1
In the two years since my son was born, the intimacy between my husband and me completely evaporated.
He used to be insatiable, constantly finding excuses to pull me into his arms. Now, even when I initiated the softest touch, he would subtly brush me off.
Every time I swallowed my pride to close the distance, he would use the exact same gentle, apologetic tone. “Work is just suffocating me right now, Val.”
I actually believed him. I thought the corporate grind was breaking his back, draining him of any leftover energy.
That was until I picked up our son early from daycare, pushed open our front door, and froze at the sight of foreign lingerie scattered across our hardwood floor.
Seconds later, a woman’s voice drifted from the kitchen. “Honey, your wife spends hours boiling you that artisanal bone broth, and I’m the one who ends up drinking it.”
She was holding the exact thermal flask I had packed for my husband that morning.
In that split second, the air left my lungs. It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my face. My mind went entirely blank.
Instinct took over. I hurled my diaper bag straight at them. The woman’s shriek echoed off the high ceilings.
But my husband, Dominic, was terrifyingly calm. He just stared dead into my eyes and delivered the final blow that shattered my reality.
That was the moment I finally understood. A man’s desire never simply vanishes. It just gets redirected to someone else.
âŚ
After the chaos settled, Dominic wrapped a plush towel around his waist and nonchalantly lit a cigarette. He watched my bloodless face through the drifting smoke, his voice devoid of any warmth.
“Stella is just a bedmate, Val. Don’t make this bigger than it is.”
Right on cue, the woman scooped up her clothes from the floor and shimmied into her dress. She twisted her waist, winking at me with sickening playfulness.
“Mrs. Blackwood, I swear. Dom and I are purely…” She clapped her hands together, letting the sharp sound hang in the air. “…physical.”
She puckered her cherry-red lips, leaning in to kiss his jaw.
“My wife is standing right here. Leave.” Dominic shifted his weight, issuing the eviction notice with ice in his veins.
“Ugh, men are all the same. Zip up your pants and suddenly you don’t know me.” Stella wasn’t even offended. She just giggled, strutting toward the door. “Mrs. Blackwood, I am so jealous you have such a considerate husband.”
Every time she called me Mrs. Blackwood, it felt like she was twisting a serrated blade into my ribs.
Dominic stepped closer. He reached out to stroke my cheek as if we were discussing the weather. “Why are you home early? Weren’t you supposed to be at the botanical gardens?”
Our platinum wedding band was still gleaming on his ring finger. The same finger that had just been tangled in another woman’s sheets.
Bile clawed at my throat. I slapped his hand away with brutal force and practically sprinted to the kitchen sink, gripping the marble edges.
“Do not touch me.”
Dominic’s expression hardened. The way he looked at me shifted from patronizing to downright cold. “Valerie, do you really have to be this dramatic?”
I stopped splashing cold water on my face. A hysterical laugh bubbled in my chest. Since when did Dominic become someone who treated loyalty like a joke?
I remembered the early days of his startup. A gorgeous young intern had slipped a hotel key card into his jacket pocket. When he came home and told me, his face had been twisted in disgust.
“Cheap,” he had spat, tossing the plastic card straight into the trash grinder in front of me.
“People change.”
I flinched. It was as if he had read my mind. Dominic offered the words like a bored professor giving a lecture.
“You changed too, didn’t you?” His eyes dragged over my body, a flash of undeniable repulsion flickering in his pupils. “You became nagging. Explosive. Exhausted and out of shape. Do you even remember the girl you used to be?”
He adjusted his watch. “So if I strayed, you share half the blame.”
Dropping that sickening piece of gaslighting like it was gospel, Dominic grabbed his coat and walked out the front door.
Water dripped from my chin into the stainless steel basin. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was from the faucet or my own tears.
Three years ago, Dominic had been the one to beg me to drop my childfree stance.
“Val, a kid is the ultimate bond. Your career is already stellar, we have everything we need. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to create a life together? We’ll show him the world. We’ll be the perfect family.”
He broke down my walls, but in the end, I was the only one paying the price.
Pregnancy wrecked my immune system. I broke out in full-body hives. My skin stretched until angry purple scars marked my stomach. My edge in the boardroom dulled because I was running on zero sleep.
Meanwhile, Dominic remained polished, handsome, effortlessly gliding between his booming business and a quiet home.
In the beginning, he tried. He would bring me flowers, rub my swollen ankles, coax a smile out of me. But slowly, the effort became an inconvenience.
Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered my thoughts.
My heart stalled. I bolted up the stairs.
Our nanny was frantic, tearing through the medicine cabinet. “Finn is having a reaction! Someone put peach juice in his sippy cup!”
There was no time to think. I snatched my crying baby, whose face was already swelling into a terrifying shade of red, and sprinted to the car.
By the time the ER nurses administered the epinephrine, Finn’s color finally started returning to normal.
My spine hit the hospital chair, the adrenaline crash leaving me hollow. Then, a pair of blood-red stilettos stepped into my line of sight.
Stella slid into the plastic chair beside me. Her smile was the stuff of nightmares.
She leaned in, her voice a sickly sweet whisper. “Next time, don’t come home so early. I really hate being interrupted when I’m riding him. If it happens again, I can’t guarantee your little heartbeat over there will be so lucky.”
“It was you.” My voice was dead calm, but a feral, violent rage was boiling just beneath my skin.
Stella arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow, completely ignoring the accusation. “Finally getting my prescription. Dom was a little too rough with me today, left me super sore. Honestly, I’m kind of jealous you’ve had it so easy these past couple of years.”
She stood up, rolling her hips as she turned to leave.
I gently handed my sleeping baby to the nanny. Then I walked up behind Stella, grabbed her by the shoulder, and drove my fist straight into the bridge of her nose.
“My face!”
Stella hit the linoleum floor in a heap. Blood exploded down her chin as she shrieked in absolute terror.
The image of my son’s purple, swollen face flashed in my mind. I raised my fist, fully prepared to break her jaw next.
But a heavy body slammed into mine, shoving me back. Dominic.
“Valerie, are you insane!”
“She almost killed Finn!” I screamed, my vocal cords tearing. Stella’s smug, threatening face was burned into my retinas.
But Dominic stepped in front of her, shielding the mistress with his own body. His voice was laced with pure acid.
“You are paranoid! Nobody touched Finn! Just because your psychotic stepmom abused you when you were a kid doesn’t mean you get to project your trauma onto innocent people!”
A loud ringing drowned out the emergency room. My head felt like it was splitting open.
When I was sixteen, my mother took a handful of pills because of my father’s affairs. The mistress moved in before the dirt settled on the grave, and my life turned into a living hell.
Slaps. Belts. Cigarette burns.
I took it all in silence. Until one afternoon, my stepmom saw a teenage Dominic walking me home from school.
She cracked me across the jaw. “Little tramp. Starting early, just like your dead mother.”
That was the moment my soul fractured. Humiliation and blind rage took the wheel. I grabbed a kitchen knife, my knuckles turning white.
But Dominic’s fists were faster. He beat my stepmom until she was a sobbing, bloody mess on the floor.
“No wonder Valerie is always covered in bruises,” he had yelled. “I like her, but she hasn’t even agreed to date me! Keep your filthy mouth shut!”
My stepmom went to the ICU. Dominic went to a juvenile holding cell. As the cops put him in the cruiser, he looked at me through the glass and smiled.
“You never have to be afraid again, Val. If she touches you, I’ll put her in the ground next time.”
Seventeen-year-old Dominic was willing to throw his life away for me.
Twenty-seven-year-old Dominic just drove a knife into my chest to protect another woman.
“Perfect.” The word slipped out of my mouth like a dying breath.
A flash of genuine panic crossed Dominic’s eyes. “Val, wait, I didn’t mean…”
He finally looked past me, realizing we were standing outside the pediatric ward. He took a step toward me. “Is Finn okay? I just saw the texts.”
Before he could reach me, Stella whimpered from the floor, clutching her bleeding face. “Dom, I’m so dizzy…”
Without a single second of hesitation, Dominic spun around. He scooped Stella into his arms and rushed toward the trauma doors. He didn’t even look back.
The nurses and waiting patients stared at me with profound, suffocating pity. I was the punchline of a very sick joke.
Midnight came and went. Dominic never came home.
At some point, Stella had found my Instagram. Her stories were public.
“Thank you for always putting me first.”
“Words aren’t enough, so I’ll just have to show my gratitude.”
The photo showed her in a sheer lingerie set, sitting on a hotel bed. You couldn’t see the man’s face behind her, but I knew the exact curve of his shoulders. It was Dominic.
The last fragile string holding my heart together simply dissolved.
His son had nearly died, and he didn’t care. He humiliated his wife in public, and felt no remorse. All he cared about was burying himself in a younger, tighter body.
I stared at my lawyer’s contact in my phone until the screen blurred. Tears dripped onto the glass. I let out a guttural, agonizing scream and hurled the phone at the wall, shattering it into pieces.
I couldn’t swallow this. The injustice of it was burning me alive.
The very next afternoon, I agreed to meet Stella at a downtown cafĂŠ.
She had a stark white bandage across her nose, but her eyes were dancing with victory. She sipped her iced latte and smirked.
“Valerie, why haven’t you filed the papers yet? I really didn’t peg you as the pathetic, clingy type.”
Sitting under the weight of her mocking gaze, I felt a flicker of shame. But I forced it down, pasting on a flawless, untouchable smile.
“You don’t understand our history. You don’t know what we’ve survived together. That’s why I’m giving him a pass.” I played the role of the tolerant, old-money wife, dismissing the mistress like a minor pest.
Stella went completely still. Then, she threw her head back and laughed.
She looked at me with genuine, unadulterated pity. “Oh, honey. Let me guess. You’re talking about the time he saved you from the wicked stepmother?”
My perfect smile froze.
Stella pulled out her phone and hit play on an old, grainy video.
It was seventeen-year-old Dominic. He looked wild, arrogant, completely alien to the man I married. Standing next to him was a teenage Stella, wearing a skin-tight red dress, looking like trouble.
“Listen closely, Dom,” the younger Stella purred. “You get the little honors-student freak to fall in love with you, then you crush her. You pull that off, and I’ll let you take me upstairs.”
Teenage Dominic smirked, his tone dripping with bored confidence. “Bet. Give me three months. It’ll be a walk in the park.”
The rest of the audio faded into white noise. The room spun. The only thing I could hear was the frantic, deafening thud of my own heartbeat.
Stella rested her chin on her hand, soaking in my devastation. “Your grand, beautiful rescue story, Val? It was just a game to get into my pants.”
My vision blurred. My voice was barely a whisper. “Why? I never did anything to you.”
Stella rolled her eyes. “Because you were the golden girl. Perfect grades, perfect face. I hated girls like you, walking around thinking you deserved the world.”
Her expression suddenly twisted into pure venom. “And then he actually caught feelings for you! He broke the bet. You’re the real homewrecker here, Valerie! So don’t you ever sit there and judge me!”
The pain in my chest was absolute.
My replacement phone buzzed on the table. Dominic’s name flashed across the screen, illuminating my ghost-white reflection in the dark glass. I hit decline.
I stood up, my legs feeling like lead.
Behind me, Stella called out in a lazy drawl. “Don’t be a coward now, golden girl! Show a little spine! Ha!”
That evening, Dominic came home early. He brought a massive bouquet of Casablanca lilies, my favorite.
He looked nervous, shifting his weight before finally asking, “Why were you declining my calls?”
My eyes were dead. I just stared at him, letting the silence stretch until it became suffocating.
Dominic’s pulse visibly jumped in his throat. He looked panicked. “What’s wrong? Why are you so pale?”
My fingers tightened around the divorce papers I had drafted that afternoon. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
Dominic froze, then forced a bright, artificial laugh. “Tomorrow is Finn’s birthday. We’re hosting it here. My parents are dying to see him, and all our friends are coming. Tell me what you want to eat, I’ll cook.”
His voice grew softer, more hypnotic, as he stepped forward and pulled me into his chest. “Val, you’re the only woman I love. I swear to you, I will never agree to a divorce.”
But I wanted out.
I bit my tongue. For Finn’s second birthday, I would give him one last day of a whole family.
Once the candles were blown out, we were done.
Dominic spared no expense, turning the backyard into a carnival. He even posted a disgustingly sweet family photo of the three of us on his socials.
But he underestimated how unhinged his little side piece truly was.
The morning of the party, I walked out of the kitchen with a tray of drinks and froze. Standing dead center in our living room, surrounded by our guests, was Stella.
She was wearing a skin-tight red dress, identical to the one from the video.
She had Finn in her arms, smirking right at me.
The last thread of my sanity snapped.
I dropped the tray, glass shattering everywhere, and lunged at her. I ripped my son out of her grip.
“What the hell are you doing here! Get out of my house!” My whole body was violently shaking as I clutched Finn to my chest. Because in that split second before I grabbed him, I saw the way her arms had swung back. She was getting ready to drop him.
Dominic shoved through the crowd of confused relatives, his face ashen. He grabbed my elbow, hissing under his breath. “Val, stop overreacting.”
I violently yanked my arm away. Tears burned my eyes. “Kick her out! It’s your son’s birthday! Why is your whore standing in my living room?”
Dominic’s face darkened into a scowl. “Keep your voice down. She’s already here, I can’t just throw her out in front of everyone.”
“Have you ever respected me for a single second of your life?”
The stares of our family and friends were burning holes into my back. I felt completely exposed, like someone had peeled off my skin.
Suddenly, the massive projector screen in the center of the roomâwhich had been cycling through cute baby photosâwent pitch black.
When it flickered back to life, it wasn’t Finn. It was security footage of my stepmom beating me in our old kitchen.
“Little tramp! Take it off! Let’s see the little slut you really are!” The abusive screams blasted through the surround sound speakers.
The entire party went graveyard silent.
I felt a phantom blade plunge straight through the top of my skull, nailing me to the floorboards.
Dominic dropped his drink. He sprinted toward the media console, desperately yanking cords out of the wall. “Val, I swear it wasn’t meâ”
Of course it wasn’t him. I slowly turned my head toward Stella.
She was smiling brightly, though she gave a mock-innocent shrug for the crowd.
Every sound in the room faded into a dull ringing.
I handed Finn to a paralyzed friend, and walked straight toward the red dress.
While she was still grinning her victorious smile, I swung my arm with everything I had and cracked her across the face.
“Ah!”
She lost her footing and crashed backward into the glass wine cabinet. Bottles shattered, raining red wine and glass over her head.
She tried to scramble up, but I planted my heel straight into her chest and kicked her back into the wreckage.
“Enough!”
Dominic roared, grabbing me from behind and throwing me backward. His grip was so brutal I thought my shoulder was going to pop out of its socket. He looked at Stella like she was a dying angel.
I laughed, a broken, ugly sound, and slapped him square across the jaw.
Dominic didn’t hit back. The veins in his neck just bulged as he absorbed the blow.
Stella screeched, launching herself forward and shoving me hard in the chest.
“Who the hell do you think you are! You want to play the victim in front of your little friends?” Stella screamed at the top of her lungs. “Look in the mirror! You’re the real homewrecker!”
Dominic’s eyes widened in sheer panic. He lunged to cover her mouth.
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1
Clutching the thin paper of my lab results, I took a deep breath. I forced a playful smile, telling Sebastian that I was pregnant. I joked that if he did not propose soon, my little secret was going to show.
Instead of the joy I expected, a mocking smirk spread across Sebastian’s face. He casually leaned back against the kitchen counter.
“Babe, stop joking around. You know I’m already married. How could I possibly propose to you?”
My mind went completely blank. I stared at him, convinced my ears were ringing.
Without missing a beat, Sebastian pulled a leather bound marriage certificate from his inner jacket pocket and tossed it onto the marble island. His name was printed right there as the groom. Beside it, the bride’s name was glaringly obvious. Raina Coburn.
He crossed his arms, defending himself with absolute confidence. He told me he knew I loved him for who he was, not for some meaningless piece of paper.
Then his tone shifted. He sighed, acting like the victim. He explained that Raina was different. If he did not give her the official title of wife, she would dump him and cut off his funding.
Finally, he looked at me with this sickening, pleading expression. “Hazel, you love me so much. You wouldn’t want to see me heartbroken over a breakup, right?”
Tears blurred my vision. My throat felt like it was closing up. “But I’m pregnant, Sebastian.”
He just let out a indifferent hum. “Right. Go get that taken care of.”
He walked over and patted my cheek as if I were a disobedient pet. “I already promised Raina. My firstborn has to be hers.”
I looked at the man I had loved for years, sobbing uncontrollably. “Why are you doing this to me?”
Sebastian rolled his eyes, looking completely bored. “Hazel, don’t you always say true love is about sacrifice? I have feelings for Raina now. What is the big deal about making a little sacrifice for me?”
He leaned in closer. “If Raina and I break up, I’ll be miserable. Do you really want me to suffer? If you actually love me, you’ll tolerate my wandering eye.”
The sheer audacity of his words made my stomach churn. I bit my lower lip hard enough to taste blood. “We are done. I want a breakup.”
Sebastian froze for a second. Then he burst out laughing, a cruel, grating sound. “Break up? Sure. But you are still getting rid of that kid.”
His utter lack of empathy paralyzed me.
Seeing me go quiet, his arrogant smirk returned. “I knew you couldn’t actually leave me. Hazel, drop the fake outrage. If you pull a stunt like this again, I will actually dump you. And crying on your knees won’t save you.”
My hands curled into tight fists. My fingernails dug so hard into my palms they broke the skin. I stared straight into his eyes, holding onto one last, desperate thread of hope. “This is a sick prank, isn’t it?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, his hand reached out to gently stroke my jawline.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. It had to be a prank. The Sebastian who loved me fiercely would never humiliate me like this.
But a split second later, his hand slid down from my jaw and clamped around my throat. He squeezed, hard.
I gasped in pain, my mouth opening on instinct. In that exact moment, Sebastian shoved a small pill to the back of my throat.
It slid down my windpipe and dropped into my stomach before I could even process what was happening.
I collapsed to my knees on the hardwood floor, clutching my neck, gagging and coughing violently. Tears streamed down my face, but nothing came up.
“What did you just give me?” I choked out.
Sebastian wiped his fingers on a napkin. “The abortion pill. Raina made it very clear. This problem needs to be flushed away.”
My heart plummeted into an endless abyss.
Within minutes, vicious cramps twisted my lower abdomen. Huge drops of cold sweat rolled down my forehead.
I dragged myself into the bathroom, my body completely giving out. I collapsed onto the cold tiles. My head hit the porcelain toilet bowl with a sickening thud.
Sebastian didn’t even check on me. From the living room, I could hear the loud, booming sound effects of his video game console.
I was in so much physical and emotional agony that I couldn’t even cry anymore.
Right then, my phone buzzed on the floor. It was a text.
“Sweetheart, your father and I booked the main ballroom at The Belvedere Estate. Bring your boyfriend tonight.”
I wiped a tear away with a trembling hand and typed back. “Mom, I’m coming alone. We broke up.”
I had been abducted when I was five years old. It was only three days ago that I finally reunited with my biological parents. They had spent twenty years searching for me. When we finally met, they cried until they could barely breathe.
That was also when I found out my real family possessed unimaginable wealth and power.
My original plan was to let Sebastian propose today, and then bring him to meet my parents as my fiancĂŠ. Now, that dream was dead.
The bathroom door was suddenly kicked open.
Sebastian marched in, looking annoyed. “Is it out yet?”
I refused to look at him.
Without warning, he reached down and started ripping at my clothes.
I fought back with everything I had left, but I was weak and bleeding. He overpowered me easily.
I lay there in a pool of my own blood, trying uselessly to cover myself.
Sebastian held his phone up, pointing the camera right at the gruesome scene. “Wifey, don’t worry. It’s gone. I saw it myself.”
Raina’s shrill voice echoed from the speakerphone. “Send me the video, Seb. I need to show my friends so we know this little rat isn’t faking it.”
She was going to leak the video.
Blind panic surged through my veins. I forced myself up, lunging for his phone.
But Sebastian just stepped back with a playful smirk. He treated me like a dancing monkey, snapping more photos of my pathetic, bloodstained state.
Bitterness and despair choked me. “We loved each other for years, Sebastian. How can you be this evil?”
His face went stone cold. “Do you have any idea what I went through for you? I begged Raina for months to let me keep you as a side piece. I didn’t throw you out on the street. I have been more than generous. Why are you so ungrateful?”
A gut-wrenching sob tore from my throat. The room spun wildly, and I collapsed back into the blood.
Raina giggled through the phone. “You know what, Seb? I finally get it. Hazel is just like that stray dog you took in a few years ago. I really shouldn’t be jealous of a dog, should I?”
Sebastian immediately chimed in. “See how forgiving Raina is? Say thank you, Hazel.”
I stayed dead silent. Sebastian actually stepped forward, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me hard. “Did you hear me?”
I had just lost my baby. Every nerve in my body felt like it was being stabbed with needles. The shaking made me feel like my bones were snapping in half.
Tortured by the pain, I squeezed two words through my teeth. “Thank you.”
Sebastian finally looked satisfied. He dropped me back onto the bloody floor and walked out.
Laying on those freezing tiles, the tears refused to stop.
I had always known I was a foster kid. The family that took me in treated me like garbage. They beat me over the smallest things and starved me constantly.
Sebastian was the one who noticed my bruises in high school. He started sneaking me portions of his own lunch every day.
When the mean kids cornered me and called me a beggar, Sebastian threw punches to protect me.
Once, I accidentally broke a plate while doing chores. My foster parents tied me up and beat me, screaming that I was worthless trash.
When I didn’t show up to school for three days, Sebastian tracked down my address. He fought my foster parents to get to me. He was just a teenager. He got beaten black and blue, but he refused to back down until a neighbor finally called the cops.
I thought about those memories constantly.
My love for him was built on a foundation of profound gratitude. I gave him my soul. I gave him every penny I saved.
I thought our bond was bulletproof. I never imagined he could become a monster.
The bleeding was getting worse. A terrifying weakness washed over me. For a second, I thought it would be easier to just die right here on the floor.
But then my biological parents flashed in my mind. They went through hell to find me. We had just found each other.
I could not die. I had to survive for them.
I dragged my fingers across the tile, desperately reaching for my phone to dial 911. But I was so weak I couldn’t even lift my arm.
Just as my fingertips brushed the screen, heavy footsteps entered the room. Someone snatched the phone away.
I tried to look up to see who it was, but the world went pitch black, and I passed out.
When I opened my eyes again, the smell of cheap antiseptic burned my nose. I was lying in a rundown, back-alley clinic.
Sebastian was sitting in a plastic chair next to the cot.
He crossed his legs, a twisted smile on his lips. “Hazel, I saved your life again. Why are you always so ungrateful?”
My voice was a raspy whisper. “How am I ungrateful?”
He ignored my question. He turned to the shady doctor in the corner. “Are we done here? As long as she’s not bleeding out, she’s fine.”
The doctor hesitated. “The bleeding has stopped for now, but she needs rest and…”
Sebastian didn’t even let him finish. He grabbed my arm and violently yanked me off the cot.
I stumbled, barely able to stand, as he dragged me outside and shoved me into the passenger seat of his car.
“Where are we going?” I gasped.
He didn’t say a word.
The car ride was a dizzying, nauseating blur. When the engine finally cut off, I looked out the window.
My breath hitched. The Belvedere Estate.
This was the exact luxury venue where my parents were hosting their gala tonight. They were supposed to officially introduce me to high society.
Why did Sebastian bring me here? Did he know about my parents?
Before I could process anything, he dragged me out of the car by my wrist.
He kicked open the heavy oak doors of a private VIP lounge. “Raina, I brought the trash.”
My heart stopped.
I was tossed onto the plush carpet. Sitting on the leather sofas were a dozen women dressed in couture gowns.
Raina sat in the center, dripping in diamonds. When she saw me, she dramatically pulled her feet up onto the sofa, acting totally disgusted. “Seb, get this filthy woman away from me. I don’t want to look at her.”
Sebastian grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back. “Don’t be scared, babe. I’ve got her handled.”
He glared down at me, his eyes full of venom. “Hazel, why did you go online and post rumors calling my wife a homewrecker?”
I shook my head weakly. “I didn’t.”
He let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Who else would it be? Do you really think playing the victim works anymore?”
He stood up tall, pulling out his marriage certificate for the entire room to see. “Raina and I are legally married. We are husband and wife. This clout-chaser here isn’t even a decent side piece. Don’t believe a word she says.”
To prove his loyalty to his rich wife, Sebastian leaned down and slapped me hard across the face.
My cheek burned, but I stayed glued to the floor. I didn’t even flinch.
I decided that slap repaid the debt of him saving me back in high school. We were officially even.
Raina walked over in her designer heels. She put on a fake crying voice for her friends. “Hazel, Seb and I are married. Why are you so obsessed with destroying my life?”
“I didn’t post anything,” I muttered.
Raina leaned down, whispering directly into my ear so the others couldn’t hear. “I know you didn’t, you idiot. I made those posts myself. I did it to make Seb hate you. I wanted him to drag you here and humiliate you.”
She smirked. “Do you know why I chose this venue? There is a massive billionaire gala happening in the main ballroom tonight. All the elites are here. I am going to make sure everyone in this city knows you are a dirty mistress. You will never show your face in public again.”
I stared at her, my eyes wide with shock at her pure malice.
Suddenly, Raina shrieked. She threw herself backward and started sobbing. “Why did you bite me!”
Sebastian lost his mind. He stepped forward and kicked me squarely in the stomach.
I curled into a ball as he rained kicks down on me, treating my body like a punching bag to vent his rage.
When he finally backed away to catch his breath, Raina’s wealthy friends swarmed me.
They dumped cold iced lattes over my head. They tossed dirty napkins and trash on my clothes.
They circled me like vultures, hurling insults. “You delusional gold-digger. You really thought you could marry into Sebastian’s level?”
“He’s a VIP guest of Mr. Kensington tonight. You are nothing but street trash.”
“Exactly. Look around you. This is The Belvedere. You don’t even belong in the parking lot.”
In my hazy, pain-filled state, I felt like a teenager again, surrounded by the bullies at my old school. But the boy who used to stand in front of me was now the one leading the pack.
Suddenly, one of Raina’s friends held up her phone. “Hey guys, look what I’ve got. It’s a video of this whore getting her abortion.”
The entire group gasped and crowded around the screen.
The video played my agonizing screams. But nobody in that room felt an ounce of pity. Their faces were twisted in pure disgust.
One of them got so worked up she kicked me in the ribs. “You are disgusting. Trying to trap a man with a baby?”
Another girl laughed. “Post it everywhere. Let’s make her famous so guys know to avoid her.”
Pure terror gripped me.
I scrambled up, desperately trying to snatch the phone, but someone shoved me from behind.
Fingers grabbed at my clothes, tearing the fabric. Flashes went off everywhere as they recorded my humiliation.
“Beat the homewrecker! Teach her a lesson!” they chanted.
Running on pure adrenaline, I shoved through the circle of women and bolted for the lounge doors.
But I barely made it into the grand hallway before they caught up to me.
They pinned me against the marble wall, slapping me and shoving their cameras directly into my face.
Through the gaps in the crowd, I locked eyes with Sebastian. He stood by the lounge door, watching me get torn apart without a single shred of emotion on his face.
Just as my legs gave out, a booming voice echoed down the corridor, followed by heavy footsteps.
A squad of men in dark suits forcefully shoved the screaming women aside.
The girls immediately started cursing. “Mind your own business! Do you want to get sued?”
“What, are you sleeping with this dirty mistress too?”
“We’ll get you canceled along with her!”
But Sebastian’s face instantly drained of all color.
He practically sprinted down the hall, bowing his head in extreme submission. “Mr. Kensington! Good evening, sir. I’m Sebastian.”
The powerful man didn’t even look at him. His eyes were locked on me. His chest heaved, and he looked like he was on the verge of breaking down in tears.
I forced a weak, bloodstained smile.
“Dad,” I whispered. “You’re here.”
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1
Memorial Day weekend. Brody, the frat bro who stole my wife years ago, posted a photo of an oceanfront villa in Cabo. The caption read: “Holiday getaway. Testing out the older woman flavor.”
I took a screenshot and sent it to his current wife, who happened to be my ex-wife, Sissi. I added a sarcastic text. “Getting cheated on over the holidays. Feels familiar, doesn’t it?”
Minutes later, Sissi didn’t curse me out. Instead, she sent a live location in Cabo and a video.
The video showed a luxury sedan with its windshield smashed to pieces. She sent one follow-up message. “Why don’t you check the plates and see who this belongs to.”
My blood turned to ice.
I took the red-eye flight. When I walked into the local precinct in Cabo, the first thing I saw was my fiancĂŠe, Jenny. The woman who was supposed to be working overtime at her corporate firm was currently wielding a plastic waiting room chair, screaming like a lunatic as she tried to swing it at Sissi.
Hearing my footsteps, Jenny froze.
This was the woman who had pulled me out of severe clinical depression. The woman who once put Sissi in the hospital just so I wouldn’t suffer. Yet right now, her first instinct was to pull a man behind her back, shielding him.
I walked up to her, step by step.
Looking at a face I knew down to the bone, I felt nothing but a terrifying strangeness.
“You told me yesterday morning there was an emergency project,” I said. “You said you had to work through the weekend.”
“Is this your new office, Jess?”
“Of all the people you could protect, you chose Brody?”
“You know exactly what he did to me five years ago. You swore you would make him pay!”
Jenny slowly lowered the chair. She brushed the dust off her palms, refusing to meet my eyes. Instead, she stared at the blank precinct wall.
“Paul, we’re all adults here. Things happen naturally,” she said. “There’s no need to make this so ugly.”
I stood there, stung by her absolute indifference.
“Ugly?” I echoed. “You booked a hotel room behind my back with the man who ruined the first half of my life, and you’re annoyed that I’m making things ugly?”
Jenny tugged at her collar, dripping with impatience.
“All you do is work and stare off into space. You’re completely lifeless,” she snapped. “You don’t have Brody’s spark. Any woman would feel suffocated around you.”
Those words smashed into my face. Every illusion I ever held about her shattered into dust.
Brody peeked out from behind her shoulder.
“Artie, man, don’t blame Jess.”
“It’s my fault. I got drunk and cried to her about how Sissi gives me the cold shoulder. You can hit me or yell at me, but please don’t fight with her over this.”
Memories from five years ago crashed into my skull.
The day I pushed open the master bedroom door, Brody had hidden behind Sissi the exact same way. Sissi had shoved me hard to protect him. I fell, cracking my head open on the nightstand, leaving a permanent scar. That was the day I sank into the swamp of severe depression.
A suffocating weight crushed my chest. I gasped for air.
Sissi leaned against the wall, wiping a trickle of blood from her forehead. She let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
“Jenny, you kept preaching about how much you loved Paul. In the end, you still climbed into my husband’s bed.”
Jenny glared at Sissi, her face twisted with pure disdain.
“Oh, save the victim act, Sissi,” Jenny spat. “You slept with Paul for years and tortured him until he was a ghost of a man. I just wanted a taste of your husband. I wanted you to know what it feels like to wear the horns. This is called karma.”
I stared at Jenny, completely numb.
The woman who pulled me back from the edge of the roof, who stayed up countless nights holding me through panic attacks, was utterly unrecognizable. Her closeness, her fierce protection, it was all tainted with a sick, twisted sense of possession and revenge.
With a terrifying calm, I pulled the engagement ring off my finger and set it quietly on the officer’s metal desk.
“The wedding is off, Jenny.”
I turned and walked out the glass doors. Behind me, Brody’s voice echoed.
“Jess, he left the ring! Go after him!”
Jenny’s voice followed, dripping with arrogance.
“Chase him? Why? Once he cools off, he’ll come crawling back.”
“Besides, I need to comfort you right now.”
I hailed a cab straight to the airport and bought the next ticket back to Seattle.
Sitting in the departure lounge, my phone lit up.
It was a photo from Brody.
Jenny was fast asleep on crisp, white hotel sheets, looking completely at peace.
A text followed.
“Artie, your girl only plays the saint when you’re around. Deep down, she loves the thrill. I’ll give her back when I’m done with her.”
My fingers flew across the keyboard.
“Trash belongs in the dumpster. Only you would be thrilled to dig through my garbage.”
I hit send and immediately blocked his number.
Back at our shared downtown condo, I pulled out a box of heavy-duty trash bags. I ripped open the closet doors, yanked all of Jenny’s designer clothes off the hangers, and stuffed them in. I didn’t hesitate for a single second. I dragged every bag containing a trace of her existence out into the hallway.
Just as I threw the last bag out, the elevator chimed. The doors slid open.
My mother and my sister, Zoe, stepped out.
Seeing the mountain of luggage, my mother’s face darkened instantly.
“Paul, what kind of tantrum is this?” she scolded. “Jess is so good to you. You’re almost thirty, stop acting like a dramatic teenager! Are you trying to tear this family apart?”
Zoe chimed in right on cue.
“Seriously, Paul. Jess runs a massive company. Don’t be ungrateful. I graduate next month, and I’m counting on her to get me a management job!”
Looking at the people who shared my blood, I felt a wave of profound sorrow.
Years ago, when Sissi betrayed me, my depression was so severe I couldn’t sleep for days. My mother just watched me with cold eyes, calling me an ugly burden. She even tried to force me to give up my high-paying job so Zoe could have my salary for her college allowance.
I survived those pitch-black days by waiting tables during the day and spending my meager tips on therapy at night. I crawled out of hell completely alone.
From that moment on, I considered myself an orphan.
I looked at my mother with eyes as cold as dead ash.
“Jenny cheated on me,” I said flatly. “With Brody.”
I thought hearing that name would trigger at least a fraction of shock.
Instead, my mother blinked, then gave a dismissive wave of her hand.
“People stray. It’s just a fling,” she said. “If you can’t keep your woman satisfied, who else is there to blame?”
“Besides, Brody is highly connected now. He knows big investors. If he introduces your sister to the right people, her whole career is set.”
“Just swallow your pride. Why do you have to make a scene and embarrass everyone?”
The last fragile thread tying me to my family snapped entirely.
I was about to shut the door when the elevator dinged again.
Jenny practically tumbled out, gasping for air. She couldn’t get a flight, so she must have bought an overpriced train ticket and traveled all night.
Seeing her belongings piled up like garbage, her face turned thunderous.
I leaned against the doorframe, offering a merciless smirk.
“Why the rush? Couldn’t bear to leave your boy toy in Cabo? Or did Sissi beat you so badly you had to run?”
Seeing Jenny arrive, my mother and sister looked awkward. They muttered a quick excuse and scurried back into the elevator, fleeing the scene.
The hallway was dead silent. Just the two of us.
I stepped back inside, grabbed the divorce papers I had printed weeks ago for a prenup update, and crossed out a few lines. We had just signed our marriage certificate last month. The grand wedding was scheduled for next month.
Now, there was no need.
I slapped the papers against her chest.
“Sign it.”
Jenny didn’t even look at the document. She let it flutter to the floor. She refused to acknowledge the hotel room in Cabo, choosing instead to flip the script.
“Can you stop being so irrational, Paul?” she demanded. “Throwing my stuff out in front of your mother and sister? Do you know how humiliating that is for me?”
“Sissi kicked Brody out. He has nowhere to sleep. What’s wrong with me helping out a friend?”
Listening to her righteous defense, I felt like I was losing my mind.
Brody was the guy who stabbed me in the back our entire lives. He stole my homework in high school to win awards. He cut the brakes on my bike, breaking my leg. Because I had better grades, he secretly hacked the school portal to alter my college applications, costing me my university spot.
I only found out about his sabotage when he showed up to sleep with Sissi. He ruined my life, and then he stole my wife.
Jenny used to hold me in her arms, looking me in the eyes, swearing her loyalty.
“I’m here now, Artie. Nobody will ever hurt you again. Whatever Brody took from you, I’ll make him pay back in blood.”
Those promises were now nothing but a sick joke.
Suppressing the fire in my chest, I pointed a finger squarely at her face.
“Help him? You helped him into your bed!”
“Brody is a pathetic little…”
I never finished the sentence.
A sharp, stinging slap echoed in the hallway.
My head snapped to the side. My ears rang a high-pitched pitch.
Jenny pulled her hand back, glaring at me with absolute fury.
“Do not insult him like that!”
The burning pain on my cheek was nothing compared to the bottomless, freezing abyss opening in my heart.
Jenny stared at her own trembling hand. A flash of panic crossed her face. She took a step forward, instinctively reaching out to steady me.
“Artie, I didn’t mean to. Just stop provoking me…”
I slapped her hand away. With every ounce of strength I had, I swung my arm back and delivered a brutal, stinging backhand across her face.
“You make me physically sick, Jenny!” I roared. “How good is Brody in bed that you women line up to pick up each other’s trash?”
I lunged forward, completely unhinged. The sheer weight of years of repressed trauma erupted. Jenny didn’t fight back, taking the impact against her shoulders.
The violent movement was too much. Black spots danced across my vision. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the hardwood floor, slipping into total darkness.
When I opened my eyes again, the sharp scent of clinical bleach filled my lungs.
I was lying in a hospital bed, an IV dripping fluids into my vein.
Jenny stood at the foot of the bed. Her expression was darker than a thundercloud.
Seeing me wake up, she offered zero comfort. Her voice was colder than liquid nitrogen.
“You cheated on me.”
My eyes went wide. “What kind of insane garbage are you talking about? When did I ever cheat on you?”
Jenny let out a humorless scoff and tossed her phone onto my blanket.
“Still denying it?”
“Brody told me everything! You went to Seattle on a business trip last month. Sissi was in Seattle at the exact same time! Are you seriously going to tell me nothing happened?”
My whole body shook with rage.
“That was a corporate summit! Hundreds of tech companies were in that city! I didn’t even see her face!”
Jenny wasn’t listening. Her mind was already made up.
“How long were you going to play me?” she sneered. “You kept crying about how Brody framed you, but he showed me the medical records. He proved you were having psychotic episodes, hallucinating and attacking people like a rabid dog!”
“I must have been blind to fall for your pathetic victim act for three years.”
My breathing turned ragged. My chest ached with a suffocating pressure.
Once trust collapses, every explanation sounds like a cover-up.
She would rather believe the man who lied through his teeth than the husband who had slept beside her for three years.
Looking down at me like I was a stranger, Jenny delivered her ultimatum.
“I’m giving you one week to think about this.”
“Clean up your mess. In six months, I’ll consider coming back to this marriage. Otherwise, I’ll see you in court.”
She spun around, slammed the hospital door shut, and walked away.
The room fell back into a dead, hollow silence.
Two days later, I forced myself out of bed and dragged my aching body into the office.
The second I stepped into the bullpen, I noticed my desk was entirely cleared out. My framed photos, my mugs, my notes, everything was shoved carelessly into a cardboard box on the floor.
My coworkers shot me looks filled with pity and twisted amusement.
I didn’t yell. I didn’t make a scene. I walked calmly toward HR to demand my termination paperwork.
As I passed the executive suites, my department director walked out, laughing and fawning over a man in a tailored suit.
It was Brody.
The director caught sight of me and immediately put on a nasty sneer.
“Paul, you actually have the nerve to show your face?” he mocked. “I reported your unexcused absences. Corporate decided to terminate you effectively immediately. Grab your trash and get out. You’re blocking our new Regional Manager.”
Brody strolled up to me, adjusting his cuffs.
“Sorry about this, Artie. Took your spot,” he said smoothly. “But what can I say? Jess is the majority shareholder of this firm.”
“I casually mentioned I was bored and needed a gig, and she handed me your department.”
I snapped my head up, staring at her empty office in pure shock.
Jenny was the majority shareholder?
For three years, I bled for this company. I worked overnight pulling together pitch decks. Every time a promotion came up, the director gave me some corporate excuse and handed the title to someone else.
I used to come home exhausted, crying to Jenny about the unfairness of the corporate ladder. She would rub my back so gently, telling me to be patient, promising that hard work always pays off.
She had the power all along. She held the leash.
My heart turned into a block of ice.
My eyes drifted down. I suddenly noticed a braided red string wrapped around Brody’s wrist.
It was a handmade bracelet. I had woven it myself for our three-year anniversary, placing it on Jenny’s wrist. She swore on her life she would never take it off.
Pure, unadulterated fury snapped the last wire in my brain.
I lunged forward, grabbing the bracelet and ripping it downward.
“Take that off! You don’t have the right to touch it!”
Brody immediately let out an exaggerated, theatrical yelp.
“Ah! Jesus, Artie! What is wrong with you!”
He threw his weight backward, pretending to fall.
Out of nowhere, a figure rushed past me.
Jenny threw her arms around Brody to catch him, simultaneously shoving me hard in the chest.
“Paul! Are you completely insane!”
The brutal force of her push threw me off balance. I stumbled backward, my heel catching on the carpet. I went down hard.
The sharp corner of a mahogany desk caught me right in the lower back.
Blinding, agonizing pain shredded through my nervous system. I slid to the floor, feeling a warm, thick liquid dripping down the back of my head.
Gasps erupted across the office.
Jenny froze. She stared at the pooling blood on the carpet, all the color draining from her face.
I lay in my cheap rental apartment for a full month.
During that time, Brody practically lived on Instagram, flaunting his new luxury lifestyle. In the comment sections, Jenny and Sissi were tearing each other apart, fighting over him like wild dogs. Both of them ended up in the ER after a physical brawl at a country club.
Watching their circus act, I felt nothing but a dark, cynical amusement.
A month later, as the sun set, Jenny finally unlocked the door to our old condo.
The place was completely hollow. Stripped of all life.
She walked into the living room, annoyed, until her eyes landed on the glass coffee table.
Sitting right in the center was the divorce agreement. My signature was already inked at the bottom.
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1
A sudden car crash left me lying on the operating table.
The moment the anesthesia failed, I opened my eyes in agonizing pain.
The lead surgeon standing over me was my husband, Dr. Roe Hayes.
His face showed absolutely no surprise. His voice was as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
“The people who hit you were your parents,” he said. The words pierced my heart like an ice pick.
I trembled, trying to demand an answer, but he didn’t even blink.
The cold surgical instruments moved inside me. His voice carried a sick sense of vindictive pleasure.
“A year ago, you caused my sister to miscarry. She almost died.”
“Now, I am personally removing your three-month-old fetus. Consider us even.”
When he held up that tiny, unformed embryo right before my eyes, the reality of what I had just lost finally hit me.
A gut-wrenching, soul-tearing hatred surged up my throat, only to be swallowed by a deeper, physical agony.
He ordered the nurse to dispose of the tiny life, then turned back to me, his tone conversational.
“We either get a divorce so I can openly give her the happiness she deserves…”
Seeing my face covered in tears, he added one final condition.
“…Or we stay married, but you must accept me taking care of her. You are never allowed to cause her trouble again.”
Those words were the final straw that crushed my already snapping nerves.
My vision went black, and I passed out entirely.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital recovery room.
Roe was sitting by the bed, holding a steaming bowl of chicken soup. His gentle tone made it seem like the nightmare in the operating room had never happened.
“I made this for Chloe. She couldn’t finish it, so she told me to bring it to you to help you recover.”
Hearing the tenderness when he said the name Chloe snapped me back to reality. A wave of nausea hit me.
I violently slapped the hot soup away.
“Tell me,” I rasped. “When did the two of you start sleeping together?”
The bowl shattered on the floor, the scalding liquid burning the back of my hand.
Roe slowly wiped the spilled broth from his scrubs. His expression shifted to one of cold amusement.
“Hard to say. If you mean the first time we slept together, that was a year ago on our wedding anniversary. Right there in my office. For as long as you kept calling my phone, we kept going.”
A loud ringing exploded in my ears. My mind went completely blank.
So that night, they had been together the entire time. No wonder I called him dozens of times and he never picked up, only texting back hours later saying he had just gotten out of surgery.
I thought he was saving lives. I didn’t blame him. I even brought him late-night takeout.
Not long after that, my younger sister, Chloe, was beaten so badly she miscarried after being caught sleeping with a married man.
She called me for help. Worried about her reputation, I quietly paid off the angry wife and stayed by Chloe’s side in the hospital until she was discharged.
It was exactly after her surgery that Roe’s attitude toward me turned freezing cold.
He constantly used being “on-call” as an excuse to not come home for days. Our intimacy dropped from three times a week to me begging just to get his attention once.
I thought the distance was just because we were both so busy with our careers.
So, I gave up my chance to be promoted to regional manager. I became a stay-at-home wife, dedicating my life to taking care of him.
People laughed at me for throwing away my career, but I did it willingly because I loved him.
I thought if I just tried harder, our marriage would go back to how it used to be.
I never imagined his heart had already been given to someone elseâand that someone was my own sister.
He had even murdered my deeply longed-for child just for her.
I stared dead at Roe, my throat so raw I could barely make a sound.
“I’m so sorry, Val!”
My sister, Chloe, suddenly burst into the hospital room. With red, teary eyes, she threw herself at the side of my bed, intentionally pressing her hands down hard onto my fresh surgical wound through the blankets.
“It’s all my fault! I didn’t mean to hurt you…”
Roe immediately reached out to support her, his eyes softening to absolute tenderness.
But when he looked at me, his gaze turned to pure ice.
“Don’t blame her. She begged me to keep this a secret forever. I just couldn’t stand seeing her suffer in silence anymore. I want to give her a real future.”
My heart felt like it was being ripped apart by bare hands. The pain made it impossible to breathe.
With bloodshot eyes, I screamed.
“What suffering?! I didn’t cause her miscarriage!”
“You want to give her a future, so you personally murder our baby?!”
The moment the words left my mouth, Roe’s eyes turned lethal. His voice dripped with mockery.
“Valerie, why are you playing the victim? Three years ago, when my career was on the line, you left a divorce agreement on the table and vanished without a trace. I never blamed you for that, did I?”
2
I froze in place.
Roe continued, his face devoid of emotion.
“Back then, it was Chloe who went through hell to get that audio recording to prove my innocence. She was almost pushed off a balcony and killed for it. And when it was all over, it was Chloe who flew to Europe with me to help me recover mentally. You didn’t even ask if I was okay. So what victim are you pretending to be now?”
The blood in my veins turned to ice. Memories from three years ago rushed back.
Roe had been maliciously sued by a patient’s family, who claimed he intentionally let the patient die because they didn’t pay him a bribe.
His reputation was destroyed, and he was facing prison time.
To clear his name, I secretly tracked down the family. While arguing with them, I managed to secretly record them admitting they had fabricated the entire story.
But as I tried to leave, they realized what I had done and pushed me down a flight of concrete stairs. I broke my leg and lost the baby I had just found out I was carrying.
The doctors told me I might walk with a limp forever and that it would be incredibly difficult for me to ever get pregnant again.
I didn’t want to drag Roe down, and I didn’t want him to spend the rest of his life feeling guilty because of what happened to me.
So, I gave the flash drive with the recording to Chloe, asking her to hand it over to him. I also signed a divorce agreement, telling her to give it to him if things got too hard. Then, I quietly left the city to hide in a rehab clinic.
During those two months of painful physical therapy, Roe never tried to contact me.
I assumed he was buried in legal battles.
It wasn’t until I finally healed and went home that I found out his name had been cleared weeks ago. He was just vacationing in Europe.
I didn’t want to ruin his trip, so I chose to keep my injuries a secret.
When he returned, he never brought it up.
I thought the lawsuit had traumatized him so much that we were just silently agreeing to leave the past behind.
But the truth was, while I was doing agonizing physical therapy just so I could walk back into his arms, Chloe had stolen the credit for saving his life. She stayed by his side day and night. And heâwithout ever even asking me for the truthâhad started hating me to his core.
I remembered the day we got married. He held my hands and said, “I will stand by you unconditionally for the rest of my life. I will always believe in you. No matter what happens, nothing will ever tear us apart.”
The metallic taste of blood rose in my throat. I lifted my red-rimmed eyes to look at Chloe.
“How was your miscarriage my fault? You were the one who slept with a married…”
“Ugh!”
Chloe suddenly let out a dramatic gag, cutting me off.
Roe immediately tensed, holding her by the shoulders. “Are you feeling sick again?”
Suddenly, I realized what was happening.
“You’re pregnant?”
Chloe immediately chimed in. “I’m sorry, Val. I’m carrying Roe’s baby…”
Roe nodded without an ounce of shame.
“Two months. Twins. I’m having Chloe move into the house so I can take care of her and the babies properly. That nursery you set up will be put to good use.”
I had designed that nursery myself.
Every piece of furniture, every stuffed animal, I had picked out by hand.
I had fantasized countless times about the baby Roe and I would share.
And now, I was watching him have children with my own sister.
I practically coughed up blood. My voice was a broken rasp. “What about our baby? Roe, that was your own flesh and blood too!”
Roe didn’t even blink.
“That worthless mistake is already in the biohazard bin.”
3
Those cold words stabbed through my heart like rusted knives.
I remembered all the times Roe had whispered in my ear, “Val, I want a baby with you so badly.”
Yet he had murdered my child, just so he couldn’t wait to let Chloe carry his.
An immense wave of grief and rage swallowed me whole.
I grabbed the heavy glass vase from the nightstand and hurled it at them with everything I had.
“Get out! Both of you, get the hell out!”
As the vase shattered, Roe instinctively pulled Chloe into his arms to shield her from the glass.
He turned his head to glare at me, his eyes piercingly cold.
“If you can’t handle it, sign the divorce papers. Your parents are already pushing me to marry Chloe as soon as possible. They’ve even picked out names for the twins.”
I suddenly remembered what he had said in the operating room: The people who hit you were your parents.
So, my parents had known about their affair this entire time.
The people I loved most in the world had all betrayed me.
It was a pain so absolute, I couldn’t even force out a single tear.
I screamed until my voice gave out, chasing them out of the room. I curled into a ball under the thin hospital blanket, shivering violently.
The next day, my parents came to the hospital.
My fatherâs tone was harsh and commanding. “What kind of older sister are you? Chloe has always been weaker than you since she was in the womb! Because of you, she lost a baby and almost had to get her uterus removed! Now that she finally has a chance at happiness with Roe, you refuse to divorce him? Are you trying to kill her again?”
My mother wiped away fake tears. “They say twins have a telepathic connection, that they’re the closest people in the world. How can your heart be so vicious?”
There was no wind in the hospital room, but a freezing chill seeped straight into my bones.
I laughed. I laughed until tears finally streamed down my face.
“Oh, so you remember we’re twins? I was born exactly three minutes before her! When we were kids, you forced me to let her have everything. Now you expect me to give her my husband too?”
“But she is the younger sister! You can’t change that fact!” my mother raised her voice, acting indignant. “If you don’t divorce him, who are Chloe’s babies supposed to call Dad? Do you want her and her children to live in the shadows forever?”
“So, you ran me over with your car? Just to clear the way for her? Why didn’t you just kill me?”
The moment the words left my mouth, dead silence filled the room.
There wasn’t a single trace of guilt on their facesâonly annoyance.
I clenched my teeth. “I will never sign those papers. I want her to live in the shadows forever. I want her kids to be known as illegitimate bastards!”
Smack!
My father slapped me hard across the face.
“Ungrateful bitch! If I knew you were this toxic, I would have strangled you the minute you were born!”
My cheek burned, but the pain in my chest was worse.
Five years ago, when my father was hospitalized with liver cancer, I starved myself for a month to lose twenty pounds so I could donate a piece of my liver to save his life.
I thought if I sacrificed enough, I could finally earn my parents’ love.
But it was never enough. They always wanted more. They wanted to drain my blood and eat my flesh.
Seeing I wasn’t backing down, my mother pretended she was going to faint, and my father raised his hand to hit me again.
I looked at them one last time. My heart finally died.
“Fine. I’ll sign it. I’ll go pack my things today, and from now on, you are no longer my parents.”
If I couldn’t have it, I didn’t want any of it.
I returned to the house I shared with Roe. As soon as I walked through the front door, I heard sickeningly explicit groans coming from the nursery.
“Roe… what if Val catches us in here…”
Roe’s voice was thick with lust.
“Hold on tighter, baby… Let her find out. Whether she signs the papers or not, you are the only woman I will ever love.”
A tidal wave of memories crashed over me.
When we first met at the hospital, it was love at first sight for Roe.
Known as the untouchable, elite surgeon, he acted like he was addicted to me.
To win me over, he cooked and delivered meals to my office every day. The first thing he did after a fourteen-hour surgery was drive to see me. He dropped to one knee at a crowded concert to propose, begging me to stay by his side for the rest of his life.
He made me believe in love. He made me think I was his only exception.
Suddenly, a weak whimper pulled me back to reality.
I followed the sound. It was my six-year-old golden retriever, Buster.
He was lying on the floor, a massive pool of blood around his mouth. He was taking shallow, ragged breaths.
“Buster…”
I dropped to my knees to pick him up and rush him to the vet. But he just looked at me one last time, let out a soft sigh, and stopped breathing in my arms.
He had been waiting for me. He waited until he saw me, and then he let go.
My mind went completely blank.
A soul-shredding agony ripped away the last of my sanity.
I kicked the nursery door open.
The two of them scrambled apart in panic.
Before I could even step forward, Chloe acted as if I had terrified her. She deliberately threw herself backward onto the hardwood floor, letting out a piercing scream and clutching her stomach.
“Roe! My stomach hurts so much! The babies… my babies!”
Roe’s face went pale. “Don’t panic, I’m taking you to the hospital right now!”
He spun around wildly, grabbing clothes off the floor.
While his back was turned, Chloe suddenly stopped screaming. She looked at me and flashed a sinister, triumphant smile.
“So what if I kicked your stupid dog to death, Val?” she whispered. “All it takes is one word from me, and your baby is dead. You really think you can beat me?”
4
Looking at that face that was nearly identical to my own, the blood rushed to my head.
“You psychotic bitch!”
I lunged forward, reaching out to wrap my hands around her throat.
But before I could even touch her, Roe delivered a brutal kick right into my stomach.
“Are you insane?! She’s bleeding and you’re still trying to kill her?! It was just a damn dog!”
The dog wasn’t important. The babies were. And I wasn’t.
The force of his kick was massive. I was essentially launched backward, crashing hard against the floor.
The fresh surgical stitches on my stomach ripped open. Blood poured out, soaking my shirt.
Roe looked down at the blood spreading across my stomach. For a fraction of a second, a flash of hesitation crossed his eyes.
But then Chloe started screaming again.
“Roe… it hurts so much…”
“I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you!”
He didn’t look at me again. He scooped Chloe into his arms and bolted out the door.
By the time he reached the front yard, a crowd of nosy neighbors had already gathered, whispering and holding up their phones to record.
Roe didn’t slow down. He shoved through the crowd and carried her away.
Through the blurry haze of pain, I saw Chloe peek over his shoulder, giving me one last victorious smirk.
I tried to push myself off the floor, but a blinding wave of pain ripped through my abdomen. I collapsed and lost consciousness.
When I opened my eyes again, I was tied to a bed in a beachfront vacation cabin.
It was the property Roe had bought in my name, a place he used to bring me when he took time off work.
But right now, I was hogtied on the mattress. Standing in front of me were three overweight men, covered in disgusting sores and pustules, staring at me like hungry wolves.
In the corner of the room, a camera on a tripod was pointed directly at the bed.
Realizing what was about to happen, my entire body began to violently shake. I looked toward the doorway, where Roe was standing, his face entirely devoid of emotion.
“Roe, what the hell are you doing? No matter what happened, I am still your wife…”
This was the man who swore he would support me unconditionally, who promised he would always be on my side.
But when he opened his mouth, his voice was dripping with venom.
“Valerie, not only did you cause Chloe to almost lose the babies, but you let the neighbors film the whole thing. Now it’s all over the internet. She’s getting cyberbullied. You don’t deserve to be her sister!”
“Three years ago, after what you did to me, I never abandoned you! I even thought that if you refused to sign the divorce papers, I would just let it go. We could stay married, even if it was just on paper. But what did you do? Is this how you repay my mercy?”
“These three men are patients I pulled from an infectious disease ward… Don’t worry, I won’t let them actually r*pe you. I’m just having them pose with you. We’ll take some photos and post them online. I want you to experience the exact same pain Chloe is feeling. I want you to know what it feels like to have your dignity dragged through the mud.”
Seeing him turn to leave, I suddenly remembered something. A year ago, when Chloe was hospitalized for her miscarriage, a man came to visit her. That man was one of Roe’s colleagues from the surgical department!
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Chloe played you, Roe! A year ago, she didn’t get hit by a car! She was caught sleeping with a married man and the man’s wife beat the baby out of her! That man was your coworker! And three years ago, I didn’t abandon you, Iâ”
“Shut up! You literally ran her over, and now you have the nerve to frame her?!” Roe looked at me with pure, unadulterated hatred. “You walked out on me when I needed you most, Valerie. You have no heart!”
As I stared at him in sheer disbelief, he delivered the final, fatal blow.
“By the way, I had your mother skin that dog of yours and boil it into a stew for Chloe. Dog meat is highly nutritious for pregnant women.”
Boom.
My brain completely shut down.
Buster had been with me for six years. When Roe and Chloe were vacationing in Europe and I was home alone recovering from broken bones and a lost pregnancy, Buster was the only one who stayed by my side.
I could see his little head resting on my knees.
I could see every moment of the last five years I had spent with Roe.
The pain was so excruciating it felt like I was being sliced alive.
After Roe walked out the door, the three men lunged toward the bed.
“All those stuck-up bitches think we’re disgusting… We haven’t had a taste of a real woman in years…”
My scalp prickled with terror. “Roe told you to just take pictures!”
“Yeah, well, your sister gave us different orders. She said if we’re gonna put on a show, we might as well make it real. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you enjoy it.”
I shook violently, screaming for help, but Roe was already gone.
Just as they ripped my shirt, my hand brushed against a heavy glass lamp on the nightstand. I grabbed it and smashed it directly into the face of the closest man.
While the other two recoiled in shock, I scrambled off the bed, sprinted out of the room, and bolted out the front door.
By the side of the road, Roe was opening the door to his SUV.
Behind me, the sound of heavy footsteps grew closer.
I opened my mouth to scream for Roe, but before I could make a sound, I saw Chloe lean out of the passenger side window. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and they kissed deeply.
Despair crashed over me like a tidal wave.
I thought of my murdered child. My dead dog. My parents who sold me out. And the man who had just died in my heart.
I knew I couldn’t outrun those men.
And honestly, I didn’t want to run anymore.
Without a second of hesitation, I turned sharply and sprinted straight toward the jagged cliff edge. The roaring ocean crashed against the rocks below.
I spread my arms and threw myself into the void.
In the moment of freefall, I thought I heard Roe’s voice, screaming with a completely raw, desperate agony.
“Valerie! No!”
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They all say the way to a manâs heart is through his stomach.
For thirty years, I believed them.
Every single day, Iâd craft new dishes for my husband, David. His stomach was weak, so I was careful with every pinch of salt.
Then came the storm. I saw him with my own eyes, his arm wrapped around his old flame, Linda, in a cheap diner, the two of them lovingly sharing a single ice cream cone.
I returned home, soaked to the bone, only to stumble upon his hidden medical report: stomach cancer.
So, not only had he betrayed me, but he was also planning to let me wither away by his side, none the wiser, so he could cash in my life insurance and run off with her.
The worst part? The absolute joke of it all? He had the audacity to ask Linda to learn my recipes, to âtake over for meâ when I was gone.
Fine. If he wanted to eat from two kitchens, Iâd be more than happy to plan his menu.
If Linda made him crab, Iâd serve a rich tomato stew. If she seared him lamb chops, Iâd prepare a refreshing watermelon salad.
Letâs just see how long his broken body could take it.
1
After I retired, I started posting videos of my cooking online. My followers always said a talent like mine shouldn’t be confined to a home kitchen.
Last month, someone recommended an international culinary competition.
All expenses paid, a trip around the world, a huge cash prize for the winner, and even funding to open your own restaurant.
It was an incredible offer, and Iâd be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.
But my hand hovered over the application page for what felt like an eternity. I just couldn’t bring myself to click.
My husband, David, had a terribly weak stomach. He needed constant, meticulous care.
For thirty years, my carefully prepared meals were the only thing keeping him going. Without me, he wouldn’t have made it this long.
I treated him like a king, but he treated me like the hired help.
If a dish was too salty or too bland, if the porridge was too thick or too thin, heâd throw his chopsticks down and demand I remake it.
For his health, I endured it. For thirty years.
This morning, he surprised me by asking me to buy a chicken to make a broth. A warmth spread through my chest. He never liked chicken soupâbut I loved it. And today was my birthday.
But just as I bought the chicken, the sky opened up in a torrential downpour. I quickly called him, but he just screamed at me.
“You idiot! Can’t you do one simple thing right?”
He hung up. The little warmth Iâd felt was instantly extinguished.
I ran home through the rain, but my feet froze when I saw the diner downstairs.
There was David, huddled under a single umbrella with his old flame, Linda, the two of them cooing as they shared an ice cream cone.
David wrapped his arm around her. “I had the old woman make you some chicken soup. I’ll bring it over tonight to help you warm up.”
Linda pouted playfully. “Who wants chicken soup? I want soda and ice cream. I want to be your sweet little baby.”
“Of course,” he cooed back. “You’ll always be my sweet little baby.”
I stood there in the pouring rain, smelling the stale cooking oil on my clothes and looking at the blisters on my hands. In that moment, I finally understood just how foolish Iâd been for thirty years.
When I got home, I was soaked through, but I didn’t bother changing. I went straight to the bedroom and started packing.
The competition organizers had said there was a flight tonight.
Just then, David walked in.
As always, his first words to me were, “Hurry up and make dinner.”
I ignored him, continuing to pack my suitcase.
When he saw I wasn’t moving, his voice rose. “Are you deaf? I’m talking to you! Did you get the chicken? Get in there and make the soup!”
I zipped my suitcase shut and finally looked up at him. “I’m leaving. The house is all yours.”
He stared at me for a second, then his face twisted in anger.
“What’s gotten into you? So I didn’t pick you up in the rain, and now you’re throwing a fit? I was busy helping a friend!”
2
I stared at the corner of his mouth, where a faint smear of ice cream remained. “A friend? What friend?”
He licked his lips reflexively. “Just an old friend. You wouldn’t know her.”
“The doctor said your spleen is weak. You can’t have cold things. Next time you and Linda have a date, maybe you should eat something else.”
With that, I grabbed my suitcase to leave, but he lunged forward and seized my arm. “You were following me! Have you no shame?”
I ripped my arm from his grasp. “You’re asking me about shame?”
He faltered for a moment, then, unbelievably, he smirked.
“Yeah, I saw Linda. So what? Can’t old friends catch up? Why are you so damn paranoid?”
I looked at his smug, uncaring face and remembered the time Iâd served him soup that was slightly too cool. Heâd slammed his bowl on the table and screamed at me all night.
Now, to please Linda, he was ignoring his doctorâs orders.
Suddenly, the fire in my chest fizzled out. It felt like even being angry was a waste of energy.
I didn’t say another word. I just picked up my suitcase and walked out of that house without looking back.
On the way to the airport, he called me relentlessly. I ignored every call.
A few minutes later, my son called.
“Mom, what are you doing? Where are you going to go without Dad? I’m out of state, I can’t take care of you!”
“Don’t worry,” I said flatly. “I won’t be a burden to you.”
I had just hung up when my daughter’s call came through.
I sighed, speaking before she could. “I already told you, you don’t need to worry about me!”
There was a pause. “Mom, what are you talking about? I got a raise, and I wanted to take you out for a nice dinner. It’s your birthday.”
Hearing her words, the tears Iâd been holding back finally broke free. I poured out all the hurt and humiliation from the day.
The line was quiet for a few seconds.
“Mom,” she said, her voice firm. “You go. Don’t worry about a thing. Even if you lose the competition, it doesn’t matter. I’ll take care of you from now on.”
I clutched the phone tighter, a wave of relief washing over me. At least I still had my daughter.
“I promise you, honey, I’m going to win. You just wait for me.”
At the airport, the texts from David started flooding in:
“You’re sixty years old, stop acting like a child! It was just a damn ice cream cone! Get back here and make dinner, I’m starving!”
I was done with his nonsense. I turned off my phone.
But as I reached the gate, a staff member stopped me. “Ma’am, airline policy requires passengers over sixty to present a recent health report before boarding.”
“But I’m in perfect health! Look, I can carry this heavy suitcase with no problem. I’m fine, really.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s the rule.”
The competition organizer tried to help. “There’s another flight tomorrow morning. Why don’t you go home and get the report?”
I gazed at the boarding gate and sighed heavily.
Fine. One more night. As soon as the sun came up, I would be free.
I heard the sound of laughter as I approached my front door. When I pushed it open, the scene inside made me freeze.
David and Linda were on my bed, their clothes in disarray.
Linda scrambled to her feet, frantically straightening her shirt. “Susan, don’t get the wrong idea! I was just making David some dinner. You should have some, too.”
I let out a cold laugh. “No, thank you. I’m afraid I might catch something.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” David snapped. “If it wasn’t for Linda, I would have starved! You’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here! I thought you were so tough.”
I ignored him and started searching for my health report.
He kept yelling. “Since you’re back, you better start behaving! You pull that face with me again, and you won’t see a single penny from me!”
Linda awkwardly picked up her purse. “Well, since Susan’s back, I should probably get going.”
3
David rushed to see her out. I heard their hushed voices from the doorway.
“David, you should go check on her,” Linda whispered. “I think she’s looking for that health report.”
“Let her find it! Maybe when she sees she has terminal stomach cancer, she’ll finally shut up and stay by my side where she belongs.”
“What do you mean? You mean you still have feelings for her?”
“Of course not! While she’s alive, she’s a free maid. When she’s dead, I get a fat insurance payout. I’m going to use her until there’s nothing left!”
I stared at the report in my hands. My own name, my own diagnosis: mid-stage stomach cancer. My mind went blank, and my hands started to tremble uncontrollably.
The man I had painstakingly cared for for thirty years didn’t just see me as a free maid. He was actively waiting for me to die.
I looked at the pot of chicken soup still simmering on the stove, and a cold resolve settled over me.
If thatâs how he wanted to play it, then I would stay. And I would put my heart and soul into every single meal I made from now on.
The moment David walked back in, I ladled a bowl of chicken soup and placed it in front of him.
“Drink this while it’s hot. I even added a few slices of ginseng for you.”
He eyed me with suspicion. “What’s this all about?”
I let out a soft sigh. “You’re right, I overreacted today. It was foolish to make such a scene over an ice cream cone.”
A smug grin spread across his face. “It’s about time you came to your senses. Besides, where would you go without me?”
My voice cracked as I replied, “You’re right. At my age, where else could I go? This house is all I have.”
I pushed the soup towards him. He took it and drank the entire bowl in one gulp.
I reached for a napkin to wipe his mouth, but he shoved my hand away. “Pathetic. From now on, just stick to your cooking and stay out of my business.”
I nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to put my heart into every meal.”
As the words left my mouth, he clutched his stomach. “Ow! Why does my stomach suddenly hurt so much?”
Watching him stumble towards the bathroom, I clenched the empty bowl in my hands.
Ginseng and ice cream. That was just the appetizer.
David, your reckoning is coming.
From the day I “surrendered,” David became even more brazen.
At first, he would meet Linda in secret. Now, he brought her right into our home.
“You need to teach Linda how to cook properly,” he told me, his tone matter-of-fact. “That way, when you’re gone, she can take over for me.”
I gripped the spatula so hard my nails dug into my palm.
The old bastard!
I wasn’t even dead yet, and he was already training my replacement.
Linda chimed in with a sickeningly sweet smile.
“David always says what an amazing cook you are. If you teach me, I can help out and you can finally get some rest.”
The old me would have sent them packing with a hot pan.
But now, I just smiled and nodded. “Of course. I’d be happy to. Just tell me what you want to learn.”
And so, David began eating from two kitchens. Heâd have lunch at Lindaâs, then come home for the dinner I prepared.
On the first day, I taught Linda how to make spicy crab. That evening, I served him a hearty beef and tomato stew.
On the second day, I showed her how to pan-sear lamb chops. For dinner, I made a chilled watermelon and lotus seed soup.
On the third day, I taught her a simple spinach stir-fry. That night, I made him scrambled eggs with loofah squash.
In just three days, David’s face turned as sallow as old newspaper. He spent most of his time clutching the toilet, moaning in pain.
The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with him, just advised him to watch his diet and avoid street food.
Hearing this, David became even more dedicated to eating our home-cooked meals.
4
A week later, he was nothing but skin and bones.
That day, Linda stewed beef for him. I, on the other hand, prepared only a small plate of sugar-roasted chestnuts.
When he came home that night, he slammed his briefcase down and flew into a rage. “The doctor told me I need to eat well to protect my stomach, and this is the crap you serve me?”
I slowly peeled a chestnut, my voice low. “Do you remember what day it is?”
“What day?”
“It’s our thirtieth wedding anniversary.”
I pushed the peeled chestnut towards him.
“The day we got our marriage license, you peeled them for me just like this. You said our life together would always be as sweet as these chestnuts.”
He scoffed, his face a mask of impatience. “We’re almost seventy. You really think I have time for this sentimental garbage? Just go make some real food!”
I rose slowly, my eyes locked on his.
“Do you know why you’ve been having such terrible diarrhea lately?”
“Spicy crab with tomato stew. Seared lamb with watermelon soup. It was all part of a menu I carefully designed, just for you.”
He shot to his feet, stumbling back a few steps. “What are you saying? You’ve been poisoning me?”
I just stared at him in silence.
He scrambled to the sink and began to retch violently. “You venomous bitch! I’m calling the police!”
A cold smile touched my lips. “Go ahead. Call them right now.”
I slapped the life insurance policy down on the table.
“Let’s have the police see who bought a massive policy on me. Let them see who deliberately hid my cancer diagnosis from me. Let them see who’s been praying for me to die every single day!”
He stared at me for a few seconds, and then a slow, cruel smile spread across his face.
“So, you know. No point in hiding it anymore.”
“That’s right, I’m waiting for you to die. But I didn’t give you terminal cancer. You can only blame your own bad luck for that.”
“I suggest you go back to being a good little wife and taking care of me. You wouldn’t want to make this a bigger mess, would you? If you’re good, I might even buy you a nice burial plot.”
I looked at his disgusting face and started to laugh.
I pulled another health report from my bag and laid it in front of him.
“Such a shame. I went back to the hospital a few days ago. Turns out, they made a mistake. They mixed up our names on the reports. The one with stomach cancer is you, David. Not me.”
He snatched the report, his hands trembling as he read it. His face drained of all color.
After a long moment, he looked up at me, his eyes wide with fear. “What are you going to do to me?”
“You have terminal cancer. Do I really need to do anything? The divorce papers are on the table. I’ve already signed them.”
“I’d suggest you call your dear Linda to take care of you. After all, your little pension won’t be enough to hire a nurse.”
“Susan,” he whispered, his voice pleading. “You’re joking, right? This is a joke.”
I let out a final, cold laugh, picked up my suitcase, and walked out of the house.
He screamed my name behind me, but I didn’t turn back.
This time, with a clean bill of health in my hand, I passed through security without a problem.
But just as I was about to step onto the jet bridge, two police officers stopped me.
“Are you Ms. Susan Clark? We’ve received a report that you are a suspect in an attempted murder. Please come with us.”
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At the company victory party, Sophia took the mic and announced to everyone that she wanted a new husband. The words hit me like a physical blow, freezing me where I stood.
But down in the crowd, a young man named Ryan erupted in laughter. He loudly mocked the idea of an old guy like me being scared stiff at the thought of being dumped.
He then urged Sophia to make good on their bet. Sheâd wagered the most, he crowed, and now she owed him a cool $5,200.
The room joined in, roaring with laughter. Sophia, without a second glance at me, stepped off the stage.
After transferring the money, she even playfully nuzzled against Ryanâs chest.
Only then did she turn back to me, her voice light and dismissive. “It was just a joke, Alex. We were just having fun with the kid, livening things up. Donât take it seriously.”
She must have thought Iâd swallow my pride and let it go, just like I always did.
But this time, I picked up the microphone.
“Funny you should say that, Sophia,” I said, my voice perfectly calm.
I let the silence hang for a beat before adding, “Because my wish was exactly the same.”
1
The laughter died instantly. Sophiaâs face darkened. “Everyone’s just messing around,” she snapped. “What are you trying to prove?”
Before I could answer, she waved a dismissive hand at the crowd, her tone dripping with condescension. “Our CEO, Mr. Reed, has been a bit emotionally unstable lately. I apologize on his behalf.”
Ryan tilted his head, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “Could it be a mid-life crisis? Tell me, Sophia, can you smell the old man on him when you’re in bed at night?”
He clapped a hand over his mouth in mock innocence.
Sophia feigned a scolding tone. “Ryan, don’t be rude.”
But the look in her eyes, the tone of her voice… there was no reprimand in it. Only pure, unadulterated indulgence.
Ryan caught it, too, and his arrogance swelled.
A chorus of snickers rose from the crowd. The eyes on me were filled with mockery and contempt.
A sharp pain lanced through my chest, a spiderweb of hurt spreading through my body.
Ten years. I had been with her from nothing, watched her build an empire.
And this was my reward: to be publicly shamed while she shielded a younger man, treating me as if I were worthless.
I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and took a deep breath. “Ryan,” I said, my voice steady, “you should know that illegal gambling and public slander are grounds not just for termination, but for a lawsuit. I could have you arrested.”
The color drained from Ryanâs face. He shot a panicked look at Sophia.
Their shared glance was a knife in my gut.
In the next second, she stepped forward.
Just like she used to do for me, she planted herself firmly in front of Ryan, a human shield.
“Don’t you pull that ‘boss’ act with me, Alex Reed,” she spat. “Weren’t you the one who cried his eyes out ten years ago when you got fired over two hundred dollars?”
I looked at her, and a bitter laugh almost escaped my lips.
She was right. If she hadn’t gotten into that fight back then, I wouldn’t have been fired. I wouldn’t have been two hundred dollars short on rent, feeling like my world was ending.
Back then, she had cupped my tear-stained face, her eyes fierce and devoted. “Anyone who dares to hurt you,” sheâd sworn, “I’ll give my life to make them pay.”
Now, the very person who had promised to protect me for life was the one holding the umbrella that sheltered the man stabbing me in the back.
The irony was suffocating.
Tired of the standoff, Sophia grabbed my arm and dragged me into an adjacent private room.
She shoved me hard. The new leather shoes I was wearing, stiff and unforgiving, dug into my ankle, drawing blood.
I hissed in pain. Sophia paused, her voice cold. “You insist on wearing them even if they don’t fit. Always making things harder for yourself. No wonder you have to pick on a kid like him.”
“If you’re done, you should just go home. I’m busy.”
Without another glance, she turned and left.
I sat on the sofa, stunned, for a long time before I finally pulled out my phone.
An employee had posted from the party. Ryan’s post was the most prominent.
Just two pictures.
One was a screenshot of the $5,200 transfer. The memo read:
From my idol~
The other was a photo of him and Sophia, their heads close together. Ryan looked blissful; Sophia was smiling down, a soft look on her face.
The comments were full of his thinly veiled jabs about me being bad-tempered and unromantic.
I looked down at the expensive, ill-fitting shoes on my feet and finally accepted the truth.
Some people are only with you for the struggle, not the success.
The warmth of the past, the promisesâthey were real.
But the coldness of the present, the change of heartâthat was real, too.
I picked up my phone. The two cruise tickets Iâd booked months ago stared back at me. I had tried so many times to patch up the thousand little cracks in our ten-year history.
But now, with a simple tap of my finger, I cancelled Sophia’s ticket.
Then, I made an appointment with a divorce lawyer.
For the rest of my journey, I realized, I no longer had to wait for anyone.
It was late when I got home.
In my dreams, I was back in the blizzard from ten years ago.
In our tiny rented room, Sophia and I huddled together for warmth.
No parents, no connections, just our own two hands to build a life.
Back then, I was constantly anxious about being five years older than her.
But one day, she came home, a mysterious smile on her face. She rolled up her sleeve to reveal my name, Alex Reed, freshly and bloodily carved into the pale skin of her forearm.
Her eyes shone with a frightening intensity as she rushed to reassure me. “See? Now you don’t have to be scared. If I, Sophia, ever stop loving you, my life has no meaning.”
Those days of struggling, of finding warmth in each other, churned over and over in my sleep.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in the fractured reality of the present.
Sophia was sitting by the bed, her voice devoid of emotion. “So you just hide under the covers and sulk when I’m not home? Alex, what would it cost you to just soften up a little?”
I turned my back to her, unwilling to speak.
She took a deep breath and sat on the sofa behind me. “You know, Alex,” she said casually, “you can’t even give me a child. By all rights, I’ve already done more than enough for you.”
“And I came back today to tell you that Ryan is dealing with depression. I need you to stop targeting him.”
Her tone was light, but her words plunged a knife into my deepest wound.
I shot up, grabbing the bedside lamp and hurling it at her. My voice was a ragged tremor. “Sophia, if I hadn’t walked for two hours in that blizzard to close that deal for you, our little Lily would be here right now, calling me ‘Daddy’!”
“How can you say that, Sophia? Are you even human?”
Maybe the raw vulnerability on my face was too much for her.
She looked at my reddened eyes, and her expression finally softened.
“I can’t be expected to chain myself to a man who brings no value, can I? You know, even the most loyal woman gets tired.”
I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye, my laugh sharp with scorn. “What? And I’m supposed to be grateful for that?”
A flicker of anger finally ignited in her eyes.
“Are you ever going to let it go? In the end, it was your carelessness that we lost Lily. You deserve this!”
“Ryan is so much younger than you, but he’s a hundred times more thoughtful. Look at you now! You’re being completely irrational!”
She slammed the door on her way out. I didn’t sleep a wink that night.
The next morning, Ryan was the first person I saw at the office.
He sauntered in with a cup of coffee, his smile a venomous sneer. “Alex, Sophia told me last night I need to take good care of my body. I guess she’s finally tired of a man like you.”
I didn’t even look up from my desk. “Take care of it for what? To be a better toyboy?”
Ryan’s face changed, and he opened his mouth to retort, but then we both heard Sophia’s footsteps approaching.
He lurched forward, “accidentally” spilling the scalding coffee all over me.
My arm instantly turned an angry red.
He grabbed me, his fingers digging into my flesh. “Mr. Reed, I was sincerely trying to apologize! Even if you don’t like me, you could at least cut me some slack, knowing my health isn’t good.”
Sophia kicked open my office door. “Alex, don’t push it! Do you really think you can do whatever you want?”
“I’m telling you, if anything happens to Ryan, I will make you pay!”
With that, she helped Ryan to his feet and walked out, right in front of a crowd of gawking employees.
The burning pain in my arm was nothing compared to the desolation that flooded my heart. Before I could even form a response, a sharp pain lanced through my chest.
My vision went black, and I collapsed.
When I came to, I was in a hospital bed.
As I struggled to sit up, a nurse who had come to change my dressing gently pushed me back down.
“You have a weak heart,” he said. “You can’t overwork yourself like this. Don’t be so reckless with your job.”
I froze, staring at him in disbelief.
Just then, Sophia’s voice echoed from the hallway.
She strode in, her eyes completely void of concern.
“You really know how to put on a show, Alex. Ryan’s in the hospital, so you have to be in the hospital too? Are you that desperate for attention?”
I looked up at her, intending to tell her what the doctor had said about my heart.
But her baseless accusations made any explanation feel pointless.
The passion I once had for her had long since rotted away, silenced by her constant, blatant favoritism.
Seeing my silence, her voice grew colder. “Fine. Play your little games for as long as you want. I’m not participating.” She turned and left.
The room was deathly quiet. I placed a hand over my chest, which for the moment felt steady.
As soon as I’m discharged, I thought, I’m leaving.
Leaving Sophia, and leaving this place of endless pain.
The exhaustion of the past few days washed over me, and I drifted off to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, it was pitch black outside.
And standing by my bed, holding my medical chart, was Ryan.
Hearing me stir, he whipped his head around, his eyes burning with resentment and malice.
“Alex, why did you have to pick now to fight me?”
I tried to push myself up, but my body felt leaden.
Ryan saw me move and immediately assumed I was going to call for Sophia.
He stepped forward, blocking my path, his voice twisted with hate. “Shameless! You cling to your position as Mr. Reed, and now you’re pretending to be sick to solidify your status.”
I had no energy to argue. I reached for the call button on the bedside table.
But Ryan shrieked and lunged at me.
“Since you won’t listen to reason, then you can just die with that broken heart of yours!”
The unexpected force of his shove sent me off balance. My chest slammed hard into the corner of the nightstand.
An explosion of pain erupted in my chest, radiating through my entire body.
The world spun. I felt a warm trickle of blood at the corner of my mouth.
The door to the room openedâI don’t know whenâand Sophia rushed in.
I saw her brow furrow in concern as she started towards me.
“Sophia, help me…”
Before I could finish, Ryan grabbed her arm, his grip like a vise.
He clutched his own chest, his voice trembling and pitiful. “Sophia, it’s not Alex’s fault. I’m the one to blame for falling in love with you. If punishing me makes him happy and makes things easier for you, then I’m willing to accept it.”
“But Sophia,” he choked out, tears streaming down his face, “my chest… it hurts so much. Am I going to be okay?”
Sophia’s expression changed in an instant.
The flicker of concern in her eyes when she looked at me was replaced by cold accusation.
“Alex, losing Lily doesn’t give you the right to make everyone else pay for your misery! You’ve gone too far this time!”
“I couldn’t save Lily. I refuse to lose another.”
She gently helped Ryan up and hurried out of the room.
The door slammed shut, leaving me alone.
Sticky blood soaked the collar of my shirt. I slowly closed my eyes.
I knew that my battered, broken heart had just been crushed one last time.
I was woken up by my phone. It was a voice message from Sophia.
No apology, no concern. Just a perfunctory, matter-of-fact statement.
“Ryan wants to see the ocean, so I’m taking him. There’s no one here to watch your performance, so you can stop the act.”
I slowly lowered the phone, placing a hand on the dull ache in my chest.
The pain was gone now, replaced by an endless, echoing numbness.
I opened my contacts and found my old friend, James. I arranged to transfer all of my company shares and business assets to him.
I had considered an amicable divorce, for old times’ sake.
Now, it seemed, that was no longer necessary.
In the days that followed, I focused on two things: my recovery and finalizing the divorce settlement and asset transfers.
Once everything was in order, I went back to the house to pack.
The place was a mess, littered with traces of her and Ryan.
I ignored it all, quietly packing my things.
There was no nostalgia, no regret.
Halfway through, Sophia called.
“Ryan’s not feeling well. Move out so he can move in.”
I tossed the wedding photo from the wall into a box. “Okay,” I said calmly.
There was a silence on the other end of the line. She clearly hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.
In the past ten years, whenever a situation like this had come up, I would have fought her, screaming and refusing.
A note of surprise crept into her voice. “This is our marital home. Have you forgotten?”
My hands stilled. A bone-deep chill spread through me.
So she did remember what this place meant to me.
And yet, she still chose to trample on it, to provoke me in the cruelest way possible.
I composed myself. “It’s fine,” I said softly. “Do whatever you want.”
My compliance seemed to infuriate her.
“Fine. Great. Since you don’t care about anything, then you can give your General Manager position to Ryan!”
I didn’t say another word. I hung up, mailed the package, and checked the time. My cruise departed in five hours.
Just as I was about to leave, a crew of workers swarmed in and started demolishing the interior of the house.
I stopped them, frowning. “Who let you into my home?”
The foreman didn’t even look up. “Ms. Sophia’s orders. Tear everything down and redecorate it to Mr. Ryan’s liking.”
Just then, Ryan appeared at the door, a triumphant smirk on his face. “See, Alex? No matter how much you struggle, Sophia chose me in the end. You should just give up.”
I looked at his smug face and found it laughable.
Not bothering to argue, I walked towards the elevator.
But as the doors opened, I came face-to-face with Sophia.
“Where are you going?”
“A business trip.”
Hearing this, her posture relaxed slightly. “Don’t think you can use a business trip as an excuse to miss the promotion meeting,” she said. “I’m telling you, you have to be there!”
I didn’t even spare her a glance as I stepped into the elevator.
How could she know that in a few hours, I would be on a cruise ship?
And that after the trip, I would be flying directly to James’s country.
Never to return.
Sophia watched me go, her voice laced with a petulant threat. “You’d better not regret this, Alex Reed! When you come back crying and begging me to take you back, I won’t!”
The elevator doors closed, and the world outside fell away.
I had finally left behind the place that held all my youth and all my pain.
Sophia, still thinking I was just throwing a tantrum, decided to play along.
At Ryanâs promotion meeting, all the company executives were present.
Ryan clutched his chest, looking weakly at Sophia. “Sophia, do you think… do you think Alex didn’t come because of me? It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t accepted the promotion…”
Sophia’s brow was furrowed, her displeasure obvious. “He’s taking this tantrum too far, bringing it into a company meeting. When he gets back, I’ll make sure he apologizes to you.”
She said it with such certainty, as if I would walk through the door at any second, crying and admitting I was wrong.
Just then, there was a soft knock on the conference room door.
The receptionist walked in with a local courier package. “Ms. Sophia, this is for you. The sender said it was a special gift and that you had to sign for it personally.”
Sophia’s eyes lit up. A small, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips.
This had to be it. My peace offering.
She had won again.
Her voice held a hint of eager anticipation. “Open it.”
The assistant did as she was told, but the next second, her face paled.
Inside, there were no flowers, no apology note. Just two documents.
One was a signed divorce agreement. The other was a share transfer certificate.
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1
I always thought I couldn’t dream.
Then one day, my husband brought me a tonic to calm my nerves. I drank it and dreamed for the first time.
In the dream, his struggling company made a miraculous comeback, becoming an industry leader. Days later, it came true.
But joy was brief. A sudden car accident left my legs paralyzed.
When pain kept me awake, he brought the tonic again.
I dreamed a second time: my son, who always struggled in school, aced the entrance exam and got into a top university. Days later, he ranked first in the state.
At that same moment, I was diagnosed with acute liver necrosis. Half my liver was removed.
After surgery, my husband held my hand, crying, “Donât worry, Iâll never leave you.”
Then he brought another bowl of the tonic.
I trembled, trying to push it away.
But he pried my mouth open and poured it in. “Be good, Mindy. Itâs a family recipeâa painkiller. Drink, and the pain will go.”
My consciousness faded into a third dream: my father-in-law, dying of cancer, fully recovered.
I woke with a jolt, a metallic taste in my throat.
My heart stopped. I died instantly.
Then I opened my eyesâback to the day he first handed me that bowl of tonic.
âŚ
My husband, Joey, came from a long line of herbalists, and the Dream-Soothing Tonic was his family’s secret recipe.
Heâd recently improved the formula, claiming it not only helped you sleep more soundly but also guaranteed beautiful dreams.
As I stared at the bowl, its unique herbal aroma filling the air, goosebumps erupted on my skin.
In my past life, driven by curiosity about the dreams I could never have, I had drunk Joeyâs tonic.
And just as he’d promised, I had a beautiful dream.
Not only that, but the dream came true.
But I never imagined the price for making my dreams a reality was my own life.
Joey carefully blew on the spoonful of hot liquid.
“Honey, you said you wanted to know what it’s like to dream. Come on, try it!”
“I even added some honey, so it tastes great and works even better!”
I scooted back on the bed, away from the proffered spoon. “You know, I think I’m fine without dreams. Every medicine has its side effects. I think I’ll pass.”
He persistently pushed the spoon toward my lips. “These are all restorative herbs. I promise, there are no side effects.”
I pressed my lips together, refusing to drink.
Clatter!
The spoon clattered back into the bowl. Joey’s face darkened.
“Mindy, don’t you trust me? Do you think I’m trying to hurt you?”
His voice was tight with suppressed anger.
If I provoked him further, I knew he would do the same thing he did in my past lifeâpry my mouth open and force it down my throat.
I stared at the murky green, life-draining liquid and clutched my stomach.
“Of course not! It’s just… my stomach is acting up. I don’t feel like eating anything.”
Joey hesitated.
He was about to say something else, but I curled up on the bed, feigning a wave of pain.
He had no choice but to take the tonic and leave. “Alright, you get some rest. If it’s really bad, we’ll go to the hospital.”
I let out a long breath. I had dodged a bullet.
A few minutes later, Joey returned with a packet of stomach medicine.
“Feeling any better? Take this, it’ll help.”
I sat up immediately. “Much better! I don’t need it.”
I couldn’t risk taking anything he gave me.
He didn’t force me this time. He helped me out of bed. “Well, come have dinner then. Mom made her special chicken soup to soothe your stomach.”
I had no reason to refuse. I went to the dining table.
My mother-in-law ladled a huge bowl of soup for me.
The broth was fragrant and clear, dotted with vibrant green scallions. It looked delicious.
It seemed to have nothing to do with the murky green tonic.
My son, Leo, quickly downed two bowls.
My mother-in-law put a drumstick in my bowl. “Go on, Mindy, eat up! You always loved my chicken soup. It’ll get cold if you wait!”
The whole family was eating heartily, paying no attention to me.
I cautiously took a sip.
If everyone is eating it, it must be fine, I thought. I can’t just stop eating forever.
I forced down a few bites and left the table.
I thought that by avoiding the tonic, I had avoided my fate.
But as soon as I fell asleep, I started dreaming again.
2
Just like in my past life, I dreamt that Joey’s failing company landed a massive contract, rocketing to the top of the industry.
I woke up in a cold sweat.
I felt no joy, because I knew that Joey’s success was meant to be paid for with my legs.
Seeing me awake, Joey asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did you have a dream?”
I stared at him suspiciously. “Did you give me the tonic?”
He shook his head, his face a mask of innocence. “Of course not. You said you didn’t want it.”
I racked my brain. I truly hadn’t consumed anything suspicious.
Could it all be a coincidence? Was the tonic unrelated?
Joey stroked my head, his voice full of sympathy. “Is your stomach still bothering you? If you’re not feeling well, just take the day off work.”
The memory of being crippled made me shiver.
I took a week off.
I decided I wouldn’t set foot outside my house. That way, there was no chance of a car hitting me.
After Joey left, I went to the fridge and took out the leftover chicken soup from last night.
When I lifted the lid of the clay pot, my pupils constricted.
At the very bottom was a pile of familiar herbs.
No wonder I’d dreamed again. The chicken soup had been brewed with the tonic’s ingredients!
But why, if the whole family drank it, was I the only one paying the price?
I collected the herbs from the pot and sent them to a lab for analysis.
I was going to find out what was so special about that tonic.
Before the results came back, I got a call from Joey.
His voice was electric with excitement. “Honey, I landed a huge contract! The company’s fortunes are turning around!”
My breath caught in my throat.
In my past life, I had received this same call on my way home from work.
And then the accident happened.
Thank God I was at home this time. There was no way I could get into a car accident here.
But a few moments later, a message popped up in the parent-teacher group chat from my son’s homeroom teacher.
“The school bus has broken down. Parents, please come pick up your children after school today.”
School ended in two hours.
I had a terrible feeling that the moment I stepped outside, I would be hit by a car.
I couldn’t go.
My son was an adult now. He could surely make his own way home.
I decided to let him.
But two hours later, a torrential downpour began.
Leo called me. “Mom, where are you? The rain is insane, and I can’t get a cab!”
I told Joey to go pick him up.
But he claimed he was in a critical meeting and couldn’t leave.
Leo’s calls kept coming, one after another, as the storm raged on.
It felt like the entire world was conspiring to force me out of the house.
In a flash of inspiration, I remembered that his teacher lived in the building across from ours.
I quickly called her and begged her to walk Leo home.
She readily agreed.
Soon, I heard a knock at the door. “Mom, open up! I’m home!”
Relief washed over me. I stood up to let him in.
But as I took my first step, a hard object tripped me.
The world spun, and I crashed heavily onto the floor.
Before I lost consciousness, I saw what had tripped me.
It was my son’s remote-control car.
3
I woke up in a hospital room.
Joey sat by my bed, his eyes red-rimmed. I couldn’t feel my legs.
I never would have imagined that a toy car could leave me paralyzed.
Was there truly no escape from the tonic’s curse?
Joey’s voice cracked as he tried to comfort me. “Don’t be sad, honey. I’m rich now. I can take care of you for the rest of your life!”
He held out another bowl of the tonic. “You must be in so much pain. This will help. Drink it, and the pain will go away.”
I swiped the bowl from his hands, sending it crashing to the floor. I screamed, not caring who heard. “Your company’s success was bought with my legs! And you still want me to drink this poison?”
Joey looked bewildered. “Mindy, what are you talking about? How could one be exchanged for the other? What does this have to do with the tonic?”
A notification pinged on my phone. The lab results were in.
I laughed coldly. “If it has nothing to do with it, why did you put the tonic’s herbs in the chicken soup? Don’t even try to deny it. I have the lab report right here. I’m calling the police!”
Joey looked utterly baffled. “Those herbs were just for flavor! They’re not poisonous! The whole family drank the soup. No one is trying to hurt you. Why would you call the police?”
I wasn’t listening. I opened the report.
And then I stared, dumbfounded.
The report stated that the herbs were not only harmless but were actually high-quality, beneficial supplements.
How could that be?
If there was nothing wrong with the tonic, why was Joey so insistent that I drink it?
And why did I, a person who never dreams, suddenly start dreaming after drinking it?
Maybe the herbs in the soup were an incomplete formula?
Seeing my silence, Joey picked up the bowl from the floor, scooped up some of the spilled liquid, and drank it himself. “See, Mindy? The tonic is perfectly fine. I drank it, and nothing happened. Why would I ever hurt you?”
I was completely lost.
Even if the soup was an incomplete version, what he just drank was the real deal. He’d done it without a second’s hesitation.
Joey set the bowl down. “I understand you’re having a hard time accepting this, and you’re suspicious of everything. How about this: for a while, just order takeout. Focus on getting better and try not to overthink things.”
I lay back on the bed, feeling defeated.
But I still didn’t believe the tonic was harmless.
I collected the residue from the shattered bowl.
This time, I sent it to a well-known psychic.
Leo’s college entrance exams were over. It was only a few days until the date I’d lost my liver in my past life.
I couldn’t let my guard down.
I ate only one meal a day, prepared and delivered by my own mother.
But two hours before the exam results were to be announced, I unexpectedly fell asleep.
I dreamed that my son, who had always been at the bottom of his class, scored a 690.
I was shaken awake by Leo himself. “Mom! I got a 690!” he shouted, ecstatic.
A searing pain shot through my abdomen, and my face went pale.
I had been so careful. How was this happening again?
As the doctors wheeled me away, I saw Leo staring at my IV drip… with a smile on his face.
My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach.
The liquid in the IV bag was a faint, pale green.
Like diluted Dream-Soothing Tonic.
4
When I woke up again, the doctor looked at me with pity.
“I’m sorry. You suffered from sudden acute liver necrosis. We had to remove half of your liver.”
The incision in my abdomen throbbed.
Leo was crying his eyes out. “Don’t be scared, Mom! I’ll get into a great school, and I’ll make something of myself so I can take good care of you!”
Joey hugged me tightly. “Honey, what is happening? Why is our luck so bad?”
My eyes were vacant.
I had thought Leo was oblivious to all of this.
But that one look I saw before I passed out sent a chill through my soul.
They all knew. They all knew the tonic was dangerous, and they were deliberately using my life to secure their own good fortune.
I wouldn’t let them win.
I would not close my eyes again until the psychic gave me an answer.
As long as I didn’t dream, I was safe.
After three sleepless days and nights, the psychic contacted me.
“Are you, by nature, a person who does not dream?”
I sat up, my heart pounding. “Yes! How did you know?”
The psychic sighed. “That explains it. There is a dark, karmic ritual involving a Fortune Transference Tonic. It allows a person to make their dreams a reality, but at a cost of flesh and blood.”
“Normally, a person’s dreams are too chaotic to control. But if the desired dream is written on a special talisman, burned, and dissolved into the tonic, then fed to a naturally dreamless person, the dream can be controlled.”
“And the corresponding backlash is borne entirely by the dreamless one.”
I gasped.
So that was it.
That’s why it only ever affected me.
The psychic continued, his voice grave. “You have already paid the price twice. A third time will likely cost you your life.”
“This tonic is incredibly potent. A single drop is enough. It will be almost impossible to guard against.”
I begged him to help me.
He sent me a talisman and told me to place it under my pillow. After three days, I was to burn it to ash, mix it with water, and drink it. It would nullify the tonic’s effects.
I hid the talisman from Joey and Leo, just as the psychic instructed.
Joey started visiting more frequently. He was getting impatient.
Three days later, he brought me a bowl of bird’s nest soup.
“Honey, Dad was so worried when he heard you were sick. He insisted I bring this for you.”
The soup was in a pristine white porcelain bowl.
But I could have sworn it had a greenish tint.
I claimed I was feeling unwell and refused to drink it.
Joey’s face twisted into a snarl. He grabbed my chin, forcing my jaw open. “My father is dying of cancer, and he’s still worried about you! How can you be so ungrateful?”
He was stronger than me. The soup was poured down my throat.
Joey smiled, satisfied. “There, that’s better. I’m only doing this for your own good.”
Just then, the pillow on the bed slipped to the floor, revealing the talisman underneath.
Joey snatched it up. “What is this?”
This was my last chance.
I bit down hard on his hand, grabbed the talisman, and quickly burned it.
I mixed the ashes with the dregs of the soup he had brought and drank it all down.
“It’s the Fortune Transference Tonic, isn’t it?” I laughed, a wild, desperate sound. “I already know everything!”
The color drained from Joey’s face.
But for some reason, my eyelids were growing heavy.
As I collapsed onto the bed, the third dream began.
I dreamt my father-in-law’s cancer was miraculously cured.
I struggled to wake up, and when I did, I coughed up a mouthful of blood.
I was on the operating table before I could even process what had happened.
I drank the counter-talisman, just like he said. Why did I dream again?
My breathing became shallow. A doctor shouted, “Her heart rate is dropping! Get the defibrillator!”
My vision blurred.
Am I going to die again?
I fought to keep my eyes open, wanting one last look at the world.
And suddenly, my pupils constricted.
That’s it. I finally understood the truth.
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In my past life, Ethan rushed out of the burning car wreck with Lena in his arms. He left me, his wife, to burn into charred remains.
As my soul left my body, a voice spoke.
“You harbor deep resentment. You are granted thirty days of life, after which you will completely disappear. Do you accept?”
I answered, “Yes.”
I woke in excruciating pain as Ethan’s gentle voice came beside me.
“Sophia, my mother made me promise to take care of Lena before she died. I only see her as a sister.”
I let out a cold laugh. If he really saw her as a sister, how could he have slept with her?
His hand covered my chest, right where I had taken a bullet for him eight years ago.
In the past, this would have moved me to tears.
But now, I only felt nauseous, though I still obediently embraced him.
“Ethan, I understand.”
I lowered my eyes and smiled, but my gaze was cold as ice.
This time, I wouldn’t go crazy. I would just quietly watch them walk toward their destruction.
Sophia’s POV
I woke to the searing pain of being burned alive.
In that car accident from my past life, I was trapped in the twisted driver’s seat. I watched Ethan carry Lena out of the inferno without a second thought.
I was left to burn into charred remains.
The moment my soul left my body, I heard a cold voice echo in the void.
“Deep resentment detected. You are granted thirty days of life. After thirty days, you will completely disappear from this world. Do you accept?”
I answered firmly in the flames. “Yes!”
When I opened my eyes again, blinding white light filled my vision.
Beside me, Ethan’s gentle voice reached my ears.
“Sophia, before my mother died, she said she had wronged Lena’s parents and made me promise to take care of her.”
“Lena is innocent. I’ll look after her for three years on behalf of my mother.”
“After three years, I’ll take you to Switzerland to remove that bullet fragment from your chest. I’ll be with you forever.”
As he spoke, his warm palm gently covered my chest.
It was where I had blocked a bullet for him eight years ago.
If I had heard this confession in my past life, I would have been so moved that I’d throw myself into his arms and nod in agreement.
But now, looking at Ethan’s affectionate expression, I only felt intense nausea churning in my stomach.
But I didn’t push him away.
I obediently lowered my eyes, forced out a tear, and even reached out to embrace him, my voice trembling. “Ethan, I understand. Your mother would understand too.”
Hearing my words, Ethan’s tense body instantly relaxed. He rested his chin on top of my head and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
“Sophia, you’re always so kind. You’re wonderful.”
He didn’t know that in the corner he couldn’t see, I was coldly staring at my left wrist resting on his back.
A faint red line had appeared there, and at the end of the line, a row of blood-red letters floated that only I could see.
“Time until death: 30 days”
“I won’t be home tonight. Lena just got back, and she’s afraid of the dark. She needs someone with her.”
Ethan tucked the blanket around me and placed a light kiss on my forehead. “Get some rest. Remember to take your medicine.”
The door closed.
The expression on my face vanished instantly.
I threw off the covers and walked barefoot to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Downstairs, Ethan walked toward a black Bentley.
The passenger door opened, and a woman wrapped in a beige coat impatiently threw herself into his arms, standing on her toes to kiss his lips passionately.
Lena.
The future superstar who would become famous nationwide next month.
Watching the intimate couple under the streetlights, I turned away expressionlessly and quickly walked to the desk, pulling open the bottom drawer and prying open the hidden compartment with a knife.
Inside lay an old manila envelope and a hospital document that had slipped from Ethan’s suit pocket.
These were the secrets I hadn’t discovered until my death in my past life.
I pulled out the letter. On it was written Ethan’s mother’s desperate curse: “I will not allow Lena to marry my son! Even in death, I forbid it!”
And the hospital document was an ultrasound report.
Twelve weeks pregnant.
I gripped the ultrasound report tightly, my fingertips pale white, my heart feeling like it was being pierced by countless needles.
Ethan said he had only agreed to care for Lena a month ago at his mother’s deathbed.
But three months ago, they already had a child together!
What dying wish, what three years of care. All lies!
He was just using his recently deceased mother as an excuse to keep his mistress, pregnant with his illegitimate child, right under my nose.
All the rage and desolation churned violently in my chest, but in the end, I didn’t shed a single tear.
I calmly put the letter and ultrasound report back in the hidden compartment.
In my past life, I had confronted him like a madwoman with this evidence, only to face Ethan’s anger and punishment.
In this life, I wouldn’t ask a single question.
Until the day I died, I would leave these things for him as the heaviest gift of his life.
Sophia’s POV
Over the next few days, Ethan was almost never home at night.
But he would call via video every day at the same time, carefully reminding me to eat and take my medicine, acting like the most considerate husband in the world.
“Sophia, I have an important client tonight and need to work late. Get some rest early.”
On the screen, Ethan loosened his tie. Behind him was the hallway of the Monarch Private Club.
I watched the unnatural guilt in his eyes and nodded obediently. “Okay. Don’t drink too much. Your stomach is delicate and needs careful care.”
After hanging up, I glanced at the heavy rain outside.
Ethan had severe stomach problems. Every time he drank too much, he would have stomach spasms.
In the past, whenever he went drinking with clients, I would deliver medicine to him even in a snowstorm.
I grabbed the medicine and left.
This would perhaps be the last time I delivered anything to him.
After all, if I was going to act, I had to act until the end.
When I reached the top-floor private room at the Monarch Club, I was about to push the door open when laughter from inside made me freeze.
“Ethan, you’re so ruthless. How can you even make up such lies?”
That was the voice of Ethan’s friend, Marcus.
Inside the warm room, the words Ethan spoke made me, standing outside the door, feel cold all over.
“If I don’t make up lies, would Sophia, with her stubborn personality, believe me? She took a bullet for me back then. My safety and my family’s gratitude matter most to her in this life. Only by using my dead mother as an excuse will she not go crazy.”
“But Lena’s baby is already three months along. Can you really keep it from her?”
“What’s there to fear?” Ethan leisurely swirled his wine glass, his tone full of arrogant control. “The bullet fragment in Sophia’s chest has been there for eight years. The doctor said she could have an episode at any time. Even if I don’t say anything, her broken body won’t last much longer.”
“Besides, once Lena gives birth, I’ll just say I found a surrogate abroad. As long as I tell Sophia I still love her, she can’t live without me, and she’ll eventually accept the child as her own.”
Inside the room, exclamations erupted as friends praised Ethan’s clever plan, keeping both wife and child by his side.
Outside the door, I stood frozen in place, my mind completely blank.
Even though I already knew the secret of the ultrasound report, hearing Ethan use my devotion as leverage to manipulate me still tore my heart apart.
He not only wanted to humiliate me with lies. He was even hoping the bullet fragment in my chest would kill me!
In his plan, my compliance and death were both stepping stones to pave the way for his mistress and illegitimate child!
A sharp pain shot through my chest.
It was the rusted bullet fragment warning me from within my flesh and blood.
I clutched my chest tightly, my face pale with pain, cold sweat instantly soaking my back.
I didn’t push the door open to make a scene. I didn’t confront him.
I just quietly looked at the medicine in my hand and tossed it into the nearby trash can like garbage.
A dull thud.
Along with my eight years of love, thrown away together.
I turned and walked into the rainy night.
I didn’t go home. Instead, I went straight to Central Hospital.
In the emergency room, the doctor looked at my chest X-ray with furrowed brows. “Ms. Blackwood, this bullet fragment has moved to the edge of your aorta! Have you been under some kind of stress lately? If you don’t have surgery, you won’t live past a month!”
“I won’t have the surgery.” I calmly got dressed. “Just give me some painkillers.”
The doctor looked at me in shock. “You’re waiting to die!”
I smiled faintly and didn’t answer.
Yes, I was waiting to die.
Because with the thirty-day countdown, no one could rewrite my fate.
I looked down at my left wrist, where the red line flickered faintly. “Time until death: 26 days”
Sophia’s POV
Ethan didn’t come home until noon the next day, reeking of perfume.
He was clearly in an excellent mood. As soon as he entered, he handed me an exquisite jewelry box.
“Sophia, this is for you.”
I opened the box to find an expensive pink diamond necklace inside.
In my past life, I had been so moved when I received this necklace that my eyes reddened, thinking it showed his favoritism toward me.
But later I learned that Lena had her eye on a blue diamond necklace from the same collection. To please Lena, Ethan bought the entire series of gemstone jewelry and gave me the pink diamond necklace Lena didn’t like as compensation.
“Do you like it?” Ethan gently stroked my hair. “Next week is Sterling Group’s fifth anniversary gala. I want you to wear it and accompany me as Mrs. Sterling.”
I closed the lid, my lips curving into a docile smile. “Okay, whatever you say.”
Ethan paused, a flash of guilt crossing his eyes as he tentatively spoke. “Sophia, there’s one more thing… Lena just entered the entertainment industry. For this anniversary gala, I want her to attend as a special guest.”
He stared intently at my eyes, as if afraid I would lose my temper.
“You’re the hostess. At the event, I want you to personally introduce her to those directors and producers. Consider it helping me take care of her.”
He wanted me to personally go on stage and elevate his mistress into New York’s elite circles.
Was there any crueler humiliation in this world?
In my past life, I had cried and begged him all night in the study over this matter, only to receive his cold response: “When did you become so vicious?”
In the end, I was still forced to attend, becoming a laughingstock throughout New York.
And at this moment, looking at Ethan’s hypocritical eyes, I found it absurd.
I didn’t cry. I didn’t even hesitate. I nodded quite naturally.
“Sure.” My voice was soft. “Of course I’ll take good care of her.”
Ethan let out a huge sigh of relief, joy bursting from his eyes.
He pulled me into his arms and kissed my cheek excitedly.
“Sophia, I knew you were the kindest! Don’t worry, once I fulfill my mother’s wish, I’ll love only you forever!”
I let him hold me, my gaze moving past his shoulder to coldly rest on our wedding photo on the wall.
Kind?
It was because I was going to die soon, Ethan.
How could someone about to die concern themselves with such trivial matters?
On the day of the gala.
I wore a tasteful, elegant dress and entered the venue on Ethan’s arm.
Before long, Lena appeared at the venue in an extremely ostentatious white gown.
Her gaze swept past the crowd and landed provocatively on me.
“Sophia.” Lena approached, deliberately glancing at my flat abdomen. “Thank you for all your hard work today. Ethan said you’ve been in poor health and haven’t been able to conceive. I feel terrible making you work so hard.”
The socialites around us instantly showed mocking expressions.
This was clearly a deliberate jab at my pain regarding children.
Ethan’s face changed slightly. He instinctively looked at me, trying to catch anger or grievance on my face.
Because as long as I got angry, he could take Lena’s side.
But he saw nothing.
Not only was I not angry, I picked up a glass of warm water from a passing server’s tray and personally handed it to Lena.
“You’re too kind, Ms. Cooper. Drink more warm water and don’t overexert yourself.”
Lena’s face stiffened, panic flashing in her eyes.
But I didn’t look at her again. I turned to Ethan with a smile so gentle it was flawless.
“Ethan, Mr. Harrison is over there. Let me take Lena over to introduce her.”
I took Lena’s hand and led her into the core of the banquet.
Halfway through the event, I excused myself to use the restroom and walked alone to the venue’s terrace.
The night wind made my chest ache faintly.
I took out my phone and sent a message to Owen.
“Owen, I’ve signed the transfer contract for The Late Hours Bookstore. Please help me process the transfer tomorrow.”
The only thing in this world I couldn’t take with me or let go of was this bookstore.
Now, I needed to erase this final trace.
I glanced at the night sky. The red line on my left wrist glowed faintly in the darkness.
“Time until death: 22 days”
I turned to head back to the venue but heard Lena’s lowered voice from around the corner.
“Ethan, when will Sophia finally die? Didn’t the doctor say she wouldn’t live long? My belly will be showing in two more months. Do you want our child to be born a bastard?”
Then came Ethan’s gentle yet cruel reassurance.
“Lena, just wait a little longer. She behaved so well today. How can I bring up divorce now? Don’t worry. The future heir of Sterling Group can only be our child.”
I stood quietly in the shadows, listening to them plan their future after my death.
The corners of my mouth slowly curved into an eerie arc.
What’s the rush?
There were still 22 days left.
In 22 days, I would give them the most grand banquet of all.
Sophia’s POV
The day after the anniversary gala, I was at the bookstore organizing the last batch of old books to donate when the door was suddenly pushed open.
My best friend Emma rushed in breathlessly, her eyes red-rimmed, grabbing my wrist. “Sophia, something happened!”
At last night’s gala, Emma had witnessed Ethan and Lena’s disgusting behavior and was furious. Today, while recording a show at the TV station, she happened to run into Lena, and the two had a confrontation.
Emma slapped Lena across the face in public and called her a homewrecker.
“I just can’t stand her behavior! Why should you be bullied by that bitch!” Emma trembled as she cried.
My heart tightened, but before I could speak, the harsh sound of braking came from outside.
Ethan arrived with several bodyguards, his face dark with fury as he strode into the bookstore.
His usual gentle mask was completely torn away. The look he gave Emma was as cold as if he were looking at a dead person.
“Take her away.” Ethan coldly ordered. “Since Ms. Hayes can’t control her hands, she doesn’t need to stay in New York anymore.”
“Ethan, what are you doing!” I rushed to stand in front of Emma.
Ethan looked at me, his tone severe. “Sophia, she slapped Lena in front of so many people today! Lena is a public figure, and more importantly, she’s the person my mother asked me to care for before she died. She’s suffered such a great injustice. This can’t just end like this!”
“Not only will she be blacklisted online, I’m sending her to prison!”
All the blood in my body seemed to freeze at that moment.
In my past life, Emma had been driven to bankruptcy by Ethan for standing up for me against Lena, and eventually swallowed twenty sleeping pills and committed suicide.
That scene was a wound in my heart that would bleed forever.
I could endure Ethan’s cold violence toward me, but I absolutely couldn’t let Emma be harmed again!
I clenched my fists tightly, my nails nearly digging into my flesh.
Looking at this husband who was willing to push my best friend to the brink of destruction for another woman, I swallowed the bloody taste rising in my throat.
I lowered my head, my voice hoarse to the extreme. “Ethan, I’m begging you, don’t hurt her.”
Ethan frowned. “Sophia, don’t be unreasonable.”
“I’ll apologize for her.” I closed my eyes, my knees bending slightly. “I’ll go apologize to Lena. Is that okay?”
Ethan froze. He looked at my humble posture, reluctance crossing his face, but he quickly suppressed it.
“Fine,” Ethan looked at me. “Go to Lena’s set this afternoon and apologize to her. Then I won’t pursue this matter.”
After Ethan left, Emma held me and sobbed. “Sophia, why are you apologizing! What did you do wrong!”
I didn’t cry.
I calmly took out my phone and transferred all five million dollars remaining in my account to Emma.
“Emma, take this money and leave immediately. Never come back.”
“Sophia…”
“Go!” I pushed her away forcefully. “I can’t protect you for long. You can only honor me by living well!”
Because the protection of the dead has an expiration date.
Sophia’s POV
That afternoon, I went to the set where Lena was filming as promised.
It had just rained, and the second-story set construction was somewhat shaky.
I stood below, watching Lena sit in her rest chair.
“Sophia, you really didn’t need to come apologize in person.” Lena stroked her belly, her smile full of boasting. “Ethan is just so worried about me and the baby. He doesn’t want us to suffer any harm.”
My face showed no emotion. I just quietly watched her. “I’m not here to discuss that with you. Ethan said as long as I apologize to you, he’ll let Emma go. I keep my word.”
I bent slightly toward her, my tone flat. “I’m sorry, Ms. Cooper. Emma shouldn’t have hit you. It’s my fault. I should have explained things to her earlier.”
Lena probably hadn’t expected me to apologize so readily. She paused before speaking coquettishly. “Well, since you’ve apologized, what can I say? But my face still hurts. I don’t know if I can be on camera.”
I stared at her expressionlessly, about to speak.
Suddenly, the sound of metal breaking came from overhead!
People around let out cries of alarm and frantically ran toward the exits.
“Look out!”
Someone shouted, and a row of heavy steel frames used to secure the lighting, loosened from their screws, came crashing down toward where Lena and I were standing!
Amid the screams, I instinctively stepped back, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan had just entered the set.
He moved quickly, running toward us. I thought he was coming to save me.
“Ethan! Save me! My baby!” Lena screamed, pretending to twist her ankle and falling to the ground.
The steel frames were originally falling between us.
If Ethan pulled me, both Lena and I could escape.
But in that instant.
Ethan’s body didn’t think at all. He rushed over, scooped up Lena from the ground, and threw himself outward!
And as he lunged for Lena, he knocked into a prop box beside him, which directly blocked my only escape route!
I looked desperately at the box before me, the sound of steel frames colliding reaching my ears.
CRASH!
A huge impact. Dust flew everywhere.
The steel frame, weighing over a hundred pounds, slammed down on my chest and back.
The moment I was crushed under the steel frame, I didn’t feel pain. I just felt something in my chest completely shatter.
Eight years ago, in a shootout.
Ethan was being hunted by enemies. When that bullet shot toward him, I didn’t hesitate to throw myself in front of him, using my chest to block the fatal strike.
That bullet fragment stopped just half a centimeter from my heart, causing me years of chronic pain.
But because I loved him, I willingly got hurt for him.
But I never imagined that eight years later, today.
In the swirling dust, I coughed up blood in great mouthfuls.
I struggled to open my eyes and through the gaps in the steel frame, I saw Ethan and Lena, safe and sound, a few meters away.
Ethan was anxiously cupping Lena’s face, asking repeatedly. “Lena, is our baby hurt? Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Even though Lena only had a minor scrape, his eyes reddened with distress.
But Ethan didn’t see me, lying to the side, dying.
In the same dangerous moment, years ago I went to die for him.
Now, for another woman, he personally pushed me into mortal danger.
Watching their intimate scene, a drop of warm liquid finally slid from the corner of my eye.
It was the last tear I would shed for this absurd, laughable eight-year love.
Then, in a wave of excruciating pain, I fell completely into darkness.
Sophia’s POV
The next time I regained consciousness, I was lying in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Every bone in my body felt like it had been crushed by a truck. Even breathing sent sharp pain through my chest.
“Mr. Sterling,” outside the room, the doctor’s voice carried anger, “Ms. Blackwood was struck by a heavy object, causing the bullet fragment from eight years ago to completely shift. The fragment has now pierced through the pericardium and is pressing against her aorta!”
Ethan’s voice trembled with shock. “Then do surgery to remove it! I don’t care how much it costs. Use the best treatment!”
“It can’t be removed.” The doctor coldly interrupted him. “It’s too deep. In her current physical condition, the moment we open her chest for surgery, she’ll hemorrhage and die immediately. With conservative treatment, she has at most half a month left.”
“She’s essentially someone who could die at any moment now!”
Silence fell outside the door.
I lay in the hospital bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling.
On my wrist, the red line had turned so red it seemed about to drip blood.
“Time until death: 18 days”
What a coincidence. Even the death sentence from the doctor matched the system’s countdown.
I don’t know how much time passed before the hospital room door was pushed open.
Ethan walked in with red eyes, his steps somewhat unsteady.
He approached the bed, looking at my pale face covered with tubes, his lips trembling violently as he tried to hold my hand. “Sophia…”
I didn’t dodge.
I lay there like a senseless rag doll, letting him grip my hand.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry!” Ethan suddenly broke down and buried his face in my palm. “I didn’t see you there! Lena is pregnant. All I could think about was my mother’s dying wish to protect this child. It was just an instinctive reaction… I didn’t mean to leave you behind!”
Listening to his excuse full of lies, my heart didn’t waver even slightly.
In my past life, I might have forgiven him for such an excuse.
But now I knew. What dying wish, what caring for a benefactor. All lies.
He abandoned me in a moment of danger simply because he no longer loved me.
Seeing me remain silent, Ethan panicked.
He looked up, his eyes full of pleading. “Sophia, hit me, yell at me, anything. Just don’t stay silent! I swear I’ll find the best doctors in the world. I will cure you!”
“Okay.”
In the silent hospital room, I suddenly spoke.
My voice was extremely hoarse from the injury, but my tone was calm.
“Ethan, I don’t blame you. Lena is pregnant. It’s right that you saved her. If it were me, I would have told you to save the child first too.”
Ethan froze completely.
He thought I would question him frantically, cry and accuse him of his heartlessness.
But I didn’t.
Not only did I not blame him, I was even making excuses for him.
Wasn’t this exactly the result Ethan wanted most?
But for some reason, looking at my expressionless face, Ethan began to panic.
“Sophia, you really… don’t blame me?” He tested carefully.
“I don’t blame you.” I even managed an extremely weak smile. “Go be with her. She must have been terrified today.”
Ethan hesitated, but was ultimately pulled back to reality by his assistant’s low call from outside the door.
“Mr. Sterling, Ms. Cooper is crying about stomach pain and won’t cooperate with the examination…”
Ethan glanced at me. “Sophia, I’ll just check on Lena and come right back to stay with you. Rest well.”
The door closed.
The smile on my face vanished instantly.
I struggled to lift my left hand, looking at the pulsing blood-red countdown.
After these 18 days passed, after I disappeared from this hopeless marriage.
Then he would know what he abandoned today.
Sophia’s POV
In the hospital room, the smell of disinfectant soaked into my bones every day.
I had become skeletal, my once-fitted hospital gown hanging loosely on my frame. Even breathing required an oxygen mask.
Every heartbeat caused the bullet fragment in my chest to scrape against tissue, bringing excruciating pain.
The countdown had reached its final 3 days.
That afternoon, Ethan came to the hospital room.
Looking at my pale face, his eyes flickered evasively, but he still put on that affectionate expression.
“Sophia, the day after tomorrow… I’m having a wedding ceremony with Lena.”
I looked at him quietly, saying nothing.
Ethan urgently gripped my emaciated hand and explained.
“Don’t misunderstand! It’s not a real marriage, just to comfort her! Recently, many people online have been calling her a homewrecker. She’s emotionally devastated. The doctor said if this continues, the baby won’t survive. I’m only doing this to fulfill my mother’s dying promise. It’s just something I came up with!”
“Once the baby is safely born, I’ll find some excuse to send her away. In my heart, there’s only ever been you.”
He made infidelity sound so dignified.
Looking at this man before me, I wanted to cut open his chest and see what his heart was made of.
But I only blinked, my voice as light as the wind. “Okay.”
Seeing me agree so readily, joy flashed in Ethan’s eyes, but then his gaze moved to my left hand.
There, I wore an extremely expensive gold bracelet.
In my past life, even though Ethan’s mother disliked me, she had given me this bracelet before her death.
“Sophia,” Ethan’s tone was tentative, “the wedding the day after tomorrow will have many media present. Could you… lend her the bracelet to wear for one day?”
“Just one day! As soon as the wedding is over, I’ll return it to you immediately!”
I suddenly let out a low laugh.
The laugh made my chest shake, coughing up a large mouthful of blood-streaked phlegm.
Ethan panicked and quickly grabbed tissues to wipe. “Sophia, don’t get upset! If you don’t want to, forget it…”
“I’m willing.”
I pushed away his hand and without hesitation removed the bracelet and threw it at him.
“Take it.”
Ethan held the bracelet still warm from my body, his entire being freezing.
He looked at me in shock.
My gaze was too calm.
Not a trace of attachment, as if discarding filthy garbage.
Enormous panic gripped Ethan’s heart. He suddenly grabbed my hand. “Sophia, wait for me. As soon as this wedding is over, I’ll come back to stay with you!”
I closed my eyes and stopped looking at him.
On my left wrist, the red line emitted a piercing red glow.
“Time until death: 3 days”
The day before the wedding was also the last day before my impending death.
I pulled out the IV needle from the back of my hand and signed the form to refuse treatment.
Amid the doctor’s sighs, I wrapped myself in an oversized coat and left the hospital alone. I returned to the villa, the home that was supposed to be our wedding house, the place where I had once poured all my love.
I pushed open the door. The familiar scent rushed toward me.
In my past life, I had constantly hoped Ethan would come home to see me just once.
“Mrs. Sterling?” The housekeeper looked startled seeing my weakened state. “Why did you leave the hospital? Mr. Sterling, he’s getting married tomorrow…”
“Call everyone in the house here.” My voice was hoarse but carried a cold hardness.
Soon, the servants and security guards stood in the living room.
I sat on the sofa, pointing at the furniture throughout the house.
“My things, if any of you want them, take them directly.”
None of the servants dared move.
I let out a cold laugh and pulled out a lighter from under the table, flicking it open with a “click.”
“If you don’t take them, I’ll burn everything.”
In less than two hours, they had emptied the villa.
Anything they couldn’t carry or didn’t want, I threw into the incinerator.
I personally took down the massive wedding photo from the wall, along with the sketch Ethan had drawn of me years ago, the thick stack of love letters he’d sent, and even the wedding dress I’d treasured for many years. One by one, I threw them all into the roaring flames.
The firelight reflected on my bloodless face.
Watching these things turn to ash in the flames, the stone that had weighed on my heart for two lifetimes finally shattered completely.
From now on, there would be no trace left in this world that I had ever loved Ethan Sterling.
After handling everything, I returned to the empty study.
I took out a black courier envelope.
I put Ethan’s mother’s real letter inside.
I put Lena’s ultrasound report inside.
I also put in dozens of hotel check-in records between Lena and producer Nathan Rivers.
Finally, I threw in a USB drive containing the recording of what Ethan said in that private room.
I sealed the envelope, attached a courier label, and wrote down the address of the hotel where Ethan was holding his wedding tomorrow.
I dialed the courier service, my voice as calm as if I was ordering takeout.
“Tomorrow at exactly noon, make sure to deliver this personally into Ethan Sterling’s hands.”
Everything was ready.
I pushed open the villa’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Facing the biting cold wind, I looked at my left wrist.
The red line had burned down to its end.
“Time until death: final 12 hours”
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When I got home and pulled back the covers, I found seven used condoms scattered across the bedsheet.
At the bedside, my husband Ethan Hart gave an awkward laugh.
“If I told you I used these while masturbating, would you believe me?”
Suddenly, the closet door opened, and a woman tumbled out, falling to the floor.
She wore only Ethan’s white dress shirt, her body covered in dark red kiss marks.
She gave an awkward laugh too.
“Aria, if I told you I was here to clean, would you believe me?”
I also gave an awkward laugh, though my face was deathly pale.
“And if I said I don’t believe you?”
Aria POV
When I returned to our marital home, Sofia was already asleep in the master bedroom. My master bedroom with Ethan.
She was wearing my nightgown and my slippers. The bedside lamp was dimmed to her liking.
Ethan stood at the bathroom door, a warm towel in his hands, ready to give it to her.
This was the same apartment where Ethan had once pressed the keys into my palm. “Now you have a place that’s yours,” he said.
Now, he let another woman lie in my bed, then turned to me and said, “Sleep in the guest room tonight.”
I stood in the doorway, still holding work materials I’d just brought back from out of town.
A pair of women’s shoes sat by the entrance. In the shoe cabinet, my shoes had been pushed to the very edge.
A shawl that wasn’t mine draped over the living room sofa.
I took it all in as I walked through, finally seeing Sofia sitting on the bed’s edge, adjusting the hem of the nightgown as if making sure I could clearly see whose things these were.
“Aria, don’t misunderstand.” Sofia spoke first, her voice so soft it seemed she’d suffered some great injustice.
“I really didn’t dare sleep alone tonight. Ethan was worried something might happen to me, so he let me rest here first.”
Yet as she spoke, she made no move to get up from the bed.
I looked at Ethan.
Ethan didn’t explain the nightgown or the slippers.
He placed the warm towel on the nightstand, his brow slightly furrowed. ”
Sofia’s not doing well tonight. She’s familiar with the master bedroom lamp, so sleeping here will help her feel more secure.”
I said nothing.
Ethan continued. “Years ago, because of me, she got trapped in an old building during a power outage for an entire night. You know she’s afraid of the dark and being alone. Tonight’s situation is special, so just sleep in the guest room for one night.”
Sofia lowered her head, fingers gripping the corner of the comforter. “Maybe I should just leave. I’m afraid Aria won’t be happy.”
She said she’d leave, but her body leaned against the bed, her feet showing no sign of wanting to remove the slippers.
Ethan immediately looked at me. I knew that look well. This past month, whenever Sofia said she was scared, he’d look at me exactly like this.
I pulled my materials closer to my chest and nodded. “Understood.”
Ethan actually froze. He seemed to have prepared many words. Ready to explain how pitiful Sofia was, ready to say he was just temporarily taking care of her, ready to tell me not to overthink it.
But I didn’t ask.
I turned and went to the guest room.
The guest room hadn’t been occupied in a long time. The closet only held spare bedding, the window frame hadn’t been fixed, and it was cold when the night wind seeped through.
I placed my materials on the nightstand and bent down to take out the comforter from the closet.
The first time I moved into this apartment, Ethan had also given me the master bedroom.
Back then, I’d just severed ties with my family and stood downstairs with my luggage, not even daring to go up in the elevator.
Ethan pressed the house keys into my hand and said, “Don’t stand outside waiting for permission anymore. You have a place here too.” That night he slept on the couch. From that day on, I started treating this place as home.
Now the master bedroom door was closed.
Inside, I could hear Ethan’s lowered voice coaxing Sofia.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
“The lamp’s already brighter.”
“Sleep now, I won’t leave.”
I closed the guest room door too.
In the middle of the night, Sofia called for Ethan again from the master bedroom.
She complained the bedside lamp was too dim, that the curtain gaps looked like dark shadows seeping in from the old building, that the pillow was too high and made her feel she couldn’t breathe.
Ethan responded to her. The sound of footsteps in the hallway kept reaching my ears.
I lay in the guest room, waves of pain washing through my stomach. I pulled out my pill box and swallowed painkillers with half a glass of cold water. The tablet stuck in my throat, the bitter taste taking a long time to go down.
Before long, someone knocked twice on the guest room door.
“Aria.” Ethan stood outside. “Are you asleep?”
I leaned against the headboard, a layer of cold sweat on my forehead. I didn’t open the door, only said, “I’m asleep.”
Silence outside for a few seconds. Ethan’s voice lowered. “Are you upset?”
From the master bedroom, Sofia called softly again. “Ethan…”
Ethan immediately turned back. I heard his footsteps fade away. He finally just tossed out one sentence through the door. “Get some rest.”
I only fell asleep as dawn approached.
When I woke again, the master bedroom door was half open.
Sofia still slept inside while Ethan sat at the bedside looking at his phone, warm water and medicine beside him.
Sofia turned over, and Ethan immediately put down his phone, leaning in to ask where she felt uncomfortable.
I didn’t go in.
I gathered my materials in the living room when my phone suddenly lit up.
The person in charge of the old town project sent a confirmation email, asking if I was certain about accepting the two-year old residence restoration project.
The early phase required closed access to the site, with long-term stationing afterward, making frequent returns to my current city impossible.
I looked at it for a long time.
In the master bedroom, Sofia’s voice was hoarse. “Ethan, am I causing you trouble again?”
Ethan said, “No, don’t overthink it.”
I lowered my head and opened the reply box. I typed only one sentence: “Confirmed.”
After sending the message, I put the project materials in my bag, pressing my ID documents at the very bottom. The sound of the zipper closing was soft. Neither of the two people in the master bedroom looked back.
Aria POV
As a child, the phrase I feared most was: This isn’t your home.
I’d lived in other people’s smallest rooms and in rental units where the locks changed once a year.
Later in the dorms, I still didn’t dare fill the space with my belongings. I feared I’d have to leave soon.
I was always the one who needed something from others. I couldn’t even decide where to put my own cup.
Then Ethan gave me keys. He let me have the master bedroom and cleared out half the walk-in closet.
The lamp in the living room was my choice. The spot I usually sat at the dining table was one Ethan had personally made space for.
He’d complain I was troublesome, yet always let people arrange things my way. I decorated this apartment bit by bit to make it feel like home. I thought I’d finally never be pushed outside again.
In the first month after Sofia returned, Ethan said she was only staying temporarily for a few days.
Sofia had just ended a failed relationship and had the trauma from that old building power outage years ago.
Whenever her emotions broke down, she’d call Ethan. That incident happened when she and Ethan were still together.
Ethan had canceled on her last minute, and Sofia waited for him alone. Later she got trapped in that old building all night.
All the lights went out, the stairwell door wouldn’t open, and she cried until dawn before anyone found her.
Since then, she’d been afraid of the dark, afraid of enclosed spaces, and afraid of Ethan not answering her calls.
Every time she brought up these things, Ethan would fall silent.
Initially, I agreed to let her move in. I thought she’d only stay a few days. But I discovered her belongings were invading my space.
The next morning at breakfast, Sofia still wore my nightgown as she sat at the dining table. She picked up the milk, took only one sip, then put it down.
“Ethan, the pillow in the master bedroom was too hard last night. It made my neck hurt. And that scent in the bathroom isn’t nice. It always reminds me of the old building.”
Ethan’s movements paused as he looked at me.
I put down my fork. “What would you like to change?”
Sofia froze, then smiled.
“Aria, thank you for understanding. Can I put my usual things in the master bathroom first? Also, can I put my own clothes in the master bedroom closet? It’s inconvenient fetching clothes every day. Could you clear out some space for me?”
Ethan frowned. “Sofia, you’re only staying temporarily.”
Sofia’s eyes immediately reddened. She lowered her head, gripping her spoon, her voice trembling.
“I know. I shouldn’t have brought this up. Last night, every time I closed my eyes, I was back in that old building. I just want to sleep soundly.”
After speaking, she stood up to leave. “I’ll move out today. It’s all my fault for causing you both trouble.” The chair made a soft sound as she pushed it back.
Ethan’s expression changed. “No one’s asking you to move.”
Sofia stopped, tears hanging at the corners of her eyes. Ethan looked at me. “Clear out some of the less-used items in the closet and make a temporary spot for her.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
This time Ethan looked at me again. His gaze held both testing and discomfort.
After all, in the past, if I asked even one extra question about Sofia, he’d think me petty.
Now that I wasn’t asking anything, he seemed almost stuck instead.
I went back to the walk-in closet and took down my clothes from the master bedroom area.
I didn’t just take old clothes. The clothes I’d acquired over these years with Ethan, I packed them all in boxes too.
At the very back of the closet was a set of loungewear Ethan had bought me.
That year I had a fever but still wanted to go to the office. Ethan pressed me back into bed, had his assistant send the files home, and stayed with me half the day.
Later he noticed the cuffs on my pajamas were frayed. He said nothing, but the next day had new loungewear delivered.
Back then, I truly believed Ethan cared about me.
Downstairs, Sofia, wearing my nightgown, was asking the housekeeper which shelf in the master bathroom she could use for her things.
I carefully folded that loungewear set and placed it at the very bottom of the box. I didn’t cry or throw anything. I just pushed the box into a corner of the guest room.
When Ethan came in and saw the box by the wall, his steps paused. “Why did you pack away so many clothes?”
I was organizing project materials and didn’t look up. “The master bedroom needs more space, so I packed them all away.”
“If you have an issue with Sofia moving in, you can say so directly.”
I looked up at him. Ethan frowned at my gaze, his tone hardening. “Her situation is special. You know full well she ended up like this because of me. Don’t read too much into it.”
“I know.” I put the project contract in a document folder. “She’s been through trauma. She should have better accommodations.”
Ethan fell silent. He seemed unwilling to have me agree with him so readily.
I fastened the document folder and reminded him. “Sofia’s still waiting for you downstairs.”
After those words, Ethan’s expression completely darkened.
That evening, the project manager sent me a materials checklist.
Starting next week, I’d head to the stationed location and needed to visit the old town site in advance.
I stuffed my ID into my bag and put the project contract in the outermost pocket.
I went to find an old design drawing in the master bedroom. Passing the master bedroom door, I heard Sofia inside asking, “Will Aria mind me staying here?”
Ethan paused. Then he said, “She’ll understand. She won’t make a fuss over something like this.”
I stood outside the door, my hand still on the doorknob. A few seconds later, I released it. I didn’t retrieve the old design drawing.
I returned to the guest room, opened my phone, and purchased a ticket to the old town. Seven in the morning. Purchase successful.
Aria POV
After Sofia moved in, the apartment no longer felt like my home.
Her cup appeared on the dining table, her toiletries in the master bathroom, and even the throw pillows on the living room sofa had been replaced.
I used to tidy up every day by habit.
Now I only glanced at things as I passed. I stopped organizing those items and stopped asking questions.
When Ethan came home, he finally noticed the changes in the living room and asked, “Why were these things changed?”
Sofia immediately put down her cup, her eyes reddening first. “Did I cause trouble again? I just felt the original colors were too dark. They reminded me of the old building. If Aria doesn’t like it, I’ll have someone change everything back right away.”
I immediately said, “No need. Keep what you like.”
Ethan looked at me, his brow furrowing deeper.
That afternoon, Sofia directly invited several mutual friends to the apartment. She didn’t ask me or Ethan.
When the housekeeper brought out desserts, she sat in the living room greeting friends, as if she’d always been in charge of this home.
When a friend entered and saw her in loungewear, then noticed her coming down from the master bedroom direction, someone quickly teased her. “Sofia, you act way too much like you’re in your own home, don’t you?”
Sofia smiled, pressing her lips together, but her gaze drifted toward the stairs.
I happened to be coming down with project materials. All eyes in the living room suddenly fell on me.
Sofia seemed to just notice me and quickly explained.
“Aria, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only staying temporarily for a few days. Ethan was afraid I’d be scared alone at night, so he insisted I stay in the master bedroom.”
She stressed the words “master bedroom” just lightly enough for everyone to hear.
Someone laughed awkwardly. “Aria’s really generous. Anyone else would’ve made a scene by now.”
I didn’t expose her scheme or explain who was actually staying in the master bedroom. I put my materials in my bag and only said to Sofia, “These are your guests. You entertain them properly.” Then I turned and went upstairs.
Ethan entered through the front door just in time to hear those words. His expression darkened. He called Sofia aside, lowering his voice. “Who told you to bring people into this house?”
Sofia’s tears fell quickly. “I just hadn’t seen friends in so long. I wanted them to know I’m not doing as badly as they think. Is Aria upset? Then I’ll move out right now.”
She brought up the old building again. She said living alone made her lose sleep. She said last night when she closed her eyes, the darkness still pressed down so she couldn’t breathe.
Ethan irritably pinched the bridge of his nose but didn’t mention kicking her out again.
I stood at the stair landing, listening to everything, but didn’t go down.
My phone lit up. The project manager asked if I could go to the old town earlier to check the site.
I replied directly: “I’ll go tomorrow.”
That evening, Ethan knocked on my door holding a restaurant reservation. “Let’s go out for dinner tomorrow night.” He said, “Things have been chaotic at home lately. I want to have a proper talk with you.”
I looked at the reservation and nodded. I didn’t tell him the seven o’clock morning ticket had already been issued.
That night, Sofia called for me again at the master bedroom door. “Aria, I think I left my medicine in the bathroom cabinet.”
Sofia leaned against the doorframe, her face pale. “I don’t dare go in alone. If something happens to me, Ethan will worry.”
I said nothing but eventually entered the master bathroom.
The floor was wet. The aromatherapy bottle sat at the edge of the sink.
Just as I bent down to pull open the cabinet, Sofia suddenly rushed in from behind, her whole body colliding into me.
My lower back hit the sink, my arm sweeping the aromatherapy bottle. Glass shards exploded, cutting my skin.
Sofia screamed and tumbled right into Ethan’s arms as he rushed in.
Ethan’s first reaction was to steady her. “Are you hurt?”
Sofia clutched his arm, crying and trembling. “I just wanted to get my medicine. I didn’t know Aria was also in there…”
I steadied myself against the sink, blood from my arm dripping down my fingertips.
Only then did Ethan see me. His expression changed.
Aria POV
Just after dawn, I left the apartment with a small suitcase.
I didn’t call Ethan or say goodbye at the master bedroom. The master bedroom door was half open, Sofia still sleeping inside. Ethan sat by the bed watching over her, pulling the covers up over her. As I passed the doorway, he didn’t look up.
I put the ticket in my bag. The wound on my arm had been simply treated, my lower back still aching. I walked slowly but didn’t stop.
Around noon, Ethan seemed to notice I’d left.
I received a call from him.
When the call connected, I was already on the train.
Ethan’s voice held suppressed anger. “Where did you go?”
“The old town.” I leaned against the train window. “The project moved up. I came to see the site first.”
“What about your arm and lower back?”
“Already treated.”
“You went out of town alone with injuries?” Ethan’s tone grew heavier. “Come back right now. I’ll pick you up.”
The sound of a door opening came from the master bedroom. Sofia’s voice sounded weak. “Ethan, I woke up and didn’t see you… I had another nightmare.”
Ethan’s breathing hitched. I heard it. I spoke first. “Take care of her. You don’t need to come find me.” After speaking, I hung up and put my phone on silent.
That afternoon, I arrived in the old town. The project manager took me to the restoration site. Police tape surrounded the courtyard, the old walls already showing reinforcement marks, staff moving materials.
The manager said, “We’ll be here at least two months in the early phase. If you sign a long-term contract later, you won’t be able to go home often. You can still back out now.”
I looked at the old residence before me, my arm throbbing faintly. I said, “I won’t back out.”
The manager noticed my bandaged arm and saw I walked somewhat unnaturally. “Do you need to go to the hospital first?”
“No need.” I set down my bag. “Let’s do registration first.”
When the registration form was handed to me, the staff member pointed to the emergency contact field. “It’s best to fill in family here. The site has risks. If something really happens to you, we need to contact someone responsible immediately.”
I held the pen and paused.
The staff reminded me again. “A spouse works too.”
I didn’t write Ethan’s name. I filled in the project office phone number in that field.
The staff glanced at it. “You’re sure you won’t fill in family?”
“I’m sure.”
I handed back the form and received the housing keys.
That evening, I received another call from Ethan. I’d just gotten the housing keys and was organizing materials in my room.
Ethan opened with, “The master bedroom has been dealt with. What happened last night won’t happen again. Come back tomorrow and let’s talk things through.”
I looked at the keys in my hand. “I just joined the team here. I can’t come back in the short term.”
“That’s not where you belong long-term.” Ethan’s voice hardened. “Home is.”
I placed the housing keys on the table. “I’ll be staying at the project site for this period.”
Silence on the other end. Sofia’s voice came through again. “Ethan, could you come look? I don’t know where to put the new things.”
I didn’t wait for Ethan to respond. I ended the call and closed the door. The keys remained on the table. The sound of the lock falling echoed clearly in the empty room.
Aria POV
I returned to the apartment the next day to get that old design drawing from the study.
I’d originally planned to grab it and leave, but when my car reached the station, Ethan’s driver was already waiting. The driver opened the car door for me, saying quietly, “Mr. Hart asked me to bring you home.”
I didn’t make things difficult for the driver and bent down to get in. Ethan sat inside the car. Seeing the gauze on my arm and how my lower back stiffened when I sat down, his expression immediately darkened.
“Injured this badly, and you still want to leave home?”
I looked out the window. “I need to submit the old design drawing to the project team.”
Anger threaded through Ethan’s voice. “Let’s go eat first. I still have last night’s restaurant reservation.”
I didn’t refuse. I knew Ethan wanted to turn the master bedroom and bathroom incident into a small conflict that could be resolved over one meal.
The car didn’t go directly to the restaurant. Ethan brought me back to the apartment first. “Sofia’s not here today,” he said. “Take your time packing things. No rush.”
I entered the master bedroom and my steps halted. Things here had been changed. The spot in the bathroom that used to belong to me was cleared out, Sofia’s frequently used items displayed in the most prominent places. A section of the walk-in closet had also been emptied, hung with Sofia’s clothes.
Ethan stood behind me. “This is just a temporary arrangement. She’ll move out once her condition stabilizes.”
I nodded, walked to the drawer, and took out the old design drawing. I didn’t touch the bed or the closet.
Ethan frowned. “You really don’t mind at all?”
I put the old design drawing in a document folder. “Since it’s already been changed, let her use it.”
Ethan was about to speak when the doorbell rang downstairs. Sofia entered with several mutual friends.
Seeing me, she froze for a moment, then quickly smiled.
“Aria’s here too? I just invited friends over to visit. I didn’t expect you’d be back today.”
As she spoke, she’d already naturally had the housekeeper serve coffee to the friends.
The friends saw her enter the master bedroom with familiarity, and someone soon laughed. “Sofia, you’re way too familiar with this place.”
Sofia lowered her head with a smile. “I haven’t been doing well lately. Ethan didn’t feel comfortable with me living alone, so he let me stay here for a few days. At night I’m afraid of the dark, so he comes to check on me too.”
Those friends’ gazes landed on my face. Someone immediately said, “Aria’s so gentle, not even minding something like this.”
I didn’t explain that I was the actual owner of this place. I simply yielded the living room, saying to Sofia, “These are your guests. Entertain them well.”
Ethan stood at the doorway, his expression already very dark. He called Sofia aside. “Have them leave immediately.”
Sofia’s eyes reddened. “I just wanted them to know I’m not suffering alone. If you make them leave now, what will they think of me?”
Ethan’s voice grew colder. “This isn’t your home.”
Sofia seemed pierced by those words, her face going white instantly. “I know.” She said quietly, “Then I’ll just move out. Anyway, if I go back alone, no one will care about me at night.”
Ethan fell silent.
I’d heard their conversation. But I simply put the document folder in my bag, preparing to leave.
Ethan followed me to the door. “The restaurant’s already booked.”
I glanced at the living room. “You don’t have time right now.”
“I can leave with you.”
Sofia immediately stood up, her face pale. “Ethan, you’re leaving now? They’re all here. I was already embarrassed enough just now.”
A friend also tried to lighten the mood. “Yeah, don’t make things so awkward.”
Ethan’s steps stopped in place.
I spoke first. “Restaurants are available anytime. I have things to do, so I’m leaving first.” After speaking, I had the driver take me to the station.
As the car left the complex, the project manager sent the long-term housing contract. I opened it and looked for a long time.
Ethan’s message also popped up at that moment. He said Sofia was just emotionally unstable, told me not to misunderstand, and said he’d handle it later.
I didn’t reply. I signed the contract. A few seconds later, the project manager sent official notification: “Report for duty in five days.”
I put down my phone. Outside the car window was the city I’d lived in for many years. I didn’t look back toward the apartment.
Aria POV
I returned to the apartment a third time. This was my last trip back to retrieve physical materials.
Home furnishing company workers were going in and out of the master bedroom, movers carrying cabinet panels, another person supporting a mirror coming out of the walk-in closet.
Sofia sat on the bed’s edge, directing the housekeeper to send her clothes inside.
She smiled smugly. “Aria, don’t overthink it. I’m only staying temporarily. If things are messy I can’t sleep well, so Ethan had people adjust things slightly.”
I looked at Ethan. Ethan avoided my gaze. “I’m just redistributing the space. I won’t touch your important items.”
I said nothing and went directly to the study. After retrieving my materials and preparing to leave, Sofia stopped me. “There’s a box of your things in the closet. I don’t know where to put it. You should check it yourself.”
I didn’t turn back. “Put it in the guest room.”
Sofia’s voice immediately lowered. “I don’t dare move your things carelessly. Last time with the bathroom incident you already got hurt. I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong again this time.”
Ethan looked at me. He wanted me to go in and take a look, to end this matter.
I eventually still entered the walk-in closet. Inside was no longer the familiar layout I knew.
My frequently used spot had been moved to the very back, several old pieces of clothing packed in a box with a temporary label stuck beside it.
Old items Ethan once wouldn’t let anyone touch now lay piled on the floor, waiting to make space for Sofia.
Ethan walked in, his expression finally darkening. “Stop.” He told the workers.
Sofia immediately looked at him.
Ethan said coldly, “This was originally Aria’s space. It shouldn’t be changed like this.”
Sofia’s tears fell quickly. “I didn’t know these things were so important to Aria. If she’s uncomfortable, I’ll move out right now.”
Ethan didn’t immediately comfort her, only saying, “You go out first.”
Sofia stood without moving, tears streaming down continuously. “I’ve only been able to sleep well these past few days. Turns out me staying here still makes all of you this miserable.”
I suddenly spoke. “Don’t stop.”
Ethan looked at me. I walked over and picked up the box of old items. “I was going to take my things anyway.”
Ethan reached out to stop me. I went around him.
The workers prepared to move the tall cabinet beside them. Sofia stood next to the cabinet and suddenly called out softly, “Ethan, I feel a bit dizzy.”
Ethan looked over immediately.
I passed by carrying the box. Sofia fell toward Ethan, her elbow hitting the edge of the tall cabinet.
The cabinet hadn’t been properly secured, and with this collision, it tilted outward along with the mirror.
Ethan barely hesitated before reaching out to shield Sofia behind him.
I stood on the other side, no time to dodge.
The cabinet corner struck hard against my shoulder and back, mirror fragments slicing across my arm as I fell to the ground.
The box opened, old items scattering everywhere.
That old keychain also rolled out, landing beside the broken mirror.
The scene descended into chaos. Sofia was protected in Ethan’s arms, crying and asking, “Ethan, are you hurt?”
Only then did Ethan see me on the ground. His expression changed. He released Sofia and quickly crouched down. “Aria!”
I braced myself against the floor to sit up, avoiding his hand. My arm still bled, my shoulder and back hurt so much I couldn’t lift them, yet I first picked up the old keychain and put it in my pocket.
Seeing that keychain, Ethan’s movements stopped. That was what I’d attached when he gave me the first house key years ago.
Ethan’s voice sounded. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
But Sofia sat down nearby, clutching her chest. “Ethan, I can’t quite catch my breath. I might have been scared just now.”
Ethan’s steps halted.
I saw it. I pressed my wound and stood up. “You take care of her first. I’ll go by myself.”
Anger threaded through Ethan’s voice. “You’re injured this badly and you’re still pushing me away?”
I looked at him. “She needs you more right now.”
Sofia called for him softly again.
I’d already walked out of the closet and called my own car. I went to the hospital alone.
After the doctor treated my wound and examined my shoulder and back, he reminded me not to carry heavy objects recently.
When I came out with the medical record, the project manager called, asking if I could report on time in five days.
I glanced at my bandaged arm. “Yes.”
Ethan’s call came through at that moment. I didn’t answer. I put the medical record in my bag and went to the project team.
The project manager told me the housing room had been cleared and I could move in early anytime.
I nodded. “Then I’ll move in early.”
Aria POV
I moved into the old town project housing early.
The room wasn’t large. Just a bed, a table, and a wardrobe. The door card was in my own hand, and the registration form had only my name on it.
I placed project materials on the table and pushed my suitcase against the wall.
The suitcase didn’t hold much. A few commonly worn clothes, two contracts, and the old design drawing I’d brought from the apartment.
The jewelry and evening gowns Ethan had given me, I didn’t take a single piece.
When the project manager took me to the site and saw my arm still wrapped in gauze, he asked, “Is your body holding up okay?”
I hung the work badge around my neck. “I’m fine.”
When Ethan found me here, I was verifying restoration materials with project personnel.
I stood among the crowd, my arm not raised high, my shoulder and back still aching, yet I could already clearly communicate every issue with people.
When I finished communicating, Ethan walked over. “I want to talk to you.”
I didn’t avoid him. I followed him outside the courtyard.
Anger threaded through Ethan’s voice. “Why did you suddenly move here? Because I protected Sofia first that day?”
I looked at him. “The project started early. I joined the team per contract.”
“You’re injured, living alone in a place like this, is that appropriate?”
“The project has safety procedures.”
“Who did you put as emergency contact?”
I paused. “Not you.”
Ethan’s expression changed. “Aria Winters, we haven’t separated yet. If something happens to you, the project team can only contact me.”
“You won’t need to be bothered with these things in the future.”
Those words were soft, yet harder to hear than an argument.
Ethan fell silent for a long time, finally lowering his voice. “I’ll handle things at the apartment. The master bedroom will be restored. I’ll arrange for Sofia to move out.”
I asked, “Where will you arrange for her to go?”
Ethan stopped. He seemed not to expect me to ask so directly. “I’ll find another place and arrange someone to stay with her.”
I nodded. “That sounds good.”
My reaction was too calm, as if I were hearing about someone else’s affairs.
Frustration showed in Ethan’s eyes. “Are you still blaming me?”
I didn’t answer. I took the old keychain from my pocket and handed it to him. “I found this in the closet. I should return it to you.”
Ethan looked at the keychain, his fingers freezing.
That year when I stood downstairs with my luggage, too afraid to enter, he’d pressed the keys and keychain into my hands together, telling me not to stand outside waiting anymore.
I’d kept this keychain for many years. Now it was covered in dust, the edges still stained with blood from that day in the closet that hadn’t been wiped clean.
Ethan didn’t take it. “That was for you.”
I placed the keychain in his palm. “That home needs to be rearranged now. There’s no point in me keeping it.”
Ethan’s voice deepened. “The apartment won’t become Sofia’s home.”
I looked at him. “She moved into the master bedroom, the closet was changed, and she invited friends to visit. These things already happened.”
Ethan was blocked from speaking. After a long while, he finally said, “I’ll take you back tonight and have her move out.”
His phone rang at that moment. Sofia’s name appeared on the screen.
Ethan didn’t answer immediately. I glanced at it. “Answer it. She might need something.”
Ethan hung up directly. “Today I’m handling your matters first.”
The call came through again quickly. She kept calling Ethan. His expression grew uglier, until finally he answered.
Sofia cried breathlessly on the other end. “Ethan, I can’t turn on the light. The room’s so dark, like that old building back then… I can’t find my medicine. Can you come?”
Ethan’s brow furrowed sharply as he immediately asked if the door was open, if anyone was nearby. Sofia cried that she didn’t dare move and could only wait for him.
After hanging up, Ethan looked at me. “Her condition might really be acting up.”
I nodded. “You should go.”
Ethan opened his mouth, as if wanting to say he’d come back after handling this. I’d already turned and entered the project courtyard. The gate closed behind me.
Aria POV
Ethan didn’t return to the old town that night.
The next day, he sent me a message saying Sofia’s condition was unstable, the temporary housing wasn’t suitable for her, and he’d make new arrangements. I read it but didn’t reply.
I was busy at the project site until evening when the project manager reminded me, “If you’re staying here long-term, you’d better handle things back home in the next couple days. In a few days this place will be closed, making it inconvenient to leave.”
I returned to the apartment that night. I told Ethan in advance I was only coming back for half an hour to get things and he didn’t need to come back.
But when I entered, Sofia’s voice came from the master bedroom. Sofia hadn’t moved out.
She was having the housekeeper hang several pieces of clothing back in the closet.
Seeing me, she first showed surprise, then quickly smiled.
“Aria, why did you suddenly come back? Ethan wasn’t comfortable with me living alone, so he had me come back and stay for a few days.”
I didn’t engage, walking straight to the study.
Sofia followed. “He originally wanted to explain personally but was afraid you’d overthink it, so he told me not to say anything first.”
I packed materials into my bag.
Sofia’s voice lowered, finally unable to hide her smugness. “Actually, who gets to stay in this home is ultimately Ethan’s decision.”
I stopped and looked at her. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
Sofia stepped closer. “Last night after Ethan came back, he kept looking at that old keychain. What he can’t let go of isn’t you, it’s the convenience of having someone take care of him.”
I looked at her without letting her drag me into an argument. “If you really want to stay, hold onto him tight. And stop making him run to my side.”
Sofia’s expression changed. She immediately caught up.
“But he still brought me back to the master bedroom in the end, didn’t he? He says he’ll arrange for me to move out, but in the end he softens.”
I zipped up my bag. “The master bedroom, the house, Ethan, you can have it all if you want.”
I finished speaking and went downstairs.
When Ethan rushed back to the apartment, I’d nearly reached the door. Seeing Sofia still at home, his expression immediately darkened. “Go back to the master bedroom. Don’t come out.”
Sofia tried to explain. This time Ethan gave her no chance to speak.
I said, “I’ve got my things. I’m leaving.”
Ethan caught up and grabbed my suitcase handle. “I’ll handle this properly.”
I looked at his hand.
Ethan’s voice tightened. “If you want the original master bedroom, I’ll have it restored. If you think this apartment is tainted, I’ll get a new one. If you mind the property rights, I’ll have a lawyer come over right now.”
These words sounded sincere. But they all revolved around the house.
I only said, “I’m living at the project site now. I don’t need a new house.”
Ethan’s eyes reddened, pushed by my refusal. “Then what exactly do you want?”
“Let go.”
“Aria, do you have to make a scene?”
I looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
Ethan froze.
“I didn’t kick Sofia out, didn’t stop you from taking care of her, and didn’t force you to return the master bedroom to me.” I gripped the suitcase handle. “I’m just moving out.”
With those words, Ethan’s fingers stiffened.
Suddenly Sofia’s urgent voice came from upstairs. “Ethan! The door won’t open!” Her voice trembled, as if she’d cry the next second.
“I went into the small storage room next to the master bedroom. There’s no light inside… Ethan, I can’t breathe!”
Ethan’s expression changed. He instinctively released the suitcase handle and turned to run upstairs. The housekeeper and maintenance staff followed. The living room quickly emptied.
I lowered my head to look at the finally released suitcase handle. I didn’t wait for Ethan to come back and explain, nor did I go upstairs to see if Sofia was really trapped. I dragged my suitcase out the door and got in a car.
As the car left the complex, Ethan sent a message. He said Sofia really had been trapped just now, told me to go back to the project site first, and he’d come find me later.
I glanced at it but didn’t reply. I took the apartment access card from my bag and put it in an envelope. By the time the envelope was sealed, the car had driven far away.
Aria POV
When I finished tidying the housing room, a box still sat against the wall. Inside were old items I planned to send back to the villa.
Ethan rushed to the old town that afternoon without bringing Sofia or having his driver follow inside.
He stood outside the project site. I wore my work badge, verifying restoration progress with the project manager.
After I finished working, Ethan spoke. “Let’s have a proper talk tonight.”
I didn’t refuse.
At the restaurant, Ethan didn’t mention Sofia’s fear of the dark again or explain about the master bedroom. He said, “I’ve already had Sofia move out. The master bedroom will be restored to its original state.”
I asked, “Where is she now?”
“Another apartment in the city. Someone’s with her, and a doctor will visit.”
I nodded. “Very thorough arrangements.”
That tone sounded too much like an outsider’s. Ethan’s expression darkened. He pulled property transfer documents from his bag and pushed them toward me. “The villa can be transferred to your name. If you don’t want to live in the original house, I’ll help you pick a new one.”
I didn’t take them. “I need to enter the closed site tomorrow morning.” I said, “I’m not handling the house matter right now.”
Ethan stared at me. “Are you not planning to come home anymore?”
Before I could answer, his phone rang. The call was from the housekeeper taking care of Sofia.
The housekeeper sounded panicked, saying Sofia had disappeared. She left only one sentence. That she was going back to look at the old building where the incident happened.
Ethan’s expression changed drastically. That old building had long been abandoned, with unsafe stairs and wiring. He hung up, his first reaction to stand up.
I looked at him and said, “Go.”
Ethan seemed about to explain. “This time is different. She might really be in danger.”
“I know.”
Ethan picked up his car keys. “Go back to your place first. I’ll come find you after I handle this.” He left right after speaking.
I sat in the restaurant, closed the property transfer documents, and placed them back on the table.
The project manager sent a message. Tomorrow morning’s assembly time had been moved up to six o’clock.
Later the project van happened to detour near the old building to pick someone up. Through the car window,
I saw Ethan’s car parked outside.
The housekeeper and security surrounded the building’s base while Ethan had already rushed inside.
Screams came from upstairs.
Someone shouted, “She’s on the third floor in the old storage room! The door’s jammed and there’s no light inside!”
Project personnel got out to examine the old building’s structure.
I also followed to the stairway entrance. I’d only wanted to confirm whether the site needed the restoration team to assess the risks.
Suddenly an old wooden board came loose from above. Sofia had just been pulled from the old storage room by Ethan and stood trembling at the landing.
Ethan barely hesitated before pulling her into his arms and backing toward the wall with her. The board hit the handrail, its shattered edges falling toward the other side.
I stood right there.
My shoulder and back were struck, my palm cut by rusted metal when I braced myself on the ground.
I knelt at the bottom of the stairs and looked up to see Ethan lowering his head to check Sofia. He asked her, “Are you hurt?” Sofia clung tightly to him, shaking her head while crying.
Ethan finally saw me, his face going white, immediately wanting to come help me. Sofia gripped his clothes. “Ethan, my legs are weak…” Ethan’s movements paused for an instant.
I braced myself against the stairway railing to stand, letting a project colleague help me outside. Ethan explained urgently, “The situation was too sudden just now. She was closer to me.”
I didn’t respond to that statement. I only said, “Get her out first. The old building isn’t safe.”
I had my palm and shoulder treated at a nearby clinic. The project manager asked if I needed to notify family. I said no. Ethan’s calls came continuously. I didn’t answer.
That evening, I returned to the villa. Some of Sofia’s things had been moved away, but traces of her still remained in the master bedroom.
I didn’t tidy up. I pulled out the last box, placed the keys on the nightstand.
The access card pressed beside the keys. The old keychain also lay nearby, still stained with dust that hadn’t been wiped clean.
I placed Ethan’s property transfer documents at the very bottom. I didn’t sign.
The housekeeper saw me dragging the box downstairs and froze. “Mrs. Hart, are you going back to the old town?”
I stopped walking. “You don’t need to prepare my things anymore or keep a room for me. If he comes back, have him look at the master bedroom nightstand.” The housekeeper said Ethan would be back soon.
But I didn’t wait.
As the car door closed, Ethan’s call came through again.
I watched the screen light up and turned it off. The car drove toward the old town.
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I’m the daughter of Alpha James of the Moonridge pack.
The Moonridge pack has a traditionâall of the Alpha’s descendants, regardless of gender, must conceal their identity and never reveal their family background.
Only the first descendant to conceive a child earns the right to return home and become the Alpha’s heir.
I was the first in the entire family to get pregnant.
The moment I found out about the pregnancy, I was so excited that I ran home without even putting on my coat.
With this child, I could finally stop hiding my current difficult life from my husband Ethan.
And his struggling small company wouldn’t have to worry about next month’s rent anymore.
But when I got home and pushed open the door, I found Ethan kissing another woman on the sofa.
So the sudden painful feeling I had when approaching my front door came from Ethan’s betrayal.
Ethan held his half-dressed first love Zoey and looked at me.
“Zoey’s back. Let’s break our mate bond.”
I shoved the pregnancy test back into my pocket.
What he didn’t know was that his poor wife who had suffered alongside him had an unimaginably wealthy and powerful Alpha father behind her.
Fine. I’ll keep the child and leave the father. Goodbye forever.
“Let’s get divorced first.”
“The divorce papers are on the table. The pen’s right there too.”
Ethan’s tone was flat.
Zoey slowly straightened her clothes. Her neck was covered in intense kiss marks.
She sat in my usual spot, glanced at me, and curved her lips slightly without saying anything.
As if she were the lady of this house.
I walked over and picked up the agreement. Three pages, densely written.
The house goes to Ethan. Company shares go to Ethan. Savings go to Ethan. Car goes to Ethan.
I get nothing.
“I don’t get a single cent?”
Ethan finally glanced at me. “The agreement mentions compensationâthirty thousand dollars. That’s not bad.”
Thirty thousand. I’d been married to this man for three years. Ten thousand per year.
Zoey set down her coffee cup. “Emily, with thirty thousand you can rent a decent studio.”
I stared at her. “When did you get back?”
“Yesterday.” Zoey tilted her head. “Ethan picked me up at the airport. He waited four hoursâmy flight was delayed.”
Yesterday.
Yesterday Ethan told me he had to work overtime at the company.
Zoey stood up and walked to Ethan’s side, naturally hooking her arm through his. “Ethan said you’re a good person and won’t make things difficult for me.”
Ethan didn’t pull away from her hand.
My phone pressed against the pregnancy test in my pocket, digging painfully into my thigh.
I’d planned to come home and tell himâEthan, we’re having a baby.
You won’t have to lose sleep over rent every month anymore. You won’t have to humble yourself drinking with clients until you get a bleeding ulcer.
I thought today would be our best day.
“Where’s the pen?”
Ethan pointed at the coffee table.
I crouched down to get the pen. From this angle, I could see Zoey’s hand resting on Ethan’s waist.
As I opened the pen cap, the pregnancy test nearly slipped out of my pocket. I quickly pressed it back.
“Sign on the last page. Write today’s date.” Ethan’s voice came from above.
I signed my name. Emily. Put down the pen and stood up.
“Fine. The agreement needs to go through the court to take effect.”
“Tomorrow morning at nine. I’ll come find you. We’ll break the mate bond then too.”
After Ethan finished speaking, he pulled out his phone and unlocked it right in front of me, opening his contacts.
He changed my contact name from “My Dear Wife” to Emily.
Then he closed his phone and put it back in his pocket.
Zoey leaned on his shoulder. “Ethan, I want to eat your homemade pasta.”
“Okay, I’ll make it right now.”
Ethan actually turned and went into the kitchen. In three years, he’d never once cooked for me.
I’d asked him if he knew how to cook. He said no, said he couldn’t even fry an egg without burning the pan.
Now he tied his apron more smoothly than he tied his shoelaces.
Zoey shrugged at me. “Emily, don’t just stand there. Hurry up and take what you need. Tomorrow I’m having people come redecorate. I looked at your clothesâthey’re all pretty old. Don’t bother taking them. They’re not even good enough to use as rags.”
I went back to the bedroom and grabbed my important documents and a cloth bag containing a few things I’d brought from home when I got married. Nothing related to Ethan.
On my way out, I passed the kitchen. Ethan was cutting tomatoes, the knife thudding on the cutting board. He didn’t look up.
At the door putting on my shoes, Zoey followed and leaned against the doorframe.
“Emily, I don’t know if I should say this.”
“Go ahead.”
“Ethan never sighed when he was with me. In these three years with you, I’ve heard him sigh many times on the phone.” She lowered her head, her voice soft. “Maybe you two really aren’t compatible.”
I looked at her. Ethan sighed because of broken capital chains, lost clients, the company nearly going under.
Every crisis was one I carried him through behind the scenes. After he sighed, by the next morning when he woke up, the problem would be solved. He thought it was good luck.
“You’re right.” I bent down to tie my shoelaces. “We’re not compatible.”
The moment the door closed, Zoey’s voice came from inside.
“Ethan, let’s change the door code. I want to set it to the anniversary of our first time having sex.”
I moved into a studio near the university that rented for three hundred dollars a month.
Next door was a restaurant. Cooking fumes seeped in through the window cracks.
I sat on the hard bed and stared at the pregnancy test for a long time. The two lines were piercingly clear.
My phone rang. Ethan.
“Emily, you haven’t canceled the company’s secondary card yet.”
“I’ll do it when we go to court tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Just as I was about to hang up, Zoey’s voice came from his end. “Ethan, does she still have the company access card? I saw one in her bag last time.”
Ethan paused. “Bring the access card too.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s all for now.”
He hung up. The phone screen was still lit, the chat background still showing the coffee photo from the day Ethan and I started dating, with our two silhouettes making heart shapes beside it.
Ethan and I first met at a coffee shop.
I was working as a barista at the coffee shop. Ethan came in to order, and the moment our eyes met, we realized we were each other’s fated mates.
We fell in love at first sight. In the following days, Ethan kept coming to the coffee shop where I worked to buy coffee. When I wasn’t there, he’d look disappointed.
Back then, I was also secretly watching him with his sincere eyes. So within a few days, Ethan and I got together.
After we got married, Ethan started his business. He said he would definitely give me a good life.
But now it seemed those vows were completely unreliable.
And Ethan had no idea just how wealthy my family really was.
He only knew that his wife worked as a barista at a coffee shop, earning three thousand dollars a month.
For three years of marriage, I’d maintained this persona.
Early the next morning, Ethan’s mother Lily called.
“Emily, are you done packing?”
“I’m packing.”
“Don’t bother with those clothes of yoursâthey weren’t anything good to begin with. Also, those pickles you used to make at homeâZoey says they taste pretty good and wants the recipe.”
I’d made pickles for three years. Ethan ate them every day. My mother-in-law had never once complimented them.
“I’m not giving it.”
“What kind of person are you?” Lily’s tone immediately changed. “You’re already divorced and you’re still being petty. Do you know who Zoey is? Her asking for your pickle recipe is doing you a favor.”
“What kind of person is she?”
“Zoey’s parents run an international trading company. Do you think everyone’s like you making coffee at a coffee shop?” Lily lowered her voice.
“Emily, I’ll be honest with you. I was never really satisfied when I let Ethan marry you. You’ve been diligent these three years, but people climb upward. Ethan’s company is slowly taking off now, and you can’t keep up.”
“Zoey is Ethan’s first love. They were always a perfect match. She came back from abroad. Don’t get in the way.”
Last year, Ethan nearly went bankrupt over a bad debt and couldn’t even pay his employees’ salaries. That month, I used my dad’s connections to recover that bad debt.
Ethan thought the other party had a change of heart and voluntarily repaid.
He was so happy when he came home that day. He hugged me and said, “Honey, we’re so lucky.”
“I’m not giving the pickle recipe. Is there anything else you need to ask?”
Lily hung up angrily.
Half an hour later, Ethan sent a message: My mom says your attitude was bad. We’re already breaking the mate bond. Don’t make this uglier than it needs to be.
I didn’t reply.
I turned my phone face down on the bed and touched my belly.
In three months my belly would start showing. By then I’d return home and take my place as the Alpha’s heirâthe only descendant who successfully conceived.
Ethan’s painstakingly managed company was worth three million. In the Moonridge pack, that didn’t even rank.
I was about to break the mate bond with Ethan soon. I was afraid the rejection would affect the baby in my belly, so I used my family’s connections to find a witch who had a good relationship with my dad and got a potion from her that would prevent harm to the fetus during rejection.
The next day, Ethan and I registered our divorce at the hospital and broke our mate bond.
Afterward, I went to the hospital to register for prenatal care. While waiting after registration, my phone rang again.
Zoey, calling from Ethan’s phone.
“Emily, sorry to bother you. I found a bottle of folic acid in your old bedroom. I wanted to ask if it’s yours or if it was left in the house from before?”
Folic acid. That was what I’d been taking while trying to conceive.
I gripped my phone tightly.
“Throw it away. It’s expired.”
“Okay. By the way, Ethan asked me to ask youâwhen will you cancel the secondary card?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Great, bye.”
She hung up. My hand was trembling. Not from anger, but from fear.
Zoey found the folic acid.
“Will she guess something?” I stared at my phone, talking to myself. No one answered.
The day my prenatal checkup results came out, I sat on a bench in the hospital hallway in a daze.
The doctor said everything was normal. The baby was healthy. I needed to pay attention to nutrition and rest.
The baby is healthy. I repeated those words three times.
“Emily?”
I looked up. Zoey stood at the end of the hallway holding a bag of fruit.
She smiled and walked over. “What a coincidence. You came to this hospital too?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Visiting a friend.” She sat down next to me and casually glanced at my hands.
I turned the prenatal report face down, but her eyes had already caught something.
“Obstetrics?” Zoey’s tone changed, no longer that sweet enthusiasm.
She stared straight at my face.
“Emily, don’t tell me you’re…”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Pregnant?”
I stood up. “Zoey, this isn’t your concern.”
“Of course it’s my concern.” She also stood up. “If it’s Ethan’s child, then it is my business.”
People were coming and going in the hallway. She lowered her voice and moved closer to me.
“Emily, are you planning to hide this from everyone and have the baby? And then whatâuse the child to threaten Ethan?”
“I don’t need to threaten anyone.”
“But Ethan won’t want this child.” Zoey’s tone was matter-of-fact. “He said his children need to be born into a complete family. The family he chose doesn’t include you.”
“He told you that?”
“He tells me everything.” Zoey pulled out her phone and played a voice message.
Ethan’s voice came from the phone: Zoey, after we get through this busy period, we’ll have a proper wedding. We’ll figure out the rest later. Just settle in for now.
“Did you hear that? He’s already planning our wedding. If you run out now with a baby, everyone will just think you’re being clingy.”
I took a deep breath.
Zoey watched my reaction, seeming to confirm something.
“Emily, I have a suggestion. Go find a witch, terminate the pregnancy, and we’ll all go our separate ways. I won’t tell Ethan, and I won’t tell anyone.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll tell him. What do you think he’ll do when he finds out?”
She pulled an envelope from her bag and handed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“Open it and see.”
Inside the envelope was an ultrasound report with Zoey’s name at the top, dated two weeks ago.
It clearly stated: Intrauterine early pregnancy, 7 weeks.
“I’m pregnant too.” Zoey put away her smile and looked at me seriously. “Ethan already knows. He’s thrilled. He bought a ton of pregnancy supplies.”
“So do you understand now? His first child can only be born from me.”
I stared at that ultrasound report.
Seven weeks pregnant. Zoey just returned to the country yesterday. Seven weeks ago she was abroad. This ultrasound report had the stamp of our pack’s maternity hospital.
The timeline didn’t match.
But I didn’t say anything. Now wasn’t the time to expose her.
“Think about it.” Zoey patted my shoulder. “Before things get out of hand.”
She turned and left.
I clutched that ultrasound report.
You say you’re pregnant too. Seven weeks ago you were abroad, but your ultrasound has the Moonridge pack’s stamp.
“Zoey, what exactly are you?”
The next day at ten in the morning, Ethan appeared at the door of my rented studio.
“I know.”
He stood outside, his expression complexânot quite angry, more like a condescending helplessness.
“Know what?”
“About your pregnancy. Zoey told me.”
She didn’t keep her promise after all.
Ethan walked in and looked around the roomâless than a hundred square feetâand frowned.
“Emily, what are you planning to do with this child?”
“Have it.”
“Have it and then what?” His voice rose slightly. “You make three thousand a month. You can barely support yourself.”
“You don’t need to worry about my business.”
“I’m worried about my own business.”
Ethan sat on the only plastic chair, hands clasped together. “Zoey’s pregnant too. You know that, right? She’s earlier than youâalready seven weeks.”
“She showed me the ultrasound report.”
“Right.” Ethan nodded. “I’ll be direct. My first child should be with Zoey. Yours isn’t appropriate.”
“Ethan, are you sure you want me to abort your child?”
“We’re already divorced. Even if this child is born, it’ll be a single-parent family. That’s not good for anyone.” He stood up. “Terminate it. I’ll pay for the procedure and recovery costs. Is fifty thousand enough?”
The door was pushed open from outside.
Lily.
She walked in carrying a plastic bag and looked around.
“This is where you’re living?” Lily set the plastic bag on the table. “There’s twenty thousand dollars in there for the abortion. With Ethan’s thirty thousand, that’s fifty total. Enough for you to start fresh.”
“I said I’m keeping the child.”
Lily’s face darkened.
“Emily, don’t be ungrateful. You know what Zoey’s family is like. She’s Ethan’s legitimate wife. You’re carrying a bastard…”
“This isn’t a bastard. It’s Ethan’s child.”
“If my son doesn’t acknowledge it, then it isn’t.” Lily’s voice got louder. “Do you think having a baby means you can cling to our family?”
Ethan didn’t stop his mother. He leaned against the wall looking at his phone.
“Emily, I’ll say this one last time.” Ethan didn’t look up. “Terminate the pregnancy and we’ll part on good terms. If you don’t, I’ll go to court and request a paternity test to fight for custody. I have a house and a company. You have nothing. The court will award me the child.”
“And then I’ll give the child to Zoey to raise.”
Let Zoey raise my child.
That sentence was like a knife, stabbing in precisely.
Lily pushed me. “Did you hear that? Don’t think pregnancy gives you leverage. You’re nothing in front of us.”
Ethan’s phone screen lit up. A message from Zoey popped up. I caught a glimpse of the text:
[Ethan, did you handle it? I bought your favorite cheesecake.]
Ethan replied, locked the screen, looked up at me, waiting for my answer.
Lily stood to the side with her arms crossed, like a supervisor.
I touched my belly.
This child would be the next Alpha heir of Moonridge pack after me. The child the entire pack had waited over a decade for.
Ethan wanted to fight for custody? He had no idea who he was challenging.
I pulled out my phone and found a number I hadn’t called in three years.
I dialed. It was answered after one ring.
“Dad, come get me. I’m pregnant.”
Ethan and Lily both looked at me.
My dad’s voice came through the phoneâcalm, but every word carried undeniable weight.
“Give me twenty minutes.”
He hung up.
Ethan frowned. “Who did you call?”
“My dad.”
Lily scoffed. “Your dad? Didn’t you say your dad was farming in the countryside? You’re calling some old farmer to back you up?”
I put my phone back in my pocket.
“Ethan, you just said you’d fight for custody.”
“Right.”
“Fine. Then wait.”
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