My usually innocent wife suddenly had many sexy lingerie pieces, with obvious signs of being grabbed. She explained they were her sister’s, which was confirmed, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Until that night, when I saw a message: “Kevin, are you asleep? I’m drunk and miss you so much.”
I was furious. I’ll show them that even a nice guy isn’t to be trifled with!
That day, while Mia was showering, I had to rush into the bathroom due to a bad stomachache.
Mia was startled, but I laughed it off, “We’re married, don’t be shy.”
As I sat on the toilet, trying to relieve myself, I couldn’t help but admire Mia’s body. She’s a part-time dance instructor with a hot figure – 5’7″ tall with a seductive face that gets your blood pumping. I couldn’t resist grabbing her hand, “Babe, you smell so good.”
“Stop it! I’m tired. Let’s get some rest early.”
Seeing Mia’s reaction, I got a bit angry. Without even wiping, I stood up and demanded, “Are you cheating on me?!”
Mia got angry too. She turned the showerhead on me, soaking me completely, and yelled, “Jack Wilson! Have you no shame?!”
Seeing Mia upset, I quickly tried to calm her down, “Don’t be mad, I was joking. But it has been a month since we…”
Mia ignored me, dried herself off, and put on her underwear.
I narrowed my eyes at her underwear choice – it was clearly a pink sexy lingerie set that I’d never seen her wear before.
“Mia! Where did this underwear come from?”
Mia looked down, then playfully pushed my head, “Isn’t this a surprise for you?”
But this lingerie had clearly been worn many times, with visible signs of being grabbed.
“This is obviously old!” I exclaimed, my face red with anger, feeling like a fool.
Mia grabbed my arm, pouting, “Don’t be mad, honey. This afternoon I went to my sister’s place. Their faucet broke and soaked me completely, even my underwear. So I borrowed a set from my sister’s closet.”
I immediately said, “I’ll call your sister right now!”
I took out my phone, exchanged pleasantries, then got to the point: “Emma, Mia said she got soaked at your place this afternoon. Hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”
“Yeah, my husband gave Mia a set of clothes to change into. Why, are you here to complain?”
“No, no, just checking in.” I chatted a bit more before hanging up.
Now it was Mia’s turn to be angry. She said I didn’t trust her and wouldn’t talk to me. I quickly tried to appease her: “Honey, don’t be mad! I was wrong to doubt you. I’m an idiot. What can I do to make it up to you?”
To my surprise, Mia changed the subject: “Only if you add my name to the deed of the property.”
The property Mia mentioned was actually a large apartment I had bought from my previous business earnings. It was vacant and not rented out. Only my name was on the deed. Recently, the local government announced development plans, and with the lifting of purchase restrictions, the property value had tripled.
Since the house wasn’t in her name, it was considered my premarital property.
Although I had made a down payment on our future home in Mia’s name, with only her name on it, I had thought about adding Mia to the deed of the large apartment.
After all, she was about to marry me, and I didn’t want to shortchange her.
So I decided to use this opportunity: “No problem, baby. We’ll go to the property office this week.”
I loved Mia so much that I was willing to give her everything.
Mia was overjoyed. She hugged me tightly and kissed me frantically, “You’re the best, honey!”
I smiled and kissed Mia back, then turned off the bedroom light.
Afterwards, I sat on the bed smoking a cigarette while Mia went to shower. Her phone was charging on the nightstand. Looking at it, I felt a sudden urge to check it out.
I knew Mia’s password, but we never looked at each other’s phones. Since we were about to get married, I figured it wouldn’t be a problem for spouses to check each other’s phones.
Opening Mia’s SnapChat, there wasn’t a single chat history, including our conversations. It was all blank.
This was Mia’s habit. She would delete all chat records after each conversation. But this didn’t stop me. I went into her PayPal to check for any suspicious transfers.
Besides the $700 I sent her for each holiday, I found that Mia had received another $700 from someone else.
Mia had saved the contact as “K,” I didn’t know what it meant. The profile picture was a tiger head, clearly a man, and probably an older one.
I quickly took a photo of the transfer record with my phone, feeling a surge of anger and my hands shaking slightly as I put Mia’s phone back.
I never imagined Mia would do this to me. If my guess was right, Mia must be cheating.
Why else would someone send her special transfers on holidays?
My blood was boiling. I wanted to burst into the bathroom with my phone and confront Mia, but I took a deep breath and buried my anger. Mia had never mentioned adding her name to the large apartment before. Why would she suddenly bring it up today?
I suspected it had something to do with Mia’s affair partner. Perhaps they not only cheated on me but also wanted to get my property through Mia.
Realizing this, I broke out in a cold sweat.
I had to figure out who this person was.
Just as I was thinking, suddenly a message came through on my SnapChat.
“Jack, are you asleep? I’m drunk and miss you so much.”
Seeing this message, my hand trembled involuntarily.
I had only met this woman a few times. She was Mia’s best friend, with a sexy appearance.
During our previous dinners, she would flirt with me when Mia wasn’t looking, even rubbing her foot against mine under the table. But I never reciprocated.
After all, my fiancée was prettier than her. But I never expected her to message me like this.
To avoid any misunderstanding with Mia, I quickly deleted the message and decided not to respond.
Mia said she was going to sleep, so I didn’t disturb her. I lay awake, pondering the contents of Mia’s phone.
I suspected Mia was cheating.
But the only clue I had was a tiger head profile picture. I needed to find out who this person was.
I thought about following her, but I was afraid of being discovered.
However, this didn’t stump me. I immediately thought of a foolproof method. From my previous business dealings, I knew a programming expert.
The next day, I contacted the expert and asked if he could add a location tracking function to a phone.
The expert said it was no problem and asked for the phone model. He then sent me the installation package and instructions.
While Mia was showering, I found an opportunity to install the software on her phone. Now her location would be transmitted to my phone in real-time.
However, to my surprise, Mia’s locations were very consistent.
After work, she would go to the dance studio for an hour, then stop by her sister’s place on the way home, staying for an hour before returning.
Was I being too sensitive? Maybe Mia wasn’t cheating after all?
No, perhaps the affair partner was meeting Mia at the dance studio.
I decided to follow Mia personally to see who she was meeting.
Wearing sunglasses and a hat, I rented a car and disguised myself. After making sure I was unrecognizable, I took a day off work and followed Mia to her company.
Mia was a company secretary. I had suspected she might be involved with her boss, but Mia’s boss was a woman, so that was impossible.
But she could be involved with other colleagues. Office romances weren’t uncommon.
So I spent the whole day wandering outside Mia’s company, occasionally seeing her print documents at the printer or interact normally with male colleagues.
Maybe the affair partner wasn’t in the company?
Just before the end of the workday, Mia walked out of the office building. I was sitting in the rented car, watching her from a distance. To my surprise, a black Lincoln pulled up silently beside her.
Mia said something to the driver and got into the passenger seat.
I immediately followed the car, which stopped at Mia’s dance studio. Not only did Mia get out, but also two of her female colleagues.
So it turned out to be colleagues giving her a ride.
I waited outside the dance studio for a long time. There was a large glass window that allowed me to see inside clearly.
Through the window, I could see Mia clearly. Her body was graceful as she taught a K-pop dance class in her sportswear.
To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that such a beautiful woman might catch someone else’s eye.
But after watching for a long time, no man approached Mia.
After the dance class ended, Mia packed up and went straight to her sister’s place.
Mia and her sister were very close, and Mia often visited her.
I saw Mia enter the elevator, which stopped at her sister’s floor.
After following her all day, it seemed Mia had no opportunity to cheat.
I stood at the elevator, feeling foolish. Maybe I was wrong and too suspicious.
As I stood there, a woman’s voice came from behind: “Jack, what are you doing here?”
I turned around to find it was Mia’s sister, Emma.
“Emma, uh, I came to find Mia. My phone’s broken and I forgot my keys, so I couldn’t call her. I figured she might be visiting you, so I came here to find her.” I quickly lied.
Emma smiled and pressed the elevator button, “Mia is indeed here. Let’s go up together.”
I smiled and followed Emma into the elevator.
“You’re usually busy with work, so Mia usually has dinner at our place before going home. How come you’re off work so early today?” Emma asked.
“Not much to do today,” I casually replied as Emma opened the door.
“Honey!” A man’s voice came from inside as soon as the door opened. It was Emma’s husband and Mia’s brother-in-law, Kevin.
Emma responded with a smile, “How did you know I was back? Jack’s here tonight, make enough dinner for one more.”
Kevin came out, looking slightly surprised, but quickly recovered and said with a smile, “Oh, Jack’s here. Come on in.”
“Where’s Mia?” Emma asked curiously as she hung up her bag.
“Mia’s taking a shower inside. She said she was all sweaty from dancing.”
“Control your wife, she’s been coming to our place to shower every day,” Emma joked.
However, I found it strange because Mia always showered again when she got home at night.
Just as I was thinking about this, Mia came out of the room, her hair still wet. She was drying her hair with a towel and asked curiously, “Why are you here?”
I repeated the lie I told Emma. Mia nodded thoughtfully and then said, “Let’s go home then.”
“Why not stay for dinner?” Emma asked curiously.
“It’s okay, we need to…” Before Mia could finish, Emma smirked and said, “Oh, I get it. You’re rushing home for some alone time? Go on then, I won’t keep you.”
“Shouldn’t you two be getting married soon?” Kevin suddenly asked, looking at me.
I was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and replied, “Yeah, Mia and I are making preparations.”
Kevin smiled and said, “Mia is a good girl. You better treat her well.”
Back home with Mia, I had followed her all day and found nothing suspicious. I began to wonder if I had been overthinking things. Maybe someone had a crush on Mia and sent her money.
The chances of Mia cheating seemed slim.
As we were getting ready for bed, Mia brought up adding her name to the property deed again. I truly loved Mia, and feeling guilty about my suspicions, I promised her, “We’ll go add your name this week.”
Mia was thrilled, and that night she was very passionate.
The next day, I didn’t follow Mia but went to work instead.
Unexpectedly, I received a call at noon from the programming expert.
He cautiously asked, “Are you alone? Can we talk?”
My heart tightened, not knowing what he wanted to say.
So I left my desk and went to a secluded corner, asking, “What’s the matter?”
We didn’t usually have much contact, except for when I asked him to make the software. Was he calling to ask for more money? I became a bit wary.
To my surprise, he said, “Brother, I didn’t want to tell you this, but I think you’re being taken advantage of. I feel I should let you know.”
“What is it?”
“I have a recording. I’ll send it to your SnapChat. Listen to it. The software I gave you has an automatic voice recording function. It recorded your girlfriend’s conversation.”
I checked my SnapChat and sure enough, the expert had sent me an audio file.
“It’s best to listen to it somewhere private,” he advised.
Although I didn’t know what he was getting at, I clicked on it anyway.
The recording was of passionate moaning, and I could clearly recognize Mia’s voice.
“Don’t get handsy yet, let me tell you something…”
Before Mia could finish, I heard the sound of passionate kissing.
After a while, Mia spoke again, “Kevin, be gentle, you’re hurting me.”
🌟 Continue the story here
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My husband’s family-sponsored girl calls him “daddy”.
She claims she can’t bear to see me being kept in the dark by my husband.
She deliberately left her underwear in Adrian’s car, trying to lure me into catching him cheating.
Afterwards, she even said: “Girls help girls.”
It was 8:30 PM, and I was still working overtime at the company.
I received a friend request on SnapChat from someone with the username “Microsoft”. The verification message read: “Adrian’s little sister.”
Adrian Chen is my husband of two years, whom I’ve known for ten years.
I don’t remember him having a sister.
Puzzled, I accepted the request.
“Mrs. Chen?” The message popped up on my screen.
I frowned at the “Mrs.” part. Though I had taken a gap year before college due to poor exam scores, I was still the same age as Adrian. Having just finished my master’s degree and not yet had my birthday, I was only 25. Being called “Mrs.” made me feel like I was already in my thirties or forties.
Before I could type “Hello, who is this?”, Microsoft sent another message:
“I just met Adrian’s parents! Are you home? We’re on our way back now.”
What the hell?
My husband took another woman to meet his parents and now they’re coming to our home?
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Wendy. Oh, Mrs. Chen doesn’t know about me? Does that mean you haven’t prepared a room for me?”
I raised an eyebrow.
The name Wendy sounded familiar.
Glancing at how she added me, I realized Adrian’s mother had sent her my contact.
Then it dawned on me.
Adrian’s parents had sponsored many students over the years. Wendy was one of them. She got into a prestigious university and became Adrian’s junior. She was now a senior.
A few days ago, I heard from my mother-in-law that Wendy was about to start an internship and wanted to visit Adrian’s parents to express her gratitude for years of support.
Originally, my mother-in-law had invited both Adrian and me to go back. But since Wendy and I had no connection, and I had just started at the company and wanted to keep up with my colleagues’ progress, I decided to stay behind and work overtime on the project.
So tonight, only Adrian went back.
But I never expected Adrian to bring her out, let alone to our home.
Forget a room, I hadn’t even prepared a sleeping mat.
But since she was already here, I couldn’t just turn her away.
“I’m working overtime at the company. Ask Adrian to make arrangements for you,” I replied.
She quickly responded: “Oh… but Adrian is a guy. Is it appropriate for him to do household chores like making a bed?”
“Why don’t I ask him to pick you up from work? He doesn’t seem to be planning to pick you up.”
The tea-scented jealousy oozing from the screen stung my eyes.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Wendy on the other side of the screen was truly a green tea bitch or just genuinely naive.
But since we had never met, I couldn’t jump to conclusions about her. Maybe the young girl was just innocent and straightforward, speaking without thinking.
Besides, Adrian indeed wasn’t going to pick me up today.
So I directly refused Wendy’s offer.
To my surprise, Wendy misinterpreted my intentions.
“Are you mad at Adrian?”
“He didn’t mean to forget to pick you up. It’s probably because I’m with him, so he forgot about it!”
I sent a string of ellipses.
“No, he knows I drove.”
Adrian’s call came at just the right moment.
After explaining tonight’s situation, he asked me to come home.
After that, Wendy stopped replying.
To be honest, after our earlier conversation, I was also curious about Wendy.
So I immediately drove home.
As soon as I entered, I saw a short-haired girl sitting on the couch.
She turned her head and smiled sweetly at me.
“Mrs. Chen, you’re back! Don’t be shy, come sit down.”
Her tone and posture made it seem like I was the guest.
I scanned the living room and asked, “Where’s Adrian?”
Just then, the sound of a door unlocking came from the hallway.
Adrian walked out of the room.
Seeing this, Wendy suddenly stood up.
She ran over and clung to Adrian’s arm.
Her voice carried a hint of coquettish complaint: “Adrian, you left me alone in the living room for so long, long enough for Mrs. Chen to come back!”
Adrian’s usually cold face was suddenly clouded with a layer of dark annoyance.
He shook off Wendy’s hand.
“Don’t you know better?”
“You’ve been giggling non-stop since we got in the car. It’s annoying as hell.”
Back in high school, Adrian had been nicknamed the “Mute Groom.”
With an extremely cold and aloof face, he rarely spoke.
He was once considered the unapproachable flower of our year.
But whenever he did speak, 80% of the time it was to scold someone.
I knew this all too well.
As Wendy was being scolded, I even gave her a sympathetic look.
Wendy pouted.
Her watery eyes blinked twice.
It seemed like something was about to fall from her eyes.
“I… I was just so happy to be living with you, Adrian. Did I cause you trouble…?”
Adrian crossed his arms and stepped back against the wall.
“Don’t you know better?”
“You were too scared to stay at a hotel, insisted there were ghosts and you didn’t have the guts, then changed your tune once we got in the car. If you’re not tired of it, I sure am.”
I couldn’t help but cover my mouth and laugh.
How did Adrian manage to rhyme while scolding her so seriously?
Wendy tearfully looked down.
“That’s because I’m scared to stay alone… If you don’t stay with me, that’s why I…”
In all the years I’ve known Adrian, I’ve never called him “honey” or any pet names.
Not only is it sickening, but there’s also a high chance of getting scolded.
But Wendy obviously didn’t know this.
She kept calling him “honey” non-stop.
Meanwhile, I sat on the couch watching the show, even snacking on some sunflower seeds.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed a blanket from the guest room.
He tossed it onto the long couch.
“You’re sleeping here tonight, and first thing tomorrow morning, you’re going out to rent your own place.”
With that said, Adrian glared at me resentfully, then angrily turned and went into the room.
Wendy lowered her head and looked at me tearfully.
“Mrs. Chen, are you just going to watch Adrian bully me like this?”
“Adrian wants to kick me out, aren’t you going to talk him out of it?”
“We’re both girls, aren’t you going to help me?”
I paused in my sunflower seed snacking.
What does this have to do with me?
But since she brought it up, I had no reason not to help her.
I grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and put them in her hand.
She blinked in confusion: “What does this mean?”
While continuing to eat sunflower seeds, I said,
“These are sunflower seeds from Adrian’s home. Take them with you tomorrow. Whenever you miss him, just eat some seeds. That way you’ll feel like he’s by your side.”
Wendy’s mouth twitched visibly.
Then she quickly regained her composure.
She turned and said, “Then… can I sleep with you tonight?”
I shrugged.
Gladly accepting.
I didn’t mind Wendy sleeping with me.
But when she stepped into the room, she froze in place.
I turned and asked her why she wasn’t coming in.
She gave me a questioning look.
“Mrs. Chen… don’t you sleep with Adrian?”
Oh, so she wanted the three of us to sleep together.
Too bad.
Although Adrian and I have been married for two years,
I went abroad for my master’s degree right after getting our marriage certificate, and only returned last month.
Because the change in our relationship status was so sudden, and we rarely saw each other during that time, we didn’t know how to get along, so we’ve been sleeping in separate rooms.
Wendy’s expression froze for a moment.
Then she immediately put on a relieved smile.
“Oh, so Adrian doesn’t sleep with Mrs. Chen.”
I was just watching all this for entertainment.
But her constant passive-aggressive meddling all evening was starting to annoy me.
I casually covered myself with the blanket, keeping my head still but glancing down at her standing by the bed.
Deliberately putting on a creepy cold face, I asked her: “Do you know why?”
“Why?”
I said lightly: “I have an aunt on my body that he can see after midnight.”
As soon as I said this.
Wendy froze in place.
I decided to quit while I was ahead.
“But don’t worry, you should be fine if you’re asleep.”
No matter what Wendy was thinking.
I didn’t have the energy to tease her anymore.
After saying that, I started feeling drowsy.
But at 3 AM.
A loud crashing sound suddenly came from outside.
It sounded like a door slamming into a wall, startling me awake.
I instinctively reached under my pillow for a knife, but grasped at nothing.
Then I remembered I was in China.
Next, a woman’s crying voice drifted in from outside the door.
“Waaah… Adrian, why did you push me? You didn’t lock the door, doesn’t that mean you left it open for me on purpose?”
This logic would be considered explosive even in the world of arguments.
When I came out.
Wendy was sobbing non-stop, hunching her shoulders and trying to grab Adrian’s sleeve.
Adrian was rubbing his brow, clearly struggling to contain his anger.
“I don’t need to explain to you why I didn’t lock the door.”
“If an armored truck’s door is open, are you going to go explore inside?”
“If a hearse’s door is open, are you going to lie down in it?”
I leaned against the wall. As they remained at an impasse, I yawned sleepily.
Wendy’s little tricks were obvious even to Adrian.
Let alone to someone like me who had pursued Adrian for years.
The reason I couldn’t be bothered to deal with this mess
Wasn’t just because I trusted Adrian wouldn’t cheat.
More so, I was still upset with him.
The reason I chose to go abroad for my master’s degree back then
Was because of something he said.
“Don’t rely on me too much, you need to learn to be independent. Your life belongs to you, not as an appendage of mine.”
At the time I thought it was just an excuse for him to push me away.
Later when my world expanded, I finally understood what he meant.
I really was boy-crazy back then.
Ever since my father who raised me passed away when I was in 9th grade, and I moved in with Adrian’s family.
He became like a second father to me.
His parents treated me like their own daughter too.
So I continued on with my usual stupidity, being foolish and short-sighted.
Thinking that as long as I could be Adrian’s wife, my life would be complete.
But friends in college made me realize the world wasn’t like I had imagined.
Women don’t have to rely on men, and I don’t have to rely on Adrian.
So I gradually started trying to reduce my dependence on him.
And when he said those words, it hit me right in the heart, making me think he really didn’t want me around.
I gathered the courage to leave him.
Who knew that after I got my grad school acceptance letter.
He would drag me to the civil affairs office in the middle of the night to wait.
We stayed up all night to get our marriage certificate.
When I boarded the flight to Philadelphia that day.
I still hadn’t recovered from the shock of suddenly being married.
So not only did we not have a married life.
We didn’t even have a dating process.
It was as hasty as my 48-point math score on the college entrance exam.
Even after I understood his intentions.
Most of the reason I was still upset was just because I felt my past self was so embarrassing, and now I couldn’t back down.
Wendy followed me back to the room.
As soon as she came in, she wiped away her tears and looked up at me with a smile.
“Mrs. Chen, how was my performance just now?”
I was stunned.
Seeing her very self-satisfied expression, I frowned.
I don’t understand, is there a PhD who can interpret this?
Wendy smiled smugly,
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Mrs. Chen, you may be older, but you’re not as experienced as me.”
“For a man like Adrian, if you want him to be interested in you, you have to learn to control his emotions.”
“See, I’ve already made him have an emotional reaction to me.”
Her words
Were enough to make my expression turn into “subway, elderly, cell phone”.
Even a PhD couldn’t interpret her meaning.
We need a post-doc to explain.
I was a bit speechless.
But my phone buzzed just then.
Adrian had sent me a message.
“Come over, don’t sleep with her.”
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I was happy to comply.
I thought Adrian called me over to lecture me.
But to my surprise, the first thing he asked was: “Sorry, did I make you unhappy?”
His sudden display of manners caught me off guard.
I shook my head.
Adrian continued: “She wasn’t like this before.”
Wasn’t like this before?
I don’t remember them knowing each other before.
Adrian explained that years ago, he had accompanied his father to visit some of the sponsored students’ homes.
Wendy was one of them.
But Wendy wasn’t called Wendy back then.
Her personality was also lively and cheerful.
Before she turned 18, her name was Xiaojuan Wu.
After 18 she changed her name.
For some unknown reason, she became like she is now.
I wasn’t very interested in Wendy’s past.
Although she had been passive-aggressive towards me all night, verbal attacks couldn’t cause real harm.
She was just a young girl who hadn’t entered society yet. Wasn’t I just as annoying to Adrian back then?
Why should I bother with her?
Besides, she was leaving tomorrow.
She was supposedly going to intern at Adrian’s company. As long as she didn’t cause any trouble, I would try my best to ignore her.
However, reality proved me wrong.
On Wendy’s first day at work.
She parachuted in as an executive assistant, causing a stir in the project department.
Olivia, who sat next to me, nudged me with her elbow.
“Zoe, did you hear? The new executive assistant was pushed in by the CEO’s office.”
“Do you think she might be a big shot’s daughter coming to experience working life?”
I was busy working on sketches for a new project and didn’t look up as I said I wasn’t sure.
Olivia sighed softly.
She was about to say something else when someone tapped her. She immediately turned her head and started gossiping in a low voice.
After just a few minutes, she turned back to me and leaned in close.
Lowering her voice, she said: “Zoe, I just heard some big gossip, but don’t tell anyone!”
“The new executive assistant is actually Adrian’s fiancée!”
Wait.
What did she say?
My interest was piqued, and I put down my stylus.
“Which Adrian?”
“THE Adrian! Adrian Chen!”
Speechless.
The gossip had come to my own doorstep.
No one at the company knew about my relationship with Adrian.
Even if I said it, no one would believe it.
The wife of Adrian Chen was just a regular employee in the project department, not even a team leader.
But everyone in the company knew Adrian was married.
I tried to gently correct her, attempting to shake off the hat on my head.
“Fiancée? But I heard he’s already married?”
But as soon as I said this.
The situation suddenly developed in an even more ridiculous direction.
“Oh right! I forgot about that!”
Olivia had a sudden realization: “So that means… the new executive assistant is Adrian’s wife!”
I stared at her for a few seconds.
I had zero desire to explain.
When I looked back, I saw the door of the project department being pushed open from the outside.
Wendy walked in carrying several bags of coffee.
She smiled as she distributed coffee to her colleagues.
However.
I noticed her actions were very strange.
Olivia noticed too.
She leaned over and whispered to me: “Isn’t that the executive assistant?”
“Why is she being picky about who gets coffee?”
“Except for Manager Lee, she didn’t give any to the technical staff.”
It’s not that we were craving her coffee.
But in a row of workstations, everyone got coffee except for one person.
This scene was inevitably awkward.
But Wendy didn’t seem to think so.
When she came to my and Olivia’s workstations, she had already given out all the coffee.
She had clearly checked the number of people in the project department beforehand.
She stood in front of me.
Placing a stack of Starbucks paper bags on my desk.
“Mrs. Chen, please throw these away.”
?
I looked at her in bewilderment.
“Why?”
Wendy relaxed her shoulders, crossed her arms, and smiled with pursed lips.
“Input and output should be proportional.”
“Mrs. Chen has a high salary, so of course you should do more than others!”
How did she know my salary was high?
Oh.
She’s the executive assistant to the project department manager, so she would have access to see the department staff’s pay stubs.
Before I could speak.
She put on a fair and just expression.
Looking around at everyone, she said: “The technical staff have high monthly salaries, which other colleagues can’t compare to.”
“So there’s no coffee for you today!”
“Oh, and for fairness, to create a good work atmosphere and promote relationships between colleagues, I propose—”
“From now on, the technical staff should pool money every afternoon to buy afternoon tea for the office colleagues.”
Is this human speech?
Even capitalists would be ashamed of themselves.
Does Wendy have any emotional intelligence?
Not only is she openly flaunting salary differences in the office.
She also wants to exploit the technical staff.
Does she think the computer will automatically generate our final draft that we’ve revised 800 times just by sitting in the chair?
The whole industry knows.
Us concept artists, 3D modelers and other technical staff earn hair transplant money.
$3000 is what I deserve.
I even think Adrian is paying me too little.
I stood up and stuffed the stack of bags back into Wendy’s hands.
“Miss Wu, you’re so kind.” I gratefully grabbed her arm.
Taking advantage of her showing a smug smile, I blurted out:
“Then please lead by example and buy afternoon tea for a month. I’ll definitely send you a banner calling you one of China’s most touching philanthropists.”
As soon as I finished speaking.
The previously quiet office erupted in a wave of murmurs.
Probably seeing the tension between Wendy and me, Olivia tugged at me gently, signaling me not to offend her.
At the impasse, a sudden booming male voice broke the deadlock.
“I support Miss Wu’s proposal! I’ll be the first to do it!”
The speaker was Manager Lee.
Getting support, Wendy immediately puffed out her chest.
“You—” she pointed at me: “Come to my office.”
With that, she turned and left.
Anyone with eyes could see the situation.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
This Miss Wu was going to make things difficult for me.
Her arrogant attitude really made it hard for me not to wonder who exactly gave her such great power.
It was outrageous that as an intern, she shamelessly acted like an unscrupulous capitalist.
I followed her into the secretary’s office.
Wendy sat in the swivel chair, looking down at me haughtily.
“Zoe Chen, I called you Mrs. Chen earlier out of respect for Adrian.”
“But now I’m your superior, you’d better apologize to me in front of everyone before I get angry.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
I casually found a chair to sit down, looking her in the eye, and brought up another topic.
“I’m very curious, why does everyone say you’re Adrian’s fiancée?”
Wendy snorted lightly.
“You still don’t know what my relationship with Adrian is, do you?”
“I’m his child bride~”
“What?!” I couldn’t help but exclaim in disbelief.
“If not, then why would his family keep giving me money, let me go to school, and even help me get into Adrian’s company?”
“Isn’t that basically acknowledging my relationship with Adrian?”
?
By her logic.
Anyone who was sponsored would be a child bride.
Then Adrian would have a sea of “child brides”.
She didn’t seem to realize at all that there was a problem with what she was saying.
She looked me up and down.
“Hurry up and apologize, or else when Adrian and I get married, you’ll be in for it!”
I didn’t understand.
I asked her back: “You know we’re married, so do you know what this behavior is called?”
She shrugged, looking nonchalant: “You want to say I’m the other woman, right?”
“But let me tell you, love doesn’t care who came first. The one who isn’t loved is the other woman.”
“Adrian marrying you was a long time ago when he was young and didn’t know any better. He chose the wrong person. Besides, he’s realized now that I’m the best.”
She leaned forward, smiling provocatively: “Just wait, soon you’ll be the other woman.”
Life has taught me one thing.
Education level, zodiac sign, etc. cannot determine a person’s character and personality.
Some people are smart and hardworking, but their brains have problems.
Because of Wendy’s past, Adrian and I had been trying hard to tolerate her.
But she was getting more and more outrageous.
When she said “I’m a dream girl”, I even doubted my own ears.
But at this moment, I suddenly understood.
So, she’s Adrian’s… delusional fan?
When I told Adrian about this.
He suddenly looked at me with clear yet stupid eyes.
“You’re not a dream girl?”
“…If it’s a fictional character, why would I be a dream girl? Moreover, you’re not a fictional character.”
After I finished speaking
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I Woke up in a novel where everyone loves the heroine
A business tycoon for the eldest brother, a medical genius for the second, and a Hollywood star for the third.
I thought I was the beloved heroine.
But it turns out… I’m just a side character?
Wait, why are my brothers doting on me every day?
Could it be… I’m actually the real heiress?
I found myself transported into a popular online novel where the heroine is loved by everyone. My parents were wealthy and pampered me with the best of everything.
I thought I could just sit back and enjoy the easy life, but then one day, a woman showed up claiming to be the real daughter. She pointed at me, accusing me of being an imposter, and demanded a DNA test.
The kicker? My so-called parents actually believed her and agreed to the test!
Great, so I really am the fake one.
What the hell?
Then it hit me – I remembered the title of this book: “All the CEOs Love Me: The True and False Heiress”!
Oh God, I only read the beginning of this story because it was too ridiculous to continue.
So I’m actually the fake heiress!
This is not how it’s supposed to go…
“Mom, Dad, I’ve missed you so much…” I sat to the side, watching as the “real daughter” Chloe Winters cried her eyes out, constantly throwing herself at her mother while recounting all the hardships she’d endured over the years.
“Life in the orphanage was so hard! sob If only…” She glanced at me, her eyes full of resentment, but her tone unchanged, still dripping with pathos that would melt anyone’s heart. “If only you hadn’t picked up the wrong baby back then… But I don’t blame you. I’m just so happy to have found you. I’ll get along well with my sister from now on.”
The two quickly embraced, crying together. Her mother kept apologizing and promising to make it up to her.
Before I knew it…
I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.
Watching the mother and daughter bond like they’d never been apart, I quietly slipped out to clear my head.
Little did I know, when I returned, my adoptive parents’ attitude had completely changed.
“Aria, what your birth parents did was utterly selfish! To think my daughter was left to suffer for so many years because of them.”
Huh?
I glanced at Chloe smirking behind them, and I had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
They were blaming my birth parents, weren’t they?
I wasn’t sure how the plot would develop from here, so I just listened quietly.
My adoptive mother steeled herself and waved her hand dismissively. “We’ve been mother and daughter for so many years, so let’s just leave it at that. I’ll contact your birth parents to come pick you up.”
I understood, so I sincerely thanked these adoptive parents and volunteered to leave on my own.
Unexpectedly, my calm acceptance gave Chloe an opportunity to further manipulate the situation. She started poisoning my adoptive parents’ minds with veiled comments, saying I was just like my birth parents – heartless and ungrateful.
Sure enough, my adoptive mother got even angrier and immediately had someone contact my birth parents.
Me: …
According to Chloe, my birth parents were just farmers. Because they were poor, they switched me with her right after we were born, which led to my adoptive parents taking the wrong baby home, while she was sent to an orphanage.
I was dumbfounded, thinking to myself that it wouldn’t be a proper novel if it wasn’t this ridiculously dramatic. But based on my years of reading experience, there had to be more to the story. Who knows, maybe there’d be a huge plot twist later?
Besides, since I’d already transmigrated into a novel, living on a farm didn’t sound so bad!
So I waited patiently. My adoptive mother worked quickly, and within a few hours, my birth parents had arrived.
Without wasting a moment, she packed up my more valuable belongings and threw me out along with them. “Your parents are waiting outside. You can go now.” She slammed the door shut without even looking at me.
No wonder they say women change their minds quickly. Just this morning, she was still the image of a gentle, loving mother.
I smiled wryly, picked up my things, and headed out.
Well, it’s money after all. Might as well take it.
Outside the main gate, in front of a Bentley, stood a man who looked like a bodyguard. Next to him was an anxious-looking wealthy woman who rushed up to me as soon as she saw me. “Aria! Are you Aria?”
I nodded, “You are…?”
“I’m your mom!” She wiped away tears and hugged me tightly. “Have you been living here all this time? You must have suffered so much all these years!”
I paused and glanced back at the mansion behind me.
Umm…
“What’s all this junk you’re carrying? Were they mean to you? They didn’t even come out to see you off!”
This mom was something else. She really despised the stuff, huh?
On the way, my birth mother acted just like my adoptive mother when she first found her daughter. She told me about the mix-up at the hospital years ago that had made it impossible for them to find me, and promised to make it up to me from now on.
I thought to myself that I might have hit the jackpot again.
When I saw the castle-like estate, I finally understood why she thought I’d been suffering out there.
A line of servants and butlers stood at attention, all chorusing, “Welcome home, young miss!”
My birth mom explained that although they were farmers, they owned modern, high-tech farms and were extremely wealthy landowners.
We had barely sat down when a deep, urgent male voice came from outside, “Where’s my daughter? Where is she?”
My birth father was incredibly well-preserved, tall and handsome, not looking old at all.
After a round of emotional reunions, my mom told me, “The good news came so suddenly today. Your brothers are already on their way back home.”
Just before dinner, we finally had our big family reunion.
Seriously, I was this close to becoming a fangirl.
My eldest brother, Charles Pierce, stood at over six feet tall with an imposing presence that seemed even bigger. He was the epitome of a domineering CEO.
My second brother, Colin Pierce, was known to others as a “medical genius.” He had a gentle demeanor, and his smile was like a spring breeze.
As for my third brother, Christopher… well, he hadn’t arrived yet. Apparently, he was still on the plane.
In short, this whole family was rich, good-looking, and impressive.
I bet I’d be grinning even in my dreams. No, wait! Don’t let me wake up!
What kind of fairy tale plot was this? I absolutely loved it!
“By the way, Aria, you’re studying at Ashton University now, right? I’ll arrange for you to transfer to a prestigious private academy. And we’ll change your last name tomorrow too.”
As soon as Dad spoke, Charles efficiently moved to make a call, but I quickly stopped him. “It’s okay, Dad. I’m fine where I am. There are only two years left anyway. Let’s keep a low profile.”
“Our Aria wants to keep a low profile? Alright, we’ll do as you wish. But from now on, we’ll take care of the food services at Ashton. You need to eat well.”
“Thank you, Mom and Dad.”
Charles smiled coolly as he elegantly rolled up his sleeves. “I approved the proposal Ashton sent over a few days ago.”
“Thank you, Charles.”
Colin, seemingly not wanting to be outdone, raised an eyebrow. “In that case, the medical facilities should be upgraded too. I’ll send two of my best students to oversee it.”
“Thank you, Colin.”
I was on a winning streak.
But it didn’t end there. After dinner, Charles gifted me a limited edition Rolls-Royce.
Colin pulled out a women’s watch worth millions, while Christopher, who hadn’t even arrived yet, sent ahead a designer gown that even A-list celebrities would struggle to get their hands on.
I was dazzled, utterly thrilled.
As for Mom and Dad, well, they gave me several credit cards, put my name on various property deeds, and told me to ask for anything I wanted.
That night, lying in the princess bedroom they had prepared for me, I couldn’t even bring myself to sleep.
Who could understand this feeling!
The next day, I got up early. Sticking to my principle of keeping a low profile, I left the car Charles gave me in the garage and had the driver take out a less conspicuous one.
As for the watch Colin gave me, it was just too beautiful. I figured not many people would recognize it anyway, so I happily wore it to school.
Just as I reached the classroom door, I overheard someone talking about a new transfer student who had arrived very ostentatiously this morning.
I wasn’t particularly interested, as this was quite common at Ashton University.
But suddenly, someone’s gaze fell on me. “Hey, Aria, I heard the new transfer student is the Winters’ heiress. Is she your sister or something?”
With this setup, I wasn’t too surprised when I saw Chloe Winters. Coincidentally, she was even in the same class as me.
“Hello everyone, I’m Chloe Winters. Please take care of me from now on.”
She quickly charmed the class with her sweet girl-next-door image. After class, she came up to me and affectionately called me “sister.”
This school was like a miniature society, where people always tried to cozy up to those from powerful families. If she wanted to let others know she was a Winters, it would’ve been simple. But this “sister” act really threw me for a loop.
What was this girl up to?
She seemed determined to play out this charade of sisterly affection, asking me if I was tired from studying lately, if anyone was bullying me, and so on.
I gave her a quick once-over, my eyebrow involuntarily arching.
From the side came a confused voice, “Aria, how come we never heard you had a sister? You two seem so close.”
Chloe jumped in to answer, “Because I only just came home recently.”
I watched with an amused smile, pretty much guessing what she was trying to do.
Sure enough, the next moment, Chloe put on an expression of hesitation. “Sis, you… never mind. You must be feeling out of sorts after leaving the Winters family, right?”
As she spoke, she took out a credit card from her bag and handed it to me. “Mom and Dad told me not to help you, but I still want to do what I can for you, sis. Don’t think it’s too little, okay?”
I looked at her, suddenly breaking into a smile as I took the card. “How could I think it’s too little? This is my dear sister’s heartfelt gift.”
With all this “sister” talk back and forth, I was starting to wonder if I’d transmigrated into some period drama.
After all this drama, someone finally asked the question Chloe had been waiting for.
“What’s going on here?”
Chloe pursed her lips, feigning regret. “Actually, my sister isn’t the Winters’ biological child. Her birth parents are just farmers who used some tricks to get her into the Winters family when she was little. But it’s all worked out now. I’ve finally returned to my rightful place, so I don’t blame her anymore.”
I casually played with the credit card in my hand, looking at her with a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes as she put on her little act.
“Aria… is this true?”
The onlookers’ expressions changed as they looked at me.
I nodded without hesitation. “My birth parents are indeed farmers.”
After getting my confirmation, everyone clearly gravitated towards Chloe.
What’s the deal? I transmigrated into a novel where everyone loves the heroine, not some court intrigue story. Did they have to be so obvious about sucking up to the powerful and looking down on the weak?
“Alright, everyone, settle down. We’re having a brief meeting,” our faculty advisor bustled into the classroom.
“Today, we have a very important signing ceremony,” the advisor said, looking pleased with himself. “This concerns the school’s development, so we need to choose a student representative to give a speech.”
After saying this, the advisor’s gaze swept across the classroom.
“Let’s have Chloe Winters do it.”
Me: ???
Chloe had just transferred to Ashton University. What qualifications did she have to represent the entire student body?
“Thank you for your trust, sir. I know my sister used to be the student representative, but I’ll definitely do better than her. I won’t let everyone down,” Chloe said as she gracefully stood up to face the class.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of everyone.” Chloe raised her eyes to look at me.
I had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough!
“I hope that after learning about my sister’s background, you won’t look down on her. After all, she’s lived with the Winters family for so many years. She’ll always be my dear sister.”
Stop with all this “sister” nonsense! This isn’t some period drama!
Internally, I only had four words – Don’t get involved with me!
Chloe’s manipulative behavior had thoroughly angered me.
She wanted the spotlight? Fine.
Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t let her have her way!
“Charles.” I made a call to my eldest brother.
The school had prepared quite elaborately for the afternoon signing ceremony.
Chloe had put on exquisite makeup and was wearing an evening gown, standing in the school’s auditorium looking a bit out of place.
“What? Mr. Pierce, you…” The dean seemed flustered. “May I ask, why…”
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On my wedding day, the groom ran away.
So I turned around and married his dad instead.
If I can’t be the bride, I’ll be your mom.
When he came back, he saw me still in his house and thought I was shamelessly refusing to leave. He pulled out a pure, innocent girl from behind him, declaring she was his true love, and told me not to delude myself.
I smiled slightly and held the hand of the man beside me.
“Son, daughter-in-law, why don’t you call me Mom?”
I’m the heiress of the Brown Group.
Today was supposed to be my wedding day with the Yale family’s son, but the groom who should have appeared at the wedding was nowhere to be seen.
“You’re saying Lucas ran away?” My voice was ice cold.
“That seems to be the case…”
The maid trembled as she reported.
My parents were furious too.
The Brown and YaleYale family families had been preparing for this wedding for months. All the top socialites in New York had received invitations, and the media was reporting on it extensively.
If Lucas had any objections to the wedding during this time, he could have brought them up at any point.
To run away on the wedding day was simply slapping the Brown family in the face publicly.
After comforting me, my parents hurriedly left to discuss countermeasures.
As I huddled in a corner, contemplating how to proceed with this engagement party, there was a commotion at the entrance.
I instinctively looked up and saw a man in a black suit with strikingly handsome features.
This man was Adrian Yu, the current head of the Yale family and Lucas’s nominal father. At 35 years old, he still looked like he was in his early twenties.
Adrian rarely appeared at large events. Even I had only seen him a handful of times.
The moment this man appeared, people from various families at the banquet rushed over.
Watching Adrian politely decline everyone and stride towards me, a crazy idea suddenly popped into my head.
“Uncle Adrian.” I put on a polite smile, but there was a hint of grievance in my voice.
Next, Adrian’s voice, deep and melodious like a cello, rang out.
“Miss Ming, I’m sorry for the trouble this has caused you. I’ve already sent people to catch him. You can deal with him as you see fit when he’s brought back.”
“I’ll explain the situation to everyone. The wedding will be postponed, and the Yale family will bear all losses from this incident.”
This was indeed a perfect solution, but I now had an even better choice.
“Uncle Adrian, I’ve been engaged to the Yale family since childhood, but the groom doesn’t necessarily have to be Lucas, right?”
“What?” The situation changed so quickly that Adrian was momentarily caught off guard.
After he realized what I meant, his gaze became profound.
“Of course. So who do you want to choose?”
I flashed a sweet smile, then without hesitation reached out my hand towards Adrian. “Would you like to be my groom?”
Although Adrian was Lucas’s nominal father, he wasn’t Lucas’s biological father.
There were rumors that Adrian was impotent and had never married.
At 25, he had adopted a child from a branch family – that child was Lucas.
Impotence didn’t matter much to me. With modern medicine being so advanced, I believed it could certainly be cured.
If it really couldn’t be cured, being childless seemed fine too.
Adrian looked at the girl’s radiant smile and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” I replied without hesitation. Compared to Lucas, Adrian was at least twice as handsome.
Even if he was impotent, just looking at his handsome face every day would be satisfying.
It was certainly better than being cheated on by that ugly Lucas behind my back.
Adrian stared at me intently. “Alright.”
As his large hand with distinct knuckles clasped my small, delicate one, my heart skipped a beat.
The wedding simply swapped out the main characters. We didn’t even need to change clothes. The elegant white wedding dress paired perfectly with Adrian’s tailored black suit, as if the two were always meant to be bride and groom.
Everyone at the wedding banquet was shrewd. Lucas’s escape was too sudden and hadn’t been deliberately concealed, so most guests knew about it.
Reporters had caught wind of the gossip and were eagerly raising their cameras towards the stage, waiting to see the drama unfold between two of New York’s most powerful families.
When they saw me walking up arm-in-arm with Adrian, many people’s jaws dropped in shock.
They had to admire this move of directly swapping out the groom.
The officiant very professionally introduced the new bride and groom with a freshly printed script.
“The bride and groom will now exchange rings…”
Adrian took out a ring and put it on my finger. I also took out a ring and put it on Adrian’s finger.
As I was putting the ring on Adrian, I noticed it didn’t fit well. My eyes showed an apologetic look.
This ring was sized for Lucas.
There wasn’t time to make a new one on such short notice.
It’s good that it could still be used, even if it was a bit tight.
After exchanging rings, it was time for the groom to kiss the bride.
I couldn’t help feeling nervous.
Adrian’s public image was one of keeping himself pure and aloof. Even on the rare occasions he attended events, he never had a female companion. Would he be willing?
I was starting to regret dragging Adrian into this on a whim.
Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly felt a soft sensation on my lips.
I opened my eyes in disbelief to see Adrian’s flawless face up close.
Seeming to sense my shock, Adrian placed his hand on the back of my head to deepen the kiss.
I slowly closed my eyes as the guests’ congratulatory applause rang out around us.
My parents were unaware of my sudden choice, but they could only smile and respond to the congratulations from those around them.
They couldn’t publicly embarrass their daughter, after all.
Taking advantage of the toast, my mom pulled me into a room. My dad was there too.
She locked the door.
“Olivia, what’s going on? How did you suddenly end up with Adrian?”
“Because he’s handsome…”
I didn’t know how else to explain my impulsive decision.
“Handsome?” My mom thought about Adrian’s face. He was indeed very handsome.
“But he’s over 10 years older than you. He was almost done with elementary school when you were just born.”
“So what? Don’t they say older men are more caring?”
I brazenly replied.
“But… I heard he’s impotent…” My mom’s brow remained furrowed.
Ah, this…
Just as I was wracking my brain trying to find a way to gloss over this, there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock knock.
My mom opened the door. Adrian was standing there. It wasn’t clear if he had just arrived or had been there for a while.
My parents quickly put on gracious smiles, as if they hadn’t just been questioning him.
“Mr. Yu, is there something you need?”
“I have some things I’d like to discuss with you.”
Adrian chatted with my parents about who knows what. In just a short while, they were no longer opposed to this marriage and actually seemed quite approving of Adrian.
“Adrian is good too. Capable and skilled.”
My dad acknowledged Adrian’s abilities. Though he was older, this kind of man could truly protect his precious daughter.
Lucas, who ran away at the last minute, wasn’t worthy of his daughter.
After the wedding, I moved into Adrian’s mansion.
This place was Adrian’s personal residence. It was my first time here. The interior decor was minimalist, best described as black, white and gray.
A day of busy socializing left us smelling of alcohol and sweat. Adrian went to freshen up first.
I sat on the couch to rest.
The sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom. Through the frosted glass, I could vaguely make out the figure inside.
My face flushed red with embarrassment, and I stopped looking.
After a while, the water stopped. I instinctively looked up.
Adrian walked out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe. The open neckline revealed his muscular chest and hints of abs.
I was a bit dazed.
Wow, I didn’t expect this man to have such a great body!
Seeing me staring at him, Adrian’s lips curled into a faint smile.
“Olivia, go take a shower.” His deep, magnetic voice rang out.
Realizing I had been staring at him in a daze, I shyly retreated to the bathroom, took off my clothes, and let the water run over me. My ears were still ringing with Adrian calling me “Olivia”…
How had I not noticed before how alluring he was?
After showering, I suddenly realized I hadn’t brought any clothes in with me…
I had no choice but to carefully open the bathroom door a crack, poking out half my face.
“A-Adrian, I forgot to bring clothes. Could you please hand them to me? They’re in the bag on the couch. Just pass the whole bag to me.”
There was no response from outside for a while.
I was a bit confused. Had Adrian gone out?
Just as I was about to ask again, a response came: “Okay.”
That pleasant voice had a hint of huskiness to it.
Then I heard footsteps and the rustling of a bag outside.
Soon after, Adrian came to the bathroom door. “Here you go.”
I carefully opened the door a crack and stuck out my arm. The clothes were placed in my hand.
“Thank you.”
As I closed the bathroom door, I accidentally made eye contact with Adrian. Those deep eyes seemed to be burning with flames.
Looking at the intimate apparel in my hands, my face turned completely red.
Ahh, I clearly told him to pass the whole bag to me.
After dawdling in the bathroom for ages, I eventually had to come out.
I steeled myself and pushed open the door.
Adrian had already changed into pajamas and was sitting on the bed reading some documents.
Seeing me come out, he closed the documents.
Seeing no teasing expression on his face, I let out a sigh of relief.
I actually had some serious matters I wanted to ask him about.
“How do you plan to deal with Lucas?”
As if he had anticipated I would ask, Adrian handed me the documents he was just reading. “Take a look.”
I walked over and took the documents.
Inside was the process of Lucas meeting a girl, similar to the cliche rich young master falling for a pure, innocent girl in old romance novels. There was even a photo of this innocent girl helpfully attached. She really did look pure and innocent.
Without my knowledge, these two had gone through cycle after cycle of angst and reconciliation…
Until last night, when the innocent girl learned Lucas was getting married. She called Lucas in tears.
Lucas’s heart ached. He regretted it and abandoned his bride-to-be to elope with his pure, innocent love overnight.
Wow, if I wasn’t the abandoned bride myself, I’d really want to congratulate them.
But unfortunately, I was that unlucky bride.
Damn it, what were these two doing before?
Looking at the timeline in the documents, the two had been in an angsty relationship for two months.
That was even longer than the wedding preparations. If Lucas had revealed even a hint of this information, I wouldn’t be so angry.
“Lucas has already taken his little girlfriend abroad for a vacation. I’ve sent people to bring him back. If you’re willing, our wedding can be annulled.” Adrian said flatly, seeming to have noticed my anger and thinking I regretted it.
After all, we hadn’t officially registered our marriage, just held a wedding ceremony.
But how could I regret this?
I lost some trash and gained a treasure.
This was simply my good fortune.
“We’re married now. I’m your wife. Let’s go register our marriage tomorrow.”
I was very serious.
Adrian saw that my words came from the heart. He became serious too. “Alright.”
“You said before that I could deal with Lucas as I see fit. Does that still stand?”
I suddenly flashed a mischievous smile.
“As you wish.”
Very good.
“I want you to freeze his cards!”
Without funds, let’s see how comfortably Lucas can vacation abroad with his pure, innocent girl.
Adrian saw through my wicked intentions. Not only did he not stop me, he fanned the flames.
“Starting today, I’ll take away all the funds under his name. What do you think, my dear?”
The sudden “my dear” caught me off guard. After I realized, my face couldn’t help turning red again.
“I think that’s great.”
Naturally, I was even happier if we could make him suffer more.
With the scumbag dealt with, it was time for the next step.
“Let’s rest then.”
Adrian seemed to truly be tired. He reached out to turn off the lights.
Everything went dark.
I lay stiffly on the bed, not daring to move.
This was my first time getting married, so I wasn’t quite sure about the procedures.
What should I do next? Consummate the marriage?
Just as I was wondering if I should take the initiative…
“Sleep. I won’t touch you until you’re willing.”
I let out a sigh of relief, but then remembered the rumors I had heard before…
Could Adrian really resist with a beautiful young woman next to him? Was he really impotent?
“?”
Adrian, who had just closed his eyes, opened them again.
I then realized I had accidentally said my thoughts out loud. I quickly tried to save the situation by pretending to be asleep.
However, before I could even close my eyes for two seconds, I felt a body on top of me.
Long-fingered hands rested on my slender waist as warm breath tickled my ear.
“Why don’t you test it out yourself, my dear?”
As it turned out, one should not provoke a man who has been abstinent for many years. Otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences.
When I woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
The bed beside me was cold. Adrian wasn’t there.
Well, a big CEO is very busy after all.
I was so hungry my stomach was growling. I went downstairs to forage for food.
To my surprise, Adrian was sitting at the dining table, holding a magazine.
“My dear, you’re up. Did you sleep well last night?”
Today Adrian wasn’t wearing a suit. He had on a simple white shirt with the collar slightly open, faintly revealing the marks underneath.
Remembering yesterday, my face flushed red again. But I refused to back down verbally: “I slept very well, darling!”
Hearing this pet name, Adrian’s smile grew even more unrestrained. “It seems my dear was very satisfied with last night. That puts my mind at ease.”
Who’s praising him? This old man is so shameless.
I can’t compete, I really can’t compete!
I grumbled as I sat down at the table. “I’m hungry!”
Adrian smiled indulgently and went to the kitchen to bring out the food he had been keeping warm. “You just woke up, so you can’t eat anything too greasy.”
The breakfast on the table was simple – a plate of steamed buns, two small side dishes, and a bowl of porridge.
I was starving and didn’t care about the details. I eagerly picked up a bun and took a bite.
My eyes immediately lit up. It’s delicious!
“This is so good. Who made these buns?”
Adrian smiled without saying anything.
A thought flashed through my mind. “Don’t tell me you made them!”
Adrian casually confirmed it with a light comment: “I’m glad they suit your taste.”
I wanted to say something snarky, but the flavor really was excellent!
One can’t go against their conscience.
Seeing me eat happily, Adrian was very satisfied. His efforts in learning to cook weren’t wasted.
By the time I finished dawdling over breakfast, it was already quite late. I went upstairs to change clothes.
The decision to marry Adrian was so sudden that I hadn’t prepared in advance.
There were no women’s clothes in the mansion. The clothes I had were still from my parents’ home.
Adrian’s brow furrowed slightly. He went out to make a phone call.
When he came back, I was already done getting ready.
“Let’s go, darling.”
“Alright.”
Adrian was wearing a white shirt paired with light jeans today, looking like a fresh-faced college student at first glance.
But…
I blushed as I looked at the exposed collarbone peeking out from his shirt collar, as well as the red marks below.
“Are you really going out like that?”
Adrian looked confused. “Is there a problem?”
I could only step forward to adjust his collar, then took Adrian’s arm and walked out.
Adrian chuckled softly, his large hand grasping my small one.
With our wedding photos freshly printed, Adrian and I were truly husband and wife now.
Saying goodbye to single life so suddenly, I still felt a bit unaccustomed.
But looking at the handsome couple in our wedding photos, tsk tsk, we really were a perfect match.
I have such good taste!
Lucas had gone abroad to vacation with that innocent girl. With his cards frozen, he’d come crawling back in at most two days without money.
I was really looking forward to seeing Lucas’s reaction when he came back and saw me become his mom.
Adrian was truly thoughtful. After we got back home from registering our marriage, I saw the previously empty closet stuffed full of various clothes and jewelry, all new releases from top brands this season.
“It was too rushed to have anything custom made. Please make do with these for now,” Adrian said.
Although I already owned many of these clothes, I was still very pleased with Adrian’s thoughtfulness and rewarded him with a kiss.
Just as I had predicted, with all his cards frozen, Lucas was having an extremely difficult time abroad.
As the young master of a major corporation, he had never carried cash in his pockets.
Fortunately, he had his innocent girl with him. The girl hadn’t worked since getting together with Lucas, but luckily she still had some savings from before.
If it weren’t for the innocent girl, he probably wouldn’t even be able to get back.
The innocent girl’s real name was Lily.
She gently comforted Lucas: “Lucas, don’t worry. Maybe something happened. Let’s buy tickets back to check.”
“Lily, thank you.”
Seeing Lily use her own savings to buy the tickets, Lucas was deeply moved.
He vaguely guessed what might have happened with his cards being frozen.
His cards had unlimited credit limits. The bank wouldn’t dare freeze them without good reason.
It must be that Olivia woman who said something!
Anyway, the wedding was over and it was time to go back.
Lily had been by his side for so long. They were truly in love, and it was time to give her proper status.
After all… she had even given him her first time.
Thinking this, Lucas’s face broke into a blissful smile.
Once they got back, the two of them would get married. Then he would take over Yu Corporation from Adrian, and no one would be able to control him anymore.
He could already envision his happy life in the future.
So the two of them rushed to catch a flight back that very night.
After a seven-hour flight, they arrived at the mansion early the next morning around 8am.
Lucas knew Adrian usually didn’t stay at the old family home, so he headed straight for Adrian’s villa.
At this time, I was lazily curled up on the couch watching TV while waiting for Adrian to make breakfast.
These past few days of being around Adrian constantly, I realized his previous cold and aloof image was all an act. He was actually quite the charmer, an expert at seducing people.
To enjoy our time alone together, Adrian had even given all the servants in the villa a short vacation. Only the cleaning lady came every few days.
So the responsibility for three meals a day fell to Adrian.
Well, what can I say? I’ve never lifted a finger to do housework.
Fortunately, Adrian was happy to do it. Every time he saw me eating with my cheeks puffed out, he would mischievously poke them a couple times.
Just then, a mechanical voice sounded: “Master, someone is knocking at the door.”
I shuffled over in my slippers to check the outside monitor.
Seeing the travel-worn Lucas and Lily, I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
They were quite fast.
“Your big son is back.”
I walked into the kitchen and leaned against Adrian’s back, watching him fry a perfect sunny-side up egg.
Tsk tsk, people really can’t be compared.
“Mm, deal with him as you see fit.”
Adrian didn’t even bother to look up.
That’s just what I was waiting to hear!
I left Lucas and the innocent girl waiting outside while I leisurely went upstairs to change clothes before opening the front door.
The villa was very large, with a huge yard outside. This place could even be called a small estate.
Previously, guests would drive in, but unfortunately the driver was on vacation too. I was too lazy to drive out to pick them up, so they had to walk in themselves.
Lucas and Lily had rushed over to the villa right after getting off the plane, without even eating anything.
Now they were starving and thirsty, but for the sake of the cards they could only wait stiffly at the door.
After finally waiting for the main gate to open, they still had to walk in on their own two feet.
“This place is so big!”
Lily’s eyes flashed with envy and jealousy.
“When we get married, I’ll buy you one just as big,” Lucas declared grandly, naturally unable to bear seeing his woman admire someone else’s home.
“That must be very expensive. Lucas, there’s no need. As long as I can be with you, I’m already very happy no matter where we live.”
Lily’s completely dependent demeanor fully satisfied a man’s inflated ego.
“What’s the big deal? I’ll buy you several villas in the future, so you can switch between them!”
Though he talked big, when they actually reached the front door, Lucas became a bit timid.
As a child, Lucas hadn’t taken his nominal father Adrian seriously. But after seeing how Adrian dealt with disobedient people, he learned to behave.
As he grew older and gained a deeper understanding of Adrian’s methods, he became even more fearful.
However, Adrian rarely meddled in family affairs. This was also why Lucas dared to run away from the wedding. He believed Adrian absolutely wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters.
Moreover, as the heir to Yu Corporation, Adrian couldn’t deal with him the same way as those other people.
With these thoughts in mind, Lucas gave himself a pep talk.
“Dad.”
He pushed open the door, but instead of Adrian, an unexpected person appeared before his eyes.
I flashed a friendly smile at Lucas standing in the doorway.
“Hello~”
“Y-y-you, why are you here?!” Lucas instinctively took a step back.
“Ah!”
Lily was standing right behind him.
Unable to dodge in time, Lily’s foot was painfully stepped on. Her eyes filled with tears.
Hearing Lily’s voice, Lucas came to his senses and quickly turned to check on her. “Are you okay, Lily?”
“I’m fine as long as you’re alright, Lucas.” Lily gritted her teeth and said weakly.
Lucas spent a good while comforting Lily in front of me, then –
“Olivia! I never thought you could be so vicious!”
?
What did I do?
How bizarre. I’ve been standing in the same spot this whole time without moving. Don’t try to frame me!
Lucas also realized this accusation was a bit nonsensical. He changed tack and redirected his anger.
“I never thought you could be so shameless. Our wedding didn’t even happen – how dare you stay here! I don’t like you. We have no future together. This is my girlfriend Lily. We’re getting married soon.”
“What gave you that delusion?”
I was confused and speechless.
Wow, this kid didn’t even look at the news reports from that day.
But why would he think I would cling to him? Had I ever been clingy?
I went through all my interactions with Lucas in my mind and was certain – I hadn’t!
Lucas must be an idiot.
“Sister, I know you and Lucas were engaged before, but you weren’t married yet… And Lucas and I are truly in love. Please, just let us be together.”
Lily had already started her performance. Her eyes were like faucets, continuously dripping tears.
She cried as if terribly wronged. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she had suffered greatly.
Lucas’s heart ached. He shouted at me: “Olivia! You’re going too far!”
???
How is this related to me at all?!
Damn, I somehow can’t keep up with these two’s mental gymnastics. They must be sick.
I said sympathetically, “Is the mental hospital so full they let you out to run wild?”
It took Lucas a while to react. “You’re the one who’s sick.”
Seeing the completely unbothered expression on my face, Lucas doubted the possibility that I didn’t like him.
But he thought about where they were – this was the Yale family home, not the Brown family home.
If Olivia wasn’t here for him, why would she be here at all?
It must all be an act to get his attention.
Lucas softened his tone: “Olivia, I have someone I love now. We have no future together. Hurry up and apologize to Lily. We can still be friends after this.”
Who wants to be friends with you? Idiocy is contagious!
Just as I was about to retort, a deep, magnetic voice came from behind me: “What’s going on?”
Everyone turned to look. Adrian was wearing a tailored black shirt that accentuated his perfect physique. Paired with his stunningly handsome face and aloof aura, every movement as he set the bowl on the dining table was incredibly alluring.
Lily was a bit dazed looking at him.
“Dad, we’re back. Why is this woman here?!” Lucas eagerly asked Adrian.
Adrian ignored him and beckoned to me. “Come eat breakfast.”
Because I was standing with Lucas and Lily, when Adrian gestured, the two of them thought he was talking to them.
“Dad, you even made breakfast for us.”
Lucas was very touched. He started to pull Lily over, and Lily followed with a red face.
But before they could touch the table, Adrian stopped them.
“Dad?” Lucas was confused.
Adrian reached out his hand to me again.
“Darling, I’m coming~”
I immediately ran over and grabbed Adrian’s hand right in front of the two of them.
Looking back at Lucas and Lily’s wide eyes and gaping mouths, I flashed a brilliant smile. “Son, why don’t you call me Mom?”
Lucas and Lily stood frozen in place, their mouths hanging open.
Adrian paid them no mind. He simply took my hand and sat down at the dining table. “Eat up, it’ll get cold and upset your stomach.”
The two standing there were stunned for a full two minutes before they reacted.
Lucas even forgot to lower his voice, shouting in disbelief: “What? You, when did you… How is this possible?!”
“On the wedding day, of course~”
Seeing the previously arrogant and narcissistic Lucas now with his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg, I was delighted.
Haha, serves you right for being so full of yourself. How’s that slap in the face feel?
“Dad, how could you marry her?!” Lucas couldn’t help exclaiming.
Seeing my smug expression, he jumped to the worst conclusions. “She must have done this on purpose! Dad, she did it on purpose! Besides, there’s over 10 years’ age difference between you. How can you be together?!”
I admit that initially choosing Adrian had a bit of a revenge motive, but only a bit.
The bigger reason was that as a member of the Brown family, I couldn’t let the Brown family lose face in front of so many people.
For people like us, we don’t expect love.
I chose Adrian because of his status.
Moreover, Adrian was truly much better than Lucas in every way – looks, physique, intelligence, everything.
The key was that he was also willing to dote on me.
“What’s wrong with an age gap? Love knows no age!” I raised an eyebrow, then kissed Adrian’s cheek right in front of Lucas. “Revenge by getting married? Are you worth that much?”
“Hurry up and call me Mom, son! Otherwise I’ll have your dad replace you with another son.” I threatened.
Lucas pointed at my smug look and angrily said: “Dad, aren’t you going to do something about her?!”
Hearing this, Adrian finally deigned to look at him. Just as Lucas thought Adrian was going to scold me, Adrian affectionately ruffled my hair. “How can I control her? Besides, Olivia married me, so you should rightfully call her Mom.”
Seeing that Adrian was on my side too, Lucas felt extremely stifled.
He had been the young master for so many years. When had he ever suffered such grievance? He turned to leave on the spot.
Just then, he felt his hand being squeezed. It was Lily.
He looked down at Lily’s aggrieved little face. Fine, for the sake of his and Lily’s beautiful future, he would endure!
“Mom!” Lucas gritted his teeth and squeezed out the word.
“Aww, my good son is so obedient! Hahaha!”
The smile I had been holding back finally burst out, and I laughed uncontrollably.
“Olivia!!”
Seeing me laugh so happily without giving him any face, Lucas’s expression darkened further.
“You have to call me Mom. Come on, son. Mom even prepared a red envelope for you.”
I didn’t care at all and cheerfully walked up to Lucas, taking out a red envelope from my pocket and placing it in his hand.
Lucas didn’t even want to accept it. He didn’t need this bit of money as a young master.
At this moment, Adrian said flatly: “Take it properly. Don’t throw it away.”
I… I’ll endure.
Lucas accepted it through gritted teeth, feeling like his teeth were about to break. “Thank you, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, you’re welcome.” I flashed a big grin showing all my teeth.
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My husband’s mistress died, murdered after being raped. That afternoon, my husband and I were taken to the police station.
I actually had no idea my husband was having an affair. If it weren’t for this murder case, I might have been kept in the dark forever.
To investigate the killer, the police took our fingerprints and asked about our whereabouts during the time of the victim’s death. The victim, Mandy Brooks, was 28 years old and an employee at a certain company. She died around 11 PM on July 30, 2019. The cause of death was a severed carotid artery, resulting in death from excessive blood loss.
It had been three days since Mandy’s death.
With only three days having passed, I naturally remembered the time frame clearly. I distinctly recalled that my husband was with me that night, sleeping very deeply, so I told the truth without hesitation.
My husband and I were questioned separately by the police.
I was questioned by a man and a woman. The man, Mike Lee, was around thirty years old and the deputy leader of the major crimes unit. The woman, Sharon West, looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight and was quite beautiful.
Perhaps because they saw I was pregnant and had just learned about my husband’s infidelity, seeing my red-rimmed eyes, they were afraid I couldn’t handle it psychologically. They were very gentle when questioning me.
Sharon, in particular, looked at me with gentle eyes and asked, “Mrs. Thompson, please think carefully. Are you absolutely sure your husband didn’t leave the house that night? Or is it possible that he snuck out while you were sound asleep?”
I was taken aback by her question. After considering for a moment, I said, “Officer West, since becoming pregnant, I’ve been sleeping more heavily. So I go to bed early every night. All I can say is that my husband was there when I fell asleep and when I woke up.”
Sharon and Mike exchanged glances, and I curiously asked, “Officer West, isn’t it possible to extract DNA left in the victim’s body? If you suspect my husband, you can test for that.”
As I said this, I was thinking to myself, they were already having an affair, why would he need to rape her? The killer definitely wasn’t my husband.
Seeing my question, Sharon shook her head and said, “The killer was clever and didn’t leave any useful evidence, so this case is a bit complicated to investigate.”
I let out an “oh,” and Sharon asked how far along I was in my pregnancy. I told her four and a half months. She smiled and looked at my belly, saying it looked quite large and might be twins. After saying this, she comforted me, saying pregnant women are prone to emotional outbursts and that I should try to stay positive about some things and take good care of myself at home.
I was very touched by Sharon’s words and chatted with her for a few more minutes before leaving the police station.
I thought my husband would be returning home with me, but Officer Lee told me that my husband still needed to assist with their investigation and couldn’t leave yet. With no other choice, I had to return home alone.
Back in our neighborhood, I learned from neighbors that several police officers had come and retrieved surveillance footage from the complex. They had also questioned our neighbors, asking if they had heard our door open between 9 PM and early morning on July 30th.
I asked the neighbor how she responded, and she said she hadn’t heard anything, so she answered truthfully. Hearing this, I felt very reassured.
I thought my husband would be spending the night at the police station, and when I called him, he didn’t answer. Unexpectedly, just as I had finished dinner and was about to go to bed, he returned.
He still had his usual cold demeanor. When I got up to heat some food for him, he stopped me. I asked, “Honey, why didn’t you answer my call earlier?”
He said the police had taken his phone to copy his chat history and call records.
Thinking about all the lovey-dovey messages between him and that woman on his phone, I felt some disgust. But considering the baby in my belly, I swallowed my feelings. After all, that woman was already dead, what more did I have to fret about?
But I was wrong. My lack of concern didn’t mean others wouldn’t care. Just as I was falling asleep, I suddenly felt a violent choking sensation in my throat. Opening my eyes, I realized my husband was frantically squeezing my neck, trying to kill me.
I struggled desperately, pushing against him while gasping out, “Honey… I’m carrying your child… Do you… Do you really want both of us to die?”
At the critical moment, my words had an effect. He slowly released my neck, forcefully gripping my shoulders instead. With bloodshot eyes glaring at me, he shouted, “Lyric, tell me, did you hire someone to kill Mandy Brooks?”
His enraged appearance terrified me, and I hurriedly explained, “Honey, you’re… you’re wrong about me. I don’t have the guts to do something like that.”
“Hmph! Is that so? You’d better hope I don’t find out it was you. Otherwise, I’ll strangle you with my own hands.”
After saying this, my husband glared at me viciously one last time before getting off the bed and leaving.
That night, he didn’t return to our bedroom, and I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. My mind was filled with images of his furious face. It wasn’t until nearly dawn that I finally dozed off fitfully.
The next time I woke up was to the sound of the doorbell ringing.
After listening for a while and realizing no one was answering the door, I lazily got out of bed, intending to go downstairs and open it myself.
But when I walked down the stairs and saw the state of the living room, I let out a scream of terror.
Because I saw my husband, Ethan. He was now motionless, slumped against the sofa, and at his feet was a large pool of blood. My husband had slit his wrists in an apparent suicide, and a bloody scalpel lay discarded on the coffee table. Seeing this horrifying scene, I let out another scream.
I didn’t dare look a second time because the image was too terrible. I only felt my whole body go weak and limp, collapsing to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.
The doorbell outside kept ringing. Hearing my screams, the ringing became even more urgent. I wanted to go open the door, but I found I had no strength at all. I could only sit on the floor, sobbing.
After who knows how long, the door was pried open from the outside. Sharon and Mike entered, followed by two uniformed police officers.
When they saw my husband, they were all startled. Mike immediately called for the medical examiner, while Sharon, seeing me sitting on the floor crying, helped me up.
The medical examiner arrived quickly and made a preliminary determination that my husband had committed suicide. The estimated time of death was around 2 AM. He didn’t die peacefully; his face was somewhat contorted as if he had experienced something terrifying just before death.
Mike told me that my husband was indeed the killer of Mandy Brooks. I found it hard to believe, but he said the evidence was conclusive. He explained that the police had retrieved surveillance footage from both our complex and Mandy’s neighborhood.
Although he had managed to avoid the cameras in our complex by using blind spots, because he wasn’t as familiar with the area where Mandy lived, they had captured footage of him at around 10 PM on the night of the incident on one of the cameras.
I listened in disbelief as Mike continued, saying that they had found SnapChat messages between my husband and Mandy on his phone, confirming they had planned to meet during those days. So they initially concluded that my husband had committed suicide out of guilt.
Hearing this, I felt overwhelmed with grief. I crouched down on the floor, my body shaking uncontrollably like a sieve.
My husband’s body was taken away by the police, who said they needed to conduct further examinations.
Our home had become a crime scene, with the entire living room cordoned off by police tape. Especially that pool of blood on the floor – it made me feel terrified just looking at it.
After I finished giving my statement, Sharon seemed very sympathetic towards me. She put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me, then asked in a low voice, “Lyric, I see bruises on your neck. Did Ethan abuse you?”
Her question reminded me of last night’s events. I wiped away my tears and cautiously said, “Last night I confronted him about the affair. He was in a bad mood, so he got physical with me.”
Sharon listened thoughtfully, then after a moment of silence said, “The neck is a vital area. He was trying to kill you. Why didn’t you call the police?”
Sharon’s words startled me. I took a deep breath and said, covering my neck, “Officer West, he was my husband, the father of my unborn child.”
Seeing me respond this way, Sharon didn’t say anything more. As they prepared to leave, Sharon advised me that if I felt scared staying at home, I could temporarily move to a nearby hotel. She also told me to call her if anything came up. I nodded in agreement and saw them off.
I’m a girl from the countryside. My parents still live in our rural hometown, quite far from here. Ethan’s parents are from Concord. After university, both Ethan and I found jobs here, so we bought our marital home in this city.
I just never imagined that this spacious 2000 square foot house would now be occupied by me alone. Thinking about this made me feel incredibly sad. I could only go upstairs to pack a few changes of clothes and check into a nearby hotel.
After eating a little something, I took out several of my husband’s bank cards and called the online banking customer service. When I checked the balances, I was shocked to discover that my husband had over $5 million in savings across his accounts.
Actually, I didn’t know the PINs for my husband’s bank cards. But recently, I had deliberately asked him to take me shopping for baby items at the supermarket. During those repeated payment transactions, I secretly memorized his mobile payment PIN.
I guessed that most people, like me, use the same PIN across their mobile payment apps and bank cards to avoid forgetting. Sure enough, my guess was correct – it worked on the first try.
Ever since I became pregnant, I had suffered from severe morning sickness, forcing me to quit my job as a makeup artist at a photo studio. My husband was very guarded about money and only gave me $300 a month for living expenses. This was something that really bothered me.
After securing the bank cards, feeling exhausted and tired, I unconsciously dozed off on the bed. I ended up having a nightmare.
In my dream, I was lying on the bed unable to move, while Mandy Brooks and my husband Ethan were both grinning at me eerily, reaching out their hands to choke me.
I suddenly woke up, realizing it was just a dream. Feeling parched, I was about to get up for some water when my phone on the bedside table rang. I picked it up and saw it was Sharon calling, which made my heart skip a beat.
I took a deep breath before answering the call.
Sharon asked which hotel I was staying at, saying there were some more things they needed to understand. I could only tell her the hotel name. About half an hour later, Sharon arrived, this time by herself without Mike.
I let her into the room, and Sharon smiled, asking, “Mrs. Thompson, although your husband’s cause of death appears to be suicide, the autopsy found traces of alprazolam in his system, and quite a high dose at that. Did he usually suffer from any related conditions?”
“Alprazolam?” I pondered the drug name for a moment before realizing, “Oh, you mean the sleeping medication? My husband had insomnia. He would only take two pills when he couldn’t sleep.”
“Is that so? But the amount detected in your husband’s body wasn’t just two pills. It was at least a dose of five pills. How do you explain that?”
Hearing Sharon’s words, I smiled.
I smiled in a way that was more painful than crying.
Sighing, I said, “Officer West, if you put yourself in his shoes – if you were my husband and your lover had suddenly died in such a manner, could you sleep peacefully? If he didn’t want to suffer, given his pre-existing insomnia, wouldn’t it make sense to increase the dosage?”
My words left Sharon speechless. After a while, she gave me a meaningful look and said, “Mrs. Thompson, I thought that with your husband just deceased, you would be at a loss and deeply saddened. I didn’t expect you to immediately check your husband’s account balances.”
Sharon’s words startled me. She continued, “According to our investigation, your husband’s parents are still alive. Now that their only son has died, shouldn’t you notify them?”
“My in-laws are elderly. I haven’t figured out how to break the news to them yet. I’m pregnant now, and there will be many expenses in the future. I have to plan ahead. Officer West, the police seem to be quite involved in many aspects.”
My tone was not at all polite. Sharon probably didn’t expect someone who looked as gentle and weak as me to speak so firmly. She smiled awkwardly and apologized.
Before leaving, she revealed one piece of information to me. She said that a security camera had been installed on the building opposite ours. Due to a recent circuit malfunction in that household, the camera had somehow ended up pointing towards our living room window, capturing partial footage of our living room.
She gave me a meaningful smile before departing.
Her words left me tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep well.
Sure enough, the next day I received another call from Sharon, asking me to come to the police station. She said there were new developments regarding my husband’s cause of death.
With an anxious heart, I arrived at the police station and was taken directly to the interrogation room.
The interrogators were still Sharon and Mike.
I sat silently, waiting for them to speak first.
Mike played a video clip on the large screen behind him. It showed a woman wearing a cheongsam. The image was a bit blurry, but the woman’s entire face was captured. She had long, messy hair and looked quite terrifying, like a female ghost. In the footage, she slowly came down the stairs, walked to the window, and drew the curtains. Then nothing more could be seen.
I watched in confusion, but even though the living room image wasn’t very clear, I could tell at a glance that it was my home.
After watching the video, I asked perplexedly, “Officer West, Officer Lee, who is this woman? How did she get into my house?”
Hearing my words, Sharon and Mike exchanged smiles. Sharon said, “Mrs. Thompson, on the night before last, which was when your husband died, only you and he were at home. Are you saying this person isn’t you?”
“But that’s not me,” I said angrily.
“It doesn’t look like you, but if someone whitened their face and deliberately applied ghost-like makeup, it’s not impossible,” Mike said.
“But I’m pregnant. The person in the photo couldn’t be me.”
My words left Sharon and Mike looking at each other, unable to refute.
Seeing my reaction, Sharon said firmly, “The person in the photo does look very much like the deceased Mandy Brooks, but we absolutely don’t believe in ghosts or spirits. Lyric, can you let me see your belly?”
Hearing this, I laughed bitterly, “So you suspect I’m faking my pregnancy?”
🌟 Continue the story here
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Every girl who comes to the Glitter Nightclub to relax is unaware that there’s a pair of eyes watching them from above.
The chosen girls will become “dolls” for the rich that very night.
And I’m the driver responsible for transporting these beautiful “dolls”.
Today is my first time transporting a beautiful “doll”, and Manager Thompson has assigned Old Bill to show me the ropes.
In the rearview mirror, I catch a glimpse of Old Bill’s hand kneading the woman’s full, perky chest. The woman leans against the car window with her eyes closed, her fair face flushed red, looking completely drunk.
This woman is so shameless, I think to myself. Old Bill’s hand has slipped inside her underwear, yet she keeps her eyes closed, seemingly enjoying it without making a sound.
I’m both envious of Old Bill’s good fortune and utterly disgusted by these women who sell their bodies for money.
A month ago, I was hired as security for the Glitter Nightclub. The probation period salary was $500, with a promise of $1000 after becoming a regular employee.
Today, I just became a regular employee. Only then did I realize that the doubled salary was for doing this kind of work.
They call these women “dolls”. Rich men wait at hotels, and we’re responsible for transporting the “dolls” to them.
Although this job isn’t exactly honorable, it’s easy and pays well. I’m just the driver, not the one selling myself, so it’s none of my business.
I graduated high school and went straight into the workforce. I’ve worked in factories and construction sites. All the jobs I’ve done before were more tiring than this one. I still cherish this job quite a bit.
Old Bill, that old pervert, is getting more and more out of hand. Not satisfied with just touching, he’s now eagerly sucking away, the sound of his slurping making my mind wander.
We hit traffic, and I turn my head to look at the scene of debauchery in the back seat. “Old Bill, how much did this woman drink? She’s still not waking up?”
Old Bill chuckles, “Don’t worry, she won’t wake up. Brother, check the GPS, how much longer will we be stuck?”
I glance at the navigation, there’s about a three-kilometer red line. “Probably about ten minutes of traffic.”
“That’s enough, hehe.” Old Bill stands up, unbuckling his belt and pulling out his thing.
Damn, his guts are too big. He’s going to do it right here.
“Old Bill, isn’t this going too far? The client wants her, and you’re playing with her first. If we get caught, my job…”
“Buddy, I know what I’m doing. I won’t really do it, just letting you feast your eyes.”
I want to stop him, but Old Bill has already taken off the woman’s top, put on a condom, and started enjoying himself.
The woman still has her eyes closed, her red lips slightly parted, occasionally letting out a faint moan. She really is like a living doll that can be manipulated at will.
Old Bill, that quick shooter, finishes in less than two minutes. He tidies up the woman’s clothes, takes out a cigarette, lights it, and hands it to me.
“Brother, if you ever need anything at Glitter, just ask me.”
Taking Old Bill’s cigarette, I don’t say anything. This world is truly bizarre.
We soon arrive at the hotel booked by the client. The three of us get into the elevator together. The woman still appears unconscious, relying entirely on Old Bill’s support to walk.
Out of the elevator, Old Bill tells me this is a blind spot for surveillance cameras. In the future, always bring the “dolls” here for instructions.
He takes out a small bottle and puts it under the woman’s nose, then tells her, “Walk straight ahead to room 1808, knock three times, and go in when the door opens.”
The woman seems to be activated, stumbling forward like a drunk person. We watch her enter the room.
Old Bill pats my shoulder, “Brother, mission accomplished. Let me treat you to a late-night snack.”
I ask confusedly, “Why did she suddenly respond?”
“Brother, don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. We just do our job.”
Seeing Old Bill’s suddenly serious face, I shut up.
After successfully completing my first “doll” delivery, the manager lets me officially start work. From now on, I can deliver “dolls” independently.
The nightclub’s pimping business is very good. I have to deliver at least three “dolls” to hotels every day.
The manager repeatedly reminds me that when I let the girls smell the gas from the bottle and tell them the room number, I must avoid the surveillance cameras.
Strangely, every girl is in a completely drunk state, supported by me into the car, unconscious the whole way. After I tell them the room number in the hotel corner, they walk into the room like puppets on strings.
Even stranger, once when I was patrolling the nightclub, there was a stunning girl in the dance floor, radiating beauty. She was the most beautiful girl in the entire club, and I couldn’t help but keep an eye on her.
That night, one of the “dolls” I delivered was that very girl. But just ten minutes before I took her, she was still dancing energetically with her friends in the club.
Ten minutes later, when the manager handed her to me to take to the hotel, the girl was completely drunk, needing my support to walk.
I felt something was off, but I didn’t investigate further. I figured girls who come to nightclubs late at night aren’t good girls anyway. They’re either there to let loose or to hook up with men.
The only difference is that escorts get paid, while these girls willingly sleep with men. And for the sake of my monthly $1000 salary, I didn’t want to get involved.
I stuck to the principle of seeing less, saying nothing, and just doing my job, which the manager appreciated.
In the third month, besides my salary, the manager gave me a $500 bonus.
Today, as usual, the manager handed me a “doll”, and I routinely put her in the car.
I despise these women who sell their bodies, so I never bother with them.
But today’s “doll”, the more I looked at her in the rearview mirror, the more familiar she seemed.
She turned out to be Emily Parker, my high school classmate and the class beauty.
In high school, although my grades weren’t great, I was good-looking and could sing well, so quite a few girls sent me love letters.
I always liked Emily Parker, the class beauty. Although we didn’t date back then, I knew she had feelings for me. At graduation, when she was drunk, she hugged me and cried, saying she liked me.
But after graduation, she went to college in the big city, while I didn’t get into university and entered the workforce early.
I later worked as a construction worker in the city and once went to her university to find her.
I bought new clothes and excitedly went to see her, coincidentally meeting her and her roommates going to the cafeteria.
I invited them all to eat together. At first, everyone was happy, but when they heard I worked at a construction site, their expressions changed. They all made excuses and left, pulling Emily along.
Emily looked at me hesitantly, seeming troubled, but in the end, she left with them. That day, I drank a bottle of liquor alone in the restaurant.
She looked down on me.
I hadn’t seen Emily Parker since then, almost ten years now.
Snapping back to the present, Emily is still beautiful, with fair skin and a slender yet curvy figure. Compared to her pure look in high school, she’s added some mature feminine charm, making her even more alluring.
I just never imagined she’d end up in this line of work. Her family was well-off when we were in school. Is she so desperate for money now?
I kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror, hoping she’d notice me, yet afraid she’d recognize me and make things awkward.
Now she’s out selling herself, and I’m the driver taking her to meet a client. Time really is a butcher’s knife, slaughtering people beyond recognition.
Feigning calmness, I asked, “Miss, would you like some water?”
As the car turned a corner, her head tilted to one side, her long hair covering her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to me. These women who sell their bodies for money only have eyes for rich men, they never pay attention to someone like me.
It’s just that seeing the girl I once liked fall so low makes me feel awful.
I gathered my courage and said, “Emily Parker, it’s me, Jack Wilson. Do you remember me? We were classmates in high school.”
“You went to college in the city, and I even came to find you once.”
“How have you been all these years? If you’re in any trouble, I can help you. Can’t you stop doing this work?”
I said a lot, but she still didn’t respond. I started to feel angry. She still looks down on me, doesn’t she?
I’ve heard that women of her caliber are called high-class escorts. They charge at least a few hundred dollars for one night, sometimes even thousands.
We were almost at the hotel when the manager suddenly called.
“Jack, don’t you dare try anything funny. This ‘doll’ must be delivered properly.”
“If anything goes wrong, you’ll face serious consequences.”
I hurriedly replied, “Manager, don’t worry. I guarantee I’ll deliver her safely.”
I didn’t want to lose my job over a woman like this, but how did the manager know to call and scold me at such a convenient time? Could it be that we’re monitored every time we deliver a “doll”? The thought made me break out in a cold sweat.
Despite the mixed emotions of delivering the girl I liked to another man’s bed, I still successfully sent Emily Parker into the room. After watching her walk in, I quickly fled the scene and returned to the nightclub.
A waiter said the manager was waiting for me on the second floor. He led me to the elevator.
The second floor was the VIP area of the nightclub, never accessible to ordinary people, and the entrance was very discreet, requiring a guide.
The waiter winked at me, “You’re in for a treat tonight.”
I didn’t understand what he meant and walked through the long, dark corridor in confusion. The manager was waiting for me in front of a glass wall.
From here, you could overlook the entire nightclub, with an excellent view.
Besides the manager, there was another man on the second floor, in his forties, pot-bellied, wearing prayer beads on his hand. He looked like a wealthy businessman.
The manager raised his hand to stop me from speaking, “Watch carefully, and don’t say anything.”
I nodded and stood to the side.
The manager smiled obsequiously, “Mr. Blackwell, how do you like today’s dolls? You can pick any doll from the floor, and we’ll send her directly to your room.”
Mr. Blackwell stared intently at the floor below, “There’s no risk, right?”
“Rest assured, we guarantee zero risk. We’ll handle everything from start to finish cleanly. Just tell me if there are any you like down there?”
“There are a few that look quite nice.”
The manager handed a remote control to Mr. Blackwell, “This handle controls the direction. When you’ve chosen a doll, just press the confirm button.”
Mr. Blackwell chuckled, “You guys really know how to play. This is just like the claw machine my daughter loves.”
The manager gave a thumbs up, “Mr. Blackwell, you’re so insightful. This is indeed our version of a claw machine.”
Mr. Blackwell laughed heartily.
As Mr. Blackwell moved the handle, a beam of light moved across the nightclub floor. No one below paid attention, thinking it was just part of the club’s lighting effects. Those caught in the light became even more excited in their dancing.
Little did they know, this was a remote control in the hands of a devil, capable of arbitrarily deciding a girl’s fate for the night.
As the light beam settled on a short-haired girl, Mr. Blackwell had chosen today’s “doll”.
The girl was completely unaware that her nightmare was about to begin. A beautiful woman approached her, led her to sit at the bar, and chatted with her amiably.
The woman handed the girl a drink. After a couple of sips, the girl slumped over the bar counter, as if drunk.
These rich people treat ordinary people like playthings, and I had become an accomplice.
Realizing this, a chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.
Mr. Blackwell left, satisfied with his new toy. He was eager to go enjoy today’s “doll”.
I don’t want to earn this dirty money anymore.
The manager seemed to see through my thoughts. He sneered, “You know how many women you’ve delivered over these three months. We’re all in the same boat now. You want to walk away clean? Don’t dream.”
The manager looked down at the floor and gestured to me, “Pick a doll. This is a benefit for new employees. Go enjoy yourself tonight.”
I pleaded, “Manager, you know I can keep my mouth shut. Please let me leave. I promise I’ll keep everything here buried in my gut.”
“Refusing the carrot and asking for the stick, huh?” The manager picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Old Bill, call a few guys up here. Teach this kid a lesson.”
Soon, three burly men came up. They were all security guards who usually patrolled with me.
Damn, they didn’t show any courtesy to a colleague. They beat me up badly. I suspect they’ve always disliked me and were taking this chance for revenge.
They were all ruthless guys. It seemed I couldn’t escape this black nightclub.
Not wanting to be beaten to death, I quickly begged the manager for mercy.
The manager handed me the remote control with a smile, “If you had agreed earlier, you wouldn’t have had to take a beating. It’s good you’ve come around now.”
Holding the remote, I figured if I had to sleep with someone, I might as well choose a pretty one. I selected a young, beautiful long-haired girl.
The manager told me to go to the hotel and wait. About half an hour later, the girl knocked on my door.
The girl stumbled into the room, collapsing directly onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
This girl wore a black V-neck bodycon dress, her chest white and full, with a deep cleavage inviting imagination. The skirt barely reached her thighs, her long black hair cascading down. She had on exquisite makeup, now looking like a lifeless doll.
The manager made a video call, which I quickly answered.
“Position your phone at a good angle. I want to watch you do it.”
“Manager, this isn’t right. I’m not comfortable doing this with someone watching.”
“Cut the crap. If you want to live, do as I say.”
I quickly positioned the phone and resigned myself to completing the task.
Having been at the nightclub for so long, I’d learned quite a bit. I’d heard of a “compliance drug” that, once consumed, makes a person completely obedient, following any instruction without resistance. And after a night, they remember nothing.
I suspected they gave the girls this “compliance drug”. This girl’s body was completely limp. A drunk person would still move, but she had no reaction at all.
“Now go kiss her, undress her. Any male dog knows what to do after that, so I don’t need to teach you, right?” The manager instructed through the video call.
Resigned to my fate, I crawled on top of the girl, kissing and touching her. The girl’s perfume smelled very nice.
Her young, full body and elastic skin… I hadn’t been with a woman for a long time. The fire of desire quickly burned away my rationality.
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I’m known in my social circle as a feisty woman who never holds back her words.
My mom always said I’d have a tough time after getting married.
But surprisingly, I ended up with a husband who dotes on me, and a mother-in-law with a soft personality.
As a result, I found myself with no outlet for my fiery temperament, and my married life was almost boringly blissful.
That is, until my father-in-law’s old flame returned from abroad, and my mother-in-law started getting pushed around.
I cracked my knuckles, ready to strike back!
My dad has always been a total softie when it comes to me.
Growing up, there was nothing I couldn’t have if I wanted it.
But my mom, on the other hand, has always been too nice for her own good. If anyone asked for something, she’d give it away without a second thought.
So when I was little, from my toys to our household appliances, relatives, neighbors, and even strangers could just take whatever they wanted.
She was even obsessed with helping her brother.
My dad would earn money, and she’d insist on buying a house, a car, and even paying for my uncle’s wedding. She even offered to take care of their kids.
My dad indulged my mom because she had a tough childhood, but she took advantage of his kindness.
After countless failed protests, I developed my feisty personality and sharp tongue.
Anyone who crossed my path, even a stray dog, would feel my wrath.
From then on, no one could take even a needle or thread from our house.
I even set the PINs for my parents’ bank accounts.
My spineless mom would cry in my dad’s arms, saying, “This child doesn’t know how to share. How will she survive in society?”
I’d roll my eyes and retort, “If you’re so good at sharing, why don’t you share your husband? I wouldn’t mind having a stepmom.”
Letting people walk all over you isn’t kindness; it’s weakness.
If it weren’t for me, my dad would have given away two-thirds of his assets because of my mom.
Throwing tantrums became my forte. At the slightest provocation, I’d dramatically crawl on the ground.
Eventually, my uncle’s family stopped visiting.
Whenever my cousin started crying, my aunt would knock on the window and say, “Your cousin is coming!”
My cousin would immediately shut up.
Everyone said that Cassandra, old Wang’s daughter, was such a shrew that she’d never get married.
But not only did I get married, I married up.
After the wedding, we lived in harmony, and I found myself with no outlet for my fiery personality.
I met my husband, Luke, through a blind date.
During our first meeting, I warned him about my bad temper and told him to think carefully. To my surprise, he blushed and said he actually wanted someone with a strong personality.
My father-in-law, Robert, is the CEO of an import-export company, while my mother-in-law, Helen, owns a chain of kindergartens.
Luke and I meeting was pure coincidence. He was at the restaurant for a business meeting when I mistook him for my blind date.
He fell for me at first sight and made it clear he wouldn’t marry anyone else.
When we met the parents, my father-in-law wasn’t pleased to learn I was just a small factory owner’s daughter with a notorious temper.
He was a million times against the marriage, but Luke threatened to end his life if he couldn’t marry me.
So, I became Mrs. Shen.
I expected chaos and drama after moving in, but my mother-in-law turned out to be quiet and never gave me a hard time. She always spoke in a gentle voice.
All my expectations of epic mother-in-law battles went up in smoke.
Two years into the marriage, our family life was almost scarily harmonious.
Until my father-in-law’s old flame, Vanessa, called and asked him to meet her abroad.
That was the first time I saw my mother-in-law lose her composure.
I immediately went to dig through our family albums.
When I saw photos of Vanessa snuggling up to my father-in-law, I understood why my mother-in-law was so upset.
Anyone could see that this woman had an unusual relationship with my father-in-law.
I mean, who takes photos pressed up against someone else’s body like that?
This was even more intimate than my in-laws’ wedding photos.
And this was thirty years ago when society was more conservative.
If it were today, I bet Vanessa would be right in between my father-in-law and mother-in-law in bed!
The next day, I drove my car to play mahjong with some ladies.
After a few rounds, I had dug up all the dirt on this Vanessa.
I never imagined I’d stumble upon a plot straight out of a soap opera.
It turns out that Vanessa and my mother-in-law, Helen, were switched at birth in the hospital.
It wasn’t until they were eighteen that the He family discovered the mix-up and brought Helen back home.
Although Helen hadn’t grown up in luxury, her foster parents had never neglected her, and she had grown into a graceful and well-mannered young lady.
Vanessa, used to her life of privilege, refused to return to her birth parents.
So the He family ended up raising both girls.
At the time, Vanessa had a childhood sweetheart – my father-in-law, Robert.
They grew up together, and Robert always took care of her. The Shen and He families were close, so they were betrothed from a young age.
Later, the Shen family’s business took a downturn, and they faced financial difficulties.
Vanessa broke off the engagement and married the son of an oil tycoon she had only known for a few days.
Their marriage was opposed by the He family.
Vanessa cut ties with them, claiming she wasn’t their biological child and they had no right to interfere in her marriage.
She left for abroad to marry the rich heir.
This incident broke the hearts of the He family and Robert.
It was at this time that Helen entered Robert’s life.
They supported each other and gradually fell in love.
Vanessa had broken the engagement, and the He family, feeling guilty towards the Shen family, fully supported Helen and Robert’s relationship.
Old Mr. He invested a million dollars in the Shen family business.
With this financial support, Robert took a risk and eventually turned the business around. Together with Helen, they made the Shen family business thrive once again.
Later, they naturally got married and had a child.
Before the wedding, Robert sent Vanessa an invitation.
But Vanessa never responded and didn’t show up on the wedding day.
After marriage, Robert and Helen lived in mutual respect and affection. Their life was simple but happy.
But everyone in the family, except me, knew that Vanessa was Robert’s true love. No one dared to mention her name; he’d fly into a rage if anyone did.
I wanted to see what this nearly fifty-year-old “moon” could do.
Faced with my father-in-law rushing abroad, my mother-in-law Helen didn’t show any reaction.
She even thoughtfully packed his luggage for him.
But after he left, she cried alone in the bedroom.
I swung my little handbag and pushed open the door to my mother-in-law’s bedroom.
“Mom~ Want to get our nails done? Super long ones that could kill someone!”
Helen quickly wiped away her tears and composed herself before talking to me.
“Cassandra, you go ahead. I’ll give you some money.”
“If you think it’s inconvenient to keep going out for manicures, we can hire a nail technician to come to the house. I’ll cover it.”
Looking at the credit card my mother-in-law handed me, I wanted to hug her and call her my real mom.
Just as I was about to reach for it, I caught a glimpse of her phone screen and realized she was looking at Vanessa’s social media posts.
“Mom, let me see!”
Helen sighed deeply and handed me her phone.
I was shocked by what I saw.
Vanessa had brazenly posted selfies with my father-in-law Robert on her social media, with captions like:
“After all this time, it’s still you.”
There was even a photo from above, showing Robert tying her shoelaces.
Caption: “Only big brother still treats me like a little girl~”
There was even a photo someone else took, with Robert giving her a piggyback ride, her face resting on his shoulder, looking all lovey-dovey.
Caption: “After so many years, our feelings haven’t changed.”
She posted seven or eight similar posts, more than most people post during an entire vacation.
I couldn’t bear to look anymore and handed the phone back to Helen.
“Mom, is your husband having an affair?”
Helen took back the phone, looking like she was about to cry again.
I can’t stand seeing her cry. She’s rich and beautiful, why should she cry over a man?
“I mean, Mom, why don’t you just divorce this cheap husband and live your best life?”
Helen shook her head.
“Cassandra, I’ve spent more than half my life with him. Even now, I still have feelings for him, otherwise I wouldn’t be so upset.”
“Forget it, Cassandra. Go shopping! Don’t let this mess ruin your mood. Buy whatever gold jewelry you like, use Mom’s cards.”
Good lord, she’s not just a mother-in-law, she’s a walking ATM!
I took the five cards Helen gave me and tucked them safely in my pocket.
If you pay me, I’ll do the job. I might as well help her deal with that old cheater!
“It’s just an old gold digger! Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll handle it!”
A few days later, my father-in-law returned from abroad.
My mother-in-law and I watched him enter the yard.
Vanessa was clinging to his left arm, and he was holding a little girl’s hand on his right.
Vanessa wore a white form-fitting cheongsam with sparkling jewelry around her neck. Whether intentional or not, Robert was also dressed in a white suit, and even the little girl wore a white princess dress.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were a family of three in matching outfits!
I rolled up my sleeves, ready to pounce.
“Oh~ This must be Aunt Vanessa! Welcome, welcome! What’s wrong? Did you break your foot? Quick! Let me, your junior, help you!”
Seeing me come out, my father-in-law immediately pulled his arm away from Vanessa.
“Vanessa, this is Cassandra, my daughter-in-law.”
Vanessa wore an unreadable expression as she politely extended her hand to me.
“Hello, but why do you ask if I broke my foot?”
I didn’t shake her hand, instead covering my mouth in mock surprise.
“Oh my! If your foot isn’t broken, why are you clinging to someone else’s husband’s arm? Oh no! Don’t tell me! Aunt Vanessa, you didn’t do this on purpose, did you?”
“OMG! Did you come back just to steal someone else’s husband?”
I didn’t expect to come on so strong right away, catching Vanessa off guard.
In an instant, her eyes reddened, and she made a move to lean on Robert.
I quickly squeezed Robert aside and steadily offered Vanessa my shoulder.
“Auntie, I was just joking! Look at you! Did I hurt your feelings?”
Unable to stand my sarcasm, Robert shouted at me.
“Cassandra! What are you doing? Your Aunt Vanessa just arrived, how can you speak to her like that?”
“I can see my son has spoiled you rotten! Apologize to your aunt right now!”
Just as he was about to say more nonsense, I cut him off.
“Auntie, I’m just the daughter of a small factory owner. I’m uneducated and uncultured, and I like to talk nonsense. You’re a big person, surely you won’t take offense at a kid like me, right?”
Seeing me back down so quickly caught Vanessa off guard, leaving her speechless.
Robert pointed at me, sputtering “You… you…” for a while, unable to say anything.
My mother-in-law watched my performance with wide eyes before finally coming out.
She walked towards the three of them, heading into the house, giving me a thumbs up behind her back.
Well, what can I say? I’ve been staying at home with nothing better to do.
At dinner, Vanessa kept putting food in Helen’s bowl.
“Sister, thank you for taking care of Robert all these years.”
Before Helen could respond, Robert waved his hand.
“Vanessa, don’t worry about her. Look how thin you are, you should eat more.”
He then put a piece of braised pork in Vanessa’s bowl.
Vanessa daintily took a small bite of the lean meat, then put the fatty part in Helen’s bowl, giggling.
“Sister~ I remember when we were little, you always liked to eat my leftovers. Back then, Mom and Dad always said you spoiled me the most. Do you remember?”
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In my past life, I was in excruciating pain giving birth, yet my husband had the nerve to make a fuss about the doctor being male?
After being reborn, I kicked Jake right in his manhood.
Then I called 911. This time, he’d never be able to have children again.
The day I went into the operating room to give birth, my husband Jake started causing a scene because the surgeon was male.
The nurse tried to explain urgently: “Sir, your wife’s condition is critical. We need to operate immediately, or both mother and child could die. All our female surgeons are busy with other operations right now.”
Jake ignored her and started beating up the male doctor: “You pervert! No one but me is allowed to see my wife’s body!”
My clothes were soaked with sweat from the pain. I struggled to speak: “Honey, please let them do the surgery. I can’t hold on much longer.”
Jake’s eyes were bloodshot: “I never expected you to be such an immoral woman. Let me make this clear – if you let another man see you, I won’t accept you anymore.”
Hearing this, I felt a surge of anger, then everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to when Jake and I first got together.
Even seeing Jake in front of me, it still felt surreal.
Jake and I started dating in our freshman year of college. I was actually the one who pursued him.
To be honest, Jake was average looking, average height, and didn’t have much going for him. But back then, I was drawn to his arrogant attitude. I ignored all the better guys chasing me and went after him instead.
Blinded by love, I gave up my life as a rich girl to struggle alongside him, eating nothing but plain bread every day.
I even hid my wealthy background to avoid hurting his pride.
I thought I was being so noble, unlike those materialistic girls.
Looking back now, I just want to slap myself!
Jake noticed me staring at him and frowned: “Rachel, can you stop staring at men all the time? It makes you look loose and improper.”
Hearing those familiar words, I felt a surge of anger.
In my past life, I was brainless enough to let him manipulate me like that. But I’ve already died once – why would I listen to his bullshit again?
To hell with being “loose”!
I frowned back at him: “Jake, can you stop calling a girl loose all the time? It makes you sound like a total jerk!”
Jake’s expression darkened.
From when I first started chasing him until now, I had never talked back to him once.
He came from a rural area, but his mindset was still backwards and chauvinistic.
Jake was clearly angry, and started lecturing me again: “Rachel, I’m with you because I thought you were different from those sluts who show off their bodies. A woman should know her place – be a good wife and mother. I didn’t expect you to be just like them after all.”
Hah!
I laughed coldly inside.
He sounded so righteous, but I had caught him ogling other girls’ long legs on campus more than once.
But I still apologized meekly. When his expression softened a bit as he decided to magnanimously forgive me, I seized the opportunity: “To make it up to you, let me treat you to a meal!”
He nodded in agreement.
Since we had only been together a short while, he had no idea about my financial situation. He probably thought I was just going to treat him to an $8 bowl of noodles in the cafeteria.
But when I hailed a taxi and brought him to an upscale restaurant, he didn’t even have the courage to go inside.
“This is ridiculous! Rachel, do you know how much a meal here costs? We’re just ordinary students, can’t you be more down-to-earth? Don’t expect me to pay if you can’t afford it! I’m telling you now, I absolutely won’t cover for you!”
I wasn’t bothered by his words. I just put on a shocked and confused expression: “It’s not that expensive here. I eat here all the time.”
Seeing his increasingly dark face, I asked innocently: “Where do you usually eat?”
Jake clearly didn’t believe me and kept making sarcastic remarks.
Until we went inside and a waiter greeted me warmly: “Welcome back, Miss Wilson!”
I gave Jake a pitiful look: “See? I wasn’t lying to you.”
I confidently led the way to a window seat.
Jake was visibly uncomfortable, not knowing where to put his hands. But he still tried to maintain his usual aloof attitude.
I knew that on the surface he was trying to act calm, but inside he was panicking.
I handed him the menu, pretending to be eager to please: “Take a look and see what you’d like to eat.”
Jake’s eyes widened at the expensive prices, but he coldly pushed the menu back to me, trying to act cool: “None of these dishes look appetizing to me.”
I didn’t insist and ordered a bunch of my favorite dishes, all very strongly flavored.
I knew Jake preferred bland food. In my past life, I had given up my own tastes to cater to his.
This time, I absolutely wouldn’t.
When the food arrived, I dug in with gusto.
Jake looked displeased: “Rachel, you should ask your guest what they like instead of just ordering what you want. It’s very impolite.”
“But I asked you to order and you didn’t!”
Jake was speechless after being called out like that. Seeing him at a loss for words delighted me.
Watching me eat so heartily, he unconsciously swallowed and sneaked glances at me while clumsily trying to cut his steak with a knife and fork.
He was actually doing it correctly by imitating others, but I deliberately gave him a hesitant look.
He became very uncomfortable under my gaze, probably feeling quite tormented inside.
But his pride and insecurity made him lash out: “Rachel, didn’t I tell you not to stare at men? It’s slutty.”
I lowered my head with a complex expression and stopped looking at him, then started enjoying my delicious meal.
He must be in turmoil inside now, desperately wondering what he did wrong.
Let him stew in it!
Ever since I took him to that fancy restaurant, his lectures became more and more frequent.
He was always going on about being frugal, the glory of farmers, the evils of capitalism, telling me to be more considerate since my parents work hard for their money, not to waste it, to be self-reliant.
In my past life, hearing such talk would make me think he was an idealistic, ambitious young man with great potential.
Now I see… Hah!
He was just trying to drag me down to hell with him because of his own insecurities.
On the surface I acted obedient, but I still bought things so expensive even I found them pricey, and “accidentally” let him know the cost.
I also often bought him things that were astronomical to him but cheap for me.
Letting him struggle between disapproving of my spending and enjoying the fruits of money.
While he was conflicted, I suggested introducing him to my friends.
A bunch of rich playboys, notorious for their womanizing ways.
Jake was very resistant at first, trying to lecture me on proper female behavior again.
“Rachel, you shouldn’t interact with any men besides me. That’s what a good girl should do.”
“But if you connect with them, it could be a huge boost for your future career. Don’t you want to avoid ending up like millions of other graduates, sending out resumes that disappear into a black hole?”
Sure enough, I had hit Jake’s sore spot. He agreed.
He even specially wore what he considered proper attire on the day we met – a suit I had bought him.
He kept asking me over and over if he looked appropriate.
I smirked to myself. Of course it was appropriate!
But they were just a bunch of playboys. Who dresses so formally to go out and party?
Moreover, did he really think it would be so easy to network with them?
Sure enough, when we arrived at the club, his outfit stood out like a sore thumb.
He looked around curiously, watching the beautiful women dancing nearby.
I could see him trying hard to suppress the excitement in his eyes, quickening his pace as if he couldn’t wait to meet those playboys.
As if through this meeting, he could instantly become successful.
The door to the private room opened, and the men and women inside flocked to greet me, completely ignoring Jake.
After leaving Jake hanging for a while, I finally remembered him and introduced him: “This is my boyfriend, Jake.”
My friend asked curiously: “I don’t recognize this guy. Which family is he from?”
Chris also chimed in sarcastically: “Who wears a suit to go clubbing?”
Chris’s brother had a crush on me and pursued me for two years. He was even a top student.
Seeing the girl his brother liked snatched away by someone else, Chris’s hostility towards Jake was off the charts.
Jake looked at their flip flops and baggy shorts, realizing his suit really did stand out.
He was used to bossing me around, and actually had the nerve to criticize me in front of everyone: “Why didn’t you remind me? You made me embarrass myself in public.”
These people may be party animals, but they were still my childhood friends. Hearing him talk to me like that, Chris was the first to speak up.
He contemptuously fingered Jake’s suit: “Bro, you’d embarrass yourself wearing this even to a formal event. What kind of trash suit is this?”
Everyone except Jake burst out laughing, while I tried hard to hold back my own laughter.
Jake immediately retorted: “Do you know how much this suit cost? Two hundred dollars!”
“Bahahaha!”
This set off another round of laughter.
Especially Chris, who was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, as if he’d heard the funniest joke ever.
For these rich kids, custom tailored suits were the norm. A $200 suit wasn’t even fit to leave the house in.
Jake still didn’t understand, thinking they didn’t believe him. He kept explaining: “This suit really was $200! I still have the receipt! Rachel, tell them!”
Jake kept pushing me urgently. I finally spoke up: “This suit cost me $200 when I bought it for him.”
Chris patted my shoulder. I immediately felt Jake’s murderous glare.
Of course, it was directed at me. He wouldn’t dare look at Chris that way.
“Rachel, even if you’re keeping a boy toy, you can’t be this stingy. Only $200?”
I sighed wistfully: “I’ve been a bit short on cash lately.”
My girlfriend looked at Jake with disdain: “What’s the point of a man who can’t even support his woman?”
Chris suddenly put his arm around Jake’s neck, trying to pull him onto the couch.
Jake’s body visibly stiffened.
Seeing Jake uncooperative, Chris slapped him on the head, knocking Jake’s glasses to the floor.
Chris said mockingly: “So sorry! I’m used to smacking my lackeys around. You look so much like my bootlicker I did it without thinking.”
Then Chris asked me with a cheeky grin: “You’re not mad at me, right Rachel?”
“Chris, you’ve gone too far!”
That’s what I said, but anyone who knew me could tell I wasn’t actually angry.
I pulled Jake away to leave.
At the entrance, Jake exploded at me: “Rachel, look at the kind of friends you have! No class at all! Why didn’t you dodge when that guy touched your shoulder earlier? Do you enjoy physical contact with other men that much? And why did you tell them I bought this suit? Were you happy to see me humiliated?”
I said tearfully: “But you have to suffer to succeed. Don’t you want to live that carefree lifestyle? Don’t you want to stay and develop your career in this big city? Don’t you want to make it big? If you network well with them and use their resources, you could become hugely successful!”
Jake still frowned: “But why did you buy me such a cheap suit?”
I wanted to vomit. He got a free suit without spending a cent and should count himself lucky. Did he really expect a suit worth tens of thousands?
But I still pretended to be wronged: “My parents don’t approve of us being together, so they cut off my allowance. I wanted to use my connections to help your future career. If you use my network well, becoming a millionaire won’t be a problem in the future.”
Jake’s eyes lit up, clearly very tempted. But he still put on an act: “Rachel, these resources are wasted on you anyway since you don’t have the ability to use them. You focus on building connections for me. When I make it big in the future, I’ll definitely take good care of you.”
Oh, trying to manipulate me again?
Fine, I’ll play along since you’re trying so hard!
I said regretfully: “Jake, you’re so talented. It’s a shame you weren’t born into a good family. Unlike me – I have no real skills but was lucky to be born rich.”
The jealousy and resentment in Jake’s eyes were about to come alive and spurt out.
This was the effect I wanted.
The higher I build him up, the harder he’ll fall.
A day later, my parents came to campus in a Rolls-Royce to find Jake.
Meanwhile, I was out shopping for luxury goods with my girlfriends, completely unaware of this.
By the time I found out, Jake had already angrily called me to come back immediately.
Why not just tell me on the phone? Because he’s too cheap to pay for the call.
I agreed to come back soon, but actually continued shopping.
Less than a minute later, my mom called.
I had a headache. Why didn’t I think of this?
Letting those people know I had a boyfriend meant my parents would find out too.
“Rachel, yesterday Chris told me you have a boyfriend. I went to see him today – he’s no good, his ambition is written all over his face. I offered him $100,000 to leave you, and he had the nerve to say it wasn’t enough!”
My mom ranted angrily for a long time. As I listened, I started crying.
In my past life when I married Jake, how did she ever convince herself to accept it?
I comforted her: “Mom, don’t worry. I’m not actually in love with him.”
“Then why did you…”
“Mom, don’t ask. I promise I won’t fall for him. Trust me.”
Hearing that, my mom stopped questioning and just reminded me not to let that guy take advantage of me.
It was evening by the time I leisurely returned.
“What took you so long? Don’t you know I had something urgent to discuss?”
What a henpecked man. How was I so blind as to fall for him in my past life?
Now that he had seen a glimpse of high society and understood my family’s wealth, his greedy nature definitely wouldn’t let go of such a big piece of meat.
It was time to flip our positions!
I sat down and crossed my legs, seeming a bit indifferent: “Are you the only one allowed to have things to do? Am I not allowed to be busy?”
Jake’s tone was full of sarcasm: “What could you possibly be busy with?”
“My mom said she’s buying me a Mercedes and told me to go pick one out.”
“What a waste to buy it for you.”
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I’m a twin, and my mother hates the introverted me while favoring my lively and cute sister.
She gives the best to my sister, raising her to be beautiful and adorable, while I’m treated more like a dog.
Until one day, my mother called my sister’s name while looking at me.
Suddenly, I saw hope, my eyes lighting up as I looked at my sister lying unconscious on the ground.
I’ve been allergic to milk since I was little, but my mom works at a dairy factory, and breakfast is always just milk.
My sister is allergic too. She breaks out in hives all over when she drinks it, but she never told mom to avoid upsetting her.
My sister forces me to drink her share every day, so I’ve had red rashes on my face for years, which eventually left dark spots.
Mom always calls me Freckle Face and doesn’t like how self-conscious and timid I am. She prefers my sister’s lively and cute personality.
My sister hates me too because we have the same face, but mine is always covered in freckles, so she makes me cover my face with thick hair and a mask.
She also makes me tell others that I’m allergic to dust and doesn’t let me admit that I’m her twin sister.
At school, wherever my sister is, there’s laughter and admiration, but when I appear, even the liveliest scene instantly goes cold.
They hate me, but no one wants to be the bad guy and say it out loud, so they choose to ignore me.
My sister’s grades have always been good, all thanks to me cheating for her. Her grades are fake, but the admiration she gets is real.
Beautiful and smart, my sister became the school belle, while I’m the school’s despised plague.
Coming home from school, I was suddenly kicked over while taking off my shoes in the entryway. He stepped on me twice, muttering about bad luck.
This man is mom’s new boyfriend, a drunkard and a thug, but mom always fantasizes that he’ll give her a better life.
Every time this thug comes to our house to see mom, he beats me up before leaving.
I don’t know why, but he always seems particularly refreshed after beating me when he’s initially irritated.
After finishing his cigarette, he flicked the butt into my collar. I frantically rolled against the wall, trying to get it out.
He mocked me, saying I’m not even as good as a dog – at least other dogs would bark when bullied.
But I just lower my head and stay silent when bullied.
When dinner is ready, mom and my sister usually come home. I can only eat after they finish.
Mom doesn’t want to eat leftovers, so I have to finish whatever they leave, which has made me fatter and uglier.
I have no friends and no fixed room. I usually sleep in the attic, and sometimes when mom gets angry, she kicks me out.
I sleep in the shed in the backyard. It’s big enough for me, and we’ve never actually kept a dog.
One rainy day, Mrs. Wilson from next door saw me sleeping in the shed and kindly took me to her house to rest.
I sat in her living room by the warm fireplace, listening to Mrs. Wilson tell stories while knitting.
Mrs. Wilson is kind-hearted and often invites me over to play. She’s the only one who doesn’t despise me.
I really wish she was my real grandmother.
One day on my way home from school, a stone suddenly hit my head.
I turned around to see a group of girls, with my sister in the middle.
One of the girls said, “So, is she really a ghost? How come she doesn’t react when hit?”
My sister stared at me and smiled, saying, “She’s Freckle Face. I’ve heard her mom call her that.”
The group burst into laughter. I hugged my backpack tightly, wanting to run, but they surrounded me.
They told me to drop out of school, saying they didn’t want to see such an unlucky person at school.
I can’t drop out. I’ve been enduring everything just to stay in school, just to not leave this home.
They threw my backpack into the river. Encouraged by the others, my sister stuck her chewing gum in my hair.
It was dark when I finally got home, hugging my wet backpack. I didn’t dare go inside, so I went to Mrs. Wilson next door.
Mrs. Wilson lit a fire for me again and helped bandage the wound on my head. I hugged her and cried, deeply moved.
In this world, only Mrs. Wilson is so kind to me.
Mrs. Wilson stroked my head and said that if she hadn’t said those things back then, maybe I wouldn’t be treated like this.
My crying stopped abruptly as I listened quietly to her talk about what happened after I was born.
Before getting pregnant, my mom had been assaulted by a coworker at the factory, and then she had my sister and me with my dad.
Mrs. Wilson discovered this and spread the news, instantly shattering the harmony in our family.
My dad left, unable to bear the rumors, and my mom raised my sister and me alone.
When I was five, Mrs. Wilson said in front of my mom that my sister looked more like our dad, both in temperament and appearance.
From that moment, mom became convinced that I was the rapist’s child, while my sister was her child with dad.
I asked Mrs. Wilson why she thought my sister looked more like dad.
She said it was just a joke at the time, but she didn’t expect my mom to take it seriously.
It was from that year on that mom started to despise me, treating me like an abandoned child.
I asked Mrs. Wilson why she never thought to explain. She shook her head, saying she didn’t want to lose face.
Because she didn’t want to lose face, Mrs. Wilson never explained her joke.
She just watched me grow up like this.
The next day, Mrs. Wilson passed away at home. Perhaps knowing her time was near, she told me those things the night before.
I was the first to know about Mrs. Wilson’s death. She had a letter to send to her children.
The letter wasn’t sent before she died, so I helped mail it out.
Mrs. Wilson’s family, receiving the letter, thought she was still well and went on vacation worry-free.
It wasn’t until a month later when they returned home that they saw Mrs. Wilson’s body.
When I couldn’t go home, I often sat outside Mrs. Wilson’s house, not daring to go in or tell anyone.
Until Mrs. Wilson’s disfigured body was carried away, and her house became empty.
Mrs. Wilson had said she wanted to leave with dignity and cleanliness.
I didn’t tell anyone she had died, until her body decomposed and maggots crawled over it.
Let this be my little joke in return.
Without Mrs. Wilson’s companionship, my life seemed to get harder.
Luke wanted to break up with mom. Mom quit her job, spending her days drinking and coming home late.
As soon as mom gets home, she goes to the attic to beat me, saying it’s my bad luck that made Luke not want to see her anymore.
The first time I saw mom cry was because of that thug Luke.
The next day, I waited outside the bar where Luke usually hangs out. After waiting all night without seeing him come out, I was about to leave when I was kicked down again.
Luke dragged me into an alley and beat me up. It was clear he had been in a bad mood lately because he hit harder than usual.
As he was pulling open my collar, he saw the whiteness of my neck and suddenly became interested.
“You little Freckle Face, your skin’s not bad. Let me see what it looks like inside,” Luke said as he tried to tear off my clothes.
I got scared and frantically grabbed a tree branch, stabbing his eye and blinding it.
Luke kicked me hard in anger. During the interval when he was howling and covering his eye, I quickly got up and ran.
I had only come to find him to ask him to go see my mom and not make her sad anymore.
I didn’t expect to blind his eye. Luke roared that he would kill me once his eye healed.
I’m not afraid of him, but I’m scared of what mom would do if she found out. Would she kick me out for good?
When I got home, I collapsed on the floor, clutching my stomach in pain. My sister and mom were home, but they didn’t care about me at all.
In my daze, I felt like I was about to be beaten to death.
It wasn’t until mom came home late at night and kicked me as she passed by that I woke up.
I responded softly. Knowing I was still alive, mom seemed a bit disappointed. As she was about to go back to her room, I grabbed her foot.
Like a dog that wouldn’t let go, no matter how much she kicked.
“You little Freckle Face, you’re getting more and more annoying!” Mom said as she kicked me away, “You won’t be going to school next year. As long as Zoey gets into Harvard, we’ll move to another city.”
At that time, they’ll abandon me, right?
I don’t want to be abandoned. Before next year comes, I need to do something for myself.
I pushed open Zoey’s door. Seeing me, she threw a book at me in annoyance.
I picked up the book from the floor and smiled at Zoey, saying, “I can help you cheat and get the top grade in the year.”
Zoey was a bit skeptical. In previous exams, my guessing of questions at most helped her rank in the top fifty of the year.
“With the top grade in the year, you can get early admission to Harvard. When you do, please ask mom to let me continue school.”
Hearing my offer, Zoey smiled and casually agreed.
I left Zoey’s room and started studying hard, looking forward to the day I could change my fate.
During the school fair, I was assigned to wear a mascot costume and hand out flyers. The hot weather almost gave me heatstroke.
A group of basketball players rushed by, and I was about to lose my balance when suddenly a guy grabbed my hand.
It was Jack from the school basketball team, sunny and handsome, liked by many girls.
After steadying me, he was worried I might get heatstroke, so he specially bought a bottle of water and handed it to me. I stammered a thank you.
He said, “Your voice sounds really nice.”
He smiled, curiously trying to peek at what the girl under the mascot looked like.
I remembered how everyone at school despised me and got scared, immediately sitting down on the ground.
If he found out I was the unlucky ghost of the school, he would be very disappointed, right?
Thinking this, I immediately ran away, avoiding him.
I hadn’t finished handing out the flyers when the girls from my class locked me in a bathroom stall. I was still daydreaming about Jack’s smile when I was suddenly awakened by a bucket of dirty water.
As the sound of laughter gradually faded away, I curled up on the toilet, quietly waiting for someone to find me the next day.
Surprisingly, the door opened after just a few minutes.
It was a girl with a bruised face. I was puzzled why she didn’t show any disgust when she looked at me.
Her name was Ava. She said she was also bullied by them, so she was willing to help me.
“What’s your name?”
My name is Zoe, Zoe Xu.
Apart from Mrs. Wilson, Ava was the first person to call me by my name.
“Zoe, you should stand up straight, keep yourself clean, lose some weight, and get rid of the freckles on your face.”
Those are dark spots, they can’t be removed.
“How can they not be removed? Have you really tried everything to do it?”
I looked up at her in confusion. She blinked her big eyes, still bruised, flashing with energy.
I hadn’t tried everything to get myself out of this mire.
But after hearing Ava’s words, I was motivated to make some changes.
I stopped obediently eating all the leftovers. I would secretly pour away the milk Zoey made me drink, and I started learning ways from the internet to gradually remove the spots on my body.
One day, while Zoey was eating breakfast, she told me to drink her milk as usual. I agreed readily, but she suddenly insisted on watching me drink it.
I was in the recovery period of treating my rashes, and if I continued to drink the milk I was allergic to, it would all be in vain.
“If you want to get the top grade, don’t always force me to do things.”
Zoey was silent for a moment, then smiled and stuck her chewing gum in my hair.
She said, “I do need you to help me get the top grade in the year, but that doesn’t give you the right to negotiate with me.”
Zoey knows how to please mom and make everyone like her, so she’s always been able to act with impunity.
As for me, I looked at the milk, more determined than ever to change everything.
From then on, I would get up at five every morning to jog and lose weight, then do homework and practice questions. Sometimes I’d be so focused I’d forget to make breakfast.
Mom, hungover, would angrily beat me. The mother and daughter duo would insult and mock me in turns.
They laughed at me for paving the way for someone else’s future.
I was shocked and grabbed Zoey, asking, didn’t she promise to speak up for me and let me continue school?
Zoey pushed me away in disgust, saying even if she spoke up, mom wouldn’t let me continue school, but if I didn’t keep helping her, I wouldn’t even have a home.
We’re twins, both mom’s children, yet I have to beg just to have a home.
I’m not resigned to this.
After the midterm exams, the school would conduct a monthly test. This time, my assigned seat was right behind Zoey.
This way, I didn’t need to guess the questions, I could directly pass the answers to Zoey during the exam. For seven consecutive exams, Zoey managed to copy all the answers I gave her without a hitch.
On the day the results came out, I stared at Zoey’s name, nervously scanning down the list until I finally saw Zoey’s name at the twentieth position.
Zoey was surrounded by everyone, with praise and admiration rising and falling. Zoey was very happy at the center of attention.
While I, in the corner, secretly glanced at Zoe’s name. Zoe’s grades were in the top fifty of the year.
Zoe, that’s pretty good too.
In the following exams, Zoey’s ranking gradually rose, and everyone admired Zoey’s beauty and talent.
She also gradually lost some of her humble facade in this game of fame and fortune.
Until the last monthly test, Zoey had reached third in the year.
With Zoey’s grades improving dramatically, her classmates and friends all wanted to ask her for help with their studies.
She was usually poor in her studies and couldn’t answer any of their questions.
She brushed them off, preferring to talk with the boys who blindly admired her rather than explaining to her friends why she wouldn’t teach them.
Gradually, Zoey lost her close friends and was left with only a group of admirers circling around her.
I enjoyed watching the girls gossip about her, spreading rumors and slandering her from the corner.
I was a bit happy. Now we were like twin sisters both disliked.
But Zoey would still arrogantly throw books at my head.
She was very angry, “Now all the girls in the class are targeting me. Is this the benefit of being top of the year?”
I consoled her, “You should be more humble. They don’t like you being too showy and proud.”
Zoey picked up the book and hit me again.
“It’s all because of you! Now they’re spreading rumors that I’m a fraud, that I’m a slut who seduced teachers for grades.”
Hearing this, I couldn’t help but feel happy, because I was the one who took the photos that sparked the rumors.
It was a scene of a teacher talking to Zoey, but with a slight misalignment in the shot, it created a photo that could be misunderstood.
Zoey is so beautiful, it’s normal for her to be favored by teachers, but I didn’t make them spread such extreme rumors.
Seeing me smirking, Zoey grabbed my hair fiercely and said, “What are you laughing at? You think this makes you more like me?”
She said if it was discovered that I deliberately set her up, I would be dead.
“Don’t you think we’re becoming more and more like sisters?”
Zoey looked at me with disdain, “Are you worthy of being my sister? You’re just the daughter of a rapist. But, to be like me, you have to drag me down, to make me as dirty and despicable as you?”
She was despising the meanness in my thoughts, but wasn’t she the one who led the bullying against me, breaking that window of human nature?
For the final exams, the school leaders started strict inspections. Zoey, caught in the whirlwind of rumors, was called to the office for questioning.
To test if Zoey’s grades were real, the leaders had her complete several difficult test papers in front of all the teachers.
After a morning of repeated grading by the teachers, Zoey’s test papers were almost all perfect scores, confirming her true academic ability.
And the one who made all this happen was me.
It was me who took Zoey’s identity to do the test papers.
The rumors about Zoey cheating were temporarily suppressed. Without the gossip, Zoey was very happy.
I was happy too, because on this day when I substituted for Zoey, I didn’t have to lower my head or hide behind thick hair.
Previously, when we knew there would be an inspection by the leaders, Zoey had stayed up all night at her desk.
But cramming for a few days couldn’t make up for all the knowledge.
Besides, Zoey had never liked studying since she was little. With an invisible sister helping her cheat, why would she waste time studying?
When the lie was about to be exposed, when the high pedestal supporting her was about to collapse.
She finally agreed to let me take her place and take the test for her.
🌟 Continue the story here
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On my birthday, I was lying at home with a high fever while my girlfriend was at the hospital, carefully tending to her depressed ex-boyfriend.
She coldly hung up on my call and sent a message, “Why are you pretending to be sick? You’re a grown man.”
After three years of marriage, she was attentive to her ex but indifferent to me, her husband.
Later, I finally realized that a woman whose heart you can’t warm should be let go.
I chose divorce and even tried to bring them together.
But she regretted it and spent a night crouched outside my door, just begging me to look at her one more time.
“You know Ethan is very fragile right now. Why did you lie to me about coming home?” Olivia’s voice was filled with impatience over the phone.
“And you say you have a high fever? How can a grown man like you get sick so easily? Can you stop being so childish?”
I could almost imagine her expression of disgust, disdain, and even contempt.
Breathing heavily, I endured the pain throughout my body. I was full of anger, but when I opened my mouth, I felt like I couldn’t say anything.
What’s the use of saying anything anyway?
“You’ve really disappointed me. I’m not coming home tonight, that’s final!”
The call was disconnected.
She’s doing it again, planning to stay at the hospital to take care of him all night.
Then she’ll sleep by his hospital bed, waiting for his every command.
If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes at the hospital, I probably wouldn’t have believed that my wife was at the hospital every day taking care of another man.
Even the nurses were moved by it. When they showed me the way, they introduced them as the most loving and faithful couple they’d ever seen.
This is too ridiculous!
Thinking about this, I weakly put down my phone and lay on the living room floor, staring blankly at the ceiling light. It was a bit dazzling.
In my daze, I remembered our wedding day, when she held Ethan’s hand with red eyes.
I saw her abandoning me during our dates to comfort him when he was in a bad mood.
And on countless nights, her body would shy away as soon as I got close. She said she was very traditional and a bit afraid of such things, that we needed to take it slow.
Even now, we still haven’t made any progress.
In our relationship, she’s always held the upper hand.
Whether we’re close or distant depends entirely on her mood.
The fever made my head hot, my thoughts were in disarray. In my confusion, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, I felt sore all over.
Fortunately, the fever had subsided.
After a quick shower, I felt like I had regained some energy, but I was still weak.
I called in sick to work. My usually strict boss told me to rest well and take care of my health. I was a bit surprised.
Just then, the door opened.
Olivia came home looking slightly tired. Seeing that I wasn’t seriously ill, she said mockingly, “Weren’t you sick?”
I ignored her sarcasm and just took a sip of warm water, enjoying the feeling of new life.
“Cat got your tongue?”
Seeing that I didn’t speak, she crossed her arms, looking like she was waiting for an explanation.
“Let’s get a divorce.”
“Fine.”
Olivia was stunned for a moment, but then agreed without hesitation.
I saw a flash of anger on her face and instantly understood her thoughts.
She probably thought I was just using another way to threaten her.
“Alright, I’ll bring back the divorce papers this afternoon.”
After saying this, I changed clothes and left.
It turns out, saying it out loud wasn’t difficult.
I thought I would feel reluctant, angry, or unwilling to let go.
But the moment I actually said it, I felt relieved.
Olivia just sat on the couch playing with her phone, not responding to me at all.
She just treated it as one of my usual tantrums.
After leaving, I bought breakfast and went to the nearest hospital.
My father-in-law was currently hospitalized there, and for this period, my mother-in-law and I had been taking turns caring for him.
Coincidentally, my company had been particularly busy lately. Every day, besides working overtime, I had to go to the hospital after work to relieve my exhausted mother-in-law.
It was non-stop.
This routine had continued for a month.
Olivia remained indifferent.
Not only that, but I was also paying for the expensive medical bills.
Olivia’s entire salary was spent on finding psychologists for Ethan. She never had any money left over, and it was good enough that she didn’t ask me for more.
I had talked to her about her father’s medical expenses, but she thought I was threatening her.
Last night it rained, and to save some money on a taxi, I trudged home in the rain.
Combined with the continuous fatigue, my body finally gave in to illness.
“Having a son-in-law like you is truly our blessing.”
“My wife and I have discussed it. We’ve seen all you’ve done these past days. You’re a good kid, much better than Olivia. We’ve decided to entrust our savings to you.”
Hearing my father-in-law say this, I paused while peeling an apple, and quickly refused.
In the past, if I could get the support of my in-laws, I would have been overjoyed and unable to sleep.
Would their approval improve my relationship with Olivia?
I thought about it carefully, but this hypothesis didn’t make me feel joyful.
Strangely, I only felt pressure.
“Little Ning isn’t really busy, is she? You’ve been lying to us all along. Is she at the hospital looking after that guy again?”
Suddenly, my father-in-law sighed.
I remained silent, not knowing how to answer.
The day my father-in-law was hospitalized, I told Olivia, but she said Ethan was at a critical point and she couldn’t leave. She asked me to take care of her father more.
“Look, her own father is sick and she doesn’t care, but she’s looking after some other man!”
“How can I trust her with money?”
Seeing that I didn’t speak, my father-in-law gave a bitter smile.
In the end, I still refused and didn’t mention the divorce.
As I was leaving the hospital, I saw Olivia’s social media post.
The photo showed two hands tightly clasped in front of a green plant, with the caption “If we persevere together, we can surely thrive like this plant and overcome all difficulties.”
I knew those were her and Ethan’s hands.
In the past, I would have angrily called her and questioned her.
Then she would describe me with words like petty and narrow-minded.
Back then, seeing me angry and frustrated, she must have found it laughable, like a child fighting for attention, childish and annoying.
But now I didn’t feel anything.
I even found it a bit funny.
Come to think of it, they really do look like a couple now. Since I’m so redundant, I might as well step out.
I brought the divorce papers home, but the house was empty.
I was used to it.
In the past, I would have argued with her for not coming home often. At first, she would explain, saying she had to attend dinners or team-building events.
Later, she simply remained silent or casually said it was nothing.
Now I think this is quite good, not bothering each other.
I sent Olivia a message, then threw the signed divorce papers on the coffee table.
Counting the days, it had been a long time since I visited my mom.
Since my dad passed away, she’s been living alone in an old house in the suburbs.
I realized that when I stopped revolving around Olivia, I had a lot more free time.
And I had also neglected my family a lot.
It’s a good time to go see my mom.
After I got home, my mom was overjoyed.
“Why did you come alone? Where’s Olivia?”
“Did you have fun yesterday?”
I was stunned. Fun?
“What, did you forget your birthday yesterday? I even called you, and you said you were out with Olivia.”
Only then did I remember that I was busy with a project contract at work yesterday.
I hurriedly answered my mom’s call and briefly brushed it off.
I completely forgot about my birthday as soon as I hung up.
I didn’t know how to answer, and I couldn’t explain. It turned out yesterday was my birthday.
At least in previous years, Olivia and I would have a meal together. This year, it was completely forgotten.
I thought I would feel disappointed and sad.
But now that it’s brought up, I only feel guilty towards my mom.
“You came back this time, is there any difficulty?”
Fortunately, my mom didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she held my hand and asked with a smile.
“Don’t worry, Mom has saved up some money for you. If anything’s wrong, just say it.”
My eyes turned red, and I repeatedly said there was nothing wrong.
I felt very guilty inside. How long had it been since I last came back?
Before, every time I came to my mom, it seemed to be for money. Because Olivia never took care of the household, I had to be responsible for the mortgage and car loan, and the pressure was too great.
That evening, I enjoyed the dinner very much. After eating, I watched some TV shows with my mom.
We were happy and chatty.
I hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time.
Before, it was all for Olivia, I didn’t have my own life.
And now, I can spend any amount of time with my mom.
In the evening, I don’t have to make a table full of dishes waiting for her. I can spend an evening eating with my mom, watching dramas, listening to her talk about neighborhood stories.
When I go home, I don’t have to think about how to ask for money.
In the past, holidays had to fit her schedule. Now I can go wherever I want.
Without Olivia, it turns out to be so relaxing and enjoyable.
Until the next morning, when I was woken up by my mom’s coughing.
When I found her, she was outside the front door, trying hard to cover her mouth, her face red as she coughed.
“It’s nothing, just a small problem.”
Seeing me come out, she forced a smile and said it was nothing, but the next second she couldn’t help but cough up a bloody phlegm.
Without a word, I carried her on my back and took her to the hospital.
The examination result: tuberculosis.
Looking at my mom’s evasive eyes, I felt extremely heartbroken.
The words of questioning that came to my lips turned into complaints, complaining that she didn’t tell me.
“Mom is old, there’s no need to waste money on this kind of disease. You’re under so much pressure now, and you have your own family…”
Mom seemed a bit embarrassed.
I took a deep breath and, ignoring her refusal, forcibly arranged for the best doctor to consult her.
When it came time to pay, I found that I didn’t have enough money.
I paused for a moment, smiling bitterly as I explained to my mom that the money was with Olivia.
But…
“That money, it was all borrowed by Ethan for medical treatment. You’ll have to think of another way.”
After hearing what I said, Olivia said lightly.
As expected.
I wasn’t surprised, and I was too lazy to argue with her. I just told her to remember to come home and sign the divorce papers.
“Haven’t you had enough?”
Her tone finally carried some anger, expressing her dissatisfaction.
“I told you, I’m serious.”
She still thought I was joking with her.
This time, I hung up the phone first.
With no other choice, I went to my father-in-law’s house and told him the truth about my mother’s illness.
My father-in-law, who had just been discharged from the hospital, gave me $10,000 without a word.
I didn’t refuse, and after taking it, I was about to write an IOU.
“The money you spent on our treatment, I’ve kept track of every penny. This is your own money.”
My father-in-law refused.
Before leaving, he asked about Olivia again. I thought the divorce couldn’t be hidden anyway, so I just told him straight.
“What a mess…”
I didn’t answer.
After giving the money to the hospital, I stayed with my mom at the hospital.
She sighed, saying we hadn’t spent so much time together in a long time. I felt extremely ashamed.
During this time, Olivia called me to urge me to come home.
“I’m not coming back tonight, that’s it.”
I didn’t have the heart to talk to her much. After that, I didn’t answer any of her calls. I just chatted with my mom about traveling to relax after she recovered.
It wasn’t until the next day, after I had confirmed the surgery date with the doctor and reassured my mom, that I went home.
As soon as I got home, I saw Olivia sitting on the sofa with a dark face.
“Signed it?”
I directly bypassed her to look at the divorce agreement on the table.
Unexpectedly, she snatched it first and tore it to pieces.
“Enough, Luke. How long are you going to keep this up? Taking things to the point of divorce, just because I didn’t come home that day?”
“When did you become so unreasonable? You weren’t like this before!”
“Say something!”
Olivia was in a rage.
I just stood there silently looking at her. In the past, it was always me who was angry and irritable like this.
Suddenly, I understood her a little.
People who lose control of their emotions are really ugly.
“Fine, I know what you mean.”
Seeing that I didn’t speak, Olivia sneered and started to undress in front of me, moving very quickly.
“What are you doing?”
I stopped her.
“I know you’re not satisfied with me going to take care of Ethan, but there’s nothing between us. I’m still pure. Now I’m giving myself to you, is that okay?”
“You don’t need to refuse, this is my duty as a wife, isn’t it?”
After saying this, she pushed away my hand and stubbornly continued to undress.
I walked to the window and pulled the curtains. When I turned back, I found her looking at me mockingly: “What, you want to do it in the living room?”
🌟 Continue the story here
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