Author: Momo Chan

To avoid harassment from my ex-boyfriend, I planned to stay at my brother’s apartment for a few days. I didn’t expect to be blocked at the door by my brother’s girlfriend, who then slapped me hard across the face. She spoke to me in a sarcastic tone, “Wow, what a boundary-less sister-in-law! How dare you stay in your brother’s place?” “A total deadbeat, not working hard to help Nathan earn a dowry, just sleeping in all day.” “You must be messing around out there, which is why your boyfriend dumped you…” Seriously?! What a psycho! This property title is in my name, okay? My brother Nathan Freitt is seven years younger than me and currently in college. Six months ago, he asked if he could borrow my two-bedroom apartment in Chapel Hill because his roommate snores and keeps him up at night. Since the place was sitting empty, I gave him two spare keys and told him to stay in the guest room and not to enter my room. He eagerly agreed. A couple of days ago, I discovered that my ex-boyfriend cheated on me. After the breakup, he kept showing up outside my office building and my apartment complex every day. To get some peace, I handed over my work to my assistant and decided to stay at my brother’s place for a while. On Thursday afternoon at 4 PM, Nathan should still be in class, so I didn’t tell him and just dragged my suitcase over. But to my surprise, I found that no matter how hard I tried, my key wouldn’t unlock the door. Could Nathan have changed the locks without telling me? Just as I was about to pull out my phone to ask Nathan what was going on, the door suddenly clicked open. Standing there was a girl with perfect makeup, wearing a cute, fuzzy pink bunny onesie. That onesie looked familiar; it seemed like something I had bought as a spare. But right now, I didn’t have time to figure out why this girl was wearing what looked like my pajamas. What I really needed to know was why she was in my home! As I frowned at her, she looked me up and down with an expression that was anything but friendly. “Hi…” I tried to ask what was going on, but she interrupted me. “Are you serious?! You’re here trying to break into my house? Do you think I won’t call the cops and have you arrested?” ??? I stood there, confused and taken aback. Just as I pulled off my scarf to show my face and understand what was happening, I felt a sharp sting on my left cheek. At the same moment, the door slammed shut, sending a breeze across my burning face. I was seething with anger as I took out my phone. My gut told me this was all Nathan’s doing. [Me: Nathan, what did you do with my house?!] [Nathan: Sis? What’s wrong?] [Me: I just got slapped by a woman in my pajamas who’s in my house.] [Nathan: Why did you show up so suddenly?] [Me: You better explain this to me quickly.] Nathan seemed surprised and panicked, taking a few minutes to respond. [Nathan: Sis, there’s probably a misunderstanding. I had my girlfriend open the door for you. I’ll explain when I get back from class; don’t be mad.] Don’t be mad? How am I supposed to not be mad after being slapped and locked out of my own house? Wait… girlfriend? Nathan is dating someone? And they’re living together? In my house?!

I waited outside for another ten minutes, but Nathan’s girlfriend still didn’t come to let me in. As a graduate from a prestigious university who started a successful business with my best friend, I was now a bona fide female CEO. With my impressive grades and affluent background, I had always been pampered growing up. It was the first time someone had disrespected me like this, and I couldn’t just let it go. Unfortunately, I really couldn’t get into the house, so I dragged my suitcase to a coffee shop downstairs to wait for Nathan. During this time, Nathan kept sending me apology messages. [Nathan: Sis, she definitely didn’t mean it; don’t be mad.] [Nathan: There must be some misunderstanding; just calm down.] I ignored him. An hour later, a disheveled Nathan rushed into the coffee shop, scanning the room until he quickly spotted me in the corner. He approached me with a smile plastered on his face. “My lovely, charming sister, I knew you wouldn’t be upstairs, so I figured you’d be here!” Nathan grabbed my suitcase, saying, “Let’s go, Sis.” I shot him a glare, my anger bubbling under the surface, and followed him upstairs. In the elevator, Nathan kept trying to charm me. “Sis, I just got back and had a talk with Amber. Don’t be mad; don’t stoop to her level.” Seeing him like this, I could understand; after all, they were supposed to be enjoying their time together as a couple, and me showing up probably made things awkward for them. But this girl was taking it a bit too far. I decided that if she apologized sincerely, I could overlook this whole incident. Nathan quickly agreed. Once we entered the apartment, I found Amber lounging on the sofa, her bare feet propped up on the coffee table I had meticulously chosen during renovations. She was munching on sunflower seeds and watching some reality show, laughing out loud from time to time. Sunflower seed shells were scattered everywhere, and there were piles of orange peels and several empty soda cans on the table. The elegant artwork that once hung in the living room had been replaced with posters of boy bands I didn’t even recognize. I couldn’t believe this was the apartment I had handed over to Nathan. “Amber, this is my sister, Jessica,” Nathan said, giving her a knowing glance before turning to me with a nervous smile. “Jessica, this is my girlfriend, Amber Johnson.” I regarded the girl before me, who was practically the definition of rude. “Hi, sister,” Amber said, barely looking at me. “I asked you to let my sister in; why didn’t you?” Nathan asked her, glancing nervously at my expression. “And about that misunderstanding, hurry up and apologize to my sister!” Only then did Amber glance my way. After scanning between me and Nathan, she smirked, “I didn’t realize your sister liked to wear matching scarves with you!” That’s when I noticed Nathan was wearing the scarf I had given him. I hadn’t purposely given him that scarf; it was a mix-up when I ordered a couple online. The seller mistakenly sent me two, and since I didn’t want to deal with returning it, I just kept both. I had planned to give the extra one to my best friend, but Nathan had seen it and said he needed one, so I just handed it over. Siblings wearing matching scarves isn’t that strange, right? And because of this, I was slapped and locked out of my own home? Unbelievable…

After hearing that explanation, I could somewhat understand Amber’s actions; she probably thought I was a homewrecker. She was just a bit petty, being in the honeymoon phase of her relationship, so I forced myself to be understanding. I turned to Nathan and asked why he had changed the locks. If my key had worked, none of this would have happened, and I wouldn’t have gotten slapped for no reason. Nathan hesitated before explaining, “Well… I forgot my keys at school the other day and had to call a locksmith. For safety’s sake, I had the locks changed.” Amber chimed in sarcastically, “Who would feel safe knowing someone else has a key to our place?” The only keys to this apartment, besides Nathan’s, are mine. Not even our parents have a key. This is my house; am I an outsider? She really doesn’t see herself as an outsider? Seeing I was about to explode, Nathan quickly jumped in to defend Amber. “Hey, sis, don’t think too much about it. Amber just meant the locksmith.” Looking at Nathan’s panicked defense of Amber, it was clear he really liked her. Nathan was twenty years old, and this was the first time I realized he was dating someone. Oh well, as long as he likes her. Amber probably just had low emotional intelligence and a lack of manners. Besides, it’s not like I’d be living with her; if Nathan can handle it, that’s all that matters. I didn’t say anything and pulled my suitcase toward the master bedroom. The door was open, revealing a messy space filled with signs of life. Before I moved out, I had left an entire set of unopened La Mer skincare products on my vanity, but now it was all used up. The clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry I had prepared in the closet had all been used, and given that Amber was wearing my pajamas, it was clear that Nathan and Amber had moved into my room. “Amber, since Nathan calls you that, I’ll call you that too,” I said, peeking into the master bedroom with a polite smile. “If you need skincare products, clothes, shoes, bags, or jewelry, just let me know. I can give you some that suit you, but using my things without permission—how am I supposed to use them when I arrive?” Surprisingly, Amber didn’t show any sign of remorse or intent to apologize. Instead, she looked at me and said, “You’re so calculating.” “Well, you’re not married yet. No matter how much you earn, it’s all for Nathan’s wedding. I’m his girlfriend, so everything here technically belongs to me, right?” I swear I’ve never met someone as shameless as Amber. Not a person, but a whole different species! Nathan rushed over to pull me into the master bedroom, whispering, “Sis, Amber’s upbringing is rough. Her family favors boys over girls, so she’s a bit starved for love. Don’t take it too personally!” I held back my frustration and ordered Nathan, “Quick, gather your things and move them to the guest room!” Nathan nodded eagerly, “Okay, okay!” As Nathan moved their things from the master bedroom to the guest room, Amber repeatedly tried to say something but was stopped by Nathan’s glare. She then plopped down on the sofa and started rolling her eyes dramatically. I was worried she might actually flip herself over.

I thought Amber would finally calm down. After all, I was only planning to stay a few days. If I weren’t allergic to pet hair, I would’ve gone to my best friend’s place directly, but her boyfriend’s dog was temporarily staying there, so I had to come here. I didn’t mind Nathan dating; I was too busy to keep tabs on them. With my relentless encouragement, Nathan had developed impressive cooking skills, so naturally, he prepared dinner. The table was filled with all my favorite dishes: Southern-style pork, sweet and sour ribs, roasted chicken, stir-fried chives and eggs, cauliflower with ham, braised lamb, and my favorite spicy shrimp! “Eating so heavy at night? No wonder you got dumped!” “Why are there chives? They get stuck in your teeth!” “Nathan! Why did you make lamb? The smell is unbearable!” As soon as the dishes were served, Nathan hadn’t even had a chance to take off his apron when Amber started picking food off the plate and shoving it into her mouth. While we weren’t a rich family, we still had decent manners. I frowned slightly at Amber’s behavior but said nothing. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, and lifestyle habits vary; those can change over time. Hearing Amber complain, I thought maybe Nathan overlooked her tastes since he wanted to impress me and had ignored what she liked. Just as I was about to reprimand Nathan for his lack of etiquette, he spoke up. “Didn’t you ask for at least two meat and two vegetable dishes for dinner? It’s been a while since my sister ate my cooking, so I made a few extra dishes.” “Didn’t you say eating chives is good for your health and you should have them every day?” “Didn’t you say yesterday you wanted to eat braised lamb?” Oh, great! So this whole dinner was a subtle attack aimed at me! Under Nathan’s silent pleading, I decided not to stoop to Amber’s level and put on some disposable gloves to start peeling shrimp. Maybe I hadn’t given Amber the reaction she was hoping for because, after just a few bites, she started acting up again. “Nathan, I want shrimp!” Nathan patiently peeled a few shrimp and placed them on her plate. “This girl needs peeled shrimp; peeling shrimp herself is too low-class!” Was that a direct jab at me? If I cater to you, I might as well take your last name! But before I could swallow my shrimp and say anything, I witnessed something that shocked me to my core.

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My husband, Gregory, cheated on me with his cousin, Tina. After she had his child, he immediately filed for divorce. On the day the divorce waiting period ended, I sent him a medical report congratulating him on becoming a dad. Upon receiving the report, he completely broke down. “Samantha, explain to me what’s going on!” I replied, “Do I really need to tell you that you have a fertility issue and can’t have kids?” I met my husband, Gregory Hill, during a college club event. He fell head over heels for me and quickly began pursuing me. Eventually, I was moved by his sincerity and passion, so I agreed to be with him. Over the four years of college, we developed a deep bond and promised to marry after graduation, but my parents didn’t approve. After all, I was an only child from a wealthy family in a big city, well-loved and spoiled. Gregory, on the other hand, came from Appalachia. He didn’t have a comfortable upbringing or strong connections; he worked hard to earn his way to college in the city. To marry him, I was willing to clash with my parents and even threatened to cut ties with them. Eventually, my parents relented, fearing I’d struggle without their support. They agreed to the marriage and gave me a house and a car as a wedding gift. Gregory was ambitious and capable. He started his own business right after graduation, but faced numerous obstacles in the early days. His small company was on the brink of collapse due to a lack of stable funding. Seeing that his business was about to fail, I made the decisive choice to sell the house my parents had given me to provide him with startup capital. We moved into a cramped, damp one-bedroom apartment. For me, this hardship was nothing; I was just happy to be with Gregory. Gradually, his business began to improve, and we moved into a newly bought house. We lived a simple yet happy life for two years, but Gregory and I had been unable to conceive a child. It was strange; ever since his company stabilized, we hadn’t intentionally avoided pregnancy. We thought if I became pregnant, we’d just have the baby since we could financially support it now. However, I still hadn’t gotten pregnant, so I decided that Gregory and I should go get checked out. His company was growing, and he was so busy managing everything that it took a while for him to carve out time to accompany me to the doctor. After the checkup, Gregory rushed back to work, leaving me to wait for the results. When the results came in, I was utterly stunned. I was in good health, but Gregory had a fertility issue. Sitting alone on a hospital bench, I felt dizzy and didn’t know how to face this reality. This explained why we hadn’t been able to conceive in two years of marriage. But Gregory was very prideful, and I feared that learning the truth would devastate him. Moreover, my parents already disapproved of our marriage; if they knew Gregory couldn’t have kids, they would surely pressure me to divorce him. So, I planned to keep this a secret. If it came to it, we could always adopt later. That evening, when Gregory got home from work, he asked, “What did the tests say? Is there a problem?” I smiled gently and replied, “No, we’re both fine. The doctor said pregnancy is a matter of chance; as long as we take care of our health, exercise, and avoid late nights, it will happen eventually.” Gregory nodded with a neutral expression. “That’s good.” Although he didn’t say much, I could tell he wasn’t entirely satisfied with this outcome. After that day, we didn’t mention the baby issue again. I had just been promoted to a supervisory position at work, and with my increased responsibilities, I had even less time to think about it.

One day, when I came home from work, Gregory surprised me by cooking dinner. I guessed he might want to discuss something important. I was right. He told me he wanted to bring his mom and cousin, Tina, to live with us. Initially, I was reluctant. With more people in the house, there would inevitably be conflicts and tensions. Moreover, managing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship was already challenging; adding a cousin into the mix felt overwhelming. But Gregory insisted, “My dad passed away when I was young, and my mom worked hard to raise me alone. Now that I can support her, I can’t leave her in the small town. Besides, Tina’s parents passed away, and she has always relied on us. I’ve always considered her like a sister.” So, I reluctantly agreed to let them move in. Before long, my mother-in-law and Tina arrived, dressed simply and exuding an air of humility. “You must be Samantha! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” my mother-in-law said warmly, rushing over to shake my hand. I felt a bit overwhelmed. I responded politely but distantly, “Mom, you both can settle in comfortably here. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” “Absolutely!” my mother-in-law nodded eagerly, while Tina seemed indifferent. Tina was 20 years old and, though she dressed plainly, it was clear she was a pretty young woman. According to Gregory, Tina hadn’t gone to college after high school because his mom needed help at home, so she stayed to care for her. Tina was diligent, jumping right into chores and cooking as soon as she arrived. However, she didn’t seem to like me very much. Sometimes, she’d be laughing and chatting with Gregory one moment, and then her face would drop the second she saw me. Today was Sunday, and after my shower, I went to my bedroom to change. On my way back to the bathroom, I noticed my recently changed underwear was missing. “Mom, did anyone come to the bathroom just now?” I asked my mother-in-law, who was watching TV in the living room. “Oh, Tina went in a bit ago,” she replied. I walked over to Tina’s room and knocked on the door. “Tina, did you see my underwear that I just changed out of?” Tina appeared unhappy and said, “I washed them.” Washed them? In just a few minutes? “Did you hand wash them for me?” I asked, surprised. “Not at all. I just tossed them in the washing machine with the other clothes,” she pouted. “What? You can’t just throw them in the washing machine! That’s so unsanitary!” I exclaimed as I hurried to stop the washing machine. Inside, I found all of our clothes mixed together, including socks, along with my recently changed underwear. That set was from a pricey brand my friend abroad had sent me, and it was barely worn. Now, not only was it dirty, but it was also wrinkled and ruined by the washing machine. Fuming, I confronted her, “I didn’t ask you to wash my underwear! Who washes their underwear with everyone else’s? Don’t you realize how unsanitary that is?” To my surprise, she didn’t back down and shouted back, “It’s just a worn-out underwear set! What’s the big deal? Besides, when Gregory was living at home, didn’t his underwear get washed with mine?” I was so stunned; I didn’t expect Tina to have such a bad attitude, even calling her brother by his name. My mother-in-law rushed in, hearing our argument, and instead of calming things down, she took Tina’s side. “Samantha, don’t be upset. Tina is still young and doesn’t understand. As a sister-in-law, you should be more tolerant,” she pretended to be the good guy while protecting Tina. I was at a loss for words, and feeling like I shouldn’t create family drama, I turned to Tina and said, “Fine, just apologize to me and we can move past this.” Tina remained unfazed, and it took several cues from my mother-in-law before she reluctantly said, “I’m sorry!” Then she turned and slammed the door behind her. I stood there staring at my mother-in-law, who continued to defend Tina. I waved my hand, indicating there was no need for more discussion; it was over.

I thought that what happened today was just a minor incident, but it turned out to be just the beginning. Tina seemed to be intentionally provoking me; each time she did laundry, she would take Gregory’s clothes and wash them separately, deliberately leaving mine behind. I didn’t want to get into it with her; she was just a sheltered girl and didn’t know better. However, my tolerance didn’t dissuade her annoying behavior; in fact, it made her bolder. One day, I noticed some of my cosmetics had gone missing. Given there were only a few of us in the house, it was obvious who took them. While Gregory was in the living room chatting with my mother-in-law, I marched straight into Tina’s room. I heard a loud scream, “What are you doing? Samantha, are you out of your mind?” There she was, wearing a revealing tank dress, barely concealing her modesty. I yanked open the drawer of her desk and found my missing cosmetics lying inside. I held up a bottle of foundation and approached her. “What is this?” She feigned indifference and replied, “It’s foundation. What’s the problem?” I couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. “I know it’s foundation! More importantly, I know it’s my foundation!” “That’s nonsense! This is mine!” she stubbornly defended. I smirked, “Oh really? What brand is it? What shade? Which counter did you buy it from?” She fell silent, glaring at me with daggers. At that moment, Gregory and my mother-in-law heard the commotion and rushed in. Tina, upon seeing Gregory, immediately leaped into his arms, completely disregarding what she was wearing. “Greg, this woman is accusing me of stealing her stuff! You have to stand up for me!” she said, feigning tears. Gregory gently rubbed her back and comforted her softly, “It’s okay, don’t cry. I’ll figure out what’s going on.” Then he turned to me, “Samantha, is there some misunderstanding? Tina isn’t like that.” I let out a scoff. “Misunderstanding?” I held the foundation up for them to see. “I have this little habit where I write the date on the bottom when I open a new cosmetic. You can check for yourselves.” When they looked at the bottom, they saw the small date I had written, and their expressions turned awkward. Gregory spoke first, “Samantha, Tina probably just thought these were new and interesting. After all, she hasn’t seen this kind of stuff in Appalachia. I’ll apologize for her. Please don’t be upset.” My mother-in-law added insincerely, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t raise her properly; you can blame me!” This whole family was acting so put upon that it made me look like the villain. I felt incredibly frustrated and said, “Just have her return all my things, and I won’t argue with you!” Tina reluctantly handed the items back to me. Seeing her sulking, Gregory consoled her, “Don’t be sad. I’ll buy you new stuff tomorrow, the best and most expensive.” Hearing this made me both sad and infuriated. My husband was siding with his sister for her wrongdoings and disrespecting me. I was at my wit’s end and retreated to my room.

Not long after, Gregory came into my room. “Samantha, I know you’re upset, but Tina has lived in a small town her whole life and hasn’t seen much. She’s really quite innocent and pitiable,” he said. I didn’t respond, unwilling to engage in this pointless conversation. Seeing I wasn’t reacting, he continued, “I know we’re from different backgrounds, and you might have some biases. But I hope you can look at our years of feelings and give me some grace. Can we just let this go?” Gregory’s words sounded condescending to me, and I was so annoyed I didn’t want to say anything to him. Noticing my silence, he left the room. The next day, true to form, Gregory bought Tina a bunch of expensive cosmetics, but he also got me something. This time, he didn’t say any passive-aggressive remarks but instead held up a new designer bag, soothingly telling me not to be upset. Seeing his sincere attitude, I decided not to dwell on the issue any further. In the afternoon, Tina saw the bag Gregory had bought for me and grew incredibly jealous, saying, “Ugh, relying on a man isn’t a real accomplishment.” I shot back, “I’m your sister-in-law; please speak respectfully! Instead of being jealous, why don’t you think about how to improve yourself?” After I said that, Tina fell completely silent, though I could see her eyes rolling in disdain. Maybe my words struck a chord; she began to learn how to do makeup and dressed up more, going out every day. One night, seeing her heavy makeup and a dress so short it might as well be nonexistent, I kindly warned her, “It’s late; you shouldn’t be going out alone.” “Why do you care? What gives you the right to tell me what to do?” she replied dismissively. I was irritated and snapped, “Tina, please remember your place. I’m your brother’s wife, your sister-in-law!” She just scoffed, as if I were a joke, and ignored me as she walked out. I felt my temples pounding in anger. My mother-in-law had gone to bed early, and Gregory was out of town for work, so no one was around to keep an eye on her. Forget it; I didn’t need to get worked up over this. The next morning, just as I was heading out to work, I ran into Tina, who had just come home.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294692”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #重生Reborn #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #玄幻Fantsy #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic #校园School #擦边Steamy

The house I bought before marriage was set for redevelopment,so I rushed home to tell my husband the good news. But instead,I found him walking in with his pregnant mistress. I filed for divorce at lightning speed,slamming my infertility report in front of him.“So,you enjoy raising someone else’s kids,huh?” I’m Juliah Johnson. Now,it’s been three years since I got married. My mother-in-law has been nagging me to have a baby,hoping for a big boy to carry on the family name.But three years have passed,and my belly hasn’t stirred at all. At first,I thought I was young and didn’t need to rush into having kids.But when my husband,David Smith,started feeling anxious,I thought maybe I should feel that way too. I tried all the home remedies my mother-in-law suggested and even made a special trip to the local neighborhood to see the most renowned alternative medicine practitioner to help me conceive. But nothing worked;I still hadn’t gotten pregnant. I started wondering if there was something wrong with my body,so I mentioned it to David and went to the hospital for a check-up. When the doctor returned with my results,looking a bit heavy-hearted,I feared there was something seriously wrong. But to my surprise,the doctor told me I was perfectly healthy and had no fertility issues. So why couldn’t I get pregnant? I began to wonder if perhaps there was an issue with David’s health.Maybe he should get checked out too. Just as I was thinking this,I received a phone call. It was the property management of the apartment complex where I bought my house before marriage.The voice on the line was slightly excited.“Juliah,we’re redeveloping the complex!Your house is quite large,and you can expect a payout of several million!” I was momentarily stunned.“Several million?” I had only spent less than two hundred thousand on that house!Now I could be getting so much money! I had never seen that much money in my life. I was so shocked that I forgot all about wanting a child and was filled with thoughts of those millions instead. “We’re redeveloping to build shopping malls and office buildings.It’s going to be prime real estate!Don’t worry;I’ve heard inside info that you’ll get at least two million!” The property manager sounded confident,saying the compensation would be available in a month or two. I was trembling with excitement.“Two million…” Keep in mind,that the one hundred thousand I used to buy the house was from working for seven or eight years,plus some help from my parents.It had been a struggle to afford it. After I renovated the house,I got married and moved into David’s home,never really living in mine. Three years had passed,and I had almost forgotten about that house,but now it brought me such a huge surprise. Suddenly,I wasn’t worried about having kids anymore.Since I had this unexpected windfall,why not take my parents and my mother-in-law on a trip to enjoy life together? Once we returned from the vacation,I could think about kids again. Raising a child costs so much,and with this money,I could give my future child a better life. I practically skipped home,eager to share the good news with David. But before I could tell him,an unexpected guest showed up. “Are you Juliah Johnson?” The woman stood a head taller than me,looking stunning with a confident posture,her eyes glinting with malice.

“And you are?” I was sure I had never met this woman before. “Juliah,right?Honestly,you’re just average-looking and have an ordinary figure.Do you think you deserve David?You should just get a divorce while you can.” Her tone dripped with contempt.“I don’t understand how David even looked at you.” “What do you want from me?” This woman had completely ruined my good mood,so I snapped back. “Who says I’m here for you?I’m here for David.” She walked right into my house as if it were her own,kicked off her high heels,and plopped down on the couch. She eyed me with an amused expression. “Are you dying to know what our relationship is?” There was a clear sense of schadenfreude in her gaze. To be honest,I had already entertained a possibility in my mind,but I didn’t want to believe it— that my husband David had cheated on me with this woman standing in front of me,flaunting her superiority. “Get out.This is my home.” No matter how patient I was,I couldn’t tolerate such provocation. Deep down,I still wanted to trust David. After all,we had built some trust over the years. I thought that kicking her out would make her leave,but instead,she chuckled at my attempt.“Juliah,you think you can kick me out?How amusing.” She casually picked up a cup from the table and took a sip.“And by the way,we don’t even know who the real mistress of this house is.” Her words were absolutely outrageous,and I felt anger rising in me. “By the way,my name is Lisa Brown.You’ll remember it for the rest of your life.” Lisa Brown,huh? I smirked.“Oh,really?” I dialed David’s number immediately.“Hey,there’s a woman named Lisa Brown here looking for you.” As soon as I finished,I could sense a hitch in David’s voice. “W-wife,don’t listen to her!She’s crazy!I’ll be home soon!” His voice was filled with panic. Suddenly,I wasn’t sure if my trust in David was well-placed. If David was truly innocent,why was he so frightened? Could it be that he really had cheated on me? My heart raced with anxiety. Meanwhile,Lisa was smirking at me,looking entirely too pleased with herself. “Juliah,you’ll find out soon enough that life can be a lot harsher than you imagine.” “How do you know your life is as great as you think?” I shot back without thinking. At that moment,the door burst open,and David rushed in.His eyes changed upon seeing Lisa. “What are you doing here?I told you not to disturb my family!” After he scolded her,he hurried over to explain to me that Lisa was a former coworker who had a crush on him,but he had never reciprocated. Seeing David so eager to explain eased my heart a bit. But Lisa’s next words sent my heart plummeting.“David,what does your explanation even matter?I have to tell you—” “I’m pregnant.”

David turned to her,stunned.“What did you just say?You’re pregnant?” “Yeah,”she said,running her fingers through her hair with an air of triumph.“While your wife can’t have kids,I’m carrying one of your family’s children.” “You’re really pregnant?” David’s expression was a whirlwind of emotions—joy,regret,and panic all rolled into one. He glanced between me and Lisa,gritting his teeth.“Is that really my child you’re carrying?” Hearing that made my eyes well up with tears. So it was true;Lisa wasn’t lying.David had been cheating on me all along! “David!You’re such a jerk!” I lunged at him,slapping him hard. David’s face turned from shock to anger as he held his cheek,turning his gaze to Lisa. Lisa,seeing my humiliation,laughed mockingly.“Of course,it’s not your child;who else could it be?I only have one man.” “Juliah,Juliah,I told you,we’re not sure whose house this will be in the future.” Lisa’s words ignited my fury.Knowing David had cheated and that there was now a child involved made me scream,“David!I want a divorce!” David seemed enraged at my outburst and struck me back. A man’s strength is different from a woman’s;he hit me hard enough to send me crashing to the floor. I slammed against the ground painfully. “Juliah,don’t you dare lose your mind!” He pointed at me,unleashing a torrent of insults before turning back to Lisa with eyes filled with tenderness.“Lisa,you’re really pregnant?Did you find out if it’s a boy or a girl?” “It’s a boy.The doctor said I’m having a boy.” When he heard it was a boy,David’s eyes lit up with excitement. “A boy!You’re having a boy!Our family will finally have a future!” His gaze toward Lisa softened in an instant. Then Lisa added another delightful piece of news,“I invested in a beauty salon and get a yearly payout of fifty thousand.David,you’ve always wanted to quit and start your own business,right?I can give you a hundred thousand to start.” After saying that,she kept glancing at me as if she were the victor and I was merely a loser. David had been thrilled about having a son. Now,learning that Lisa was willing to fund his business venture made him ecstatic. He joyfully hugged Lisa and kissed her.“Lisa!I love you.I’m going to divorce Juliah right away and marry you,giving you and the baby a proper name.” I stared at David in disbelief.Was the man I had been with all these years such a despicable person?Not only was he a cheater,but he was also disgusting. Thankfully,I hadn’t told David about the redevelopment yet. But I was shocked when Lisa said,“You two will definitely get divorced,but before that,I want Juliah to serve me like a maid!”

How could there be such shameless people in the world? Not only had she destroyed my family and become a mistress with a love child,but now she wanted me to serve her. “Dream on!” I shouted,“You lowly mistress!” David was completely blinded by thoughts of money and the child,and hearing me say that,he feared Lisa would be unhappy. He stormed over and kicked me.“Juliah,right now,Lisa is the most important person in our home.Whatever she says goes.If she tells you to serve her,you have to do it.” I glared at David.“Why should I listen to you?I want a divorce!” “You absolutely have to listen to me.If you don’t,think about your mother!” David’s tone was laced with a threat. I immediately understood what he meant. My mother had surgery last year,and the doctor was a friend of David’s.She had a recurrence and needed a second operation.If David instructed his doctor friend to do something— What would happen to my mom? No,the person I loved most in this world is my mom,and I can’t let anything happen to her! The only way out was to agree to him for now. “David,you’re truly a beast.You’re ruthless!” I looked at him with pure hatred. I realized I had been blind,placing my trust in the wrong person,which led to this miserable outcome. If I had seen through him earlier,perhaps none of this would have happened. When I learned about the redevelopment payout,I even thought of sharing that good news with him and helping him start a business. Now,I was incredibly thankful. So thankful I hadn’t called David to tell him about it. No matter how unwilling I was,I would have to serve Lisa in the coming days. But I secretly gathered plenty of evidence of David’s infidelity during our marriage,convinced it would come in handy. Meanwhile,I reached out to friends to find the most reputable doctors to expedite my mother’s transfer process. Soon,I would have money,and she could receive the best medical care. Lisa had been feeling quite triumphant lately;she moved into the master bedroom that David and I had shared,shoving me into the living room. The second bedroom was occupied by my mother-in-law. Yes,my mother-in-law knew everything—her son had cheated and had a mistress and a love child.But instead of feeling any guilt,she was excited to have a grandson,looking at Lisa with admiration every day. At that moment,I was helping Lisa wash her dirty underwear while she made snide remarks.“Oh,Juliah,your underwear isn’t clean enough.You should wash it a few more times.” As she spoke,she tossed her soiled underwear toward me. She closed the living room door behind her.It was freezing outside,and with the door shut,all the warmth vanished.I immediately felt a chill run through me. To top it off,I noticed the hot water was gone.I could guess who was behind it—Lisa,without a doubt. I held back my anger. I would hold on until my mother found a suitable doctor.Then I would make sure to slap both of them. But at that moment,I received a call from the hospital—not the one where my mother was undergoing surgery but from the place David and I had gone for our check-ups. They had my phone number on file. “Ms.Johnson,we couldn’t reach your husband,so we’re calling you.Your husband has been diagnosed with oligospermia and is infertile.Please come to the hospital to pick up the report when you have time.” When I heard that,I was completely stunned. So,the reason I couldn’t get pregnant for three years was that David had fertility issues. Wait a second—if David was infertile,then whose child was Lisa carrying?

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294691”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #重生Reborn #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #玄幻Fantsy #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic #校园School #擦边Steamy

I had just given birth to my second child when my husband, Ryan Carter, hired a 24-year-old nanny named Lena to help me out. Lena was young, beautiful, and efficient. But I never expected my older daughter Stella to say, “I like Aunt Lena. She smells like mommy. Her waist is slimmer than yours, and she’s prettier…” I had just given birth to my second child. My husband, Ryan, was worried about me taking care of two kids alone, so he hired a nanny from an agency. The nanny’s name was Lena, born in 1999. She was young and pretty, and very efficient at her job. She would always call me “sister” in a very friendly manner. Although I was a bit concerned about having such a young and beautiful girl in our house, after interacting with her, I found Lena to be quite nice, so I let her stay. Ryan said he chose Lena mainly because she looked young and sensible. He told me that older nannies often became set in their ways, slacking off at work and pocketing money from grocery shopping. So he thought it was better to hire someone inexperienced like Lena. Firstly, it would save money, and secondly, she would be more agile and efficient. After Lena had been working for a few days, it was indeed as Ryan said. She didn’t try to pocket any money and was quick with her work. “Here are the receipts for this month’s groceries. Please take a look,” Lena said, handing me neatly organized receipts. I could clearly see what she bought each day at a glance. We had hired nannies before, and the previous one would always slack off and inflate the prices of vegetables and fish, but the food she cooked was terrible. Compared to them, Lena was truly an excellent household staff. “Lena, I’ve transferred the money to you. I trust your work,” I said without hesitation as I sent her the money. Two months passed, and I became increasingly satisfied with Lena. One night when Ryan came home, I discussed with him, “Honey, Lena is very diligent and honest. Why don’t we give her a raise?” Ryan hugged me. He had been working very hard lately and was now too tired to keep his eyes open. “Okay, whatever you say, darling.” Ryan didn’t seem interested in the matter of Lena, which actually made me feel quite comfortable. After all, Lena was a young and beautiful nanny, and I hadn’t fully regained my figure after giving birth. I was actually a bit worried that the contrast between Lena and me was too stark, to the point where my husband might take a liking to Lena. But now, Ryan’s reaction put my mind at ease. I became even more satisfied with Lena and gave her a $200 raise the next day. Lena was extremely grateful and even bought me a lipstick to thank me. Although the lipstick wasn’t expensive, it was still a gesture of goodwill from the young girl. I appreciated her thoughtfulness and liked Lena even more. That day, my older daughter Stella came running to me, saying she wanted to sleep with Aunt Lena that night. I pinched Stella’s cheek and asked, “Sweet Stella, why do you want to sleep with Aunt Lena?” Stella raised her chubby little face and said, “Because Aunt Lena tells Stella stories, and Aunt Lena smells like mommy.” I was amused by Stella’s innocent words. I rubbed her head and agreed to her request. “Lena, you can go to her room and sleep with her tonight,” I said with a smile to Lena, who nodded and took Stella’s hand to her room. As Lena passed by me, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. But having just given birth, my sense of smell wasn’t very sensitive, and I couldn’t quite place what the scent was.

Stella had been getting more and more attached to Lena lately. I was happy about this, as it would be too tiring if both children were always clinging to me. My younger son, Sunny, wasn’t even six months old yet and still needed his mother. With Lena taking care of Stella, I felt much more relaxed. One day when Ryan came home from work, Stella dragged him to play Monopoly. Stella, Lena, and Ryan were all having a great time. “Daddy, Stella is going to win!” Stella said proudly to Ryan, holding her cards. Ryan affectionately patted Stella’s head and said, “Stella, you’re amazing!” Lena was smiling beside them, her eyes curved into crescents. “Yes, our Stella is the best!” Seeing Stella so happy, I went over to join them. “Stella, mommy’s coming to play with you too.” But I wasn’t very good at the game and was soon dismissed by Stella. “Mommy, you don’t know how to play. Stella will just play with daddy and Aunt Lena.” Being rejected by my daughter made me feel a bit hurt, but I didn’t stay to play with them. “Aunt Lena, this time Stella wants to team up with you! Because you’re better than daddy,” Stella said. Stella loved playing games with Lena because Lena was good at these little games and had the patience to play with her. Hearing Stella’s innocent words, Ryan teased, “I see, now Aunt Lena is more important to Stella than daddy. You can just play with Aunt Lena from now on.” Stella let out a soft “hmph” and went to hold Lena’s arm. “I like Aunt Lena the most.” Seeing Stella and Lena’s close relationship made me feel a bit sour. Moreover, the three of them sitting together looked like a family, and I felt like I was being excluded. But then I thought it was funny. Stella was just a child, she liked whoever played with her. Why should I be jealous of Lena, a nanny? I must be overthinking things after just giving birth. That night, Stella once again clung to Lena, wanting Lena to sleep with her. I readily agreed. After all, it would be too tiring to accompany Stella to sleep and also take care of Sunny. I felt at ease with Lena sleeping with Stella. Besides, Ryan and I hadn’t had time alone for a long time. I wanted to spend some quality time with Ryan tonight. “Honey, we haven’t had a chance to talk, just the two of us, for a long time,” I said, hugging Ryan and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Darling, you’ve been working so hard taking care of two children by yourself. It’s good that Lena is helping us with Stella now, so we can have some time together,” Ryan said, kissing me on the lips. His hands started wandering over my body. “Honey, it’s been a long time since we’ve been intimate.” I eagerly cooperated with Ryan, reaching out to unbutton his collar. Ryan lifted my skirt, but his wandering hands suddenly froze. “Honey, your stomach hasn’t recovered yet?” Ryan said calmly, but I could see a hint of disgust in his eyes. I looked down at my stomach, which was full of stretch marks and scars from the C-section and weight gain. It could be described as a mess of valleys and ridges. No wonder Ryan was disgusted. Even I found this stomach repulsive.

“Should we continue?” I asked, looking at Ryan a bit nervously. I had thought about going to the hospital for laser treatment and scar removal, but I simply didn’t have the time for that now. Taking care of two children had already left me exhausted, let alone with Sunny being so young and still needing to be breastfed. I couldn’t leave him for a moment. I knew that the longer I waited to treat the scars, the harder they would be to remove. I had tried scar removal creams, but they didn’t have much effect. Ryan looked at my stomach and let out a deep sigh. He turned over and lay down on the bed. “Honey, I’m suddenly feeling tired. Maybe next time.” Ryan turned off the bedside lamp and put his arm around me as he fell into a deep sleep. Even though his embrace was so warm, why did I feel cold all over? I couldn’t help but let a tear roll down my cheek. Ryan had finally become disgusted with me, disgusted with my body full of valleys and ridges after giving birth to two children. As I cried, I fell asleep. I dreamed of when Ryan and I first met. I was a dance teacher. He said he passed by my dance studio and saw me dancing gracefully like an angel. He fell in love with me at first sight. He said he loved my beautiful face, my soft waist, and even more, he loved how I silently sacrificed for him by staying at home to take care of our two children. Every time I heard him say these things, I would be deeply moved, feeling that I had truly married the right person. But after I gave birth to two children, when my appearance and figure were no longer as beautiful and delicate as before, Ryan turned out to be just like ordinary men, starting to find me repulsive. I don’t doubt that he loves me, just not as much as before. When I woke up early the next morning, my eyes were swollen. I hadn’t slept well and had been crying, making me look even more haggard. “Honey, I’ll bring you some supplements when I come home tonight. Look how haggard you’ve become,” Ryan said, though he was being thoughtful, I still felt a bit upset. Lena had made us breakfast early in the morning. Ryan took a bite and praised her, “Lena, your cooking has been getting better and better lately.” Stella chimed in from the side, “Aunt Lena’s cooking is really good, even better than mommy’s!” Lena seemed a bit embarrassed and smiled, “It can’t be better than your mom’s cooking, Stella. Don’t say that.” As Lena said this, she bent over to place a plate of fruit on the dining table, revealing a section of her slender waist. When Stella saw this, she laughed and said, “Aunt Lena, your waist is so slim, not at all like my mom’s thick one.” Stella’s words instantly made me sad. Although Stella was telling the truth, seeing Lena’s slender waist still made me feel a surge of inferiority. Ryan also heard Stella’s words. Although Ryan didn’t say anything, the gaze he cast on Lena’s waist made me very uncomfortable. There was admiration for a beautiful body in his eyes, while when he saw my ugly scars, Ryan’s eyes only held disgust. Probably noticing my dejected expression, Ryan comforted me, “Megan, you’re the most beautiful in my heart.” Ryan called my name and complimented me, but I didn’t feel happy because his gaze still couldn’t help but glance at Lena as he said this.

After the incident at the breakfast table, I inexplicably developed some opinions about Lena. I told myself in my heart not to be so petty. Lena was efficient in her work and had never done anything to wrong me. How could I have opinions about her just because she was younger and prettier than me? Megan Young, oh Megan Young, are you being too sensitive because of your pregnancy? I despised myself for this kind of small-mindedness. When I saw Lena’s sincere eyes looking at me, I even felt disgusted with myself. How could I treat the young girl like this just because I wasn’t pretty enough and didn’t have a good figure? Due to my guilty conscience, that day when I went out to buy things, I also brought back a new dress for Lena. Lena was so happy when she received the new dress that she tried it on in her room. “Thank you, sis! Why are you so good to me?” Seeing Lena so happy, the guilt in my heart also dissipated a bit. Lena was so happy that she even rushed over to hug me. But with this hug, I once again smelled the fragrance on Lena’s body. It was very familiar— Because I also had this perfume. The last time I didn’t think much about it, so I didn’t recognize it, but this time I smelled it carefully. This was clearly my perfume! I didn’t think Lena and I were using the same product because this perfume was custom-made by a friend of mine who works as a perfumer in France. There was no possibility of having the same scent. Moreover, Lena was just a little nanny. How could she afford a perfume that could be custom-made by a perfumer? There was only one possibility: Lena had secretly used my perfume. My eyes narrowed, but I didn’t say anything. After all, Lena was still young, and secretly using a bit of perfume wasn’t a big mistake. I gave Lena a meaningful look but said nothing as I left her room. Before I left, Lena was still happily trying on clothes, not noticing anything unusual about me. Maybe it was unintentional, I comforted myself. But after this incident, I couldn’t help but observe Lena, and I found some coincidences that were hard to explain. For example, the lipstick colors Lena usually wore were brick red and mauve, coincidentally the only two colors I kept after getting pregnant and throwing away my previous makeup. Also, Lena’s dressing style was almost identical to mine before I got pregnant. Almost all the styles of old clothes I had in my closet could be found on Lena. What made me even more suspicious was that Lena only had two days off a month, yet she, who had never learned dance before, went to learn ballet— And I was a ballet teacher before I got married. Everything Lena did seemed like she was imitating me, or rather, becoming me. This feeling made me very uncomfortable. I decided to talk to Lena openly and ask her if she was indeed imitating me. I walked to Lena’s room but found her wearing an extremely revealing ballet costume, admiring her impressive figure in the mirror. I was very confused. Just as I was about to walk in, she reached out and tore the clothes, leaving her almost naked. But there was a special kind of seduction about it. She made a phone call, “Have you made up your mind? If you have, come back.” Who was she calling? What had they made up their mind about, and where were they coming back to? Just as I was trying to understand, I heard the sound of our front door being opened. It was my husband coming back! Why would Ryan be back at this time? It was only three in the afternoon. Ryan should be at work in the office right now. I thought about the phone call Lena had just made, and suddenly had a premonition. Could it be that the person Lena called to come home— Was Ryan?

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294690”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #重生Reborn #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #玄幻Fantsy #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic #校园School #擦边Steamy

I’ve become the antagonist in this story, but I’ve stopped trying. The reason? The novels in this world are just too good. After being transported into this classic CEO romance novel, I became addicted to reading and couldn’t stop. I never bothered the main couple again. But after I gave up, everyone else seemed to follow suit. The passionate CEO and the innocent girl only talked about sex, not love. The evil mother-in-law decided to mind her own business and went on a shopping spree around the world… Even the devoted second male lead became a big shot and got married young. And guess what? I’m his wife. Oh boy, the plot has completely fallen apart. When I arrived in this world, the future CEO Jasper Sinclair, in his early twenties, had just started to fall for the stubborn and pure-hearted Dahlia Frost. He was constantly trying to impress her. My first scene as the antagonist, Seren Thorne, was supposed to be confronting Dahlia, looking down on her and taunting, “You have nothing to offer. You’re not good enough for Jasper. Stay away from him in the future…” This was meant to trigger Dahlia’s rebellious nature, pushing her and Jasper together. But now that I, Seren Thorne from the real world, was in this body, I couldn’t bring myself to taunt anyone! To hell with the original plot! “Seren, when are we going to confront Dahlia and warn her to stay away from Jasper?” one of my sidekicks asked. Ah, the classic brainless followers of the antagonist had appeared. “Confront her for what? If Jasper likes her, how is that her fault?” I rolled my eyes and retorted. My two sidekicks were stunned. One of them asked, “Seren, don’t you like Jasper? How can you stand this?” “Who said I liked him?” Hearing my question, they looked even more confused. After all, I had been revolving around Jasper my entire life. “My parents are always traveling, and my sister is so domineering. I just wanted to find a brother figure who could spoil me. How does that count as liking him?” That’s right, Seren Thorne was just a self-centered young lady. I wasn’t going to break character. “But… aren’t we going to do anything about Jasper pursuing Dahlia?” the other sidekick hesitated before asking. “Do what? Should I write him a love letter and buy roses to help him chase her?” I said sarcastically. “Pfft.” A stifled laugh came from behind us. “Who’s eavesdropping? Come out!” I was startled. A tall, handsome young man stepped out from behind a large willow tree. His skin was fair, with defined brows and bright eyes. Despite his striking features, his demeanor was gentle and non-threatening, creating an intriguing contrast. Callum Reeves? The legendary second male lead who was supposed to be constantly at odds with me and in love with Dahlia? I had always preferred the gentle, refined type of male characters, whether before or after being transported into this novel. Callum was the epitome of this type. Now that he was standing under the tree, he looked like a perfect 2D character come to life. The sunlight filtering through the branches cast a dappled pattern on him. He only needed to stand there silently to outshine everything around him. My heart involuntarily began to beat faster. “Miss Thorne, I wasn’t eavesdropping,” he said with a slight smile. “I’ve been here since early morning. You’re the ones who came later.” “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb you,” I apologized reflexively. As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt the atmosphere freeze. Looking around, I saw their surprised expressions and felt dumbfounded. Oh, my misplaced politeness. It seemed that I hadn’t fully adjusted to this arrogant young lady’s identity yet, causing my character to crumble so unexpectedly. Feeling my face heat up, I quickly excused myself and dragged my two sidekicks away from this awkward situation. In my haste to leave, I completely missed the intrigued look in Callum’s eyes as his smile faded.

The entertainment industry in this world was highly developed, with web novels flourishing in particular. There were all kinds of genres, including mature content. Many well-written stories had excellent character development and plot twists that kept me hooked. As an avid reader arriving in this world, I felt like a mouse that had fallen into a rice bin. I had money, free time, and even a housekeeper to take care of me. My parents were always traveling, and my sister lived near her company. As for me, I was unsupervised. Whenever I didn’t have classes, I would rush home, sprawl on my bed, and stay up all night following various authors’ works. Especially “Thousand Mountains” on the Storylove platform. In an era dominated by exaggerated styles, she upheld the banner of traditional romance novels. Her character development, plot progression, sweet moments, and heart-wrenching scenes had me constantly oscillating between feeling giddy with happiness and crying my eyes out. I became her die-hard fan, not only showering her with all the virtual gifts I could afford, quickly becoming her top supporter, but also breaking my usual habit of only focusing on the text itself—I joined her fan group and chatted enthusiastically there. After staying up late for a long period, immersing myself in the online world, I looked quite haggard when I finally returned to reality. It was Jasper who dragged me out to drink with him. “You refuse to see me and end up looking like this. She’s been avoiding me more and more these days,” he said, downing glass after glass of alcohol in confusion. “What are you girls thinking? I really can’t understand either of you.” It seemed that without me, the villainess, stirring up trouble, Jasper and Dahlia’s relationship had become quite rocky. It had been two months, hadn’t it? They still hadn’t officially become a couple. Thinking back to the original story, they were supposed to be madly in love after about a month, envied by everyone around them. “Stop, stop, stop, Jasper. I really only see you as a brother. I didn’t end up looking like this because you’re having relationship troubles,” I said. I didn’t want to drink, so I poured myself a soft drink instead. “I just found your dating situation interesting, and after hearing some classmates discuss the plot, I went to read some web novels. Who knew I’d get so hooked that I couldn’t climb out of that hole?” “I stayed up late for a long time reading, so I look a bit haggard. It really has nothing to do with you two.” “As for what Dahlia is thinking, I really don’t know, but I wholeheartedly support you two dating.” My stance on not interfering with the main couple’s love story had to remain firm. As the official couple, they would surely end up together, so there was no need for me to be the villain. “What dating? It’s been so long, and no matter what I do, she still won’t accept me,” he said, becoming more dejected as he spoke, continuing to drink glass after glass. His words became fragmented, with only Dahlia’s name occasionally being clear. I wasn’t sure what their current issue was, and I didn’t dare to speak carelessly. I just sat quietly beside him, keeping him company. He was the only son of the Sinclair family, and he had genuinely treated my original self like a sister for so many years. I couldn’t just abandon him at a time like this. His phone rang, flashing Dahlia’s name. “What? Dahlia has a high fever and is in the hospital? I’ll be right there.” Seeing that he wasn’t very sober, I took his phone, asked for the location, and then drove him there. The call hadn’t been hung up, and I could faintly hear Dahlia repeatedly calling Jasper’s name. The comforting voice coming from the phone was clear and low—it must have been Callum. Jasper, sitting in the passenger seat, was quite drunk and kept calling Dahlia’s name. It was ridiculous. They were just one with a fever and one drunk, yet they were acting like star-crossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet torn apart. They truly lived up to their roles as the protagonists of a passionate CEO romance novel. After sending him into the hospital room, watching them calm down as soon as they embraced each other, Callum and I looked at each other awkwardly, the uncomfortable atmosphere continuing to build. We barely knew each other, yet neither of us could leave at a time like this. We were literally two third wheels, helping to build up someone else’s love story. He poured a glass of water and handed it to me, nodding slightly as he introduced himself in a low voice, “Callum Reeves.” I took the water, smiled at him, and replied, “Seren Thorne.” This could be considered our formal introduction. He returned my smile before walking to the hospital bed, wringing out a towel to wipe Dahlia’s face. His expression was very calm, and he didn’t seem to mind Jasper’s status as a love rival, taking care of him just as attentively. The bedside lamp cast a soft halo of light around him. That calm and serious expression kept drawing my gaze to him. I said I would stay to help take care of them, but in the end, I just assisted him a bit. Later on, I couldn’t stay awake and fell asleep on the hospital table. When I woke up, I found a thin blanket draped over me. I have to say, Callum really knows how to take care of people. Whether it’s his words or actions, he’s always gentle and appropriate, truly deserving of the title “gentleman.” I couldn’t help but wonder, with such a childhood friend by her side, how could Dahlia fall for the domineering and moody Jasper?

After that night, Jasper and Dahlia officially got together. Their relationship caused quite a stir in our elite university. After all, it was like a Cinderella story come to life, naturally attracting attention. However, I, who originally had quite a significant role in their love story, completely gave up. I never actively approached them anymore. Because those two were synonymous with trouble. Unexpectedly though, Callum and I became closer. Because there were many conflicts between Jasper and Dahlia, but they always reconciled in a strange way, I found it quite astonishing. Sharing my thoughts with Callum, who had a similar position in this relationship, became a rare pleasure. Moreover, Callum was about to graduate, had extensive knowledge of various web novels, had contact with many authors, and was even starting his own web novel publishing company. This gave us even more topics to discuss. I had subtly asked him about “Thousand Mountains” several times, but each time he just smiled without saying anything and changed the subject. I had no choice but to give up. From any perspective, getting along with Callum was an extremely relaxing thing. He had high emotional intelligence and was always gentle and polite, almost never letting my words fall flat. How could there be such a gentle person in this world! My days passed leisurely between attending classes, reading novels, and chatting with Callum. But these beautiful days didn’t last long. Suddenly one day, my parents who had been traveling around the world and my sister who had been so busy at work that she was barely visible, all appeared at home, giving me a big shock when I entered the door. “Dad, Mom, Sis,” I complained, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” “You little brat, do we need to report to you when we come home?” My mom, who was still charming despite being in her fifties, rolled her eyes at me. I went over and hugged her arm, swaying it gently as I called her “Mom” in a sweet voice, but she immediately pushed me away. “Don’t try that with me.” “Seren,” my always serious father spoke up, and I immediately became serious too. “It’s been a few months now, have you figured out your true feelings for Jasper?” When Jasper was pursuing Dahlia, I had shut myself away for two months reading novels, and my haggard appearance had scared them terribly. Fortunately, I later adjusted my schedule and returned to a normal appearance, which finally convinced them that I had just found a new hobby, rather than being lovesick over a boy. “I’ve figured it out, Dad,” I replied seriously. “I’m very sure that I only see him as a brother, with no romantic feelings. We should cancel that engagement.” That’s right, Jasper and I had a childhood engagement. Although we had only exchanged tokens, we had both acknowledged it. Now that we felt it wasn’t suitable, we needed to meet with both families face-to-face to dissolve it. Jasper was never a detail-oriented person. Even though he was already in a relationship, this hidden danger still needed me to take the initiative to eliminate. My sister, Celeste, came to my side and stroked my head, “No matter what choice you make, we will always be your strongest support.” The tip of my nose tingled a bit. Before my transmigration, my parents had died early, and for so many years, I had been drifting alone, even unfortunately dying suddenly at my advertising copywriting workstation. I had never had this feeling of having someone to back me up. Now that I had suddenly transmigrated and gained it from them, I naturally couldn’t be as reckless as the original owner. The original Seren had constantly brushed against the law for the sake of so-called love, eventually dying in a foreign land, causing a good family to fall apart. The two families set the time for this Saturday evening. After saying goodnight to my family, I returned to my room. I opened my phone and saw that Thousand Mountains had updated. In addition to the consistently updated angst novel “Eastern Mountains and Rivers,” her recently started randomly updated “Falling into the Trap” was surprisingly sweet. The fan group was all guessing that the author had started dating in real life. Because she had never written two books at the same time before, and they were all set to update at fixed times. This time there was such a big exception, it must be because she had met someone she really liked. Ah! After reading her update and sending some virtual gifts, I hugged my pillow and rolled around on the bed a couple of times. I also want to have a sweet love like Thousand Mountains. After silently indulging in my fantasy, I lay on the bed ready to sleep. Somehow, Callum’s face, always wearing that gentle smile, appeared before my eyes. I suddenly woke up, sitting bolt upright, and started to question my life. Oh no, could it be that I’ve talked to him so much that I’ve actually fallen for him?

Time flew by, and soon it was Saturday evening. My family and Jasper’s had always been close friends. Although they were a bit regretful about not becoming in-laws, they still politely annulled the engagement. After all, you can’t force these things. However, after everything was settled, Jasper’s mother’s face visibly darkened. But this anger was clearly directed at Jasper, not really related to me. Alright, no matter what, from now on I was completely out of their tumultuous love story. The anxiety that had been buried in my heart since I arrived in this world finally dissipated. I was no longer the villainess in someone else’s love story, but myself—Seren Thorne. They were still inside exchanging pleasantries, so I excused myself to use the bathroom and went out for some air. I hadn’t been standing by the window for long when Jasper also came out, standing beside me and lighting a cigarette. The smoke swirled, blurring his expression. “I should thank you this time,” he spoke first. “If I had brought it up, and my family found out about Dahlia, it probably would have turned into a huge mess.” “No need to thank me,” I replied, “I’m doing this for myself too.” Seeing the questioning look on his face, I added, “I think I like someone too.” He raised an eyebrow and smiled, “The little girl has grown up. Do I know this person?” I felt a bit embarrassed by his question, “Oh come on, I don’t even know if he likes me yet!” “When I actually catch him, you’ll know.” “If you like someone, you should chase them quickly. Otherwise, you might miss your chance forever,” he said, ruffling my hair and smiling, “I’ll be waiting for your good news.” I nodded. After all, Jasper was a childhood friend who had grown up with me like a brother. Without the major conflict of drugging and kidnapping Dahlia from the original plot, he still retained that affection for me as a sister. “Let’s go back, or they’ll start to worry,” he said. Feeling that enough time had passed, I followed him back to the private room. Just before I entered, I thought I caught a glimpse of Callum’s profile. Was he here today too? I was puzzled for a moment before pushing the thought to the back of my mind. His publishing company had just started, so he probably had a lot of social engagements. It wasn’t strange for him to be here. The dinner finally ended, and having accomplished something big, I didn’t want to do anything when I got home. After washing up, I just sprawled on the bed reading novels. “Eastern Mountains and Rivers” updated punctually at 7 PM. I hadn’t had a chance to read today’s new content yet, but it seemed like it was approaching the end. In just 3000 words, it made my heart ache. After sending the usual virtual gifts, I quickly went to read “Falling into the Trap” to soothe my emotions. Who knew that after I reread the previous chapters, a random update suddenly dropped. I excitedly continued reading, but ended up feeling sour to my teeth. What’s going on? Although it wasn’t abrupt, the style had changed drastically. I quickly ran to the fan group to check, and found everyone “hahahahaha”-ing. I couldn’t help but laugh too. They were all as sour as I was. “Wah, who exactly is this person?” “So sour, so sour. I can smell the vinegar from the author all the way from overseas!” “I’m envious. The author is really putting her heart into it.” “What should we do? The author has finally tasted the bitterness of love, but I just want to laugh hahaha…” “I advise that person to be sensible and come out to explain clearly. Don’t let the author keep feeding us vinegar!” “Give us back our sweet author!” I also followed the trend and posted. Just then, Callum sent me a message.

“Are you asleep?” he asked. “Not yet,” I replied. “I saw someone who looked a lot like you at Ming Fu Restaurant tonight.” “That was probably me. I was there tonight too.” “I see.” I stared at that “I see,” not knowing how to respond for a moment. Did he want to chat with me or not? He must want to, right? But I couldn’t guess what he wanted to say to me. So I sent a cute emoji and didn’t say anything more. After switching back to the fan group chat, I continued to chat with them, joining in their dramatic pleas for the author to update more, although it usually never worked. I had just typed a few messages when an account named “Thousand Mountains” popped up. The group instantly exploded, and I quickly took a screenshot for posterity. After the group calmed down a bit, Thousand Mountains posted a question: What should I do if the person I like seems to still have feelings for their childhood friend who’s now in a relationship? “Ah! Is this why your update today was so sour?” “Although it’s not very nice, I really can’t help laughing.” “Now it’s your turn!” In other types of novels, being extremely objective and calm in narration might be a good thing, but in traditional romance novels, it inevitably made the author seem a bit cold and detached. Thousand Mountains had always positioned herself as an outsider, analyzing this world in her writing. Since her debut a few years ago, she had always maintained that composed demeanor. But recently, she suddenly seemed to have become a bit love-struck, with a drastic change in style. The fan group had been speculating that she had tasted the bitterness of love, suddenly being pulled into the mortal world. Today’s question seemed to confirm these rumors. “Have you confessed?” someone asked. “No,” Thousand Mountains replied quickly. “Why don’t you confess first?” I chimed in.

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My two-faced sister-in-law manipulated my brother to steal my property. She even used her unborn child as a threat, saying if she didn’t get the house, she’d have an abortion. My brother kept telling me to give in for the sake of the child. Why should I? You’re just an adopted son! My brother got a girl pregnant out of wedlock. She’s already three months along, and the girl is crying and making a fuss, so they have no choice but to prepare for the wedding. My brother, Jasper Blackwood, is a not-so-bright playboy, at least that’s what I’ve always thought. To maintain good relations, I brought some local specialties and fruits for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Jade, when I returned from a business trip. I had originally planned to buy her a handbag, but my mom said she would take us both to get custom-made bags when she returned. If I really wanted to give a gift, I could just order one from the store later. I thought about it and agreed, so I just brought some simple welcome gifts. As soon as I walked in the door, I saw Jade sitting on the couch watching TV shows, wearing my pajamas. I really don’t like other people touching my clothes, but I thought maybe my brother had given them to her to wear, so I couldn’t say anything. I smiled and put the things in my hand in front of her, “Sister-in-law, just a small token. I hope you like it.” Jade glanced at the gift boxes on the table and enthusiastically held my hand, saying there was no need to spend money. “It’s okay, as long as you like it,” I said. After I finished speaking, Jade started rummaging through the gift boxes on the table. In the end, it seemed she didn’t find anything she liked, but she still managed to keep a smile on her face. “Thank you, Aria. I really like them.” Then Jade pulled me close and asked where I worked, how much my monthly salary was, how much I gave to the family, and if I had a boyfriend. A bunch of questions that made me feel awkward and gave me a headache. If it were my old self, I would have slapped her for being so shameless. Out of politeness, I only answered the last question, “I don’t have a boyfriend.” A moment later, my brother came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of fruit. He told me to take the fruit to Jade. Jade started picking through the fruit again, and after reluctantly eating a couple of pieces, she told my brother she didn’t like fruit. Suddenly, I remembered I had two boxes of cherries in my car. When Jade saw the cherries, her eyes lit up, and she immediately devoured a whole box. Seeing them chatting happily in the living room, I didn’t want to be a third wheel, so I took my luggage back to my room. As soon as I entered my room, I was stunned.

The closet door was wide open, and everything inside was a mess. Clothes were strewn all over the bed and floor. Even the things on my dressing table were in disarray. If I didn’t know better, I’d think my room had been robbed. “Jasper!” I called out. It must have been Jade who did this! Jasper quickly ran upstairs. I pointed at the clothes scattered on the bed and floor, demanding to know what was going on. Jasper was holding his phone, playing a game. He glanced around and casually said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you. You’re living downstairs now. This room gets good sunlight, which is suitable for pregnancy. Jade and I are living here now.” I frowned at Jasper. “Why didn’t you tell me before you moved in? And who told her she could mess with my things?” “Don’t make such a fuss,” Jasper said dismissively, sitting on the edge of the bed and continuing his game. “It’s just a room. If your sister-in-law wants to live here, just let her. Besides, you have plenty of these things, and you’re not using them anyway. What’s wrong with letting your sister-in-law use them?” I was speechless. Sure, I didn’t use them often, but they could have at least told me. I might have been willing to let them use my things if they had asked. I angrily shooed Jasper out of the room, feeling a bit hurt. I called my mom to complain. My brother was still standing at the door, saying, “Remember to pack up and move downstairs. This room belongs to Jade now.” I laughed bitterly. She hasn’t even married into the family yet, and she’s already using her name to arrange things in our house?

Recently, my parents have been busy preparing for their engagement, often not coming home. To give their future daughter-in-law a satisfactory wedding, my parents flew directly to Paris to choose a wedding dress for her. However, from the time they started preparing for the engagement until now, Jade’s parents haven’t shown up. Every time we ask Jade about it, she just says her parents are doing business abroad for a long time, and that it’s fine for our family to make decisions about the engagement. My parents didn’t say much about it. Instead, they felt sorry for Jade, thinking her family didn’t care about such an important event as her wedding. So they paid even more attention to the preparations. When my mom heard my complaint on the phone, she was clearly taken aback. It seemed she didn’t know about this either, but she didn’t want to say much. After all, Jade hadn’t married into the family yet, and as parents, they naturally wanted to consider their future daughter-in-law’s feelings more. So my mom just comforted me: “Aria, don’t be upset. When I get back, I’ll buy you more pretty dresses. Just put up with living in the downstairs room for now, okay?” “But…” I hadn’t finished speaking when my dad transferred $5,000 to my account. My mom said I must be exhausted from my business trip and told me to go out to eat and relax for a while. Since they had gone to such lengths, I didn’t want to trouble them anymore. A moment later, there was a knock at the door. I thought it was my brother, so I grumbled as I went to open it, “What now? I’m packing up to make room for you two!” But when I opened the door, it was Jade. I could see she deliberately touched her belly, as if to remind me she was pregnant. Jade spoke in a gentle tone, or more accurately, in a sickeningly sweet voice: “Aria, I’m sorry for taking your room. Jasper said this room faces the sun and is good for the baby’s growth, so we…” At that moment, I understood. She was clearly just a green tea bitch, wasn’t she? Jasper had always been careless and simple-minded. How could he have considered so much? It was obviously her who wanted to occupy my room. When my parents bought this house, they specifically gave me this room because I studied painting and the lighting was good. Jasper didn’t have any objections. To make it up to Jasper, my parents prepared a gaming room for him. Since she was playing the green tea bitch, it would be easier to deal with her. No need to be polite anymore. I picked up the clothes from the floor and smiled politely at Jade, “If you feel so bad about it, why are you still occupying it?” I deliberately emphasized the word “occupying.” “I didn’t mean it like that…” Jade’s voice was sickly sweet. Men might fall for this act, but I certainly wouldn’t. I snorted and asked, “Forcibly moving in without my knowledge, isn’t that occupying?” “Aria Blackwood, don’t go too far! You’re not pregnant, what’s wrong with living downstairs?” Just as I said this, my brother came up from downstairs. The moment Jade heard my brother’s voice, her eyes instantly turned red. With a thick nasal voice, pretending to be a frightened little rabbit, she pulled on Jasper’s arm, “Jasper, maybe we should move back to your room.” This act of hers made me roll my eyes. Seeing Jade like this, Jasper got even angrier. He pointed at my nose and started yelling, “What’s yours or hers? She’s a girl who will eventually marry out of the family. Jade, you can live in whichever room you want.” As he said this, he pulled Jade into the room and pushed me out by the arm. As the door closed, he said in a fierce tone, “Live there or don’t, I don’t care!” Jasper had never been like this before. Although our relationship had always been lukewarm, it had never been as heated as today. He must be bewitched by Jade! I angrily went downstairs. As I passed through the living room, I glanced at the gift boxes on the table. Well, well, Jade had turned the QR codes on the products towards where she had been sitting, making sure people could see she had scanned them to check the prices. What’s even funnier is that she had taken the most expensive gift box. I was about to go over and take the remaining box of cherries when Jasper stopped me. “Jade wants to eat those cherries. If you want some, go buy your own.” How shameless can they be? These were mine to begin with, and now I have to buy my own if I want to eat them? I ignored Jasper, took the cherries, and went back to my new room. As I closed the door, I muttered in Jasper’s direction, “Buy your own if you want to eat! I’m not here to serve you!”

Over the next few days, Jade started acting up in various ways. When Jasper went to work during the day, she would order me around and even lecture me! She was completely two-faced compared to when Jasper was around. One moment she wanted cake, but only from a specific bakery ten miles away. I wasn’t going to indulge her, so I bought cake from somewhere else. She could take it or leave it! What’s even worse is that she actually threw her and Jasper’s intimate clothes at me, telling me to hand wash them. She even said this was what girls in the family should do, that I was inconsiderate and didn’t know how to share the family’s burdens. I had never been treated like this in my entire life. I immediately threw their intimate clothes back in her face and told her to get lost! Every time this happened, she would start saying I was abusing her, that she was already being mistreated before even marrying into the family, and who knows what would happen in the future. I laughed and retorted, “You’re ordering your sister-in-law around before you’ve even married in. After you marry in, are you going to expect my mom to listen to you too?” Every day when Jasper came home from work, the first thing he did was ask Jade if I had bullied her. What an idiot! I couldn’t be bothered with these two anymore. I just rolled my eyes at them and went straight back to my room, closing the door.

Suddenly one day, Jade said her sister was coming to stay at our house. I had heard Jade mention her sister Emily before. Like me, she studied painting and was still in school, I think. I don’t know if that’s true, as not much of what comes out of Jade’s mouth can be trusted. Of course, I wouldn’t agree to Emily staying at our house. Who knows what her sister would be like, given how Jade is. But Jasper immediately agreed. Two days later, Emily arrived. The young girl looked much more pleasant than Jade, and she was carrying a drawing board. As soon as she saw me, she greeted me with a smile, “Hello, Aria!” After my experience with Jade, I was wary of such enthusiastic girls. I just nodded at her coolly, “Hello.” Later, I overheard Jade quietly telling Emily several times, “Use whatever you want in the house. It will all belong to your brother-in-law in the future.” At first, Emily seemed a bit embarrassed and asked her sister in a low voice, “Won’t Aria be unhappy? She doesn’t seem to like getting close to us.” “Hmph!” Jade snorted, looking smug. She patted her belly and said, “What are you afraid of? Your sister is carrying the Blackwood family’s child. Even if she doesn’t like it, she’ll have to put up with me!” Jasper would never imagine that the woman he cherished so much was actually scheming to get his family’s property. Listening to the conversation between the two sisters, I found it a bit amusing. The sister who still had a conscience would soon be taught to be just like Jade.

One evening at dinner, Jade suddenly threw down her fork, crossed her legs, and brought up the topic of the wedding gift money. Jade spoke to Jasper with an air of entitlement: “My parents are doing business abroad. My family’s financial situation is no worse than yours, so both families are respectable. Naturally, the gift money can’t be too little. But my parents said this is just for show, what really matters is how well you treat me.” I could tell this was all just a setup before she made her outrageous demands. I crossed my arms and asked her sarcastically how much she wanted. Jade turned to look at Jasper, smiling and clinging to his arm coquettishly, “How about $50,000 for the bride price? Also, we need to buy a house and put it in my name. After all, it will belong to our baby in the future. Oh, and my dad said it would be best to throw in a car too. The house should preferably be fully furnished.” “Okay, no problem,” Jasper agreed without a second thought. Did he think our parents’ money grew on trees? I couldn’t help but laugh. Jade glared at me and said in a coquettish tone, “What are you laughing at?” I said, “I’m laughing at how delusional you are. Who do you think you are to demand a house and a car? My brother already has a house, which our parents prepared as your marital home. It’s already furnished, and you can move in anytime. As for the car, my brother has one too. Whether he transfers it to your name is between you two. Stop trying to calculate how to get my parents’ money!” Hearing my words, Jade immediately became unhappy. “Jasper, what did you promise me before? Now you can’t even handle this small matter of the bride price?” Small matter? Let’s not even talk about the car and the house. Just that $50,000 alone would take my brother ages to earn without relying on our parents. Moreover, Jade, who supposedly only had a high school diploma, would be lucky if a factory even considered hiring her, yet she had so many demands. It made me wonder if her parents were really legitimate businesspeople. What kind of proper parents would be so indifferent to their daughter’s marriage? Jasper hurriedly tried to appease Jade and told me to keep quiet. But I insisted on speaking, “It’s better for both sets of parents to meet and discuss such important matters as marriage. We young people can’t make these decisions. Right, brother?” Jasper was well aware of how our parents handled things. Although they were usually easy-going, there were some principles they stuck to. Even though they hadn’t forcefully requested to meet Jade’s parents, the two elders were still concerned about it. Jasper had nothing to say to that. Jade then promised that once her parents returned to the country, she would arrange for both sets of parents to meet. After dinner, Jade surprisingly brought a plate of fruit to my room. Seeing her smiling face, I knew without thinking that she must be up to no good! I couldn’t be bothered to look at her and continued sitting at my easel, working. I had an art exhibition coming up, so I was quite busy with work. Jade sat down next to me with the fruit, enthusiastically trying to feed me, but I refused. She looked around my room and started trying to get close to me, “Aria, I heard from your brother that you own a riverside apartment, is that right?” I frowned at her, “I advise you, if you don’t want to get cursed out, don’t even think about that apartment!” She laughed awkwardly and continued, “We’re all family, what’s the big deal? Oh, by the way, didn’t you say you don’t have a boyfriend? I have a cousin about your age. Why don’t I introduce you two? He just started working here…” I quickly interrupted her, “I’m not at the point where I need you to introduce me to a boyfriend.” The expression on Jade’s face immediately froze. I ignored her, and seeing that I wasn’t paying attention to her, she left the room cursing, saying I didn’t know what was good for me as she left. I thanked her sarcastically. Did she really think her cousin would be any good, given what she was like? … For the next few days, Jade was unusually well-behaved and even went out occasionally. I felt something wasn’t right. Sure enough, while I was preparing for my art exhibition, I received a call from the property management office. It was about the apartment under my name. They called to say that my place was very noisy at night, often playing music until two or three in the morning. I told them I would go check it out immediately. But when I got home, I couldn’t even open my own front door! The lock had been changed.

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The day after finalizing my divorce, my ex-wife appeared on a reality dating show with the man she’d been cheating with. They were all lovey-dovey, and the whole internet was buzzing about them being a “first love” couple. Could I let that slide? No way! I found a beautiful woman and went straight onto the show to expose them! First love? I’ll turn it into a toxic relationship! On my birthday, I saw a trending topic on Twitter about my wife Sienna and the popular young actor Finn. In the video, they were both wearing masks and hats, but their eyes were full of deep emotion as they looked at each other. Their hands were full of shopping bags as they entered a hotel together. In the room with unclosed curtains, the two of them stood by the window, embracing and kissing. How romantic. That night, Sienna didn’t come home. I lay in bed, replaying the five years of my relationship with Sienna from start to finish. I couldn’t sleep all night. Early the next morning, the trending topic had been completely deleted, as if it had never existed. I called Sienna and asked her to come back home for a bit. Sienna sounded impatient: “Can’t you just tell Mrs. Chen whatever it is?” Mrs. Chen was the housekeeper Sienna had hired specifically to take care of my health. She said that with Mrs. Chen around, she could also learn how to care for me. But at some point, Sienna started saying that with Mrs. Chen here, I shouldn’t bother her. I tried to stay calm as I said, “I saw the trending topic.” There was silence on the other end for about ten seconds. I took the opportunity to continue, “Come home for a bit. Let’s discuss the divorce.” Not giving Sienna a chance to speak, I hung up the phone. I knew she would come back. While waiting for Sienna to return, I contacted a lawyer I often worked with and immediately drafted a divorce agreement. At the same time, I also started packing up my things in the room. I had lived in this home for three years and had quite a few possessions. I decided to take the clothes, cosmetics, and accessories I had bought myself, leaving behind everything Sienna had bought for me. Mrs. Chen saw me coming downstairs with my suitcase and was startled. Just as she was about to say something, the door lock beeped. Sienna was back. She was still wearing the dress she had left in yesterday, looking a bit wrinkled. Seeing me like this, Sienna asked impatiently, “Callum, what are you up to now?” After a sleepless night, I was too tired to waste any more words with her. “I’ve already had the lawyer draft a divorce agreement. It will be sent to you directly.” Mrs. Chen still wanted to keep me from leaving, but Sienna shouted, “Let him go! See where he can go without me!”

Hearing these words, I felt a sharp pain in my heart, and tears unconsciously welled up. Five years ago, I had already won the Best Actor award in the entertainment industry. Later, my father passed away due to illness, and my mother followed two years after. My mental state had been declining, and there were even rumors online that I was using drugs. I had considered suicide at one point, but Sienna found me. Actually, we had only met briefly at an event. She said, “I’ve been your fan for a long time. I wanted to get your autograph at that event back then.” She said, “I’m actually an orphan too, with just an empty house.” She said, “If possible, Callum, we could turn our two homes into one. That way, neither of us would be lonely.” I didn’t agree, and I didn’t dare to agree. How could I trust someone after just one brief encounter? But she kept accompanying me. Whenever I was feeling down, she would call me out to ride bicycles, going round and round on the seaside bridge. In summer, after I finished filming, she would hand me an ice cream cone. In winter, after I attended an event, she would pull a still-warm roasted sweet potato from her pocket. Sienna’s eyes were bright, her ears red, shy yet sincere. She said, “Callum, I will give you a home and always protect you.” But now she was saying, “See where he can go without me?” I gripped the doorknob tightly, waiting for the surge of emotions to subside before asking, “How did you become the CEO back then?” Sienna’s voice dropped, “What do you mean?” I didn’t bother to respond and left the villa.

Three years ago, after dating Sienna for a year, she founded Bright Jade Entertainment Company. To support her, I used the connections and resources I had accumulated in the industry for years to turn this company into a new milestone in the field. Sienna transformed overnight, becoming a CEO that everyone had to respect. She wanted me to sign with their company, but my old agency had been good to me, so I refused. Sienna didn’t insist, and remembering my help, she gave me half of the shares. She said, “You just need to stay at home and count the money.” At that time, I did want to focus on managing our little family, unable to divide my attention. So I found an opportunity to announce my retirement from the entertainment industry. At that time, the comments section was full of reluctant farewells. But now, she was flirting with employees in the company and kissing in hotels. I randomly found a hotel and checked into a suite. Forcing myself not to think about the past, I took out my phone and found my agent Zack, who was now a top agent in the industry. When I first entered the industry, Zack was with me. We were both newcomers, fumbling and struggling in our respective fields to achieve our current success. Not just colleagues, we were also friends who encouraged each other. He was my best man. But after marriage, I devoted myself entirely to family life and hadn’t been in contact with him for a year. As I was hesitating whether to send a message, Zack’s message popped up. Zack: [What’s the deal with last night’s trending topic? Did Sienna cheat?] Sienna and I had kept our relationship and marriage very low-key. I wanted to go public, but she was busy with company business and just said, “As long as we know we’re happy, why bring it to the public and let them judge? ” It made sense, and I had seen many celebrities become paranoid after involving too much of their private lives in public. So only a few old friends and the two senior shareholders of the company knew about our relationship and marriage. The trending topic disappeared quickly, and Zack only knew because he had many channels in the industry. I didn’t deny it and replied with an “Mm.” Zack called immediately, and I answered right away. The voice on the other end was filled with anger. “Damn it, Sienna seemed so proper before, how could she do something like this.” Yes, at the wedding, Sienna’s eyes were red, filled with sincere and shy emotions, just like at the beginning. I took a deep breath and said softly, “It’s been so many years, everything has changed.” Zack was silent for a long time. He said, “I’m always here for you, buddy.” We talked until midnight before falling asleep. When I woke up at noon the next day, Zack had sent me over a dozen messages. The last message said: [Sienna and Finn have decided to participate in a dating reality show!] I felt my breath catch, unable to believe how quickly Sienna was moving. We hadn’t even gotten our divorce certificate yet! Moreover, due to various property disputes, our divorce was bound to be complicated. How could she be so impatient? I slapped my face twice, forcing myself to calm down, and sent a message to Zack: [I want to participate in this show too.] I wanted to see what gave Sienna the right to be so brazen. I also called the assistant I had personally trained and told him to keep an eye on the company’s movements.

Participating in the show was easy. Even without Zack’s connections, the production team wanted to sign the contract as soon as they heard my name. The difficult part was where I would find a woman to participate in the dating show with me. Zack invited me to a coffee shop he owned and said, “My cousin just came back from studying abroad. She’s incredibly beautiful, definitely someone to be proud of.” He showed me a photo, and even though I had seen all kinds of beautiful women in the industry, this woman still caught my eye. “This photo was taken at her high school graduation ceremony four years ago. Quite a few people wanted to take photos with my sister then,” Zack said proudly. I silently calculated in my mind – 22 years old, five years younger than me. “Is your cousin willing?” I asked. Zack gave a sly smile, but the sound of the door chime interrupted our conversation. I instinctively turned my head and saw a woman walking towards us. I recognized her as the girl from the photo at a glance. She nodded slightly when she saw me. Gone was the innocence and shyness from the photo, replaced by a more mature and composed demeanor. Zack introduced, “My cousin, Phoebe. When I found out she was back in the country, I contacted her immediately. She agreed, and that’s why I arranged this meeting.” “You really want to do this?” I was a bit surprised, worried that she might not understand the entertainment industry here after being abroad. I was about to explain the situation in detail. Phoebe smiled and said, “I’m willing. Mr. Callum is quite famous abroad too. I often saw your work in the film appreciation classes I took. My cousin has explained the specific situation to me, and I’m happy to help you.” Hearing this, I knew the agreement was reached.

The show wouldn’t start filming for another two weeks, and Zack said it was a good time for us to get to know each other. So from time to time, Phoebe would invite me out for meals or shopping, and we learned about each other’s likes and habits. Occasionally, Zack would join us, and the three of us would go for walks on the beach together. There were some kids playing beach volleyball in front of us. Suddenly, a volleyball flew in our direction. I instinctively pulled Phoebe into my arms, saw the volleyball rolling by our feet, and frowned, “Are you okay?” Phoebe’s face was a bit red, and she shook her head. The kids also ran over, apologizing several times. We kept saying it was fine until they left. Zack was grinning mischievously, and I didn’t understand why. That night, after I got back, Zack sent me a photo. It showed me and Phoebe. I was looking up slightly at Phoebe, while she was looking down at me. The blurry night scene also blurred the expressions of the two people. There was an inexplicable sense of intimacy. I replied: [Don’t be ridiculous.] Although we had a special agreement, Phoebe was like a sister to me in my heart. With one week left, the production team started promoting the show, revealing the silhouettes of one couple each day. Phoebe and I didn’t have a photo together. Suddenly, I thought of the photo Zack had sent. I scrolled through the chat history, saved it, and sent it to the production team. I have to say, this promotional strategy really caught people’s attention. There were four couples in total. Apart from two couples who had been public in the entertainment industry for years, the silhouettes of the remaining two were subject to all kinds of speculation. In the last two days, the official account of the show surpassed a million followers. I also started packing my luggage and went with Phoebe to the city where we would be live streaming.

The theme of the show was set as the daily life of couples traveling. We would be touring several cities within the country. After each trip, there would be two or three days of rest. To better adapt, the production team suggested we arrive a day early. By the time Phoebe and I arrived, the other two couples were already there. Jace and Lucy; Charlie and Mia. They were all couples who had gone public with their relationships during their career upswings and had weathered years together despite many doubting voices. When the four of them saw me, they were all stunned. Jace stood up immediately, “Mr. Callum?” I nodded, smiling and greeting each of them. They surrounded me, surprised that my return to the entertainment industry would be through a dating reality show. They then looked up at Phoebe, with a somewhat scrutinizing gaze. I wasn’t worried about Phoebe faltering in this situation, as she always maintained a calm and composed demeanor. Finally, Lucy said, “She’s very beautiful, just looking at her is pleasing to the eye.” It seemed the first impression was good. By the time Sienna and Finn arrived, it was already 7 PM in the evening. The production team was confirming the final details with us. “Sorry we’re late,” I heard a voice and looked over. The woman was wearing a white spaghetti strap dress, looking sweet and innocent. Behind her, Sienna was carrying two pieces of luggage, though she didn’t seem to be struggling. She nodded lightly at us. When she saw me, her expression froze. I curled my lips into a smile, “It’s okay, we’ve just started.” Finn, upon seeing me, was very excited: “Wow, am I seeing things? It’s actually Mr. Callum! I’m your fan! I’ve bought merchandise for all your movies.” I smiled politely, “I’m also following your new TV series.” Finn was thrilled: “Really? Hehe, it’s my first time acting. If there’s anything not good, please be understanding, Mr. Callum.” “No need to keep calling me Mr. Callum, that’s ancient history. Just call me by my name,” I said. Finn carefully called out, “Callum.” Sienna coughed behind him, “Finn, you can fanboy later. Let’s go in and put down our luggage first, don’t delay the important stuff.” Finn apologized again, and when they came back down, Sienna formally introduced him to each of us. Although they were late, everyone had a good impression of them, especially Sienna. They didn’t expect a boss to be so down-to-earth. Only I knew that Sienna was just a piece of trash in human skin.

After all matters were discussed, the production team officially announced all the guests at 9 PM sharp. Five minutes later, Phoebe and I dominated the trending topics. [Who is Callum?] [Callum returns with girlfriend] [Callum in love] [Who is Callum’s girlfriend?] The comments under the official announcement quickly exceeded ten thousand. The director was obviously very satisfied with this level of attention, smiling happily and telling us to rest well for the night. We had just gotten into the car back to the hotel when Sienna appeared out of nowhere, clinging to the window. She asked me coldly, “Who is this woman?” I raised an eyebrow, “I’m here for a dating show, who do you think she is?” “Callum, how dare you?” Sienna’s expression grew increasingly cold. I just found it amusing. So she still knew we weren’t divorced. “What about you bringing Finn onto the show?” I asked. Sienna understood, “We’re just doing it for the company’s benefit. Callum, you’ve always been sensible, how can you be so petty about this?” Phoebe in the back seat let out a light laugh upon hearing this, her beautiful face full of mockery. “Ms. Sienna, your hotel video with Finn was in 1080p high definition.” Sienna was about to say something when I directly raised the window. She was startled and quickly withdrew her hand. After the window was completely closed, Sienna reacted and started banging on the window, trying to yell something, but the car had already driven away. When we gathered the next day, the live stream had already started. Phoebe and I were the third couple to arrive. Sienna looked at me and Phoebe with an unfriendly expression. I deliberately ignored her, pulling Phoebe by the wrist to sit on the other side. After sitting down, I glanced at the display screen. There were already many comments. [Finn and Sienna are so sweet!] [First love forever!] Catching the key point, I frowned. Just as I was about to speak, Jace eagerly said, “We were just talking about how we met and fell in love. I wonder how Mr. Callum and Ms. Phoebe met?” As soon as he finished speaking, I noticed the comments skyrocketing. After a few minutes, the number of viewers had surged. After all, I had been out of the industry for many years, and now I was back with a girlfriend. Not only were the netizens curious, but everyone present was also looking at me. Sienna, knowing that I had been revolving around her for so many years, curled her lips into a smile upon hearing this. I casually said, “At an event five years ago, but I don’t remember much from that time. Phoebe told me about it later.” Upon hearing this, Sienna’s expression turned cold.

The others had already been hooked by curiosity. Jace asked, “So Ms. Phoebe pursued you?” Phoebe took over the conversation, nodding and looking at me with eyes as gentle as water. “It was love at first sight for me when I saw Callum at that event.” Her voice was very pleasant, and the content of her words made my ears heat up. Finn suddenly got excited, “I remember Callum retired from the industry three years ago. Could it be…?” “She pursued me for a year, and then we were busy dating,” I said, gently hooking Phoebe’s arm, performing the sweetness of being in love. “This time coming back, I also wanted to tell everyone that I’ve been living well during my retirement,” I added. I said the last sentence neither too lightly nor too heavily, then looked at Sienna, whose eyes held a threat. I leaned close to Phoebe, noticing her body stiffen for a moment before I half-supported myself to create a little distance. “How did Finn and Ms. Sienna meet?” I asked. Finn recounted their love story again. They had met at an event a year ago, and it was actually love at first sight for both of them. I was stunned, because it was also a year ago that Sienna’s attitude towards me had become increasingly irritable. Finn continued, saying that neither of them had dated before, so they cautiously tested the waters for half a year before confirming their relationship. Finn said, “I still remember it was July 16th, my birthday. She personally made a cake for me.” My heart was suddenly gripped. How coincidental – July 16th was also my wedding anniversary with Sienna. She had called me saying there was an emergency meeting at the company. But in reality? [Listening to this, it seems like Finn and Mr. Callum’s love stories are quite similar] [Yes, both met at an event and fell in love at first sight, both were pursued by the woman] [Can’t two equally excellent men be pursued by excellent women? Who says only men can pursue women?] Sienna had clearly noticed the comments and steered the conversation in another direction. After everyone had arrived, the production team announced that we could set off.

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[Oakwood High School Student Code: Boys’ bangs must not cover eyebrows, girls’ hair must not extend past shoulders. Violators will die!] [Inspection countdown: 30 seconds.] This announcement suddenly blared through the school’s speakers during the morning class. The voice sounded strange, like a synthesized computer voice. Everyone thought it was some prankster from another class who had snuck into the broadcasting room. The classroom erupted in laughter. Suddenly, the girl sitting in front of me violently convulsed. The next second, her head exploded. Blood mixed with brain matter splattered across my face. The thick, pungent smell invaded my throat. I was completely stunned, my body frozen and unable to move. What… just happened? Before I could regain my senses, A wave of explosions triggered a tide of panic. Screams and wails, these piercing sounds made me feel dizzy. In less than fifteen seconds, Nearly half of the people in the classroom were dead. The white walls were covered in blood stains. Headless corpses lay scattered across the floor. I felt my breathing become difficult. Out of fear, my body began to tremble. However, the explosions hadn’t stopped. A boy with messy hair screamed. He pushed aside the people next to him and ran towards the classroom door. The moment he opened the door, his head exploded. Like petals blooming and withering, it splattered across the walls and floor. Wait… it seemed that all those who exploded had violated the rules just announced over the speakers. Those whose hair exceeded the specified standard would die. I touched my long hair hanging over my shoulders, sinking into deep despair. Death had never been so close to me. The desire to survive made me instantly clear-headed. Girls’ hair couldn’t be past their shoulders. I had already violated the rule, I was about to die! At that moment, Chloe, who sat next to me, handed me a hair tie. “Quickly, tie it up!” I didn’t hesitate, immediately taking the hair tie and pulling my long hair into a high bun. As the countdown ended, The explosions finally stopped. I had saved my life at the last moment. [This inspection has concluded. Thank you for your cooperation, students.] [Current death toll: 628 people.] The voice on the speakers calmly reported.

In just thirty seconds, over six hundred people had died. That was about a quarter of the total number of students in the school. Our class had lost almost half its students. Those who survived were either already compliant with the hair standards, Or, like me, a few girls who had tied up their hair at the last critical moment. “Is this… a terrorist attack?” the class monitor, Miles, asked while counting the survivors, his face pale. I looked at the classroom windows. They were all intact and unopened. To make people’s heads explode, Apart from remote sniping, there didn’t seem to be any other way to achieve this. “I guess it might be related to the rules we just heard,” said Chloe as she helped wipe the blood off my face, her expression tense. Although the classroom was now a scene of hell, She remained relatively calm. For safety, those of us girls with longer hair, All chose to cut off the excess with scissors. Led by Miles, we nervously left the classroom. We had planned to go to the office to find teachers. But unexpectedly, all the offices were already empty. The corridor was crowded with students. Some were crying and shouting, others collapsed on the ground as if they had lost their souls. After witnessing such a horrific scene, how many people could maintain their sanity? In the dean’s office, we found a few phones. We wanted to call the police, But the signal was completely blocked, we couldn’t make any calls. While passing through the corridor, I saw a sea of people rushing towards the school gate. The gate wasn’t closed. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people had escaped from the school. [Oakwood High School Student Code: During school hours, all departures from campus are prohibited. Violators will die!] After a brief burst of static, the broadcast announced a new rule. Those who had run out of the school gate, Exploded one after another. This time, not just their heads, but their entire bodies. They died without even having time to scream. The scattered flesh at the school gate stopped those who wanted to escape. But quite a few people were still forcibly pushed out. They died on the spot. [This inspection has concluded. Thank you for your cooperation, students.] [Current death toll: 1,477 people.] Amidst a light and cheerful melody, the broadcast reported the new death toll. So far, nearly half of the students had died. The shadow of death loomed over the entire school. No one dared to take a step out of here anymore.

After witnessing the consequences of violating the rules, many people were scared out of their wits. Next, the broadcast reminded everyone, All students had to return to their classrooms in an orderly manner within ten minutes, or face certain death. When we followed Miles through the crowded hallways to return, Of the more than twenty people who had left earlier, only eight came back. Outside was already in chaos, with a stampede occurring on the staircase. After the countdown ended, the broadcast reported the results of this round. [This inspection has concluded. Thank you for your cooperation, students.] [Current death toll: 1,941 people.] This news was like a thunderbolt. In just twenty minutes, only about 500 people were left in the school. And those who didn’t make it back to their own classrooms in time, or went to the wrong classroom, also lost their precious lives. Everyone cowered, some crouching in corners. Others hid under desks. One girl had already had a mental breakdown, violently banging her head against the wall. If Miles and others hadn’t stopped her, she probably would have died too. Before the survivors could catch their breath, music played over the speakers again, and that terrifying synthetic voice began once more. [The official rule game section will now begin.] [To maintain the school environment and build a harmonious and beautiful campus, students must abide by the following rules.] [Games and rules will be announced every two hours on the hour.] [Personnel who violate the rules will be immediately eliminated.] [Leaving your classroom without permission is prohibited.] [Those who obey all rules and survive until dismissal time may safely leave campus.] As the music ended, the broadcast fell silent. The corpses and bloodstains in the classroom also gradually dissipated into black smoke. At this moment, we finally realized that everything that had happened couldn’t possibly be man-made, but some kind of mysterious force that defied scientific laws. It was now just past 9:10 AM, which meant that before the 7:30 PM dismissal, we would face five rounds of rule challenges.

According to the previously announced rules, No one dared to leave the classroom, we could only stay here waiting for time to pass minute by minute. How did all this happen, and why did it happen? No one knew. But the bloody reality had already awakened all those still alive. If you don’t follow the rules, you will definitely die. But death could have been avoided. Those rules in the broadcast were originally part of the school rules. If everyone had followed them from the beginning, Perhaps so many people wouldn’t have died. Unfortunately, it’s hard for people to maintain rationality in extreme panic. Oakwood High School had a total of twenty-seven school rules. Using just two of them had killed over a thousand people. If all of them were thrown out, I’m afraid even fewer people would survive. In the previous broadcast content, there was one point that caught my attention. It mentioned games related to the rules. And the rules were inextricably linked to the school rules. But according to the broadcast, the games would only last until dismissal. So at most, we only had five rounds of games to challenge. “Could it be…” I muttered to myself. Chloe patted my shoulder, her expression still serious. “Hazel, what have you thought of?” I cleared my throat, then walked to the podium. Picking up a piece of chalk, I wrote five big words on the blackboard: “Morality, Intelligence, Physical, Aesthetic, Labor.” “I think, since the rules are all related to us students, the subsequent games are likely to be of the same nature,” I said. The classmates were all attracted by my words and looked over. Schools are places for education, and the five points I mentioned are also the goals of education in human society. It’s possible that the games will be related to these factors. Just as I was about to continue discussing with everyone, The melodious music started again. “Amen, amen, a grape vine in front~ Tender and green, just sprouting~ The snail carrying its heavy shell, ah, Step by step…” The music stopped abruptly with a burst of static. I held my breath, not daring to move a step. From the speakers, the familiar voice slowly slid into my ears.

[Strengthen and improve aesthetic education in the new era, construct an educational system for all-round development in morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor.] [Cultivate talents for the country, lay the foundation for children’s happy lives.] [Next, we will begin the first round of games:] [To cultivate students’ labor concepts and skills education, please ensure that each classroom is clean and tidy within the specified time. Those who fail to meet the assessment standards will die!] Again, the familiar phrasing. Today, I had already heard the word “die” several times. But what were the standards? The rules didn’t mention a word about it. Just as everyone was confused, The fluorescent tubes on the ceiling emitted a yellow light. [Class 3-2’s sanitation conditions have not yet met the standards. Please clean up immediately!] The broadcast also reminded us that our class had sanitation issues. “Quick! Everyone get moving!” Miles shouted, startling everyone into a cold sweat. That’s right, not only were the desks and chairs in the classroom disorganized, but there was also a lot of visible garbage on the floor. And there was a lot of dust that needed to be cleaned. [Countdown two hours, starting now.] The clock hands rotated rapidly. We had no time to dawdle. Under Miles’ arrangement, the eight of us were assigned clear tasks. We arranged all the desks and chairs properly. We cleaned up garbage and dust, and even the windows needed to be wiped. This round of game rules wasn’t too difficult. We only used half of the allotted two hours to complete the cleaning task. [Class 3-2’s sanitation conditions have met the standards. Well done, students!] Hearing the prompt from the broadcast, we all breathed a sigh of relief. This round seemed too simple.

After finishing, Chloe and I collapsed on our desks, large beads of sweat on our foreheads. Being able to complete it successfully also meant that we could temporarily preserve our lives. The originally heavy and suffocating atmosphere eased a bit. In the time that followed, we successively heard clearance reminders from other classes on this floor. “Great, finally no more deaths,” Chloe said with tears in her eyes. I felt a twinge in my nose too. [Current number of classes cleared: 48. Number of survivors: 562.] [Please note, students, this round of games only retains 30 class clearance spots. If the number exceeds this, half of the excess classes will be randomly eliminated. Please cooperate.] The broadcast suddenly sounded. The announced rule sent a chill through my heart. This round of games actually had a limit on the number of people? But 48 classes had already completed the task, exceeding the limit by 18. If random elimination occurs, it means 282 people will die. What does this mean? Does it mean that in this round, no matter what, half of the people must die? [Students, it’s break time now. You can leave your classroom and move around a bit!] The broadcast continued to play light and cheerful music. But I felt like I had fallen into an ice pit. “Looks like we’re in big trouble,” Miles said with a dark face, looking out of the classroom. After that deliberate broadcast reminder, not just us, I believe the people in other classes also understood the hidden meaning. Hearing the footsteps outside the classroom, Everyone’s hearts were in their throats. This was clearly meant to make us harm each other, to damage the sanitation of other classes, so that the number of clearances would decrease! “No! This is harming others, we can’t do this!” I stood up suddenly, wanting to dissuade other classmates who were getting restless. “Hazel, at a time like this, you’re still trying to be a saint? It’s either them or us, don’t waste time!” A male classmate picked up the trash can on the desk, about to run out of the classroom. Others also started to criticize me, only Chloe was helping me speak. “There must be another way, let’s not rush,” she said. But we didn’t have much time left. The atmosphere in the classroom became tense. Just then, the window glass was shattered. Bang! Fragments scattered on the ground. The broadcast also issued a warning: [Class 3-2’s sanitation conditions have not yet met the standards. Please clean up immediately!]

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On the day of our divorce, my ex-husband held our chubby son tightly and pointed at me, snarling, “Don’t even think about getting custody of our son!” I calmly replied, “Of course not.” After all, he wasn’t my biological child. My biological daughter, whom I had carried for ten months, was waiting for me at home with my new boyfriend. When I was eight months pregnant, I discovered that my husband was having an affair with our former nanny. To outsiders, we appeared to be a perfectly happy family. I believed this too, which is why I had followed our plan and gotten pregnant soon after our marriage. Now, Caleb was snoring beside me. I looked at the SnapChat message on his phone screen: “Caleb, our baby kicked me again today.” The profile picture of the sender looked familiar. When I opened it, it was indeed someone I knew – Fiona, who had worked as our live-in nanny for a year. Silently, I marked the message as unread and exited SnapChat. Sure enough, Caleb’s phone had two systems, and he must have forgotten to switch before going to sleep. I put the phone back on his bedside table and laid down, but sleep eluded me. The next morning, I said to Caleb, “I’m planning to visit my dad today. I’ve been worried about him since mom passed away.” “Alright, honey. Be safe,” Caleb replied, not even looking up as he tied his shoelaces, let alone offering to drive me. “I might have to work late today, so I’ll be back late. If it’s convenient, why don’t you have dinner at your dad’s place?” I agreed and left the house. The first thing I did was call my father’s housekeeper. “James, could you please find some trustworthy people to keep an eye on Caleb tonight? It would be great if they could get photos of whoever he meets.” After hanging up, I felt some of the heaviness in my heart lift. Since becoming pregnant, I had given up my work to focus on the baby and our home. I had almost forgotten my decisive days in the business world. Caleb, if you dare to betray me, be prepared to face the consequences. When James heard I was coming home, he insisted on sending a car to pick me up, despite my protests, and even waited for me at the door himself. “James, you really didn’t have to. I’m pregnant, not made of glass,” I said as I walked in. “Is Dad in his study?” “The master has been waiting for you since he heard you were coming back,” James replied cheerfully, escorting me to the study before heading to the kitchen to arrange lunch. “Lyra, what’s wrong? Why such an urgent visit?” Dad asked before I could even sit down. “Dad, I want to divorce Caleb. He’s cheating on me,” I said, my voice trembling without me realizing it. How pathetic, getting worked up over such an unworthy man. I mocked myself internally. “Okay,” to my surprise, Dad didn’t ask any questions. “I heard you asked James to have someone tail Caleb. Is there anything else you need help with?” Dad’s decisive response helped me regain my composure. I shared the plan I had formulated during my sleepless night: “The baby is already eight months along, so termination is out of the question. Besides, this is my child too, so I’ve decided to give birth, but I absolutely cannot let Caleb have custody.” “For now, I don’t want to deal with anything else. I just want to focus on having a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll find the right moment to file for divorce.” “I don’t believe Caleb only started his affair with Fiona after she came to work for us, so I’d like to borrow a few of your people to investigate Fiona’s background.” “Also,” I took a deep breath, “once I’ve recovered, I want to return to work at the company immediately.”

Days passed uneventfully as I focused all my energy on myself and the baby. I silently reminded myself that any revenge could wait; maintaining a stable mindset was crucial. I couldn’t let two despicable people ruin my life and my baby’s. On my due date, I was awakened by contractions. I knew it was time. I looked at the other side of the bed; Caleb had left at some point. Pushing aside the feeling of irony, I dialed for an ambulance. The delivery process was unexpectedly difficult. Perhaps the baby knew she would face her parents’ separation upon arrival and was reluctant to leave my body. I was nearly broken by a pain I had never experienced before. Disregarding everything else, I screamed, “I don’t want to give birth anymore.” All the resentment I had suppressed for months was unleashed by this pain, and tears streamed down my face. Through the haze, I thought I heard the delivery room door open. A man stood beside me. Is it Caleb? I wondered hazily. Is he worried about the baby? “Lyra, I’m a friend of your father’s. My name is Dr. Lachlan Frost,” came a steady male voice, completely different from Caleb’s. “I’m here, and you’ll be fine.” Dad was really thinking ahead, arranging a doctor for me in advance. In a daze, I followed Dr. Frost’s instructions and pushed. Finally, after an intense bout of pain, I heard a baby’s cry. “Look at your baby,” Dr. Frost said, holding up the cleaned infant. “It’s a little princess.” I gazed hungrily at my daughter’s bewildered face, the pain seemingly vanishing. I’m sorry, baby. Mommy will settle accounts with your father soon. Although the delivery wasn’t easy, both the baby and I were in good condition and were moved to a regular ward. Exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep after the nurse assured me my daughter was healthy. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the sound of footsteps. Opening my eyes, I saw a woman standing by my daughter’s crib. I was about to call for help when the moonlight illuminated her face – it was Fiona. I immediately fell silent, curious to see what she was up to. She lifted my daughter out of the crib. Then, carefully, she took a baby boy out of the carrier she was holding and placed him in the crib. After that, she wrapped my daughter securely and prepared to leave the room. That beast! Rage surged through me, and I wanted nothing more than to flay her alive. How dare she try to switch my daughter! Thinking back to those SnapChat messages she sent Caleb, I realized the baby in the crib must be her son. I wanted to stop her but held back. Fiona wanted her son to take my daughter’s place, to live a life of comfort and adoration. If I exposed everything now, she would face at most a few days of administrative detention. No, that would be too easy for her! Realizing this, I forced my still-aching body to follow Fiona after she left with my daughter. Fiona skulked around, eventually reaching the entrance of the Infectious Diseases Department. When no one was around, she placed my daughter in a hidden corner. I could barely contain my hatred for Fiona. The Infectious Diseases Department? What kind of place was that? Patients with tuberculosis, syphilis, even HIV were treated in that ward! Fiona’s intentions in leaving my daughter there were clear! Just as I was about to rush over and retrieve my daughter, a hand held me back. I turned to see Dr. Frost. “Go back and rest. I’ll handle this,” he said. He must have been following me and understood the situation. “I’ll take your daughter directly to another ward and have someone trustworthy look after her.” I collected myself, realizing this was the only way to avoid alerting Fiona. I made my way back to my room, avoiding people. Back in the room, I looked at the baby boy sleeping soundly in the crib, and a chill crept into my heart. The child was innocent, but since his mother was willing to give him up, I wouldn’t feel guilty about using him to torment her.

That night, I received a message from my father. He said my daughter had been checked and was fine, and he was with her in another room. I named my daughter Isla. Caleb finally showed up at the hospital on the second day after I gave birth, claiming he had an urgent business trip. I neither complained nor showed enthusiasm, making him think I was still angry about his absence. He was attentive during my hospital stay. A few days later, the nurse informed me that both the baby boy and I were in good health and could be discharged. It was then that Caleb remembered, “We haven’t named our son yet.” “You choose. I’m fine with anything,” I said, showing little interest. Caleb, however, was enthusiastic: “Then let’s call him Zander. We can call him Zan for short.” I nodded, wondering if Caleb knew that Fiona had switched our babies. Back home, I said, “Honey, let’s hire a nanny like before. I’m still not feeling well after giving birth, and the baby needs care. I think Fiona, our previous nanny, was quite good.” Caleb looked at me in surprise: “Hiring a nanny is fine, but why suddenly insist on Fiona?” “It’s not that I insist on her, but she worked here for a year, so she’d be better than other nannies,” I said matter-of-factly. “But I heard from other families she worked for that she recently had a miscarriage. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for her to take care of you,” Caleb explained. I felt reassured. It seemed Caleb had been fooled and didn’t know about the baby switch. “Well, honey, why don’t you send her a message and ask? If she’s willing, let her come. If not, we can’t force her,” I said. Watching Caleb agree and take out his phone, I knew Fiona wouldn’t pass up this opportunity to care for her own son and be close to Caleb. Sure enough, just as I had predicted, Fiona arrived the next day with her bags packed. As soon as she entered, before even taking off her shoes, she picked up Zander, cooing lovingly, “This baby is so sturdy, and his features are so handsome.” “Yes, it took me a long time to give birth to him,” I replied casually. I saw Fiona’s face freeze for a moment. I felt a secret thrill. I said directly, “Please help me take care of the child. I’m going to visit my father, and I’ll be having dinner there too. Would you mind making dinner as well?” After getting out of the car at home, I saw James coming to greet me as usual and went straight to the point: “Where’s Isla?” “Dr. Frost and the master are both with her,” James smiled kindly. What’s Lachlan doing here? I had some questions. Still, I followed James to the bedroom. In the bedroom, Dad and Lachlan were looking at the baby in the crib. Dad was muttering, “She looks exactly like my Lyra when she was little…” “Dad, Dr. Frost,” I greeted as I entered, then looked at my dad, clearly asking: What’s Lachlan doing here? “Lyra, Lachlan comes from a medical family, and he’s a skilled doctor. I trust him, so I asked him to come check on Isla occasionally,” my dad explained cheerfully. He then said to me, “Isla is asleep. I’ve asked someone to watch her here. Let’s talk in the study.” “No need, sir. I’m fine staying here,” Lachlan replied. I gave him a curious look: This man was being overly attentive, wasn’t he?

After sitting down in the study, my father took out a stack of documents. “I was worried about your emotions fluctuating too much in late pregnancy, so I didn’t show you these investigation reports earlier. They were all done by people from the company, so you don’t need to doubt their authenticity.” He spread the documents on the table. “After you’ve read them, I’ll support whatever decision you make.” I picked up the investigation report and started reading quickly. Sure enough, Fiona and Caleb had known each other since high school. They were from the same rural area, and had maintained contact even during the period when I was dating and married to Caleb. Caleb had even been sending Fiona a substantial amount of money every month. The night I discovered his affair, when he said he had to work overtime, he was actually going to see the pregnant Fiona. After finishing, I thought I would be furious, but I felt surprisingly calm. I asked, “The money he gave to Fiona, was it his own or from his company?” Caleb currently worked as a financial director at a foreign company. Although his position wasn’t very high, everyone treated him with respect because of my father’s influence. “He’s not bold enough to do that. It’s all his own money,” my father replied. “Then it’s malicious transfer of marital property,” I said, putting down the evidence. I told my father, “I want to recover first, then start working at the company. If I don’t have a source of income when we divorce, Caleb might try to take Isla away.” “Alright,” my father agreed immediately. “Tomorrow I’ll have my secretary find someone to mentor you at the company. By the way, I heard from James that Fiona has returned to your house as a nanny? Is Caleb really that brazen?” “I suggested it, not him,” I said, smiling genuinely. “Dad, I think it’s better for a child to be cared for by their birth mother.” The days that followed at home were incredibly satisfying. I not only refused to get up at night for breastfeeding, citing discomfort as an excuse, but also had Fiona prepare formula for Zander. I didn’t bother with any of the baby’s needs, simply enjoying my days eating and drinking to my heart’s content. I would occasionally visit my father’s house to see Isla, growing more and more attached to her as her features became more defined. I also often encountered Lachlan when he came to check on Isla, and we gradually became familiar with each other, even adding each other on SnapChat. A month passed, and I was glowing with health and vitality.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294685”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #重生Reborn #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #玄幻Fantsy #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic #校园School #擦边Steamy

During my internship after graduation, a petite pregnant woman moved in next door. I kindly shared my freshly bought mangoes with her and offered her rides to prenatal check-ups on my way to work. However, she lured me to her place and allowed her husband to assault me. “Claire, don’t blame me. You fresh college graduates are perfect for my husband to release his urges on.” Afterwards, they pushed me off the rooftop and spread rumors that I had seduced her husband during her pregnancy, leading to my accidental fall when she caught us. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day the neighbor first visited my apartment. Once again, I stood in my rented apartment, holding a plate of freshly peeled mango slices. Sitting in the living room was my neighbor from apartment 1622, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the fruit in my hands. The mango I had chosen this time was particularly juicy and fragrant. Before I could react, Mia eagerly grabbed two large pieces and started devouring them. She took the two biggest slices, which accounted for almost half of what I had prepared. “I’m not eating much, just these two pieces will do,” she said. “Claire, the fruit you bought is so delicious. My husband says we need to save money for the baby’s formula, so he won’t let me buy such expensive things.” Hearing her tone, identical to my previous life, I finally realized I had been reborn. I was a resident at the city hospital, having just started my internship and rented this apartment closest to the hospital. The woman before me was my new neighbor. She said her name was Mia and that she was nineteen years old. When Mia first greeted me, I was shocked by how thin she was. She wasn’t tall, with an obviously protruding belly, but as a pregnant woman, her face was sallow, clearly malnourished. Her husband was always out early and back late, rarely seen accompanying his wife. Yet she seemed content, often posting pregnancy vlogs on TikTok. “Ugh, being fertile is such a pain. Accidentally got pregnant after some fun with hubby. He’s so happy, can’t wait to see what our little one will look like!” “It’s 9 PM now, and my husband just got off work. He works so hard! I made him a bowl of noodles, feeling so blessed!” The picture showed her making a peace sign next to a bowl of noodles. In reality, living next door, I could hear her husband yelling at her drunkenly almost every night before bed. In my previous life, concerned about her thinness, I asked and learned that her diet consisted mainly of vegetables, with little meat or fruit. This was because her husband said eating those things could lead to gestational hypertension and diabetes, making childbirth more difficult. When she told me this, Mia’s face was full of shyness and happiness. As a doctor, I kindly reminded her that pregnant women should have a balanced diet for the baby’s healthy development. Her husband, however, was very impatient. “Isn’t there fruit? Eating one type is enough. Why waste more money?” But the “fruit” he mentioned was just a bag of bruised apples he had bought for his wife. “Men have it tough out there. It’s not like you women who can make money so easily, just by spreading your legs.” I couldn’t stand it and argued with him, only to receive his contemptuous mockery. “You’re so young, how did you get into the city hospital? Who knows what methods you used?” Even Mia, with teary eyes, tried to persuade me, “Claire, just listen to my husband. We women should know our place.” I was bewildered and cut off contact with this bizarre couple afterwards. But on a rainy night, Mia knocked on my door, crying about abdominal pain. “Please, save my baby. I’m in so much pain. Can you take me to the hospital…” As a doctor, I couldn’t ignore someone in need, so I finally opened the door. However, as soon as I helped her sit down, her husband rushed out and covered my mouth, forcibly dragging me into their apartment. Mia remained indifferent, allowing me to be assaulted by him. “I’m pregnant now, so it’s inconvenient for me to have sex with my husband. You fresh graduates are clean, perfect for satisfying my husband’s urges.” “It’s just sex, you won’t die from it.” After the assault, seeing my fierce resistance, they feared I would report to the police and even threw me off the balcony of the 16th floor. When I died, I was naked, lying in a pool of blood. Facing the police and reporters, Mia still defended her husband, crying: “I wanted to be friends with her, but she seduced my husband. When I discovered them, she ran away and fell from upstairs.” Suddenly, public opinion overwhelmingly mocked me, saying I deserved it. At this moment, I gritted my teeth and quickly took away the plate of mangoes I had put on the table. She immediately pouted. “What are you doing? It’s my baby who wants to eat, not me.” I smiled and said, “If you want to eat, let your husband buy it for you. Whoever does it should be responsible.” Mia became anxious, “How can you be like this? It’s just a bit of your food, why are you being so stingy?” In the next second, I snatched away the two pieces she was holding and eating, and threw them into the trash without hesitation. “Then don’t eat these two bites either.”

Mia’s face turned red with anger. “I thought you might find it inconvenient living alone as a woman, so I came to check on you. I didn’t expect you to be so stingy! You really don’t appreciate kindness!” I retorted, “Am I stingy? Even if I am, it’s with my own things. It’s none of your business. Unlike you, shamelessly taking things that aren’t yours.” She clearly hadn’t expected my reaction to be so intense. But in the next moment, I grabbed her handbag and emptied its contents onto the floor. Several mint sprigs mixed with soil fell out. These were the mint plants she had plucked from my windowsill flowerpot while I was in the kitchen opening the mango. In my previous life, for the sake of neighborly harmony, I hadn’t made a fuss when I discovered about ten of my mint plants had been plucked after she left. But now, I didn’t want to tolerate it anymore. I brought over the planting box that she had ravaged and smiled as I grabbed her hand. “Come on, how did you pull them out just now? Plant them back for me, one by one.” Mia’s face turned pale, but the soil under her fingernails left her with no defense. I stood there, watching her plant them back one by one, until she angrily left my apartment. The tense emotions finally eased a bit at this moment. Remembering the tragic fate of my previous life, I immediately contacted the rental agency to apply for a transfer to another internship hospital, wanting to get away from this couple. However, when arranging the transfer, the agent introduced me to another nursing student who was also about to start her internship. [Senior, thank you for wanting to sublet at a lower price. We even went to the same university for our bachelor’s degrees.] Hearing her excited voice message, my heart suddenly sank. How was she any different from me? After thinking about it all night, I decided not to move. At least I couldn’t let my experience be repeated with another girl. And simply running away wouldn’t work. To make up for my pain, I had to make them pay an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I bought a series of self-defense tools, added a hidden camera at my door, and set up a one-click alarm function to ensure my safety. The next day during lunch break, someone started banging on my door. I impatiently opened it, “Who is it?” I saw Mia’s frowning face. She clutched her stomach, saying she had been feeling unwell, nauseous and wanting to vomit ever since eating a few bites of mango at my place yesterday. I folded my arms, “I ate that mango too, how come you’re the only one feeling sick and I’m fine?” This time, her husband Jack stepped out, righteously saying: “Words mean nothing. How can you prove you really ate it? You clearly disliked my wife yesterday, who knows if you deliberately poisoned her?” He tilted his head back, his nostrils flaring as he spoke, his nose hair clearly visible. “I don’t care, my wife only started feeling sick after seeing you. You must take us to the hospital for a full check-up of our baby!” The moment I saw Jack, my scalp tingled as I recalled everything I had endured in my previous life. But he thought I was intimidated by him, and in front of his wife, he grabbed my hand greasily. “You’re a doctor, so let’s go to your hospital. As long as you sincerely apologize and make amends, we can still be good neighbors.”

I immediately shook off his hand and said coldly: “What, trying to get someone else to pay for your wife’s prenatal check-up? What kind of useless man comes up with such a despicable idea just to save money?” Mia beside him became anxious. “Don’t talk nonsense! My husband loves me the most. You clearly offended us first, don’t try to shift the blame!” The smile disappeared from Jack’s face as he tightly gripped my wrist, not letting me leave. Since that’s the case, then come with me to work. I smiled and turned to bring them to our department. After explaining the situation to my supervising attending physician, she personally received them and asked where Mia felt uncomfortable. Mia stammered, hesitating for a long time. “I, I ate something wrong, my stomach doesn’t feel good.” But when the attending asked her to lie on the examination bed and pressed a few times, she pretended to cry out in pain, yet her answers about symptoms were still inconsistent. The attending and I exchanged glances, and she calmly said: “Look how you’ve made your neighbor so upset over some fruit. You meant well but it backfired.” Jack became a bit anxious, “Doctor, just give my wife all the usual prenatal tests. We’ll feel at ease once everything’s checked.” But the attending shook her head and prescribed a series of gastrointestinal tests for them. “Didn’t you say you ate something wrong? We need to take it step by step. Whether it’s food poisoning or something else isn’t clear yet. Let’s draw some blood for tests first, then we’ll consider how to treat it with medication.” Hearing about medication, Mia and her husband’s faces changed dramatically. They whispered to each other, probably discussing how pregnancy prevents taking medication and drawing so much blood. They looked at the series of blood tests prescribed and finally waved their hands. “Never mind, I suddenly don’t feel that uncomfortable anymore…” In the end, she glared at me and left reluctantly with her husband. As Mia was leaving, her earrings flashed under her short hair. I suddenly noticed that the style looked familiar, seemingly the earrings I had lost last week. I turned and quietly thanked the attending, “Thank you for helping me out of that situation.” She held a cup of hot tea and smiled without speaking, “It’s nothing. That man is your neighbor? He’s actually a security guard at our hospital. What a weirdo.” Over the past two weeks, things had often gone missing from my bag, mostly personal items like earrings and lipsticks. Before, I thought I had just misplaced them and didn’t pay much attention. Until I just saw my lost earrings hanging on Mia’s ears. I didn’t know Jack’s job before, only that he left early and returned late every day. I never expected the devil to be so close to me.

That noon, the courier station suddenly called, saying someone had taken my package, claiming to be my neighbor helping me. I laughed coldly, as expected. After discovering this couple always stole my things, I deliberately bought something good. Since they like stealing, I’ll let them steal to their heart’s content. It was horse manure I had bought. Soon, the property management group chat started buzzing. [Who’s cooking shit in the middle of the day?! I can smell it from the 15th floor!] [In this 104°F weather, the smell is overwhelming. I can smell it upstairs too.] I frowned and quickly put on a mask. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I came face to face with Mia, who was holding a ladle and looking panicked. She pointed at my nose and started cursing, “Did you do this on purpose? Are you sick? What kind of stuff did you buy? Is it even edible?” I coldly pointed at the packaging. “That’s horse manure I bought for research. Did I tell you to take it and cook it?” Mia was speechless for a while, “I was just trying to be nice and help you get your package. I wanted to see what good food you bought and cook it for us to eat together when you got off work!” She angrily pointed at another opened package. “And this one, are you some kind of psycho? You actually bought live cockroaches?” I looked up at the cockroaches crawling all over their dark apartment, examining them left and right, extremely satisfied. Seeing me laugh with joy, Mia couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed to the bathroom to vomit. At this time, Jack also rushed back after hearing the news. Seeing Mia crying as she threw herself into his arms. “Honey! I was just trying to be friends with her, but she bullied me again and even deliberately released cockroaches to scare me.” Jack’s eyebrows furrowed: “My wife is pregnant, can’t you be a little more considerate? If something happens to the baby in her belly because of this scare, can you take responsibility?” I laughed coldly, “Be considerate of her? How should I be considerate? My package was stolen by your wife. You tried to steal but failed and ended up losing more. Even if the police came, I have surveillance footage from the courier station as proof.” Jack was choked by my words. He hugged his wife, who was crying pitifully with horse manure smeared on her face, and said in a sinister tone: “Dr. Chen, why don’t you understand the principle of harmony? …” His voice was very low, but it felt like a poisonous snake crawling up my calf. I didn’t respond further, just waved my hand. “Remember, I don’t care how lovey-dovey you two are, but I have a bad temper and I’m not easy to mess with. Don’t even think about offending me in the slightest.” Then I coldly turned and left. I thought that after such an incident, they would quiet down for a while. But unexpectedly, when I returned to the community after work that day, people along the way gave me strange looks and pointed at me. I felt uneasy, wondering what was going on, until I saw an anonymous person had uploaded an indecent video in the group chat. The male lead in the video was blurred out, but the female lead’s face was actually mine! The title was maliciously set as: #Leaked first-person footage of innocent female doctor from certain hospital being coerced# The video clearly used AI technology to swap faces and blurred the quality to make it look very realistic. It even included all my personal information and workplace. People in the group were discussing: [Wow, she’s so young but already got into the city hospital. I knew there must be some inside story.] [Tsk tsk, no wonder they say women can’t be in charge. They just use their bodies to get ahead.] I was shocked. The anonymous person was still proudly boasting: [That female doctor from 1621, I’ve already had her. Don’t be fooled by her act, she’s actually very eager.] Besides this, that person also sent me a separate message with a clearly enlarged nude photo of me. [Claire, aren’t you so capable? Now everyone in the community knows you’re a slut.]

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