Author: Momo Chan

“You went through a brutal assault. It left you with severe psychological trauma.” “But your family never gave up on you. They sent you to a private psychiatric facility for treatment.” “It took me three years of cognitive therapy to help you suppress those memories, so you could finally wake up from the nightmare and live a normal life…” Before I was discharged, the doctor warned me to let things happen naturally and never try to force my lost memories back. But when I got home, I realized things were different. The cramped, drafty apartment my family used to squeeze into was gone. In its place was a luxury penthouse right in the heart of downtown. I asked when we bought the place. My parents looked at me, their eyes filled with heartbreak. “Luna, sweetheart, we’ve always lived downtown. Did the treatment mess with your memory?” Even my sister, Chloe, who used to be selfish and bossy, had become incredibly gentle. She now personally prepared all my meals. I figured the therapy must have scrambled some of my old memories. I tried to convince myself that the happy life in front of me was the only reality. A month passed, and my family continued to pamper me. One afternoon, Chloe took me to the mall. A strange man drove up to pick us up. Once we got in, Chloe chat and laughed with him, looking incredibly close. But sitting in the back, my body went completely rigid. A cold shiver ran down my spine. A scent drifted from the vents. It was a smell I knew. A smell I could never forget. It was the exact same scent… From the night of my assault!

Under the psychiatrist’s care, I had indeed forgotten the horrific details of the crime. The pain was gone. But I could never forget the physical sensation of that night. The suffocating despair rushed back, triggered instantly by that familiar scent. “Chloe, I know a fantastic diner out in the suburbs,” the man’s voice echoed from the front. “I’ll take you and Luna there first. We can hit the mall afterward.” Hearing his voice made my skin crawl. Why was he taking us to the suburbs? Was Chloe his next target? Or was he planning to get both of us at once? My hand instinctively reached for the door handle. It was locked. The master controls were on the driver’s side. “Sure, sounds great,” Chloe agreed without a second thought. She turned her head to look at me. “Luna, this is Ethan Cole. We’re going to grab some food with him first. The fresh air out there will do you some good.” I fought to keep my voice from shaking. “I don’t want to go to the suburbs. Let’s just go straight to the mall.” I was stuck in the back. Chloe was in the passenger seat. I couldn’t whisper to her. My parents, claiming they wanted to protect me from seeing triggering news online, hadn’t bought me a smartphone yet. I couldn’t call 911. I couldn’t even text for help. Right now, I just needed to get to a crowded, safe place. Only then could I grab Chloe, run, and call the cops. “Sure, sure. We’ll go straight to the mall. Don’t worry, Luna.” “Are you just not used to being out? You’re shaking so hard. Do you feel sick?” Chloe’s concerned voice only made the chill on my back grow colder. I hadn’t even realized I was trembling. Ethan had noticed, too. Through the rearview mirror, I saw his eyes narrow. He abruptly yanked the steering wheel, turning the car onto a quiet, deserted side road. “I’ll take a shortcut and get Luna to a hospital first.” I wanted to scream that I was fine, to tell him to get back on the main highway. But that would only confirm his suspicions. Panic paralyzed me. I had no idea what to do. Violent, bloody images flashed in my mind—blurry memories of me covered in blood, being tortured within an inch of my life. Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. Ethan slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Sounds like the engine’s acting up. I need to check under the hood.” Without waiting for a response, he got out. I pulled the door handle. Still locked. From the back of the car, I heard the trunk pop open, followed by the clanking of heavy metal tools. “Luna, what is wrong with you? You’re dripping sweat!” Chloe leaned over her seat, frantically touching my forehead. I grabbed her hand, my voice desperate. “Chloe, your friend… Ethan… there’s something wrong with him—” Before I could finish, Chloe laughed and cut me off. “What are you talking about? Ethan isn’t my boyfriend.” “He’s the guy Mom and Dad set you up with before. He stayed by your side through everything. This whole trip was planned so you two could reconnect.” “Luna, don’t tell me you’ve completely forgotten Ethan?” My… setup? I had a boyfriend? I didn’t recognize his face at all. Every instinct in my body only associated him with one thing—the terror of my assault. “No, Chloe, listen to me, Ethan is dangerous—” The car door was suddenly yanked open. Ethan stood there, holding a heavy iron wrench. “Girls, we’re stuck. The car is dead.”

“I don’t have the right tools here. I’ve already called a tow truck,” Ethan said. “Sorry about this. I guess we’ll have to hail an Uber to the hospital.” My conversation with Chloe was cut short. Ethan didn’t leave us alone for the rest of the day. But as the hours went by, he didn’t do anything to us. In fact, he behaved like a perfect gentleman. There wasn’t a single trace of violence in him. When we finally got home, Chloe’s hands were full of shopping bags—all expensive gifts Ethan had bought for us. My parents beamed from ear to ear. “Ethan is such a wonderful young man. Built his own business from scratch, and he’s so devoted to you, Luna.” “Sweetheart, most guys would have run a mile if their date went through what you did. But Ethan didn’t care. He treats you even better now. You won’t find another man like him if you tried.” The house was warm, filled with the rich aroma of my favorite dinner. Chloe led me to the bathroom to wash my hands. “By the way, Luna, when you said Ethan was ‘dangerous’ in the car… was it just because you forgot him but still felt some weird familiarity?” My parents stopped what they were doing and looked over. All three of them were smiling, waiting for my answer. I opened my mouth to tell them the truth, but a deep, sickening sense of wrongness suddenly gripped my chest. I looked toward our kitchen. It was modern, sleek, and dead silent. But I vividly remembered our old apartment. The kitchen window there was broken. It used to rattle against the frame constantly. That irritating noise was practically engraved in my soul. And Chloe. She had always been cruel and domineering. Every memory I had of her was of her bullying me. Yet, my parents claimed I was remembering it wrong. The psychiatrist had also assured me that suppressing the trauma of the assault had temporarily scrambled my other memories. I had believed them. But now, I didn’t. My memories could be scrambled, but my body’s physical reaction to terror could not. The feeling of absolute dread hadn’t faded or twisted since it woke up. It was constant. Ethan was dangerous. I could never have been in love with him. My parents and Chloe were lying to me. But why? Did the old, broken apartment actually exist? Was Chloe’s sudden sisterly love just an act? A cold dread crept up from my feet, freezing me in place. I forced a tight smile. “Yeah, Chloe. I couldn’t remember his face, but he felt so familiar. It just freaked me out a little.” Chloe let out a visible sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, Luna. We can all see how much he loves you.” “Just try to spend more time with him. Having him around will help you get back to normal faster.” I nodded, acting as natural as possible as we sat down to eat. Halfway through the meal, I asked casually, “Oh, by the way… did the police ever catch the guy who assaulted me?” The table went dead silent. My parents’ eyes turned red, and they quickly looked down at their plates. Chloe bit her lip, looking guilt-ridden. “I’m so sorry, Luna. We were useless. It was pouring rain that night, and there was no evidence left behind. The police have been looking, but… there’s been no progress.” I immediately changed the subject and stopped asking. But inside, I was desperately trying to piece together the fragments of my memory. I vaguely recalled that the place where I was taken wasn’t isolated. There must have been security cameras nearby. So why was there no progress? And why were they trying so hard to push me into the arms of Ethan, the man who triggered my ultimate terror? I didn’t dare think any further.

Overnight, the warm, cozy atmosphere of my home turned into a gilded cage. Their constant, suffocating care felt less like love and more like surveillance. I tried asking for a phone again, but they firmly refused, claiming that social media would only trigger my relapse. Going out alone was completely out of the question. The only time they gladly let me leave the house was when I agreed to see Ethan. So, swallowing my terror, I began going on “dates” with him. It was my only chance to escape the house and find some answers. “Luna, how are you feeling lately?” Ethan asked over dinner. “Your family told you about our past, right? Please don’t feel pressured. It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’m happy to start over with you.” He took me to nice restaurants, movies, and shopping malls. He was the definition of a perfect, attentive boyfriend. I didn’t know what his game was. But I kept my guard up every single second. While we were at a busy mall, I waited until we passed a restroom. I quickly followed a kind-looking girl inside. The women’s restroom was the one place Ethan couldn’t follow me. It was my only safe zone. “Please,” I begged the girl, tears welling in my eyes. “Can I just borrow your phone for a second? It’s an emergency.” The girl looked surprised but handed it over. I immediately opened Google and searched for any local news about my assault from three years ago. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing. A violent crime like that would have made the local news. How could there be no trace of it online? There was only one logical explanation. The crime was never reported. My family had lied to me. They had conspired with my abuser to cover up the crime, and then forced me into a psych ward to wipe my memory. I felt like I was drowning. What could I do? If I went to the police now, did I have any proof? Who would believe the crazy claims of a girl fresh out of a mental institution? “Hey, are you okay?” the girl asked gently. “Can I have my phone back?” Her voice snapped me back to reality. I immediately took off all my jewelry—including two expensive gold bracelets Ethan had bought me—and handed them to her. “Can we trade clothes? Just for today. Please.” The girl hesitated, but once she realized the gold was real, she agreed. After a quick change, I slipped on her hoodie, pulled up the hood, and hurried out of the mall through the back exit. I had to run. I had to find the truth. Using my hazy memories, I navigated the transit system back to our old suburban neighborhood. Sure enough, someone recognized me. “Luna? Luna Miller?” An older man, our former neighbor, stared at me in shock. “Your family sold this place years ago. What are you doing back here?” I lied and said I was just visiting an old friend, and started chatting with him. From Mr. Henderson, I learned the truth about my childhood. My parents had always favored Chloe, letting her bully me constantly. Even the neighbors felt sorry for me. My parents were just low-wage factory workers who were drowning in debt. But three years ago, they suddenly came into a massive fortune. They paid off their debts, sold the run-down apartment, and bought the luxury penthouse downtown. The cold truth hit me like a physical blow. Three years ago. The exact time of my assault. My parents had taken Ethan’s money. They didn’t just cover up the crime; they sold me back to the monster. “Luna! What do you think you’re doing here instead of being on your date with Ethan?” A sharp voice made me freeze. I spun around to see my parents and Chloe rushing toward me, their faces pale with panic. I opened my mouth to scream for help, but Chloe reached me first, throwing her arms around me and covering my mouth with her hand. My parents blocked the neighbor’s view, smiling tightly. “Sorry, Mr. Henderson. Luna’s been very sick. We just got her out of the clinic. She’s having an episode. We’re taking her home now.” They dragged me into a waiting car. Ethan was at the wheel. I was sobbing, my voice trembling with pure terror. “I… I just felt suffocated. I wanted some fresh air. I won’t run away again, I swear!” “Ethan, I had a great time today. Let’s go see that new movie tomorrow, just the two of us—” Ethan cut me off, his voice deadpan. “Stop acting, Luna.” “You figured it out, didn’t you? That’s why you’re trying to run.”

Terror, cold and suffocating, swallowed me whole. I scrambled to open the door, but my parents pinned me down from both sides. In the passenger seat, Chloe crossed her arms, looking back at me with a cold, indifferent stare. The masks were completely off. “Why?” I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “Mom, Dad, Chloe! I’m your family! How could you do this to me?” Chloe sighed. “No one is trying to hurt you, Luna.” “You’re all hurting me! You’ve been lying to me this whole time!” I lost control, screaming at the top of my lungs. “We lived in that crappy apartment our whole lives! You bought that penthouse with Ethan’s money! The neighbor told me everything! You got rich right when I got hurt!” “You never called the police! Ethan bought you off!” “What do you want from me? To hand me over to him so he can torture me for the rest of my life?” Inside my sleeve, my hand gripped a sharp metal pen I had begged from the girl at the mall. I pulled it out and pressed the tip hard against my own neck. “Keep dreaming! I’d rather die than let you give me to him!” I expected them to panic, to grab me, or to threaten me with violence. But they didn’t. Their fake, doting smiles were gone, replaced not by malice, but by an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. “Luna, we lied to you, yes,” Chloe said, rubbing her temples. “But no one is trying to hurt you.” “Everything we did was to protect you.” She looked at our parents. “Should we just tell her? Our little lie seems to be making her condition worse.” I stared at them, my hand still trembling as I held the pen to my neck. I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “Protect me?” “I might have lost my memory, but I’m not stupid! You covered up his crime because he paid you—” “We covered it up to keep you out of prison!” My dad suddenly roared, his face flushed. “You think your mental breakdown was because of the assault? No! It was because after we subdued the guy who attacked you, you lost your mind and killed him!” “If we had called the police, you’d be behind bars for manslaughter!” “After you killed him, your mind snapped. Ethan was indeed the guy we wanted you to marry, and he loved you enough to pay for the best psychiatrists. He spent a fortune to wipe your memory of the killing, which accidentally blurred your memory of the assault too…” Ethan reached into his pocket and threw a photograph into the backseat. In the photo, a blood-splattered, hysterical version of me was slumped over a lifeless body. They were telling me that the corpse was my attacker. The man I had killed. My mind went blank. I had absolutely no memory of this. I tried to force myself to remember, but a sharp, blinding headache ripped through my skull. My mom burst into tears, pulling me into a tight embrace. “Don’t think about it, Luna. Please. You finally got a chance at a normal life. Don’t do this to yourself…” No. This wasn’t right. I bit my tongue hard, using the pain to keep my head clear. “Even if that’s true, why hide the old apartment? Why act like it never existed?” “Because that apartment was where the assault happened,” Chloe said quietly. “We didn’t want you to wander back there and trigger a relapse.” “And yes, I wasn’t the best sister growing up. But after what happened, I was devastated. Plus, Ethan bought us the house and gave us enough money to live comfortably so we could focus entirely on taking care of you. I did it for you.” “Luna, if we wanted to hurt you, why go through all this trouble? With Ethan’s money, he could have locked you up in another country years ago.” Too much information was flooding my brain. My thoughts were in complete chaos. As the car drove back toward the city, everyone fell silent, giving me time to process. The apartment… The crime… They had a perfectly logical explanation for everything. But what about the sheer terror I felt every time I smelled Ethan’s car? Why did my body react with such violent fight-or-flight instincts whenever he got close? I looked up and caught Ethan’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He sighed. “Luna, I know you’re terrified of me.” “Every time you get in my car, your whole body tenses up, doesn’t it?” He pulled out another photo and handed it back.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452033”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

I lay on the hospital bed, taking my last shallow breaths. I looked at my daughter, Vivian. She stood by my bed, staring at me with cold, detached eyes. She was wearing a revealing, sparkly outfit from a shady VIP club. “I can make five hundred dollars a night now as a VIP hostess.” “It’s way better than the measly hundred dollars you threw at me every month.” My chest burned. I coughed up blood, desperately trying to explain, but she reached out and pulled the plug on my oxygen tank herself. “Melanie was right. You don’t deserve to be a mother.” It was only after my death, as a roaming spirit, that I learned the truth. My most trusted best friend, Melanie, had teamed up with my husband. They had pocketed the $50,000 monthly allowance I sent for Vivian, leaving her with almost nothing. Their son went to an elite private academy, throwing money around like water. Meanwhile, my daughter was forced into shady nightclubs just to buy food and survive. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the exact moment I was about to transfer the $50,000. Melanie was sitting right next to me, her voice sweet and gentle: “Chloe, babe, did you send the money yet? Vivian said she wants a new Chanel bag.”

“Honey, just send Vivian the money. A girl needs some luxury items to fit in at school, right?” Looking at my husband Richard’s face, I wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces right then and there. In my past life, after I died, my soul had lingered. I saw Melanie, my supposedly loyal best friend, snuggling into the arms of my sophisticated husband, Richard. She had laughed as she flipped through my will. “Finally, that annoying woman is dead. Now we can send our son, Leo, to boarding school in Switzerland.” “As for Vivian… Mr. Thomas’s club is always looking for ‘fresh girls.’ If we run low on cash, we’ll just send her there. She’s a useless brat, just like her mother.” Richard had nodded, his tone as casual as if they were discussing what to have for dinner. “Yes. Let’s make sure she’s put to good use.” Put to good use! Those words had shattered my remaining soul into dust. Rage erupted in my chest like hot lava, making my entire body tremble. I had actually trusted these two monsters and left my precious daughter in their hands just so I could focus on my career! I was so blind! So incredibly stupid! “Chloe? Babe? Did the transfer go through?” I snapped back to reality. I was staring into Melanie’s eyes—eyes that always looked so innocent and full of concern. She was practically leaning over my shoulder, trying to peer at my phone screen. She smelled of a sickly-sweet perfume. I used to think of her as a sister. Now, her scent just made me want to vomit. It was her. This woman who called me “babe” while sucking me dry and pushing my daughter into a living hell. I forced down the metallic taste of blood in my throat. I couldn’t panic. I couldn’t let them see through me. God gave me a second chance. I wasn’t going to waste it. Before I could speak, Richard chimed in. His voice was filled with his usual fake tenderness. “Chloe, you look so pale. Are you too tired? Don’t stress over Vivian’s allowance. Let Melanie handle it.” “Melanie has plenty of free time and she’s very detail-oriented. She’ll take great care of Vivian. You just focus on your multi-million-dollar tech projects.” He spoke beautifully, but his eyes kept darting to my phone screen with pure greed. How had I never noticed this before? His fake, hypocritical face disgusted me. Melanie immediately played along, playfully swatting Richard’s arm. “Richard, don’t say that. Chloe just loves Vivian too much.” She turned back to me, her voice softening even more. “Chloe, just hit send. It’s just a Chanel bag. If the girl wants it, buy it for her. It’s not like we’re short on cash.” Chanel? My mind flashed to a memory from my past life. I remembered seeing Melanie’s son, Leo, playing with a limited-edition toy car that cost more than ten Chanel bags. That toy was bought with the money I had sent for Vivian! My heart turned to ice, but I forced a smile. “You’re right. I shouldn’t keep her waiting.” My thumb hovered over the screen, pretending to hit confirm. Melanie’s breathing hitched. The corners of her mouth twitched upward, unable to hide her excitement. Richard also let out a quiet sigh of relief, picking up his coffee mug with a smug look of satisfaction. Just as my fingernail was about to touch the screen— I flipped my wrist and pressed the power button on the side of the phone. The screen went black. The smile on Melanie’s face froze. She stared at me in shock. Richard’s hand froze mid-air, his coffee mug hovering. His brow furrowed slightly. I looked up, meeting their searching glares, and slowly slipped the phone back into my purse. “Actually, I think I’ll drop off Vivian’s tuition and allowance at her campus in person this time.”

I found an excuse to leave the house. As soon as the cold wind hit my face, I realized I was shaking uncontrollably. Not from fear, but from pure, unadulterated hatred. The images of Richard and Melanie’s hypocritical faces played on a loop in my mind. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I got into my car, locked the doors, and immediately dialed Vivian’s number. The phone rang… and rang… Each ring felt like a hammer striking my chest. “Hello?” My daughter’s voice was hoarse and quiet. She sounded completely drained, filled with a numb acceptance of her fate. “Vivian…” My voice trembled. “It’s mom.” “Oh,” she replied. Her tone was icy and defensive. “Is something wrong? Melanie said… you didn’t even want to give me the hundred dollars this month. She said you wanted me to just figure it out on my own.” One hundred dollars? I had been sending fifty thousand dollars every single month! “Vivian, listen to me!” I interrupted her, my tone more serious and urgent than ever before. “The money I send you every month is fifty thousand dollars!” There was a dead silence on the other end of the line. After what felt like an eternity, Vivian’s voice came through, shaking. “Fifty thousand? You… you’re lying! Dad and Melanie both said I was just a burden to you. They said the hundred dollars was already charity.” Her words felt like knives slicing through my heart. “Vivian, stay exactly where you are. Don’t go anywhere. Mom is coming to get you.” After soothing Vivian, I immediately started the car and drove toward the bank. Only one thought consumed my mind: I was going to make them pay in blood! As my car rounded the corner near the high-end shopping district by the bank, I caught a glimpse of the luxury mall entrance. What I saw made my heart seize. The blood rushed to my head. Melanie was practically glued to Richard’s side. She was dressed in the latest Chanel outfit, laughing like a schoolgirl. Richard had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist, while his other hand held their beloved son, Leo. We had been married for twenty years, and Richard could never find the time to have a simple dinner with Vivian and me. Yet, he had all the time in the world to go luxury shopping with his secret family. I suppressed the urge to run them over. With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone, aimed it at them, and zoomed in as far as the camera would go. “Daddy, I want this!” Leo yelled, throwing a tantrum in front of a toy store window. Melanie immediately cooed to Richard, “Oh, honey, buy it for him! It’s only twenty thousand dollars. We can just take a little bit out of Vivian’s budget, right?” Richard smiled dotingly, pulling out his credit card without a second thought. “Buy it! If my boy wants it, he gets it!” In my past life, Vivian hadn’t ended up as a club hostess, but she had been forced to become the plaything of a wealthy, disgusting older man just to pay for her college tuition. She had been physically abused night after night. And the perpetrators of her misery were right here, spending my hard-earned cash like water. I forced down the boiling rage, sent the video and my bank statements directly to my lawyer, and hired a team of private bodyguards to watch over Vivian. Only then did my heart finally settle.

When I got home, the living room lights were on. Richard was already back. He was standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, his back to me. He was speaking on the phone in a frantic, desperate tone I had never heard before. “…I know, baby! I know! Getting Leo into that prep school is our top priority. I’ll find a way to get the two hundred thousand dollar donation fee!” “Don’t worry, Chloe is an easy target! I’ll get it from her tonight! For our son, I can squeeze out half a million if I have to!” “Yeah, love you too. Bye.” My blood boiled. Baby? Leo? Two hundred thousand dollars? Squeezing me dry for his bastard son? The cold rage in my heart quickly took over the disgust. I closed the front door, making a loud noise on purpose. Richard spun around, a flash of panic crossing his face. But he quickly adjusted his mask, putting on his usual gentle, charming smile, though his eyes remained anxious. “Chloe? You’re back. Why didn’t you say anything?” His voice carried a hint of blame, as if he hadn’t just been plotting my financial ruin a second ago. I ignored him, changed my shoes, and set my bag down. He walked over, his smile widening. “Chloe, perfect timing. I have something to discuss with you. My… my latest investment project ran into some issues. I need about three hundred thousand dollars to cover the gap. Do you think…” Here it was. Even earlier and greedier than in my past life. I looked him dead in the eye and said calmly, “No.” Richard froze. He clearly hadn’t expected me to reject him so flatly. The muscles in his face twitched as he struggled to control his anger. “Chloe, don’t joke around. Three hundred thousand is pocket change to you! This project is a guaranteed goldmine!” “I said, no,” I repeated, my voice completely flat. He snapped. His mask shattered completely, revealing a twisted, ugly snarl. He pointed a finger in my face and screamed: “Chloe! You are a cold-hearted, selfish bitch! All you care about is your precious money!” “If you weren’t always working and neglecting our family, would Vivian have turned out so messed up? Huh?” “What’s the point of making all that money? You’re a terrible mother! You’re not even half the woman Melanie is! At least she knows how to care for a child!” Each word was meant to wound me. Yes, I was a terrible mother in my past life. That was why my daughter was driven to her death by the two of you! And my hard-earned money had been funding your lavish lifestyle and your secret child! The anger burned white-hot inside me, but my face remained perfectly calm. There was no need to argue with a dead man walking. Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a sharp, high-pitched notification. It was the emergency alert—from the bodyguard captain I had hired to protect Vivian! My heart sank. I opened it immediately. It wasn’t a text. It was a live video stream. The video was dimly lit. The background looked like the VIP restroom of a nightclub. Vivian was wearing a tiny, sequined dress that barely covered her. An obese man had her pinned against the wall. His filthy hands were grabbing at her legs. Vivian was sobbing, struggling with everything she had. Off-camera, a sickeningly sweet voice spoke—a voice I would recognize anywhere. It was Melanie. “Vivian, darling, don’t be ungrateful! Mr. Thomas taking an interest in you is a blessing! What future do you have with your dried-up mother? Just be a good girl.” “If you please Mr. Thomas, you’ll make way more than the hundred dollars your mother throws at you!” Then came the crude laughter of several thugs in the room. My vision went dark. I could barely stand. Vivian! My Vivian! Where were the bodyguards?! How did this happen?! Richard saw my pale face and leaned over to peek at my screen. Instead of showing any shock or concern for his own daughter, he let out a cruel sneer. “Well, well. Isn’t that your darling daughter? She’s already working? Business looks good! If she had been this smart earlier, we wouldn’t have had to worry. What a little drama queen.”

My daughter was being assaulted, and her own father was cheering it on? The final thread of my sanity snapped! I threw my phone with all my might straight at his smug, hideous face! “You monster! She is your daughter!!” The phone struck his cheekbone with a loud crack. He shrieked in pain, stumbling backward. He touched his face, saw the blood on his fingers, and his eyes filled with pure, murderous rage. “Daughter? Trash!” He spat out a mouthful of bloody spit. He lunged forward, grabbing me by my hair and pulling so hard I felt my scalp ripping! “That useless brat doesn’t deserve to be my daughter! I only have one child, and that’s my son, Leo!” My head was screaming in pain as he dragged me toward the basement stairs. I scratched at his arms, leaving deep, bloody gashes. “Let go of me! You’re insane, Richard!” “Insane? Yes! I am insane! I’ve played the perfect, submissive husband for twenty years, and I am fucking done!” He screamed insults as he violently dragged me down the stairs. He kicked open the basement door and threw me hard onto the cold concrete floor. My head spun, and my bones felt like they were shattered. Richard panted, ripping his collar open like a wild beast that had finally shed its disguise. “You want to know something, Chloe?” He knelt down, grabbing my jaw in a painful grip. He forced me to look at his triumphant face. “Right here! On this dirty couch! While you were upstairs pulling all-nighters to make millions, Melanie was down here giving me everything you couldn’t!” My stomach churned. I dry-heaved on the floor. “You absolute piece of trash!” “Me? Trash?” He laughed hysterically, his face completely distorted. “You’re the joke here! You thought you were some powerful CEO? You’re nothing but a glorified ATM! Every single penny you made went into raising my son with Melanie!” He got more and more excited, bragging about how they had played me for a fool. How they had converted Vivian’s $50,000 allowance into Leo’s elite tuition, designer clothes, and luxury toys. How they had slept together right under my nose, laughing at how oblivious I was. Every word tore my past twenty years into bloody shreds. Once he was done insulting me, he stood up, straightened his suit, and put his sophisticated mask back on. “You care so much about your darling daughter?” He sneered. He threw an old tablet onto the ground in front of me. “Watch! See how she’s earning money for her useless mother!” The tablet screen lit up, showing the live feed. It was worse than before. Vivian was forced onto her knees. Several men stood around her. Someone was forcing a bottle of alcohol down her throat while others pawed at her. Vivian’s eyes were completely vacant, like a broken doll. Her face was smeared with tears and cheap alcohol. Melanie’s voice echoed from the speaker, dripping with malice. “Yes, just like that! Let your mother see how ‘hardworking’ her daughter is!” My heart stopped. I lunged like a wild animal to grab the tablet, but Richard kicked me squarely in the ribs. “Watch her! That’s what you get for crossing me!” he laughed. “Once Mr. Thomas is done with her, you’re next! I’m going to sell both of you to the dirtiest brothels in the city!” With that, he slammed the basement door shut and locked it from the outside. Pitch blackness and absolute despair swallowed me. On the screen, the obese man was laughing as he unbuckled his belt, moving toward my trembling daughter.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452032”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

My sister, Chloe, and I were both orphans. Now, I had just reincarnated back to the day we went to the adoption agency to choose our daughters. In our past life, I adopted Lily, a quiet and silent girl, while Chloe took Mia, who was pretty and had a sweet tongue. Later, Lily’s random doodles became a global phenomenon. She made me a billionaire overnight, lifting me from a struggling office worker to generational wealth. Meanwhile, Chloe’s business was constantly blackmailed by Mia’s biological parents under the guise of “child abuse.” She ended up bankrupt and completely lost her mind. Before she died, Chloe pushed me off the rooftop of a twenty-three-story building. “Why was your daughter a lucky charm while mine was a jinx? It’s not fair!” she screamed. In this life, Chloe didn’t hesitate. She rushed straight to Lily and signed the adoption papers before I could even blink. Holding Lily—her supposed “ticket to wealth”—she flashed me a triumphant smile. “Audrey, it’s my turn to hit the jackpot in this life.” I looked at Lily, who was shivering in Chloe’s arms. Then, I looked at Mia, whom Chloe had ruthlessly cast aside. Mia was staring at me with big, tearful, timid eyes. I smiled. What Chloe didn’t understand was that a child’s future is never decided by their innate nature. It is decided by the person who raises them.

In the reception room of the adoption agency, Chloe held Lily tightly, laughing like a psychopath. “Audrey, look at this. It’s my turn to hit the jackpot in this life.” Her eyes practically shone with greed as she spoke. I knew that look all too well. It was the exact same look she had when she pushed me off that high-rise building in our past life. Greedy, maniacal, and ruthless. I didn’t say a word. I just stared at Lily in her arms. The little girl was as skinny as a beanpole, her face pale, her eyes filled with fear. She curled up in Chloe’s arms like a terrified, wounded little animal. But Chloe didn’t care about the child’s terror. She was too busy gloating. “Audrey, do you know? I dreamed about it. Lily is my lucky charm!” “Her random doodles will become a massive, global brand! She is going to make me a billionaire!” Her voice shook with pure excitement. Looking at her, I found it hilarious. In our past life, when I adopted Lily, Chloe had hugged Mia with the exact same excitement before walking away. Back then, she told me, “Audrey, Mia is so pretty and sweet. She’s definitely going to bring me good luck.” And what was the result? Mia’s biological parents tracked her down, blackmailing Chloe with false accusations of “child abuse.” Chloe’s business went under, and she completely lost her mind. In the end, she pushed me off that roof. Right before I fell, she was still cursing, “Why was your daughter a lucky charm while mine was a jinx? It’s not fair!” Not fair? I clutched my chest. The dull, agonizing pain of the fall felt as if it had happened just yesterday. Falling from the twenty-third floor, the sound of my bones shattering was still crystal clear. I remembered it was raining that day. Cold rain mixed with my blood ran into my eyes. I looked up and saw Chloe standing on the edge of the roof, her face twisted like a demon. “It’s all your fault! Everything is because of you!” She shrieked, then turned and walked away. She didn’t even give me a second glance. When I died, Lily was in Europe hosting her art exhibition. She had no idea that the mother who raised her for over ten years had been murdered by her own aunt. “Audrey? Audrey, are you even listening to me?” Chloe’s sharp voice dragged me back to reality. She had already signed the adoption papers and was getting ready to leave with Lily. “I’m leaving now. Have fun taking care of Mia,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Mia stood in the corner, her eyes red and puffy. She had been crying the entire time because Chloe had suddenly changed her mind and rejected her. The caseworker, Mrs. Gable, was still trying to reason with her. “Ms. Chloe, you clearly agreed to adopt Mia earlier…” “I changed my mind, okay?” Chloe cut her off impatiently. “Lily suits me better. It’s none of your business.” She turned and walked out without looking back. Lily struggled slightly in her arms, trying to look back at Mia. Chloe pushed Lily’s head down. “Don’t look. From now on, you’re my daughter. She has nothing to do with you.” I heard Lily whimpering quietly. It was a tiny, fragile sound, like a hurt kitten. I closed my eyes. In our past life, when Lily first came to my home, she cried just like that. She hated talking. She would always curl up in a corner and draw by herself. I was dirt poor back then, living in a damp basement, unable to even afford an air conditioner. In the sweltering heat of summer, I would buy her popsicles and sit with her in the hallway just to catch a breeze. While she drew, I would read books beside her. We barely spoke, but we found peace in each other’s company. Later, a gallery owner noticed her art and bought one of her paintings for five thousand dollars. I cried tears of joy, and so did she. We hugged each other and cried like two fools. After that, her paintings sold for higher and higher prices, eventually turning into a massive franchise. I went from a simple office worker to a self-made billionaire. I bought her a mansion, sent her to the best schools, and gave her the finest life possible. I thought we would be happy forever. Until Chloe pushed me off that building. “Audrey…” Mia’s timid voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She looked up at me, her eyes overflowing with tears. “That lady didn’t want me… Are you going to leave me behind, too?” I looked at her. In our past life, when Chloe adopted her, she had looked just as pitiful. Chloe spoiled her rotten, buying her the most expensive designer clothes and sending her to elite private schools. But Chloe didn’t know that Mia had already been brainwashed by her horrible biological parents. Those parents were absolute human trash. They had abandoned Mia at the agency on child welfare records specifically so they could track her down after she was adopted and blackmail the wealthy adoptive family. They taught Mia how to play victim, how to win sympathy, and how to milk every penny out of her adoptive mother. In our past life, the moment Chloe’s business started taking off, they showed up. They claimed Chloe was abusing Mia, threatening to sue her and demanding massive payouts. To keep things quiet, Chloe paid them a fortune. But they only got greedier, demanding more money again and again. Eventually, Chloe’s business was dragged down to bankruptcy, and she had a mental breakdown. She blamed all her failures on me. She blamed my daughter for being a lucky charm, and hers for being a curse. She believed I had stolen her luck and ruined her life. And that was why she killed me. I gently patted Mia’s head. “I will take you home,” I said. Mia’s eyes lit up for a second, then quickly dimmed. “But… that lady said I’m a jinx…” she whispered, her voice barely audible. I smiled gently. “She doesn’t know anything. A child’s future is never decided by their nature. It’s decided by the person who raises them.” I finalized the adoption paperwork for Mia and walked out of the agency with her. As we left, I glanced back. Chloe was happily putting Lily into her car, a smug, victorious smile plastered across her face.

I brought Mia back to the small apartment I bought with my savings from my past life. It wasn’t huge—just a cozy, one-bedroom apartment of about six hundred square feet. But it was a million times better than the damp basement I lived in during our past life. At least there were large windows, plenty of sunlight, and no moldy smell in the summer. Mia stood at the doorway, hesitant to step inside. “Come on in,” I said. She stepped inside cautiously, her eyes scanning the place. “This is your room.” I pushed open the bedroom door. The room wasn’t massive, but I had decorated it in advance. There were pink curtains, clean white sheets, and a small study desk. Mia froze in her tracks. “Is… is this for me?” “Of course. Who else?” I asked. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes. “Mom…” She called me Mom. My heart softened for a brief second, but I quickly suppressed the emotion. I couldn’t afford to spoil her. In our past life, Chloe had ruined Mia by spoiling her too much, which eventually led to both of them being destroyed by Mia’s biological parents. In this life, I was going to raise her differently. “Don’t cry. Unpack your things, and we’ll go out for dinner,” I said. Mia wiped her tears and nodded obediently. I took her to a small diner nearby and ordered two bowls of noodles. Mia ate ravenously, finishing every last bite in no time. “Was it good?” I asked. She nodded quickly. “From now on, if you want to eat something, just tell me,” I said. “But remember, if you want something in life, you have to earn it yourself.” Mia blinked, looking slightly confused, but she nodded anyway. After dinner, I took her to a shopping mall. She stopped in front of a toy store, her eyes locked onto a beautiful doll. “Mom, can I have…” Before she could finish, I cut her off. “If you want it, buy it yourself.” Mia was stunned. “But… I don’t have any money…” “Then find a way to earn it,” I replied. “Starting today, you’ll get an allowance for doing chores around the house.” “Once you save enough, you can buy the doll.” A flicker of resentment flashed through Mia’s eyes. But she quickly hid it and nodded obediently. “Okay, Mom.” Watching her, a warning bell rang in my head. This kid wasn’t simple. In our past life, Chloe was completely fooled by Mia’s “good girl” act. On the surface, she was submissive, but her mind was always calculating. I couldn’t let my guard down. When we got home, I assigned her chores. Sweeping, dusting, and washing dishes. They were simple tasks, but she did them incredibly slowly. I didn’t rush her. I just sat on the couch, reading my book. She peeked at me several times, and seeing that I didn’t care, she had no choice but to keep working. When she finished, I inspected her work. “Not bad. Here is your allowance.” I handed her a ten-dollar bill. Mia took the bill, disappointment written all over her face. “Only ten dollars…?” she muttered under her breath. “Too little?” I asked. She immediately shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Thank you, Mom.” I smiled but said nothing. I knew she was probably cursing me in her head. But it didn’t matter. I had plenty of time to teach her. That night, lying in bed, I mapped out my future plans. I wanted to open a high-end dessert shop. In my past life, I was an excellent pastry chef. In this life, I would use those skills to build my own business empire. At the same time, I had five years to raise Mia into a decent, honest person. Five years from now, her biological parents would show up. That inevitable “extortion attempt” was actually the most crucial part of my master plan. I was going to show Chloe exactly what kind of “lucky charm” she had stolen from me. I closed my eyes, and Lily’s fragile face drifted into my mind.

My dessert shop was located right at the entrance of our neighborhood. It was small, only about two hundred square feet. But my recipes were perfected over a decade in my past life. The taste was absolutely unmatched. On opening day, I baked a hundred egg tarts, and they sold out in just two hours. The next day, I baked two hundred, and it still wasn’t enough. Within a month, my shop had become incredibly popular. Locals lined up every day, and some people even drove from across town just to buy my pastries. I was working non-stop, but I felt incredibly fulfilled. This was a million times better than sitting in a cubicle typing on a keyboard like I did in my past life. After school, Mia would come to the shop to help out. She handled the cash register, and she did a great job. I paid her daily wages, and she saved every penny diligently. A month later, she finally saved enough money and bought the doll she wanted. She hugged the doll, smiling brightly. “Mom! I bought it with my own money!” I patted her head. “Good job.” Her eyes shined with pride, but then they dimmed slightly. “Mom, can I ask you something?” she asked. “Go ahead.” “Why are you so strict with me?” she asked. “Chloe is so nice to Lily. She buys her whatever she wants.” I looked down at her. “Do you think that’s actually good for her?” I countered. Mia was stunned. “I… I don’t know,” she whispered. “Remember this, Mia: there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world,” I said. “If you want something, you have to earn it yourself.” “What other people give you can be taken away at any moment.” “Only what you earn with your own hands truly belongs to you.” Mia seemed to understand, nodding thoughtfully. Just then, the door was pushed open. Chloe walked in, dragging Lily with her. Chloe was wearing a cheap, wrinkled T-shirt, and her face looked exhausted. Lily looked even worse—pale, severely underweight, and her eyes were filled with absolute terror. My heart tightened. It had only been a month. How did they end up like this? When Chloe saw how busy my shop was, her face turned sour with jealousy. “Well, Audrey, look at you. Business is booming,” she sneered. “It’s alright,” I replied casually. “You must have used some dirty tricks!” she suddenly snapped, raising her voice. “Otherwise, how could a basic office worker like you afford a shop like this?” I looked at her, finding her jealousy pathetic. “Did you forget, Chloe? I was a professional pastry chef in our past life. Of course I know how to run a bakery.” Chloe froze, her anger flaring even hotter. “So what? Why do you get to live the good life while I…” She stopped herself. I could tell she was having a miserable time. She thought that by adopting Lily, she would instantly get rich. But Lily hadn’t shown any “miraculous artistic talent” yet. Chloe had spent all her savings, lost her job, and was now living on instant ramen. Meanwhile, I had opened a successful shop. Her mind was twisted with jealousy. Just then, Mia walked over holding a glass of lemonade. “Here is some water, Chloe,” she said politely. As Chloe reached out to grab it, Mia’s hand suddenly slipped. The lemonade splashed all over Chloe’s shirt. “Ah!” Chloe shrieked, jumping back. Mia immediately shrank behind me. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…” she sobbed, looking terrified. Chloe was furious, stamping her feet. “You little brat! You did that on purpose!” “That’s enough,” I stepped in, blocking her. “She’s just a kid. Why are you screaming at her?” Chloe glared at me. “Keep protecting her! Just wait until Lily’s talent kicks in. You’ll be begging me for money soon!” She grabbed Lily’s arm to pull her away. As she did, I noticed a dark, nasty bruise on Lily’s forearm. “Wait,” I called out, my voice dropping. “What happened to Lily’s arm?” I demanded. Chloe’s face turned pale. “None of your business!” she snapped. “Mind your own life!” She dragged Lily out of the shop. I watched their retreating figures, a heavy weight sinking into my chest.

My dessert shop was ready for a major upgrade. I had gotten in touch with a major investor, Mr. Ethan Vance. He was a prominent venture capitalist in the city, owning several successful restaurant chains. If I could secure his funding, I could turn my shop into a franchise and expand rapidly. On the day of the contract signing, I wore a professional suit and arrived early at the conference room. Mr. Vance arrived shortly after, and our meeting went incredibly well. He loved my pastries and fully approved of my business expansion plan. “Ms. Sterling, I have high hopes for your brand,” he said, smiling. “Likewise. I look forward to working with you,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand. Just as he was about to shake my hand, the conference room doors were violently kicked open. Chloe burst in, followed by a middle-aged, trashy-looking couple. “Audrey! You heartless, evil bitch!” The woman rushed in, immediately grabbing my hair, screaming and slapping at me. “How dare you abuse my daughter!” she shrieked. Caught completely off guard, I felt a burning pain shoot across my face. Mr. Vance immediately stood up, shouting, “What is the meaning of this? Stop this at once!” Chloe stepped forward, pointing at me. “Mr. Vance, see for yourself! These are Mia’s biological parents.” “My sister not only abuses the poor girl, but she also locks her up and refuses to let her see her real family.” “How can you do business with a monster like her?” Mr. Vance’s face turned incredibly grim. The trashy couple kept screaming at me. “Where did you hide our daughter?” “Hand her over right now!” “Or we’re calling the cops!” Chloe kept fueling the fire. “Audrey, how could you be so cruel?” “They are Mia’s real parents. How could you keep their child from them?” She spoke with such self-righteousness, acting as if she were the hero of the story. Mr. Vance looked at me, his eyes filled with deep suspicion. “Ms. Sterling, what is going on here?” I didn’t say a word. My face was pale, and my body was shaking. Seeing me like this, Chloe looked smugger than ever. She leaned in close to my ear, whispering in a voice only I could hear: “Your lucky charm daughter is in my hands, and your little jinx has her bio-parents knocking on your door. Audrey, you lose.” Her voice was dripping with venom. I closed my eyes, my body swaying as if I were about to collapse. Chloe and the couple grinned, thinking they had completely broken me. But then, I suddenly lifted my head. I wiped away a tear that didn’t exist and looked straight at Chloe. “Chloe, who told you they are Mia’s biological parents?” Chloe froze. “What… what do you mean?” I turned to the trashy couple, my expression ice-cold. “The daughter you’re looking for isn’t with me,” I said clearly. “Your real daughter, Lily, is currently at my sister’s apartment, being beaten black and blue by her every single day.” Chloe’s face turned instantly white. The trashy couple stood there, completely dumbfounded. “What… what kind of nonsense are you talking about?” the woman shrieked. I pulled an official document from my briefcase. “This is the DNA test result for Lily and the two of you.” “A 99.99% match. Father and mother.” “The daughter you abandoned years ago is Lily.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452031”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Because I asked my husband to change our son’s diaper, he gave me the silent treatment and slept in his study for three days. I made his favorite dinner, hoping to make peace, but I froze at the study door. At some point, the traditional doorknob had been replaced with a smart keypad lock. Trembling, I entered our wedding anniversary, then our son’s birthday… All incorrect. Until, guided by some ghost of a suspicion, I entered her birthday. The lock clicked. The door swung open. His study was spotless and elegantly decorated. The piano by the window was dust-free. Stacks of handwritten letters were neatly arranged. My eyes stung, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me. So, it wasn’t that he didn’t have time. He just didn’t want to spare a single second for me and our son. I stood at the doorway, but I lost the courage to step inside. I remembered the night I had a raging fever and begged him to watch our baby for just half a day. To my horror, less than five minutes after taking him, he dumped our crying son back into my arms. Then, he locked himself in his study for the rest of the afternoon. The baby cried hysterically, but Julian acted like he was completely deaf. I coughed until my chest burned, and he didn’t show a shred of concern. In the end, I had to drag my sick body out of bed to take care of our baby. Because I hadn’t fully recovered, I ended up passing the flu to my son. During that time, my life was a living hell. I didn’t get a single night of decent sleep. Even though we lived under the same roof, Julian didn’t offer a single word of comfort. He kept himself locked in his study, playing the piano and painting. Nothing could interrupt his precious leisure time. Whenever I asked him to help with chores, he would reject me with self-righteous anger. “Chloe, can you stop picking fights? You know this is my scheduled time for writing poetry. I don’t have time for chores!” “Chloe, it’s just a small chore. Why can’t you just do it yourself? Why do you have to annoy me?” Because of this, we had countless screaming matches. Every single time, I was the one crying hysterically. Meanwhile, Julian would look at me with a cold face and ask, “Chloe, does it pain you to see me relaxing for even a second?” Over time, I started to blame myself. I wondered if I was truly just a bitter, narrow-minded wife who couldn’t stand her husband’s happiness. So, to avoid more fights, I took over everything. Housework, childcare, endless errands—I carried it all alone. I was naive enough to think I had found the secret to a peaceful marriage. But today, looking at this room, I realized how incredibly stupid and pathetic I had been. It wasn’t that Julian didn’t know how to do these things. He just didn’t want to. He didn’t want to spend a single drop of energy on me, on our son, or on this home. He only cared about protecting his personal sanctuary from any disturbance. As for everything else? He didn’t give a damn. My gaze eventually fell on an unfinished oil painting on his easel. With just a few strokes, the figure on the canvas was rendered lifelike. It was obvious how much passion and care went into it. The questions that had plagued me for years suddenly had an answer. It was simple: My son and I were just not worth his effort. My heart ached terribly. I was about to close the door when hurried footsteps cut me off. Julian ran in, panting, with beads of sweat on his forehead. “Chloe! What are you doing in my study? How many times have I told you not to come in here? Do you just live to make my life miserable?!” I opened my mouth to explain, but nothing came out. As his wife, being forbidden from entering my own husband’s room made me feel like a joke. To Julian, my silence was a confession of guilt. He shoved me out of the way in a fit of rage. Unprepared, I stumbled and banged my hip hard against the doorframe. A sharp pain made me gasp.

Julian didn’t even look at me. He rushed past me into the room, checking to see if I, the intruder, had ruined his precious sanctuary. Once he saw everything was untouched, he immediately locked the door and reset the passcode right in front of my face. Done, he turned to me, his eyes blazing with fury. “Chloe, I hope this is the first and last time!” Holding back the tears and the pain in my hip, I stood up straight. “Julian, do you have nothing to explain to me?” Julian sneered. “What’s there to explain? Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I don’t get a right to privacy!” “Chloe, do you even know what boundaries are?” My heart sank into a dark, empty pit. “Julian, what do my son and I actually mean to you?” Julian frowned, giving me that familiar, irritated “here we go again” look. “Chloe, can you stop making a mountain out of a molehill? Do you have any idea how exhausting and unattractive you are when you act like this?” I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh? And who is attractive to you then? Vivian?” Julian’s face went pale. “You saw the painting! Chloe, do you have any respect for privacy at all?!” I refused to back down. “And what about you, Julian? You lock yourself in this room all day, ignoring me and our son. Do you have any respect for your responsibilities as a father and a husband?” Julian’s face flushed with anger. “You are completely delusional!” With that, he turned on his heel to leave. Those words ignited the rage I had suppressed for years. I stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “Julian! You are not leaving this house until you explain yourself!” Julian looked down at me with pure disdain. “Explain to you? As if you’d even understand.” “Vivian is the creative director of a major art gallery. She has handled thousands of masterpieces over the years. You’re just a housewife, Chloe. How can you even compare to her?” His words felt like a poisoned arrow piercing right through my heart. Blinking back tears, I raised my voice. “Julian, we went to the exact same college! I sacrificed my career to take care of you, our son, and this house! Even if you don’t love me, you should at least respect my sacrifice! How dare you look down on me!” Julian let out a mocking laugh. “So what? Look at yourself now. All you do is worry about groceries, dirty diapers, and dinner. You’ve been out of touch with the real world for years. Honestly, I’m the only one who would tolerate you. You should be grateful, Chloe.” My heart shattered. “Julian, do you really not know why I couldn’t go back to work?” Julian sneered. “Whatever the reason, it was your own choice. Stop trying to guilt-trip me.” I stared at him in utter disbelief. I couldn’t believe he actually thought this way. “Julian, when my maternity leave ended and I wanted to go back to work, your parents refused to help. You said you didn’t trust strangers to babysit. What was I supposed to do?!” At the mention of his parents, Julian got even angrier. “Leave my parents out of this! They’re old and in poor health. Besides, you’re the mother. If you don’t take care of the kid, who will?” “And what about you? Aren’t you his father?!” Julian snapped, “Chloe, stop being hysterical! We had a clear division of labor: I work outside, you take care of the home. Isn’t that fair?” “I work hard all day at my job. In my limited free time, I just want to do what I love. Why do you have to be so incredibly selfish?!” “I’m selfish?” I pointed at my own chest, laughing in sheer disbelief. “Julian, do you hear yourself?” “Every little thing in this house is done by me. If it weren’t for me carrying your weight, where would you get the time to paint, write, and enjoy your peaceful life?” Julian waved his hand dismissively. “If you don’t want to do it, then don’t. Stop acting like you’re some kind of martyr.” “This is exactly why you can’t compare to Vivian. She always focuses on finding solutions instead of constantly whining and complaining.” I wanted to solve problems too. But household chores are a never-ending cycle, not a one-time fix. From start to finish, he simply refused to see my sacrifice. He refused to acknowledge my value. Deeply exhausted, I suddenly lost all desire to argue with him. Suppressing the pain in my chest and the tears in my eyes, I turned around and walked back to my bedroom alone, leaving him standing there. It was the first time I had ever walked away first. The next morning, I had to pick up my son from my mother’s place. I got up early, dressed nicely, and made myself a simple breakfast. A few minutes later, Julian walked out of his study, yawning. Seeing the empty dining table, his face darkened. “Where’s my breakfast?” I swallowed my last bite of toast and spoke in a cold, professional tone. “The ingredients are in the fridge. If you’re hungry, make it yourself.” Julian’s face twisted in anger. “Chloe, are you really going to keep playing these childish games? Do you seriously think I can’t survive without you?” My face remained neutral. I put my plate in the sink, walked right past him, and headed for the door. Julian yelled behind me, “Fine, Chloe! Go ahead! Just don’t come crying to me when you regret this!” My response was the loud, final thud of the front door closing. That afternoon, I took my son out to eat. Around dinner time, Julian actually sent me a Snapchat message—a rare occurrence—asking when we would be back. I read it but didn’t reply. I took my time, enjoying a nice dinner with my son before slowly heading home. When I carried my son through the front door, I saw Julian sitting at the dining table. He had cooked a nice three-course meal for himself and was eating greedily. Seeing me walk in, he let out a loud, mocking snort. I didn’t even look at him. I carried my son straight to the bedroom.

After putting my son to sleep, I went to the laundry room to collect the clothes. I only folded my son’s and mine. Julian, who was watching from the hallway, snapped, “Chloe, do you really have to be this dramatic over a stupid fight?” I ignored him, walked past him, and returned to my room. When I came out after putting the clothes away, Julian had left a pile of dirty dishes on the table and locked himself in his study again. This time, I didn’t care. I went straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner for my son and myself. As the scent of my cooking filled the apartment, Julian opened his study door. Seeing our son sitting on the play mat, Julian did something completely out of character. He picked him up and started playing with him, constantly glancing at me to make sure I was watching. When I finished cooking, I set the table with only two sets of forks and plates—for me and my son. Julian stood there, holding our baby, his face turning red with anger. “Chloe, what the hell is this supposed to mean?!” I took my son from his arms and threw his own words back at him in the same cold tone. “If you want to eat, make it yourself.” Julian laughed in pure anger. “Fine, Chloe. You’re really something!” I ignored him completely, put my son in his high chair, and focused on feeding him. Julian stood there for a few more minutes, hoping I would back down. When I didn’t even look up, he stormed back into his study, slamming the door. I didn’t try to please him. After we finished, I scraped the leftovers straight into the trash. If he was hungry, he could feed himself. Before, I had been foolishly worried about his health, rushing home from miles away just to cook him a fresh meal. No more. The next morning, I turned off my alarm. I snuggled with my son and slept in, not caring when Julian left for work. Over the next few days, Julian and I lived like strangers in a silent war. The explosion finally happened when Julian realized his dirty laundry had been sitting in the basket for three days. He grabbed the laundry basket, marched into the living room, and dumped it on the floor in front of me. “Chloe, what is your problem?!” he roared. I calmly stepped over to my son’s room, shut the door to protect his ears, and turned to Julian. “Didn’t you say it yourself? If I don’t want to do it, I don’t have to.” Julian choked on his rage. “Then I guess I don’t have to pay for the household expenses either, right?!” I shrugged, completely unfazed. “Do whatever you want.” For years, most of his income had been spent on his “artistic” lifestyle anyway. The allowance he gave me barely covered the groceries. If I hadn’t been doing freelance graphic design work on the side to support us, my son and I would have been on the streets long ago. “Fine! You’re really pushing it, Chloe!” Julian kicked the laundry basket across the room and locked himself back in his study. My heart felt absolutely nothing. I turned off the TV, walked into my bedroom, and went to sleep with my son. In the middle of the night, I woke up to get a glass of water. Looking out toward the balcony, I saw Julian standing in the moonlight, pouring detergent into the washing machine. His white work shirts were already freshly hand-washed, hanging on the rack and blowing in the wind. A bitter sting hit my chest. So, he did know how to do laundry. He did know how to wash clothes. He just chose not to. The next day, I dropped my son off at daycare. I went home, polished my resume, and started looking for full-time jobs online. Julian was surprisingly sitting in the living room. Seeing me busy at my laptop, he crept over. When he saw I was looking at job postings, he immediately sneered. “Chloe, you’ve been a housewife for years. What kind of job do you think you can actually get?” I didn’t reply. I grabbed my printed resume, walked right past him, and headed out for my interview. Julian’s face twisted into an even uglier scowl. After the interview, I rushed to the daycare to pick up my son. On the way back, I got a text from Julian: [I have a friend coming over tonight. Make a nice dinner.] I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his guests, so I stopped by the supermarket and bought groceries. But when I carried the heavy bags and my son through the front door, my blood ran cold with rage.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452030”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

It was my second day at the company, which happened to be the day they announced who got the full-time offer after our internship. The moment I stepped into the office, I heard Elena Vance crying hysterically. “This is bullshit! I worked my ass off for three months, and she just shows up yesterday and steals the only full-time position?!” I sensed something was off. Frowning, I asked, “Who stole your position?” Elena immediately splashed a cup of water right onto my face. She glared at me with pure hatred. “You have the nerve to ask? Everyone in this department knew that job was mine. But the moment you showed up, the manager told me I was out!” Our coworkers chimed in, pointing fingers at me. “We all saw how hard Elena worked. That full-time offer should be hers!” “A nepo baby dropping in out of nowhere to steal someone else’s hard work? Have some shame!” I pointed at myself, my mind filled with question marks. Are these people insane? I am the freaking owner of this company!

I suppressed my anger and tried to explain calmly, “From what I know, Elena, you lost the offer because you ghosted a major client. What does that have to do with me?” A flicker of guilt flashed through Elena’s eyes, but she quickly slammed her hand on the desk and shrieked, “That is a goddamn lie! I worked day and night to secure clients! I drank myself to a stomach ulcer for this company, and you try to ruin me with one pathetic rumor?!” Her face turned red, and she turned to the crowd, playing the victim. “Everyone, we need to boycott this liar! If we let this nepo baby do whatever she wants, she’ll be running the whole department!” Wow. Actually, I do run this entire company. I crossed my arms and looked at her half-amused. “I am the owner of this company. I hold sixty percent of the shares. Elena, I was actually going to give you a generous severance package. But now? You won’t get a single penny.” The office went dead silent. Elena froze for a few seconds. Then, she burst into loud, mocking laughter. “Have you lost your goddamn mind? Everyone knows the owner of Monroe Corp is Liam Monroe. If you’re going to fake an identity, at least do your research!” The crowd burst into snickers. “Do you believe she’s the owner, or do you believe I’m Elon Musk?” “Chloe Monroe must have fried her brain when she was a kid. Look at her, she’s practically drooling. Just because you have the same last name as the boss doesn’t mean you can play princess. Do you think we’re stupid?” Faced with their mockery, I took a deep breath. Last month, Liam had a sudden heart relapse. He flew me back from Europe overnight, made me sign the share transfer, and asked me to go undercover at this branch to inspect the grassroots level. The official press release isn’t until next week. That’s why nobody knows the boss has already changed. I didn’t want to waste my breath arguing. I knew they wouldn’t believe me anyway, so I turned to walk toward Manager Howard’s office. But Elena blocked my path, a nasty smirk on her face. “What, going to run to Howard to save you?” The coworkers let out ugly laughs, as if they had just uncovered a dirty secret. “No wonder she’s so arrogant. She’s sleeping with Manager Howard! Some people really have no shame, sleeping with a married man to get ahead in the workplace!” “She looks so innocent, but she’s just a cheap slut who seduces older men. How does someone like her even get hired?” The malicious insults washed over me like a toxic wave. My hands clenched into tight fists. I was shaking with rage. But they outnumbered me. Fighting them physically right now would be foolish. So, I violently shoved a nearby desk. The computer, keyboard, and files crashed to the floor with a loud bang. The door of the manager’s office at the very end of the hall finally swung open. Howard roared, “Who the hell is making all this noise?!” I smirked. “Howard! Get out here and control your staff. They are literally stepping on their boss!” I sneered in my head. Elena, and all you enablers, I will make you pay.

Howard’s arrival made the crowd instantly shut their mouths. I looked at the smug Elena and said coldly, “Now, pack your trash and get the hell out of here!” But she didn’t move. Instead, she raised her chin even higher. I frowned. To my surprise, Howard walked right past me. He bowed and scraped to Elena with a disgusting, sycophantic smile. “Oh, Elena, sweetie! I just got a call from Mr. Grant. I had no idea you had a relationship with him! Forget a full-time offer—if you want my manager position, it’s yours!” Everyone gasped. My frown deepened. Mr. Grant? Which Mr. Grant? Elena raised her chin proudly, a pink flush of vanity on her cheeks. “Julian is so extra. I told him I wanted to get into this company on my own merit. I can’t believe he still called you.” The office erupted into whispers. “Julian Grant?! Elena actually knows Julian Grant? They must be really close!” “I can’t believe Elena has such a powerful boyfriend but still worked so hard and treated us so nicely. Unlike some trash who sleeps with the manager and bullies Elena!” I ignored their whispers. My mind was a complete mess. Julian Grant… Wasn’t that the fiancé my parents arranged for me? Elena looked down her nose at me. “Howard, I don’t care about some entry-level job. I’m going to be Mrs. Grant soon. I was just here to experience how the commoners live. But this bitch dared to insult me and pretend to be the owner. She needs a lesson.” With that, she violently slapped me across the face. The force of the blow made my knees buckle. I fell to the floor, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. I was furious. I grew up pampered by my parents and spoiled by Liam. I had never received such humiliation in my entire life. I grabbed a cup of hot coffee from a nearby desk and threw it right at Elena’s face. She let out a piercing shriek. Her face contorted in pain. “Ah! My face!” “Howard! Destroy her!” I stood my ground. Howard should know who I am. He wouldn’t dare touch me unless he wanted to ruin his own career. But apparently, Howard didn’t care about his career anymore. He grabbed my wrists, pinning them behind my back. His greasy eyes traveled up and down my body as he dragged me into his private office. The coworkers watched the show, and not a single person stepped in to help. He threw me onto the couch. The sound of the door locking made a chill of dread run down my spine. I quietly reached into my pocket, trying to call Liam on Snapchat. But Howard slapped the phone out of my hand. The screen shattered into pieces on the floor. Howard sneered, showing his yellow, decaying teeth. “You little bitch! Trying to call for help? No way! Do you know who you messed with? That’s Julian Grant’s woman!” He leaned in closer, whispering creepily, “Since everyone already thinks you’re sleeping with me, and you do have a pretty face… why don’t you just submit to me?” He leaned down, sniffing my neck. I felt like throwing up. I screamed, “Get the hell off me! I am Liam Monroe’s sister! I am the new CEO! Touch me and I will make sure you rot in prison!” Howard didn’t believe a word. He violently tore open my shirt. The cold air hitting my skin made goosebumps break out all over my body. “You’re the CEO? Then I’m the King of England! It’s only your second day here and you’re already talking out of your ass. Do you think I’m stupid?” He pinned me down with his heavy body. I couldn’t move. I fought with all my might, but the physical difference was too great. As I struggled, I suddenly saw a row of tripods and cameras set up right outside the glass window of his office. They were live-streaming this!

Elena stood outside, a sadistic smile on her face. She yelled into her phone, “Come look, everyone! The new girl, Chloe Monroe, tried to seduce the department manager to steal my job! I worked so hard for three months, and she tried to take it away by selling her body! Where is the justice?!” Inside, Howard suddenly let go of me, dropped to his knees, and squeezed out fake tears. “I’m a married man! She drugged my coffee and forced herself into my office! She even threatened to commit suicide if I didn’t give her the job!” Howard changed his face faster than a professional actor. In just a few words, he made me the predator. This “office scandal” drama instantly attracted over a hundred thousand viewers to the TikTok live stream. The comments section went wild, demanding I be fired and canceled. Vile insults flooded the screen. “Is this the girl from the local strip club?” “I’d pay fifty bucks to have her for a night.” “People these days will do anything for money. So shameless!” “Can we get some sympathy for the manager? He has a family to feed. He was forced into this!” As the viewer count skyrocketed, the internet mob went out of control. Some “righteous” trolls photoshopped my face onto pornographic images and shared them across Twitter. Others created memorial photos of me, telling me to go kill myself. Elena watched the comments roll in, laughing hysterically. She was waiting for me to go crazy and break down. I silently buttoned my shirt. I could have tried to explain, but my identity would be revealed sooner or later. Why not play along with them? I wanted to teach them a lesson: the higher you climb, the harder you fall. So, I stayed silent and waited. But my silence only angered Elena. She scowled, her eyes glinting with madness. She smiled at the camera. “Guys, to rid society of this trash, we need to teach her a real lesson. Let’s play a little game. Let’s call it ‘The Human Puppet’!” “Whatever you guys comment in the chat, I will do to her in real life!” The live stream erupted in cheers. A terrible feeling of dread washed over me. In the next second, Elena burst into the office and ripped my earring straight out of my earlobe. Blood dripped down my neck. The sharp pain made me break into a cold sweat. “First command completed! Keep them coming, guys! The best idea gets a ten-thousand-dollar cash prize!” The atmosphere in the office turned electric. Realizing things were getting dangerous, I found an opening, pushed past her, and ran out of the office toward the elevator. But the moment I got out, my coworkers formed a human wall, blocking me. “Where do you think you’re going?! You stole Elena’s job! You brought this on yourself, and we’re not letting you go. Justice will be served today!” My nails dug into my palms. I felt a mixture of rage and absolute disbelief. Elena walked over slowly. “Why the rush? The game has just begun. The second command is… burning her face with a cigarette.” “Such pretty skin. It’s almost a pity. But I already made a promise to my viewers, and I can’t break it. You’ll just have to bear with it, sweetie.” With a sick smile, Elena picked up a lit cigarette from an ashtray and thrust it toward my cheek. I tried to dodge, but Howard held my head tightly from behind. The burning cherry of the cigarette sank into my cheek. The pain was excruciating, like my bones were being crushed. I couldn’t help but scream, tears streaming down my face. “Elena, I will fucking kill you!” I leaned forward and bit her hand hard. Elena shrieked and jumped back. “Let go, you bitch! That hurts! You dare to fight back? I guess we’re being too easy on you!” She looked at me like I was a piece of meat on a chopping block. After her anger passed, she sneered again. “Oh, don’t be so mad. The game isn’t over yet!” Elena scrolled through her phone. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with excitement. “Strip her naked and make her run. Hahaha! Who came up with that? You just won ten thousand dollars!” I gasped, my heart hammering against my ribs. These people were absolute monsters! Elena ordered the coworkers to strip me. I fought with everything I had, but three male coworkers pinned me to the ground, leaving me with zero room to resist. Soon, I was stripped down to my bra and underwear, shivering in the cold office air. Howard’s disgusting, rough hands began to touch my skin. Elena pointed the camera directly at my exposed body. The crowd cheered. The viewers in the live stream were still spamming commands, complaining they didn’t win the cash prize. What kind of world was this? Just because of a stupid job, what did I do to deserve this? I closed my eyes in despair, ready to give up. A single tear rolled down my temple. Just then, a booming, angry voice echoed through the hallway. “What the hell are you all doing during work hours?! Do you all want to be fired?!” I opened my eyes and looked toward the entrance. My heart skipped a beat. It was Julian Grant!

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452029”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

I used to be Christian Sterling’s placeholder. But after years of breaking up and making up, Christian convinced me—and himself—that I was his true love. He claimed Summer Vance, his gilded muse, was ancient history. Once the misunderstandings were cleared, we finally tied the knot in a lavish wedding. But only a year into our marriage, I discovered he was still collecting memorabilia of his precious Summer. And worse? I was just one of his many collectibles. A leopard never changes its spots. So, I decided to pack my bags, drain his bank accounts, and run. Traveling the world with over a hundred million dollars in my pocket sounds infinitely better than being the miserable Mrs. Sterling, doesn’t it? On our first wedding anniversary, I spent four hours slow-cooking Christian’s favorite organic chicken broth. I stood in the dining room, looking up at our wedding portrait on the wall. In the photo, Christian’s eyes were filled with an intense, melting tenderness. Everyone in our social circle said I, Vivian Lane, must have won the husband lottery. They said it was a miracle I went from being Summer’s cheap replacement to the official Mrs. Sterling. It was no secret in high society that Christian had an ex-girlfriend he loved to his very bones: Summer Vance. After Summer moved abroad, Christian met me. Because my eyes and brows looked about seventy percent like hers, he began to pursue me with a near-obsessive intensity. I had suffered and struggled because of it. I even tried to cut ties completely. But Christian’s gentle, relentless affection was suffocatingly perfect. After breaking up and getting back together more times than I could count, my heart finally softened. He would drive thirty miles in the dead of winter just to deliver a hot matcha latte to my office when I worked late. He would cancel million-dollar contracts just to stay by my side at the hospital when I caught a fever. And when his elitist parents looked down on my family background, he held my hand firmly and declared to the media, “I’m marrying Vivian, and no one else.” He proved with his actions that I wasn’t anyone’s shadow. He loved me. Vivian. At our wedding, he slipped a massive diamond ring onto my finger, kissed the back of my hand with absolute devotion, and choked up. “Vivian, thank you for finally showing me the way home.” At that moment, I believed I was the happiest woman alive. Our first year of marriage was pure bliss. He spoiled me like a princess, granting my every whim. I truly believed that the chapter about his gilded muse had been closed forever. Until today. In his private study, I found a beautifully wrapped velvet box. It was palm-sized, emerald green, and tied with a silver silk ribbon. It looked incredibly expensive. My heart began to hammer against my ribs. Was this our anniversary gift? But he had already given me a diamond tennis bracelet this morning. With trembling fingers, I untied the ribbon. The box clicked open. Inside lay a necklace. It was a platinum chain with a small, intricately carved crescent moon pendant. It was stunning, but it wasn’t my style at all. I only wore minimalist, geometric jewelry. Christian knew this; every gift he bought me always aligned perfectly with my aesthetic. The smile froze on my face. Could it be…? I stared at the crescent moon, and a name screamed in my head—Summer. Summer Vance was obsessed with anything related to the moon and stars. I remembered seeing an old photo of her. On her wrist, she had worn a moon-shaped bracelet. A cold shiver ran down my spine, making me shake violently. Suddenly, the front door clicked. Christian was home. As if burned, I snapped the box shut and shoved it back into the depths of the drawer. I rushed out of the study, forcing a natural smile. “You’re home! Go wash your hands, dinner is almost ready.” Christian walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Nothing beats coming home to you. That broth smells amazing. You’re the best, Vivian.” His warm breath brushed against my ear, but I couldn’t stop myself from trembling slightly. At the dinner table, I acted casual. “Oh, by the way, I stopped by your office today. I noticed your assistant was wearing a new bracelet. A moon shape. Is that style trending lately?” Christian’s hand paused mid-air. “Oh, that? It was just a corporate gift from a vendor. They sent a bunch to her department. Just some cheap retail stuff, I didn’t really look at it.” He spoke too fast, too smoothly. It sounded like a script he had rehearsed a thousand times in his head. My heart sank into a cold, dark abyss. We had been together for three years and married for one. I thought I knew everything about him. Yet, at this moment, I realized with terrifying clarity that Christian lied just as beautifully as he whispered sweet nothings. That night, I blamed a headache and slept facing away from him. At midnight, his phone screen lit up. A notification popped up. I squinted, reading the text clearly in the dim light. The contact name was: Luna 🌙

The text read: “Thank you for the necklace, Mr. Sterling. I love it so much.” Luna. The moon. That crescent moon necklace that wasn’t meant for me. I closed my eyes, feeling like a drowning victim. My seemingly perfect marriage was sinking into a pitch-black ocean. So, I wasn’t the end of his search for a replacement. I was just a temporary port. And now, a new “moon” had arrived. The next day, I was completely checked out. The name “Luna” was like a poisoned thorn festering in my chest. In the afternoon, I fabricated a lie about dropping off some urgent financial documents and drove over to his corporate headquarters. Instead of torturing myself with doubts, I wanted to see the truth. Some things must be seen with your own eyes before you can completely let go. Christian’s company occupied the top floors of a prestigious skyscraper in the financial district. The receptionist immediately offered a sweet, professional smile. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Sterling. Mr. Sterling is in a board meeting. Would you like to wait in the executive lounge?” “No, thank you. I’ll just wait here,” I replied with a polite smile, but my eyes were already scanning the open-concept office space. I had imagined a hundred versions of “Luna.” Maybe she was a sultry femme fatale, or a sharp, sophisticated corporate climber. But I never expected her to look like this. Near the reception desk, a girl in a white sundress was laughing and chatting with a coworker. She had long, straight, jet-black hair—exactly like Summer’s in those college photos. When she laughed, the corners of her eyes tilted down slightly, giving her an innocent, vulnerable look. But most importantly, around her pale neck, the silver crescent moon pendant caught the harsh fluorescent light, glaring right into my eyes. My blood turned to ice. The resemblance was uncanny. She looked far more like a young, flawless Summer than I did now. Over the years of our marriage, I had gradually shed the awkward, imitated habits of Summer and become more like my true self. The irony was painful. I thought I was finally allowed to be Vivian, but it turned out the ghost of Summer was the only thing that actually mattered to him. A passing employee waved at her. “Hey, Luna, grab lunch with us later?” The girl beamed. “Sure thing!” Luna. So her real name was Luna Brooks. I caught sight of her intern badge: Luna Brooks, Marketing Intern. An intern. Christian’s lie was a brutal slap to my face, leaving it burning with humiliation. “Corporate vendor gift?” “Sent to her whole department?” All complete garbage. He had deliberately gone out of his way to buy a special welcoming gift for this fresh, new replica of his ex. While I stood there frozen, the conference room doors opened. Christian emerged, flanked by a dozen executives. He spotted me immediately. He walked over quickly, naturally wrapping his arm around my waist in front of everyone. “Vivian? What are you doing here? You should have called.” His hand was warm against my lower back, but it made me shudder. I looked past his shoulder, staring directly at Luna. Luna was looking back at us. Her gaze flickered between Christian and me with a mix of curiosity and subtle calculation. Christian clearly noticed where I was looking. His body went rigid for a split second. Then, he did something that made my heart turn to ash. He turned around and called out in a professional, yet overly familiar tone, “Luna, come over here for a second.”

Luna walked over with light, airy steps, looking as innocent as a lamb. “Vivian, this is our new marketing intern, Luna Brooks.” Christian’s voice was smooth, showing no cracks. “Luna, this is my wife.” “Luna.” He called her by her first name, so casually, right in front of me. Luna smiled, her eyes crinkling into sweet half-moons. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sterling. I’m Luna. Everyone in the office talks about you. They say you and Mr. Sterling are goals.” She tilted her head up, and that crescent moon necklace dangled right before my eyes. It was blinding. My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. But I knew I couldn’t lose my cool now. I forced a elegant, poised smile. “Nice to meet you, Luna. You must be highly capable to land an internship at Sterling Corp at such a young age.” I gently tightened my grip on Christian’s arm, claiming my territory with a soft but firm tone. “Christian has notoriously high standards when it comes to work.” I emphasized “Christian” and “my husband” with subtle precision. Luna’s smile faltered for a microsecond before returning to its sweet mask. “You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Sterling. I’ll make sure to work even harder.” She was good. The defiance in her eyes was practically dripping, yet she played the naive girl flawlessly. Christian seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He patted my hand and told Luna, “Alright, get back to work.” Then he whispered to me, “Come on, let’s go home.” Back in the quiet interior of our Bentley, the silence was suffocating. It wasn’t until we merged onto the highway that I finally broke the quiet. “That necklace wasn’t a vendor gift, was it?” I stared out the window at the passing city skyline, my voice as flat as if I were discussing the weather. Christian’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. He let out a long, weary sigh. “Vivian, do we really have to do this?” “Do what?” I turned my head to look at him. “Is it wrong of me to ask? Or did you plan on lying to me forever?” “I wasn’t trying to lie to you!” His voice spiked, laced with the irritation of being caught. “Fine. I bought her the necklace. She’s just an intern, okay? She moved here all by herself from a small town, working crazy hours, struggling to make rent. I felt bad for her and wanted to show some support. That’s it!” “Support?” I let out a cold laugh. “Since when does the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company personally curate jewelry for struggling interns? Should I write you a card praising your charity work?” “Vivian!” Christian slammed his hand on the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve slightly. He took a deep breath, softening his tone. “I just… when I look at her, I see a bit of Summer when she was younger. You know I’ve moved on. But seeing someone who looks like her brings back old memories. I lied because I didn’t want you to overthink it. It was just a stupid, nostalgic whim. Can we please just drop it?” Summer. He brought her up again. Then he started listing all the sweet things we had done over the past year, trying to prove how much he cared about me. “Does our entire marriage mean less to you than your paranoia over an intern?” he pleaded, grabbing my hand. His pain looked so genuine. “Vivian, stop overthinking. I love you. I’ve always loved you. Let’s just put this behind us.” I slowly pulled my hand back and turned to look out the window. I didn’t say another word. When we got home, Christian went out of his way to please me. He poured me water, massaged my shoulders, and constantly checked my expression. I didn’t resist, but I didn’t respond either. I was a lifeless doll. When he went to take a shower, I walked back into his study like a ghost. This time, my target wasn’t the desk drawer. My eyes landed on the massive, floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelf. Christian had a habit: he always hid his most precious secrets in plain sight. Taking a deep breath, I began pulling down the heavy, leather-bound volumes one by one. Finally, in the deepest corner of the bottom shelf, my fingers brushed against cold metal. It was a small, built-in digital safe. My heart leaped into my throat. What was the passcode? My birthday? Our anniversary? Or… Summer’s birthday? WWith trembling fingers, I typed in Summer’s birthdate based on what I remembered from his old archives. With a soft click, the safe door popped open.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452028”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

On the day I was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, I also received a phone call from the billionaire Vance family, claiming I was their long-lost biological daughter. The doctor told me that the surgery and follow-up treatments would cost at least a hundred thousand dollars. So, without a second thought, I threw my beat-up backpack over my shoulder and headed straight to the Vance estate. Even though I knew they didn’t want me there. The mansion was breathtakingly luxurious, but my eyes were only searching for the person who could write me a check. In the living room, my biological parents were gently cradling their adopted daughter, Lily, whispering sweet comforts to her. Lily was crying her eyes out, looking as if my return meant I was going to skin her alive. I stood at the doorway, the mud from the gritty suburbs still sticking to the soles of my sneakers. My biological father, Arthur Vance, frowned at me. “Now that you’re back, you will follow the rules in this house.” “This is Lily. She is your older sister. Though we aren’t blood-related, she is our real daughter in every way that matters.” “Don’t even dream of replacing her. To the public, we will introduce you as our adopted daughter.” My biological mother, Eleanor, added coldly, “Your room is next to the maid’s quarters. Don’t come to the main building unless you have to. Don’t scare Lily.” If I had grown up in a privileged environment like this, I probably would have burst into tears, demanding to know why they were treating me this way. But years of being bullied in the orphanage and abused by foster parents had beaten any fragile sensitivity out of me. I used to starve myself just to beg for a crumb of affection. But now? My mind was filled with nothing but that $100,000 medical bill. I looked up, letting my gaze drift past their disgusted faces, and let it rest on the Patek Philippe watch on Arthur’s wrist. Then, I nodded. “Deal.”

Lily’s crying stopped instantly. Arthur hadn’t expected me to be so submissive. He froze for a second. “I only have one condition.” I held out my hand, palm up. It was rough, covered in thick calluses from years of hard labor. “Give me a hundred thousand dollars.” The living room fell into a dead, suffocating silence. The disgust in Eleanor’s eyes practically boiled over. “As expected of a girl raised in the slums. Money is the only thing that comes out of your mouth. Absolutely no manners!” Lily chimed in with a timid, fragile voice. “Hazel, Mom and Dad just brought you home. How can you… talk about money? It hurts our family’s feelings.” I looked at them expressionlessly. If we don’t talk about money, what should we talk about? Should we talk about how you lost me for eighteen years? Or should we talk about how you were throwing a lavish birthday party for Lily while my foster father was cracking a beer bottle over my head? I didn’t even bother to explain that this money was to save my life. In their eyes, a piece of trash like me getting a terminal illness would probably just be seen as bad luck rubbing off on them. “Give me the money, and I will play along with whatever happy family drama you want.” “Don’t give it to me, and I walk out that door right now to find the media. We can talk about the dirty secrets of the Vance family’s real and fake daughters.” I was completely calm. My voice didn’t even tremble. Arthur’s face turned violently pale. This was his biological daughter—drenched in the smell of cheap money, without a single shred of family affection. He whipped out his checkbook, scribbled a series of numbers, and threw the check right at my face. “Take the money and shut up!” “This hundred thousand dollars buys out your greed. From now on, your monthly allowance is five hundred dollars. Not a single penny more!” The check fluttered lightly onto the floor. I bent down and picked it up. I blew the dust off it. Perfect. The first round of chemotherapy was covered. I slipped the check into my pocket and gave them a textbook-perfect bow. “Thank you, Mr. Vance. Thank you, Mrs. Vance.” “As long as the money keeps coming, I will be a ghost in this house.” “I’ll even cry the loudest at your funerals.” With that, I grabbed my bag and walked straight toward the maid’s room. Behind me, Eleanor shrieked in rage, while Lily offered her fake, soothing comfort. I shut the door, and the world finally went quiet. Feeling a sharp, throbbing pain in the back of my head, I pulled a bottle of painkillers from my bag and chewed two tablets dry. The bitter taste exploded in my mouth. It’s okay, Hazel. You have the money now. You get to live. As long as you can survive, who cares if you have to play the dog?

The school the Vance family sent me to was St. Jude’s Academy, an elite private high school. It was also Lily’s home turf. On my first day, the family chauffeur refused to let me in the car. He looked at me and said, “Sorry, Hazel. There’s no room left in the SUV. You’ll have to find your own way.” It was a seven-seater Lincoln Navigator. Only Lily was sitting in the back. I didn’t argue. I turned around, found a public rental bike, and unlocked it. A forty-minute bike ride was great cardio anyway. When I finally walked into the classroom, homeroom had just started. As a transfer student, I was assigned to the very last row, right next to the trash can. Lily was sitting in the center of the room, surrounded by a crowd like a queen bee, handing out high-end macarons from a Michelin-starred bakery. “My mom baked these herself. Please try some, everyone.” The classroom was filled with high-pitched praise. But the moment I walked in, all the voices dropped to whispers. “Is that the biological daughter from the slums?” “I heard she threw a massive tantrum at home just to extort a hundred thousand dollars from her parents. She’s desperate for cash.” “Stay away from her. I heard she used to hang out with gang members.” Lily walked over to my desk holding a small box of macarons, a fake, sweet smile plastered on her face. “Hazel, have some. I know you’ve probably never tasted anything this fancy before.” I was busy solving an AP Calculus practice exam. I didn’t even look up. “No, thanks. The sugar content is too high. It slows down my brain cells.” Lily’s hand froze mid-air. The classroom instantly erupted. “Hazel! What is your problem? Lily is just trying to be nice!” “Seriously, stop acting like you’re above us. Do you even understand a single question on that test paper?” I was getting annoyed. Time was literally life for me. Every single minute had to be spent studying, winning scholarships, and getting into an Ivy League school. After all, the top scholarship was worth twenty thousand dollars. I raised my head and locked eyes with the boy who was yelling the loudest. “That derivative problem you’ve been staring at… you’ve been trying to solve it for three periods now, haven’t you?” The boy stammered, “How… how did you know?” “Your auxiliary line is wrong. You should draw the tangent line through point A.” I grabbed his pen and quickly wrote down three lines of calculations on his scratch paper. “The rest is just plugging in the formula. A middle schooler could do it.” I tossed the pen back to him and buried my face back into my books. “Don’t annoy me. I’m busy.” The entire classroom fell dead silent. The boy stared at the steps I wrote, his eyes practically popping out of his skull. Lily bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes as if she had just suffered the ultimate betrayal. “Hazel… are you still mad at me for taking your place?” “If it’s because of that, I am so sorry…” Again with this act. Impatiently, I pulled a printed paper with my PayPal QR code from my backpack and slapped it onto my desk. “Want to watch me play the loving sister? Sure.” “Scan and pay. One hundred dollars per scene.” “Two hundred for a chat, five hundred to act with you, and one thousand if you want me to take the blame for something.” “Small business, cash only. No credit.” Lily froze completely. The rich kids watching the drama were entirely dumbfounded. Ignoring their ridiculous faces, I went back to solving my geometry problems. In this house, nobody got my attention unless they were paying for it. At lunch, I ordered the cheapest salad in the cafeteria. I transferred the saved money straight into my medical savings account. As I was eating, my tray was suddenly flipped over. The salad dressing and soup splashed all over my uniform. Chloe Sterling, Lily’s main sidekick, stood over me with her arms crossed, looking down her nose at me. “Hazel, you made Lily cry. Go apologize to her right now.” I looked at the wasted food on the floor, my heart bleeding. That lunch cost fifteen dollars. That was enough to buy a box of antibiotics. I slowly stood up and stared into Chloe’s eyes. “Pay me back.” Chloe laughed as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “What did you say?” “The lunch was fifteen dollars. Dry cleaning for my uniform is fifty. Emotional damage is a hundred.” “One hundred and sixty-five dollars total. Snapchat or PayPal?” Chloe’s laugh turned into a scowl. She pulled two hundred-dollar bills from her designer purse and slammed them onto the floor. “You poor freak! Pick it up! Pick it up and I’ll let you go!” Humiliating me? If I were in their shoes, maybe I would feel embarrassed. But now? I knelt down, picked up the two bills, and carefully wiped the dressing off them. Thirty-five dollars extra. I made a profit. I pocketed the money, looked at Chloe, and asked with absolute sincerity, “Do you want to throw another tray? I’ll give you a twenty percent discount this time.” Chloe looked at me as if I were a literal monster. “Psychopath… you are a complete psychopath!” She turned and ran away in panic. I went back to the counter, bought two cheap bread rolls, washed them down with the free water, and ate happily. As long as I could stay alive. Dignity meant absolutely nothing.

On the first district mock exam, I took first place. Out of a total score of 1600 on the SAT mock prep, I got 1590. The only ten points I lost were on the essay, because my handwriting was too messy. I had been rushing to finish so I could write essay papers for lazy rich college kids online. I needed quick cash. The moment the report card was posted on the bulletin board, the whole school went wild. Lily had placed tenth. The crowd that usually showered her with compliments fell quiet, and her face turned paper-white. But I didn’t expect that when I got home, instead of congratulations, a trial was waiting for me. Arthur slammed my report card onto the coffee table. “You cheated! This is utterly embarrassing!” “The Vance family might be wealthy, but we do not tolerate academic fraud!” “You barely passed your classes in that trashy public school, and suddenly you’re first in the district? Do you think I’m an idiot?” Eleanor chimed in from the side. “Lily has had Ivy League tutors since she was a child to get tenth place. A wild girl like you? How could you possibly beat her?” How? Because I used to collect cardboard boxes in the slums just to exchange them for old textbooks. Because I hand-copied entire library workbooks to save money on prep materials. Because I wanted to live. I stood in the center of the living room. My head was throbbing violently. The tumor was probably pressing against my nerves again. I felt a warm trickle of blood starting to leave my nose. I sniffed hard, forcing it back. “I didn’t cheat.” My voice was hoarse, and I had to fight to keep it from trembling. “If you don’t have proof, this is slander.” Lily walked over with red eyes and grabbed Arthur’s hand. “Dad, don’t blame Hazel. Maybe… maybe she just wanted to prove herself to us too badly.” “Hazel, just go to the principal and admit it. We won’t be mad at you.” The scent of her fake pity was sickening. I let out a cold laugh. “You want proof?” “The National Math Olympiad is next week. St. Jude’s has two spots.” “They were supposed to go to Lily and Ethan Knight.” “I want one of those spots.” Arthur looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. “You want to go to the Olympiad? Is that a place for someone like you?” “What if I win the gold medal?” I looked him dead in the eye, my gaze burning. Arthur sneered. “If you win the gold medal, I will give you one million dollars!” “But if you lose, you pack your bags and get the hell out of the Vance family. Never show your face here again!” “Deal.” I agreed instantly. As I turned to go to my room, I heard Eleanor whispering behind me, “She is insane. Lily, sweetie, ignore her. Focus on your preparation. Don’t let her ruin your focus.” The second I shut my bedroom door, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I rushed to the bathroom and threw up blood. Staring at the crimson liquid in the sink, I turned on the faucet to wash it away. One million dollars. That was enough for the best minimally invasive surgery and the most advanced targeted drugs. I was putting my life on this bet. The next day at school, I went straight to the academic dean to demand my spot. The dean looked troubled. “Hazel, even though you got the highest score on the mock exam, the Olympiad is a completely different level of difficulty…” “Just let her take a test.” A cool, calm voice came from the doorway. It was Ethan Knight. The legend of St. Jude’s Academy, the guy who had held the number-one spot for years, and the future son-in-law the Vance family wanted for Lily. He leaned against the doorframe, twirling a pen in his fingers, watching me with an unreadable expression. “This is last year’s national final paper. If you can finish it in an hour and get a passing grade, I’ll give you my spot.” The dean gasped. “Ethan, don’t play around!” I looked at Ethan. He was incredibly handsome, but his eyes were too sharp, as if he could see right through my decaying body. “I don’t need you to give me anything.” I walked over and snatched the test paper from his hand. “We will take it together.” “Whoever gets the higher score gets the spot.” Ethan raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. “Fine.” For the next hour, the dean’s office became the center of attention for the entire school. Lily and her friends crowded outside the window, waiting to watch me humiliate myself. At the forty-minute mark, I put down my pen. “Done.” Two minutes later, Ethan also put his pen down. The dean’s hands shook as he graded the papers. “Ethan… ninety-eight percent.” Outside, Lily let out a sigh of relief, a smile starting to form on her face. “Hazel… one hundred percent.” “A perfect score?!” The dean’s voice cracked. I stood up, but because I got up too fast, my vision went black for a second. I gripped the edge of the desk to steady myself and looked at Ethan. “Thanks.” Ethan stared at me for a moment, then reached into his pocket and handed me a chocolate bar. “Low blood sugar?” I didn’t take it. “Can’t afford to pay you back. I don’t take charity.” Ethan’s hand paused, then he slipped the chocolate directly into my blazer pocket. “It’s payment for the shortcut you used on the final question.” I felt the warmth of the chocolate through my pocket. Since it was a trade, I’d keep it. After all, I really needed the energy right now.

On the day of the Olympiad, Lily came along too. Even though she couldn’t beat me, the Vance family had used their connections to get her an alternate spot. In the van, she kept staring at my backpack. My admission ticket and ID card were in there. When we arrived at the test center, Lily suddenly clutched her stomach and crouched down. “Oh my god, it hurts… my stomach hurts so bad…” The Vance family driver panicked and immediately got out of the car to help her. In the chaos, I felt someone bump into me. By the time I realized what had happened, my backpack zipper was halfway open. My admission ticket was gone. Lily had a tiny, barely visible smirk on her face as the driver helped her walk toward the medical tent. “Hazel, go inside. Don’t worry about me.” A classic distraction and theft. If this had been the old me, I would have panicked. But I only gave her a cold look, turned around, and walked straight to the registration office. “Excuse me, I lost my physical ticket and my ID card.” The proctor frowned. “Then you can’t enter the hall.” “But I remember my candidate number.” “And I have my digital ID saved on my phone.” In this digital age, Lily’s petty tricks were laughably outdated. Besides, Ethan had already warned me. Last night, he had sent me a message on Snapchat: Lily is up to something. Keep your eyes open. I successfully entered the exam room. The moment the exam papers were handed out, the entire world went silent. Those numbers and symbols weren’t boring formulas to me. They were the secret codes to my survival. Every question I solved felt like another beat of my heart. The final question was incredibly difficult. It involved advanced college-level topology. I bit down on the end of my pen, a sharp, excruciating pain blooming in my head. It felt like a drill was boring into my brain. Cold sweat poured down my forehead, dripping onto the paper. I couldn’t collapse. Not here. Not now. I pinched my thigh hard, using the physical pain to force my mind to stay conscious. I got it. Just as I wrote down the final formula, the buzzer rang, signaling the end of the exam. Walking out of the building, I saw Arthur and Eleanor anxiously crowding around Lily. Lily had tears in her eyes. “Mom, Dad… I couldn’t solve the last two questions… I don’t think I’ll win any awards.” Eleanor hugged her tightly. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s the effort that counts. You weren’t feeling well anyway.” Seeing me walk out, Arthur’s face instantly darkened. “You actually have the nerve to walk out of there? You lost your admission ticket on purpose, didn’t you? You were just scared of failing and getting caught!” Lily acted surprised. “Hazel, you got in? How did you get in without a ticket?” I had no energy left to waste on them. “Get that one million dollars ready.” The moment those words left my mouth, I felt a rush of warm liquid pouring out of my nose. It wouldn’t stop. The bright red blood dripped onto my white school uniform. My vision began to blur, and the world started to spin. “Stop acting! Do you think a little nosebleed is going to make us feel sorry for you?” Arthur took a step back in disgust, terrified of getting blood on his expensive suit. My knees buckled, and I collapsed straight onto the hard concrete. As I fell, the contents of my backpack spilled everywhere. Along with my pencil case, a thick black ledger rolled out. Lily’s sharp eyes caught it, and she quickly snatched it up. “What is this? This is why you keep demanding money from us, isn’t it?” She opened the first page and read out loud in a dramatic voice: “September 1st: Received $100,000. Expenses: Chemotherapy deposit $20,000, targeted cancer drugs $80,000…” Lily’s voice suddenly died in her throat. Arthur snatched the ledger from her hands. “What is this trash? You made up a fake ledger just to scam us for more money?” He furiously flipped the pages, and a dozen medical receipts and diagnosis sheets fluttered out of the book. My latest medical report, printed just a week ago, landed right next to his leather shoe. The red hospital stamp on the paper read: [Patient: Hazel Vance. Diagnosis: Glioblastoma, Stage IV. Immediate surgical intervention recommended. Life expectancy without surgery: Less than three months.] The air around us seemed to freeze solid. I lay on the cold concrete floor, my consciousness slipping away. The last thing I saw was Ethan frantically pushing through the crowd, running toward me like a madman. And Arthur’s face, which had turned completely, horrifyingly pale.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452027”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

I married my sister’s broke boyfriend. Everyone in our social circle laughed at me. They said I was an idiot for throwing away my chance at a high-society marriage just to pick up Vivian’s trash. For three years, I stayed by his side. We struggled through the dirt, and I watched him climb from a nobody to the city’s hottest new tech mogul. But then, the rumors started. Flirty influencers began buzzing around him, and I found a bright red lipstick stain inside his suit pocket. Without a word, I handed him the divorce papers. But Liam ripped them into shreds. With bloodshot eyes, he pinned me against the wall, his voice shaking: “Tell me the truth, Clara—” “Did you only marry me because my face looks exactly like your dead first love?” My phone screen lit up just as I was balancing this month’s household accounts. Liam’s name popped up with a single text: “Late business dinner tonight. Don’t wait up.” My finger hovered over the clear button on my calculator, unable to press down. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sky was pitch black. A heavy rain was about to fall, making the air stifling. This penthouse was located in the most expensive tech district in the city. The soundproofing was too good. It was so quiet that I could hear my own shallow, anxious breathing. How many times had he stayed out late this month? Five? Six? It didn’t use to be like this. Three years ago, I took all the savings I had—money I’d spent years scraping together to open a small flower shop—and pushed the check across the table to Liam. He stared at me, his dark eyes deep and unreadable, like an endless cold abyss. “Clara,” he called my name, his voice flat and emotionless. “Think carefully. If you stay with me, you’ll be eating dirt for a long time.” I looked down, avoiding his eyes, my fingers curling tightly under the cold wooden table. “I couldn’t just watch your startup go under,” I said, my voice dry. At that time, he had just been kicked out of our house by my status-obsessed father, Arthur. Along with Liam’s pride, Arthur had crushed his years of hard work, stealing his tech project right before it could launch. My half-sister, Vivian, was supposed to be the tragic heroine of their love story. But after crying a few dramatic tears about “having no choice,” she quickly moved on. My father set her up with a billionaire heir, and she didn’t look back. Then came the “accident.” A setup where Liam and I were caught in the same bed by the paparazzi. Vivian cried like a victim. My father went ballistic, pointing his finger at my face, calling me a shameless slut who seduced her sister’s man. I stood tall, taking the insults in silence. The result? I, Clara Miller—the neglected, forgotten older daughter—was forced to marry the broke boyfriend who had nothing left but his pride and a ruined project. The wedding was pathetic. No one from my family showed up. On Liam’s side, there were only a few struggling friends. When he slipped the simple silver band onto my finger, his hands were freezing. His eyes were even colder. There was no hug. No kiss. The officiant awkwardly tried to laugh it off, saying, “The groom must be nervous!” But I knew he wasn’t nervous. It was a mix of humiliation, resentment, and a cold acceptance of his fate. He needed money. He needed seed funding. And I had handed it to him, along with the title of his wife. Even if that title was born from a trap and built on a lie. Our marriage ran like a clock. He basically lived at the office, working day and night. I quit my easy but dead-end receptionist job and got a high-paying, exhausting corporate gig to pay for our rent and groceries. We shared the same bed, but we slept on opposite sides, leaving a massive, cold gap between us. For the first six months, he barely touched me. On the rare occasions he did, it felt like he was just fulfilling a duty. He was distant and overly polite. In the dark, I would keep my eyes open, listening to his steady breathing, feeling entirely empty inside. When did things start to change? Probably after his company secured its first major round of venture capital. He still came home late, but he smelled less of cheap alcohol. The exhaustion on his face was replaced by a sharp, commanding edge. The way he looked at me changed, too. It was no longer pure ice. Sometimes, he would study me, trying to figure me out. Then, he started giving me money. A lot of it. He gave me black cards with no limit. Personal shoppers from luxury brands would text me, saying Mr. Vance had ordered the latest collection for me. We moved into a massive house—this very penthouse. He got me a private chauffeur, so I didn’t have to squeeze onto the subway anymore. Materially, he gave me a life of luxury that my father had never allowed me to have. But we spoke even less. At dinner, the only sound was the clinking of forks against plates. “Busy day?” I would ask. “Fine.” “Is the new project going well?” “Yes.” And then, silence. He didn’t need my meager salary anymore, so I quit my job. I became the perfect “Mrs. Vance.” I spent my days in a hollow, professionally cleaned penthouse. I balanced bills we had more than enough money to pay, and I attended charity galas with other high-society wives. At those parties, I was always the quiet one who didn’t fit in. They talked about diamonds, yacht trips, and vacations in Europe. Eventually, the gossip would crawl back to Liam. “You’re so lucky, Clara. Liam is so young and successful, and he spoils you so much.” “Right? I heard he just bought that prime real estate downtown. Incredible.” “But… Clara, can I give you some advice?” someone would whisper, leaning in with fake sympathy. “My husband saw Liam at a private lounge last week. There was a very pretty secretary next to him. She was practically throwing herself at him…” My fingers would tighten around my delicate teacup, but I forced a calm smile. “Is that so? He’s busy. He has a lot of dinners. It’s normal for his assistant to be there.” Was it normal? I didn’t know. All I knew was that the scent of cologne on Liam’s shirts would occasionally change to brands I didn’t recognize. And once, I found a tissue in his suit pocket. It had a bright red lipstick smudge on it. He started coming home in the middle of the night more and more. Sometimes, beneath the smell of whiskey, there was a sweet, feminine perfume that didn’t belong to me. I had been “Mrs. Vance” for three years. I watched him rise from a broke kid to the man he was today. He stood at the top of the world now, surrounded by applause, money, and endless temptation. And me? I was just a pawn on his chessboard from the very beginning. A temporary, useless piece. Now that he had won the game, was it time for me to leave? A sharp, stabbing pain bloomed in my chest. My phone buzzed again. It was a celebrity gossip alert. The headline was loud: “Tech Billionaire Liam Vance Spotted with Mystery Woman at Late-Night Lounge. New Romance?” I didn’t click it. I didn’t even look at the blurry photo of the woman. It didn’t matter anymore. Whoever she was, it didn’t matter. For three years, I had played my part perfectly. I had been the loyal wife. I had guarded a cold home and a hopeless marriage. I thought time would change things. I thought, eventually, he would stop seeing me as “Vivian’s sister” and finally see me—Clara. But I was wrong. Some things are broken from the start. A substitute is just a substitute. I turned off my phone, stood up, and walked to the window. The glass reflected my pale, hollow face. Outside, the rain finally poured, heavy drops slamming against the glass, tearing down like tears. Let’s end this. This three-year, one-sided show was finally over.

I took a deep breath, walked to my desk, and opened my laptop. On a blank document, I typed five words: Divorce Agreement. It was simple. I wanted nothing. None of the things he gave me over the last three years—not the penthouse, not the cars, not the money. I was leaving with nothing. I would only take my own pre-marriage savings and a few of my clothes. I printed it out. The two sheets of paper felt heavy, as if they had drained all the energy from my body. I placed the agreement on the coffee table in the living room, weighing it down with his crystal ashtray. Then, I packed my bags. One small suitcase was enough to fit my entire life. By the time I was done, it was past midnight. The rain showed no signs of stopping. Suddenly, the front door clicked. Liam was back. He took off his wet coat and hung it up. He brought the chill of the rainy night and a faint scent of alcohol with him, but his eyes were sharp and sober. He walked into the living room, noticing the lights were on. Then, he saw me. And he saw the document sitting on the table. He froze. His gaze locked onto the bold words: Divorce Agreement. The air in the room turned to ice. A few seconds of dead silence passed. He looked up at me, his brow furrowing into a tight line. “What is this?” His voice was lower than usual. I stood by the couch, squeezing the hem of my sweater, trying to keep my voice steady and empty of emotion. “Divorce papers. I’ve signed them. There’s no property to split. I’m waiving alimony. Once you sign, we can file the paperwork.” He looked at the papers again, then back at me, as if he were seeing me for the very first time. The corner of his mouth curved into a cold, mocking smirk. “What? Not enough money? Or are you just tired of playing the good wife after three years?” That smirk felt like a knife twisting in my chest. I looked up, meeting his eyes. In three years, I had rarely looked at him so directly, without hiding. He was handsome. He had deep brown eyes and long lashes. When he didn’t speak, he looked incredibly intense. “Liam,” I said, my voice trembling slightly, though I tried to control it. “Our marriage was just a deal from the start, wasn’t it? You needed funding, and I needed an excuse to escape my father.” “Now, you’re successful. You don’t need my money anymore. And I…” I choked up, my throat tightening. “I’m tired.” He took two steps closer, his tall frame instantly towering over me. His scent—a mix of cold rain, tobacco, and expensive whiskey—filled my senses. “Tired?” He repeated the word, his eyes cutting through me like blades, trying to rip open my calm facade. “Clara, have I ever mistreated you in these three years? The food, the clothes, the lifestyle—didn’t I give you the absolute best? Your greedy father practically begs for my business now. No one in your family dares to look down on you anymore!” His questions pounded against my ears. Yes, he had given me luxury. He had given me status. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I looked at his face, so close to mine. Over the last three years in the corporate world, his boyish charm had faded, replaced by sharp, cold angles. The lamplight cast a shadow across his straight nose. Suddenly, three years of suppressed pain, anger, and grief boiled over. I couldn’t stop myself. I let out a bitter laugh that felt more like a sob. “Yes, you gave me a lot, Liam. But everything you gave me—including this angry, accusing look on your face…” I stared directly into his deep brown eyes. Word by word, I forced out the brutal truth. “Isn’t it all because my face looks a little bit like your perfect ex? The one you lost, the sister you couldn’t have?” The moment the words left my mouth, the room fell dead silent. Only the sound of the rain outside filled the space. Liam’s face froze. His expression was incredibly complex—shock, disbelief, confusion. And for a split second… a flicker of panic, like a man whose deepest, darkest secret had just been exposed. It happened so fast I thought I imagined it. He stared at me, his throat moving as he swallowed hard, trying to speak but failing. His eyes, usually cold and unreadable, were swirling with intense emotions. Time dragged on, each second feeling like an eternity. I expected him to explode, or to laugh coldly and admit it. But instead, he closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, they were red. He spoke, his voice incredibly hoarse, shaking with a desperate pain I had never heard before. “Clara… tell me…” “When you married me…” He paused, as if it took every ounce of his strength to ask the question that had haunted him for three years. “Was it because my face looks just like your dead first love?!” It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. My entire body went rigid, and the blood in my veins turned to ice. Then, my heart hammered violently against my ribs, making my head spin. What… what did he just say? My dead first love? Who? Him? This was absurd! Completely insane! I opened my mouth, but my throat felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. I couldn’t make a sound. I could only watch Liam. I saw the raw, destructive pain and the desperate need for answers in his bloodshot eyes. My chest throbbed. Memories I had locked away—memories of another person—flooded back, smelling of rain and blood. Ethan Carter. That name, along with his bright, lazy smile, hadn’t been mentioned in front of me for years. He died five years ago on a rainy night just like this, in a horrific car crash. But… Ethan and Liam? For the first time, I actually looked at Liam’s face. Those deep brown eyes, the straight nose, even the slight curve of his lips when he frowned… No, it couldn’t be! Ethan was warm, passionate, and bright, like a flame that would never go out. Liam was cold, dark, and silent, like a deep, frozen lake. They were completely different people! “…What nonsense are you talking about?” I finally found my voice. It was cracked and trembling with disbelief. “First love? Did you spy on me?” Liam stared at me, his gaze so sharp it felt like he was peeling back my skin to see my ugliest secrets. He let out a self-deprecating, painful laugh. “Spy on you? Clara, did I even need to?” He stepped closer, his shadow completely swallowing me. The pressure made it hard to breathe. “Ethan Carter.” He said the name clearly. It felt like a bullet hitting the softest part of my heart. “The star student of the Art Institute. He was a year ahead of you. Your little college romance was quite famous, wasn’t it?” His voice was low, each word forced through his teeth. “He loved wearing white shirts. He used to tuck a pencil behind his ear when he painted. And he had a tiny brown mole right under his right eye.” My breath caught. My body went cold. How did he know that? Even Vivian didn’t know those details!

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “452026”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

“Your mother was the Alpha’s mistress. So, what does that make you?” My fated mate, River, asked me this out of nowhere, right before our mating ceremony. I stared at him, completely stunned. “River, what is that supposed to mean?” “It means you’re destined to be a mistress too, sweetheart.” He looked at me with a straight face, completely serious. “I want you to be my secret lover. The Elder Beta’s daughter is a much better fit to be my Luna.” “How dare you?” My eyes widened in disbelief. A fake, apologetic smile crept onto his face. “Come on, you’re just a human anyway. Since your mother could subject herself to being a mistress, why can’t you?” It took me forever to find my voice. “My mother was her, and I am me. I will never be anyone’s mistress.” “Oh, really?” He let out a mocking laugh. “Be my secret lover, or we break up.” “Fine. Let’s break up.” I had sworn to myself that I would never end up like my mother—living as a shadow in someone else’s life, only to meet a tragic end. But River didn’t know that. He reached out and gently patted my head, as if comforting a pet. “Silly girl, stop throwing a tantrum. You don’t even have a wolf. If you leave me, how are you going to survive in the pack?” “Your mother is dead, and Alpha Richard sees you as his ultimate shame. Only by staying with me will no one dare to look down on you.” I let out a soft, bitter laugh. Who said I needed him to survive? I had Aunt Lily. She was a human, but she had built a massive business empire abroad. Just last week, she reached out and asked if I wanted to leave this place and live with her. I had hesitated because I couldn’t bear to leave River. But now… I pulled out my phone and sent her a text. [Aunt Lily, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll go with you.] She replied almost instantly: [That’s wonderful! I’ll send my private jet to pick you up in three days.] I should have been thrilled, but tears started pouring down my face anyway. My chest ached, a sharp, stabbing pain, as if something had ripped a piece of my heart away. I had planned to tell River about Aunt Lily as a surprise. Now, there was no point. Seeing my tears, River assumed I couldn’t bear to lose him. He reached over and wiped a tear from my cheek. “Look at you. You cry the second we talk about breaking up. If I actually left you, you’d probably die of a broken heart, wouldn’t you?” “Stop fighting with me. It won’t end well for you. Just be good and listen to me, and you’ll never have to worry about being helpless again.” I sniffled and stayed quiet. Thinking he had successfully convinced me, River started the engine. But halfway down the road, he suddenly pulled over. “Oh, by the way, starting today, you need to sit in the back seat. Jade said my passenger seat belongs only to her from now on. I promised her, and I can’t break my word.” He turned to look at me. “You know me. I’m a man of my word. I promised to take care of you for life, and even if I marry someone else, I’ll still look after you.” He smiled warmly at the thought. “You probably don’t know yet, but our mating ceremony is in three days. It took me so much effort to get her to agree, so I can’t afford to make her angry. She’s not as easygoing as you. She always says she’s a red rose—if I want her beauty, I have to accept her thorns.” River was completely lost in his sweet fantasy, but I felt as though those thorns had just pierced my flesh. A sharp pain shot through my hand. I looked down. While unbuckling my seatbelt, I had accidentally grazed a sharp earring left in the console. My palm was bleeding. River noticed it too, his eyes widening. “How could you be so careless?” For a split second, I thought he was worried about me. I was about to tell him I was fine, that this physical pain was nothing compared to my broken heart. But his next words dragged me straight into the abyss. “That’s Jade’s earring! She’s a total neat freak. If she finds out her favorite earring was stained by a human’s blood, she’ll be furious!” So, to him, my blood was nothing but dirt. My head spun from the pain. I stared at him blankly for so long that a hint of guilt finally flickered in his eyes. He looked down. “Forget it this once. I’ll clean it up for you. Just stay away from her things from now on.” He pulled out a disinfectant wipe and began meticulously cleaning the earring. My palm was still bleeding. I could feel the warm blood dripping onto my jeans, but I sat there, numb as a statue. I didn’t speak. I didn’t move. I just watched him. After wiping it clean, he wrapped it carefully in a tissue and placed it in the glove compartment. Only then did he turn back to me. “What are you still sitting there for? Didn’t you hear me? Get in the back seat.” My consciousness finally drifted back. “No need. I’ll catch a cab.” “Suit yourself,” River said casually. “There’s a pack banquet tonight, and I need to take Jade to pick out her gown anyway. Go on home.” With that, he unlocked the doors, let me out, and slammed his foot on the gas. He sped away, leaving me behind. He didn’t care that it was pouring rain outside. He didn’t even bother to leave me an umbrella.

By the time I dragged myself to the bus stop, I was soaked to the bone. People passing by stared at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was. Even now, my mind was playing a loop of every sweet thing River had ever done for me. I had known my mother was an Alpha’s mistress since I was a child. She had an affair with the Alpha of the Moonclaw Pack, hoping to use her pregnancy to climb the ranks. But the Luna found out. Eventually, the Luna had her hunted down and killed. I grew up in the Moonclaw Pack. Because of my half-human blood and my mother’s reputation, the Alpha and Luna never looked at me with anything but disgust. I was a living reminder of betrayal and infidelity. In the pack, my status was lower than even the lowest Omega. The adult wolves would whisper and point behind my back, saying the daughter of a mistress deserved to die a horrible death. But the younger wolves were far more brutal. They would wait for me at the training grounds to throw rocks at me, calling me a bastard. Sometimes, when no one was around, they would hunt me like prey. “The daughter of a mistress will definitely grow up to be a whore,” they would sneer. “Look at her trying to seduce everyone. She’s even dirtier than her mother.” I knew my mother was guilty, and I knew I carried her shame. So I never fought back. I let them use me as a punching bag. This went on for years, until the Alpha and Luna were forced to send me to the Pack Academy. It was a law decreed by the Alpha King. Every pack had to educate its youth. Every child of an Alpha had to attend the academy after turning eighteen. Even though Alpha Richard refused to acknowledge me, he didn’t dare lie to the Alpha King. And that was where I met River—the son of the Sunward Pack’s Alpha, and my fated mate. “Who says the daughter of a mistress has to become one?” At school, River stood in front of me, his gaze sweeping coldly over the crowd of bullies. When his eyes landed on the lead Beta, the boy took a step back in fear. “She is my fated mate,” River’s voice was quiet, but it echoed clearly across the yard. “Anyone who touches her touches the future Luna of the Sunward Pack.” Silence fell over the crowd. The Beta’s son turned pale, his lips trembling, but he didn’t dare utter a single word. From that day on, the bullying stopped. I didn’t really understand what a fated mate was. To be honest, as a half-human, I never thought it applied to me. Even if it did, I expected him to reject me instantly. But River didn’t. He brought me under his wing. I genuinely believed it was love. My life slowly got back on track. River pursued me relentlessly. He held the umbrella for me in the rain and shaded me from the sun. Every day after training, he would quietly walk me back to my room. Once, at the pack cafeteria, I saw a few wolves maliciously pouring leftover soup onto my seat. River didn’t argue. He walked over, picked up the tray of dirty soup, and slammed it down in front of the bully. His face was calm, but the bully’s hands were already shaking. “Eat it,” River said, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather. The bully ate it. After that, nobody ever messed with my seat again. I thought that was tenderness. I thought it was devotion, a man protecting his woman. I didn’t realize that in the werewolf world, an Alpha heir’s urge to protect his fated mate is just a biological instinct, as uncontrollable as the moon pulling the tides. Before meeting him, I never planned to fall in love. My mother’s tragic fate had left deep scars on my heart. But he had been like a beam of light, slowly chasing away all my shadows until they vanished. Standing in the freezing, pouring rain, I couldn’t understand. How could someone who was once so good to me turn into this monster? Suddenly, my vision went black, and I collapsed onto the wet pavement.

When I woke up, it was already dark. I was lying in a bed at the pack clinic, an IV needle hooked into the back of my hand. The pack healer—the only wolf who had ever shown me any kindness—sighed. “Your emotions are too volatile. You need to calm down and rest.” “Okay,” I whispered. Right then, my phone rang. It was River. I hesitated before pressing answer. “Jade’s gown got ruined,” his cold voice came through the speaker. “Go grab the ‘Starry Night’ gown I ordered for you and bring it over. Jade’s going to wear it instead.” *So her name is Jade,* I thought bitterly. The “Starry Night” gown was a custom piece River had commissioned a designer to make for our mating ceremony. He used to refuse to let anyone even touch it, claiming it would tarnish our love. Now, he was casually telling me to give it to another woman. Honestly, it didn’t even matter anymore. But… “River, I’m at the clinic. I’m on an IV.” “You’re still the Alpha’s daughter. You’re not that fragile. Don’t start playing the victim now, or you’ll regret the consequences.” Fine. I would do this one last thing for him. Consider it payment for saving me back then. Without waiting for the IV drip to finish, I ripped the needle out of my hand. Ignoring the rain, I took a cab home, grabbed the gown, and rushed to the hotel. River had texted: [Jade is waiting for you at the entrance to thank you. Don’t cause a scene.] “Okay,” I muttered to myself. But the woman named Jade didn’t give me a thank you. She gave me a hard slap across the face. The force of the blow caught me completely off guard. I stumbled, and the gown slipped from my hands, falling onto the wet ground. Jade immediately burst into tears, looking incredibly wronged. “If you didn’t want to give it to me, you could have just said so! Why did you have to ruin the gown?” I was a straightforward person. I couldn’t comprehend her twisted mind games. But River seemed to understand perfectly. He rushed out of the hotel lobby. Jade clung to his arm, crying. “River, is this the ‘obedient’ girl you talked about? The one who promised not to make things hard for me?” River glanced at the dirty gown on the ground, instantly drawing his own conclusions. He slapped me across my other cheek. “I’ve clearly spoiled you too much. Apologize to Jade. Now!” I let out a harsh, dry laugh. “River, aren’t you being a bit too quick to judge? Do you even know how the slap mark on my left cheek got there?” Jade didn’t even try to hide it. She tugged at River’s sleeve. “I did it, River. You’re not mad at me, are you? I was just so upset that she threw the gown on the ground. I couldn’t help myself.” “You know how bad my temper can get.” River wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’m not mad. She deserved it.” Jade flashed me a triumphant, malicious smirk. I laughed until tears came out. I was so incredibly stupid. But no matter how stupid I was, they only had three days left to torment me. Once those three days were up, I would vanish from their world forever. *River, I hope you don’t end up like my father—spending the rest of your life rotting in regret.*

“I’m sorry, Miss Jade. I shouldn’t have thrown your gown on the ground.” But Jade had no intention of letting me off that easily. “If you’re going to apologize, act like you mean it. Otherwise, I won’t accept it.” “And how do I show you I mean it?” “Tell everyone in there that you’re begging to be River’s mistress. Admit that you’re just as cheap and shameless as your mother… actually, no. You’re worse.” “I don’t want to be a mistress. River and I are over.” I reached into my pocket, pulled out the mating ring, and held it out. “Take it back. We are completely done.” River froze, his eyes locking onto the ring. He didn’t reach for it. The ring slipped through my fingers and clattered onto the pavement. “I say you want to be his mistress, so you do!” Jade suddenly grabbed a handful of my hair, dragging me violently toward the banquet hall. “Everyone, look!” Jade screamed. “We have a human here begging to be a mistress!” Someone in the crowd whispered, “Wait, isn’t that River’s fiancée?” “I’ve rejected her,” River announced coldly, his voice echoing in the hall. “A human doesn’t deserve to be a Luna. Jade is my fiancée now.” “Ah, that makes sense,” the crowd murmured in realization. One wolf stepped forward, sneering. “I knew it. The daughter of a mistress has cheap blood. It was only a matter of time. To think you actually defended her back then, River.” Jade piped up, “Exactly! She even slapped herself twice just to play the victim and gain sympathy.” “But our River is a man of honor. He would never fall for her cheap tricks.” As she spoke, Jade leaned heavily into River’s chest. I noticed River’s expression looked incredibly strained, but he still forced a nod. “Jade is right.” Another wave of pain washed over me. Just as I opened my mouth to defend myself, someone splashed a glass of wine directly in my face. “Lowly human. Always doing disgusting things.” The alcohol burned my eyes and rushed down my throat, making me cough violently. I couldn’t squeeze out a single word. Taking that as a cue, another wolf threw a drink at me. “Go die, mistress!” Then came another glass, and another. Some poured it over my chest, others over my head. One wolf grabbed my jaw, forcing my mouth open, pouring wine down my throat. I was being publicly humiliated, treated like a piece of trash, while Jade snuggled in River’s arms, laughing hysterically. I couldn’t even scream. I was knocked to the floor. Once the drinks ran out, the kicks and stomps began. It was happening. The nightmare I feared most had arrived. My mother had gone through the exact same torment before she died. The reason I had agreed to break up with River so quickly was because I was terrified of this day. Yet, it still found me. Wrapped in lies and frame-ups. The darkness that River had once chased away came rushing back, swallowing me whole. But this time, there was no light left for me. My light was shining on someone else. Through the gaps in the crowd, I saw River laughing with Jade. He laughed so hard he seemed to have tears in his eyes. He must be so happy. *River, why were you the one who rescued me from hell, only to throw me right back into it?* With every ounce of strength left in my body, I screamed, “I, Rose Miller of the Moonclaw Pack, reject River Johnson of the Sunward Pack as my fated mate!” Then, like a madwoman, I broke through the crowd and ran toward the rooftop helipad. Perhaps realizing what my mother had done, River’s face drained of color. He chased after me, screaming in terror, “Rose! No! Don’t do it!” But I wasn’t going to jump. I wasn’t going to die like my mother. I ran toward the sky, climbing the rope ladder hanging from the hovering helicopter, step by step.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “451330”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Ten years after I became the Alpha of the Ironclaw Pack, my mate Ethan’s mistress showed up at my doorstep. She stood there looking incredibly innocent, wide-eyed and fragile. “I know this is wrong,” she whispered, looking down. “But Ethan told me I’m the one he truly loves. I know rejecting you as his mate will hurt you, so I’ll make sure he gives you a generous financial settlement.” She actually bent her knees and bowed to me in apology. I found the whole thing hilarious. I looked at her and asked, “Do you honestly not know that between Ethan and me, he’s the one being kept as a pet?” **1** “Did Ethan ever tell you that the villa you’re living in and the car you’re driving both belong to me?” Selene’s lips parted, but no sound came out. The reckless courage she had summoned for “true love” vanished instantly, replaced by sheer panic and disbelief. “I guess he didn’t,” I said, casually stirring my coffee. “If I break the mate bond with Ethan, everything he owns—everything he gave you—will be taken back by me. Do you still think your love is so grand?” When Ethan walked into the house, his little human girl was blushing with deep embarrassment. He immediately rushed forward, pulling her behind his back, shielding her. He glared at me with a defensiveness that felt entirely foreign. I raised an eyebrow. “What is the meaning of this, Ethan?” He gripped Selene’s hand tightly and said, “She’s a human. She doesn’t know anything about our world. She’s not like you, Victoria. Don’t make things hard for her.” *Not like me?* Because she was weak and needed protection? And I was the ruthless ruler of the pack, an Alpha who fought and bled? My hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly. Forcing down the rising disgust in my chest, I tilted my head to look at him. “And what if I choose to make things hard for her?” His eyes flicked to the table behind me. I followed his gaze. Sitting on the table was a glass jar filled with colorful, hand-folded paper stars. As the Alpha heiress groomed by the Ironclaw Pack, I had never lacked suitors. My strength and capability meant I didn’t even need an alliance marriage to secure my rule over the pack. In my twenties, I was wild. I dated plenty of ordinary werewolves. Ethan was just one of them. But he was different from the others who only wanted my power or money. He was obsessed with securing my affection. Every time I finished dealing with brutal pack business, he would have a bowl of hot, nutritious soup waiting for me. One year, I was ambushed by a rival pack and severely wounded. He had braved the danger alone to drag me back to safety. Looking at the scars on his body, I had asked him, “Why are you so good to me?” After all, I hadn’t given him much back then. He had smiled gently. “Because I love you, Victoria. I want you to be well. It would be even better if you could love me back just a little.” Touched by his seemingly pure devotion, I chased away all the other wolves around me and marked him. Even though he wasn’t my fated mate. On the day we bonded, he gave me that jar of poorly folded paper stars. “I don’t have much to offer,” he had said, looking into my eyes. “But I folded these stars one by one. Each one represents my heart. Now that you’ve chosen me, you can’t break my heart. Every time you make me sad, I’ll take one star out. When the jar is empty, I’ll leave you and never come back.” Looking back, it was incredibly pathetic. A werewolf’s most useless, childish toy, and yet I had treasured it for years. But back then, I had never been cared for like that. My mother died when I was young, and I barely remembered her. My father, the former Alpha, raised me with only one rule: be strong, or die. He never asked if I was tired. He never asked if it hurt. He certainly never made me soup when I was bleeding. So when Ethan showed up with that hot soup, it was the first time I felt what it was like to be cherished. For that tiny bit of warmth, I had let myself be fooled for a decade. I thought he was sweet and innocent back then. To protect his feelings, I had promised him I would never make him sad. And so, even after all these years, that glass jar had remained completely full. Not a single star was missing. Until now. Ethan walked over, reached into the jar, and grabbed a massive handful of stars. The once-stuffed jar was suddenly a third empty. The shock in my eyes must have been obvious, because he smirked, thinking his little threat had worked. “You broke my heart today, Victoria,” Ethan said coldly. “Think about what you’ve done.” **2** After they left, I sat on the sofa, staring at the jar of stars. The cheap colored paper had faded over the years, looking dull and dusty. A few had unraveled at the edges, revealing the hollow emptiness inside. Just like Ethan’s “pure heart.” Actually, his heart had always been this hollow. I had just refused to see it. An Alpha, controlled by a few paper stars for ten years—the entire werewolf world would laugh their heads off if they found out. Before Ethan walked out, he had sneered, “Don’t take out your frustrations on a younger, prettier girl just because you’re getting old.” I chuckled softly. Ethan’s betrayal hadn’t happened overnight. We hadn’t been intimate in a long time. I was thirty-two, an Alpha in her absolute prime. But every time Ethan pulled away with a tired look, I assumed he was just exhausted from helping with pack administration. I never forced him. Turns out, he was just saving his energy for someone else. That human girl was indeed young. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. Thirty-two, yet my skin was flawless, radiating the power and timeless beauty of a high-ranking Alpha. I looked no older than twenty-five, but with a fierce authority that no basic wolf could match. Ethan really had garbage taste. I ran a hand through my dark, wavy hair, pulled out my phone, and called Jasmine, the Alpha of the Redwood Pack. “That young wolf you mentioned last time… bring him to me.” Jasmine’s laugh echoed through the speaker. “And here I thought you were going to play the loyal, devoted mate forever! Honey, everyone in our circle has a few toys on the side. You’re the only idiot who kept her hands clean for that basic mate of yours.” I used to believe loyalty was the bare minimum in a partnership. No matter what my friends said, I had never looked at another man since I marked Ethan. “What made you finally wake up?” Jasmine asked. “I just realized he’s incredibly boring. I’m done wasting my time.” “One isn’t going to be enough then! Tonight, our usual spot. I’ll line up a few gorgeous options for you to choose from.” “Deal.” I hung up, called my personal stylist to give me a head-to-toe makeover, and headed out. In the VIP suite of the Moonlight Lounge, eight young, incredibly fit male wolves were lined up. Jasmine sat next to me, winking at them. “Well, what are you waiting for? Pour the Alpha of Ironclaw a drink. If she likes you, your future is set.” Within seconds, several young wolves surrounded me, offering drinks and sweet compliments. To be honest, it felt amazing. After a few drinks, I excused myself to use the restroom. Passing by the adjacent private room, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. Ethan’s voice drifted out. His friend, Mac, was asking him, “Bro, your mate is an Alpha. You haven’t been back to the packhouse in days. Aren’t you worried she’ll kick you out of the pack?” Ethan scoffed. “I don’t want to go back and smell her old-woman scent. If you like it, go sniff her yourself.” “Hell no,” Mac laughed. “Who wants an old woman? Especially a terrifying Alpha female. If you ask me, women should just stick to being submissive Omega breeders…” Another wolf chimed in. “But Ethan, she’s the only reason you have your current status…” “Shut up,” Mac interrupted. “Ethan has that old woman wrapped around his finger. Have you ever seen her look at another guy all these years?” Ethan was playing with a faded paper star in his hand, a smug grin on his face. “Relax. She’s terrified of me leaving her. She used to have tons of guys around her, but ever since I pulled that countdown trick with this jar of stars, she chased them all away.” “Man, you’re a genius,” Mac cheered. “A jar of trash paper, and you have an Alpha eating out of your hand.” Ethan pulled Selene closer, wrapping his arm around her. “She’s in her thirties now, basically washed up. If she keeps throwing tantrums, I’ll just disappear for a few days. Let’s see how fast she crawls back begging.” **3** Returning to my room, I immediately opened my mind-link with Mia. *Cut off Ethan’s credit cards and revoke his access to all pack resources.* *Yes, Alpha,* Mia replied instantly. She was already on her phone making the calls. Enjoying my pack’s wealth while trash-talking me behind my back? Not on my watch. Jasmine leaned in. “So, see anyone you like?” I looked up, scanning the line of young wolves, and pointed directly at the one in the center. “You stay. The rest of you can leave.” The moment I spoke, Mia pulled several thick envelopes of cash from her bag and handed them to the departing wolves. “Our Alpha prefers her private life to stay private.” They took the money, thrilled, and left immediately. “That’s Ryder,” Jasmine whispered with a smirk before slipping out of the room. “He’s twenty-two, a top warrior from my pack’s younger generation. Enjoy.” I gestured for Ryder to come closer. When he sat beside me, I reached out and ran my hand over his abs. Rock hard and warm. “Feed me,” I murmured. Ryder leaned in, a piece of fruit between his lips, his gaze intense and full of youthful, intoxicating confidence. Ethan was right about one thing. With younger, better options available, why on earth would I waste my time on a fading, ungrateful piece of trash? That night, Ryder kept me up until dawn. It was an experience thirty-two-year-old Ethan could never offer me anymore. He was old news. It was time for an upgrade. Before leaving, I left a black card and my personal number on the nightstand. “I’m very satisfied,” I said, running a finger down his jaw. “Keep in touch.” Ryder’s eyes lit up with excitement and submission. See? As long as I have power and wealth, I can have whoever I want. After a night of being thoroughly satisfied, my complexion was glowing the next morning. When I walked into the pack boardroom, even Mia noticed. “You look radiant today, Alpha.” Perhaps because of my excellent mood, dealing with the tedious pack business felt incredibly easy. **4** My good mood lasted all the way until I walked back into the packhouse that evening. Ethan was sitting on the living room sofa, his face contorted with rage. I thought he had found out about Ryder. Instead, he jumped up and yelled, “Why did you freeze my cards? Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was when I couldn’t pay for dinner with my friends last night?!” “And how is that my problem?” I asked, walking past him. “Victoria! Are you seriously doing this because of Selene? She is just like a little sister to me!” “Ethan, do you even believe your own lies?” “Don’t try to flip this on me!” he snarled. “Just because you love playing around doesn’t mean everyone is like you. You’re accusing me just so you have an excuse to go run wild, aren’t you?” I was amazed by his sheer shamelessness. If he had just admitted he was keeping a human mistress, I would have just thought of him as a useless leech. But trying to gaslight me and blame me for his own cheating? It was disgusting. He grabbed another massive handful of stars from the jar and threw them on the table. “You’re not young anymore, Victoria. No one will ever love you the way I do. You better watch your step.” Staring at the nearly empty jar, I smirked. “Suit yourself.” Seeing my total indifference, Ethan’s face flushed with anger. “You’ve really broken my heart today, Victoria. I’m not staying here. When you realize your mistake, you know how to find me.” I didn’t know where he got his confidence. Did he think I, like other wolves, suffered from mate-bond anxiety? Did he think my years of spoiling him meant he owned me? Had he forgotten that I am an Alpha? The only female Alpha ruling a major pack in this territory. I stepped aside, leaving the doorway wide open. “Please, be my guest.” Over the next few days, Ethan kept trying to play his little games. He demanded I buy a new car for his human mistress as an apology. When I ignored him, he came back and took more stars. He found a penthouse he wanted me to buy. When I refused to wire the money, he took more stars. Soon enough, only a couple of lonely paper stars remained at the bottom of the jar. I was actually curious. Once the stars were gone, would he really leave? Before I could find out, I received a Snapchat message from Ryder. *Are you going to the Cartier Gala tonight?* I asked Mia. Indeed, Cartier had sent an invitation. Usually, I skipped these luxury brand shows, but I hadn’t seen Ryder in a few days and missed his touch. I typed back: *I’ll be there.*

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “451329”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster