Author: Momo Chan

I found a red lace thong tucked into the couch in my husband’s office. I didn’t make a scene or throw a fit. I quietly put it away. On the day of the shareholders’ meeting, I peeled off the one-way window film from his office glass. And so, without any idea what was happening, my husband stripped the intern naked and pressed her against the glass in full view of over 300 shareholders and employees. He loves excitement, doesn’t he? Well, I’ll give him all the excitement he can handle! I went to my husband’s office after a meeting to bring him some cake. The moment I sat down on the couch, something felt off. The couch was warm, clearly just used by someone else. The warm area was bigger than just one person sitting—more like someone had been lying here? I looked closer and spotted a red lace thong wedged between the couch cushions. My head buzzed like thunder, my heart racing wildly. “What’s wrong, honey?” My husband, Nathan Hayes, wrapped his arms around me affectionately. I froze, unable to move. Before I could react, I saw the intern walk in wearing a pencil skirt and a blouse with a neckline so low it exposed half her chest, marked with suggestive traces. She seemed to smile at me provocatively. Combined with the strange sounds I’d heard outside the office door just moments ago… I was completely stunned. In broad daylight—while I’d just been in the conference room next door meeting with department managers—he was fooling around with the new intern, Hannah Lewis, in his office? My heart felt like it had been stabbed with a sharp blade. It hurt so much. “Wow, this cake looks delicious! Mr. Hayes, can I have a bite?” Hannah batted her eyes playfully at Nathan. Nathan smirked and smiled. The familiarity between them didn’t match what you’d expect from a superior and subordinate who’d only known each other for two months. “Go ahead if you want some.” Only after saying that did Nathan glance at me, adding as an afterthought: “Haha, my doctor said my blood sugar’s a bit high, told me to cut back on sweets.” He casually handed the cake to Hannah, his expression relaxed and natural, without the slightest hint of guilt.

I glanced at the dozen or so photos of us kissing displayed on his desk. The tears welling up in my eyes, I forced back down. How could he do this—look at photos of me while messing around with another woman in his office? And that woman was Hannah? I didn’t lose my temper. Clinging to a thread of hope, I held it in until we got home that night. While he was in the shower, I checked his phone. “Honey, tomorrow in the office, wear that lolita-style lingerie set I bought you, okay?” “That depends on whether you can make me climax seven times in one hour.” “No problem. I’ll have you crying by the time you get to work. God, it’s been over two hours since we left work, and I already miss you so much! The moment I wake up, I need to go to the office and kiss you!” “What should we do? I’m so in love with you. How about next week we get matching couple tattoos?” “So bold. Aren’t you afraid your wife will find out?” Even though I’d prepared myself mentally, seeing the actual evidence made all the blood in my body feel like it had frozen solid. My body trembled from the cold. At that moment, Nathan’s phone wallpaper was still our wedding photo. How ironic. “Why are you looking at my phone?” Nathan’s face darkened. Without even wrapping a towel around himself, he rushed naked out of the bathroom and snatched the phone away. “You and Hannah seem pretty close, don’t you?” “Can you not interfere with my freedom? I’m allowed to have friends of the opposite sex.” I smiled bitterly as tears spun uncontrollably in my eyes. When we were dating, he’d directly added my fingerprint to his phone and said, “Feel free to read my messages anytime. Anyone in my contacts you don’t like, delete them.” Five years ago, when he was pursuing me, he sent me a bouquet of roses every single day, saying he wanted to marry me from the moment he first saw me. Three years ago, when we got married, facing my father’s difficult demands—that he marry into our family, that our future children take my father’s surname, that he work late into the night every day and become a qualified successor within three years— he never showed the slightest hesitation or reluctance. Even with a 102-degree fever, he insisted on attending meetings, earning unanimous approval from both old and new company employees. No matter how late his business dinners ran, he always came home. He never stayed out overnight. Our dating anniversary, our wedding anniversary, Valentine’s Day, my birthday—he never forgot any of them. He always carefully prepared a gift for me. Everyone said he was the model of a perfect husband. I didn’t understand. If he treated me so well, why would he cheat? Was it really true that no man could resist cheating? My heart died. My first thought was divorce.

I went back to my father’s house that very night and told Dad that Nathan had cheated and I wanted a divorce. Dad looked down at the documents in his hand, not even lifting his head: “That just proves you’re a woman without charm, unable to keep your husband, so your husband had no choice but to run to another woman’s bed.” My breath caught. My heart grew even colder. Years ago, when he cheated and abandoned my mother, did he say the same thing to her? “Anyway, cheating doesn’t hurt men. As long as he comes home, that’s all that matters.” I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms painfully, and said word by word: “I want a divorce.” “Don’t even think about it. If you want to blame something, blame yourself for not having children yet. Hurry up and have a baby. Don’t let some woman out there have his child first. Otherwise, you’ll have to split the assets with some illegitimate kid.” My chest felt tight and stuffy. Through gritted teeth, I said: “I’ll agree not to divorce on one condition—give me the CEO position. You originally promised it to me…” With a “whoosh,” Dad grabbed the documents in front of him and violently threw them at my head. “You? A woman? What ability do you have to inherit my company?” “I told you long ago to stop daydreaming!” Looking at the documents scattered on the floor, my heart grew even colder. Those were the annual summary reports I’d stayed up several nights to write. Summarizing my achievements over the past three years. Three years as sales champion. The first year I won sales champion, at the year-end party, Dad had me sit beside him, served me food, and said many encouraging and praising words. The second year I won, he gave me a thumbs up: “Worthy of being my daughter! If you win again next year, Dad’s position will be yours.” This was the third year. Even after he changed the sales policies on me, forcing me to double my performance targets, I still became sales champion. But he went back on his word. “At next week’s shareholders’ meeting, I’m handing the company over to Nathan. Don’t you dare make trouble. Just stay home and have babies like a good girl!” “It was you who insisted on marrying this poor boy in the first place. Otherwise, why would I have bothered training him?” “Dad, why have you never considered training me?” “Train you? What for? A woman should focus on being a good wife and mother at home. What business does she have showing her face in public all the time?” “Back then, if your mother had been worth anything and given me a few more sons, would I need to train an outsider as my successor?” I closed my eyes hard. I didn’t understand. I was his biological daughter, yet he’d rather trust Nathan, a complete outsider, than trust me? Just because I’m not a man?

“Oh honey, why are you so angry? Your blood pressure will go up, and I’ll feel so bad for you.” “Lydia, I’m not trying to criticize you, but Dad’s getting up there in years. Can’t you be a little more accommodating?” Hannah wore the same outfit from earlier that day, her neckline cut even lower now. She burrowed into my father’s arms—a man thirty years her senior. I truly admired her. Servicing my husband during the day, servicing my father at night. Clearly, my father had no idea he was being cuckolded by Nathan. Nathan’s nerve was truly remarkable—he dared touch my father’s mistress? I tested the waters, asking Hannah: “As one woman to another, if you were me and your husband cheated, how would you feel?” Hannah paused, then smiled: “I’d only blame myself for being incompetent.” “I’m not criticizing you, but you’re always busy with work and never bother to dress yourself up. How can you expect your husband to be interested in sleeping with you?” I wanted nothing more than to rush over and slap Hannah across the face right then. But thinking twice, that would be letting her off too easy. Mimicking her manner, I smiled at my father: “Dad, don’t you want to know who Nathan’s cheating with?” Hannah’s brow tightened. She shot me a glare: “Like I said, who doesn’t matter. What matters is you hurry up and give him a baby.” “Besides, you’re probably overthinking it. Look how busy Mr. Hayes is with work, spending all day working overtime in his office. Where would he find time to cheat?” Yes, I never imagined it either. This man who came home every day, who video-called me during lunch breaks, who rarely attended business dinners—I never thought he’d be keeping a mistress in his office. My father’s mistress, no less. As if afraid I’d say more, Hannah pressed her chest directly against my father’s face and cooed: “My birthday’s coming up, darling. What birthday present are you getting me?” “I’ll buy you an island and name it after you.” “Yay! Darling, you’re so good to me!” The two started making out right in front of me. On my mother’s birthday, when she came home, Dad had been rolling around on the couch with a female college student twenty years his junior in exactly the same way. Coincidentally, today was also my birthday. Nathan had forgotten. My father had forgotten too. Fine. If everyone wants to hurt me like this, then let’s all be destroyed together.

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After Serena ran me over with her car, I permanently lost my sense of smell. My daughter’s congenital asthma worsened severely, causing major lung damage. My husband, a top attorney, promised he’d send Serena to prison. But I didn’t find out until the trial day that he’d secretly signed a settlement agreement behind my back. He even defended her in court on another prostitution charge, trying to get her acquitted. I asked him why he would save our enemy. He frowned. “You just can’t smell things anymore. Aria’s asthma can be managed with enough medication. But if Serena loses this case, her whole life will be ruined. Lily, you can’t be so selfish.” From that day on, my daughter and I stopped crying and making a fuss. I even thoughtfully brought him a glass of milk when he was working tirelessly on that defense. Zachary thought we’d finally learned to behave. Until the day he came home early with stomach pain. Outside the study door, he overheard our conversation. “Mom, did he drink that special milk?” “He did. The dosage is steady. It won’t show up on any tests.” “Mom, you said Dad is such a great lawyer. If he ends up a vegetable, can’t take care of himself, can’t even speak clearly, will he still think that woman is innocent?” I smiled slightly. “When he’s completely bedridden, I’ll make him watch with his own eyes as the woman he risked his life to save changes her tune right by his bedside.”

The door burst open. Zachary stormed in, his face dark with rage. “Lily, what the hell did you feed me?!” I didn’t have time to answer. He slapped me across the face. Then his hand clamped around my throat and slammed me against the wall. My vision went black. I let out a muffled cry. Aria screamed “Mommy!” and rushed over, but he kicked her away. Her small body curled up on the floor, her face turning purple-red. I grabbed his hand, tears streaming down my face. “Zachary, your stomach problem is chronic. The doctor said stress can trigger acute attacks…” He sneered coldly. “Then explain to me what you put in my milk.” My heart went cold. “That was the child talking nonsense she learned from TV shows… How could you take it seriously?” Aria’s small face was streaked with tears. “Daddy, I was just talking silly… from a cartoon… I was wrong…” After a long while, he finally released his grip, though his venomous gaze remained locked on me. I slid down to the floor, gasping for air, my heart growing colder and colder. Aria threw herself into my arms, not even daring to sob loudly. “Tomorrow I’m getting a toxicology screening. If anything shows up, I’ll send you and this bastard child to prison together!” Prison? A year ago, Serena hit Aria and me with her car. I held my blood-covered daughter in one arm. With my other hand, I fumbled for my phone and pressed the speed dial. But no one answered. I called again and again. It wasn’t until the seventh attempt that he finally picked up. “We were hit by a car. Aria is bleeding… I can’t move…” But he sounded extremely impatient. “Call an ambulance yourself. Serena is shaken up, I need to stay with her. You two go to the hospital first, I’ll come later.” A passerby called the ambulance. He didn’t show up at the hospital until the next afternoon. Aria was unconscious. I had bandages wrapped around my head. He touched my hair. “Don’t worry. The person who hit you-I’ll make sure she goes to prison.” Later, I discovered that signed settlement agreement. Now, he was using that same calm tone to say he’d send my daughter and me to prison. I almost wanted to laugh. But I lowered my head, letting my hair fall across my face. Zachary stared at me for a few seconds. The fury on his face gradually subsided. He pulled a document from his briefcase and threw it in front of me. “Sign it.” This was a statement certifying that Serena had merely passed by the brothel and had not participated in any illegal activities. I looked up. “This is perjury. If they find out, I’ll go to prison.” “I’m one of the top three criminal attorneys in this city. With me here, what are you afraid of?” He crouched down and gripped my chin. This face had once made me lose my mind with love. Now it only held coldness and unfamiliarity. “If you don’t sign, I can send you to prison right now. If you sign, you’re still Mrs. Bennett. Aria can still attend the best private school, and her targeted medication won’t be stopped.” He didn’t know that Aria hadn’t been to school in three months. Because she could suffocate at any moment, I had to stay by her side constantly. For Aria’s treatment, I needed money. I signed with trembling hands. “Tomorrow morning at nine, come to the law firm to familiarize yourself with the testimony.” He stood up, resuming the appearance of that well-dressed top attorney. “I’m going to the hospital now. You’d better pray the test results come back clean.” The door closed. Aria finally let out her voice and cried loudly. I held her tightly in my arms. I wiped away my tears and opened my phone. The screen reflected my resolute face. Every word Zachary had said while forcing me to sign was recorded. He should be at the hospital by now. But I knew the doctors wouldn’t find anything. Because what I gave him wasn’t any poison you could buy on the market.

The next day, I brought Aria to the law firm. Zachary went through the fake testimony word by word, teaching me how to memorize it. Aria sat beside me, her small hands constantly fidgeting with her dress hem. Midway through, Serena left for a bit. When she returned, her face looked panicked. “Zachary, my diamond brooch is missing. The one you gave me for my birthday last year…” She searched everywhere but found nothing. “Aria was playing outside the conference room earlier…” Aria’s small face went pale. She shook her head desperately. “I didn’t take it…” Zachary walked over and grabbed Aria roughly. I tried to step forward, but he elbowed me back. My head hit the wall with a dull thud of pain. “Hand it over.” “Daddy… I didn’t…” “I said hand it over!” Aria’s coat pocket was violently turned inside out. The diamond brooch fell out. Serena covered her mouth. “Oh my, the child not only steals but also lies!” Zachary’s entire body radiated coldness. “Lily, this is the daughter you’ve raised?!” I pulled Aria behind me. “She never left my sight. You can check the surveillance footage.” Zachary looked at the administrative supervisor. The supervisor looked uncomfortable. “Unfortunately, the surveillance system has been under upgrade these past few days and hasn’t been restored yet…” “I didn’t steal…” Aria cried out, her wheezing becoming noticeable. “It was the lady… when the lady went out earlier, she stuffed something in my pocket…” “Aria!” Serena raised her voice. “I know you don’t like me, but you can’t lie like this.” She turned to Zachary. “Lily must still resent me for the car accident.” “Even the child has been taught to act this way. She probably hates me to death…” Zachary’s expression grew even darker. “Lily, I think you’ve been living too comfortably. Starting today, all of Aria’s treatment costs and additional expenses are suspended.” My mind exploded with a roar. “Zachary, Aria’s medication can’t be stopped…” “Why can’t it be stopped?” He cut me off. “Hasn’t she managed all these years?” “She doesn’t have ordinary asthma!” My voice trembled. “Her lungs are underdeveloped. Once the targeted medication is stopped…” Serena sighed. “Lily, you’re being so dramatic. The child has been fine all these years. Why would she suddenly die now?” “I think you’re just using the child as an excuse because you want to see me lose the case.” Aria’s breathing began to sound like a bellows. That was the warning before her airway was about to close. I crouched down, frantically searching through my handbag. Then I remembered I’d left the emergency medication on the entryway cabinet. “Where’s the medicine?!” Zachary roared. With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone. My fingerprint slipped three times before the screen unlocked. “I’ll call 911… right now…” The call had just connected when a hand reached over and pressed the disconnect button. “Lily, Zachary is about to go to court. If you cause a scene with an ambulance rushing into the law firm and the media photographs it, what will they write?” Serena took my phone and handed it to Zachary. “Zachary, you can’t be soft-hearted. She’s trying to make a big scene to force you to compromise. The reputation you’ve built all these years can’t withstand this kind of scandal.” The last trace of hesitation in Zachary’s eyes completely extinguished. He took my phone and threw it to the ground. “Lily, do you hate me this much? Enough to destroy my career?” “Zachary!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “Can’t you see?! She can’t breathe!” Serena clicked her tongue. “If you were really worried about Aria, why didn’t you bring her medicine when you left the house this morning?” I didn’t want to argue. I picked up Aria and rushed toward the exit. Zachary blocked my way. “Where are you going?” “The hospital!” I turned around, my eyes bloodshot. “Are you blind?! She’s dying!” Serena stood in front of the door. “Lily, do you have to see me go to prison? How can you be so cruel?!” Zachary’s voice dropped. “You haven’t finished memorizing the testimony. You’re not going anywhere today.” I screamed, tears finally rolling down my face. “Zachary, look at her face! She won’t last until your trial is over!” Aria convulsed in my arms. He snatched Aria away and pushed me back into the chair with his other hand. “I want you to sit here and memorize the testimony. Until you finish, neither of you is leaving.” Aria was placed on the sofa. Her small body curled up, her face already turning a dark purple. My heart felt like it was being sliced by knives. I fell to my knees. “I’m begging you, take her to the hospital… I’ll memorize the testimony right now, I promise word for word… I’ll do whatever you want… please…” Zachary kicked me in the shoulder with disgust. My whole body fell backward, the back of my head hitting the corner of the conference table. Warm liquid flowed down my neck. Through my blurred vision, I saw Aria’s eyes losing focus. Darkness swallowed everything.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. I jerked my head around. Aria was on the bed next to me, sleeping, her chest rising and falling steadily. “You’re awake?” Zachary’s voice came from beside the bed. Only then did I notice him sitting there, with faint dark circles under his eyes. He looked at me, his eyes full of guilt. “Aria was resuscitated. Don’t worry.” I turned back to look at Aria, tears streaming endlessly. Seven years ago, Zachary wasn’t yet Attorney Bennett. When I had severe morning sickness, he’d run across half the city in the middle of the night to find the pickles I craved. The day Aria was born, he held that wrinkled daughter of his with trembling hands. “Lily, thank you both… for coming into my life.” But what about later? Later he became Attorney Bennett. Serena came back. After that came the car accident. The settlement agreement he signed. The kick he landed on my shoulder. “Lily…” Zachary reached out his hand, wanting to touch my face. I instinctively dodged. His hand froze in mid-air. “I’m sorry. I was too anxious at the time. Serena’s case is under a lot of pressure, I…” Before he could finish, his phone rang. His expression changed slightly. He stood up and walked to the window, lowering his voice to answer. “Serena? Don’t cry, speak slowly… You fell? How serious is it? I’ll come right away.” After hanging up, he walked back to the bed and picked up his suit jacket. “Serena fell at home. She’s emotionally devastated. I need to go check on her.” “I’ve already paid the medical bills. The doctor said Aria can be discharged tomorrow.” He was about to leave. I felt very tired. But I still spoke up. One last time. “Zachary, tonight, stay here. Stay with Aria.” I paused, then added the words I’d rehearsed countless times in my heart but never spoken aloud. “If you walk out that door today, there will never be any possibility between us again.” He looked away. “Serena is alone, and she’s injured… I can’t just leave her.” I watched him walk out of the hospital room, his figure disappearing around the corridor corner. I leaned against the headboard. I didn’t cry. I would never shed tears for him again. The next morning, I handled the discharge procedures myself. Back home, I changed Aria’s clothes and gave her medication. “Mommy, is Daddy not going to want us anymore?” I crouched down. “If Mommy separates from Daddy… would you be willing to live with Mommy?” She stretched out her small arms and wrapped them around my neck. “I’ll stay with Mommy. I only want Mommy.” This answer severed the last thread of hesitation in my heart. The night before the trial, Zachary finally came home. I was sleeping in the master bedroom with Aria. I heard movement but didn’t get up. The next morning, I was woken by pounding on the door. When I opened it, camera flashes lit up like lightning. Serena rushed forward and grabbed my hand. “Where’s Zachary? He promised he’d appear in court. How could he do this… What about my case…” I pulled my hand back. Before I could speak, Zachary rushed out. “What’s all this noise…” Then he saw Serena’s tears and the camera flashes. He turned to glare at me. “Lily! What did you feed me last night?!” The flashes intensified. “Mr. Bennett! Are you saying your wife drugged you?” “Is it a domestic dispute that caused you to miss the trial?” “Have you given up on Ms. Serena’s case?” Serena cried even harder beside him. “Lily might have just been confused for a moment…” Strangely, I felt no panic at all. Zachary turned to the cameras. “I will petition the court to prohibit my wife Lily from having any contact with this case in any form. Her mental state and actions do not qualify her as a witness.” “As for our domestic affairs, I’ll handle them privately. Now, please leave.” The media was half-pushed, half-escorted out. Before leaving, Serena glanced at me, smugness hidden in her eyes. Zachary got dressed and coldly threw out a sentence. “You and Aria stay home for the next few days. Don’t go anywhere.” After the front door closed, I walked into Aria’s room. She sat on the bed, fiddling with the children’s watch on her wrist. The watch suddenly emitted a faint sound. Serena’s voice. “Lily is too emotionally unstable now. Having her testify is too risky. She has to be removed.” Zachary’s voice carried fatigue. “TThe way she is now, she really isn’t suitable. Serena, handle the media yourself. Last time, didn’t she say I poisoned her? Since she opened that door first, let’s… push it in that direction.” The recording stopped there. Aria looked up. “Mommy, this is what Daddy and that lady said outside the door when you were sleeping in the hospital bed. I pressed the wrong button and recorded it.” I held the watch, my fingers burning hot.

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On Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend Ethan Walker gave me a pair of plastic earrings he’d bought from a thrift shop, claiming they were from Tiffany’s. I knew right away. Another one of his tests. A while back, Ethan had put me through 99 tests. “Hazel, once you pass all the tests, we’ll get married.” I thought it was just his quirky way of showing affection, so I agreed. But then his tests kept getting more and more outrageous. This time, I really couldn’t take it anymore. “These earrings are obviously fake. You seriously want to give me this for Valentine’s Day?” As soon as I finished speaking, a woman suddenly appeared behind him. “See? I told you she doesn’t really love you. She can’t even take a little disappointment!” The woman who suddenly appeared was named Kira. She was Ethan’s best friend. Also the person I hated most. Because she was always texting Ethan late at night, asking him to go out gaming or drinking, completely oblivious to basic boundaries. I’d brought it up with Ethan many times, asking him to keep some distance from Kira. But he always brushed me off impatiently. “We’re just friends. Stop being so petty.” So I kept putting up with it. Again and again. Now Kira slid right between us, casually hooking her arm around Ethan’s neck and pressing herself against him, completely ignoring me-his actual girlfriend. “You should really thank me. If it weren’t for the tests I came up with, how would you ever see what a gold-digger she really is!” Her words left me frozen, my mind completely blank. Only one sentence kept echoing in my head. She came up with the tests? So this wasn’t Ethan’s quirky romantic gesture. It was Kira’s idea? I stared at Ethan, finally squeezing out a complete sentence. “Is what she said true? All those tests were her idea?” Ethan looked completely indifferent, answering casually. “Yeah. I thought Kira had a point. I need to test you more, see if you really love me. You did pretty well on the earlier ones. Why can’t you pass this one? It’s just a pair of fake earrings. You can’t even accept that? Guess you don’t love me as much as I thought.” His words were light, but each one cut straight through me. Kira beside him laughed wildly, reaching out to playfully poke his face. “I told you before, but you didn’t believe me. Takes a woman to know a woman. She acts all sweet and understanding, but she doesn’t really love you at all.” Ethan’s gaze unconsciously drifted to Kira, sweeping over her chest. “You call yourself a woman? I honestly couldn’t tell.” Kira pretended to be offended and lightly hit him. “What’s that look for? I’ve got a way better figure than Hazel. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, touch.” As she spoke, Kira leaned into Ethan’s arms. And Ethan actually raised his hand, reaching for her. At that moment, I really couldn’t take it anymore. “Enough!” Ethan’s hand froze mid-air. He and Kira both turned around, looking at me with surprise. Looking at the two people being so intimate before me, my emotions finally exploded. “Ethan, is love something you’re supposed to test?” “I always thought you were joking. I compromised again and again, tolerated again and again. I never imagined you were actually serious! Don’t you think this is insulting and trampling on my genuine feelings?” Ethan frowned with displeasure. “Is it really that serious, Hazel? We’ve barely gotten anywhere with testing you. Kira and I planned even tougher tests. You’re already upset? Come on.” Even tougher tests? I instinctively stepped forward, pressing him. “What tougher tests?”

Ethan’s eyes shifted. He avoided my gaze, casually changing the subject. “Nothing important. Anyway, since you don’t like this gift, you failed this test. I’m telling you-you only have two chances left.” “Two chances? What do you mean?” Kira crossed her arms, smugly taking over. “Oh right, I forgot to tell you. For the 99 tests Ethan set up, if you fail 3 of them, the whole thing is considered a failure. When that happens, Ethan will break up with you.” These words shocked me again. His tests involved breaking up with me? I was shaking with anger. Just as I was about to confront Ethan, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see a group of people approaching-all childhood friends of Ethan and Kira. Seeing Kira’s arm hooked around Ethan’s neck, the group started teasing. “Get a room, you two! Hugging that tight right in front of Hazel, pretty bold move!!” “Hazel, don’t take it too seriously. Kira’s just naturally flirty. She’s like this with everyone. No hidden meaning.” “Yeah, seriously. Come on, let go already. Can’t you see how upset Hazel looks? Don’t make her mad.” Only then did Ethan slowly remove Kira’s arm from his neck and look at me. “We’re going out drinking tonight. You should head home first. Don’t bother coming along, you’ll just get jealous watching me and Kira hang out. Such a hassle.” After saying this, he didn’t even glance at me again before turning and walking away. Only I remained standing there, still holding those cheap secondhand earrings. I couldn’t help lowering my head and laughing bitterly at myself. Ethan was my first boyfriend. Before meeting him, I’d never been in a relationship. I thought if I gave my whole heart, I’d receive equal love and cherishing in return. But I never imagined my first love would be such a scumbag. I shook my head and walked home in a daze. After getting home, I didn’t hesitate for a second and started packing my things. I didn’t need to wait for Ethan to break up with me. I wasn’t playing his testing games anymore. Love was never meant to be tested. Real love is trust and respect. Their so-called tests were a defilement of genuine feelings. Just as I finished packing and was about to leave, I heard noise at the front door. I walked over and opened it to find the smell of alcohol hitting me in the face. Standing at the door was Ethan, completely drunk. His face was flushed red, barely able to stand. Seeing me open the door, he went limp and collapsed into my arms. His weight made me stumble backward, nearly falling. Looking at him completely wasted in my arms, I could only help him inside. This was his house, after all. I couldn’t just leave him at the doorway. Gritting my teeth, I helped him to the bedroom and dumped him on the bed. Ethan lay sprawled on the bed and noticed the suitcase by the bed. He looked at me groggily. “Hazel, what are you doing? Are you leaving?” I didn’t answer, turning to leave. But the instant I turned around, Ethan suddenly reached out and grabbed me. “Hazel, don’t go.” “Today was my fault. I shouldn’t have lied to you. Don’t be angry, okay? Stay here with me.” His words softened my heart, and my determination to leave wavered slightly. “Don’t go, Hazel. Don’t leave me…” He kept mumbling these words, holding my hand tightly. I sighed and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, quietly watching him. Before long, after saying these words, Ethan tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep.

I temporarily abandoned my plan to leave tonight, thinking I’d talk things through with him properly tomorrow once he sobered up. If he could genuinely apologize and cut ties with Kira. Maybe I’d be willing to give him one last chance. After all, I truly had loved him. In my drowsiness, I also fell asleep. Early the next morning, I slowly opened my eyes, my consciousness not yet fully clear. But the next second, the scene before me made my pupils shrink instantly, and I couldn’t help letting out a scream. “Ah!” On the bed I shared with Ethan lay a third person. Kira! She was sprawled out carelessly, one leg draped over Ethan’s body, her head pressed tightly against his chest. And Ethan, who had held my hand so tightly last night-that hand was now resting on Kira’s waist, holding her. My scream woke the two sleeping people. Ethan rubbed his eyes, his voice full of irritation at being woken. “Why are you screaming so early in the morning? You scared me!” I pointed at Kira on the bed, my hand trembling uncontrollably. “What is she doing here? When did she come in?” Kira looked completely unconcerned. She threw off the covers and started getting dressed, her movements as natural as if she were in her own home. “Last night I remembered Ethan’s lighter was still in my bag, so I wanted to bring it back to him. I’ve known his door code forever, so I just let myself in. What’s the big deal? Look how scared you are.” “Then why did you sleep in our bed?” Kira’s eyes shifted, deliberately looking at Ethan with a provocative smile curling her lips. “To test you, of course. To test how jealous you get, whether you can accept me sleeping in the same bed as Ethan.” Was she even speaking English? Why couldn’t I understand her? Ethan actually nodded in agreement, looking at me approvingly. “Right. Kira and I grew up together. Even after we get married, I’ll still hang out with her every day. You need to learn to accept it.” Hearing these words, I was actually laughing from anger. What had I done to deserve meeting these two people? I thought this was outrageous enough, but Ethan’s next words completely shattered my understanding. “You can’t accept this test either, can you? Then you only have one last chance. If you can’t pass that final chance, we’re breaking up.” Actually, I already wanted to break up with him right now. But I wanted to know what other outrageous tests they had planned, so I asked. “What else are you planning to test me on?” Ethan heard my question and glanced at Kira, signaling her to answer. Kira finished dressing and spoke slowly. “The next test is simple: prove that Ethan is the most important person in your life. For example, if your mom and Ethan both fell into the water, who would you save? Or would you be willing to transfer all your family’s assets to him? Only then can you prove you truly love him.” I couldn’t believe my ears. My relationship with Ethan was between the two of us-why did they need to drag my family into it? Ethan beside her also nodded in agreement. “Kira’s right. Only if you’re willing to give up everything for me can you prove your love.” Looking at his arrogant face, the last trace of softness in my heart completely vanished. I looked at him and questioned him word by word. “Why do I have to prove my love? What about you, Ethan? How do you prove you love me?” Ethan sneered, looking at me arrogantly. “Why should I have to prove it? Hazel, get this straight. In this relationship, you’re the one who can’t leave me. You’re the one who’s been clinging to me, insisting it has to be me. So naturally, you’re the one who needs to prove your love. Otherwise, why would I give up my free lifestyle for you?”

So from the very beginning, it was all my one-sided wishful thinking. He didn’t care about or cherish my love at all. He even needed to test me before being with me. I shook my head and sighed. I didn’t want to hear another word from them. I stood up directly. “I’m not participating in your tests anymore. I’ll never accept them. Ethan, let’s break up.” Hearing me suggest breaking up, Kira immediately jumped down from the bed. “You can’t accept this? You’re being way too petty! We didn’t do anything-we just slept in the same bed. Does it really need to escalate to breaking up? After you marry Ethan, does he have to belong only to you? Hazel, you’re way too selfish!” And Ethan frowned as if I were being completely unreasonable. “Weren’t you pretty easygoing before? No matter what Kira and I did, you never got angry. Why have you become so petty now?” Before? Before, they’d never blatantly lain in the same bed together! I was too lazy to waste another breath on them. Every additional word felt like it was dirtying my mouth. I stepped around them and grabbed my suitcase, preparing to leave. Ethan stood there without even making a move to stop me. As if I were just throwing a tantrum and would soon come back obediently to apologize. “Stop making a scene. Really, nothing happened. What are you even angry about? If you keep this up, I really won’t care anymore. Don’t come begging me later.” Even at this point, he still thought I was speaking in anger. Well, it made sense. The old me had been too foolish, too attached to this first love. So no matter how many times he and Kira crossed boundaries, I always endured it. But this time, I truly wouldn’t endure it anymore. I walked to the door and opened it, preparing to leave. Just then, Kira suddenly rushed forward, grabbing my arm and whispering in my ear. “Hazel, if you’ve got any backbone, don’t come back. Let me tell you-as long as I’m by Ethan’s side, he’ll always have eyes for me. You’ll never compare to me.” I shook off her hand and turned to look at her. “Is that so? If he really had eyes for you, why haven’t you two gotten together already? I’d say it’s because Ethan thinks you’re free and useful-he doesn’t have to invest any genuine feelings or give you any status, so he just keeps you around.” My words hit Kira’s sore spot. Her expression instantly turned ugly, and she started frantically defending herself. “What are you so smug about? Ethan and I got together when we turned eighteen! We’ve already slept together! As long as I want, we can be together anytime. You’re just a joke between us!” Got together when they turned eighteen? These words drilled into my ears, making me physically sick. I’d always thought they were just childhood friends. I never imagined they already had this messy relationship, yet they acted innocent in front of me every day, playing me for a fool. I turned back to look at Ethan in the bedroom. He was irritably rubbing his head, looking completely indifferent. “Then I’ll wait and see. Without me getting in the way, let’s see if you two can actually get together.” After saying this, I didn’t stay another second. I left. Walking out of Ethan’s place, I pulled out my phone and called my mom. The moment the call connected, Mom’s voice came through. “Hazel, what’s wrong? Did you fight with Ethan again?” I took a deep breath, forcing down the lump in my throat. “Mom, remember that arranged marriage you mentioned? I’ll do it.”

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I came home early from a business trip and found the guest bedroom door locked from the inside. My wife Kingsley frantically blocked my way. “That’s for my mom. She’s a light sleeper—don’t wake her up.” But her mother had just left for a world tour last month. I nodded and turned toward the study. I opened the home security system I’d just installed a few days ago. On the screen, a strange man lay on the guest bedroom bed. And there was my wife in sexy lingerie and black stockings, riding that man hard, hips thrusting up and down. I sent the surveillance footage directly to our family group chat. Then I dialed property management. “Hello, there’s an intruder in my home, hiding in the guest bedroom. Please bring a few security guards up.” After I hung up, the living room fell deathly silent. Kingsley tried to rush over and explain, but I froze her in place with a single look. The doorbell shattered the fragile quiet, urgent and loud. Several uniformed security guards stood at the door—tall, imposing men holding riot control forks, their expressions serious. Kingsley’s face instantly drained of color. She rushed over like a madwoman and pressed her body against the door to keep it shut. “You can’t come in! That’s my cousin! He’s sick and recovering at my place!” She screamed herself hoarse, as if that could turn her lies into truth. I laughed coldly and addressed the head security guard. “We don’t have any cousin like that.” The security captain frowned and spoke in a businesslike tone. “Ma’am, please cooperate. We need to open the door and verify the situation.” “No! This is my home! What right do you have to barge in!” Kingsley clung to the doorframe, her nails nearly embedding themselves in the wood. I didn’t want to waste more words on her, but out of consideration for her last shred of dignity, I didn’t show the explicit sex tape to outsiders. Instead, I pulled up another video. This other video was enough to prove her infidelity. I turned my phone screen toward the security guards and pressed play. In the clear surveillance footage, Kingsley was tenderly spoon-feeding soup to that strange man, her eyes filled with care and love—a hundred times more intense than anything she’d ever shown me. This was the same video I’d sent to the family group chat. The security captain’s expression immediately changed from professional to a mixture of contempt and seriousness. He said nothing more. With a gesture, two guards stepped forward and effortlessly pulled Kingsley away from the door. She screamed and struggled like a fish thrown onto shore. “Bradley! You bastard! You can’t do this to me!” The guest bedroom door was unlocked with a key. A pale, sickly-looking man wearing my pajamas stared at the scene in terror. At the same time, my phone began vibrating wildly. I didn’t need to look to know—the family group chat had exploded. [Bradley’s Home Security]: Video.mp4 My dad: [What’s going on?!] My mom: [Who is this man? Why is Kingsley taking care of him?] Mother-in-law: [Bradley, what’s the meaning of this! Are you spying on my daughter?!] Father-in-law: [Kingsley! Call me back immediately!] The screen flooded with exclamations and questions. Right in front of everyone—including Kingsley restrained by security and the terrified man—I made another call. This time, to 911. “Hello, I need to report something.” “A strange man entered my home. My wife is harboring him and illegally transferring marital assets.” My voice wasn’t loud, but in the deathly quiet room, each word landed like a hammer blow. Kingsley’s sobbing stopped abruptly. She stared at me in disbelief, her expression shifting from resentment to fear. She finally understood—I wasn’t joking. I was personally putting her on the path to ruin.

The police sirens pierced through the upscale neighborhood’s tranquility. Neighbors poked their heads out, pointing and whispering as police escorted Kingsley downstairs. Her hair was disheveled, tear tracks marked her face, and as they led her away, her eyes burned with resentment and confusion, fixed intensely on me. I followed behind, expressionless, to the station to give my statement. The interrogation room’s lights were blindingly white. Kingsley sat across from me, crying pitifully, beginning her performance. “Officer, he’s my senior schoolmate, his name is Howard. He’s not a bad person.” “His business failed and debt collectors beat him up. He came to me because he had nowhere else to go.” “I just took him in for a few days out of kindness. We’re completely innocent!” Then she started accusing me. “Bradley, we’ve been married three years. You don’t trust me at all? Over such a small matter, you actually called the police! You’re so cold-blooded!” Just then, the interrogation room door burst open. My in-laws rushed in, faces full of fury. My mother-in-law pointed at my nose and cursed. “Bradley, have you lost your mind! Do you have no conscience!” “Kingsley was just soft-hearted, and you had to blow this up, completely humiliating her! Where does that leave our family’s reputation!” My father-in-law’s face was dark. “Can’t you be more magnanimous as a man? Did you really need to handle it this way?” I remained silent throughout, letting them vent, watching this farce like an outsider. When they’d tired themselves out and their voices went hoarse, the officer finally tapped the table. “Family members, please remain quiet. We’re conducting an investigation.” It was my turn to give my statement. I calmly recounted the facts. “I don’t know this man named Howard.” “I came home from a business trip and found him hidden in my house by my wife. My personal safety and property are seriously threatened.” I pulled out my phone, opened my banking app, and displayed page after page of transfer records to the officer. “Over the past three months, my wife Kingsley, without informing me, has transferred a total of two hundred thousand dollars to this Howard’s account.” The numbers on the screen were particularly clear under the harsh lights. My in-laws’ curses caught in their throats. They stared at my phone, their faces turning from flushed to deathly pale. I addressed the officer, enunciating each word clearly. “I suspect they conspired to defraud me of my assets with intent to illegally possess them.” Kingsley completely broke down. She screamed. “Bradley, you’re slandering me!” “That’s our marital property too! What’s wrong with me spending my own money!” That statement exploded like thunder in the interrogation room. The officer’s expression grew serious. My in-laws looked at Kingsley, their eyes filled with shock and despair. She had personally admitted to her last possible escape route.

By the time I left the police station, it was late at night. The city’s neon lights were nothing but cold patches of color to me. I didn’t go home. Instead, I made a call from my car. “Wade, it’s me, Bradley.” On the other end was my longtime friend, one of the top divorce attorneys in the industry. “I want a divorce. I don’t want to wait another second.” Wade didn’t ask questions. He just said one word: “Okay.” I sent him everything—cloud storage links to the surveillance footage, complete screenshots of bank transfers, and the police report receipt—all in one package. “I have one requirement. Make her leave with nothing and recover all transferred assets.” “Understood.” The next day, I still didn’t go home. Every inch of air in that house made me sick. Wade’s efficiency was astonishing. At three p.m., he showed up at my front door carrying a briefcase. My mother-in-law answered. Her face still bore traces of exhaustion and anger. Kingsley and my father-in-law were also in the living room. The family probably thought I’d sent a lawyer to “negotiate” or “settle.” When my mother-in-law saw Wade, she tried to assert her authority as an elder. “Are you Bradley’s lawyer? Why doesn’t he dare come himself? Tell him to come talk to us!” Wade adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled politely but distantly. “Hello. Bradley doesn’t want to see Kingsley right now.” He walked straight into the living room and placed a document on the coffee table. “Bradley has retained me to handle his divorce from Kingsley. This is the divorce agreement. Please review it.” “Divorce?” Kingsley shrieked, rushing over to grab the papers. When she saw the bolded words “Party B voluntarily relinquishes all marital property division” and “leaves with nothing,” she threw the agreement on the floor. “Why! What gives Bradley the right!” “The house was bought after marriage! He started his company after marriage! Why don’t I get anything!” Wade bent down to pick up the agreement, dusted off nonexistent dirt, and spoke in a tone as calm as reading legal statutes. “According to Article 47 of Marriage Law, if during divorce one party hides, transfers, sells, or damages marital property, or fabricates debts to encroach on the other party’s property, that party may receive less or nothing when dividing marital assets.” He paused and looked at the pale-faced Kingsley. “Ms. Kingsley, you privately transferred two hundred thousand to Mr. Howard. We have complete bank statements and surveillance footage as evidence, sufficient to prove your conduct to the court.” He added another line—this was the real killing blow. “Additionally, regarding Ms. Kingsley harboring Howard and suspected joint embezzlement of company assets, Mr. Bradley reserves the right to pursue criminal charges.” The four words “criminal charges” pressed down on Kingsley’s family like four mountains, suffocating them. My mother-in-law finally couldn’t hold on. She tried playing the emotional card, her voice softening. “Bradley… counselor, please tell Bradley that Kingsley just made a foolish mistake. They were husband and wife—he can’t be so heartless!” Wade maintained his professional smile and delivered a devastating line. “Mr. Bradley asked me to convey a message.” “He said he gave you a chance.” “When he asked if your mother was in the guest bedroom, knowing full well his mother-in-law was on a world tour.” This light, casual statement left Kingsley completely stunned. The color drained completely from her face. She swayed and collapsed onto the sofa. So from the moment I turned into the study, it was already over.

When my father-in-law called, I was in my office reviewing project reports. His tone was no longer the anger from the police station, but a condescending firmness. “Bradley, come home tonight. Let’s sit down as a family and talk this through properly.” “Don’t bring the lawyer. This is a family matter.” I agreed and gladly accepted the invitation. But I brought Wade, and I brought a projector. At my father-in-law’s house, all the lights were on. My relatives, their relatives—the living room was packed full. This setup looked like a family trial. As soon as I walked in, Kingsley rushed over, crying pitifully, her makeup smeared. “Bradley, I was wrong. Please forgive me this once, okay? Let’s not get divorced…” I sidestepped her. She stumbled and fell to the floor, crying even harder. One of her relatives, Margaret, said condescendingly: “Bradley, look at you, treating Kingsley like this.” “Men need to be broad-minded. Who hasn’t made mistakes? You should be forgiving when you can.” “Besides, Kingsley only fed that man chicken soup. They didn’t do anything inappropriate.” I laughed coldly inside. Nothing inappropriate? They didn’t know I still had the video of Kingsley and that man having wild sex. My mother-in-law chimed in: “That’s right. Making a scene at the police station, and now you want a divorce. If word gets out, where does that leave both our families’ reputations? Kingsley’s reputation is ruined too.” The persuasive voices buzzed around like flies. My father-in-law cleared his throat, delivering the final summary. “Bradley, we called everyone here today as witnesses. Kingsley knows she was wrong, and you should cool down. Let this matter pass. We’re still family going forward.” I waited until everyone finished speaking before slowly opening my mouth. “Are you all done?” Ignoring their stunned expressions, I set up the projector on my own, pointing the white screen at the wall. “Since this is a family trial, let everyone see what the truth really is.” I pressed play. What appeared on the screen wasn’t the footage of Kingsley feeding soup. It was another surveillance clip. The time stamp showed the second night of my business trip. In the bedroom, Kingsley wore sexy lingerie, drinking my rare wine collection with that man Howard. Kingsley laughed and said, “Bradley’s just a block of wood. All he knows is making money. He has no sense of romance at all, not like you—you understand art, you understand romance.” Howard put his arm around her shoulder. “Once I get back on my feet, we’ll travel the world together and live the life we want.” Kingsley leaned into his embrace, her face filled with longing. “Well, you’d better hurry. I don’t want to look at that poker face anymore.” “Don’t worry. Once I get half the shares of his company, we’ll be free.” Then Howard kissed her mouth and tore her black stockings. Kingsley blushed and straddled Howard’s lap. Slowly, the two began making shameless moaning sounds. Kingsley even shamelessly said, “Cum inside me, make me pregnant please.” The living room fell instantly silent. The relatives who’d just been urging me to be magnanimous sat dumbfounded, their expressions more colorful than a palette. Kingsley’s face couldn’t be described as merely pale—it was the gray of death. My father-in-law and mother-in-law’s bodies trembled slightly. I turned off the projector. My voice wasn’t loud, but clear enough for everyone to hear. “From today on, all joint cards and supplementary cards under our names have been frozen.” I looked at Kingsley and said, word by word: “Your expenses are now your own responsibility.” Then my gaze turned to my father-in-law, who could barely stand. “I forgot to tell you. That biggest order your company got last quarter—I arranged it through my mentor’s connections.” “I’ve already spoken with their CEO. The partnership ends here.” My father-in-law shot to his feet, pointing at me, lips trembling, unable to utter a single word. I helped up my parents, who had remained silent throughout, and headed for the door. Behind me came Kingsley’s desperate wails and my father-in-law’s furious roars. I didn’t look back. When cutting weeds, you must remove the roots.

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The hospital had limited parking, so to make dialysis treatments more convenient, I rented an exclusive parking spot near the hospital at a premium price. But my wife’s childhood sweetheart always came crying to me on rainy days, begging me to give up my spot, saying his asthma meant he couldn’t get wet in the rain. I refused: “There’s a public parking lot right next door. It’s just a few extra steps. Why do you need to take mine?” When my wife found out, she was furious: “Can’t you be a little more compassionate? His asthma attack almost killed him on the road!” I was confused: “He has a car but won’t use it. He insists on getting soaked to steal my parking spot, and that’s somehow my fault? Besides, it’s an exclusive spot. I paid for it. First come, first served.” My wife fell silent: “I’m sorry. I was too worried.” For the next few months, she drove me back and forth without fail, rain or shine. But on the day I needed emergency treatment for acute kidney failure, she drove me around for three hours, deliberately missing the optimal treatment window. On the hospital’s big screen, she stood embracing her childhood sweetheart with a cold smile: “Didn’t you say first come, first served? Well, there’s no dialysis bed available now. Let’s see how long your life has to wait in line.”

A sharp pain tore through my kidneys. I grabbed my wife Kate’s arm desperately: “Kate, quick! Get me to the hospital. I feel like I’m dying!” She violently shook off my hand and sneered. “What’s the rush? When Pedro had his asthma attack, he was in a hundred times more pain than you are now.” The car suddenly braked hard. I looked out the window—this wasn’t the hospital. It was a deserted underground parking garage. Complete silence surrounded us. “Kate, have you lost your mind? What the hell are you doing?” She didn’t answer. Instead, she turned on the car’s display screen. The image showed live surveillance footage from the hospital’s dialysis center. In the city’s most advanced blood purification chamber—the one I had reserved—her childhood sweetheart Pedro lay comfortably, attended by several nurses. Kate smiled at Pedro on the monitor, then turned to look at me. “David, I’m so sorry. Pedro had a sudden severe asthma attack. It was critical, so he had to use your spot first.” My heart sank to the bottom. “You planned this all along?” She finally dropped her disguise, laughing contemptuously: “You’re the one who said it—first come, first served. Now, you can just wait here.” The excruciating pain made my vision go black. I used the last of my strength to beg her: “Then at least take me to another hospital!” She acted like she’d heard the funniest joke in the world. “Another hospital? Why should I spend money to save a useless burden like you?” She turned on the car’s air conditioning to the coldest setting, the freezing air blasting directly at me. I shivered violently from the cold, but the pain in my abdomen only intensified. She lit a slim cigarette. The harsh smoke made me cough violently, each cough tugging at my torn kidneys. I stared at her now-unfamiliar profile, my voice hoarse: “Kate, our three years together…” “Really?” Her eyes were ice cold. “Pedro said he saw you embracing another woman. Now you want to talk about our three years together?” I looked at her in shock: “You’re insane! When did I ever—” “Enough!” Kate whirled around. “Pedro’s body is damaged. Fine, you took his parking spot. But then you made him stand in the rain until he got a fever. Now it’s time for you to experience what suffering feels like!” The car door locked with a “click.” She got out, imprisoning me alone in this cold, desperate space. On the screen, Pedro showed a triumphant smile and waved at the camera. I don’t know how much time passed before the car door was violently yanked open. Kate stood outside, several thugs behind her with cigarettes dangling from their mouths, their eyes leering at me. She held a bucket filled with murky, filthy water. “It’s too dry in the car,” she looked down at me condescendingly. “How else can you understand the helplessness Pedro felt waiting for a parking spot in the rain?” I moved my lips weakly, each word draining all my remaining strength: “Kate… save me…” She snorted coldly. The thugs immediately understood. Two hands reached in, dragging me roughly from the car and throwing me hard onto the muddy ground. Mud water instantly soaked through my clothes. I struggled to get up, but a foot pressed down hard on my back, pinning me to the ground, unable to move. Kate lifted the bucket and walked over to me. The filthy water poured down from above my head, reeking terribly, choking into my mouth and nose. I shook violently from the cold, my consciousness gradually blurring between the freezing temperature and the excruciating pain in my kidneys.

“Don’t you have OCD?” Her voice was filled with vengeful pleasure as her high heel ground over my fingers. “Don’t you disinfect the house three times every day? How does it feel now?” She gave a thug a look. The man grinned viciously, pulled a baseball bat from the trunk, weighed it in his hands, and tossed it to her. Kate caught the bat and crouched down beside me, her voice soft. “Pedro said that day after getting caught in the rain, he felt like his lungs were going to explode.” She slowly stood up and raised the baseball bat. “Now, let you feel the same.” The bat came down with a sharp whistle, smashing hard into my lower back—right where my kidneys were. “Ahhh—!” The intense pain made me scream inhumanly. My body arched violently, and my vision went completely black. On the car screen, Pedro spoke with fake concern, though excitement leaked through his voice: “Kate, that’s enough. Don’t break him. I still need him…” “You’re still defending him!” Pedro’s words seemed to trigger Kate, madness exploding in her eyes. “He almost killed you! This little pain is nothing!” She stopped letting the thugs do it and took matters into her own hands. Another strike, smashing hard into my calf. “Crack!” I clearly heard the sound of my own bone shattering. The pain nearly made me pass out, but she still wasn’t satisfied. She threw down the bat and ordered a thug: “Tear off his shirt!” The expensive cashmere sweater she’d given me for my birthday was ripped apart with a “rip.” My bare upper body was exposed to the cold autumn wind, trembling all over. I stared at her intently, using the last trace of my strength. During a brief gap in the pain, I used my last bit of strength, my fingers trembling as they moved quietly toward my collar. There was a specially made emergency pin sewn there. My assistant Leo had half-forced me to wear it before this hospitalization, calling it a good luck charm. He always said I trusted human nature too much. I struggled with all my might and finally pressed that tiny switch. My tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and I almost collapsed from exhaustion. Leo. He would come. He would definitely come to save me. As long as I could hold on until he arrived… “David, what are you up to?” Kate’s voice pierced through the hope I’d just kindled. She bent down and yanked open my collar. The small pin was exposed before her eyes. She froze for a moment, then her face flooded with the rage of being played. She lifted her foot, the tip of her scarlet high heel aimed at the pin. “Trying to call for help?” “Crack!” “You useless piece of trash, you’re pretty cunning though.” The metal casing was crushed and deformed, electronic components scattering everywhere. I stared at her hard, my vision going black in waves. I can’t die. In college, I’d taken an emergency medical course and studied physiology well. Now I could only rely on myself. I curled up in the mud water, using a specific position to reduce pressure and bleeding in my kidneys. I regulated my breathing, fighting against wave after wave of intense pain. Seeing that I was actually trying to save myself, Kate’s expression became extremely complex. Pedro’s voice came from the car screen again. “Kate, when I had my asthma attack, the pain almost killed me. How can he still hold on this long?” “He shouldn’t have it this easy!” “Right, he shouldn’t have it this easy.” Kate nodded. She turned and took a white medical kit from the car, throwing it on the ground. A woman who’d been standing behind the thugs walked over. She wore an ill-fitting nurse’s uniform, her face completely expressionless. “He’s lasted too long.” Kate issued her cold command. “Give him an injection of diuretics and saline.” My pupils contracted sharply. “Kate, you’re insane!” I screamed with all the strength in my body: “My kidney function has already failed! This will accelerate electrolyte imbalance and cause cardiac arrest!” The fake nurse crouched down expressionlessly, opened the medical kit, and skillfully drew a syringe full of clear liquid. The needle gleamed coldly as it pierced my arm. “No—”

The drug was forcefully pushed into my vein. In that instant, I felt my heart suddenly stop beating. Then came an even more violent pounding, as if it would burst through my chest. My breathing was instantly taken away. All the muscles in my body began convulsing violently, uncontrollably. My body arched in the icy mud water, then crashed down heavily, bouncing repeatedly. Kate watched me struggle in agony on the ground with cold indifference, watching my lips gradually turn purple from lack of oxygen, her tone terrifyingly calm. “When Pedro had difficulty breathing, he convulsed just like this.” The drug burrowed into my veins. My heart stopped suddenly. Then came the drum-like violent pounding, threatening to tear my chest apart. My breathing was stripped away. My muscles spasmed uncontrollably, my whole body arching in the icy mud water before crashing down heavily. In my fading consciousness, I saw my mother. She lay in a hospital bed, holding my hand, her breath barely there. “David, live well… for me… see the whole world…” No. I can’t die. I haven’t fulfilled my promise to her yet! I bit down hard on my tongue. The sharp pain brought a moment of clarity. I used my last bit of strength to fumble in the mud, my fingertips touching a sharp piece of broken stone. I slashed it toward the woman who had injected me. “Ahhh—!” She screamed and dodged, a deep gash opening on her arm, visible to the bone. “You dare fight back!” Kate’s face twisted with rage. She kicked the stone out of my hand. She stared at me intently, then suddenly smiled eerily. “David, didn’t you once say your greatest wish was to donate your corneas after death to help others?” That was the most sincere thing I’d ever said to her, whispered lovingly in her ear. On the screen, Pedro’s voice rang out excitedly. “Kate, I have a friend whose mother is waiting for a suitable cornea donor!” “Perfect.” Kate’s smile was both brilliant and cruel. “Since you’re going to die anyway, might as well make a contribution now.” She tilted her head toward the thugs. “Hold him down.” “Take out his corneas for me!” “Kate! You wouldn’t dare!” I let out a beast-like roar, my eyes bloodshot, rage filling my vision. Several thugs surrounded me with vicious grins. One of them now held a gleaming fruit knife. They pinned down my limbs. The cold blade aimed at my eye. Just as the knife tip was about to pierce my eyeball— “BOOM!” The parking garage’s rolling door was smashed open by tremendous force. Several black cars sped in. Trained men in black jumped out of the vehicles. The thugs were subdued instantly. Screams rose one after another. The man leading the group rushed to me and wrapped me in his coat. “David! I’m sorry Leo came late!” All the strength seemed to drain from my body. I leaned against his solid arm, lifted my eyes, and looked coldly at Kate. On the screen, Pedro’s face froze, completely dazed. “David?” Kate’s voice shook uncontrollably. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening before her eyes. Pedro on the other end of the screen took a long moment before letting out a terrified shriek. “Kate, run! They’re… they’re from Stellar Technologies!” I looked at Kate, using all my strength, each word hoarse like sandpaper scraping. “Her, and that man on the screen—I want them… to beg for life but be denied, to beg for death but be unable.”

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Nara, the daughter of a New York tycoon, is a hopeless romantic. To elope with a poor student, she slashed my face and threatened me with my parents’ lives: “As long as you get plastic surgery to look like me and marry the New York billionaire heir in my place, I’ll spare your parents.” As I desperately resisted, subtitles suddenly floated before my eyes: [Nara is so foolish. When they elope, they’ll encounter a tsunami. Not only will she be lost without a trace, but she’ll also lose her status as the female lead!] [The New York billionaire heir is the real male lead, but Nara insists on choosing the poor student, a mere supporting character.] [This random passerby with the slashed face is so lucky. If she agrees to the plastic surgery, she can replace Nara and infiltrate the wealthy family to live the good life.] I covered my mangled, bloody face and made my decision without hesitation: “Take me to get the surgery right now. I’ll imitate you perfectly, I guarantee no one will see through it.” Since she’s delivering this heaven-sent fortune right to my doorstep, I won’t be polite about taking it.

My words made the subtitles explode: [No way, this passerby named Sarah is that bold? She actually dares to replace Nara in the arranged marriage?] [If someone discovers that Sarah got plastic surgery to impersonate her, their whole family of three will definitely die horribly.] In that case, I’ll just work hard to make sure no one discovers I’m a fake. I asked Nara: “Just plastic surgery will definitely have flaws. What if someone discovers I’m fake and drags you back?” As Nara frowned, I seized the opportunity to suggest: “How about you train me properly? Let me learn your way of speaking, your style of dress, get familiar with your interests, hobbies, friends, family, and so on.” “As long as I can comprehensively imitate you, it’ll be foolproof.” Nara immediately agreed: “Let’s do it your way. Anyway, there are still three months until the arranged marriage. While you’re recovering from surgery, I can train you properly.” After achieving my goal, she unlocked the iron chains on my parents: “Sarah, if you’d agreed earlier, your family wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.” At this moment, my parents were already covered in blood, barely clinging to life. Yet they kept begging Nara: “Please spare Sarah, we’re begging you…” Nara kicked them in disgust: “Having Sarah be my substitute is a gift to lowlifes like you. You should be thanking me.” I knelt beside my parents, strong hatred surging in my heart. Just because my eyes, height, and voice were eighty percent similar to Nara’s, she had ruthlessly targeted me. My family was extremely poor. My parents had no connections and raised me by collecting trash. For Nara to torture us was easier than stepping on an ant. Fortunately, there were these subtitles that let me change my mind in time and save my parents’ lives. When I lay on the operating table, the subtitles were still wailing: [Can Nara please just break up with the poor student already? The New York billionaire heir is a tall, rich, handsome CEO. I don’t want to see Sarah get this advantage!] A tall, rich, handsome CEO? That’s perfect. I endured the excruciating pain of bone shaving and flesh grinding, closing my eyes in anticipation. From this moment on, I would no longer be pitiful Sarah. I would replace the love-brained Nara and become the real Nara. The wealthy heir she doesn’t want to marry—I’ll marry him. The good life she doesn’t want—I’ll live it for her!

Starting the next day, Nara put me through high-intensity training. “I started racing at eighteen. Hurry up and get your driver’s license, then practice driving three hours every day.” “Your country accent is so tacky. Quickly practice standard English. If you embarrass my dad at a big event, I’ll kill you!” “Do you understand dining etiquette? Do you understand the rules of socialite circles? Have you ever even gotten your nails done?” As Nara scolded me, she started losing her temper: “I’m very picky about everything—food, clothes, housing, transportation. You reek of poverty. How could you possibly imitate me?” I humbly appeased Nara: “I can do it! Even if I don’t sleep, I’ll study hard according to your requirements.” I knew the gap between Nara and me was huge. But I wasn’t afraid. I forced myself to sleep only two hours a day. Besides practicing driving, I learned financial knowledge from scratch. I also studied all the major fashion magazines intensively, familiarized myself with every luxury brand, and learned etiquette from online videos. With superhuman willpower and determination, one month later, I successfully got my driver’s license, my spoken English became standard, and my eyes held much less timidity. Nara was quite satisfied: “I didn’t expect you to be so serious. Let’s move to the next stage.” She brought out materials and photos piled like a mountain: “This is my family tree. You need to recognize all these relatives clearly. They often give me gifts. If you dare mistake anyone, you’re dead.” “These are my family’s important business partners. You need to treat these people seriously, or my parents won’t be happy.” “This is information and background on my arranged marriage partner. Think it over carefully and deal with him properly for me.” I stared at the photo of the New York tycoon Diego, setting a goal for myself. As long as I could win over this man and have a few children with him, even if someone discovered my true identity later, with the children as my trump card, I could at least save my own life and my parents’ lives. My parents, after being beaten last time, never received treatment. Nara watched me closely and wouldn’t let me take care of them at all. I could only occasionally sneak back to bring them some medicine and food. “Don’t worry, once I become Nara, I’ll definitely let you live the good life.” For myself and my parents, I was full of energy, wishing I could utilize all twenty-four hours of the day. As the scabs on my face gradually fell off, the poor student couldn’t help but worry: “This Sarah looks too much like you after the surgery. What if she takes the opportunity to replace you and steal your wealth?” The subtitles were also anxious: [Supporting male character, please persuade Nara! This Sarah looks so malicious. She’s working so hard—clearly she wants to steal the nest!] [Can someone please tell Nara she’s going to die in a tsunami? I’m so anxious!] Nara dismissed this: “Can’t I control a lowlife trash collector? Don’t worry, I have a plan.” She grabbed my neck, her tone vicious: “I’m giving you an account number. After you infiltrate my family, you’ll transfer all the money my family gives you and the marriage fund to me.” “If I find out you’re embezzling my money, I’ll immediately come back and expose your identity, making your whole family die without a burial place!” After speaking, she pushed me away and smiled sweetly while holding the poor student’s arm: “From now on, she’ll continuously transfer money to us. We can travel the world without worry!” I obediently agreed on the surface, but inside I couldn’t stop sneering coldly. If Nara knew she would die soon, and that I would completely replace her… I wonder if she could still smile?

Soon, as my surgical wounds fully healed, my every word and action took on her appearance. I learned skincare and makeup, learned how to dress and accessorize, and learned how to act coquettish. I could recognize every relative and friend around Nara. I recognized more executives and subordinates in the company than even Nara did. As the wedding date drew closer, Nara couldn’t wait to put me into real combat: “Tonight my family will formally meet with Diego’s family to discuss the wedding. You better perform well!” The subtitles still wouldn’t give up: [I hope Sarah is full of holes tonight and gets discovered as a fake. That way our Nara still has hope.] [Sarah reeks of poverty in her bones. Diego will definitely notice. I’m waiting to see Sarah make a fool of herself.] The subtitles didn’t think highly of me, but I proved myself. From driving home and acting cute with Nara’s parents, to helping myself and Nara’s mother pick out dresses and makeup… throughout the entire process, not a single person in Nara’s family questioned that I was fake. If I could pass Nara’s family’s inspection, I was even less worried about Diego’s family. Before leaving, Nara’s mother asked worriedly: “Have you cut off contact with that poor student?” “You were making such a fuss about canceling the engagement before. Now you’re suddenly so cooperative—you’re not plotting something again, are you?” I imitated Nara’s tone, proudly raising my chin: “Mom, can you have a little faith in me! No matter how much I mess around, I can still see what’s important. I wouldn’t make you die of anger over a poor student!” “Besides, that Diego is good-looking enough for me. This arranged marriage isn’t a loss.” My sweet, coquettish yet clever manner would make even Nara herself bow down in admiration. It made Nara’s mother smile with relief. “You really are my good daughter. Here’s five hundred thousand—go trade in for a new car.” As soon as the money arrived, I transferred it to Nara. Nara expressed satisfaction and told me to perform well tonight. Once seated at the dinner table, even though I knew Diego kept observing me, I deliberately acted indifferent toward him. While eating, I paid special attention to avoid all the foods Nara wouldn’t touch. When they started discussing the wedding budget, Diego took the initiative to talk to me: “My current budget is eighty million dollars. Do you have any thoughts on this?” I curled my lips into a mocking smile: “Eighty million? Are you treating me like a beggar? I spend more than eighty million just setting off fireworks. If you want to marry me, please show the highest level of sincerity.” That haughty, domineering manner made Diego narrow his eyes appreciatively: “Alright, I’ll plan the wedding with a five hundred million budget, no upper limit.” I petulantly slammed the table: “Come sit over here. How can we discuss details from so far away?” “I want the best designer to design my wedding dress. I won’t wear it unless it’s covered in diamonds.” Diego smiled knowingly and sat beside me. The subtitles were all exclaiming: [Sarah really captured the essence. Neither family noticed Sarah is fake. What if she actually marries Diego?] [Can Nara please properly punish Sarah? I think this ugly woman really wants to climb up to Diego, this high branch.] Diego’s family was extremely satisfied with me and transferred ten million in wedding fund advance payment on the spot. As soon as the meeting ended, I transferred the money to Nara. “Sarah, your performance tonight was excellent—completely authentic.” I thought Nara had lowered her guard around me. Who knew she would suddenly change her expression and slap me hard: “Remember your identity. Fake is fake—it can’t become real.” “Your purpose in life is to get married for me, then transfer money to me to keep your parents’ dog lives safe.” After speaking, she actually dragged my parents out again. Right in front of me, she viciously broke one of my father’s legs: “If I find out you’re trying to replace me, I’ll cripple all your parents’ remaining legs!”

Amid my parents’ screams, I wiped away my tears and kowtowed to her in humiliation: “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. I absolutely won’t covet things that don’t belong to me.” Nara threw all her documents at me, then took my documents and began preparing her elopement plan. Through the subtitles, I learned she and the poor student had booked a smuggling boat and reserved a house abroad. Following Nara’s instructions, I converted all her expensive bags and jewelry into cash and deposited it all into her account. During this time, I also persisted in paving my own way. Whenever I returned to Nara’s home, I would secretly collect Nara’s hair for future emergency use. The subtitles grew more and more anxious: [The more I watch this Sarah, the less she seems like a good person. I feel like Nara is raising a tiger that will devour her.] [If only Nara would check the weather forecast before setting her itinerary, she could avoid the tsunami!] I counted down to the elopement day, extremely excited inside. As long as Nara got on that boat and died in the tsunami, I wouldn’t have to live in fear anymore. I seized every opportunity to get close to Diego. However, Diego was unfathomable. One day he actually said to me: “Nara, you’re not quite what I imagined.” I used coquettishness to hide my panic, asking him what was different. “According to my investigation, you were previously madly in love with a poor student and even wanted to cancel the engagement for him.” “I wonder what made you change your mind and agree to this arranged marriage with me?” I scoffed, putting on a disgusted expression: “Can we not mention that tacky ex-boyfriend? Isn’t that bad luck?” Diego stared at me meaningfully: “Since you dislike your ex-boyfriend so much, I’ll keep an eye on him for you and absolutely won’t let him harass you again.” I suppressed my panic, treating Diego’s words as a joke. In our subsequent interactions, I began occasionally mentioning the poor student to avoid Diego’s suspicion. After enduring a few more days, the day of Nara’s elopement finally arrived. According to plan, I stayed at Diego’s place that night. I wanted to take the opportunity to sleep with him, while the subtitles live-broadcast the elopement process. [It makes me so angry to see Sarah hugging and kissing Diego! She’s here embracing the rich and handsome guy while the real Nara can only secretly board a boat to elope.] [Nara has ultimately boarded the ship of no return. The tsunami is approaching. My female lead is going to die like this…] Seeing the subtitles say that Nara’s boat had set sail, the heavy stone in my heart finally settled. After tonight, I would be the real Nara! No one would ever harm our family again, and I wouldn’t have to be anyone’s dog anymore. All that awaited me in the future would be inexhaustible wealth and honor. Suppressing my inner excitement, I was about to continue being intimate with Diego when his assistant suddenly pounded on the door frantically: “This is bad! That poor student eloped with Nara! Someone saw them board a ship heading abroad!” My body stiffened, and I completely panicked. Of all my calculations, I never calculated this. Diego wasn’t joking—he was actually keeping an eye on the poor student! If Diego wanted to get to the bottom of this, I would definitely be exposed! Not only would all my efforts be wasted, but our family of three couldn’t escape a horrible death either… Just as I was in a panic, Diego looked at me suspiciously, then opened the door and questioned his assistant: “Are you sure that woman who eloped is my fiancée Nara?” “Positive! I received photos!” Diego took the phone and looked. His expression instantly froze. The next second, he viciously grabbed my hand: “If the woman who eloped is Nara, then who are you?” My heart jumped into my throat. At the same time, the subtitles began scrolling frantically before my eyes.

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I was born and switched by the housekeeper. She stuffed me in the servants’ quarters, claiming I was a servant’s illegitimate daughter. She placed her own daughter in the gold-trimmed crib, making her the envied true heiress everyone adored. For three years, I watched her wear princess dresses, drink imported formula, and be cherished by Mom and Dad. While I slept on the floor and ate leftovers. That night, the housekeeper got drunk and let something slip—she said even my name was randomly chosen. I heard every word crystal clear. That very night, while everyone slept, I crawled into the master bedroom. In the crib, the fake heiress slept soundly. I climbed up, aimed at her, and raised my foot. A dull sound of a body hitting the carpet. Then came Aria’s heart-wrenching cries. Every light in the villa blazed on instantly. I heard chaotic footsteps thundering down the hallway. Dad—James Reed, Mom—Grace Hartley, and the housekeeper Victoria Hayes. They burst in together. The scene before them froze them all in place. Me, Juniper Reed, the servant’s illegitimate daughter in their eyes, lying peacefully in the crib meant for the Reed family’s true daughter. While their treasured daughter, Aria, lay on the cold carpet, crying so hard she could barely breathe. “Aria!” Mom Grace was the first to react, screaming as she rushed over to scoop up Aria. James’s face turned ashen, his gaze stabbing toward me like a knife. The housekeeper Victoria’s face drained of all color in an instant. She knew better than anyone what this meant. “Aria, my baby, where did you get hurt? Let Mommy see.” Grace held Aria, tears streaming down her face with heartbreak. Aria’s little face was streaked with tears as she pointed her finger at me. “It was her! She pushed me!” Her words were garbled but the meaning was unmistakable. All eyes focused on me again. James’s gaze grew even colder. “What happened?” His voice simmered with fury. Victoria’s body trembled like a leaf in the wind. She rushed forward and yanked me from the soft crib. Her grip was strong, squeezing my bones painfully. “I’m so sorry, sir. I’m so sorry, ma’am.” “This is my fault. I didn’t watch this wretched child closely enough.” “She must have been sleepwalking and wandered up here on her own.” She spoke while digging her nails into my arm, her eyes full of warning. I endured the pain. I said nothing, only staring at this couple—my parents in name only—with dark, grape-like eyes. My gaze was filled with timidity and fear. Like a frightened little animal. This was my act. Over three years, I’d learned exactly how to disguise myself to survive. Grace’s attention remained entirely on Aria, not even glancing at me. But James was scrutinizing me. His brow furrowed tightly. Perhaps he was wondering how a three-year-old child could run from the servants’ quarters to the master bedroom and climb into such a high crib. “Sleepwalking?” He repeated the word, skepticism lacing his tone. Victoria’s cold sweat immediately broke out. “Yes, sir.” “The child has had this problem since she was little.” “I’ll take her away right now, lock her up, and never let her disturb Miss Aria again.” As she spoke, she started dragging me away. I sneered inwardly. Lock me up? In her dreams. My goal tonight wasn’t just to kick Aria. I needed to stay. Stay close to them. So I started trembling. My thin body shook violently, teeth chattering. I looked at James, my eyes filled with extreme terror, as if I’d seen something horrible. Then I burst into tears. Crying even more pitifully than Aria on the floor. My sobs came fast and frightened, carrying an indescribable sense of grievance. “It wasn’t me… it wasn’t me…” I cried while speaking in broken phrases. “There was… there was a bad person…” “A bad person in black clothes. He carried me up here.” “He tried to take my sister too. I was scared, so I pushed him away…” My words were jumbled. But the core message was clear. A stranger had broken in. James’s expression changed instantly. He wasn’t concerned about me—he was worried about the Reed family’s security. “What did you say? Someone in black?” He demanded sharply. His voice made me flinch, and I cried even harder. Victoria froze. She hadn’t expected me to fabricate such a lie. She wanted to contradict me but didn’t dare. Because if she said there was no intruder, how would she explain my presence here? Could she admit she got drunk and let something slip, and I overheard? She didn’t dare gamble. “Sir, this child is talking nonsense!” She could only deny it stubbornly. “How could a stranger possibly get into the house?” James ignored her. His sharp gaze swept around the bedroom. The windows were shut tight, the door locked. It didn’t look like anyone had broken in. His eyes returned to me, filled with scrutiny and impatience. “Enough. Stop crying.” Grace had finally calmed Aria down. She held her daughter, looking at me with disgust. “A servant’s child only knows how to lie. Like mother, like daughter.” “Victoria, take her away immediately. Just looking at her irritates me.” Victoria felt as if she’d received a pardon. She immediately grabbed my arm, wanting to drag me out of this dangerous place. I knew this was my last chance. Once she took me back to the servants’ quarters, even crueler torture awaited me. I couldn’t leave. Just as Victoria started pulling me, I used all my strength to break free from her grip. I dropped to my knees. Not kneeling toward Victoria, nor toward Grace. I knelt toward James. The absolute authority in this household. I lifted my head, face covered in tears, looking up at him. My eyes no longer held only fear. There was also a trace of attachment and dependence. “Daddy… Juniper is scared…” I called out timidly. That single word “Daddy” made the entire room fall deathly silent. Everyone froze. Including myself. Wait, I hadn’t meant to call him Daddy. I’d intended to say “sir.” But this three-year-old body seemed to have instincts of its own. Under extreme fear and desperate need for protection, it called out the deepest name in its heart. James’s body went rigid. He looked down at me. At my gaunt little face, at my dark grape-like eyes. I saw an extremely complex emotion flash through his cold gaze. Shock, confusion, and a trace of… emotion he himself hadn’t even noticed. Victoria’s face had turned white as paper.

Deathly silence. The air seemed to solidify. Grace held Aria, her frown deepening. “What did she call you?” She asked James, her tone full of disbelief and revulsion. “A servant’s bastard child dares to call you daddy?” Victoria’s soul nearly left her body. She dropped to her knees. “Sir, ma’am, I’m so sorry!” “This child has problems in her head. She babbles nonsense all the time. I’ll go back and discipline her properly!” She kowtowed repeatedly while reaching out to cover my mouth. I shrank back, dodging her. I remained kneeling, still looking up at James. I said nothing, only staring at him stubbornly with those eyes so similar to Grace’s. My gaze said: I didn’t call the wrong person. James’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He didn’t immediately fly into a rage, nor did he have Victoria take me away. He just stared at my face for a long time. So long that even Grace grew impatient. “James, what are you standing there for? Have Victoria get her out of here!” “Aria’s been frightened.” Aria in her arms cooperatively started sobbing again. “Daddy, I’m scared. She’s so dirty.” Aria’s voice pulled James from his thoughts. The trace of emotion in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by his usual coldness. “Victoria, take her downstairs.” He spoke flatly. “Yes, sir.” Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, quickly getting up and grabbing me like a chicken. This time, I didn’t resist. Because I knew my goal was half-accomplished. The seed of doubt had been planted in his heart. I’d caught that momentary exchange of glances. A man who dominated the business world wouldn’t be easily swayed by emotions, but he absolutely trusted his own eyes and judgment. My face was the strongest evidence. Victoria dragged me out of the master bedroom at a quick pace. Behind us, Grace’s voice comforting Aria drifted over. “Aria, don’t be afraid. Mommy will make her leave our house tomorrow, okay?” “Okay!” Aria immediately stopped crying. Victoria’s steps faltered. My heart sank slightly too. Leave this house? That wouldn’t do. On the way back to the servants’ quarters, the long corridor was silent. Victoria said nothing, but her grip on my arm grew tighter and tighter. I knew a beating awaited me. Sure enough, as soon as we entered that dark, damp little room, she locked the door behind us. Then she turned around, her face no longer showing the earlier fear—only viciousness and malice. “You little bitch!” She slapped me across the face. A burning pain. The blow sent me stumbling and falling to the floor. “Who told you to run out there? Who told you to talk nonsense?” Still unsatisfied, she raised her foot and kicked me. I curled up, using my arms to protect my head. Over three years, I’d learned this was the most effective way to protect myself. I was used to this pain. Compared to hunger and endless cold, physical suffering was actually the easiest to endure. “Did you hear something?” After a few kicks, she seemed tired and stopped, panting as she questioned me. I lay on the floor, saying nothing. “I’m talking to you!” She grabbed my hair and yanked me up from the floor. My scalp felt like it was tearing. I was forced to lift my head and look at her twisted face. “I’m warning you, Juniper.” “From now on, if you dare run around or talk nonsense again, I’ll break your legs and cut out your tongue!” “You remember this—I’m your mother! That Aria is the true Miss Reed!” “You’re just an unwanted bastard, fit only to serve my daughter like a slave for life!” She said viciously. I looked at her, my gaze calm. No tears, no begging for mercy. My calmness seemed to enrage her further. “You dare glare at me?” She raised her hand to hit me again. Just then, a knock came at the door. “Mrs. Hayes, are you in there?” It was a young maid’s voice. Victoria’s movement froze. Her expression changed. “What is it?” She asked impatiently. “Sir wants to see you.” The maid said from outside. Victoria’s pupils constricted sharply. Sir? Why would sir want to see her this late? An ominous premonition settled over her. She released my hair and threw me hard onto the floor. “You stay right here and don’t go anywhere!” She warned me in a low voice, then walked over to open the door. The maid outside saw her and paused. “Mrs. Hayes, your face…” “It’s nothing. I just bumped into something.” Victoria explained vaguely, straightening her clothes and hair. “Where is sir?” “In the study.” “Alright, I’ll go right away.” Victoria closed the door and locked it from the outside. I heard her footsteps hurrying away. The room returned to darkness and silence. I climbed up from the cold floor mat and walked to the door. I pressed my ear against it but heard nothing. But I knew James must have grown suspicious because of my “daddy” call earlier. He wanted to verify. And Victoria was his first step in verification. A cold smile curved my lips. Did Victoria think locking me up would solve everything? Too naive. This tiny servants’ room couldn’t hold me. I walked to the window and skillfully moved a small stool over. The window had no lock, just a simple latch. I stood on my toes and struggled to push it open. Then I opened the window and took a deep breath of the cool night air. Jumping down would hurt a bit. But that was fine. I knew tonight’s show was just beginning. I had to see it with my own eyes.

The study light was on. James sat behind the massive mahogany desk, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the surface. Before him sat a cup of coffee, now cold. He hadn’t drunk it. His thoughts were chaotic. In his mind, the scene of that child crying and calling him “daddy” kept replaying. And those eyes. Those eyes almost identical to Grace’s. Three years ago, the day the child was born, he’d been abroad negotiating an important contract. By the time he returned, the child had already been born for several days. Grace was weak after childbirth, so he hadn’t thought much of it. Household matters had always been Victoria’s domain. Victoria was Grace’s distant relative who’d been with the family since Grace married into the Reed household. They trusted her absolutely. So he’d never questioned his own daughter. But tonight, that child called Juniper was like a pebble dropped into his calm lake, stirring up ripples. Would a three-year-old child have that kind of gaze? It wasn’t just fear—there was a calmness and stubbornness beyond her years. Too strange. A knock interrupted his thoughts. “Come in.” Victoria pushed the door open, head lowered, expression respectful yet tinged with unease. “Sir, you wanted to see me?” “Sit.” James pointed to the chair opposite. Victoria seemed flattered, sitting down carefully. “That child is called Juniper?” James got straight to the point. “Yes, sir.” Victoria’s heart leapt to her throat. “Who is her father?” James stared into her eyes. Victoria’s gaze flickered. “I… I don’t know.” “She was an abandoned baby I found at my hometown doorstep. I felt sorry for her, so I kept her with me.” This lie she’d prepared long ago. Seamless. James said nothing, just watching her. His gaze seemed to pierce through to the soul. Victoria felt her scalp crawl under his stare, cold sweat pouring down. “How many years have you been with Grace?” James suddenly changed the question. “Almost ten years, sir.” “Ten years.” James nodded. “Grace trusts you very much.” “Ma’am’s kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain.” Victoria quickly pledged loyalty. “So three years ago when Grace gave birth, you handled everything at the hospital, inside and out.” James said casually. Victoria’s heart skipped a beat. What did he mean? Was he suspecting something? “This… this was part of my duties.” Her voice was dry. “I remember you said at the time that when the child was born, she had a red birthmark on her ankle.” James continued. Victoria’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. The birthmark! How could she have forgotten about this! Back then, to make the Reed couple believe Aria was their daughter, she’d deliberately fabricated this birthmark lie. Because Aria did have a red birthmark on her ankle. But the real Reed daughter had no birthmark at all! “Yes… yes, sir.” “Miss Aria does have a plum-blossom-shaped birthmark on her ankle.” She could only bite the bullet and confirm. “Mm.” James acknowledged, not continuing that topic. He picked up the cold coffee and took a sip. “Alright, you may go.” “Remember, control your daughter. Don’t let her run around scaring Aria.” His tone was bland, revealing no emotion. Yet Victoria felt like she’d just walked through death’s door. “Yes, sir. I’ll remember.” She quickly stood, bowing as she backed out. Not until she left the study and closed the door did she realize her back was completely drenched in cold sweat. Too close. Fortunately, sir didn’t continue questioning. She breathed a long sigh of relief and hurried toward the servants’ quarters. She had to get back and properly discipline that damned Juniper. All this trouble was caused by that little bitch! In the study, James set down his coffee cup. He opened a drawer and took out a photograph. It was Grace’s one-month-old baby photo. In the picture, the infant was plump and fair with bright, dark eyes. Almost identical to that child called Juniper tonight. Another thought occurred to him. Grace’s family had a very distinctive hereditary trait. Severe mango allergy. Yet his daughter Aria loved eating mangoes most of all. Before, he’d simply thought the child didn’t take after her mother. But now, thinking back, this detail seemed suspicious everywhere. A bold thought so absurd even he found it ridiculous rose in his mind. Could it be… He picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number. “Hello, Leo, it’s me.” “I need you to handle something.” “First thing tomorrow morning, send your most reliable person to my house.” “Collect two samples for a paternity test.” “One from Aria, the other…” He paused, the image of that thin yet stubborn little face floating through his mind. “…from Victoria’s daughter, Juniper.” “Remember, this matter is absolutely confidential.” After hanging up, James leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He hoped he was overthinking. At that moment, in a large tree outside the window. I was hiding behind the dense leaves, taking in everything in the study. Though I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I saw James’s expression. Saw his contemplation when he took out the photograph. And most importantly, saw his serious, resolute expression when he made that final call. I knew my plan had succeeded. He was wavering. Next, I just needed to add more fuel to the fire. Let this spark of doubt burn into a raging inferno. I slid down from the tree silently, agile as a cat. I didn’t return to the servants’ quarters. Victoria was definitely furious now—going back would be walking into a trap. I was going somewhere else. A place where I could make the fire burn even hotter. Grace Hartley’s room.

Grace hadn’t gone to sleep yet. She sat at her vanity, gently stroking Aria’s hair. Aria had been frightened today and insisted on sleeping with her. At this moment, the little girl had fallen asleep, her small face still showing traces of distress. Grace sighed. She thought again about tonight’s events. That child called Juniper, that dirty little face, and that timid call of “daddy.” Honestly, the first moment she saw that child, she felt something strange. Not entirely disgust. There was also a trace of inexplicable… closeness. Especially when she knelt on the floor looking up with those eyes so similar to her own, Grace’s heart had actually stabbed with pain. How could this be? She must be going crazy. That was just a servant’s child. A crude, ill-mannered bastard who’d even learned to lie. Grace shook her head, trying to shake off these absurd thoughts. Just then, she heard a faint, suppressed whimpering. The sound came from the balcony. She paused. This late at night, who was outside? She stood and quietly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, pulling back a corner of the curtain. In the moonlight, a small, thin figure was curled up in the corner of the balcony. It was Juniper. She hugged her knees, head buried in her arms, small shoulders shaking. She was crying. Crying so sadly, so helplessly, yet not daring to make too much noise. As if afraid of disturbing others, or perhaps afraid of being discovered in her vulnerability. Grace’s heart felt like something squeezed it hard. Pain. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. This afternoon she’d hated this child so much. But now, seeing her cry alone in the cold night wind, she actually felt some compassion. As if possessed, she opened the balcony door. “It’s so late. What are you doing here?” Her voice came out softer than she’d expected. Hearing the voice, my body jerked violently. I slowly raised my head, seeing her, my eyes immediately filling with panic. I quickly scrambled up from the floor, standing there at a loss, like a child caught doing something wrong. “I’m… I’m sorry, ma’am.” “I… I didn’t mean to.” My voice carried a thick nasal tone, hoarse and pitiful. “I… I didn’t dare go back.” “Mrs…. Mrs. Hayes said she’d break my legs.” As I spoke, tears fell again. Grace’s brow furrowed. “She was going to hit you?” “Yes.” I nodded, instinctively touching my swollen, reddened cheek. In the moonlight, that clear handprint was especially prominent. Grace’s gaze fell on my face, her eyes narrowing. She reached out as if to touch it, but stopped mid-air. She seemed to find me dirty. I saw her hesitation. I sneered inwardly but looked even more pitiful outwardly. I lowered my head, saying softly, “It’s okay, ma’am. It doesn’t hurt.” “Mrs. Hayes said I was disobedient, that I made Miss Aria angry, so I deserved it.” “As long as… as long as you don’t send me away, being hit is fine.” “I don’t want to go to an orphanage.” “I heard from other servants that children in orphanages don’t get enough food and get bullied.” Each of my sentences was like a needle, pricking Grace’s heart. She’d grown up privileged, never witnessing such a scene in her life. A three-year-old child actually begging not to be sent away, willing to endure beatings. What kind of desperation was this? For the first time, she felt a trace of dissatisfaction toward Victoria. Even if it was a servant’s child, surely she couldn’t abuse her like this? “You… come inside first. It’s cold outside.” After a long silence, she finally spoke. I froze, as if not believing my ears. I looked up at her, eyes full of flattered gratitude. “Thank you, ma’am.” I carefully walked into the room, standing awkwardly at the carpet’s edge, not daring to step forward. I kept my head down, not daring to look at her or any of the luxurious furnishings in the room. I acted exactly like a child from the slums who’d accidentally wandered into a palace. Inferior, yet tinged with curiosity. Seeing me like this, the dissatisfaction in Grace’s heart turned to pity. “You’re called… Juniper?” She asked. “Yes.” “Who gave you that name?” “Mrs. Hayes.” I said, “She told me I was found under a grapefruit tree.” Grace fell silent. She looked at me, then at Aria sleeping sweetly on the bed. One randomly picked up under a grapefruit tree. One cherished like a precious pearl amid endless love. How unfair fate was. Just then, I suddenly caught a sweet fragrance. It came from a plate of cut mangoes on the nightstand. Left as a bedtime snack for Aria. My eyes immediately locked onto that plate of mangoes. Then my face showed an expression of extreme terror. I began backing away uncontrollably, my body starting to tremble. “No… don’t…” I cried out in alarm. “Don’t eat that… eating it will… will kill you…” My reaction was intense. As if I’d seen some deadly poison. Grace was startled. “What’s wrong with you?” She asked, confused. “That… that thing is poisonous!” I pointed at the mango, voice trembling. “I… I saw it before. A kid in my village ate this and got red spots all over, then… then died.” I fabricated a lie full of ignorance and fear that fit my background identity. Grace froze. Mango? Poisonous? Of course she knew mangoes weren’t poisonous. But she also knew that everyone in the Hartley family was allergic to mangoes. Mild cases broke out in rashes, severe cases… could indeed be fatal. This was a hereditary family secret. Except for the closest family members, outsiders couldn’t possibly know. But this child before her… Why would she have such a strong reaction to mangoes? Could it be… A thought Grace herself found absurd—just like James—sprouted in her heart. She looked at me, eyes full of shock and disbelief. Then she looked at the “daughter” on the bed who loved eating mangoes. A thought screamed frantically in her mind. Could this one actually be my daughter? Then who is that one on the bed?

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On Christmas when I was 6 years old, my brother and I were molested while delivering gingerbread to the neighbors in our village. My brother died protecting me that day. His life stopped forever. After that, Mom would tell everyone I was a “slut” who seduced men all the time. She even dressed me up prettily and sent me to stay with the old bachelors in the community, taking turns for a few days each. Mom said it was to train me, to prevent accidents from happening again. Until this Christmas, on the anniversary of my brother’s death, I wore my thorn-covered clothes to pay my respects to him as usual. But I accidentally spilled the ice cubes I was holding, tearing my clothes and exposing my arm. Mom flew into a rage when she saw this and slapped me across the face. “Even on your brother’s death anniversary, you can’t help being a slut, seducing everyone you see, even your own mother!” “If you hadn’t insisted on delivering that gingerbread back then, your brother wouldn’t have died!” “I make you wear these clothes and eat ice cubes to atone for what you did to your brother. How can you be so shameless!” “Tonight you’ll kneel right here and apologize properly to your brother. Come back on your own tomorrow!” Mom left without looking back. Because of my hearing damage, I couldn’t hear any sounds. I didn’t know why Mom was angry, but I obediently stayed by my brother’s gravestone. But as I ate the ice cubes, my body got colder and colder, until I floated up into the air…

Shortly after Mom left, I emerged from my body and flew back home. Dad had just gotten home from work and only saw Mom. “Where’s Hannah? Why are you alone?” Mom threw the Christmas gift I’d given her into the trash, saying angrily: “Don’t mention that jinx to me!” “The little slut couldn’t even dress properly in front of her brother’s grave. Let her reflect on herself.” “If you weren’t so busy all the time and actually raised her properly, she wouldn’t have turned out like this!” Hearing this, I panicked and cried out. “Mom, no, it wasn’t like that. I didn’t mean to.” “The thorns tore my clothes. I didn’t deliberately rip them to upset you…” “Mom…” But no one responded to me. Dad fell silent, then soon turned and went to the living room to read the newspaper. I could only swallow my grievance, wipe my tears, and follow Mom to the kitchen. She took out several packages of wrapped gingerbread, then came to my bedroom and turned on the light. “Hannah Sweetwater, why are you sleeping so early? Get up and help me deliver gingerbread!” I waved my little hand from the side, trying to remind Mom. “Mom, I’m right here!” I tried to grab Mom’s hand, but couldn’t hold on no matter what. That’s when I realized. I seemed to no longer exist. Adults say that after people die, their souls follow their closest person. So had I died? Mom didn’t respond to me. She had forgotten I was still at the grave. But the next second she realized it and stormed out, slamming the door. “What a jinx. Now I have to deal with this alone.” Every Christmas, Mom would dress me up prettily and accompany me to deliver homemade gingerbread to our neighbors in the village. I followed Mom to the house next door. Mrs. Peterson, our neighbor, was surprised to see only my mom. “How come Hannah didn’t come?” “You really don’t need to do this. You come every year. It feels awkward.” I was about to greet Mrs. Peterson when Mom frowned deeply. She looked like she didn’t want to mention me at all. “That little slut misbehaved. I’m punishing her by making her kneel at her brother’s grave.” Mrs. Peterson looked shocked. “She’s just a child. How can you call her that every day?” “And Hannah has always been well-behaved. Even if she did something wrong, you can’t punish her like this…” “The temperature keeps dropping. It’s ten degrees below zero today. Her body can’t handle it. How can you make a child kneel in a place like that?” “What do you mean ‘a place like that’? That’s my son’s grave!” Mom snatched the gingerbread from Mrs. Peterson’s hands and turned to leave. “Making that little slut kneel there to keep vigil for her brother is already going easy on her!” “I survived the cold when I was little. How could anything happen to her from a little cold like this?” Mrs. Peterson watched Mom’s determined back and sighed deeply. Worried, she grabbed some clothes and headed up the mountain to the grave. Mrs. Peterson was usually very kind to me. She must be going to find me. But I was already dead. She wouldn’t be able to find me.

Mom went to several houses delivering gingerbread, but each visit ended badly. But when Mom was about to return from another village, an accident happened. I saw a woman with disheveled hair rush out and splash paint all over Mom. She kept muttering: “Bitch, give me back my son! Give me back my son!” Seeing Mom in such a miserable state, I felt terrible. I raised my hand to help wipe her off, but I was already dead. I couldn’t touch Mom. Mom wiped her eyes and threw the undelivered gingerbread on the ground. “You crazy woman, looking for your son and blaming me? What kind of tantrum are you throwing on Christmas!” “It’s you! It’s your little slut who harmed my son!” The woman collapsed on the ground crying: “Your little slut seduced my son with her shameless behavior. He drank poison and died on Christmas.” “Hannah, it’s you again! You slut!” Mom was furious. I saw her eyes turn red, angry at me. “Killing your brother wasn’t enough? You had to harm someone else’s family too! I might as well have raised a dog instead of you!” People around started gossiping. “Oh my, this Hannah got her brother killed three years ago, and now this year again…” “You don’t know, back then there wasn’t even proof that the bachelor molested her. Maybe she just got horny and seduced him herself.” “Tsk tsk tsk, acting so slutty at such a young age. Her mother doesn’t look like anything good either!” “Exactly. Just get out of our village. Don’t come ruin Christmas for us.” No, it wasn’t like that. I remembered who that little boy was. I felt so wronged and ran to everyone trying desperately to explain. “Mom, his dad beat him every day, that man…” “That man would touch me inappropriately too. We were just comforting each other.” “Everyone, I didn’t seduce that boy, I didn’t…” “Please believe me, don’t curse Mom…” No matter how I cried and explained, no one could hear me. The Christmas night wind was so cold. Even though I was dead, my heart and tears felt as cold as the ice cube meals Mom always made me eat.

Mom got up very early the morning after Christmas. She heard the door creak and thought I had gotten up. “Hannah, you slut, you finally got up!” Mom turned around but didn’t see me. She walked to my bedroom door but couldn’t open it. “You dare throw a tantrum with me now? Do you know you got another person killed?” “Did I raise you all these years just so you could seduce people!” “If you’re going to ignore me, then don’t expect to eat today. Better yet, just die in your room!” But Mom, I’m not in my room. I died at my brother’s gravestone. Will you be a little happier when you find out? While Mom ate, I crouched beside her hugging myself. The cemetery floor was too cold. I had been kneeling for so long that my knees were swollen. Even though it didn’t hurt now, I still wanted Mom to kiss them better. But she was on the phone, ignoring me. “Why do you care about her? She’s been sleeping in her bedroom.” “Care about her? Do you know your precious daughter got that crazy woman’s son from the next village killed!” “Marrying you and giving birth to this slut was truly a sin!” Ever since my brother died, Mom and Dad fought often. But Dad was always quiet. It was basically Mom fighting with herself. Every time they fought, she would call me a “slut.” At first I would cry and say I wasn’t, but over time I got used to it. But I really wasn’t a slut. I was very good. I didn’t seduce people, and I certainly didn’t harm people. But Mom would never hear my explanations again. Angry at me, Mom took all the birthday gifts she’d given me over the years and burned them. That’s when I finally saw the gifts Mom had given my brother. Mom had preserved all those clothes and toys of various sizes very carefully. They were all stored in individual boxes. Mine were just in plastic bags. I watched Mom take out photos of my brother from when he was alive and personally burn my toys and New Year clothes. Among them was my favorite Barbie doll. I reached my little hand into the fire to grab it, but couldn’t touch anything. “Mom, please, don’t burn my doll…” “I know I was wrong. Hannah will listen to you from now on. I won’t rip my clothes anymore. Mom, please…” Mom threw item after item into the fire pit. As the sparks burned, a loving expression appeared on Mom’s face. It was a tenderness I had never seen or experienced. “Starlight, so many years have passed, and I miss you so much.” “If only you hadn’t saved Hannah back then. If only she had died instead. Then you could have grown up healthy…” My little hand hung helplessly in mid-air. So Mom had hated me all along. So she had always wished I had died that year instead. Every time she called me a slut in front of others, cursed me as trash, it was from her heart, not to train me, correct me, or protect me.

Mom bought a lot of strawberries from the market. After washing them, she came to my brother’s grave. My brother and I both loved strawberries. But our family’s circumstances weren’t easy. We could only have them once or twice a year. Each time, my brother would give me his share, only tasting one himself. Mom would praise my brother for being thoughtful, but never said anything about me. But ever since my brother died, Mom would buy strawberries from time to time to visit him. When I followed behind wanting to taste one, it made Mom angry and she left me halfway. After that, I grew to hate strawberries. I haven’t eaten one once in all these years. Mom knelt by my brother’s gravestone, greedily hugging it. Tears soon covered her face. I was so envious of my brother. Envious that Mom could keep loving him. Mom loved me too. But these past few years, she never hugged me, never praised me. I really, really wanted to hug Mom. Mom suddenly remembered something and stopped crying. She went a short distance away to get a basin of water and poured it where I had knelt. Then she took a broom and swept. “Starlight, from now on Mom won’t bring that jinx here anymore, so she won’t offend your eyes.” “Don’t worry, I’ll make her atone for you for the rest of her life. What she owes you, she can never repay.” I stood to the side, tears all dried up. I had cried them all out. Why? Mom, why do you hate me so much? I didn’t deliberately seduce that terrifying man back then. He tried to tear my clothes. My brother was accidentally killed trying to protect me. I explained it to Mom many times. Mom kept insisting I was a slut. But I really wasn’t a slut. Why doesn’t anyone believe me? I couldn’t leave Mom, so I could only follow her alone. On the way down the mountain, Mom ran into a bachelor from the village. I remembered him—his name was Rick Newman, and I was most afraid of him. In previous years, after Mom visited the neighbors with me on Christmas night, she would leave me at his house. He forced me to wash his clothes and cook. But I was only eight years old then. I couldn’t wash clothes properly or reach the table. He would take out a leather strap to whip my bottom and body, threatening me not to tell Mom. I knew Mom wouldn’t believe me, so I never told her about my injuries. Mom never cared about me either, so she never noticed the scars on my body. “Susan, why didn’t you bring your daughter last night? I still have a lot of dirty clothes waiting for her to wash.” Mom pushed him away impatiently. “That damn girl is throwing a tantrum at me. I’ll send her over in a couple days to work on her attitude. Just mentioning her makes me sick!” I was shocked to hear this. So Mom knew he made me wash clothes and cook. So she also knew I was beaten. Rick Newman didn’t plan to let Mom go so easily. He blocked her path. “If your daughter won’t come, then you come.” “Your husband’s never home. How about…” Mom stepped on Rick Newman’s face and went straight down the mountain. I watched Mom return home looking lost, feeling terrible inside. I wanted to hug her, comfort her. Facing threats from such a vicious person, Mom must have been scared too, right? Mom had barely sat down when Dad called. “Susan, you said Hannah was home, so why would Mrs. Peterson tell me she’s at the hospital and has no vital signs!” I felt a little happy. Was Mom finally going to discover I was dead? I wondered if she would be sad for me when she found out. But Mom’s first reaction was to think Mrs. Peterson was lying. “She’s talking nonsense!” “She must be cursing my daughter because I scolded her yesterday and she’s upset. Don’t let her fool you!” Dad thought about it and agreed it was impossible. After all, Mom had made me keep vigil at my brother’s grave for a year before. There was a small house there with everything we needed. Nothing could happen to me. “Alright, don’t go cause trouble for her. As long as Hannah is fine. Just don’t leave the child alone outside anymore.” After hanging up, Mom angrily rushed to my door, frantically pounding on it. “Hannah, you’re nothing but trouble!” “You’ve been in there all day and still won’t come out. You’ve really got some nerve!” “Being this willful, how can you face your brother?” Instead of my response, Mom heard an even more violent pounding at the front door. Mom cursed as she went to open it. It was Mrs. Peterson and two police officers. Mom swallowed the curses she wanted to say to Mrs. Peterson and smiled gently at the officers. “Officers, what brings you here so suddenly?” One of the officers unfolded a white document and said to Mom: “Hello, are you a family member of Hannah Sweetwater? Hannah died at 2 AM last night after failed resuscitation attempts. This is the death certificate. We need to ask you some questions.”

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At the bachelor party before the wedding, Vivian, Adrian’s female friend, suddenly raised her glass and draped her arm around his shoulders. “Bro, I can’t believe you’re actually willing to abandon us friends to marry a woman so early. Drink up as punishment!” “The first glass—I toast to your loyalty. Because I said I wanted to see the northern lights, and you ditched your fiancée without a word to accompany me to the Arctic.” “The second glass—I toast to your years of devoted care, like when you stripped off my clothes to wipe me down when I had a fever.” Thunderous applause erupted in the private room. My mind went blank. My ears rang. So on our fifth anniversary, Adrian’s “urgent matter” was accompanying Vivian to see the northern lights in the Arctic. And when I nearly died from amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth, lying in the ICU for three days—ultimately delivering a stillborn baby—he was wiping down Vivian’s naked body! Amid the crowd’s cheering, Vivian acted coquettishly, wanting to share another drink with Adrian. Before raising her glass, she looked at me and smiled: “The last glass—I toast to Emma’s generosity.” “Thank you for lending me Adrian to register our marriage, so I could win the war against my ex-boyfriend.”

The wine glass slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor. “Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean you and Adrian registered your marriage…?” My voice trembled. My fingers gripped the glass shards tightly, sharp pain radiating from my fingertips. In the five years I’d been dating Adrian, I’d proposed to him ninety-nine times. But each time, just when he was about to agree, his female friend would swoop in at the last moment and kick me back to square one. Just recently, Adrian had accepted my hundredth proposal. When I thought we were finally getting married— He’d already registered his marriage with his female friend! The atmosphere grew heavy. Someone quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. “Don’t take it personally. Vivian’s personality is just carefree like that. Besides, we’re all friends—helping each other out is normal.” “Exactly. Adrian just helped me with a small favor as a friend. You’re not going to make a big deal out of such a trivial matter, are you?” Before she finished speaking, Adrian smiled and lightly tapped Vivian’s head. “Stop talking. Even food can’t shut you up.” She playfully punched his chest in response. “A banana couldn’t fill my mouth like your cock does~” The room erupted. Raucous laughter followed. “Vivian, you’ve seen Adrian’s dick? Want to check if mine’s big too?” “Me too, me too! Satisfaction guaranteed, hahaha!” “Fuck off. Adrian’s different from you guys. He and I are like childhood friends who wore the same pants growing up.” “Is there any part of his body I haven’t seen?” “Besides, I used to have sex with him all the time. Big dick feels so good~” As soon as she finished, the previously lively room fell silent. My mind went blank. I didn’t even notice the blood dripping from my fingertips. Seeing me freeze, she laughed carelessly and explained: “Speaking of which, Emma, you should thank me. If I hadn’t trained Adrian for you—” “Would Adrian have such great skills in bed to satisfy you?” Blood rushed to my head. I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed a wine glass and hurled it viciously at Vivian. Before she could scream, Adrian stepped forward and pulled her protectively into his arms. “Emma Chase, are you insane? What’s with this spoiled princess tantrum!” I stared at Adrian’s reddened hand, my nails digging into my palms. After a long pause, I heard my own voice: “You two really are good friends—so close you don’t care about gender boundaries, sleeping together!” My face was full of mockery. “If you’re that close, why not just marry her and make her your wife? Let’s be honest—you’re just a slut and a scumbag, a perfect pair of cheating bastards…!” Adrian exploded in rage, raising his hand and slapping me. “Emma, that’s enough! When did you become so vicious!” “Apologize to Vivian now!” Vivian hid in Adrian’s embrace, smiling provocatively from an angle no one else could see. I suddenly felt it was all so meaningless. I grabbed my phone and turned to leave. But Adrian immediately grabbed my wrist. “You humiliated Vivian in front of all these people today and embarrassed me.” “If you don’t apologize, the wedding in three days is cancelled.”

As he spoke, Adrian’s expression unconsciously took on an air of confidence and arrogance. He looked down at me condescendingly. As if certain I wouldn’t leave, waiting for me to lower my head and admit fault like the previous ninety-nine times. “Emma, you’d better think carefully. Walk out that door, and who else besides me would dare marry you?” My heart sank. The Adrian before me had become utterly unfamiliar. I couldn’t reconcile him with the passionate young man from eight years ago. Bitter tears flowed silently in my heart as the sincere youth slowly appeared before my eyes. At thirteen, when I was being bullied, Adrian stood up for me, suffering serious injuries to pull me out of the abyss. “You’re Emma, right? I fell for you at first sight. From now on, you’re under my protection.” “If you’re in danger, just drop my name. Anyone who dares bully you—I’ll make them pay!” At fifteen, facing high school applications, Adrian—whose grades were at the bottom—picked up textbooks for the first time to get into the same school as me, waking before dawn to study. At sixteen, my family went bankrupt. My parents died. My tuition was in jeopardy, and I was forced to take a leave of absence. Sixteen-year-old Adrian skipped classes to work part-time—as a waiter, doing manual labor, suffering from stomach bleeding and hospitalization from exhaustion. With the money he earned, he paid seven years of tuition for me, supporting me through high school and college. At eighteen, just past midnight on his birthday, Adrian couldn’t wait to kiss my lips, insisting on promising me his life. “Emma, I’ll be here from now on. Don’t be afraid. I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life.” At twenty, after experiencing that horrific, nightmarish incident, on the day I was rescued, Adrian held me and sobbed, vowing to make those who violated me pay a terrible price. At twenty-two, after college graduation, I started planning our future. But after he succeeded in his business and met Vivian, everything between us turned to bubbles. Adrian began unconsciously mentioning Vivian in our daily conversations. I don’t know when it started, but he mentioned her more and more frequently, and came home less and less often. He began distancing himself from me, despising me, letting others humiliate me at will. The cold wind outside rushed into my chest, jolting me back to reality. My blood gradually cooled. The phantom of that young man slowly blurred. I looked Adrian straight in the eye, word by word: “Then let’s cancel it. I wish you two the best together.” Seeing me turn to leave, a flash of barely perceptible panic crossed Adrian’s eyes, and his voice carried urgency. “Emma, stop right there!” “You were violated. You’re not pure anymore. Who else besides me would want you!” Adrian’s voice wasn’t loud, but it struck everyone’s ears like thunder. Blood rushed to my heart, then drained completely the next second. I turned around, trembling, my eyes full of disbelief. My most painful, most unspeakable past had been torn open by Adrian and displayed before everyone. A flicker of panic crossed Adrian’s face, then he composed himself. “Emma, be good. Come apologize to Vivian. I can pretend what just happened never occurred, and we’ll have our wedding as scheduled.” Adrian’s voice floated lightly through the crowd. Suppressed gasps rippled through the room. Everyone’s gaze swept over me like X-rays. “Holy shit, this is explosive!” “Oh my god, I can’t believe it. Emma always dresses so elegantly—you’d never guess she’d experienced something like that.” “Right? Man, poor Adrian. The wife he pampered for so many years turns out to be damaged goods.” “Yeah, thank god they didn’t get married yet. At least he cut his losses in time.” The pointing and whispers pressed on my chest. Cold suffocation gripped my throat. “Adrian, you bastard!” “You don’t know anything—” I shot to my feet, anger and grief making my whole body tremble. Unable to control myself, I rushed forward and slapped Adrian hard across the face. Smack! The entire room fell silent. Vivian stepped forward, draping her arm over Adrian’s shoulder and pulling him to her chest. “Emma, women like you are so troublesome. Adrian and I are just good friends. Do you really need to be so uptight?” “Everyone else thinks it’s fine. Don’t project your own dirty mind onto everything!” One sentence made everyone look at me with even more dissatisfaction and contempt. The murmuring grew louder than before. Adrian stood rigid, refusing to look at me. Something in my chest shattered completely with a crack. Vivian’s provocation, everyone’s humiliation, Adrian’s silence—all the grievances I’d endured over the years slapped me back in the face like a vicious blow. “Adrian, I’ve put up with you two for so long. Every time, it’s ‘just good friends!’” “When I need you, you’re never there. I said I wanted to go see the northern lights with you—you said it was boring. But the moment Vivian mentions it, you eagerly rush off with her.” “When I nearly died from amniotic fluid embolism, fighting for my life in the ICU for three days—that couldn’t compare to Vivian having a simple fever. Last time, the time before that, the time before that… Every time you promised to register our marriage, the next day you’d abandon me because of Vivian’s various little problems, right up to today!” “She humiliates me constantly, provokes me endlessly, and you still stand there like an idiot on her side, casually revealing my most painful, most unbearable past to let these people insult me at will!” “Adrian, am I really that worthless in your eyes?!” I gasped for breath, tears blurring my face. In my peripheral vision, Adrian seemed to reach toward me, but the surrounding comments rose like waves threatening to drown me. I couldn’t bear this shocking pain anymore. Like a coward, I fled in defeat.

Before the door closed, the last thing I heard was Vivian’s playful mockery. “Looks like I didn’t love you in vain. You’re really loyal—willing to abandon your wife for me.” “But if you just want to pretend you don’t care so you can go chase after her, we won’t look down on you.” Adrian’s firm reply rang out: “Without me, no one will want her.” They bet five hundred thousand dollars that within three days, I’d come crawling back to apologize. In that moment, the last ember of hope in my heart was completely extinguished. I pulled out my phone and called a number I hadn’t contacted in ages. In less than three seconds, the call was answered. “In three days, I’m getting married. Come—as the groom.” The other end sounded excited and was about to ask something when a text from my grandmother suddenly came through. “My dear granddaughter, how’s the wedding planning going with Adrian? Do you want to come home for dinner tonight? I made all your favorite dishes.” Following was a photo of the food. Grandma had made every dish that Adrian and I loved, filling the entire table. I could only swallow the bitterness in my throat, not daring to tell the truth and worry the grandmother who’d worked her whole life raising me. I could only reply with a voice message, trying to sound natural: “Got it, I’ll come keep you company right away. But Adrian has a business dinner tonight, so he won’t be joining us!” Before getting in the car, I instinctively looked up toward Adrian’s villa. He and Vivian were surrounded in the center of the crowd. Amid everyone’s cheering— His ears turned red. My cheek burned with stinging pain. Before I knew it, my dried-up eyes filled with tears again. I raised my hand to cover my face, unwilling to let anyone see my embarrassment. … I don’t remember how I got home. When I came to my senses, the rice in my bowl had been poked beyond recognition. Seeing my mood was off, Grandma quickly put down her utensils and pulled me into her embrace. She carefully spoke: “Tell Grandma—did that Adrian boy bully you?” Meeting Grandma’s loving, concerned gaze, the truth rose repeatedly in my throat, only to be swallowed back down. “Grandma, how about I take you somewhere else?” After a long while with no response, I looked up questioningly. Grandma’s warm tears dropped right into my eye sockets. “Grandma promises you—wherever Emma goes, I’ll follow and take care of you.” “Marriage isn’t the destination of happiness. If you don’t like it, if you’re hurt—you don’t have to go through with it. Grandma only wants you to be happy forever.” My closest person’s comfort was like warmth rising from spring tides after winter recedes. I could no longer hold back the flood in my heart. I buried myself in Grandma’s arms, sobbing, releasing years of grievances. The next day, as I was packing clothes for our trip, my alternate phone buzzed with a notification. The content showed Vivian in ski gear, nestled in Adrian’s arms. The two looked as intimate as lovers in passionate romance. The caption read: “Someone came to make up for my regret of never seeing snow. Today he’s transformed into strict Coach Adrian~” I froze. The snowman toy Adrian had given me fell from my pocket. It was his gift to compensate for me never having seen snow. He’d promised to take me to see snow as soon as work quieted down. But one busy period led to another. That promise was tossed into the farthest corner of his heart, long covered in thick dust. I snapped out of my numbness and threw the toy forcefully into the trash. Just then, a scream came from Grandma’s room. When I pushed the door open, Grandma was collapsed on the floor in pain. From her shattered phone came Adrian’s voice: “You were violated…” “Emma… is what he said true… when did you suffer such grievance…” “It’s all my fault… cough cough… all my fault for not protecting you…” Grandma cried while clutching her chest. The pain on her face made me react immediately. Grandma’s heart condition was acting up!

I frantically called for emergency services, but when we arrived at the hospital, I was told the cardiology doctor had been dispatched by Adrian to treat Vivian’s external injuries! Hearing this, I couldn’t care about dignity anymore. I stumbled toward the consultation room. “Adrian! Adrian! I’m begging you—please save Grandma!” “For the sake of how she always treated you like her own grandson, how she gave you her burial savings to start your business—please have the doctor save her!” The next second, Vivian appeared before me, clinging to Adrian’s arm. She clutched her chest affectedly, her voice syrupy as she whined about how much it hurt. But it was clearly just a minor bruise! Adrian was about to speak when Vivian pulled him back. “Adrian, my chest hurts so much~” “She was acting all high and mighty, even slapping you last night. Today’s little show is probably just another trick to fool you into coming back.” His gaze shifted from concern to cold indifference as he looked at me. “Emma, even if you’re going to lie, make it believable.” “How dare you use Grandma’s life to fabricate a story!” “You like putting on shows, don’t you? Fine. I’ll remove the ventilator right now and see what you’ll use to perform!” The moment the ventilator was removed, the heart monitor stopped beeping. Grandma’s chest stopped rising. The person who loved me most in this world had her life cruelly taken by the man I once loved most deeply. “No—!” I screamed in anguish, only to receive a vicious slap in return that sent my head snapping to the side. I was completely engulfed in Adrian’s towering shadow, seeing clearly the disgust and fury in his eyes. My vision darkened. Warm liquid flowed from my nose and mouth simultaneously, the metallic taste of blood filling my entire mouth. Vivian stood right beside him, lips curving slightly, her triumphant gaze piercing my heart like madness. “Emma, kneel here and reflect on what you’ve done!” Time passed—I don’t know how long. Long enough that I felt my soul had left with Grandma too. My knees ached terribly. My face hurt. The cold wind cutting across my skin made it sting even more. I crawled with difficulty toward the hospital bed, my trembling hand touching that kind face. Grandma, living is so exhausting. I want to leave with you… As if possessed, I moved to the window, closed my eyes, and my hand gripping the windowsill was about to let go. The next second, I fell into a familiar, warm embrace. “I’m sorry. I came too late.”

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Seven months pregnant, I was hit by a car right at my own front door. But instead of stopping immediately, the driver dragged me for dozens of meters. I endured the pain and called my husband, only to hear the line was busy. After the driver finally stopped, she was sobbing on the phone: “Xavier, I think I messed up bad. I… I hit a pregnant woman… What do I do? I’m so scared!” Clutching my belly, I looked at her pleadingly, my voice desperate: “Help me… Please save my baby…” She cautiously approached me, but through her phone I heard my husband’s voice: “Is she dead? Half-dead is more trouble than just dead.” “Don’t worry, I’ll cover the compensation.” Pain blurred my vision. I forced my eyes open, trying to see the driver’s face clearly. My voice trembled: “Xavier… is that you?” My husband Xavier’s voice came through the phone: “Mia, who did you hit?” Mia clamped her hand over my mouth, panic flooding her eyes, her voice shaking: “I told you—I hit a pregnant woman on Riverside Drive.” “Xavier, I’m so scared. Please come find me, okay?” I made muffled sounds, finally suffocating and passing out under her palm. Only then did Xavier relax. He rubbed his temples, grabbed his car keys, and headed out. I was seven months pregnant. Xavier remembered that when he left this morning, he’d told me to stay home and rest. I always listened to him. Riverside Drive and our villa were on opposite ends of the city—north and south. The pregnant woman Mia hit couldn’t possibly be me. It must have been the shock making him hear things. Half-conscious, I was taken to the hospital. I heard Xavier’s friend Adrian teasing him: “Xavier, couldn’t control yourself again? Went too far with the sex?” “How many times this month? Look, I’m just saying—Mia’s only three months along, still in the danger zone. You two need to take it easy. Stop having sex all the time.” “If you really can’t help it, Natalie’s due soon anyway. Just wait another month or two.” Xavier frowned in displeasure: “Stop talking nonsense. When Natalie comes for her next checkup, don’t you dare say anything in front of her! If she finds out about Mia’s existence, I’ll tear down your whole hospital!” Adrian immediately backed down, apologizing: “Yes, yes, yes, I’m sorry. I’ll keep my mouth shut tight around Natalie!” “Everyone in New York knows how much you dote on Natalie. You won’t even touch her during pregnancy. You’re keeping another bird in a cage just to satisfy your needs—how would I dare upset her!” “You’re here today to accompany Mia for a checkup?” Hearing her name, my foggy consciousness slowly returned. But Adrian’s words made my heart sink to the bottom. Tears leaked from my closed eyes. So my marriage—the one everyone in the city envied—was glamorous on the surface but rotting underneath, crawling with maggots! Xavier cheated during my pregnancy. His mistress was already three months pregnant too. How could he act so well! Making me believe he loved me to the bone! Xavier pointed to me in the back seat and said with disgust: “Mia hit a pregnant woman. Handle it.” Adrian leaned over and glanced at me casually, telling his staff to carry me out. Just then, a nurse suddenly exclaimed: “Wait! This pregnant woman is wearing a blood type tag around her neck!” Xavier’s pupils contracted. He turned and stared at me intently. My fingers twitched. A glimmer of hope rose in my heart. I wanted to tell Xavier to save me, save our baby. But I couldn’t open my eyes no matter how hard I tried. “Her husband must be pretty thoughtful—made her a blood type tag to show she has a rare blood type. Let me see… he even left a phone number…” “139-867…” Mia nervously clutched Xavier’s sleeve, saying excitedly: “Xavier! She has the same blood type as me!” Xavier smiled, his voice filled with undisguised delight: “Since her blood type is rare, Adrian, make sure you save her.” “I was worried that with Mia pregnant too, if something happened to Natalie there’d be no one to give her blood. Perfect—a walking blood bank just appeared. From now on, she can replace Mia.” I belatedly realized who Mia was… The person who hit me was Mia—a woman who once gave me a blood transfusion because we shared the same rare blood type. At the time, I was so grateful. Not only did I give her money for nutrition, but when I learned she’d just graduated and couldn’t find work, I had Xavier make an exception and hire her at his company. I never imagined that one blood transfusion would cost me my entire marriage.

A flash of resentment crossed Mia’s eyes, but when she looked up, her face was full of happiness: “Xavier, you’re so good to me.” “If something happens to Natalie, I’ll give her blood too. After all… I only got into the company because of my blood type. I don’t want people saying behind my back that I graduated from a trash college, that I’m not good enough for you, or that I seduced you. I’m afraid Natalie will kick me out.” Xavier pulled her into his embrace, his voice indulgent: “Everyone in the company knows you’re my baby. If anyone insults you, fire them on the spot! Elite university graduates aren’t as important as you!” “As for Natalie, she considers you her lifesaver. She won’t kick you out. Last time she even asked if you were settling in well at the company.” I finally struggled out of the dark chaos and opened my eyes to see them embracing. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. Three months ago, Xavier always worked late and never came home. Worried about him and concerned he wasn’t eating properly, I made dinner myself and brought it to his office. When he saw me, he inexplicably flew into a rage, smashing the soup in front of me and scolding me for not staying home to rest during pregnancy. After that, I never went to the company again. So everyone at the company already knew. Mia had replaced me, becoming someone no one dared offend. As I passed Xavier, I reached out with all my strength and grabbed his sleeve. My trembling fingertips were covered in blood. Each word seemed squeezed from deep in my chest, shaking with emotional collapse: “Xavier… I want a divorce.” A trace of coldness flashed across Xavier’s brow. His eyes turned sinister. He violently shook off my hand and said with disgust: “Who told you to touch me!” “Filthy thing!” I looked at him in shock, unable to believe this was the same Xavier who always looked at me with such loving eyes. His disgusted gaze became iron nails, driving one by one into my heart, making me wish for death. Mia immediately explained: “Xavier, she must have heard about her rare blood type and is trying to manipulate us on purpose!” Xavier’s eyes filled with revulsion. He said viciously to the doctor: “When you treat her, don’t use anesthesia!” “Let her hurt. Let her learn her place. Does she really think someone like us rich people can be manipulated by the likes of her?” The doctors and nurses nodded, showing reluctant expressions. They immediately carried me away, afraid of angering him further. Cold instruments worked on my body. Alcohol stung my cheeks. I screamed in pain again and again, then fell unconscious once more. Xavier heard the screams coming from the emergency room. His footsteps paused. He said hesitantly: “Why do I keep hearing Natalie’s voice?” Mia threw herself into his arms: “Xavier, thank god you’re here. I was so scared!” Xavier pushed down the doubt that had just surfaced and held her, coaxing: “Mia, it’s okay. I won’t let you get hurt.” “If that pregnant woman tries to make trouble over this…” A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes: “I’ll make sure she never leaves here alive!” When I woke again, my face was covered in bandages. Xavier stood at the hospital room door, face full of anger, eyes darkened with rage, staring at me intently. He was holding something. He walked to the bedside and looked down at me from above, as if I were an ant beneath his notice! Meeting his gaze, I curled up in fear. Before I could speak, he forced a bottle of hard liquor down my throat without a word. Then Xavier threw a piece of paper at me, his tone ice-cold: “Today you were drunk, confused, and stumbled into the path of Mia’s car.” “This is a settlement agreement. Sign it.” “Take the five hundred thousand and you can go.”

I looked at him in disbelief, my voice hoarse with rage: “Xavier! Are you insane! This is illegal!” His face darkened. He leaned down, grabbed my throat, his eyes sinister: “What are you? Just because your voice sounds a bit like my wife’s you think you can scold me?” Suffocation set in. Tears burst forth like a broken dam, falling in streams onto Xavier’s hand. Through my blurred vision I stared at him intently. Xavier froze for a moment, then suddenly released his grip, staring at my eyes with hesitation: “Natalie?” I clutched my throat, gasping for air. I pulled the ring off my ring finger and threw it at him, saying angrily: “Xavier, I want a divorce!” The ring bounced off his chest and fell to the floor. Xavier stared at the ring, frozen in place. He suddenly looked up, staring at me in disbelief. Just then, Mia opened the door and came in, slapping me hard across the face. “Thief!” The slap froze the air. Mia picked up the ring from the floor, threw herself into Xavier’s arms, pointed at me and cried: “Xavier, she’s a thief! I kindly helped her into the car to take her to the hospital, but she stole my ring!” Xavier’s eyes flickered with hesitation. He looked down at Mia’s hand. The ring fit perfectly on her finger, the huge pink diamond gleaming brilliantly—it even looked better on her than on me. Xavier’s expression turned cold instantly. He stepped forward and viciously broke my fingers, his low voice filled with displeasure: “This is a ring I had custom-made for my wife. Someone like you doesn’t deserve to covet something you could never have!” The pain in my fingers shot straight to my heart. Cold sweat ran down my temples. Looking at Mia’s smug face, tears filled my eyes and wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t understand. When Xavier proposed with this ring, he clearly said he designed it himself. Using the most beautiful pink diamond in the world. One of a kind. But why did Mia have one too! Why couldn’t he recognize me! Just then, sharp pain shot through my belly. A warm flow gushed from between my legs. I took a deep breath and weakly grabbed his hand with my broken fingers, screaming in despair: “The baby’s coming! Xavier, the baby’s coming! Call a doctor!” “Call a doctor!” Xavier looked down. The sight of blood and amniotic fluid mixed together caught him off guard. His face went pale. He instinctively ran out of the room to call a doctor. I held my belly, enduring the pain. Mia sneered and raised her hand to show off the ring, saying smugly: “You must be wondering why Xavier didn’t recognize you even when he saw this ring, right?” I gritted my teeth and stared at her. She shoved me from the bed to the floor and kicked my belly hard. Cold intent flashed in her eyes as she said viciously: “Because everything you have, I have a copy too!” “The ring, the man, the status, the baby, the house—everything you have, I have too! Monday, Wednesday, Friday he’s at the villa with you. The rest of the days he’s at the apartment with me!” “Did you really think you were the only one? Don’t be naive.” She condescendingly patted my face and continued: “You got hit by me, and he still protected me.” “As long as your baby doesn’t survive, the baby in my belly will be the only heir. Just die already!” Her words shattered the world I thought was happy. Sharp pain stabbed through my heart. Tears silently streamed down my face. My nails dug deep into my palms. I clenched my fists. The pain in my belly grew more and more intense. The sound of doctors running came from outside. I was pushed back into the operating room. The baby came out of my body with a cry. I breathed a sigh of relief, tears of joy streaming down. But before I could even look at her, Xavier had someone take the baby away, while I was pushed to another room. The doctor stood still, making no move. He suggested: “Mr. Hale, this patient just gave birth and was in a car accident. She doesn’t have the strength to give blood to someone else.” “If you force her to donate blood, her life could be in danger. I know you’re anxious because your wife suddenly fainted, but we can expedite getting blood from the blood bank…” “Enough!” Xavier cut off the doctor, saying impatiently: “Mia’s life is worth more than hers. I’ll give her plenty of money—enough to buy her life!” “The most important thing right now is giving Mia a transfusion!”

The doctor tried to persuade him again, but I looked at Xavier weakly and asked: “After the transfusion… I can leave, right? I can see the baby?” His brow furrowed slightly. He avoided my eyes: “As long as you complete the transfusion and sign the settlement, I’ll let you and the baby leave.” I nodded. My parched throat told the doctor: “Do it.” Having achieved his goal, Xavier turned to leave and check on Mia. Behind him, my eyes reddened as I called out: “Xavier, you still don’t believe I’m Natalie?” His footsteps paused. “I don’t know what you’re scheming, pretending to be my wife again and again. But my Natalie—I’d recognize her even as ashes. You’re definitely not her. You could never compare to her!” The greatest sorrow is when the heart dies. I smiled bitterly and mocked myself: “Forget it. It doesn’t matter anymore.” “I don’t want to argue with you anymore. I just hope you won’t regret this.” After experiencing everything today, I no longer loved Xavier. I just wanted to take my baby home, divorce him, and never see him again! But I never imagined my fate would collapse like dominoes—one disaster after another. After the transfusion, I returned to the room and saw a bundle on the bed. I excitedly walked over and picked it up. “Baby, Mommy’s back.” But as I held the child, my body froze. It felt like a stone hammer hanging over my head had slammed into my heart. The pain made my eyes sting. The baby’s face was blue. Her eyes were closed. She wasn’t moving at all. My breathing became unsteady. My voice was so hoarse it was about to break, like a candle flame flickering in the wind: “Baby… what’s wrong?” “Don’t scare Mommy. I can take you home soon. Wake up and look at Mommy, okay?” Holding the baby, I wanted to call a doctor, but I heard a heavy door slam behind me. The door was locked. I desperately shouted, pounding on the door: “Open the door! My baby is sick! Let me out!” “Please, I need to see a doctor! The baby isn’t breathing! She’s dying!” A man’s cold, merciless voice came from outside: “Stop struggling. Mr. Hale said your blood is still useful. He can’t let you leave.” “Mrs. Hale said you and the baby can’t leave this room until she wakes up.” My heart sank. Looking at the baby’s blue face, I knelt on the floor and kowtowed. I begged, my voice breaking: “Please! Save my baby!” “I won’t fight Mia’s baby for inheritance! It’s my fault, please!” But no one answered. My desperate wails penetrated the hospital room and echoed through the corridor. My eyes caught sight of the call button. I stumbled to my feet and pressed it. But no matter how many times I pressed it, it was immediately disconnected. I looked at the door in despair, letting out a heart-wrenching scream: “Xavier!” “I hate you!” Xavier held Mia. Her complexion gradually became more rosy. Hearing the noise outside, she frowned in displeasure: “What’s that pregnant woman screaming about? Did she sign the settlement?” His secretary handed him a folder, saying as if asking for credit: “Mr. Hale, not only did she sign the settlement, she also agreed to be a blood donor for Mrs. Hale. This is the signed contract.” Xavier casually took the document and opened it. His face instantly went pale. He immediately pushed Mia away and stood up. He asked in disbelief: “Why is Natalie’s name on the settlement?”

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