoping for my death all along. Early the next morning, Ethan rushed to the hospital without even eating breakfast. Marcus, worried, went with him. On the way there, Ethan was still complaining to Marcus about having to make another wasted trip. But when they arrived at the hospital morgue and saw my corpse, Ethan staggered back in horror, stumbling to crouch against the wall, hugging himself tightly. “How could this be? How did this happen? That day I clearly saw she wasn’t badly hurt. Her mental state was clearly fine too…” I indeed didn’t look badly hurt, just some scrapes and bruises on my body. But it was because my abdomen had been struck during the fall, causing hemorrhaging and miscarriage, urgently requiring surgery to stop the bleeding. The reason my mental state seemed fine was because I was losing so much blood I was nearly gone—my adrenaline had peaked. As hospital director, Ethan would have noticed with just a little care. But unfortunately, he only cared about Clara. From beginning to end, he never looked at me even once. Marcus also reached out to touch my face. Perhaps because my death was too gruesome, his outstretched hand stopped in midair. After learning the news, Clara and Ryan rushed over. Seeing Ethan and Marcus looking devastated, Clara realized something was wrong. As soon as she entered, she rushed to my bedside and knelt on the floor, shouting, “How could you be so foolish! Just because I got the house Mom and Dad left behind, you resented me that much? To get revenge on me, you got yourself killed!” After crying dramatically, Clara crouched on the floor pretending to blame herself. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be like this…” Then she started slapping herself hard in the face. Seeing this, Ethan, Marcus, and Ryan couldn’t care about being sad anymore and quickly pulled Clara away. Ethan held her tightly. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. Her own greed killed her. This is all her own doing!” At the mention of that house, I froze for a moment, my thoughts pulled back to a year ago. I was four years older than Clara. After Mom and Dad died, they left behind a house in a very good location. I had just found out I was pregnant then, full of joy planning for the future. I discussed with Marcus about transferring the house to my future child. But the good-for-nothing Clara heard about it and threw a fit, saying Mom and Dad’s things were hers too, and she wanted it. Marcus knew perfectly well she didn’t even have a boyfriend and had no use for it, but still agreed to appease her. For this, Marcus specifically talked to me, spending the whole evening saying how difficult my sister had it. “Autumn, look—you’re pregnant now, you have Ethan taking care of you. Clara is still alone, and she’s so young… Why don’t we give her this house first? It’ll be a safety net for her. You still have your whole lives ahead of you.” I put down my water glass and fiercely objected for the first time. “This house is what Mom and Dad left for all of us to share, and isn’t it most appropriate to give it to my child now? If we give it to Clara, she’ll probably just sell it and squander the money!” Seeing me actually dare to argue back, Marcus slammed down his cup. “Autumn! We’ve supported you plenty over the years! Can’t you just give in to your sister? She’s simple-minded—what if she gets scammed later? Having a house is always good!” “She’s simple-minded?” I almost laughed coldly. “Can’t you see that she—” “Enough!” Marcus cut me off sternly. “I still have authority in this house! The house goes to Clara first. That’s final! If you keep making trouble, don’t call me your brother anymore!” Perhaps because I still cared about that pitiful bit of family affection, or perhaps seeing Marcus’s exhausted yet firm expression, I ultimately compromised. I heard my numb voice say, “Stop being angry. The house… just give it to her.” But now I somewhat regretted that softness. If I had insisted on fighting for what my child deserved, perhaps I would have seen through their true faces earlier and wouldn’t have ended up like this today. A few days later, out of guilt, Ethan held a fairly decent funeral for me.

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After my company went bankrupt, my wife, who used to love me dearly, completely changed. She blamed me constantly, saying I was useless, and kept demanding a divorce. “Marcus Shaw, I’ve been with you all these years. Can’t you just let me go?” Her mother, Helen, looked at me too. “Marcus, I know you love Rachel. But since you’ve gone bankrupt, you can’t drag her down with you. Just divorce her!” Her brother Tyler even pulled out divorce papers and forced me to sign. “The house and savings go to Rachel. You keep your failing company! Sign it now!” I said nothing. I signed silently, packed my things, and left the house. They had no idea that while the company was barely breaking even, I’d already secured investment. We even had new research breakthroughs ready. “Rachel, do we really have to get divorced? What if my company turns around soon?” I looked at Rachel and asked. But Rachel just sneered at me. “Marcus, don’t think I don’t know what’s going on!” “You know exactly what state your company is in!” “Do you know how much you’ve sold off just to pay employee salaries?” “If I stay with you, I won’t just end up with nothing—I’ll have to share your debts!” Looking at me, Rachel said flatly, “Marcus, there’s nothing more to say. Let’s divorce!” “I already wrote up the agreement. Cash and the house are mine. That failing company is yours!” I looked at Rachel, disappointment filling my eyes. Years ago, to give Rachel a good life, I worked day and night. Even during my company’s glory days, her mother and brother took plenty of money from me. And now, the moment my company hit a rough patch, Rachel couldn’t wait to split everything with me. In that moment, I smiled slightly. “Fine!” I didn’t say anything else. After all, once Rachel said those words, there was nothing left to discuss. All I wanted now was to cut ties with Rachel completely. When I signed the divorce papers, their whole family lit up with joy. Tyler was even more direct—he made us take the agreement straight to city hall and finalize the divorce. Holding my divorce papers, I hadn’t even had time to speak when I heard Helen say to Rachel, “Rachel, you should’ve left Marcus ages ago!” “Remember Derek? He’s back from overseas and says he still really likes you. Now that you’re divorced from Marcus, you should get in touch with him!” “Derek isn’t some loser like Marcus. He runs his own company now and has real money!” Then she looked at me. “Marcus, you and Rachel have nothing to do with each other anymore!” “When you go bankrupt, don’t you dare come crawling to our family!” Hearing this family’s words, I laughed bitterly. “Don’t worry. But if my company does turn around, please don’t come looking for me either!” As soon as I said that, Tyler spoke up first. “Marcus, what are you dreaming about?” “You’re already like this, and you still think you can make a comeback? Let me tell you, it’s impossible!” I said nothing. I just smiled, took my divorce papers and certificate, and walked away quickly.

Coming out of city hall, I unexpectedly saw a man holding a bouquet. When he saw Rachel, he rushed right up to her. “Rachel, I’m back. I know you got divorced today. I don’t mind that you were married!” The man said this, and Rachel’s face turned shy. Watching Rachel’s expression, my heart grew colder. I never imagined that the woman who always said she loved me more than life itself would be so decisive the moment my company hit trouble. Right after the divorce, she immediately threw herself into another man’s arms. In that moment, I felt nothing but ridicule. After thinking it over, I decided to ignore this family. After all, I still had plenty of things to do. When I got back to the company, my secretary rushed over immediately. “The other company sent people. They said we can sign the contract today!” Hearing my secretary’s words, I smiled. Originally, I went home to tell Rachel this good news. But I never expected to be met with such cold treatment from her whole family. Now, I’d actually shaken off Rachel and her family. The signing ceremony went extremely smoothly. After learning about our research results, they transferred the money on the spot. They also announced that once our new product was manufactured, they’d help our company go public. After the investors left, I threw myself back into work. Just then, I unexpectedly received a text from my bank. Ten thousand dollars had been charged to my card for a handbag purchase. I knew Rachel had done this. “Contact the bank and cancel all my supplementary cards!” I told my secretary. Since I was already divorced from Rachel, naturally I couldn’t let her keep using my money. What’s more, when we divorced, she’d already taken all the cash from the house—over a million dollars. Now she was still using my card to shop! The secretary immediately called the bank and had all my supplementary cards canceled. Naturally, I didn’t dwell on this matter and focused entirely on the project. But I didn’t expect that just ten minutes later, Rachel would call me frantically. “Marcus, you canceled my card?” On the other end, Rachel’s voice came through. “Yes,” I nodded. “How dare you cancel my card?” On the other end, Rachel immediately accused me angrily. “We’re already divorced. It’s not appropriate for you to keep using my supplementary card, is it?” I asked back. Hearing this, Rachel fell silent. “Marcus, transfer me more money. I’m out of cash!” Hearing this, I laughed bitterly. We just got divorced, and I gave her over a million in savings. Now I barely had anything left in my own account. How could she be out of money? “Miss Rachel, we just got divorced, and all my money is in your hands!” “Right now, you have way more money than I do!” I said coldly. “Marcus, I gave my money to my mom. I’m broke now! Just because we’re divorced, is this how you treat me?”

Hearing Rachel’s words, I laughed bitterly. “You’re the one who wanted the divorce. What’s more, you know exactly how much money you took from me!” “I don’t have much left in my account. Don’t you think what you’re doing is excessive?” I said coldly. She knew perfectly well I barely had any money left, yet she could still say these things. In this moment, all I felt toward Rachel was disgust. “Marcus, how can you be like this! Your company’s going bankrupt anyway. What do you need that little bit of money for?” On the other end, Rachel’s voice was full of anger. Hearing this, I laughed bitterly. Did she really think that just because my company was going bankrupt, I wouldn’t need money? “Marcus, you’re so disappointing!” Seeing I wasn’t responding, Rachel angrily hung up. Right now, I just shook my head. I was too lazy to keep dealing with Rachel. After all, I was very busy. There was too much going on at the company. With the funding secured, all the R&D departments were working. Soon, our research results came through. When the investors found out, they added even more investment and told us to manufacture the products as quickly as possible. Now the company wasn’t short on funds at all. Soon our product launched and became an instant hit. The company’s market value kept climbing, and the investors even told me to go public as soon as possible. After the company started turning a profit, the first thing I did was give all employees a six-month bonus. I knew that if they hadn’t stayed with me, working overtime constantly, my company might have truly collapsed. We’d never have achieved these results. Now I even used my money to buy myself a new villa. That day, I opened my phone and unexpectedly saw Rachel had posted on social media. In the post was a photo of Rachel and Derek together, both smiling sweetly, holding hands. Rachel even wrote: “Leave the wrong person, meet true love!” Looking at Rachel’s post, I smiled and even liked it. After all, she was right. Leaving the wrong person did make life better. Half an hour later, Rachel called. On the other end, Rachel’s voice was slightly cold. “Marcus, why did you like my post?” “Your company’s about to go bankrupt, right? Marcus, don’t think I’ll feel sorry for you!” On the other end, Rachel’s voice was extremely cold. “Let me tell you, Derek and I truly love each other. We’re going to be happy together. As for you, after you go bankrupt, just hide away and don’t come looking for our family!” “Don’t worry, even if I go bankrupt, I’d never look for you again. But from now on, please don’t bother me either!” I smiled and hung up. Rachel had no idea how well I was doing now. As for Rachel, she had nothing to do with me anymore. After hanging up on Rachel, I was about to rest when my secretary sent me a message. “Remember to attend tomorrow’s banquet!” I immediately replied. Tomorrow’s banquet was a gathering of the city’s business community. Many people wanted to discuss partnerships with me. After all, I was quite famous in the city now.

That evening, my secretary picked me up and we headed straight to the venue. What I didn’t expect was that as soon as we arrived, she pointed to a figure in the distance. “That’s Rachel over there!” After all, Rachel and I had just divorced recently, and many people at the company knew Rachel. Following my secretary’s direction, sure enough, I saw Rachel. Rachel was holding Derek’s arm. They were standing at the venue entrance and happened to see me too. When she saw me, Rachel’s expression immediately darkened. “Marcus, what are you doing!” “Why did you follow me here!” “I already told you clearly—I have nothing to do with you!” Looking at Rachel, I shook my head. I was too lazy to deal with her now. “I came here to attend the banquet. You’ve misunderstood!” After saying that, I prepared to leave, but Rachel grabbed me relentlessly. “Marcus, your failing company is about to collapse. What are you doing here?” “Marcus, don’t think I don’t know—you just came here to scam people!” “Leave now!” Rachel pointed at me, speaking rapidly. Looking at Rachel, I shook my head. “Whether I’m here to scam people or not really has nothing to do with you!” After saying that, I prepared to leave, but Rachel wouldn’t let it go and blocked me directly. “Marcus, I can’t let you scam people!” “Besides, you’re my ex-husband. Who knows if you scam someone, it might affect me!” Looking at Rachel, I laughed bitterly. I knew Rachel was just afraid I might make a comeback. She just didn’t know I’d already made my comeback. I looked at Rachel coldly. “No matter what, you and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. So please stop bothering me!” After saying that, I pulled my hand away and prepared to enter the venue. But just as I was about to enter, Derek blocked me. “Marcus, not just anyone can go in here!” “You need an invitation! You don’t even have an invitation. You think you can just walk in?” He looked at me with contempt. Looking at these two, I shook my head helplessly. I didn’t expect to run into them here, or to be blocked so relentlessly. Just then, several executives entered from outside. Seeing me, they rushed right over. “Why are you still at the entrance? Everyone’s waiting for you!” Several executives were about to pull me inside, but Rachel and Derek panicked. “Everyone, he’s a fraud!” Rachel quickly spoke up. “Don’t let him deceive you!” “His company’s about to go bankrupt!” Hearing Rachel’s words, I could only sneer. I never imagined that after the divorce, the first person who wanted me dead would be my ex-wife. But the executives were all stunned. “How could his company go bankrupt? His company’s about to go public!” “What?” As soon as they said that, Rachel froze. When she turned to look at me, anger filled her face. “Marcus, why didn’t you tell me something this important?”

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My fiancée, Julia Hartwell, got promoted to Vice President and threw a party to celebrate. I was holding a custom pink diamond ring, planning to surprise her with a proposal. But outside the door, I overheard her telling her friends: “I’m making a million dollars a year now. Xavier is nowhere near my league anymore. He’s just a dog I keep around.” Her newly hired assistant, Derek Stone, wrapped his arm around her waist and said: “Being your dog is an honor for him. He has no idea how many men are lining up for the chance!” She laughed in Derek’s arms, her body shaking with amusement. I smiled bitterly and tossed away the pink diamond ring, sending my father a message: “Dad, I agree to the arranged marriage. Fire Julia immediately!” Then I called the wedding planning company: “Hello, for the wedding in ten days—the bride’s name needs to change. I’m getting a new bride.” “Yes, we’ll discuss the details when we meet.” After I hung up, the party had ended and Julia was just coming out of the bathroom. Her hair was half-dry, wrapped in a bathrobe with moisture clinging to her skin. Normally her showers took half an hour, but today she’d been in there for a full hour. She frowned at me: “Who were you just calling?” I told her honestly—someone from the wedding company. Julia relaxed. “The wedding isn’t for another ten days. You don’t need to be so meticulous.” She probably thought I was calling to go over details with the wedding planners. After all, during our five years together, I’d personally planned every holiday and anniversary down to the smallest detail, just to make her happy. “Mm.” Indeed, I didn’t need to be—especially since the person I was marrying was even more meticulous than me. At that thought, I smiled bitterly. Julia impatiently ran her fingers through her hair. “My hair’s still wet!” Before, I would always patiently blow-dry her hair after every shower. But now, I didn’t want to. “Sorry, I still have things to do. Dry it yourself.” Julia froze, her voice turning sharp: “What could a house husband possibly have to do?!” “Your main job is taking care of me! Those were your own words. Have you forgotten?” A fine, dense pain spread through my chest. Five years ago, I had said I would take good care of her. But now, I didn’t want to anymore. “I don’t want to take care of you anymore, Julia.” With that, I grabbed my jacket and left without looking back. When I got home, I fell to my knees before my parents in remorse. “Mom, Dad, I was wrong! I agree to the arranged marriage. Same wedding date, different bride!” My parents exchanged surprised glances and quickly asked what happened. To be with Julia, I’d broken with them and moved out five years ago. A few months ago, when they found out I was going to marry Julia, they finally couldn’t stand by anymore. They came to me and said they’d found a suitable match for an arranged marriage—the daughter of the Sinclair Corporation, who was also my childhood playmate. By any measure, she was better than Julia. I refused them, saying my true love was Julia. As it turned out, Julia slapped me hard in the face and broke my heart. “Xavier, do you really agree to the arranged marriage? Don’t you want to meet her first?” My mother helped me up, her heart aching for me. “No need. I trust your choice.” At least I wouldn’t be hurt so badly by love again. Late at night, Julia called. “Xavier, I didn’t dry my hair in time and now I have a cold. Can you buy me medicine and bring it home?” On the other end, her voice was soft and sweet—clearly giving me a way out. Every time we fought, as long as she spoke gently and played the victim, I would always soften. But not this time. “Don’t you have an assistant? Just have him bring you medicine. I’m busy. Gotta go.” Julia’s voice shot up, shrill and angry: “What’s your problem? Why are you bringing him up out of nowhere?! You’re my husband—of course you should be the one taking care of me!” I said nothing. During our five years together, Julia had always been imperious with me like this. She trampled on my sincere feelings, constantly giving other men opportunities. Too bad I was too foolish. Blinded by love, I stubbornly believed she just had a bad temper, but that deep down she always loved me. Until I saw with my own eyes how she compared me to Derek, saying I was boring and he was exciting. That’s when I finally understood—she only loved herself. “Like I said, I’m busy. Figure it out yourself.” I hung up. My parents breathed a sigh of relief. The next morning, I went home to pack my things. Opening the door, I saw Julia lying on the couch, looking at me with an aggrieved expression. “You’re finally willing to come back.” Her face was pale, clutching her stomach as she spoke resentfully. I sighed. Seemed like she’d gotten herself pretty worked up yesterday. She had stomach problems—whenever her emotions fluctuated too much, her stomach would hurt. Though I was determined to leave, seeing her like this made me feel somewhat guilty. I pulled out the medicine box, found some cold medicine, and poured her a fresh glass of water. “There’s medicine in the box. You didn’t even think to get it yourself.” She took the medicine, but before she could speak, a male voice rang out. “Julia, should I put sugar in the porridge?” Derek, wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen. The moment he saw me, he froze, then smiled: “Xavier, you’re here?” Like he was the man of the house greeting a guest. The next second, realizing he’d said the wrong thing, he quickly corrected himself: “Oh, you’re back, Xavier. Julia’s been running a fever and her stomach’s been hurting. She said you were busy, so she had to call me to bring medicine.” Only then did I notice a paper medicine bag on the coffee table. I couldn’t help but smile. Looks like I’d worried for nothing again. Julia tilted her head back and swallowed the pills, then gulped down several mouthfuls of the water I’d poured. “Honey, your medicine still works best.” “Don’t be mad. I waited for you all last night. This morning I was feeling so awful I had to call my assistant over.” She rested her head on my shoulder, speaking weakly: “The moment I saw you, I felt so much better.” “Derek, you can head back to work now.” She raised her hand to dismiss Derek. After he left, Julia took my hand and said earnestly: “Honey, yesterday was my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.” “Will you forgive me?” She rarely called me “honey.” This was also the first time she’d chosen me in front of Derek. So she did know how to make me feel secure. She just never wanted to before. Now it was too late. I gently pulled my hand away and stood up: “Just rest. Don’t overthink things.” In the kitchen, I looked at the two sets of bowls and chopsticks in the sink. My heart sank to the bottom. Derek had been here last night. Once again, Julia had lied to me.

I pulled out my phone and looked at Derek’s post from last night. Still set to be visible only to me. [Boss works so hard, working late and getting sick before her wedding. Brought her medicine and a late-night snack.] The picture showed him making a peace sign next to Julia’s sleeping face. Since he wanted to move up so badly, I’d just let him have her. I went to the wedding company to discuss the details of changing brides. I’d handled all the wedding arrangements—Julia hadn’t shown her face once, so it was easy to finalize everything. Back home, looking at our wedding photos in the living room, I found them grating. I took them down, along with all our photos together over the years, and packed everything in boxes to throw away. A pink card fell out of the album. It read: [Julia will always love Xavier Knight]. She’d written it five years ago when she confessed her feelings to me. Over five years, I’d compromised again and again for love, becoming someone unlike myself, only to be met with disdain. I crumpled the card into a ball and tossed it in the trash. “What are you doing?” Julia’s voice came from behind me. I looked up at the clock—it was already 7 PM. Right when Julia got off work. Today she hadn’t worked late or had any social obligations. She’d come straight home. I was a bit surprised and quietly closed the box. “Just sorting through some trash.” She looked around, seeming to notice something missing from the living room. “Where’s our wedding photo?” “The frame broke. Took it to get fixed.” I answered casually without looking up. “Oh.” Julia didn’t ask more questions. She held up a box. “Stop working for now. I brought you shrimp. Come eat.” Seeing I didn’t move, Julia frowned: “What’s wrong?” “I’m allergic to shrimp.” She knew that. But she’d forgotten. Julia’s expression froze, guilt flashing across her face. “Sorry, I forgot. Let me go buy you something else!” She grabbed the box and headed out again. I took out my phone and, unsurprisingly, saw Derek’s post. [Boss brought me a love dinner—my favorite shrimp!] I see. It was just that Derek loved shrimp, and she’d brought me some on the side. I smiled and continued packing. Julia said: “You don’t need to rush with the packing. After we get married, we’ll move to the new house together. I’ll help you organize then.” “Mm. I just want to throw out some useless stuff ahead of time.” I replied perfunctorily. Seeing my lack of enthusiasm, Julia took the initiative: “You always said you wanted to see the Northern Lights in Iceland, right? For our honeymoon, I requested a month off. I’ll go with you.” If this were before, hearing her say this would have made me excitedly spin her around. But now, I knew we wouldn’t be going together. She held my face and kissed me, but her phone rang. With just one glance, her expression changed. “Honey, something came up at the company. I need to go back and work late.” I nodded and got up to carry the boxes out. “Let me take out the trash.” Julia eagerly took them from me and left. Actually, if she’d just opened them and looked, she would have seen that the “trash” I was throwing away was our wedding photo, our couple’s albums, and the confession card she’d written by hand. Unfortunately, she never noticed.

Late at night, I came across Derek’s post. [Got diarrhea from working late, but luckily my boss took care of me. So blessed!] The picture showed Julia’s bare arm as she held out medicine and water. Looked like the shrimp soup dumplings were to blame. Good thing I didn’t eat any. I met up with some old friends and had a good drinking session with them. Before, Julia wouldn’t let me drink and didn’t like me having my own social life. Now, I was finally free. I woke up from my hangover the next afternoon. When Julia came in, she automatically said: “Worked too late last night, so I slept at the office.” She tiredly took off her jacket, then sniffed and frowned. “Where’s that smell of alcohol coming from?” “Had too much with friends yesterday. Opening the windows should help.” She frowned in displeasure but, after looking at my expression, ultimately said nothing. Right—she could spend the whole night taking care of her assistant and lie to me. What right did she have to control me? Glancing at the bright red “4” on the countdown calendar on the table, she seemed to remember something. “Oh right, your birthday’s in two days. Is there anything you want?” With her reminder, I remembered my birthday was coming up. “No need. I don’t want to celebrate my birthday.” I used her own words to answer her coolly. On her birthday, I’d made a whole table of food waiting for her, only to be scolded: “My work is very busy, and I don’t want to celebrate my birthday. You don’t need to wait for me.” Later, I discovered on Derek’s Instagram that Julia had closed her eyes to make a wish over a cake. Turned out, she didn’t not want to celebrate her birthday—she just didn’t want to celebrate with me. That day we had a huge fight. I yelled asking her who she was thinking of when she made her wish. She said I was petty, that her colleagues had insisted on celebrating and she couldn’t refuse. Seeming to remember this, guilt flashed in Julia’s eyes. “That won’t do. This is your last birthday before the wedding. I need to celebrate it properly with you!” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and gently kissed my cheek. “Huh? How come you’re not wearing the watch I gave you last year?” That watch had been thrown in the trash the moment she walked out yesterday. “Put it away for safekeeping.” I said flatly. Julia just said “oh” and didn’t ask further. She’d stayed up all night taking care of Derek, then worked all day. She was exhausted. She took a shower and went to bed early. Three more days, and I’d be completely free of Julia. I called the wedding company and had them go meet the new bride at her address, to take her measurements and pick out a wedding dress. My parents also called to urge me to meet her beforehand. “It’s not like we’ve never met. We can see each other at the wedding.” “See who?” Julia had overheard my conversation. “My parents. They said they wanted to see you before the wedding. I declined for you.” I replied coolly. Julia was a bit unhappy. “Come to think of it, in five years I still haven’t met them. Why are you declining for me?” The daughter-in-law they want to see isn’t you. I opened my mouth but ultimately didn’t bother saying it. Julia opened the closet and exclaimed in surprise: “Why are all your clothes gone?” “I packed them away. It’ll be easier to move them directly to the new house later.” I answered flatly. After Julia took out her jacket, she turned and hugged me. “I requested tomorrow off. I’ll stay home and celebrate your birthday with you!” This was one of the few times she’d taken the initiative to be considerate. “Okay.” Fine. Five years ago, we got together on my birthday. Let it end on this day too. Julia went shopping for groceries with me, then got called away by a phone call. No need to guess—the only person who could call her away at a time like this was Derek. I didn’t expose her, but went home alone and started cooking. She said she’d definitely be back within two hours. But by the time I’d finished making a whole table of food and eaten my share, she still hadn’t come back. I wiped my mouth and stood up, calling my parents. “Let’s go. I’ll come with you to see the wedding venue.” When I arrived at the reserved wedding hotel, I unexpectedly saw Julia. Behind her was Derek, dressed in a full suit. The two were chatting and laughing, looking every bit like a couple. “Don’t misunderstand, honey. I’m here to help Derek out. The girl he was set up with on a blind date won’t leave him alone, so I’m pretending to be his sister to chase her away…” I nodded. “Running into harassment and stalking is indeed troublesome. As his boss, you should protect your subordinate.” Seeing I wasn’t making a scene or misunderstanding, Julia breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll go up with him first. Let’s meet downstairs in a bit.” Derek forced a smile and thanked me, then was the first to enter the elevator. The tie he was wearing was from my favorite brand. It was also the one Julia had put in her bag this morning. It should have been my birthday present. Julia hesitated, but finally followed him into the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, I seemed to see my former self in Derek. Back then, Julia had been just as attentive to me. If anyone dared show interest in me, she’d get incredibly anxious. I toured the venue with my parents, and after seeing them off, Julia still hadn’t come down. Thinking of how she’d said “see you in a bit,” I sent her a text. [Done yet? When are you coming back?] She quickly sent back a voice message. When I played it, it was Derek’s voice. “Xavier, you should head back first. Julia got into a bit of a scuffle with that woman and got her clothes splashed. She’s in the shower now. I’ll have her call you back later!” Hearing the sound of running water in the background, I decisively took a taxi home. “Xavier, don’t be mad. This is all my fault. I didn’t expect that woman wouldn’t believe Julia and I are siblings, and even got physical with her…” Derek’s voice couldn’t hide his smugness. I ignored him. After a long while, Julia called to scold me. “I already explained everything to you. Why are you still dwelling on it?” “Derek came to this city alone to make it. It’s not easy. I’m his boss—what’s wrong with helping him out?” I could hear Derek’s aggrieved sobbing through the phone. I took a deep breath, no longer interested in engaging with his manipulative games. “Mm. I understand. You go ahead and stay busy.” I hung up, cleared out all my belongings, and left.

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At our family dinner, I joyfully announced my pregnancy. My mom immediately proposed to my husband: “Jackson, let me find you a young, sexy nanny. Claire’s lazy by nature and now that she’s pregnant, she’ll be even less willing to do anything. A little nanny could handle the housework and take care of your sexual needs too!” My husband nearly choked on my mom’s words. I angrily slammed down my folks: “Mom, what kind of joke is that!” My mom glared at me: “I’m not joking. When I was pregnant with you, your dad was sleeping around. All men cheat, so why should your husband be any different!” A wave of anger surged through me. Just because her husband cheated, mine had to cheat too? Jackson sat there squirming. He nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead, then grabbed my hand. “Mom, please don’t test me like this. I promise I’ll never do anything to hurt Claire!” My mom’s smile froze on her face. Jealousy spread rapidly from the depths of her eyes. “My foolish child, Claire has already done things to hurt you. Why should you be faithful to her!” My eyes widened. I could barely believe my ears. “Mom, what are you talking about? I’ve never done anything to hurt Jackson!” My mom glared at me triumphantly. As if she’d been prepared for this, she pulled a crumpled piece of homework paper from her bag. She handed the paper to Jackson, lowering her voice: “This is a love letter Claire wrote to a boy in high school. I confiscated it after I found it, and I made a hundred copies and posted them all over their school.” “Writing love letters to men at eighteen—I could never do something so slutty. You know what this means? It means Claire wasn’t a virgin mentally. She was already a damaged good when she got with you.” My mom sneered. Her expression was nothing but contempt. I clenched my fists, letting my nails dig into my palms. My nails scraped blood from the flesh, burning hot, but I didn’t feel any pain. Those painful memories had already drowned me… Growing up, “I never had that, so why should you?” was my mom’s constant refrain. “I never wore a bra when I was young—why should you! Just wrap yourself in a piece of cloth.” “I won’t buy you sanitary pads. Nobody bought them for me when I was young—why should you use ones I buy? Figure it out yourself!” I had no new clothes, no bra, not even sanitary pads. When I was eighteen, a thoughtful boy in my class noticed my situation. Blushing, he gave me a bunch of feminine products. He quietly told me that if I ever had difficulties, I should come to him. I was so touched. I wrote him a thank-you note. But my mom insisted it was a love letter. She said I was shameless, that the boy bought me sanitary pads because I’d slept with him. My mom dragged me to a clinic for a virginity test. After getting the result that my hymen was intact, she looked dazed—even disappointed. But quickly, my mom changed her story: “So what if you’re physically a virgin? You wrote love letters to a man at eighteen—you’re not a virgin mentally! You’re worthless trash who’ll never deserve a good man.” “I was pure when I married your bastard father. You’re damaged goods, so you only deserve to marry trash in this life!” My mom took my thank-you note and rewrote it into an explicit, seductive love letter. She posted a hundred copies around the school for everyone to see. After that, the boy avoided me like I was dangerous. My classmates mocked and despised me. I had no friends. Even the teacher who’d believed in me most began treating me with disgust. Later, I got into a top university. My career got better and better. I earned more and more. My mom even apologized for what she’d done. She said she was just afraid I’d date too early in high school and ruin my future, ruin my life. I thought she’d finally changed. But now, she was bringing up old wounds again, slandering me in front of my husband!

Jackson looked confused as he finished reading the letter, then stared at my mom like she was insane: “Mom, whether this thing is real or fake, it’s ancient history.” “I don’t care about the past. I only care about the future.” “I’m happy with Claire. Don’t worry—I’ll never betray her.” Jackson squeezed my hand tight. Where my fingers had been ice-cold, his warmth gradually spread through them. Most of my anger melted away. Ever since the love letter incident, my mom kept telling me I didn’t deserve a good man. After I started working, she set me up on blind dates. A limping pauper, a thug fresh out of prison, a middle-aged man divorced three times… My mom always said since she couldn’t marry a good man, I deserved even less. But Jackson had held my hand firmly from the very beginning. Jackson’s considerate response made my mom furious. No matter what nonsense she spouted, Jackson took my side. She turned her attention back to me. “Claire, how many months along are you?” I answered cautiously: “Almost four months.” My mom smiled with relief. “Four months… heh, you should start getting stretch marks soon.” “Claire, you’re finally going to get stretch marks. When I was pregnant with you, I got a belly full of stretch marks. Your dad was so disgusted he cheated. Once you get stretch marks, Jackson will definitely do the same…” Watching the satisfaction in my mom’s smile, I shivered. A desolate sadness welled up inside me. We were mother and daughter, not enemies. Why was my mom so eager to see me get stretch marks, so desperate to watch my husband cheat? Shouldn’t a mother want her daughter to be happy? Thinking about how ugly I’d be after pregnancy, my mom couldn’t hide her excitement. She went on and on, her face animated: “Stretch marks are nothing—that’s the least of it.” “You’ll also get fat, get spots, become too ugly to look at. After giving birth, you’ll leak urine, you’ll be loose. Jackson will find touching you disgusting, and then naturally he’ll cheat.” “I suffered through all that pain—why shouldn’t you experience it too?” Even good-tempered Jackson was angered by my mom now. He glared at her unhappily: “Mom, that won’t happen.” “I’ve booked Claire a hundred-thousand-dollar postpartum care center, and I’ve hired a top-tier maternity nurse. With professional help for Claire’s recovery, she won’t become what you’re describing.” “Besides, even if Claire did become like you said, I’d only feel heartbroken and guilty. How could I cheat?” My mom’s mouth fell open, her eyes going blank. I thought she was going to make a scene. Going to complain that she never got to stay at a postpartum center when she was young, so why should I? But she didn’t. My mom just kept piling food onto Jackson’s plate in a daze, muttering “eat more, eat more.” In her eyes, there was jealousy, but more than that, there was loss and pain. My heart suddenly dropped with a sharp pang. No matter what, my mom had raised me alone. Her jealousy was real, but her love didn’t seem fake either. She was old now. Jackson and I could be patient with her as much as possible. The New Year’s dinner ended in a strange atmosphere. Soon, I reached my second trimester. Jackson took me to tour the postpartum center, only to receive a notification from the staff. “Ms. Brooks, the deluxe suite has been canceled by your mother.” “If you have questions, you should discuss it with her.” My heart instantly plummeted. I rushed home to confront her. As soon as I walked in, I was blinded by the gleaming gold bracelet on my mom’s wrist. I didn’t need to think twice to know where the money came from. I got even angrier, grabbing her hand to demand answers: “When I got married, you said you never had wedding jewelry yourself, so why should I? I felt bad for you, so I gave you all my wedding gold without a word.” “Mom, if you wanted to buy gold, you could’ve just told me! I would’ve bought it for you. Why did you cancel my postpartum center!”

The moment she heard “postpartum center,” my mom’s eyes turned red. She glared at me through gritted teeth, a bone-chilling hatred rising from the depths of her eyes. She slapped me hard across the face: “You still have the nerve to ask!” “I never got to stay at a postpartum center when I had you—why should you get to?” I covered my face, stunned. That phrase again. I felt wronged and helpless. Why? Why couldn’t my mom stand to see me doing even slightly better than her… Would a mother really be jealous of her daughter to this extent? In the moment I was lost in thought, my mom suddenly rushed over and frantically lifted my shirt. Her eyes flashed with excited light, full of anticipation: “Over five months now—you must have stretch marks by now. Let me see how disgusting your stretch marks are!” The moment she saw my smooth belly, my mom’s smile froze on her face. She rubbed her eyes, staring in disbelief again and again. Finally, she reluctantly confirmed that my belly was smooth—there were no stretch marks at all. She lifted her own shirt crying, pointing at the dark, cracked marks on her skin, glaring at me with hatred: “To give birth to you, I became this ugly. Your dad was so disgusted he cheated.” “I got stretch marks—why shouldn’t you!” My mom roared. Beyond anger, I felt a pang of sympathy. Her life really had been bitter. Maybe that bitter life had twisted her into what she was now. I trembled as I opened my arms, wanting to hug my mom, wanting to repair our mother-daughter relationship. “Mom, everyone’s body is different.” “Let me take you to get treatments, okay?” My mom also opened her arms. I thought she would hug me, accept my goodwill. But I was wrong. The next second, my mom’s nails clawed madly at the skin of my belly. She was vicious, scratching deep with each stroke. “Bullshit about different bodies! I know you secretly spent money on maintenance to show me up!” “I won’t let you have your way. I’m your mother—I have stretch marks, so you have to have them too!” I was drenched in cold sweat, nearly fainting from the pain. Looking down, I saw the flesh on my belly had been torn open by her nails. Lines like centipedes, winding and ugly, oozing blood. They actually looked like stretch marks now. To make me like her, my mom had actually scratched a pattern of stretch marks into my skin with her nails… Enough. Enough. They were already deep enough, ugly enough. But my mom seemed unsatisfied, continuing to dig her nails viciously into my flesh. I cried out for help in sad desperation: “Jackson, save me!” Jackson burst in, shocked by the scene before him. He ran toward me. I couldn’t hear what they said. I clutched my blood-drenched belly and passed out. At the hospital, Jackson held my hand in fear: “Your mom is terrifying. I’m looking into reliable psychiatric hospitals. From now on, let’s have as little to do with her as possible.” I nodded in agreement. When we returned home from the hospital, I found my mom there too. I suddenly regretted giving her a spare key to our house. Seeing my hospital gown, my mom rolled her eyes at me unhappily: “I never went to the hospital when I gave birth. You lost a little blood—why did you need to go to the hospital?” “Jackson, you need to control her. Going to the hospital wastes money. So delicate!” My heart, already torn to shreds by her, ached fiercely again. The doorbell suddenly rang. My mom happily went to answer it. She came in intimately linking arms with a young woman. The girl was young and pretty, wearing a revealing maid outfit, her bottom barely covered by black stockings. Jackson and I exchanged glances, both confused. My mom pushed the girl next to Jackson like she was showing off a treasure, giggling: “Jackson, this is Sienna. I hired her as your nanny. She’s got a great body and she’s capable—isn’t she so much better than your wife?”

Sienna shyly lowered her head, biting her lip with a smile. I stared at them coldly, my heart colder than if it had fallen into an ice pit. Here we go again. Just because my dad cheated during her pregnancy, she absolutely had to make Jackson cheat too. Before I could get angry, Jackson was already chasing them out with a dark expression: “Dressed like that—does she look like someone who can work?” “Mom, I’ll find Claire a professional housekeeper. As for this ‘lady,’ you’d better take her and leave now.” With that, Jackson pushed them both toward the door. But my mom was determined. She pressed against the doorframe, refusing to leave. She gave Jackson a sly smile: “Sienna is very capable! You have to give her a one-day trial. If she really doesn’t work out, I’ll take her away. But you can’t judge her by her appearance and take away a young girl’s job opportunity!” Sienna also blinked her big watery eyes, begging pitifully: “If I can’t find work, my family will sell me to an old man. Please, just give me one chance!” The two of them gave me such a headache. Fine. One day—what harm could they do? If they didn’t leave tomorrow, I’d just call the police. After I gave my reluctant consent, my mom and Sienna exchanged glances and smiled. They smiled brightly, but it made my skin crawl. The next morning, I woke to find the space beside me empty. I called Jackson’s name but got no response, until… until I found the guest bedroom. Jackson and Sienna were lying naked in the same bed, both flushed. I didn’t need to close my eyes to guess what had happened. Enormous pain flooded my heart. I screamed and smashed the teacup on the table. My mom walked in. She looked at me triumphantly, as if some great joy had occurred. “Your dad cheated during pregnancy—why shouldn’t your husband?” “Hmph. I married trash in this life—why should you get to marry someone as good as Jackson? Well, now it’s done. Sienna is young and beautiful, Jackson is handsome and rich. They’re perfect for each other.” My mom grabbed my arm: “Come on, don’t embarrass yourself here and disturb the lovebirds.” “Let’s go get rid of that baby, and I’ll introduce you to a man who’s really right for you. I think Brutus would be perfect.” I swallowed hard, like I was swallowing razor blades. Brutus—in his forties, half-paralyzed. Even like that, he loved to drink and beat his wife. Scum among scum. I thought my mom was just jealous of me. This wasn’t jealousy—she hated me! She was unhappy when I was doing well. She was only happy when I was miserable. Looking up, I spotted the powerful aphrodisiac on the corner of the table. My heart clenched sharply. To make my husband cheat too, my mom would stop at nothing. I shook off my mom’s arm forcefully, also shaking off the last shred of family affection. Unlocking my phone, I dialed the police: “Hello, I need to report a crime. Someone is suspected of assault and poisoning. The address is…”

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