Author: Momo Chan

For three months, I practically lived at the office while pregnant, pushing my team to the brink. We survived on IV drips and held meetings at midnight. But on signing day, my new assistant used security footage of my bathroom breaks to fire me for “slacking off.” I brought the termination to my husband, the CEO. He coldly cited company policy—a five-break daily limit—and backed her decision to maintain her authority. “Now you can focus on the baby,” he said. I spotted lace lingerie with snowflake embroidery under his sofa. A bitter laugh escaped me. I tossed the notice on his desk, walked out, and called our biggest competitor. “Do you limit bathroom breaks?” I asked. “If not, I’ll be in your office tomorrow with a new client to sign.” 1. “Elara, are you messing with me?” On the other end of the line, Marcus Thorne’s voice was laced with disbelief. “I’m not joking,” I said calmly. “If you agree, I’m bringing the Sterling Group account with me. We sign tomorrow. Once it’s done, your company will be the biggest player in Northgate City.” Marcus hesitated. “Did you and Leo have a fight? Are you just using me to make him angry?” He continued, his voice softening. “Everyone in the industry knows you’re the engine of that company. You’re the one who carries all the weight for Leo.” “You sold the apartment your parents left you so that kid from nowhere could start his business. You’ve landed every major deal they’ve ever had.” “For the Sterling account, you worked yourself so sick you were fainting from morning sickness. Your team wanted to take you to the ER, but you refused because you were afraid of delaying the signing. You just…” I froze, wondering how he knew all that. As he finished, a bitter smile touched my lips. He was right. Everyone knew how much I’d sacrificed for Leo. I once believed we were building an empire together, from scratch. Today, that beautiful dream was shattered. Leo and I had no connections, just two kids from a small town with big dreams, fighting our way to the top in the big city. We started with nothing and finally, painstakingly, built our own company. Six months ago, I told him I was pregnant. His hands were shaking with excitement. But when I suggested we finally make it official and get married, he fell silent for a long time. “Elara,” he finally said, “once we land the Sterling Group contract, we’ll be the industry leader. Our dream of making it in this city will finally be real.” “Don’t you want to walk down the aisle at the height of our success?” “Let’s just wait until the Sterling contract is signed. Then we’ll get married, okay?” I agreed. Yesterday, Sterling confirmed. The signing was scheduled. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I stepped out of the office and promptly fainted on the sidewalk. I was rushed to the hospital. The moment I woke up, I hurried back to the office to finalize the contract. But my key card wouldn’t work. Facial recognition failed. I’d been blacklisted. I managed to get a friendly intern to let me in, only to find all my personal effects dumped in a trash heap. My wedding photo with Leo was covered in muddy footprints, my smiling face scribbled over with a black marker. And sitting at my desk, my desk, was the new assistant—Crystal Snow. She was scrolling through her phone, her long, red nails tapping the screen. She pulled up a video file: three months of security footage of me going to the bathroom. “New company rule,” she said with a smirk. “No more than five bathroom breaks per shift, five minutes max each time.” “You’ve been going more than ten times a day. Who knows if you were actually working or just slacking off.” “If everyone behaved like you, how would this company function?” I was baffled. Since when was this a rule? I went straight to Leo’s office and told him everything. He was dismissive. “I hired Crystal from a top-tier firm for a reason. Her rules are based on their best practices. Of course, we have to follow them.” I fought to keep my voice even. I told him I was pregnant, that the stress and workload were making my morning sickness unbearable, that the bathroom trips were a necessity. He waved his hand impatiently. “That’s just your weak constitution. Don’t use it as an excuse.” “Maybe I make an exception for your morning sickness today. But what about tomorrow? What’s to stop anyone from faking a stomach ache after slacking off in the bathroom, demanding I look the other way? How am I supposed to manage that?” My face flushed with anger, my eyes stinging with tears. In his eyes, my pregnancy was no different from a case of diarrhea. Before I could argue further, Crystal walked in, phone in hand. “Elara,” she said, her tone dripping with false sympathy, “the new policy is to streamline our workforce. That means pregnant employees are the first to go. I was trying to do you a favor by not firing you outright, given your relationship with Leo.” “But you’ve broken the rules too many times. If I don’t act, no one will take me seriously. How can I lead the team?” She looked me up and down. “Besides, you’re a high-risk pregnancy. You should be at home resting. Running to the bathroom all day to goof off not only kills productivity, it makes the whole company look unprofessional.” I stared at her, my voice cold. “My pregnancy and my bathroom trips didn’t stop me from landing the Sterling contract for this company.” “And I’m the Vice President. No new rule should be implemented without my approval.” Her eyes welled up with tears. Leo slammed his hand on the desk. “That’s enough!” He saw the shock and hurt in my eyes and his scowl deepened. “This rule came from me. If you have a problem, take it up with me. You’re fired. Stop pulling rank on her.” “And don’t you dare use that contract as leverage,” he snarled. “Crystal told me everything. You were in the bathroom all day while the rest of the team did your work for you.” “If being pregnant and working is so stressful that you have to hide in the bathroom, then Crystal firing you so you can rest at home is a favor! You should be thanking her, not bullying her in front of her direct supervisor!” His jaw tightened. “Now, apologize to Crystal.” Apologize? I took a long, hard look at this man, my partner of ten years, from college dorms to the corporate world. I remembered when a key developer challenged my authority, simply because I was a woman. Leo, without a second thought, fired him on the spot, disregarding the critical tech the man controlled. He held my hand in front of the entire company and said, “Elara is my wife, and she is my partner. Disrespecting her is disrespecting me. And this company has no place for anyone who disrespects women.” That speech went viral. We were lauded as the best startup of the year. That was only a year ago. Now, he was letting some new assistant disrespect me, discriminate against me for being pregnant. I took a deep breath, ready to unleash a decade of fury, when my eyes caught it again. The lace underwear under the sofa cushion. The tiny, embroidered snowflakes. It wasn’t mine. A wave of nausea and disgust washed over me. I stumbled, and as I looked up, I saw Crystal watching me with a look of pure triumph. It was hers. Suddenly, all the words caught in my throat felt meaningless. I pulled my employee ID from my pocket and tossed it onto the sofa. “You want to fire me? Fine. As per my contract, a severance of 2N+1. If that money isn’t in my account by tonight, I have no problem taking this to arbitration. We’ll see who’s embarrassed and paying fines then.” “And one more thing,” I added, my voice ringing with cold finality. “I landed that project. You fire me, you can kiss the Sterling Group goodbye.” I watched the color drain from their faces, then turned and walked out with a scornful laugh. The first thing I did was call Marcus. They could have their sordid affair. They were not getting the project I bled for. Marcus’s voice came back over the line, firm and resolute. “I don’t care if you’re using me to get back at him. I’m taking this seriously. You come to my company, the VP position is yours. And if you’re worried about managing work with the baby, I’ll help you.” “That won’t be necessary,” I said with a small smile. For some reason, his voice seemed to drop a little at my answer. “Alright. See you at the signing tomorrow.” I hung up and went home to pack. Thank God we never got married. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with a divorce. But the baby… I placed a hand on my belly. After a moment, my gaze hardened. Better to have no father than to have one like Leo. I started packing as soon as I got home. In the corner of our study was a storage box with a note taped to it: “Leo’s Treasures – Do Not Touch.” It was the box where he kept every gift I’d ever given him, even used mugs and hair ties. “One day,” he’d said, “we’ll show all of this to our son. Proof of our love story.” I wanted a clean break, but seeing that box made my heart ache. I opened it. And I froze. It wasn’t filled with my old things. It was a sordid collection of toys, lubricants, and scraps of fetish lingerie. My head exploded. On the desk, Leo’s laptop was open. His chat with Crystal was still on the screen, new messages popping up: “Of course I defended you. If you hadn’t been here to help me… de-stress… these past few months, I would have lost my mind.” “Wear the bunny costume tonight. A little pre-celebration for the signing tomorrow, okay?” My vision went black at the edges. Clenching my jaw, I transferred the entire chat history and all the videos to my phone. It wasn’t enough. My eyes landed on a bag of fresh peaches on the counter. I grabbed a handful and rubbed them vigorously all over the lingerie and toys in the box, making sure the microscopic fuzz got into every crevice. You two like to play? Then play hard. Just as I finished packing and was about to leave, the front door opened. Leo walked in. He saw my suitcase and froze, then broke into a grin. “What’s this? I say a few harsh words and you’re running away from home?” “I was just being professional. You’re my wife, so I have to be even stricter with you. It’s the only way to get the staff to respect the rules.” “Alright, stop sulking. I bought your favorite fish. We’re celebrating the signing tomorrow.” Before I could speak, Crystal waltzed in behind him. “Oh, sister-in-law, I don’t like it steamed. Make it spicy, okay?” “That’s right,” Leo chimed in. “Crystal likes bold flavors. Make it good.” He added, “Poor thing’s been working so hard she hasn’t eaten all day. Not like you, taking the day off to rest.” He tried to shove the bag of fish into my hands and push me toward the kitchen. My face went cold. I threw the fish back at him. “I’m not cooking.” His expression darkened instantly. He grabbed my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you? Has the pregnancy made you stupid? Don’t you understand basic courtesy?” “You embarrassed Crystal at the office today! I brought her here specifically so you could make her a nice dinner as an apology, and this is how you act?” “Leo, it’s okay,” Crystal interjected, the perfect martyr. “Elara’s carrying your child. It’s normal for her to be a little moody. I can handle it.” “Moody doesn’t give her the right to be a tyrant!” Her words only fueled his anger. He dragged me to the kitchen, shoved me inside, and locked the door. “You’re not coming out until you’ve cooked dinner!” I fell hard. A searing pain shot through my abdomen. A cold sweat broke out all over my body. I scrambled to the door, pounding on it with what little strength I had. “Leo! Let me out! My stomach… I fell… take me to the hospital…” I heard Crystal’s saccharine voice from the other side. “Leo, I think Elara’s just angry I’m here. She’s probably just using the baby to guilt you. Maybe I should just go?” The footsteps outside paused. Then, Leo’s voice, colder than ice: “I ask you to make one meal, and you threaten me with the baby’s safety? You’re being irrational.” I couldn’t tell what hurt more, my heart or my stomach. I just kept pleading, my voice growing weaker. “Fine. Don’t cook. Come on, Crystal. We’ll go to a Michelin-star restaurant.” “Oh, Leo, you’re the best~” The pain was so intense I could barely speak. “I’m not lying… It really… hurts…” The only response was the slam of the front door. My world went black. I woke up in a hospital room. And sitting by my bed was Marcus. He saw my eyes open and let out a huge sigh of relief. “I called you a dozen times, you didn’t pick up. I was terrified. I thought after your fight, Leo might have… done something. So I came to check on you.” “I found you passed out on the kitchen floor. The doctor said you just fell and bruised your stomach. The baby is okay.” I gave a weak, bitter smile. He wasn’t wrong. Leo had done something. I thanked him, my voice hoarse, and reached for my phone. I needed to contact the Sterling Group and let them know I was now with Marcus’s firm. But my screen was flooded with texts from Crystal. And a video. “Look at you, the washed-up housewife. So what if you’re carrying Leo’s baby? He still kicked you out and gave your job and your office to me.” “Leo told me he’s sick of you. All you do is work, work, work. No fun at all. And you stink now that you’re pregnant. He prefers someone young and fun like me. Hehe, maybe it won’t be long before I’m taking your place at home, too.” “Oh, and he said a housewife has no business being the project lead for Sterling. Don’t bother showing up to the signing tomorrow. I’ll go in your place. Save everyone from having to look at your bloated, pregnant body.” I stared at her taunts, my face a blank mask. Before I could even process my anger, Marcus exploded. “Who the hell does she think she is, talking to you like that!” He stared at me, his eyes red with fury. “And you’re not even angry? Do you really love him that much? Enough to let this… this trash walk all over you?” He looked away, his voice thick with emotion. “Elara, if I had a wife like you, I’d treat you like a queen. I would never, ever let anyone hurt you.” I calmly typed a reply to Crystal: “You can have the trash. You’re not touching my project.” I looked up at Marcus, confused. “What did you just say?” He gritted his teeth. “Nothing. I just said, I’m your boss now. They try to steal your project, I’ll destroy them.” I nodded. “Good.” The doctor warned that I needed complete bed rest, or I could lose the baby. I immediately requested three months of maternity leave from Marcus, to begin right after the signing. As I was leaving the maternity ward, I ran into a couple frantically scratching themselves, their skin covered in angry red welts. It was Leo and Crystal. When Leo saw me, his face went pale. He rushed toward me. “Elara, did you do something to my things in the study? What did you put in there? The doctor can’t find the allergen, we can’t stop itching!” I knew immediately. They’d used the peach-fuzzed lingerie. I feigned ignorance. “What things? Describe them to me. Maybe it’ll jog my memory.” His face cycled through shades of red and purple, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. I smirked and pulled out my phone, showing him the chat logs and the videos Crystal had sent me. “Oh, you mean this bunny costume? I was eating a peach yesterday. Some of the fuzz must have fallen on it by accident.” “You!” he hissed, his face livid. “You’re insane! You went through my laptop? You had someone film us? What are you trying to do?” He pointed a trembling, rash-covered finger at me. “You did this to us! I won’t let you get away with it! Get on your knees and apologize to me and Crystal right now! And sign the Sterling project over to her!” “Or the wedding is off, and you can be an unemployed single mother!” I looked at him, my expression cold, and dialed the wedding planner. “Yes, that’s right. The wedding is canceled.” I hung up and faced Leo’s apoplectic glare. “For the past ten years, I was blind,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “I mistook a piece of trash like you for a treasure.” “But my eyes are open now. I’m happy to give you up and cancel the wedding. But there is no way in hell I’m handing over my clients and the Sterling contract I fought for tooth and nail.” I added softly, “You should probably start thinking about how you’re going to explain losing the Sterling deal to your investors. Oh, and don’t forget my severance pay.” I turned to leave, but Leo lunged forward, grabbing my arm. “I was wrong, Elara! You know how stressed I’ve been! And with you pregnant, I was afraid to touch you, I didn’t want to hurt the baby… I just… I couldn’t help myself…” His voice was a desperate, pleading whine. “We were drunk, it was an accident! She promised it wouldn’t affect us! We agreed it was just until you gave birth, then I’d be completely devoted to you and our child!” I pulled my lips into a sneer. “And you think I’d believe that?” I glanced at my phone. The signing was about to start. I looked up at the man I had loved for a decade. “Can’t we just part ways peacefully, Leo? I’m only taking what’s mine. I’m not trying to ruin your company.” His face was ashen. “But I don’t want to lose you,” he mumbled. “I never imagined losing you.” I gave him one last, deep look. “When you were doing all of this, did you ever once stop to think how much it would hurt me? If you had, even for a second, you would have known I’d leave you. You know my personality.” His lips moved, but before he could speak, I started walking away. He scrambled after me. “I was wrong! Elara, please! Give me one more chance! For our child’s sake! Just one chance! If you don’t want me seeing Crystal, I’ll pay her off, I’ll send her away!” “And you can come back to work! After the baby is born, I’ll create a new position for you…” I shook him off, my patience gone. Suddenly, a car screeched around the corner, heading straight for me. I had no time to react. The impact sent me flying. Pain exploded through my body. I hit the pavement hard. A pool of blood began to spread out from beneath me. My body convulsed in agony. I reached a trembling hand toward Leo. “Help me,” I choked out. “Save the baby.” Leo’s face was sheet-white. He started to move toward me, but then Crystal stumbled out of the driver’s seat, crying, and threw herself into his arms. “Leo, what do I do?” she wailed. “I saw you talking, and she was going to leave with the project… I was just so anxious, I wanted to follow her… I think I hit the gas instead of the brake!” “I don’t want to go to jail! Leo, please, help me!” I writhed on the ground, the pain unbearable. “Leo…” I begged him, my voice a broken whisper. “That’s your child… You can’t just let our baby die.” A flicker of conflict crossed his face. Then, his expression hardened. He took Crystal’s hand and turned to the police officer who was just arriving on the scene. “Officer, I’m her husband. We had an argument. She got upset and ran into the street. It wasn’t this young lady’s fault.” He then knelt beside me, his voice low and urgent. “The baby’s gone, Elara. We can’t ruin an innocent girl’s life over this.” “Think of this as compensation for forcing Crystal to leave. And since you can’t make it to the signing now, let me and Crystal handle it for you. We’ll sign the contract.” “After this, I promise, I’ll come home. I’ll be good to you.” “Leo!” I screamed, my eyes burning with hatred. “You bastard! You will regret this!” A paramedic tried to pull him away, urging him to sign the consent forms for my emergency treatment. But he was already helping Crystal up, turning his back on me. “Sorry, we have an important meeting. Just let her lie in the ER for a bit. I’ll be back to sign the papers later.” And with that, they got in another car and drove away. The pain finally consumed me, and I passed out. Crystal, dressed in a brand-new designer gown, walked into the Sterling Group’s conference room on Leo’s arm, her head held high. One of the Sterling executives looked around, confused. “Where’s Ms. Elara? I thought she was the project lead on this.” Leo answered calmly, “Elara was terminated for gross misconduct. Crystal will be taking over the project.” The executive was stunned. “What? You fired her? Who’s our point of contact then?” “Crystal, of course,” Leo said, looking at her with a doting smile. “We owe this success to Crystal. Her new policies streamlined our operations and optimized our staff, which is what allowed us to land this deal. With such a talented new project lead, I’m confident we’ll deliver even better results for Sterling.” Crystal puffed out her chest, her face flushed with victory. “That’s right. I won’t let Leo down. I’ll achieve even greater things than Elara ever did.” Across the table, the head of the Sterling delegation stood up, his face an icy mask. “I’m sorry, but we signed on for this project because of Ms. Elara, and Ms. Elara alone. If she is no longer with your company, then I see no reason to continue this partnership. The deal is off.”

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A picture surfaced of my girlfriend of five years, award-winning actress Ava Stone, spending the night with a mysterious man. To protect this man, an actor named Ethan Reed, she posted an intimate photo of them on her social media, officially confirming their relationship. Her caption read: “Waiting for the leaves to fall, for the winter wind, for the autumn fireworks, and for a better us. From start to finish, I have only ever loved one person.” I stared at the photo, at the man whose face was a near-perfect mirror of my own, and a chill spread through me, cold and absolute. All these years, I had been nothing but a stand-in. Ava called me almost immediately. “Ethan just returned to the country; we can’t let his reputation take a hit,” she explained, her voice rushed. “This is just for work, a PR move. Don’t take it seriously.” I replied, my own voice flat, “It’s fine. I understand.” My lack of reaction seemed to confuse her. “You’re not jealous today?” she asked, a note of suspicion in her tone. … Less than thirty minutes after she hung up, Ava was home. I expected her to continue her explanation, but she didn’t. She acted as if nothing had happened, handing me a beautifully wrapped gift. “See if you like it. I picked it out especially for you.” It was a Patek Philippe watch. Expensive. I’d heard of the brand. She often brought me small gifts when she came home, but never anything like this. Perhaps she knew this time was different. Before, a piece of cake, a hug, even just a smile was enough to soothe me. But today, not even a million-dollar watch could erase the blankness from my face. I just said a quiet, “Thank you.” A flicker of disappointment crossed her face. She could sense something was wrong, deeply wrong. But she didn’t dare bring up the announcement with Ethan—her guilty conscience wouldn’t let her. Instead, she changed the subject. “Liam, I’m starving. Could you make me some of your chicken noodle soup with wontons?” The wontons were pre-made, but the chicken broth had to be simmered for hours. Any other time, the mere mention of her craving would have sent me rushing to the kitchen, happy to cook for her, no matter how much trouble it was. But today, I felt nothing. No desire to please, no desire to cook. “There’s bread in the fridge. You can have that if you’re hungry.” “Liam!” My detached tone finally broke her composure. “Can you stop being so childish?” she snapped. “Do you have any idea how many appearances I canceled just to come home and deal with you? Can’t you be more understanding about my job?” “No,” I cut her off. I looked up, my eyes as still and dark as a midnight lake. “Ava, let’s break up.” Even after days of mentally preparing for this, the words still felt like a punch to the gut. A dull ache spread through my chest, making it hard to breathe. But I forced them out. This ridiculous, secret relationship had gone on for five years. It was over. We were over. I couldn’t stand waiting for her in this empty apartment anymore. I couldn’t stand seeing her name linked with other men in the tabloids. I couldn’t stand loving her anymore. I was tired. At the word “breakup,” Ava’s face went white. A look of pure, unadulterated shock and panic crossed her features. Before she could say anything, I opened the door and walked out. Since getting together with Ava, I’d become a recluse, my life revolving around her schedule. I hadn’t seen my friends in ages. So, when an invitation came, I went. After a few rounds of drinks, they noticed my distraction. I told them we’d broken up. “Broken up? When did you even start dating someone? How did you meet?” The rapid-fire questions threw me back to a summer in middle school, the summer I met Ava. I was being bullied for getting the highest grades in the school. They’d locked me in a bathroom stall. That’s where I found her, just as trapped and miserable as I was. In that moment, our shared fate seemed to bind us together. After middle school, she moved to another city with her divorced mother, but we never lost touch. Five years ago, after I graduated from college, I moved to her city to be with her, to support her career. That’s when we finally became a couple. But she knew. She knew. Ethan Reed was the one who bullied me back then. The rowdy chatter of my friends pulled me back to the present. I pointed a lazy finger at a poster on the wall. “That’s her,” I said with a bitter laugh. “My girlfriend of five years.” The poster was an ad for Ava and Ethan’s new movie. She’d fought to get him the leading role. They were pressed close together, their eyes locked in a smoldering gaze. They looked perfect. My friends roared with laughter. They thought I was drunk and joking. “You’ve had too much to drink, man. That’s Ava Stone, the movie star. No way she’s your girlfriend!” The laughter grated on my ears. The alcohol and the poster made the world feel blurry and unreal. I didn’t bother explaining. I just tipped my head back and drained my glass. The burn of the liquor was a welcome distraction, a mix of sorrow and resignation. As I lowered my head, the door to our private room opened. Even with the baseball cap pulled low, the sunglasses, and the mask, I recognized Ava instantly. She gave a small nod to the stunned room, a silent greeting, and then pulled up a chair, sitting down beside me. With everyone but me, she had this natural, icy aloofness. “What are you doing here?” My voice was polite but distant, creating a chasm between us. She frowned, but her tone was gentle. “I have some free time. I wanted to spend it with you.” My face remained cold. “You don’t have to do this. We’re breaking up.” “I don’t agree to the breakup,” she said, taking a deep breath. “You’re just jealous. You want us to go public, right? Fine. I’ll give you what you want.” She stood up, picked up my glass, and her voice regained its usual confident, almost arrogant, tone. “Hello, everyone. I’m Liam’s girlfriend.” “We’ve had to keep our relationship quiet because of my work. I hope you can understand.” As my friends stared in disbelief, she raised the glass to her lips. Before it could touch them, I snatched it from her hand. “That’s enough, Ava.” “We’re already broken up.” The glass hit the table with a thud, rolled twice, and came to a stop. Ignoring the tears welling in her eyes, I turned and walked out. Drunk and stumbling, I ran out into the dark street. The night, thick with the smell of alcohol, seemed to swallow me whole. My thoughts were a mess. I kept seeing Ava, glass in hand, and the tightness in my chest returned, making it hard to breathe. Ava never drank. She hated the taste of alcohol. But I remembered seeing a video, leaked by the paparazzi. She was drunk, leaning heavily against Ethan Reed, raising her glass to a table of producers. “Please, just give Ethan a chance,” she was slurring. “He’ll do a great job.” For Ethan, she, who never touched a drop, had downed three straight shots of hard liquor. She ended the night passed out in his arms. That night was my birthday. I waited for her all night, a cake sitting uneaten on the table. She never came home. She called later, her excuse ready. “It was the wrap party for the new movie. All the producers and directors were there. I couldn’t get away. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” But Ava, I don’t need you to make it up to me anymore. The moment I saw her in Ethan’s arms, five years of love shattered. My heart felt like it had turned to ash. Ava chased after me. “Liam, don’t be angry. It’s just a professional relationship, I swear…” she pleaded, her voice carrying to my friends who had followed us out. I just replied flatly, “I’m not angry. It has nothing to do with me anymore.” “Stop denying it, Liam. You’re only doing this because you’re jealous of Ethan.” “I’ve explained it a thousand times, those rumors are part of my job. If it bothers you that much, I’ll go clear things up right now. Just please, don’t break up with me.” She kept talking, always using her career as an excuse. She would never admit that her heart had ever strayed. Suddenly, I found her desperate, lie-filled pleading utterly pathetic. I shook her hand off, hailed a cab, and left without looking back. I had just gotten home when I received a termination notice from my company’s HR. “Liam, it was a decision from the top. There was nothing I could do.” The HR rep sounded apologetic. “I heard someone’s pulling strings to get you out. Did you piss someone off?” I’ve always been an easy-going person. I don’t make enemies. But if the company was going to fire me over something like this, so be it. I didn’t rely on that paycheck anyway. As soon as I hung up, an unknown number called. I answered. A man’s voice sneered, “How does it feel to be fired, Liam?” I recognized it immediately. Ethan Reed. So, he was the one behind this. My fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms. A wave of pain and hatred washed over me. “You’re a worthless leech who can’t even hold down a minimum wage job. What right do you have to be with Ava? I suggest you crawl back into whatever hole you came from.” “As long as I’m around, you’ll never find another job in this city. I guarantee it. Hahaha.” His laugh was manic, a stark contrast to the gentle, sophisticated image he projected on screen. He sounded like a demon from hell. Just like he did in middle school. No matter what mask he wore, he was still disgusting. I let out a cold snort, cutting off his grating laughter. “Is that so? Then you’re going to lose.” This was a bet Ethan was destined to lose, spectacularly. For me, a nine-to-five job was just a way to pass the time. It didn’t matter if I had one or not. Back in college, I wrote a novel under a pseudonym. A famous director bought the film rights, and that was the start of my screenwriting career. Several of the biggest hit TV shows in recent years were from my pen. At my request, my real name was always kept hidden, replaced by the pen name ‘Serenity.’ Other than a few top directors I worked with, no one knew my true identity. Not even Ava. The next day, I went to the office to finalize my departure. When I got to my desk, it was empty. All my personal belongings were gone. Then I saw them, piled in the trash can next to my desk. I didn’t need to guess who did it. A cold smile touched my lips. I grabbed a nearby vase and strode toward the director’s office. Ignoring the shocked gasps of my colleagues, I kicked the door open and smashed the vase at the director’s feet. He slammed his hands on his desk and shot to his feet, enraged. “Liam, don’t push it!” “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for crossing Ethan Reed. He made it clear he doesn’t want to see you here. Our hands are tied.” The company had just signed Ethan as the face of their new product. Of course, they wouldn’t risk offending him over a low-level employee like me. I didn’t bother arguing. It was their loss. Smashing the vase had vented most of my anger. As I turned to leave, the director’s secretary rushed in. “Sir, Ava Stone’s agent just called. She’s interested in being the spokesperson for the new product, but she has one condition…” The secretary gave me a complicated look. The director’s eyes lit up. “Whatever it is, we’ll meet it. At any cost.” An opportunity to work with a star of Ava’s caliber was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. “Her only condition,” the secretary said, her voice barely a whisper, “is that her boyfriend, Liam, be put in charge of her entire endorsement campaign.” The room fell silent. Everyone stared. Even I was momentarily stunned. When we first got together, Ava had been adamant about keeping our relationship a secret. We were never to be seen together in public. In five years, we were never seen together. My family, my friends, no one knew she existed. She never came to any of my social gatherings. Last year, when my grandmother was dying, her last wish was to meet my girlfriend. I called Ava, crying, begging her to come, just for a few minutes. Even though she could hear the sobs in my voice, she hesitated for only a second before refusing. “Liam, you know my situation. I can’t…” After that, I never asked again. I never thought she would use her influence, as my girlfriend, to help me with my job. But I didn’t need it anymore. Ava’s star power dwarfed Ethan’s. Hearing her condition, the director’s sycophantic smile returned. “Liam, my boy! Why didn’t you tell me you had this connection?” “What happened before was my mistake. Don’t hold it against me. How about this? I’ll make you the project lead for this campaign, effective immediately. And a triple bonus at the end of the year.” I just looked at him, my face a mask of indifference, and threw my ID badge on his desk. “Sorry. I quit.” I turned and walked away, leaving a room full of stunned colleagues in my wake. The main office was already buzzing. As soon as I stepped out, my coworkers swarmed me. “Dude, Liam, you’ve been holding out on us! Ava Stone is your girlfriend?” “She just updated her social media! She cleared up the rumors with Ethan Reed and announced she’s in a relationship with you! And… she’s on her way here, in a wedding dress, to propose!” Before I could process what they were saying, someone shoved a phone into my hand. On the screen, Ava was dressed in a stunning white gown, her makeup elegant and cool. She stared into the camera, her deep eyes seeming to pierce through the screen and lock with mine. “Liam,” she said, her voice clear and steady. “Are you ready to marry me?” Half an hour ago, Ava had posted a clarification. She revealed our five-year secret relationship. She posted candid photos of me cooking, a few snapshots from our life together. In a long, heartfelt caption, she explained that the ‘relationship’ with Ethan was just a joke, the result of a lost bet. She said she had only ever had one boyfriend. Me. My breath caught in my throat. My heart was a tangled mess of emotions. Ethan had immediately commented on her post: “Big sis Ava is a woman of her word! It was all a misunderstanding. Hope you’re not mad, bro-in-law!” The comments section exploded. Fans were furious, accusing Ava of toying with their emotions. Many still insisted that she and Ethan were a better match. Only a few offered their congratulations. I didn’t know how Ava had convinced Ethan to play along with this charade, but while the rest of the world was swooning, I was painfully sober. I had once dreamed of this day, of being able to hold her hand in public, to be acknowledged. But now, all I felt was a hollow emptiness, the quiet calm that follows a storm of disappointment. Within minutes, the story of a top actress proposing to her civilian boyfriend went viral, hitting number one on every trending list. Reporters and bloggers started live-streaming, following Ava as she, holding a bouquet, made her way to my office. Her fans had already gathered outside, clearing a path for her. The live stream crashed from the sheer volume of viewers. Before I could fully grasp the situation, a roar of excitement came from outside. Ava was here. She pushed open the doors, breathless, a bouquet in her arms. Her eyes found mine across the crowded room, and a smile touched her lips. The wedding dress was beautiful, accentuating her every curve. Even with her hair slightly disheveled and her face beaded with sweat, she was breathtaking. The media scrum followed her in. In an instant, every camera, every eye in the room was on me. Ava walked slowly toward me, her eyes shining like stars. She held out the flowers. “Liam,” she asked softly, “will you marry me?” Despite her calm demeanor, I could hear the slight tremor in her voice. The room erupted. Everyone was looking at me with envy. “Wow, being proposed to by a huge star in public… he’s so lucky.” “He’s just a regular guy. What did he do to deserve her?” As the whispers of envy swirled around me, my mind raced through the past five years. All the intense love I once felt had been slowly eroded by one disappointment after another. In that moment, I was terrifyingly clear-headed. Sensing my hesitation, people started clapping and chanting, “Say yes! Say yes!” But under the expectant gaze of the entire nation, I calmly shook my head. “I’m sorry. I won’t.”

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At nineteen, the man I loved drugged me and left me unconscious in an abandoned building during a thunderstorm—my greatest fear. He stole my father’s badge to go undercover, spending five years infiltrating the Black Vulture syndicate to avenge my parents. He returned a decorated hero, but confined to a wheelchair. I found him, made him marry me, and for five years, he rebuilt his life while shielding me from everything. Then I discovered our marriage was a lie—his legal wife wasn’t me. When he begged me to abort our long-awaited child for the sake of his other family, I agreed. Seven days later, I jumped from a skyscraper. And he went mad. 1 My hand instinctively went to my stomach as I fought back the urge to scream, to rip the world apart with my questions. The storm of emotions inside me finally subsided, leaving behind only the bitter taste of ash. I forced the tears back, blinking them away until my vision cleared. I looked up at the man who had once sworn to shield me with his life, and my voice was a hollow echo of itself. “So that’s it, Caleb? You’re not going to explain this marriage certificate? You just want me to get rid of the baby we tried for three years to have… to make way for your little lover?” His eyes instantly reddened. He reached for me, but the dead, empty stillness in my gaze made him flinch back. “Elara… I’m so sorry…” His voice was a raw, ragged whisper. “But I can’t just stand by and watch Seraphina die.” “During my undercover years,” he continued, his words tumbling out in a desperate rush, “she saved my life. Not once, but multiple times. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been able to avenge your parents. I wouldn’t have even made it back to you alive!” “She’s… damaged because of me. The trauma left her with severe depression, crippling anxiety. She has no one else, Elara! Only me!” His voice cracked with a pleading desperation. “Just let her have her baby first. I swear, after that, my life, everything I have… it’s all yours to make up for this. I’ll spend the rest of my days atoning.” “Atoning?” A sharp, twisting cramp seized my lower belly. “I endured three years of medication, countless injections, of vomiting until I passed out, all for this child. And you want me to kill him?” My voice rose, trembling. “This is a life, Caleb. A living, breathing life. What could possibly compensate for that?” I finally broke. The control I’d been clinging to shattered. “If you try to trade my child’s life for hers,” I shrieked, my voice raw with agony, “I swear to God, I will die right in front of you!” “Elara!” he roared, his face flashing with raw frustration. “You’re going to pressure me too? Why can’t you just understand?” “Seraphina is a… a ‘Player’! It’s complicated, but she’s part of some system. If she doesn’t successfully give birth to this child, the system will erase her! She’ll cease to exist!” “You’re stronger than she is,” he pleaded, his logic a poisoned knife. “You have me, you have everything we’ve built. But she only has me. All she wants is a chance to live. I’m begging you, Elara. Understand. Just this once. Give her a chance to live.” He couldn’t meet my eyes. He spun his wheelchair around with a jerky, panicked motion and fled the room, slamming the door behind him. The sound echoed the splintering of my heart. I collapsed to the floor, my arms wrapped around my stomach, the tears finally flowing in a silent, scalding torrent. How did we get here? How did the man who once held me tight through thunderstorms, the man who would press his face to my belly and whisper, his stubble tickling my skin, “It’s okay, little one, Daddy’s here,” become this stranger who would so easily cast that same life aside for another woman? I don’t know how long I lay there before my phone rang, piercing the silence. Seraphina’s voice, laced with a triumphant, sickly sweetness, stabbed at my eardrums. “Elara, sweetie. As one woman to another, I’ll give you a second of my pity. I’m in such a good mood today, I’ll even let you in on a little secret. Caleb left you to be with me… for my prenatal check-up. You know, he looks incredible when he stands. It’s a shame he never told you he could.” My blood ran cold. “Oh, and sweetie? You’re a smart girl. You must know I’m not some ‘Player’ in a game. And I’m certainly not depressed. That was just a little act.” “I pretended to have a breakdown,” she purred, her voice dripping with venom. “Forced him to choose between your baby or me and mine. A little test, you see, to show you who really matters to him.” “You may have been his childhood sweetheart, but that’s nothing compared to the bond forged in darkness. The woman who stood by his side, who bled for him when he had nothing… that’s a bond you can never break.” “Did you really think your five years of marriage were happy? He never stopped looking for me. We’ve had our own little home on the west side of town for three years now.” “And that marriage certificate? He wanted you to find it. He was hoping you’d just give up, you see. Do us all a favor and set him free.” She paused, her tone hardening into pure malice. “Don’t make him lose that last little bit of affection he has left for you.” The video she sent seconds later shattered the last vestiges of my world. There was Caleb, standing tall and straight, gently, carefully guiding her through the clinic. My hero, the man who had faced down a criminal empire for me… now stood for her. He was a stranger. A nurse smiled at them. “Mr. Hayes, you take such wonderful care of your wife.” He only frowned slightly. He didn’t correct her. That single, tender moment obliterated every fantasy I had ever held. A tidal wave of furious, helpless despair consumed me. I scrambled to my feet and ran to the balcony, fumbling to dial his number. “Elara? What is it? Have you thought things through?” His voice was weary, but underneath it, I could hear the hopeful expectation that I had finally bent to his will. I looked down at the city lights below, a glittering, merciless abyss. My own voice was terrifyingly calm. “Caleb.” The line went quiet. He must have sensed the change in me. “I’m standing on the balcony,” I said softly. “Twenty minutes. I’m giving you twenty minutes.” I took a deep breath, enunciating each word with chilling precision. “If you’re not here,” I said, “I’m going to jump. I’ll take this child you’re so desperate to kill, and I will disappear from your life forever.” 2 A raw, guttural roar of pure terror ripped through the phone. “Elara, don’t you dare! Stay right where you are! Don’t move! I’m coming! I’ll be right there! Do you hear me?!” I ended the call, letting the cold rain soak through my clothes, chilling me to the bone. Less than two minutes later, a text from Seraphina buzzed on my phone, incandescent with rage. You bitch! You actually copied my suicide act? What a pathetic move! You think you’ve won just because you made Caleb leave me alone at the hospital in a storm? I’ll make you pay for this. I swear it. My face was a mask of stone. I screenshotted the messages and sent them to Caleb. I wanted him to see the true face of the “lonely,” “depressed” woman he was sacrificing everything for. On the nineteenth minute, a car screeched to a halt below. Caleb didn’t bother with the wheelchair, didn’t bother with the charade of being disabled. He stumbled out of the car and sprinted into the building, bursting into the apartment a moment later, drenched and wild-eyed. He yanked me back from the ledge, his arms trembling as he crushed me against him. “Elara, I was wrong! We’ll keep the baby! Just don’t do this, I’m begging you, never do this again… I can’t lose you…” I shoved him away with all my strength, wiping the rain and tears from my face. My voice was flat, devoid of all emotion. “I was going to give you divorce papers. But my lawyer informed me that I haven’t been your legal wife for three years.” I watched the color drain from his face as I delivered the final blow. “Caleb, I’m already divorced, so I can’t exactly divorce you again. Let’s just break up.” “Get out. I don’t want you anymore.” “I don’t want to see you again. I don’t want you to… to destroy the image I have left of the nineteen-year-old boy who would have died for me.” My gaze dropped to his legs, straight and strong. “And congratulations. On being able to walk again.” It was as if all the strength had been ripped from his body. Caleb staggered, reaching for me again, his voice thick with anguish and self-loathing. “Elara, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t trying to hide it from you! I wanted… I wanted to wait until I was fully recovered, to surprise you! I never, ever thought about leaving you. I can’t live without you…” There was a time I would have believed every word without question. Now, each syllable was a nauseating lie that crawled under my skin. Seeing my resolve, he grew more frantic. “Don’t listen to anything Seraphina sent you! She’s having a depressive episode, she’s not in control of what she says! I’ll handle her, I promise! I’ll never force you to do anything again.” “I will fix the mess with Seraphina and I’ll make it right with you! Please, just stop this. Don’t leave me…” I was tired. So incredibly tired. I whispered a single word: “Okay.” He reacted as if he’d been granted a divine pardon. He swept me into his arms, carried me to bed, and began gently toweling my hair and skin dry, treating me like a priceless, fragile treasure as he coaxed me to sleep. I closed my eyes, feigning exhaustion and surrender. As I expected, not fifteen minutes later, once he was certain I was “asleep,” he rose from the bed. He moved quietly but quickly, slipping out of the room and closing the door behind him. That desperate, hurried retreat extinguished the last ember of hope in my heart. I got up immediately, threw on a coat, and followed him out. I needed to see it for myself. I needed to see what his idea of “handling it” and “making it right” truly looked like. I followed the red glow of his taillights through the rain. As I was about to hail a cab, a windowless van screeched to a halt beside me. A large hand clamped over my mouth, dragging me violently inside as a sickly chemical smell flooded my senses. Just before my consciousness faded, I saw them. Not far down the road, Caleb was pulling Seraphina, who was huddled and crying in the rain, into a fierce, protective embrace, his eyes filled with nothing but aching tenderness. 3 When I woke again, it was to the cloying stench of rust and mildew in a derelict warehouse. I thrashed wildly, the coarse ropes biting into my wrists, tearing the skin, but it was useless. I heard hushed voices outside and immediately squeezed my eyes shut, pretending to be unconscious. “The boss’s orders. Rough her up good. Teach her a lesson for the missus.” “Just don’t go all the way. And don’t kill her. Anything else is fair game.” The next three days were a descent into hell. They used every method imaginable to torture me, to strip away every shred of my dignity. I curled up on the filthy floor, my arms wrapped protectively around my stomach, begging them over and over. “Money… I have money… I’ll give you anything you want… please, just don’t hurt my baby… Call my husband… he’ll pay the ransom…” They laughed at my naivete, but to my surprise, they actually dialed Caleb’s number and put it on speaker. “We’ve got your wife. Five hundred grand for her and the kid in her belly. Or you get two corpses!” In that moment, a flicker of hope ignited in the abyss of my despair. But the voice that came through the phone was cold, impatient, and utterly dismissive. “Who is this? Some kind of prank call? My wife is perfectly fine at home. Call me again and I’m reporting you to the police.” The line went dead. One of the kidnappers spit on the floor. “Hear that? Your old man doesn’t want you!” I broke down, sobbing and pleading. “No, that’s impossible! Call again! Please! Let him hear my voice!” They dialed again. It went straight to voicemail. That robotic, impersonal voice crushed the last bit of life within me. The torture intensified. Finally, amidst a searing, gut-wrenching agony, I felt a warm gush of liquid between my legs… My child was gone, reduced to a pool of blood on the concrete floor. One of the kidnappers checked my pulse and, assuming I was dead, cursed under his breath before they finally left. I don’t know how much time passed. Running on a single, desperate breath, I dragged my blood-soaked body out of the warehouse and began the agonizing journey back. As I neared our home, I heard the sound of laughter and conversation from inside. I hid in the shadows, peering through the window. I saw Caleb, gently applying ointment to a small cut on Seraphina’s finger. Around him, the men he once called his brothers were talking loudly. “I bet the wife has learned her lesson this time. A little taste of the real world should teach her that a man of Caleb’s status having a few women on the side is normal.” “Exactly. Caleb’s been patient with her for years. It’s just a baby. So what if Seraphina has one first? The girl needed to be put in her place.” “I don’t know, man. She’s not the type to share.” “You know how she is. Can’t stand a single grain of sand in her eye. You really think she’ll tolerate sharing Caleb with another woman?” “And aren’t you guys worried this went too far? This whole thing, Caleb not sending anyone to protect her… it feels like playing with fire.” “What if she finds out this whole kidnapping was his idea? That he did it to get rid of the baby and ‘discipline’ her? You think they have a future after that?” Someone scoffed. “Please. I’ll bet a million bucks she loves him so much she can’t live without him. Even if she knew the truth, she’d forgive him. She’s just throwing a tantrum right now. Give it time, she’ll compromise for love.” Their words were poison-tipped needles, plunging deep into my already ravaged heart. So this was it. The hell I had endured, the loss of my child… it was all his design. A calculated cruelty to make me more “obedient,” to appease Seraphina. Just then, Caleb frowned, cutting them off. “All of you, shut up. Keep a close eye on things. Don’t let anything actually happen to Elara.” He turned to another man. “And the rest of you, get the house on the west side ready. Finalize the arrangements for the cars and the ceremony tomorrow.” “I owe Seraphina this wedding. It has to be perfect.” “And after tomorrow, arrange to have my wife brought home, completely unharmed.” One of them asked, a strange note in his voice, “Caleb… now that you have two wives… do you still love Elara?” He didn’t hesitate. His voice was clear and firm. “Yes. More than my own life. And I will spend the rest of my days making it up to her.” I clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle a sob, scrambling away from that house of horrors, that place of sickening betrayal. The cold rain mixed with my blood and tears as I stumbled through the city, finally collapsing at the foot of my parents’ grave, the last of my strength giving out as I wept until my soul felt hollowed out. 4 I woke in the downpour before my parents’ tombstone, my body frozen, but my heart colder still. With trembling fingers, I pulled out my drenched phone. The screen was shattered, but it still worked. I dialed a number I hadn’t called in years. It was answered on the first ring. A calm, steady voice came through the line. “It’s me. Elara.” My own voice was a hoarse, unrecognizable rasp. “Can you help me…?” There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a single, firm word: “Yes.” Just before he hung up, he added, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of everything.” By the time I made my way, ghost-like, back to the city center, Caleb and Seraphina’s wedding was the only thing anyone was talking about. The news was everywhere, plastering their faces across every screen, gushing about the lavish, billion-dollar fantasy wedding the CEO of Hayes Corp. had created for his beloved bride. I wore the simplest clothes, a specter haunting the celebration from afar. I went to the observation tower across from their wedding venue. The Spire. It was where the city’s elite came to watch the stars, to make grand romantic gestures. It was where Caleb had once proposed to me, where he had sworn his wedding vows to me under a canopy of constellations. I stood at its base and looked up. Through the vast panes of glass, I could see the glittering party, the swirl of expensive gowns and the clinking of champagne glasses. Caleb was there, devastatingly handsome in a tailored suit. And beside him, Seraphina wore the wedding dress he had once designed exclusively for me, the one he said was for “my Elara, who deserves something one-of-a-kind in this world.” But the final, soul-crushing blow was the necklace adorning her throat. The sapphire pendant, the last thing my mother had ever given me. The one he had promised to treasure for me forever. In that instant, my sanity snapped. I ran toward the hotel like a madwoman, driven by a primal need to reclaim what was mine. But before I could even reach the doors, four familiar faces blocked my path—my kidnappers. They clamped a hand over my mouth, grabbing my hair and brutally dragging me away. “Ms. Thorne,” one of them sneered, “Mr. Hayes gave specific orders. No one is to disturb the wedding today. Don’t humiliate yourself any further.” I fought back with the strength of the damned, sinking my teeth into one man’s hand. He cried out in pain, his grip loosening just enough for me to break free. I sprinted back toward the hotel, toward the life that had been stolen from me. But there were too many of them. They surrounded me again, forming a human wall between me and that path of roses, a beautiful shore I could never reach. From a distance, I saw Caleb slide the ring onto Seraphina’s finger. I saw the men who were once my friends raise their glasses in a toast to the “happy couple.” And suddenly, I stopped struggling. I turned around. With the last ounce of my strength, I ran into the tower across the street, all the way to the top. The wind howled around me as I stepped onto the ledge and switched on the massive public address speaker. A low hum echoed across the plaza, turning into a piercing feedback squeal that instantly captured the attention of every guest at the wedding below. I saw Caleb’s head snap up, his triumphant smile freezing on his face, morphing into a mask of pure horror. I leaned into the microphone. My voice, terrifyingly calm, boomed across the wedding venue and beyond. “Caleb Hayes, congratulations on your wedding day.” “I wish you and Seraphina a lifetime of happiness together.” “And I hope you and your brothers never forget today. I hope you remember your little ‘lesson.’ I hope you remember how my unborn child was washed away in a pool of blood.” His face went ashen. He started running toward me, screaming my name, but the wind snatched his words away. “You all bet that I would forgive you, didn’t you?” Facing the wind, I smiled. It was the first time I had smiled in three days, and it was my last. A thing of tragic, desperate beauty. “Well, now I’m making a bet of my own. I’m betting my life that you, Caleb Hayes, will never know a moment of peace for the rest of yours.” And with that, as he watched, his eyes wide with frantic, disbelieving terror, as the crowd below gasped in a collective wave of shock, I took one final step forward and leaped from the top of the world.

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During the holiday, my wife Amelia spent $99 million at an auction to buy a rare emerald necklace for her young assistant, Leo. He promptly posted it on Instagram with a cloying caption: “Received the most precious gift of my life—a symbol of your heart! I’ll never leave you, dearest Madam President!” I froze her black card and sent her the screenshot. “You’ve forgotten our three rules, Mrs. Sterling.” She replied instantly, begging me to unfreeze the card. “I don’t carry that much cash.” “Then find the nearest gentleman’s club and pole dance for tips,” I wrote. “With your status, you’ll earn plenty.” After a minute of silence, I sent a news alert: her family’s company, which I had propped up, had lost nearly a billion dollars in market value. If she insisted on funding her boy toy, I’d make her pay it back tenfold first. 1 While Wall Street was still reeling from the sudden, inexplicable drop of a billion-dollar company, a video call from Amelia came through. “Ethan, stop this nonsense. If I get up on a stage and dance, it’s your reputation I’m humiliating, not just mine!” Seeing the fury in her red-rimmed eyes, I offered only a cold smirk. “Amelia, I’ll ask you one more time. Are you going to dance, or not?” “Choices have consequences. You have thirty seconds. Otherwise…” She hung up before I could finish. Less than half a minute later, my phone started buzzing with videos from my friends who were also at the auction. There she was. Amelia, my wife, dressed in a scandalously short dress, her face a mask of shame and wounded pride, her body moving around a brass pole with a practiced, elegant grace that was utterly out of place. “Damn, Ethan, you’re the man! That’s how you handle a woman who steps out of line!” “You’ve got her wrapped around your finger, Sterling! You have to share your secrets with the rest of us!” I read their fawning messages, told them to delete the videos, and then sent a final text to Amelia. “Amelia, remember your place. And don’t ever forget the three rules we agreed upon on our wedding day.” This time, she didn’t reply. I knew she was furious. I didn’t care. Ours was a marriage of convenience, a business merger. There were no feelings involved. Her family was insignificant compared to mine, but they were desperate for money and status, and I needed a wife to appease my parents. Before the wedding, I had laid out our three rules, clear and non-negotiable. “I will respect your public image as Mrs. Sterling. I will give you children to inherit the Sterling empire. But you will have no say in my business affairs.” “As for you, your only job is to be the perfect Mrs. Sterling. Do what is expected of you. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you understand?” “If you can accept these terms, we get married. If not, you can walk away right now. But once you leave this room as my fiancée, the deal is sealed.” I saw her lips part, a protest forming, and I cut her off with a cold laugh. “Miss Yang, let’s be clear. Our families are not equals. You bring me no tangible benefits. If you refuse, I will find another woman, give her family a fraction of what I’m offering yours, and marry her instead. It’s that simple.” She had nodded, a flicker of resentment in her eyes, but she had no grounds to refuse. And to her credit, she had played the part of Mrs. Sterling perfectly for years. We even had a son and a daughter. As a reward for her good behavior, I had elevated her father’s company from a minor firm to a billion-dollar corporation. I never imagined that after all these years of peaceful coexistence, she would dare to cross the line. This business with the assistant wasn’t just a misstep; it was a direct challenge. His blatant, public boasting felt like a personal insult. I do not permit others to covet what is mine. Not even with a glance. Toward evening, another message came from Amelia. “Attending a gala tonight. Will be home late.” I snorted and went back to my work. An hour later, my executive assistant forwarded me another screenshot from the boy toy’s social media. “You are the gentle breeze I have always dreamed of.” The picture was a selfie of him at the gala, a demure smile on his face, but his eyes gleaming with pride and triumph. The lighting on his face was soft, clearly cast by a woman holding the phone for him. At the same time, my friend Liam sent me a photo from the same event. It was Amelia, stunning in a couture gown, holding up her phone, aiming it directly at the pretty boy. The look on her face was one of indulgent, doting affection. The corners of her mouth were curved into a self-satisfied smile. Her intention was painfully obvious. “What’s going on, Ethan? Looks like your magic touch is failing you!” In both pictures, the $99 million emerald necklace was impossible to miss, a glittering declaration of war. She knew my friends would be at that gala. She knew I would see it. Yet she had willingly played photographer for him, even tacitly approved his provocative post, all as a petty act of revenge against me. She was using my reputation as a stepping stone for her boy toy. A cold smile touched my lips as I opened my chat with her. “It seems my generosity has been mistaken for weakness. You’re getting bold, Amelia.” Three minutes passed. No reply. My smile widened. I texted Liam. “She’s not looking at her phone?” His reply was instant. “She glanced at it and shut it off. You about to read her the riot act?” I sent one last message to Amelia. “Ignoring me? You have ten seconds to reply. Or you’ll regret it.” Ten seconds later, I sent her a photo of the signed divorce papers I always kept ready. “ETHAN STERLING! ARE YOU INSANE? IT’S JUST A FEW PICTURES! IS IT REALLY WORTH ALL THIS DRAMA?” Simultaneously, a text from Liam arrived. “HOLY SHIT, MAN! What did you say? Her hands are shaking so bad she can barely type!” I sent back a smirking emoji. “Sit back and enjoy the show.” Then I made a call to my household manager and instructed him to have my children taken to the airport immediately for a flight out of the country. Liam’s next message came quickly. “DUDE! TEACH ME YOUR WAYS! SHE’S LITERALLY ON HER KNEES STARING AT HER PHONE.” At the exact same moment, Amelia’s text appeared. “They’re your children too!” Her messages were now frantic, punctuation thrown in haphazardly, her panic palpable through the screen. “Call me. Now,” I typed. Her call came instantly, her voice laced with fury. “Ethan Sterling! What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’ve had your fun, you’ve made your point! Why are you dragging our children into this? Are you forgetting they’re your own flesh and—” I cut her off. “Start a video call.” “What are you planning to do?” “I said, start a video call. Now.” Amelia hesitated for a moment before complying. I saw several of my friends and business associates in the background of her video. I smiled. “Gentlemen, good evening. I hear my wife brought a new face to the party tonight. Is that right?” Amelia’s voice trembled as she rushed to explain. “Darling, you’ve misunderstood! He’s just my assistant!” I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. “What kind of boss spends ninety-nine million dollars on an emerald for their assistant?” “But don’t be nervous,” I continued, my voice dropping to a silken threat. “I told you I’d give you a chance. I hear the waters off the coast here are known for their shark population. I’ve lived a long life, but I’ve never actually seen a shark feed on a person.” “So, Mrs. Sterling, would you be so kind as to throw your assistant into the ocean for me? I’d love to see the show.” That night, the coastline was ablaze with the lights of search and rescue boats, their calls echoing over the water. Liam’s excited voice notes flooded my phone. “Ethan, you are the absolute king! You’ve got the whole ‘master of the house’ thing down to a science!” “Your wife is a piece of work, too! Grabbed that pretty boy by the hair and just chucked him into the sea!” “You sure this isn’t just part of some kinky game you two play?” “Getting thrown into the ocean like a bag of trash by a woman… if that were me, I’d never show my face in public again.” “Seriously, man, teach me your ways! I’ll buy you dinner, just give me a few pointers.” I chuckled at his message. “First, you lay down the law. Then, if they don’t listen, you bring down the hammer. You think you have the stomach for that?” “Not a chance in hell!” Liam and his wife were high school sweethearts, a genuine love match. He was completely whipped. My methods would never work for him. “By the way,” he added, “I saw your wife jump in after him. Trying to save him. You’re not worried?” “Why would I be?” I replied coolly. “It’s easy enough to find a more obedient woman to be the next Mrs. Sterling.” Liam sent back a quick “Savage, man,” and then went silent. An hour later, Amelia returned, drenched and disheveled. She stumbled into the foyer, and the moment she saw me, her eyes, red and swollen, blazed with fury, her chest heaving. “The boy is in the ocean. The children are gone. Are you satisfied now?” I was on a conference call, negotiating a deal. I didn’t even grant her a glance. Only after I’d hung up did she speak again, taking a deep breath to control her rage. “Ethan, I did everything you asked. What more could you possibly want? Tell me!” I took a sip of my coffee, my eyes raking over her soaked, clinging dress with disdain. Our gazes met, and the fire in hers was instantly extinguished by the ice in mine. She collapsed onto the floor, hugging her knees, her voice a raw whisper. “Even if I was in the wrong today, does that give you the right to utterly destroy my reputation? To push me to the brink? If the rescue team hadn’t been so fast, I’d be facing manslaughter charges right now! What do you want from me?” I looked at her, my expression devoid of emotion. “Are you sure I’m the one who destroyed your reputation? Weren’t you the one who broke our agreement first?” Defeated, her lips moved several times before she spoke. “Leo is just a college graduate. What could possibly happen between us? After all these years of marriage, don’t you trust me?” “Amelia, I can choose to believe your words. But your actions have been a profound disappointment.” “Do you think that boy could earn ninety-nine million dollars in a hundred lifetimes? You can’t even produce that kind of cash yourself, yet you’d buy something so extravagant for him?” “Forcing me to foot the bill for another man is one thing. But what gives him the right to have the great Mrs. Sterling dive into the ocean to save him? Have you ever once considered your own status, your own identity?” Amelia looked up at me, her face a picture of wounded confusion. “He just seemed off at work these past few days. I wanted to cheer him up, so I made a grand gesture. It was a joke. I never thought you’d take it so seriously.” “I don’t understand why you’re so angry. It’s not like I cheated on you…” I let out another cold laugh. “Who is he, some kind of god? It costs ninety-nine million dollars to cheer him up? Can you guarantee he wouldn’t see that as an invitation, that it wouldn’t give him ideas he has no right to have?” “If not for your indulgence, a nobody like him would never have even entered my orbit. But now he feels bold enough to challenge me on social media. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it.” “Respect is a two-way street, Amelia. You trampled all over mine. Why should I bother protecting yours?” I placed the divorce papers on the table between us, my gaze unwavering. “Amelia, if you truly have feelings for him, you are free to sign these and leave.” Seeing the words “Divorce Agreement,” she burst into tears. “No… I don’t, I didn’t…” “Tell me, do you remember our three rules?” She nodded, repeating my words from all those years ago through choked sobs. My knuckles tapped against the papers. “In a business marriage, I don’t deal in feelings. I deal in duty. You failed to uphold your duties as Mrs. Sterling. Naturally, there are consequences. Including divorce.” Amelia wiped her tears and threw herself into my arms. “I… I know I was wrong.” I calmly took a drag from my cigar. She laced her fingers through mine with one hand and used the other to gently take the cigar and stub it out. “Darling, don’t punish your own body for my mistakes, okay?” she murmured, pressing herself against me. “Ethan, it’s been so long since we…” She started to unbutton my shirt, but I stopped her, my hand closing firmly over hers. “I sent the children to stay with their grandparents. I have no desire for them to come from a broken home. I will respect you, Amelia, but I will not tolerate your behavior. Do you understand?” I pushed her away. I saw the flash of surprise in her eyes, quickly replaced by a wave of panic. My voice was calm and businesslike. “Furthermore, I expect you to act out of duty as a wife, not use your body as a bargaining chip.” With that, I stood and walked toward my study. Just as I opened the door, I turned back, my tone deadly serious for the final time. “Regarding incidents like this, let me be perfectly clear. This was the first, and it will be the last. You will not get a second chance.” Her eyes, red and wide, met mine. She nodded vigorously. “I promise, darling. I swear. It will never, ever happen again.” The very next day, Amelia’s first order of business was to publicly fire Leo. He instantly became a pariah at the office, openly mocked by his former colleagues who were quick to follow the shifting winds. “Well, well, if it isn’t our swimming champion! How’d you get fired?” “Weren’t you just bragging about the emerald necklace the boss bought you? Guess you didn’t think she’d take it back, huh?” He could only slink away like a beaten dog. After that day, life seemed to return to normal. Amelia slipped back into her role as the perfect wife and mother. Seeing her improved behavior, I brought the children home. “Ethan,” she said, her smile genuine for the first time in weeks, “I wasn’t thinking clearly before. Now, all I want is to be a part of our children’s lives.” Perhaps it was the sound of our children’s laughter, but I found myself almost forgiving her transgressions. But I never forgot about Leo. I’m a man who believes in settling scores. I had my assistant keep tabs on him, ensuring that life remained… difficult. If you dare to covet what is mine, you must be prepared to pay the price. I just never imagined Amelia would dare to deceive me on such a fundamental level. A message from Liam arrived unexpectedly one afternoon. “Ethan, are you being played? I was at a meeting with your father-in-law’s company, Yang Corp, today. Guess who the new CEO is? Your wife’s pretty boy!” The attached photo showed Leo in a sharp suit, looking confident and triumphant, with no trace of the humiliated wretch who’d been thrown into the sea. And there, around his neck, was the emerald necklace. A glaring, defiant insult. “Amelia,” I seethed, “I underestimated you.” I drove home, a cold fury building with every mile. As I approached the front door, I heard her voice from inside, speaking to our children. “From now on, no one in this house mentions his name! He was planning to ship you both off to work in African mines! If it weren’t for me stopping him…” “You don’t have to thank me too much. I’m your mother, after all. A few of the company’s shares as a thank you will be enough…” My fists clenched, my face a thunderous mask as I strode inside. Amelia’s words caught in her throat, and raw panic flashed across her face. “Amelia! I entrust you with our children, and this is how you raise them?” My son and daughter ran to me, hugging my legs. “Daddy! Mommy is trying to make us bad!” I gestured for the children to go to their room, then turned my icy gaze on Amelia. “For the sake of our children, I will give you one chance to explain yourself. Speak.” Her expression hardened into one of annoyance and impatience. “Explain what? I was making a joke with the kids. Is a simple ‘I’m sorry’ not enough for you?” I slammed my hand down on the table, my patience gone. “You won’t talk? Fine! I’ll talk for you!” “You’ve gotten quite bold, Amelia! Playing these deceptive little games right under my nose?” “My time is limited. Sign it.” I threw the divorce papers onto the table again. Her eyes immediately welled with tears. “What is wrong with you today? Is divorce really something you can just throw around like it’s nothing?” “I’ve dedicated myself to our family! I haven’t even stepped out of this house! On what grounds are you divorcing me?” “Why don’t you just accuse me of still seeing Leo? Can you stop taking your bad moods out on me? You’re scaring the children! I’m not your punching bag! Go think about what you’ve done!” With that, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. The children were frightened by our argument, so to comfort them, I decided to take them to a charity auction to pick out a gift. We had no sooner arrived when someone in the crowd exclaimed. “Look! It’s the new CEO of Yang Corp! So the old CEO stepped down for the man by her side!” Leo was beaming, his face radiant with success. And on his arm, looking regal in a haute couture gown, was my wife, Amelia. Her eyes met mine across the room. She held my gaze for a moment before deliberately turning her head to whisper something in Leo’s ear, guiding him into a private suite as if my children and I were complete strangers. When someone in the crowd referred to Leo as “Mr. Yang,” she merely smiled and nodded, not bothering to correct them. The auction began. A sudden gasp rippled through the room. “Look! Mr. Yang is making a grand gesture for his lady! He’s bidding without a limit!” “What a man! To spend so extravagantly on his wife! I’m so jealous!” “Didn’t you hear? Mrs. Yang spent ninety-nine million on her husband not too long ago! It must be some kind of romantic game they play!” Amelia looked at Leo, her smile full of doting pride and a hint of triumph. My son, hearing the whispers, looked up at me, his face possessing a calmness far beyond his years. “If Mommy wants to be with that bad man,” he said, his small voice clear and steady, “then Daddy can just get us a new mommy.” To make a child say such a thing… Amelia truly was one of a kind. I stroked his hair gently. “That’s right, son. We sit at the head of the table. People like them are merely items on the menu. They don’t even qualify as villains.” My gaze fell upon Amelia, who was basking in the spotlight. My voice was low and cold. “And as the future heirs of the Sterling Corporation, today, Daddy will use them to teach you both a very important lesson on how to remove an unwanted dish from the menu. And…” I paused, letting the weight of my words settle. “What the fury of a top-tier dynasty truly looks like.”

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In the tenth year of my marriage to Chris, I died in a car crash. After my death, I watched, invisible, as he calmly went to identify my mangled body. He handled the funeral arrangements with perfunctory efficiency, notifying relatives as if checking off a list. Worried I might linger and haunt him, he even hired a spiritualist to perform a cleansing ritual. Before even a week had passed since my death, he was living with Seraphina, the one that got away. It’s true that I had forced him into our marriage, but after ten years, I truly believed that he had grown to love me, at least a little. When I was reborn, the first thing I did was destroy our engagement. Before I could even process what was happening, I heard myself say the words. “You’re free.” 1 I was still reeling from the disorienting sensation of being a disembodied spirit, a ghost that could fly. Chris’s cold scoff echoed in my ear. “So, it was just a game after all.” “How many times have you pulled this stunt now?” A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I paled, steadying myself on a nearby chair. Chris watched me the entire time, his expression a mask of detached calm. “It’s not a game,” I managed to say. “From now on, you can be with whoever you want. I won’t force you to do anything ever again.” “This whole marriage alliance… it was a mistake.” Chris strode toward me, his fists clenched at his sides. “You promised your father would invest in my family’s company. Are you backing out now?” He let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “I knew it. You never stick with anything for more than five minutes.” At the mention of the investment, a flicker of anxiety broke through his composure. He stood before me like a wall, and the dizziness intensified, a queasy feeling rising in my stomach. I gave his shin a light kick. “Go get me a glass of ice water.” At my command, his expression instantly smoothed back into that familiar calm. As I took the glass from his hand, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if we were back in our home in my previous life. He’d just come home from work, and I was on the sofa, ordering him to wash fruit for me, demanding a leg massage while he was in the middle of cooking. I looked up and met his placid eyes again. I wondered, how did he manage it? How did he serve someone he didn’t love, sleep beside someone he didn’t love, for ten long years? A bitter taste filled my mouth. It must have been unbearable. I lowered my gaze and answered his question. “My family will proceed with the investment.” Chris’s father was a man of immense pride. His company, Keystone Foods, was built on quality and integrity, slowly earning a stellar reputation. But in this cutthroat era, staying afloat was a struggle, and the cost of modernization was massive. If my family were to pull our funding now, it would be a death blow. A man as proud as his father would never survive it. That was why Chris had endured it. He had endured me, giving up the woman he loved and submitting to my every unreasonable demand, all to repay that debt of gratitude. Even after his family’s company was back on its feet, he never broke his promise to me. For ten years, he took care of me to the best of his ability. He just didn’t love me. But now, there was still time to fix everything. “We’ll do it by the book. A standard investment contract, with dividends paid according to shares. I’ll even add a second round of funding if you run into any issues. Keystone is a good company. I grew up eating your snacks. There are no other conditions.” I took a deep breath. After all, for ten years, I had truly loved him. Pushing down the ache in my chest, I continued, “I was wrong to force you before. I won’t do it again.” I looked up, meeting his gaze. He stared back, his lips parting as if to say something, but no words came out. I stood and opened the door, turning my back to him to hide the stinging in my eyes. “This time,” I said, my voice quiet but firm, “I want to try with someone else.” When Chris left, his footsteps were hurried, almost frantic. He was probably afraid I’d change my mind. 2 Chris’s parents were deeply in love, and he was raised as a well-mannered, educated young gentleman. When I was a child, my father would often take me to visit their home, and Chris would always treat me with patient hospitality, never showing an ounce of irritation at my tantrums. It wasn’t until I overheard that he had followed his childhood neighbor, Seraphina, to Seaview University that I understood. All of his patience, his emotional stability around me, was simply the polite tolerance one shows a guest. Even someone as perfect as him had a love he couldn’t attain. Seraphina was beautiful and brilliant, but I wasn’t so bad myself. I was so naive back then. I thought that if I just had enough time, he would eventually fall in love with me. For ten years, we got along well enough, like any ordinary married couple, which created the illusion that we were in love. But not even a week had passed after my death before he was living with her. I was like the evil side character in a romance novel, the one who tears the main couple apart, only to receive my karmic retribution in the final chapter. I gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at the blue sky and sparkling sea. Nothing felt better than being alive again. To prove my sincerity, I had my father complete the investment the very next day and formally dissolve our engagement. My father gave me a knowing look as he signed my name on the contract, making the investment officially in my name. Even he could see how I felt about Chris. I didn’t bother explaining. Neither family mentioned the engagement again. 3 Returning to university life was a strange adjustment. The campus was huge. Chris and I were in different programs—he was in finance, I was in art. It was perfectly normal that our paths wouldn’t cross. A full month went by without a single sighting of him. I’ll admit, it was unsettling at first. I threw myself into campus life to distract myself. I fed the stray cats. I joined the mountaineering club. I posted pictures of my sculptures and myself covered in clay. I went on sketching trips with my classmates. My roommates started a betting pool in our group chat, speculating on whether I had genuinely moved on or was just trying a new strategy. They had all witnessed my single-minded pursuit of Chris before. They debated freely, completely ignoring the fact that I was in the chat. I finally typed a reply. “So, what are the odds?” My roommate, Chloe, responded instantly: “Four to one… P.S: I’m the one.” Even though they all thought I would regroup and launch a new offensive, this time, I had truly given up. I placed a bet on myself moving on. My cousin, Leo Sterling, came looking for me. He rolled up in a flashy sports car, his hair bleached a shocking blond, and yelled my name at the top of his lungs outside the sculpture studio late at night. “Aria!” He lunged forward to sling an arm around my neck, then skidded to a halt when he saw I was covered in wet clay. “Heard you invested in Chris’s company, but now you’re avoiding him?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with gossip. “What’s the deal? Playing hard to get?” I shot him a withering glare. “Hard to get my foot!” I turned to go back inside, wanting nothing to do with him. We’d been close since we were kids, distant cousins thrice removed. He was a classic slacker, and his dad had shipped him off to study abroad. He was a frequent flyer, though, coming back more often than not. Leo stroked his chin thoughtfully. “How about this? I’ll help you kidnap him. You can tie him up and have your way with him.” I took a deep breath and turned back to him with a sweet smile. The next second, all the clay on my hands was transferred perfectly to his face. He let out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered. “Aria Thorne, I’m going to kill you!” As I dodged his attack, I glanced down the hallway and saw Chris standing at the far end, holding two cups of bubble tea. It was the first time I’d seen him since that day. Remembering that his beloved Seraphina had classes in this building, it all made sense. He shot us a cold look, scoffed, and turned away. “What’s his problem?” I muttered. Later, while we were at a hot pot place, Leo asked again about Chris. “I just don’t like him anymore,” I said. Leo’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean, you don’t like him anymore? Is it because of Seraphina?” I snatched a piece of tripe from his chopsticks and rolled my eyes. “You already know, so why ask?” Leo put on a look of profound grief. “My dear Seraphina… so she’s really going to be snatched away by that guy.” His words made my own heart ache a little. That night, the two of us, unlucky in love, drank ourselves into a stupor. My roommate Chloe, who was working a part-time job nearby, had to drag me home. The next day, she showed me a video of Leo and me belting out sad love songs in the middle of the street. She then used it as blackmail to get me to cover her shift for the debate club. She was juggling eighteen part-time jobs and was completely swamped. 4 I thought I would never cross paths with Chris again. I didn’t expect to see him at the debate club. He was organizing files on a shelf. He froze for a second when I walked in, then turned back to his task without a word. I felt a surge of awkwardness. He didn’t think I came here on purpose, did he? We worked in silence. I started cleaning up, just as Chloe had instructed. To be honest, it was a bit of a challenge for me. As I stood on a chair, cloth in hand, trying to reach the top of a window, the chair wobbled. I lost my balance and braced myself for the fall. The expected pain never came. A pair of searing hot hands gripped my waist, steadying me. My face flushed instantly. I was thrown back to my past life, after Chris and I were married. He was usually silent, reserved, and stoic. It was only in bed that he would become a different person, gripping my waist with a fierce possessiveness, his breathing heavy and ragged. His hands were always this hot. He wouldn’t speak, just work with a relentless intensity until my voice grew hoarse from begging, at which point he would finally relent, his attention shifting to my lips for a brief reprieve. I drifted for a moment. So, there had been times when it felt like love. “Get down.” His cold voice behind me pulled me from my reverie. I felt a pang of embarrassment. He probably thought I’d faked the fall. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking deeply annoyed. Just as I was trying to figure out how to explain, my phone rang. I scrambled to answer it, eager to escape. It was Leo. He must have just woken up. “Aria, my little darling, for the sake of your happiness, your big bro is going to give it another shot!” My heart sank. A shot at what? I had a terrible feeling Leo was about to make a fool of himself. I rushed out to find him, and after circling the campus, I finally spotted him in front of the dorms. Chris had found him first. When I arrived, Leo and Chris were in a standoff. The scene was ludicrously over the top. The ground was blanketed in a sea of roses. Seraphina stood behind Chris in a white dress, looking completely bewildered. I approached slowly. I had to admit, the sight still stung. It was a delayed, creeping kind of pain. In my past life, not long after I forced Chris to marry me, Seraphina’s family went bankrupt. Chris immediately sent her abroad. I was happy at the time, thinking no one could get between us anymore. Looking back now, I realize he was probably just afraid I would persecute her now that she had nothing. He really did love her. Just like now. The grand confession was for Seraphina. But it was Chris who stood in front of her, shielding her, rejecting the advance on her behalf. Seraphina’s eyes were red. She tugged gently on Chris’s sleeve, shaking her head. Then, she saw me. She seemed to want to explain something, but after opening her mouth, she just lowered her gaze and said nothing. This scene felt familiar. I suddenly remembered my own afterlife. After my death, Chris brought Seraphina into our home. Leo had shown up then, too, causing a scene. He had pointed at Chris’s nose, screaming at him, accusing him of disrespecting my memory. I had floated beside them, trying to explain. “No, he didn’t cheat on me.” “I know what kind of man he is. He would never do that.” “I was the one who forced him.” “He didn’t wrong me. He can go back to his love.” “I was the one who wronged him all these years.” “Leo, I’m dead. He’s free.” But no one could hear me. That day had been the seventh day after my death. Back in the present, I walked toward them. Chris’s gaze fell on me, cold and hard. It was as if he were saying: Aria Thorne, you’re pathetic. Using Leo to get to Seraphina. Leo stood opposite him, his flamboyant hair looking limp and lifeless. Looking at the ridiculous display of roses and luxury gifts piled in his sports car, I grimaced. His taste was atrocious. Any normal girl would die of secondhand embarrassment. He must have had rocks in his head to come up with this plan. He seemed to realize it, too. He shot me a desperate look and whispered, “Help me.” “If my dad finds out I’m back in the country pulling this crap, I’m dead meat!” I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t ask for my help before you pulled this crap. It’s too late now.” “It wasn’t me!” he hissed. “I just wanted to give her some flowers! My idiot friends got wind of it and put all this together!” I glanced over and, sure enough, saw a few of his usual cronies whispering together. Seeing the growing crowd, Leo gritted his teeth. “Help me out of this, and I’ll steal my dad’s yacht for you. We can have a party. With male models.” I nodded instantly. “Deal.” I took the bouquet from Leo’s hand, turned to Seraphina, and put on my most lovesick expression. “Sera, I’ve admired you for so long! Do you like these Bulgarian roses, freshly flown in just for you?” Then, pretending to just notice Chris, I covered my mouth in shock. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you already had a boyfriend.” I feigned tears. “It seems I was one step too late. In the next life, I’ll be sure to come sooner!” Someone in the crowd muttered, “Wait, I thought Aria was chasing Chris?” Seraphina looked at me, confused. Crap. “It was a diversionary tactic!” I announced. “An attempt to weaken the enemy from within! It failed, so this was my last desperate gambit!” Nods of understanding rippled through the crowd. Seraphina’s expression was complicated, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. I sighed dramatically. “My lady, you must be happy! My quest is over, and I shall retreat…” Leo clamped a hand over my mouth. “Sorry, she’s overcome with grief and talking nonsense. I’ll take her away to recover.” I was just getting into character and shot him a glare. Across from us, Seraphina reached out a hand, about to speak, but Chris clamped a hand over her mouth. And just like that, the two main parties of the confession were both silenced and dragged away. As we left, I glanced back. Chris’s eyes were dark and inscrutable. Seraphina stared after us, looking dazed. Leo and I ran for our lives.

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My mother collapsed. Suddenly, violently. Before they rushed her into surgery, she clutched my hand, her grip surprisingly strong. “Anna,” she rasped, her voice thin as paper. “Get Justin. You have to get Justin here. There’s something I need to tell him.” I called Justin again and again from the sterile silence of the hospital waiting room, each unanswered ring echoing the frantic beat of my own heart. The calls went straight to voicemail, one after the other, a relentless digital void. I was still trying when the doctor emerged from the operating room, his face a mask of grim sympathy. He walked toward me and gave me that slow, soul-crushing shake of the head. The tightly wound spring inside me snapped. Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a call back from Justin’s number. A woman’s voice, sweet and cloying, answered. It was Nina. “Anna? The professor was helping me out with my parents… they were driving me crazy about settling down, and he had a little too much to drink.” Her voice was laced with a triumphant little giggle. “If you need something, you can just tell me.” I stared through the glass at the still, cold form on the gurney that was once my mother. My voice was ice. “Tell Justin Hayes that my mother is dead. And if he still wants that lab equipment, he can come to the hospital and get it.” But Justin never showed. Not even for the funeral. 1 It took only three days to go from my mother’s death to her burial. Three short, agonizing days, and in all that time, Justin was a ghost. Relatives murmured their disapproval, their whispers like wasps buzzing at the edge of my hearing. I pretended not to notice. But I knew. This hollow marriage, this charade I’d been living with Justin, had finally reached its end. After drafting the divorce papers, I tried to reach him again. As always, the calls went unanswered. He’s probably busy, I told myself, the old habit of making excuses for him dying hard. Then I pushed open the front door to our house and saw them. A pair of his polished leather dress shoes, and right beside them, a pair of delicate white sneakers. Not mine. I slipped off my own shoes and stepped inside, my heart a cold stone in my chest. And there he was—Justin, who’d been ghosting me for two weeks—with his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, meticulously scrubbing a pair of lace panties, stained crimson, in the bathroom sink. Also not mine. He looked up, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but his hands never stopped their rhythmic work in the soapy water. “Anna. You’re home early. I thought you were at the hospital with your mom.” My mom? The woman I had just buried? Where was I supposed to be with her, heaven or hell? I had imagined this confrontation a hundred times. I’d pictured screaming, crying, a raw, cathartic explosion of pain. Instead, a strange calm washed over me. I felt so empty I didn’t even have the energy to ask him why he was washing another woman’s underwear. He followed my gaze to the sink. “Nina had a little accident,” he said, his tone casual, as if discussing the weather. “You know how it is. A girl shouldn’t have to deal with cold water right now.” No hot water in the house, then? I thought numbly. “Right,” I managed. “Finish up. We need to talk.” His eyes lit up, a sudden, greedy spark. “Is the new lab equipment in? Fantastic. I desperately need it for the next phase.” He was already moving past me, already in his own world. “Just have your people deliver it straight to my university lab, Anna. Someone will be there to sign for it. With that shipment, the project will move ahead twice as fast.” Justin was a man possessed by his work. If you were to rank the loves of his life, I used to be number one. Then his research took the top spot. But now… now I wasn’t sure I even made the list. Not when his brilliant little apprentice could get a tenured professor to personally handwash her bloody underwear. A sugary voice drifted from the other room. “Professor? Are you done yet? I think there’s a problem with the new serum… all your little snakey-wakes are dead!” Snakes? A jolt of pure adrenaline shot through me. I shoved past him and sprinted to the small, temperature-controlled room where I kept my pets. Nina was there, wearing nothing but one of Justin’s oversized white button-downs, her long, pale legs on full display. She was chewing on a fingernail, frowning at one of the glass terrariums. In her other hand, she held a syringe, a single drop of clear liquid clinging to its tip. Inside the tank, my beautiful, vibrant collection of pet snakes—creatures I had nurtured for years—were coiled in the corners, twitching feebly. “What did you do to them?” I shoved her away from the glass, my voice a ragged whisper. She stumbled back, clutching her chest in mock horror, a perfectly innocent smile playing on her lips. “Whoa, Anna, you’re so aggressive. I was just testing the new serum. I had to be sure it worked.” The serum? My gaze flew back to the terrarium. In a final, gruesome ballet, the snakes began to convulse violently, white foam bubbling from their mouths before they went rigid. They were dead. The innocent, malicious smile on Nina’s face broke something inside me. My hand flew up, and the sharp crack of my palm against her cheek echoed in the small room. Justin rushed in at the sound, just in time to see Nina clutching her face, tears already streaming down her cheeks. “Professor,” she sobbed, “Anna hit me. It hurts so much.” He swept her into his arms, his face a thundercloud of disappointment directed at me. “Anna, what the hell? Nina is just a student. Can’t you talk things out? Why would you hit her? When did you become so irrational?” Irrational? Me? My finger trembled as I pointed at the glass tank. “She killed them! She killed the pets I’ve had for five years! Do you have any idea how much they meant to me? A slap is the least she deserves!” I rounded on him, my voice rising. “And you! What is she even doing in our house, Justin?” Nina was his graduate student. She called him “Professor” with a familiarity that bordered on intimacy, but she never, ever called me Mrs. Hayes. She was always texting him, video-calling at all hours, angling the camera just so, her voice a breathy purr full of not-so-subtle suggestions. Her pathetic little game was transparent. I’d warned Justin about her. I told him to assign her to another mentor. He’d just laughed, patting my arm condescendingly. “Don’t be so sensitive, Anna. She’s just a student. You don’t have to be jealous of everyone.” I’d trusted him. I knew his parents’ bitter divorce when he was five had left him with a desperate need for loyalty and stability. I believed he would never cross that line. And my reward for that trust? My mother died without seeing him, and my beloved pets were now lifeless props for his little protégé’s experiment. Justin peered into the terrarium, his expression serious. He knew how precious these snakes were. I’d had them imported from all over the world, rare and delicate breeds. He knew the painstaking care I poured into them. Now, it was all gone, erased by one careless girl with a syringe. Nina’s shoulders shook with crocodile tears. “Professor, I didn’t know they belonged to Anna. I thought they were for your research,” she whimpered. “I just wanted to make sure the serum was a success before the press conference. I thought they were like… like the lab rats. I didn’t do it on purpose. Please don’t be mad at me.” Her voice grew smaller, her lip trembling as she bit it, eyes wide and red. She looked like a broken doll. It didn’t stir an ounce of pity in me; it only fed the inferno raging in my chest. “Not on purpose?” I scoffed. “Anyone with a shred of decency knows you don’t touch things that aren’t yours in someone else’s home. You don’t go into rooms you weren’t invited into. You’re what, twenty-five? Don’t tell me you don’t know basic manners, Nina.” She clutched the hem of his shirt, the fabric barely covering her, and looked up at Justin for salvation. “Professor, I really didn’t mean to…” “That’s enough.” Justin put a hand on my shoulder, his touch heavy and placating. “Anna, it’s done. What do you want from her? She said it was an accident. They’re just snakes. I’ll buy you new ones.” He looked at me, a flash of genuine annoyance in his eyes. “You’re the CEO of a major company. You manage thousands of people. Don’t you think you could show a little perspective here?” I flinched. Even though I thought I had no expectations left, the weariness in his voice, the undisguised irritation, still managed to cut me. Childhood friends, seven years of marriage, and I meant less to him than his student. It was pathetic. Wiping a tear from my cheek with the back of my hand, I pulled the folded divorce papers from my purse and held them out to him. “Justin, I want a divorce.” He stared at me, then at the papers, his mind clearly struggling to connect the two. He snatched the document and read it, then read it again, as if the words were in a foreign language. When he finally accepted I wasn’t joking, the carefully constructed mask of composure on his face cracked. “Anna, are you serious?” he hissed. “You want to divorce me because Nina accidentally killed a few of your snakes? Have you lost your mind? Your mother is still in the hospital! You want to do this now? Are you trying to give her a heart attack?” He went on, his voice a torrent of accusations. “They were just snakes! If you love them so much, I’ll buy you ten more, twenty more! You can just start over! Divorce… how can you even say that word?” He laid it on so thick, you’d think I was the one who was being completely unreasonable. But this wasn’t a debate, Justin. The one who talks the loudest isn’t always right. I swiftly signed my name on the line and pushed the papers back toward him. “Sign it. It’ll be much uglier if we drag this through the courts.” My phone rang. A friend. I answered, walking upstairs to get away from him. Her kind words were a balm on my raw nerves. By the time I came back down, Justin was gone. The divorce agreement was ripped to shreds in the bottom of the trash can. The bodies of my snakes were gone, too. No doubt taken by the research fanatic for dissection. On the table sat a small, elegant gift bag. Inside was a designer necklace from last season’s collection. My vision darkened. Justin used to love giving me gifts, things he’d spent weeks picking out, things that showed he knew me. Ever since Nina appeared, they’d been replaced by expensive, thoughtless trinkets. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces… my jewelry box was overflowing with them. Each one was a monument to another lie, another betrayal. The more expensive the gift, the guiltier he felt. And every time before, I had chosen to forgive him. I always went back to that one night, years ago, when I saw a crack in his carefully built armor. He’d looked at me, his eyes red-rimmed and vulnerable, and whispered, “Don’t pity me, Anna. Love me.” It felt like yesterday. That fragile boy was still lodged in my heart, a ghost I felt compelled to protect. It was for him that I forgave Justin for forgetting our fifth anniversary to go stargazing with Nina. For him, I forgave Justin for walking out in the middle of my appendicitis surgery because Nina called him in a panic. I had forgiven him so many times. This time, I was done. The next morning, I told my assistant to contact my lawyer and file for divorce. She paused for a fraction of a second but asked no questions. Instead, she said, “Ma’am, about that new lab equipment… should we still have it sent to Professor Hayes’s research facility?” For years, any new, cutting-edge equipment my company acquired went straight to Justin. But not this time. “No. Send it all to Brookhaven General.” The hospital’s dean, Dean Evans, had been a great help while my mother was sick. He’d mentioned needing a new suite of equipment. This would be a good way to repay his kindness. A series of texts buzzed on my phone. It was an old friend. “Anna, when did you and Justin split?” “I’m at a friend’s wedding, and I just saw him with some girl who’s telling her whole family he’s her boyfriend.” “Look. They’re holding hands and everything. When did this happen? He moves fast.” She sent a short video. It was a wedding reception, loud and joyful. And there was Nina, clinging to Justin’s arm, beaming as she introduced him to a group of older relatives. “This is my boyfriend,” she was saying. Justin stood beside her, smiling, not correcting her. So this was his idea of “helping her deal with her parents.” A bitter, humorless smile touched my lips. As I was texting my friend back, a new contact request popped up on my screen. The message was short and to the point. “Anna, I slept with Justin.” I accepted the request. A photo appeared instantly. It was a picture of them in bed. “You’re old, Anna. You’re not good enough for a man as brilliant as the professor anymore.” “Besides, you’re thirty and you still haven’t given him a child. Can you even have kids?” “I’m different. I’m young, I have a great body. I bet I’ll get pregnant on the first try.” “Oh, and by the way, the professor never used to let me have your number. But this time, he didn’t stop me. What do you think that means?” What did it mean? I didn’t give a damn what it meant. A wave of nausea churned in my stomach. My whole body felt like it was cramping, trying to expel a poison that had been building for years. This house, our home, was suffocating me. Every corner was saturated with his presence, his scent, his lies. It made my skin crawl. I called my assistant and told her to find me a new place. Immediately. On the day I was moving out, Dean Evans called to thank me for the equipment and invited me to dinner. I accepted. I didn’t expect him to invite Justin. And Justin, of course, brought Nina. They were dressed in matching shades of blue, like a couple. Her hand was firmly tucked into the crook of his arm, and she didn’t let go even when she saw me. Justin smoothly extracted his arm and guided Nina to the seats next to mine. He leaned in, his voice a low murmur. “Dean Evans has a partnership with the university. I thought it would be a good networking opportunity for Nina. Don’t get the wrong idea.” I gave him a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. What was there left to misunderstand? He seemed to take my silence as acceptance and visibly relaxed. During the meal, I chatted with the Dean while Justin dutifully placed food on Nina’s plate. She took a bite, her voice dripping with sugar. “Oh, Justin, this is delicious! You always know exactly what I like. How do you know me so well?” The atmosphere at the table froze. Nina covered her mouth, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. “Oh, Anna, don’t get the wrong idea. The professor was just helping me because I was too shy to get food myself.” Justin, his expression unreadable, picked up a piece of cucumber and dropped it onto my plate. He’d forgotten. He’d forgotten that I hated cucumber. “Nina’s just a bit timid,” he said coolly. “Don’t mind her, Anna. She’s just a kid.” I set down my fork, my appetite gone. But with an outsider present, I couldn’t make a scene. That would just be giving them a show. The Dean, a perceptive man, immediately sensed the tension. He deftly changed the subject, steering the conversation until he finally landed on the lab equipment. He raised his glass to me. “Ms. Vance, I truly can’t thank you enough for that equipment. You have no idea what a lifesaver it’s been for the hospital. Words can’t express my gratitude, so let this toast do the talking.” Justin frowned. “What equipment? And Anna, speaking of, why haven’t you sent that shipment to my lab yet? My next round of experiments is completely dependent on it.” I took a sip of my wine. “I already gave that equipment to Dean Evans,” I said calmly. Justin froze. His face went from confusion to a dark, thunderous rage, but he managed to bottle it up. For now. The Dean, oblivious, continued to make polite conversation. Justin’s responses became clipped and cold. The second the dinner was over, his control shattered. He cornered me on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. “Anna, why would you give that equipment to him? You know that was the most advanced system out of Germany! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for it?” His voice was a low, furious growl. “What has gotten into you lately? You’re not acting like yourself. Are you seeing someone else?” The accusation, the sheer hypocrisy of it, was almost laughable. I was about to answer when a familiar voice cut through the night. “Anna? I can’t believe I’d run into you here.” It was Liam, an old friend. “I heard about your mother. I’m so sorry, I got back too late.” He put a gentle hand on my arm. “My condolences.” “Condolences?” Justin’s brow furrowed in confusion. He looked from Liam to me, completely lost. “What condolences? Who died?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “384884”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

To marry Nolan Vance, Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor, I reinvented myself—from a gambler’s daughter to an Oxford-educated heiress. I worked tirelessly to become his equal, and succeeded. We built a life of immense power and privilege. But that illusion shattered when Nolan sabotaged a $100 million deal over a cocktail waitress. As I scrambled to clean up his mess, I overheard his friends in the next room. “Does your perfect wife really think a couture dress can hide where she came from?” one mocked. Then I heard Nolan’s laugh—cold and knowing. He had always known I was a fraud. And so, it turned out, was he. 1 Standing outside that door, a gaping hole tore open in my chest. “I heard her deadbeat dad just got out of prison,” someone mused. “Let’s make a bet. I say three months, tops, before he shows up begging for money. That’s when Mrs. Vance’s carefully crafted high-society image is going to come crashing down.” “I’ll bet one month!” Leo declared. “That whole Oxford story was a nice touch, I’ll give her that. But you can’t hide the poverty in your bones. Have you seen the way she cuts a steak? Like she’s murdering an enemy, terrified of using the wrong form. It’s hysterical.” Nolan’s voice, calm and detached, cut through their laughter. “I’ll bet… a year. She has too much pride. She’ll do anything to keep the lie going, probably try to ship her father back to whatever hellhole he came from. He won’t be a problem in the short term.” He sighed, a sound of weary calculation. “My mother was trying to force me to marry that pig-headed idiot from the Harrison Group. Obviously, I refused. Stella was a convenient alternative. She’s poor, yes, but she’s smart. I needed someone smart to run interference with my parents. While they were busy dealing with her, they’d leave me alone.” He paused. “And watching her try so hard to be elegant every day… it has its own brand of amusement.” The blood in my veins turned to ice. He knew. Nolan knew everything. My relentless effort, the life I had painstakingly built—it was all just a joke to him. A private, pathetic circus act. The room erupted in another round of laughter. Suddenly, Nolan shushed them. Through the crack in the door, I saw a girl. She was curled up on the leather sofa behind him, fast asleep, cocooned in his custom-tailored jacket. She stirred, and Nolan immediately silenced the room. “Keep it down. Don’t wake her. She was working all night. She’s exhausted.” Leo clicked his tongue. “Honestly, Nolan. She’s a nobody from the middle of nowhere. What do you even see in her?” Nolan propped his chin on his hand, his gaze softening as he watched the girl sleep. “Compared to Stella’s fake elegance, I prefer something real. A thirty-dollar t-shirt looks beautiful on her. And the way she carries herself, without a trace of insecurity or apology… that’s what I find captivating.” Just then, the girl rolled over and woke up. She sat up, dazed and disoriented. “How did I fall asleep…?” She carefully folded the jacket and handed it back to Nolan. “Mr. Vance, thank you again for paying for my brother’s surgery. I swear, I’ll pay you back every penny…” “You don’t have to.” “No, I insist.” She bit her lip, her expression full of stubborn pride. “I don’t want to owe anyone anything.” A slow smile spread across Nolan’s face. He reached out and gently tapped the tip of her nose, his touch impossibly tender. “Alright, alright, you win. In that case, how about you come work for me? Be my assistant. I’ll pay you fifty thousand a month.” Her eyes lit up. “But… I never even finished high school. I don’t know anything…” “Don’t worry about that. You’re smart. You’ll be great.” After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. A sharp pain, like a needle, pierced my heart. Nolan Vance’s executive assistant. That position used to be mine. The job posting had explicitly stated the minimum requirement was an Ivy League degree. My background was a lie, but my education was real. I had spent months preparing for that interview. I knew Nolan had a branch in Paris and traveled there often. Terrified he’d find me lacking, I’d thrown myself into French lessons and etiquette classes, running from one tutor to the next. And all of it, in his eyes, meant nothing. For the first time, I understood. You didn’t have to be brilliant to stand beside him. You just had to be… her. Nolan gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “For my assistant,” he said softly, “a high school education is more than enough.” A shy smile bloomed on Tress’s face. Outside the door, my limbs went numb. I stumbled back to my own private room, my legs threatening to give out. The business partner, Mr. Peterson, was still there, determined to make me suffer. He poured a glass, a toxic mix of whiskey and something clear that burned the air. “Mrs. Vance, you drink this, and the issue between me and your husband is forgotten.” He gave me a lewd, knowing smile. I remembered the last time I’d done this for Nolan. I’d drunk so much I ended up in the emergency room with a bleeding stomach, nearly dying on the operating table. I wasn’t going to be that stupid again. I took the glass, and in one smooth motion, poured its contents onto the expensive carpet. “Mr. Peterson,” I said, my voice steady. “Your business with my husband is your own. I have other matters to attend to.” I walked out of the restaurant like a zombie and went back to the Vance mansion. Nolan’s mother was seated before a small shrine in the sitting room, her eyes closed in meditation. She heard me enter but didn’t even bother to look up. “The luncheon with the foundation board is tomorrow. Have you finalized the seating chart?” she asked, her voice cold. “Also, the ancestral rites are next month. I had the butler email you the travel itineraries for your uncles. You are to personally arrange their transport. We brought you into this family to be our public face, Stella. These duties must be performed flawlessly. Otherwise, what’s the difference between marrying you and some illiterate trash from the slums?” Gutter trash. The words were a fresh stab to an open wound. I stood silently in the doorway, then turned and started up the stairs. “Stop! Are you deaf? Or have your manners completely deserted you?” I paused at the landing but didn’t turn back. “Find someone else,” I said, my voice flat. “I’m tired.” A torrent of venomous words followed me up the stairs, but I tuned them out. I slammed my bedroom door shut, the sound a final, satisfying crack that silenced the world. Memories flooded back. The first time I ever saw Nolan Vance. I was a college student, working as a waitress at a gala to pay my tuition. It was my first, terrifying glimpse into the world of the elite. I was so scared, so out of place. I accidentally spilled a glass of champagne on a guest. The woman exploded in fury. Her hand shot out, grabbing me by the throat and shoving me to the floor. She kicked me twice, hard, in the ribs. Pain shot through my body, leaving me trembling. “You little beggar!” she shrieked. “Do you have any idea what this gown is? It’s custom-made by an Italian designer! It costs seven figures—more money than your kind will ever see in a lifetime!” I knelt on the floor like a dog, my hands clasped, begging for forgiveness. She slapped me, and the sting of it mixed with my tears, blurring my vision into a smear of red. Then Nolan stepped in. “It’s just a dress,” he said, his voice light as air. “Is it really necessary to terrorize the girl?” The check he wrote was signed with a hand that was long, elegant, and impossibly beautiful. I can still see it. My heart hammered in my chest. For the first time, I felt the chasm of class that separated my world from his. I was a student at a prestigious university, but because of where I came from, I was nothing more than an ant to be crushed under their feet. But I didn’t want to be an ant. I wanted to be the master of my own life. I wanted that beautiful life, and I wanted the man standing before me. In that moment, a dangerous cocktail of ambition and desire gave birth to an audacious plan. I would fake a past. I would weave a web of lies. All I wanted was an admission ticket to their world. A chance to stand next to him. And in the end, I did it. Only to discover it was all just a game to him. He didn’t love the brilliant woman I had become. He was captivated by a cocktail waitress who never finished high school. All because she was real. What a fucking joke. I picked up my phone and called my lawyer. I told him to draft the divorce papers. It was time to end this. I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Nolan didn’t come home until after midnight. I could hear my mother-in-law’s muffled complaints from the living room before he came upstairs. He smelled faintly of citrus, the same scent that clung to the girl. “Mom said you were rude to her today,” he said, undoing his tie. “Go down and apologize later.” I didn’t move. He gently tapped my shoulder. “What’s wrong, honey? You seem upset.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. The same gentle touch, but now it felt like ice. “I’m fine,” I managed, struggling to keep my voice even. “Just not feeling well.” “By the way, how did things go with Peterson?” “Not well.” He paused. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. We can afford to lose the deal. I don’t want you to be put in that position.” I almost laughed. I wanted to ask him who, exactly, he didn’t want to see get hurt. But the words died in my throat. “Okay,” I whispered. I didn’t sleep a wink. The next day at the office, the girl had already started. Her name was Tress. She was even prettier, more innocent-looking, than she had been in the private room. She was also completely incompetent. During the morning meeting, she couldn’t even figure out how to operate the slideshow. Her meeting notes were a chaotic mess. Nolan was notoriously strict with his employees, a ruthless perfectionist. But with Tress, he was endlessly patient. I held my tongue until the meeting was over. When I went to Nolan’s office to discuss a new project, Tress was there to serve tea. Her hand slipped, and a stream of scalding water splashed onto my wrist, instantly raising a cluster of blisters. The project files on the desk were soaked. I finally snapped. “What is wrong with you?” She slammed the teapot down, her face a mask of defiant stubbornness. “Aren’t you going to apologize?” I asked, my voice calm. My composure seemed to enrage her. “It was an accident! Why are you being so aggressive? You think you can bully me just because you have money?” Nolan watched her, a look of pure admiration in his eyes. This was the unapologetic defiance he found so captivating? Before I could say another word, he took my hand. “She’s young, Stella. No work experience. Let me apologize to you on her behalf, okay?” My heart stuttered. I pulled my hand away. The matter was dropped. After we finished discussing work, I was about to leave when Nolan cleared his throat. “I have a dinner meeting tonight. You should go home, don’t wait up for me.” I knew him too well. He always coughed twice before he lied. “Okay.” Back in my office, I found Tress’s social media profile through the HR database. As expected, around 8 p.m., she posted an update. A photo of her and Nolan. They were at a cheap, roadside diner, a table laden with spicy, messy food between them. And two plastic cups from a corner lemonade stand. This was a man who only drank single-origin Yemeni coffee. Now he was drinking four-dollar lemonade. I scrolled through her feed. Almost every post was about him. [My 20th birthday! Mr. Vance bought me my very first pair of high heels! (But I still like my sneakers better hehe)] [Took the big CEO to a hole-in-the-wall for the first time. He looked so serious eating, but he still peeled my crawfish for me!] The more I looked, the tighter the knot in my chest became. Just then, my phone buzzed. A text from an anonymous number. My heart seized. It was my father. The one I’d just heard was out of prison. [Stella. Help your dad out. You think you can just cut me off now that you’ve made it big?] [I’ll drag you back down into the mud with me!] [Don’t forget how you got into the Vance family. Give me five million, and I’ll keep your little secret.] I didn’t reply. My hand trembled as I deleted the message. I thought of the bet Nolan and his friends had made. The bet on how long it would take for my world to implode. My father was a ticking time bomb. Sooner or later, he would detonate. But I was done living in fear. This time, I would be the one to light the fuse. Nolan came home at dawn the next day, mumbling a lazy excuse about an all-night business meeting. But I’d already seen it on Tress’s feed. There was no meeting. He’d spent the night with her, driving out of the city to some remote hill to watch the stars, and then the sunrise. My mother-in-law’s sharp voice cut through the morning quiet. “The annual family banquet is approaching. Stella, it’s time for you to start the preparations.” It was the most important event of the year for the Vance clan, a gathering of every direct and extended relative. “When is it?” I asked, my voice hollow. “The twentieth.” My phone buzzed again. Another threat from my father. [You little bitch! If you don’t answer, I’m coming to your house!] I hesitated for only a second before typing a reply. [You want money? Come to the Vance estate on the twentieth of this month. I’ll be waiting.] The days crawled by. The closer it got to the twentieth, the more the world seemed to split in two. Tress’s social media was a daily diary of her fairytale romance. Nolan skipping work to visit her grandmother in the countryside. Nolan spending a weekend with her, dressed in a goofy mascot costume, handing out flyers on the street. The two of them squatting on a curb, sharing a three-dollar hot dog. Every photo was a poisoned needle, driving deeper into my heart. My father’s texts continued unabated, each one more vile than the last. He called me a whore, a toad trying to eat swan meat. He said I was born for the gutter and that’s where I would die. The locked doors in my mind burst open. Memories I had buried clawed their way out. Him, drunk and raging, beating me until I was covered in bruises. Forcing me to get on all fours and bark like a dog. Tying me up with a rope and hanging me from the rafters. My head felt like it was going to explode. The pain was so intense I could barely breathe. I dug my nails into my palms until they bled, clenching my jaw so hard I thought my teeth would crack, just to stay sane. The twentieth was almost here. Money couldn’t save me. The beautiful, fragile dream couldn’t save me. If I was going to crawl out of this swamp for good, I had to do it myself. The day of the banquet arrived. Nolan’s car was waiting downstairs. When I pulled open the passenger door, I found Tress sitting there. “I’m just showing the kid what this world looks like,” Nolan explained casually. He then glanced at Tress. “You should sit in the back. The front seat is for my wife.” Tress bit her lip and tugged on his sleeve. “Mr. Vance, I get carsick… I’ll throw up if I sit in the back.” And just like that, he softened. “Stella, would you mind…?” Without a word, I opened the back door and got in. The ride to the old family estate was silent and suffocating. Tress looked exactly like I had on my first night in this world—timid, overwhelmed, and completely out of her depth. But she was luckier than I had been. Nolan hovered over her like a mother hen, protecting her. When one of his cousins tried to ask her for a drink, a single withering glare from Nolan sent him scurrying away. “Bro, you’re already married,” the cousin teased later. “You planning on making her wife number two?” Nolan shot him a dark look. “And what if I am?” he retorted, then immediately flicked his eyes toward me, checking my reaction. I didn’t care anymore. I just watched the antique clock on the wall, counting down the minutes. Finally, the butler hurried into the room, his face pale. He kept glancing nervously in my direction. “There’s… an uninvited guest at the gate,” he stammered. “He says he’s here to see… the young madam.” My voice was calm. “Let him in.” The man who entered was my father. His face was a roadmap of hard living, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He wore a tattered camouflage jacket and worn-out work boots, the soles peeling away from the leather. Nolan, having investigated my past, knew exactly who he was. “Get him out of here!” he snapped, signaling for security. “Don’t,” I said, stopping them. “…What are you doing?” Nolan’s voice was a low hiss. I looked him straight in the eye. “I brought him here today to tell you all the truth.” The color drained from his face. He tried to stop me, but it was too late. “My entire identity is a lie,” I announced to the silent, stunned room. “My parents are not university professors. I’m not an heiress. I’m the daughter of a gambler. I’ve never even been to Europe. It was all a lie to deceive you.” A wave of shocked murmurs swept through the crowd. My mother-in-law looked like she was having a stroke, her body trembling with rage. “Have you lost your mind?” she shrieked. “No, Mother. It’s all true. If you don’t believe me, ask your son. Nolan knows everything. He knew from the very beginning that I was a fake. He watched me play my part, pretending to be a socialite, clawing my way into your family.” I turned to Nolan, a smile twisting my lips. It felt more painful than crying. “I lied to you, and you lied to me. I suppose that makes us even, doesn’t it?” Before he could answer, my father spat on the floor. “Stella, are you fucking done yet? Save your drama for later and give me the money!” I turned to face him, my gaze locking onto his. “There is no money,” I said, each word a stone. “Not a single cent. Now that they know the truth, you have nothing left to threaten me with. I’m not afraid of you anymore. You come near me again, and I swear to God, we’ll both go down together.” I pulled out the knife I’d hidden in my purse and pointed it at him. The room exploded into chaos. For the first time in my life, I saw fear in my father’s eyes. He stammered a few curses but didn’t dare raise his voice. The butler and security guards swarmed in and dragged him out. Silence fell, thick and heavy, broken only by frantic whispers. “Everyone, be quiet,” Nolan commanded, his voice dark with fury. He rounded on me, his eyes like a predator’s. “Stella, you did this on purpose. What the hell do you want?” I toyed with the knife in my hand. The blade was sharp. It slipped, slicing a thin, deep line across my palm. Blood welled up, dark and red. “I used to dream of your world,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “I was willing to lie and cheat just to taste it. But now that I have, all I feel is… empty. There’s no sense of belonging in a world where you don’t belong. And I’m tired. The magic is gone. I just want it to be over.” I looked him in the eye. “Let’s get a divorce, Nolan. I’m done being the cricket in your cage.” I pulled the diamond ring from my finger. It was slick with blood. I threw it onto the marble floor. It landed with a sharp, clean clatter. His jaw was clenched so tightly a muscle jumped. “Divorce?” he hissed. “After all your lies, you think you can just walk away? You’ll get nothing. Not a penny. I suggest you think this through.” “I already have.” I took the signed divorce papers from my purse and held them out to him. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with rage. He snatched the papers and ripped them to shreds. “You’re not thinking clearly. We’ll talk when you’ve calmed down.” “I am perfectly calm. And I want a divorce.” I met his furious gaze, my own unwavering. “No matter what, Nolan. It’s over.”

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Three days into our cold war, I ordered a box of extra-thin condoms and had them shipped to my boyfriend’s apartment. Then, after getting dressed to the nines, I knocked on his door. “Liam,” I began, my voice sweet, “I think I might have a package here…” Before I could finish, a cold laugh echoed from above. “Is this really necessary, Ava? Weren’t you the one who slapped me and told me to get lost?” His long arm was braced against the doorframe, blocking my way. He then turned and yelled into the apartment, “Babe! There’s a hot girl trying to seduce me out here! You gotta come chase her off!” 1 I thought he was joking. I rolled my eyes. “So, what you’re saying is, three days into a fight, some random girl just magically appears in your bedroom? Dream on.” I slipped under his arm with ease and, out of habit, opened the shoe cabinet. When I saw the pair of cute, fluffy pink bunny slippers, a laugh escaped me. “Why’d you buy me these? You know I like green…” “Babe,” Liam’s voice, lazy and low, cut me off. I was about to answer him, wondering when he’d gotten so cheesy after a fight. But then I looked up. Standing in the middle of the living room was a girl in a slinky little slip dress. She blinked her big, innocent eyes at me. “Why… are you wearing my slippers?” I froze, my mind struggling to catch up. I could only watch as Liam, my usually aloof and detached boyfriend, shrugged helplessly before walking over and wrapping his arms around her. “She just showed up out of nowhere,” he said, his voice laced with a gentle apology for her. “If I’d known it was my ex, I wouldn’t have even opened the door.” He turned to me, his expression suddenly serious. “You need to explain yourself, Ava.” Before I could get a word out, he was striding toward me, his face a thundercloud. He glared down at the one slipper I’d already put on. “Could you have a little respect for boundaries?” he snapped, his voice sharp. “Who just puts on other people’s slippers?” I braced myself against the wall, my right foot half out of the slipper. I couldn’t even look at him. Humiliation and a raw, stinging sense of betrayal washed over me, and tears welled up, spilling down my cheeks before I could stop them. After a long, agonizing moment, Liam seemed to notice my distress. His posture softened, a reluctant compromise. “Forget it. Chloe’s a bit of a germaphobe. She won’t want them now that you’ve worn them.” He gestured dismissively. “You can have them.” I forced myself to pull it together, pasting on a brittle smile. “My package… I forgot to change the shipping address.” The girl, Chloe, finally seemed to snap out of her daze. She smiled, tapping her head in a cute, self-deprecating way. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t look at the name. I just assumed they were Liam’s.” Her eyes crinkled. “I’ll go get them for you right now.” The second she turned her back, I scrambled to change back into my own shoes. Liam was still staring after her, a dazed look on his face. I raised my hand. And I slapped him. Hard. A bright red handprint bloomed on his cheek. He worked his jaw, a slow, deliberate motion, and then a small, humorless smile touched his lips. “You blocked my number, deleted me on everything… that means we’re done, right? You told me to get lost, so I did. Am I not allowed to get lost in someone else’s arms?” He took a step forward, backing me into a corner. His eyes dropped to the lace of my dress, to the rapid rise and fall of my chest. “And now you show up here late at night, dressed like that.” His voice dropped to a low, intimate murmur. “What, did you come to make up?” Before I could answer, his expression went cold. He took a step back, creating a chasm between us. “We’ll call that slap even for everything I did wrong in the past.” He glanced toward the bedroom where Chloe had disappeared. “She’s already a little sensitive about the fact that I’ve been in a serious relationship before. So, it’s better if you don’t show up again.” Just then, Chloe returned, holding the shipping box. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice soft and timid. “I didn’t realize this was yours… I thought Liam bought them, so I opened it and put them away. I’m not sure how many you ordered… do you want to count them to make sure they’re all there?” Before I could take the box, Liam leaned over her shoulder to look inside. The next few seconds stretched into an eternity. When I heard Liam’s low chuckle, I felt like a prisoner finally hearing the executioner’s bell. “Seriously, Ava? It’s been three days,” he said, his words trailing off suggestively. “Are you that… desperate?” He snatched the box from Chloe and shoved it into my arms. “There. All yours. Is there anything else? I’d rather not have my girlfriend get the wrong idea.” Under their combined, scorching gaze, my face burned. I wanted to say something, to defend myself, but the words felt pointless. It was over. I knew, with a gut-wrenching certainty, that this was the last time I would ever see him. So I said nothing. I just turned and walked away. In the elevator, I opened a message from my boss about a transfer opportunity to a branch in South Lake. Without a second thought, I typed back: I accept. The moment I stepped out of the building, I dumped everything in my arms—the box, the condoms, the whole pathetic attempt at reconciliation—into the nearest trash can. Just like Liam, I didn’t want any of it anymore. Back home, I curled up on my bed, staring into space, the acidic ache in my chest threatening to drown me. My best friend’s call was the only thing that pulled me out of the haze. “Ava, you are a legend!” she said, her voice buzzing with excitement. “You went in there and tamed the beast! What happened? Did he see you in your battle armor and surrender immediately?” Before I could answer, she barreled on. “I saw his post! Oh my god, and you said he was too cool for cheesy stuff like amusement parks! But he went! For you! He even rode the merry-go-round! It’s so weirdly adorable. See? A little cold shoulder works wonders. You’ve got him trained…” “Are you sure you saw that right?” I managed, my voice thick. She laughed like I’d told the world’s funniest joke. “Of course! I’ll send you the video!” I opened the link, my heart pounding with a sliver of desperate hope. The moment the video played, it felt like my heart stopped. The reason Liam and I fought was… complicated. In three years together, he had never once posted about me on social media. He avoided taking me to public places, especially on holidays or anniversaries. I would look at his cool, perpetually detached face and wonder, Does he even love me? But whenever we were alone, he was a different person—passionate, attentive, almost possessive. This time, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. At our most intimate moment, I asked the question that had been haunting me for years. “Liam, do you love me?” He was kissing my neck, his lips warm and distracting. “Does it matter?” he murmured against my skin. I didn’t understand. Was it so hard to just say the words? I pushed him away. He left, slamming the door behind him, without ever saying he loved me. My friend had found me drowning my sorrows and told me to give him space, that he was just wired differently. That’s why I had swallowed my pride and gone to his apartment. And now he was with someone else. In the video, he was wearing Mickey Mouse ears, a little lipstick heart drawn on his cheek. He looked goofy and happy and utterly adorable. It was a side of him I had never seen. “He has a new girlfriend,” I whispered into the phone, the words tasting like ash. Apparently, our mutual friends were just as confused. A few minutes later, my friend called back. Liam had deleted the post and re-uploaded it. This time, Chloe’s pretty, smiling face was clearly visible. I didn’t want to hear any more. I hung up and threw myself into researching the South Lake project. Then, at two in the morning, my phone rang. It was Liam. It was an unknown number. By the time I realized it was him, it was too late to hang up. His voice was urgent, laced with a desperation I’d never heard before. There was a raw, broken quality to it, like he was on the verge of tears. “Ava… I know I shouldn’t be calling you this late. But can you… can you please come over?” He paused, his breath hitching. “I’m begging you. Please?” My stomach dropped. I couldn’t imagine what could have happened to make the calm, self-possessed Liam Vance sound like this. A hundred different worst-case scenarios flashed through my mind. My body moved before my brain could catch up. “Okay,” I said, already pulling on a jacket and grabbing my car keys. I drove like a maniac, running two red lights. I even tripped and scraped my knee running up the stairs to his apartment. When I finally reached his door, breathless and frantic, the sight that greeted me stopped me cold. Liam was kneeling on the floor at Chloe’s feet, looking up at her with adoration. The living room was full of our mutual friends. When he saw me, he ignored the blood trickling down my leg and smiled, a wide, relieved grin. “Ava. You finally made it.” He turned back to Chloe. “See? Now can I make my promise?” He raised a hand as if taking a solemn oath. “I, Liam Vance, swear that I will never get back together with my ex-girlfriend, Ava Ross. No matter how she tries to seduce me, no matter how she uses our friends to pressure me, it will never happen! For as long as I am with Chloe, I will only be good to her, I will only love her…” The rest of his words blurred into a dull roar. I couldn’t tell if the pain was coming from my bleeding knee or the gaping hole in my chest. Chloe interrupted him with a playful giggle. “Okay, okay, that’s so cheesy…” She blushed, reaching up to cover his mouth. “Stop it… I know you didn’t mean to post the wrong video… Liam, you’re being so embarrassing. Were you like this with your ex? Just throwing ‘I love yous’ around like they were nothing?” And just like that, I was part of the conversation again. The polite, numb smile I’d been wearing vanished. No one noticed. Liam took her shoulders, his expression earnest. “No. I’ve only ever been like this with you. Ask her if you don’t believe me.” Every pair of eyes in the room turned to me. Pity. Sympathy. And from Liam and Chloe, a bright, eager expectation. “Are you guys done?” My voice was ice, and the cheerful atmosphere in the room instantly chilled. “A good ex is a dead ex. Haven’t you heard?” I had always been the compliant one, the one who deferred to him. When my cold gaze met his, I saw a flicker of panic in his eyes. I pretended not to notice and turned to leave. I was done being a player in their little drama. Over the next few days, my phone was flooded with messages from friends. Some were confused, others were indignant on my behalf. [Ava, don’t be mad. Liam’s just being immature. Chloe was his big freshman year crush. He never got to ask her out before she transferred abroad. You know how it is, the one that got away. He’s obsessed.] [You were the only girl he was ever serious with. He barely let other women touch him, but with you… it was different. It was physical. He’ll get over this little fling and come back. Just wait.] [He looked totally out of it after you left that night, like a ghost. And trust me, that Chloe girl is a piece of work… I think you two will get back together eventually.] I couldn’t deal with it. I stopped replying and focused on the move. South Lake was only a two-hour drive from my hometown. My parents and my brother would be thrilled. The night before I left, I got home from the gym and opened my apartment door to chaos. My clothes were ripped from the closet and thrown in a wrinkled heap on the floor. My makeup was smashed, the bottles and jars shattered into a glittering, expensive mess. I was shaking, about to call the police, when Chloe walked out of the elevator carrying a shopping bag. She met my eyes and smiled, a sweet, serene smile. “Oh, you’re back. Perfect. I couldn’t find the jewelry Liam gave you. Are you wearing it?” Seeing my confusion, she explained, her voice dripping with faux sympathy. “I saw all the stuff Liam bought for you on his Amazon account, and I got a little jealous… so he gave me his key and told me I could come and collect it. But you’ve used a lot of it, and I’m a bit of a germaphobe, so I had to…” Just as I was about to lunge at her, Liam rushed in. He took in the trashed apartment and my furious face, and rubbed his temples, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. “What happened here?”

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I’m the illegitimate daughter who was suddenly handed an empire. Drowning in cash I never asked for, I did what any lonely rich girl would do: I sponsored the one pure-hearted college guy I’d been crushing on for ages. I was naive enough to think I could buy his affection. But he was incorruptible, insisting that love wasn’t for sale. Then, the girl he’d always wanted found out about us. She manufactured a scandal, painting me online as a possessive monster who held him captive. One of his obsessive fans saw the posts, went completely insane, and slammed her car into mine, killing me instantly… Meanwhile, his first love got her happy ending. They registered their marriage on the day of my funeral. Everyone called me an idiot, a fool who lost her family and her life over a pretty boy. The next time I opened my eyes, I was back on the day I first laid my heart bare to Eric. “…Do you love me?” His brow was a tight knot of disgust, his gaze crawling over me like I was something filthy he’d found on his shoe. “No.” My fingers, surprisingly steady, found the clasp of the bra he’d just unhooked and fastened it. “Then our arrangement ends here. To be honest, I’m bored of you anyway.” 1 “What game are you playing now?” Eric’s voice was flat, laced with a familiar mockery. The phantom agony of the crash still echoed in my bones. I couldn’t stop a violent shiver from running through me. My hands trembled as I finished buttoning my blouse. I met his gaze, my own eyes clear and steady, and repeated myself. “I said, the arrangement is over. We’re done.” He didn’t believe me, of course. A bitter laugh escaped his lips. “Are you kidding me?” “Someone like you?” he scoffed. “You’d never let go until you’ve had your fill. Wasn’t it just the other day you were talking about locking me in this house? Putting me in handcuffs and chains so I’d be yours and yours alone?” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low, taunting whisper. “What is this? Some new push-and-pull tactic?” A dull ache pulsed in my chest. I shifted away from him, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “The other day was the other day. Now, I regret it. I’m just… bored. I don’t want to play anymore.” For the first time, a flicker of something—uncertainty?—crossed his face. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the usual contempt. He still didn’t believe me. He straightened up, re-buckling the belt he’d half-undone. “You’d better mean that.” “I do. Every word.” To prove it, I pulled out my phone and dialed my lawyer, putting the call on speaker without a second thought. Right there, in front of Eric, I instructed my attorney to draft a contract termination agreement. “The sooner, the better. Have it delivered before sunrise.” After hanging up, I moved toward him out of pure habit, my hands reaching to button his shirt. I got to the second button before he shoved my hands away with a look of revulsion. “Don’t touch me.” In that moment, I felt his disgust with a clarity that was like a slap in the face. In my past life, I had always deliberately ignored that look, pretended it didn’t exist, and continued to throw myself at his cold indifference. This time, I wasn’t going to be that pathetic fool. I dropped my hands and took another step back. “Fine, fine. I won’t touch you.” “Just get your things. The lawyer will be here soon. Sign the papers, and you’re a free man.” I went downstairs first to wait. Two hours later, the doorbell chimed. The lawyer was here, looking like he’d driven through the night. Eric still hadn’t come down. I had to call his name three times before he finally, reluctantly, appeared at the top of the stairs. I signed my name first, right in front of him, then slid the documents across the coffee table. “Sign it.” He shot me a look, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. He was angry about something again. As usual, he looked like I had personally offended him just by breathing. He scrawled his signature with a furious flourish. “Congratulations,” I said, forcing a smile. “You’re finally free.” “I’ve leased this house through the end of the year. You can stay if you want. Or if you find the thought of it too tainted, feel free to move out. It’s up to you.” “Whatever you do… let’s not contact each other again.” I picked up my copy of the agreement, pulled on my coat, and grabbed my purse in one fluid motion. I didn’t look back at him as I walked out the door. My chest felt numb, a hollow ache I couldn’t quite name. I had just made it to my car when my phone rang. 2 I recognized the number. It was the homeroom teacher of Eric’s younger brother, Leo. The little boy had, at some point, listed me as his emergency contact. Whenever he got into trouble, I was the first one the school called. “Miss Sterling, I need you to come to the school. Leo’s been in another fight.” A headache was already forming behind my eyes. “Mr. Davis…” I was about to say I couldn’t make it, but he’d already hung up. The kid had no parents. He was a heartbreakingly lonely little soul. Even though his brother and I were through, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon him. I floored it to the school. When I arrived, I saw him standing there with a fresh scrape on his cheek, getting an earful from his teacher. I immediately slipped into character, putting on a show of scolding him before smoothing things over with the teacher. Then, I whisked him away. Hey, kiddo. Next time, you should probably call your brother. I signed to him. I forgot to mention—he’s deaf. I had taken classes specifically so I could communicate with him without any barriers. I handed him the LEGO set I’d promised to buy him. He pouted. My brother’s busy with his thesis and job hunting. I don’t want to bother him. I’m busy too, you know, I signed back with a wry smile. He ignored me, tugging on my arm and leading me to his “secret base”—a small, forgotten corner of a nearby park. He wanted me to build the LEGO set with him. Once we were nearly finished, he finally freed up his hands to ask a question. Isn’t this supposed to be my birthday present? Why are you giving it to me now? By the time your birthday comes around, we probably won’t be seeing each other anymore. I didn’t want you to think I broke my promise, so I’m giving it to you early. His expression froze. …You’re leaving my brother? I found it a little funny. Why would you say that? I signed back. My brother said you would. He said one day you’d get tired of him, and then he’d finally be free. The words were a needle-prick to the heart. Well, I signed slowly, he was right. Did he make you mad? I shook my head. No. Your brother is a good person. I wasn’t lying. Besides the fact that he didn’t love me, he was a good man. In my last life, everyone said I was blinded by lust. Eric was handsome, sure, but not enough to make me lose my mind for him. What I never told anyone was that I fell for him long before the money, long before the arrangement. It was never about his looks. 3 Seven years ago, I hadn’t been acknowledged by the Sterling family. I wasn’t the heir to the Sterling Corporation. My life was a special kind of hell. The other kids at school all said I was fatherless. They whispered that my mom was a working girl at The Sapphire Lounge, selling her body to make ends meet. They said I was destined for the same fate. They’d corner me, cut my hair and my uniform, pin me to the ground and slap my face. Eric was a freshman back then. He stumbled upon them bullying me one day. It was five against one, but he didn’t hesitate for a second. He fought them off, chasing every single one of them away. He saved me. He even gave me his school jacket to cover my torn clothes. Later, on the day my mother died, they ambushed me at school and doused me in sewage. The stench was so bad that even stray dogs would give me a wide berth. I stood alone on a bridge, overwhelmed by the sudden urge to just jump in and wash myself clean. I was so filthy. My mom would have been disgusted to see me like that. And then, I saw Eric again. That sweet idiot thought I was going to kill myself. Even though I was covered in filth, he wrapped his arms around me and held on tight, refusing to let go. He talked to me for a long time. “Don’t do this,” he pleaded. “Life is long. Things will get better. I promise.” Things will get better. I clung to those words. In my darkest moments, I would repeat them to myself like a mantra. It’ll be okay. Things will get better. And then they did. My degenerate, gambling-addicted half-brother died in a car crash. My father, rendered sterile from an old injury, was left with only one child. Me. Just like that, I became the sole heir to the Sterling Corporation. Suddenly, I had money. I had a mansion. I went from being a piece of trash to an heiress everyone envied. It seemed like I had everything. But my heart remained empty. Six years passed. After inheriting the company, I was representing our charitable foundation, awarding scholarships to underprivileged students. And there he was again. Eric. He was in college now. He’d long since forgotten me. But I couldn’t stop myself from seeking him out, from learning everything I could about him. My investigation revealed that his parents had passed away, leaving him to care for his younger brother. He was struggling, truly struggling. To support Leo, he worked construction jobs, hauling cement, and survived on a single bowl of instant noodles a day… He was nothing but skin and bones. It was pitiful. He was a good person, the only one who had ever shown me a shred of kindness. I had to repay that debt. So, when he was at his lowest, I deposited a million dollars into his account to cover his brother’s surgery. I had intended to remain anonymous. But he found me. He stood before me, his face grim, and asked, “What’s the price?” That one question ignited a greedy, possessive spark within me. “I want you… to be with me for two years. I’ll give you another three million.” I can still picture the look of humiliation on his face. The surgery was already paid for. He had no way of returning the money. I told him he had a choice, but really, there was no choice at all. With a pride as fierce as his, he must have hated me in that moment… We were both at fault for what happened back then. This time, all I want to do is make things right. And letting him go is the only way. 4 After dropping Leo back at school, I went to the office. I threw myself into my work, clearing a backlog of documents and then working overtime for two straight weeks to land a major deal for the company. As we were about to sign the final contracts, my assistant reminded me that a crucial file was missing. …The file was at the house I’d leased for Eric. I rubbed my temples, cursing my own forgetfulness. I had no choice but to go get it myself. I didn’t expect to see him there. That house had been his prison; I was sure he would have moved out the second he was free. But when I opened the door, there he was, sitting in the living room. Our eyes met, and I froze. “What… what are you still doing here?” He seemed startled too. A light flickered in his eyes before his expression went carefully blank. “Waiting for you.” “…Waiting for me for what?” “You still owe me for the last month.” Right… of course. I immediately took out my phone and transferred fifty thousand dollars to his account. As I did, I mumbled, “You could have just texted me about this. Wait, you didn’t delete my number, did you?” His voice was stiff. “You could send a message and find out.” I didn’t reply, just went upstairs to retrieve the file. As I came back down, I could feel his gaze on me, an unsettling weight. “…Is there something else?” I asked. He dropped his eyes, his tone deceptively casual. “It’s been a month since you last contacted me. What, did you find my replacement already?” The sudden question caught me off guard. I figured he was just trying to get a rise out of me, so I didn’t answer. As I turned to leave, he blocked my path. He was a good half a head taller than me, and when he looked down at me, the feeling was overwhelmingly oppressive. “Why won’t you answer me? I asked if you found someone else.” “…That’s none of your business.” “Is he better looking than me? More obedient? Does he know how to please you better than I do?” My heart gave a painful thud. I pushed him away again. “When did you ever try to please me? There’s nothing to compare.” “Just take care of yourself, Eric. Stop thinking about this stuff. You’re about to graduate. I hope you find a great job and have a bright future.” I patted his shoulder like an old friend. “If you need anything, I can give you a recommendation—” His face darkened. “I don’t need your help.” “Right, right. You’re more than capable on your own. You don’t need me.” I gave him a small smile. “I’ll be going now.” I turned to walk away, but my phone rang. It was my best friend, Maya. The moment I answered, my hand slipped, and the phone tumbled into the narrow gap beside a cabinet. To make matters worse, I’d accidentally hit the speakerphone button. Maya’s booming voice echoed through the living room. “Come on, Jess! Henderson says Club X+ just got a new lineup of models, and they are divine. Don’t tell me you’re still cooped up at home with that iceberg of yours?” “Get a grip, girl! The guy doesn’t even give you the time of day, and you’re still treating him like a king!” I coughed loudly. “We broke up.” I was squatting, fumbling to retrieve my phone. Hearing I was single, Maya burst out laughing. “I told you he was never good enough for you—” “Okay, that’s enough!” I cut her off before she could say more, changing the subject. “What time tonight? I’ll be there.” With that, I finally fished out my phone. I switched off the speaker, made my excuses to Maya, and hung up. When I looked up, Eric’s face was a thundercloud. I knew Maya’s words must have stung. I was about to say something, but he spoke first. “You’re really going?” 5 I hesitated for a second, then nodded. His expression grew even darker. I couldn’t read it, and I didn’t want to try. After a simple “take care,” I left. That evening, I arrived at Club X+ right on time. I hadn’t set foot in a place like this since I got together with Eric. My friends were shocked to see me. When they heard I was single again, their jaws dropped in disbelief. “Weren’t you the one who was so in love you were ready to chain him to your bed and never let him go?” I didn’t bother explaining. I just took a sip of my drink. The new models were indeed attractive. The one sitting next to me even had a slight resemblance to Eric, though his features were softer, his expression more eager to please. He was a charmer, constantly taking drinks for me during our dice game. When I shivered once, he immediately draped his jacket over my shoulders and ordered me a cup of hot water. Eric had never done anything like that for me. I shook my head, a little frustrated with myself. Why was I thinking about him again? The young man kept calling me “ma’am,” his words sweeter than honey. The alcohol was starting to hit me, and looking at his face, a wave of sadness washed over me for some reason. I asked him a ridiculously stupid question. “Would you still treat me like this if I had no money?” He blinked his wide, innocent eyes at me and nodded with a smile. “Of course I would!” I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes. Liar. In that moment, the whole scene just felt pointless. I said goodbye to Maya and left the club. As I walked, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The young model saw me leaving and followed. “Don’t you want to take me home tonight, ma’am?” he purred, draping an arm around my shoulders. We stumbled along the sidewalk together. I was annoyed and tired, too weary to push him away. Just as we reached the entrance of the club, I stopped dead. My heart hammered against my ribs. I dug my nails into my palm. The pain confirmed it wasn’t a dream. Eric was standing across the street. As always, his face was a cold mask. When he saw me, he stood up and strode purposefully in our direction. The model beside me was oblivious, scribbling his number on a piece of paper and tucking it into my pocket. Eric grabbed my arm, yanking me behind him. He snatched the piece of paper from my pocket and tore it to shreds. He was rough, his grip bruising my wrist. As he dragged me away, he spat, “Are you that desperate? You’d settle for a guy like that?” My head was spinning. “I paid you in full, didn’t I? What do you want from me now?” The burning tip of my cigarette brushed against his arm. Sssss. He didn’t even flinch. He simply pulled me forward, bent down, and hoisted me onto his back. His back was broad and felt surprisingly comfortable. In my past life, I’d never touched him like this, except in bed. My eyes began to sting. Drunk people are always more vulnerable. My place was too far, so he got a hotel room for me. I took the key card and gave him a wide, sloppy grin. “Thank you…” “I’ll walk you up.” “You don’t have to.” His brow furrowed. “I insist.” Just as he said it, his phone rang. After a brief conversation, he let go of my hand. “…Something came up at the university. I have to go back. Get yourself upstairs safely, okay?” My eyes drifted to the clock above the reception desk. August 25th. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Today was the day Chloe was coming back to the country. 6 A red-eye flight, landing at one in the morning. In my last life, we had a massive fight because he went to pick her up from the airport… I cried my heart out, a hysterical mess. He just watched me with cold, detached eyes. As he left, he threw two words over his shoulder. “You’re insane.” A shiver ran down my spine. I waved a hand at him. “Go on, then. Don’t be late.” I watched his back as he disappeared into the night and shook my head with a sigh of resignation. Then I turned and got into the elevator. The first thing I did when I got to my room was block Eric’s number. Then I buried my head under the covers and slept. For once, I didn’t dream at all. When I woke up, the sun was high in the sky. My phone was flooded with 99+ unread messages. It was that little rascal, Leo, again. He’d been texting me: [Jess, I want hot pot! Take me!] [Why aren’t you answering? I miss you!] [If you don’t answer, I’m running away from school!] I ran a hand through my messy hair. My first instinct was to contact Eric and tell him to handle his precious little brother. But then I remembered I’d blocked him. Damn it. I could never be firm with Leo. Being harsh with him felt like being harsh to my younger self. In the end, I drove to the school, picked him up, and took him for hot pot. Just as we finished ordering, I saw a familiar figure across the restaurant. Eric and Chloe… My heart dropped. Leo froze too, about to call out to his brother. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back down. Don’t go over there. Your brother’s on a date. Don’t ruin it for him. Leo’s lower lip jutted out in a massive pout, as if he’d been mortally wounded. I don’t like that woman. I like you. I ruffled his hair. Thanks for liking me, kiddo. The entire meal was a covert operation. I ate hunched over, terrified of being spotted by Eric and Chloe, terrified Eric would think I was stalking them. Leo, the little glutton, ate for nearly two hours. When he was finally full, I rushed him back to school, breathing a silent sigh of relief. Thank God we hadn’t run into them. The awkwardness would have been unbearable. I went back to the office. I’d barely settled into my chair when an unknown number called. I ignored it a few times, but the caller was persistent. Finally, I answered. Before I could even say “hello,” a furious voice shot through the phone. “Did you block me?” That voice… it was Eric. “Uh…” “Come downstairs.” “Is there something you need?” “Downstairs. Now.” His voice was eerily calm. The calm before a storm. I rubbed my temples and headed down. I could see him from a distance, smoking. Didn’t he used to hate smoking? The thought flickered through my mind and was just as quickly dismissed. I walked up to him and stared. “What is it?” “You saw us today, didn’t you? Me and Chloe.” “Why didn’t you ask me about it?” He stared right back, his gaze so intense it made my skin crawl. I said nothing. The silence stretched between us. After a long moment, he let out a bitter, helpless laugh. “So you really did find a replacement.” “Jess,” he said, his voice raw, “were you just fucking playing with me this whole time?”

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I’m decidedly average-looking, but my boyfriend is Steve Bergman, the most sought-after heir in the city’s old-money circle. Two months ago, on my birthday, fueled by a bit of wine, he took me to a hotel. After that night, he went completely silent on me. When I went to find him, I overheard him complaining to his friend that once my clothes were off, there was nothing to look at. He was terrified I’d cling to him and was planning on ghosting me completely. He even mocked himself: “Was I blind before? I passed on all those gorgeous women and somehow got hooked on her.” You think I’d let that slide? From that moment, I began the quiet, painful process of detoxing him from my heart. So when Steve, after ignoring me for months while he partied with some freshman girl, finally came back to break up with me… I announced my new relationship the very next day. He was speechless. 1 Two months ago, on my birthday, Steve Bergman and I ended up in a hotel room, thanks to a little liquid courage. My period decided to crash the party, so we didn’t go all the way, but it still felt like our relationship had taken a quantum leap forward. I’ve always been a reserved person, my world revolving around academics. Steve pursued me for two years, and we dated for another two. Over that time, I’d grown to depend on him more and more. After our near-miss in that hotel room, my natural instinct was to cling to him, to be closer. But that’s when I noticed it. He was barely responding to my texts. At first, I didn’t suspect anything. His devotion to me was obvious to everyone. I just assumed something was wrong at home. So, after class, I skipped the welcome party for my study group and took a cab to his house to check on him. I had the code to his place; he’d made me memorize it not long after we got together. I let myself in. The living room was empty. As I headed upstairs, I heard voices coming from the study. The door was slightly ajar. Sometimes I think I must have incredible luck to have stumbled upon that moment. Steve was in there with his best friend, Mason, planning how to dump me. A cigarette dangled from the corner of Steve’s mouth. “Back in school, all I saw was how smart she was. I was obsessed with that cool, untouchable vibe she had,” he said, a cloud of smoke escaping his lips. “But then, with her clothes off, under the light… I realized she’s actually ugly.” “Seriously, man, was I blind? I passed on all those bombshells and got addicted to her of all people.” Mason shrugged. “Who knows? I figured you were just tired of the usual and wanted to try something different.” “Think about it,” he continued. “Every girl we grew up with looks like a model. You probably got visually fatigued. A nerdy-but-plain girl is a good palate cleanser. At least now, look, your vision’s back to normal.” Steve took a long drag from his cigarette. “You know, I think you’re right. I came so close, man. So close to sleeping with her.” “And knowing Clara, with her by-the-book personality, if I had, she would’ve latched onto me for life. The thought is terrifying.” “I’ll just ignore her for a while. Wait for her to have a huge meltdown, then break up with her. It’ll save a lot of trouble.” He rubbed his arms as if shaking off something disgusting. I just stood there, watching it all, a buzzing roar filling my head. Because of my father’s infidelity, I’ve never had a high opinion of men. Growing up, my only goal was to study hard, get out, and build a life where I could depend on myself. Then Steve had bulldozed his way into my life. He was this brilliant, dazzling trust-fund kid who threw his pride to the wind, confessing his feelings for me again and again. Even my best friend said it had to be true love, that Steve was different. I believed her. And now, I was the punchline to a joke. Tears welled up as I stared at his handsome, radiant face. I’m a person, not a block of wood. We had been inseparable for two years, and my feelings for him had only grown. That night in the hotel, when Steve held me, his voice thick with emotion as he called me baby, I thought my heart would burst with happiness. But here I was, dreaming of forever, while he was repulsed by my body. What a fucking joke. My pride wouldn’t let me storm in and make a scene. I quietly closed the door. I walked for what felt like miles, my legs burning, until I finally collapsed onto a bench at a bus stop. My heart felt like it was being shredded by a dull knife. As if on cue, the heavens opened up, and a torrential downpour began. Across the street, a department store was blasting music, the lyrics a perfect, cruel soundtrack to my life. Let the rain fall down, let it hide the pain on my face. Let’s just end it all, and be honest, were you the selfish one all along? Fine. Let’s end it, Steve. You want a clean break? You’ve got it. And I’m not just going to break it off. I’m going to do it beautifully. Otherwise, this high-achieving brain of mine would be a complete waste. 2 The next day, Steve still hadn’t contacted me. This was clearly step one in his grand ghosting plan. I had no idea how long he intended to ignore me, but I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for his call like an idiot. First, I unpinned his chat from the top of my message list. Then, I changed our matching profile pictures. The second I did, a message popped up. Steve: ? I didn’t reply. Another one came through. Why’d you change your picture? I ignored that one too. He must have gotten bored, because he went silent after that. I muted his social media feed and then completely overhauled my study schedule. I had sacrificed so much time for our relationship, skipping study group sessions to the point where my professor was getting annoyed with me. No more. I wasn’t going to let some guy derail my future. I packed my schedule with review sessions and competition training, then headed to the lab. A few of my senior lab partners were already there, along with someone new. His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his face. The moment I walked in, Mark, one of the seniors, waved me over. “Clara! Clara, you have to meet the new guy.” “This is Bob. He’s a freshman in the computer science department. He won the gold medal at the national competition last year, and his entrance scores were even higher than yours. This is a meeting of giants! Come on, you two, hug it out. I’ll take a picture for posterity.” Bob was two years younger than me, but he was incredibly tall and devastatingly handsome. The kind of face that could launch a thousand ships. Kids these days, I thought to myself. Great nutrition, amazing genes. They just keep getting better. As I was musing, he extended a hand. His fingers were long and elegant. “Hi, I’m Bob. I’ve heard a lot about you.” “You’re too kind,” I said, shaking his hand. “Just call me Clara. And you, my friend, are seriously impressive.” It was true. The national competition was a gathering of the best of the best. If Bob’s score was higher than mine, it meant his overall skills surpassed my own. And knowing Mark, he was probably being modest about it. Our little team had a bright future. Well, if my love life was a disaster, at least my career was looking up. It was a silver lining, I guess. I pushed my personal drama aside and dove into an intense training session with Bob and the others. By the end of the day, I was blown away by Bob’s abilities. He was young, but he had the calm, steady demeanor of a veteran. No matter how complex the problem, he tackled it with unruffled confidence. We left the lab together. As we walked, Bob, clutching a stack of books, looked down at me. “Clara.” “Yeah?” “I’ve actually… noticed you for a while now.” “Oh?” “This might be a little forward, but… do you have a boyfriend?”

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