Author: Momo Chan

So, when he turned 28, I was already 33. He used to tell me that age would never be an issue between us. But later, he told his childhood best friend: “I don’t know what it is, man. But once Sarah crossed 30, I just felt she was… kind of dirty.” Then, he found a mistress. She looked a bit like me. He gave me his love, and gave her his sex. He thought he had the perfect, flawless setup. Until I handed him the divorce papers. I smiled and told him, “Actually, there’s one huge perk to dating and marrying an older woman. And that is, an older woman knows how to play the game—and she knows how to take a loss!” 01 A woman’s sixth sense is terrifyingly sharp when it needs to be. While Caleb Wright was taking a shower, a call came through on his phone. It was a local number, no caller ID. I answered it. I said “Hello” twice, and asked “Who is this?” The person on the other end didn’t make a sound and hung up immediately. Those few seconds of silence felt like a mutual understanding. The other person knew who I was. And I realized that something was very wrong. So, I unlocked Caleb’s phone. Using that phone number, I tracked down her profile on his social media apps. It was a young girl with a soft, cute anime profile picture. Her nickname was “Sweetheart,” there was no saved contact name, and her notifications were set to mute. Their chat history was completely clean. Except for one unread message: [I miss you.] Just those three words made my heart violently clench. I figured, there was a massive chance Caleb was cheating on me. My hand holding the phone suddenly felt weak and shaky. I clicked into the girl’s feed. Her cover photo was a selfie—messy bun, duck lips, radiating youthful energy. She was undeniably pretty. I didn’t look too closely. I just pulled out my own phone and took a picture of the screen. She didn’t have many posts. I scrolled through quickly and froze on one of them. She wrote: [I told you I only wanted $143! Not a penny more!] Below it was a screenshot. A screenshot of her Venmo history with Caleb. Her note for him: Princess Feeder. She asked Caleb: [Where’s my $143?] Caleb transferred her $2,000. She didn’t accept it. She sent it right back. [I only want $143!] Caleb replied with a string of ellipses, but eventually sent her the exact amount she asked for. She replied: [Do you know what 143 means? It means ‘I love you’—I want to be with you forever!] My face was totally blank. I took a picture of it all for my records. After exiting the girl’s feed, I opened Caleb’s bank and Venmo apps. I checked every single transaction between them. One after another, scrolling down, there was seemingly no end to it. The most consistent ones were the massive $5,000 transfers at the beginning of every month. That had been going on for three months. Besides that, there were hundreds of random transfers. A thousand here, two thousand there, a hundred, two hundred. Countless. Including the special numbers: $143, $520, $1314. I photographed every single transaction. Throughout the entire process, I was dead calm. I was even calm enough to mark their chat as “unread” before I put the phone down. 02 “What’s wrong? Why are you zoning out?” Caleb walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel, looking at me with confusion. I snapped back to reality. I looked up at him. He was only wearing a towel. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, eight-pack abs. Caleb had always kept himself in incredible shape. People used to envy me: “With a guy who looks like that, as long as he isn’t out committing murder or arson, what can’t you forgive? Plus, he’s so devoted to you!” I used to think Caleb was devoted to me, too. But looking at it now, that was just my own delusion. “Nothing. Someone just called your phone, didn’t say a word, and hung up. Do you want to check it?” “Probably just a spam call. Ignore it.” Caleb’s expression was completely natural as he took the phone. He threw his damp towel into the hamper and grabbed his pack of cigarettes from the nightstand. “I’m gonna go smoke on the balcony.” Because I hated the smell of smoke, Caleb always went out to the balcony. Turns out, he wasn’t really going out there to smoke. A moment later, he walked back in. He started changing his clothes while talking to me. “Babe, I gotta head out for a bit. It’s an emergency, don’t wait up for me.” “What happened?” “The machines over at Greg’s shop are acting up. I don’t know if the guy’s just cursed or what. They were totally fine during calibration, but the screens keep glitching out on him. I need to go take a look. If it gets too late, I’ll just crash there.” “Is Liam going with you?” “Yeah!” It sounded so real. He had facts, he had a timeline, he even had a witness. I nodded. “Drive safe.” 03 Caleb left in a hurry. I stared at our framed wedding photo on the wall for a long time. I just couldn’t understand. Why? Why would Caleb cheat? And that girl. Who was she? Her face, her financial dynamic with Caleb, her social media posts… Everything flashed through my mind, piece by piece. Suddenly, I caught something. I scrambled for my phone. That girl. I had seen her before. 04 It was about six months ago. Caleb had been taken to the police precinct for getting into a bar brawl. I went to bail him out. He was mostly fine, just a scrape on his cheekbone. But his mood was awful. His eyes were vicious, his whole body radiating hostility. Aside from his teenage years, I hadn’t seen Caleb like that in a very long time. He had beaten the other guy to a bloody pulp. He clearly hadn’t held back. The other guy was screaming for an apology and compensation. Caleb just sneered. If I hadn’t been holding him back, he would have lunged at the guy again. After the paperwork was finally sorted, I led him out. A girl wearing an apron from a local diner rushed up to us. She thanked Caleb profusely: “Sir, if I hadn’t run into you today, I really don’t know what would have happened. Seriously, thank you so much!” I paused and looked at Caleb. He looked completely impatient. “I suggest you get a new job.” The girl looked distressed. “If I had any other choice, I wouldn’t be…” Caleb’s expression grew even more irritated. He cut her off roughly. “Not my problem. Do whatever you want!” Maya Davis had come with me that day. As Caleb shook the girl off and stormed ahead, Maya pulled my arm: “Don’t you think that girl looks a little bit like you?” I laughed it off, thinking she was overthinking it. But I couldn’t help glancing back at the girl one more time. The image in my memory merged perfectly with the photo on the phone. It was her. 05 Caleb didn’t come home that night. He finally walked in the following evening. He brought me takeout from my favorite Mexican spot. “It’s from that place you love. I waited in line forever. You eat first, I’m gonna hit the shower!” “Okay!” Caleb went into the bathroom. I grabbed my spare keys, carried the takeout bag, and headed straight to the underground garage. His car had been washed. It was spotless. The passenger seat was adjusted to the position I usually kept it in. There seemed to be absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. But none of that was what I was there for. I wanted the dashcam footage. I pulled the memory card and reviewed all the footage from yesterday to today. Caleb drove to the south side of the city. He called the girl and said two words: “Come down!” The girl practically skipped as she hopped into the passenger seat. The sound of kissing. Heavy breathing. “Did you touch that old woman?” “Shut up!” “Did you or not?” Caleb’s voice was hoarse, thick with lust. “What do you think?” The girl sounded smug: “You’re all mine!” “Don’t go begging for mercy later!” The speed of the car perfectly illustrated the driver’s urgency. The car finally parked at an apartment complex near the local college. The next time the camera recorded video, it was 10:00 AM the following day. Only Caleb was in the car. The video played quietly. I sat in the car, my entire body stiff. My muscles were so tense they ached. I reached out to turn off the screen, but a phone rang through the audio. It was Liam Carter, Caleb’s best friend. “Where are you man? Why aren’t you here yet?” “On my way!” “Tsk. Being this late isn’t your style. Don’t tell me you were with your little Sweetheart again.” Caleb just hummed in agreement. Liam sounded somewhat speechless: “No way, man. The frequency of this is way too high. Are you falling for her?” Caleb chuckled lightly. “What’s real? What’s fake?” “Cut the crap! I thought you were just playing around. How did this turn into a long-term thing? Weren’t you so madly in love with Sarah you’d die for her? Why the sudden cheating?” That question seemed to stump Caleb. After a long pause, he finally spoke: “Sarah is 33.” “And?” “I don’t know why, man. But once she crossed thirty, I just felt she was… kind of dirty.” 06 How long had it been since Caleb touched me? I smoked a cigarette while thinking about it. It felt like it started right around six months ago. During that time, work had gotten crazy. I was pushing for a promotion, pulling all-nighters, working back-to-back shifts. Every day I came home, all I wanted to do was sleep. Caleb would wrap his arms around me, trying to kiss me. I pushed him away. “Stop, I’m too exhausted. Next time!” The first time, Caleb didn’t mind. He even felt bad for me. The second time, he wasn’t happy, but he kept his temper in check. The third time, he got mad and slammed the door as he left. I had to track him down at a bar later that night. I realized I was handling things poorly. So I wrapped my arms around his neck and accepted his aggressive kisses. That time wasn’t beautiful. It actually hurt. Caleb noticed, and finished quickly. That night, he turned his back to me. It was the first time he hadn’t rolled over to hold me. I felt helpless. I didn’t know how to fix it, and I didn’t know how to coax him back into a good mood. But he managed to fix his own mood before I could. He said it was his fault. He said he was being too impatient. “Don’t overthink it, and don’t take it to heart. Once you’re done with this busy period, let’s take a vacation!” I thought the issue was resolved. He was still good to me. Even though he no longer held me when we slept, even though we hadn’t been intimate in six months. He was still good to me. But now he was saying that he thought I was dirty. That word. From the moment I heard it until now, just thinking about it sent chills deep into my bones. My hand holding the cigarette hadn’t stopped shaking. The ash fell onto my hand, burning my skin. But it was nothing compared to the damage that one word had done to me. 07 Caleb called me, asking where I was and why I wasn’t back yet. I told him I went downstairs to throw out the trash and would be right up. He just said, “Okay.” “I’m gonna go to sleep then!” By the time I got upstairs, Caleb was already fast asleep. He was facing the left, clinging to the edge of the bed, leaving more than half the mattress empty for me. I didn’t get under the covers. I just sat on the edge of the bed. I stared at his back all night. The year I met him, he was eighteen. He had just been accepted to a college in this city. The rebellious teenager had applied to a school behind his parents’ backs, grabbed his acceptance letter, and ran. He didn’t even pack luggage, just a backpack. His older brother, Ethan Wright, was worried about him. Ethan asked for a favor and had me pick him up at the bus station. “He has no money on him, and the dorms aren’t open yet. Let him crash at your place for a bit. The kid is stubborn as hell. If he says or does anything to piss you off, just smack him!” I thought Ethan was insane. Even if he was just a kid, there was no way I was letting him live with me. I was fully prepared to just rent him a hotel room. But he looked so pathetic. And so obedient. When I got to the station, he was squatting under a big tree, hugging his backpack like an abandoned puppy. He quietly followed me back to my apartment. Before I could even tell him he needed to stay somewhere else, he grabbed my sleeve and started playing the pity card. “Sarah, I’ll be so good. I’ll cook for you, I’ll clean the apartment. Please don’t kick me out!” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I thought he was just sweet-talking me. But he actually cooked for me every single day. He even rode his little electric scooter to pick me up from work. Because of him, my lonely, quiet apartment finally felt alive. The daily grind suddenly didn’t feel so exhausting anymore. We lived under the same roof for a month. Eventually, I helped him buy his dorm supplies and moved him onto campus. At first, I thought it was just a fleeting moment in time. But later he told me, he only applied to that university because of me. He said he saw me once when he was sixteen. And from then on, I was the only thing he looked forward to. This man—back when he was still just a boy—offered me his entire, unblemished heart. I fell for it. But now, he wanted it back. So I had to pull myself out of the mud, as fast as I could.

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A female employee from our external vendor made a massive error on a project proposal in our shared Slack channel. I planned to send her a direct message to kindly give her a heads-up. I sent her a message request, but she ignored it twice. She even changed her profile picture to a matching couple’s photo. My assistant showed me the chat logs from their private company channel. She was bragging to everyone that I was aggressively pursuing her. “I’ve dropped enough hints, but he just won’t let it go. He really needs to look in the mirror and see what a creep he is.” “I literally have a boyfriend. How can he be this desperate? It’s so gross.” “That toad probably had a breakdown last night and didn’t dare reply. He must feel so insecure now, right?” 1. Our company was working on a major project, an eighty-million-dollar deal. Although Manager Hayes was the lead, I was also in the main project Slack channel keeping an eye on things. There were over a hundred people in that channel, an absolute chaotic mess. The vendor was a young creative agency called Vanguard Creatives. A woman named Jessica from their project team dropped a file into the channel. I opened it and gave it a quick scan. The units for the material data were completely wrong. She had written “kilograms” instead of “tons.” The decimal point needed to be moved over three places. It was an easy fix. But if nobody noticed, and the procurement, construction, and cost accounting teams proceeded with those incorrect numbers downstream, it would be an absolute disaster. Vanguard generally had a good reputation and was usually quite responsible. Everyone makes a slip of the finger sometimes. I felt a bit of sympathy. I found Jessica’s profile in the project channel, clicked on it, and sent a direct message request. A day passed. My request vanished into the void. Manager Hayes was the public-facing lead for this project. I didn’t want to step on his toes or seem disrespectful to his authority. So, I hadn’t revealed my actual title in the channel. My display name was just my real name: Michael Thorne. I clicked on Jessica’s profile again and sent another message request. This time, I specifically added a note: “Work-related communication. Need to verify some data in the file.” That should be clear enough, right? Another day passed. Still nothing. I tapped on her profile again. Her profile picture had changed. Yesterday, it was a cartoon girl holding a coffee cup. Today, it had been swapped out for a matching couple’s avatar. It was a little boy and girl, wearing matching goofy striped shirts, with a giant red heart in the background. My heart skipped a beat. Could it be… Does this person think I’m messaging her on a professional app to hit on her? And she specifically rushed to change her profile picture to a couple’s photo just to mark her territory? I shook my head, throwing the thought out of my mind. No way. A normal person’s brain doesn’t work in such a bizarre way. It must be a coincidence. She just happened to change her picture. My assistant, Sam, knocked on my door and walked in. He had a weird look on his face. “Mr. Thorne…” Sam held his phone screen out to me. It was a screenshot of a Slack channel. Looking at the channel name, “#Vanguard-Watercooler,” I guessed it was a private channel set up by the vendor’s employees just to spill tea. The chat was blowing up. An ID named “Jessica (Design Dept Demon Boss),” whose avatar was the exact same matching couple’s photo, was extremely active in the chat. “LMAO, that Michael guy from the client’s side tried to message me again. This time he pretended it was for ‘work-related communication’.” “Ugh, men are so transparent. I can smell his desperation through the screen.” “I think I dropped enough hints, right? I literally put up a couple’s profile pic, and he still won’t let it go. How obsessed with me is he?” “I have a boyfriend, and he’s still acting this desperate. Total creepy, entitled male behavior!” 2. Below her message was a pile of people chiming in. “Hahaha, Jessica’s charm is irresistible!” “Seriously. He needs to take a good look in the mirror.” “A toad trying to punch way above his weight.” Sam scrolled his finger quickly down the screen. There was more. “Jessica’s boyfriend is so hot. He leaves that toad in the dust.” “Right, right?! Handsome and so sweet!” “Of course! My man just bought me the newest designer bag yesterday!” It was that “Jessica (Design Dept Demon Boss)” again. “Some people can probably only drool over my profile picture, hehe.” Sam coughed awkwardly. “Mr. Thorne, I think she really doesn’t know who you are and totally misunderstood.” I looked at the blindingly arrogant words on the screen and spoke. “Tomorrow afternoon, set up a meeting with CEO Mercer from Vanguard. Manager Hayes and I are going.” Sam nodded quickly. “Understood, Mr. Thorne. I’ll arrange it immediately.” He practically sprinted out of my office, phone in hand. I leaned back in my chair, my fingers unconsciously tapping the desk. Interesting. I’ve lived this long, and nobody has ever laughed at me for being a “toad” before. Not long after Sam left, my phone screen lit up on my desk. A notification popped up: “Jessica (Design Dept) has accepted your message request.” Now she accepts it? I looked at that matching couple’s profile picture and let out a cold laugh. I didn’t send a message. I didn’t want to say a single word to her. Talking to someone whose brain operated on such a bizarre frequency was a waste of breath. If I wasn’t careful, it would just become new material for her “harassment” claims. My phone buzzed again. It was a message from her. “Mr. Thorne, hello. First of all, thank you for your admiration.” “But I must formally state: Between us, aside from necessary project-related communication, there will be absolutely nothing else.” “Please ensure you keep your distance from me. This is not only a matter of basic respect for me as a person, but also respect for my boyfriend.” “Emotional boundaries are necessary. I hope you understand and act accordingly.” “Secondly, I am officially being promoted to Project Lead in the Design Department tomorrow.” “I love my work and will be pouring all my energy into it.” “I simply do not have the extra time or energy to deal with unnecessary personal entanglements.” “I’ve said all I need to say. I hope you have some self-respect. – Jessica.” I stared at this massive, righteous, logic-defying “declaration.” My finger hovered over the keyboard. I typed something, deleted it, typed something else, deleted it again. In the end, I didn’t reply with a single word. Reason with her? That would just be asking for a headache. I simply put my phone face down on the desk. Out of sight, out of mind. 3. The next afternoon, Manager Hayes and I arrived right on time outside the Vanguard Creatives building. The vendor’s CEO, Robert Mercer, was indeed waiting by the main lobby entrance with several of his people. As soon as the car stopped, Robert jogged over, his face plastered with an enthusiastic yet slightly nervous smile. “Ah, Mr. Thorne! Manager Hayes! Welcome, welcome! It’s an honor to have you here. You grace our humble office!” He personally opened the car door for me, his posture incredibly deferential. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Robert led us toward the elevators. “The conference room is all set up. Right this way, gentlemen.” The elevator took us straight to the fifth floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I could faintly hear a burst of giggling and chatting. It was a group of women’s voices coming from the large conference room at the end of the hall. Chirping away. Robert’s face changed slightly, and he quickened his pace. “These guys. I told them we had important clients coming today.” He muttered under his breath, turning back to give us an apologetic smile. “I’ll have them quiet down immediately.” We reached the conference room. The heavy frosted glass door was closed. The laughter inside was even clearer now. Completely unrestrained. “Haha, Jessica, what happened next? Did that Michael guy reply to you?” An excited female voice asked. My heart sank a little. It was Jessica’s voice next, carrying an undisguised tone of mockery. “Reply? Do you think he’d dare?” “He probably saw my message and completely broke down.” “From last night until now, not a single peep out of him.” “Tsk, I’ve seen so many guys like him. Once I called out his dirty little thoughts, he probably felt so ashamed of himself.” “What a coward!” The room erupted in laughter. “Hahaha, a coward! Jessica, that description is too perfect!” “Right, right?! He doesn’t even know his place, and he dares to hit on Jessica?” “Our Jessica is about to become a Project Lead!” “Exactly, our Jessica is so capable.” “Beautiful, capable, and her boyfriend is so handsome and spoils her so much.” “Some toad could never even compare to one of her boyfriend’s fingers!” Jessica’s voice carried a hint of smug “humility.” “Oh, stop it. My boyfriend is just okay, I guess.” “Yesterday he insisted on taking me to that Michelin-star French place that costs two grand a head. It was so overwhelming.” “I told him we could just eat anywhere, but he wouldn’t listen.” “Oh, right. He also said that once I officially get promoted to Lead, he’s taking me on a trip to Europe to celebrate.” “It’s so annoying. Who has the time? Ugh, he’s such a pain!” Robert Mercer’s face was completely black. His forehead was covered in sweat. He raised his hand to push the door open. I stopped him, signaling him to stay quiet. Manager Hayes stood next to me, his expression also looking a bit stiff. Robert looked at my ice-cold profile. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He didn’t dare breathe too loudly. 4. I gave Robert a slight nod, signaling him to go ahead. Robert looked like he had just received a royal pardon. He took a sharp breath and violently shoved open the heavy glass conference room door. BANG. The door slammed against the wall, making a massive racket. The conference room instantly went dead silent. Inside sat three or four young women, gathered around the conference table. Several half-empty iced coffees were scattered across the table. Jessica was sitting next to the head seat, legs crossed, holding a Starbucks cup. She was wearing fairly heavy makeup today and a rather form-fitting dress. The smug, animated look on her face instantly switched to a standard, sycophantic corporate fake smile the moment she saw Robert. “Mr. Mercer!” She was the first to stand up, her voice sickeningly sweet. The other women also scrambled to stand up, plastering smiles on their faces. “Hello, Mr. Mercer.” “Mr. Mercer, you’re here.” Robert’s face was livid. He glared fiercely at Jessica and the others, then stepped aside. “Mr. Thorne, Manager Hayes. Please come in, please.” He forced a smile, gesturing for us to enter. Manager Hayes and I walked in. Jessica’s gaze swept over Manager Hayes, carrying a familiar respect. Then her eyes landed on my face, and the warmth in her eyes visibly plummeted. Manager Hayes coughed, trying to ease the tension. “Mr. Mercer, this is?” I cut him off directly, looking calmly at Jessica. “Hello. I’m Michael Thorne.” I stated my name, my voice not loud. But in the excessively quiet conference room, it was exceptionally clear. The smile on Jessica’s face froze for a second. A flash of shock quickly darted across her eyes. She seemed to think the name sounded familiar. But that brief shock was quickly replaced by a much stronger sense of impatience and disdain. She looked me up and down. Her gaze was like she was evaluating a cheap, defective product. The corners of her mouth curled into a mocking sneer. “Oh?” She dragged out the syllable. “So it’s you, Mr. Michael Thorne.” “Tsk, tsk. You really don’t know when to quit, do you? Are you that desperate?” “You actually chased me all the way to my company, right behind our CEO?” “What, did I bruise your ego when I called you out last night? So you came here today to corner me?” She let out a scoff. “Was my message yesterday not clear enough? Do I really have to repeat it in front of all these people to get it through your thick skull?” “I told you to keep your distance!” “Do you not understand English?” The air was dead silent. The other women’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Jessica, filled with the excitement of watching a trainwreck. Robert’s lips were trembling. “Jessica, shut your damn mouth!” “Mr. Mercer!” Jessica suddenly raised her voice, cutting Robert off, wearing an expression of someone who had suffered the world’s greatest injustice. She pointed her finger at me, almost jabbing it into my face. “Look at him! I was trying to be nice yesterday. I gave him enough face on Slack, hoping he’d take the hint and back off.” “But what does he do? He actually follows me to the office today to harass me.” “Is there no law? Is there no justice?” “Mr. Mercer, you have to do something about this, otherwise I can’t work in peace!” Her voice carried a dramatic sob. Her acting skills were practically Oscar-worthy. 5. Robert’s face was now as white as a sheet. Cold sweat was pouring down his face. I raised my hand and gently batted away the finger that was about to poke me in the eye. “Everyone out.” I glanced at the other women. Robert immediately acted like he had received a divine command, roaring at the women who were watching the show. “Did you hear him?! Get out, immediately! Right now!” The women flinched in terror. They quickly grabbed their drinks and phones, kept their heads down, and scurried out, hugging the walls. As they passed me, their eyes were filled with undisguised disdain and schadenfreude. They definitely thought I was sending everyone away to create an opportunity to be “alone” with Jessica so I could “pursue” her. Truly incredibly stupid. Jessica stood her ground. Watching her coworkers scurry away, the fake grievance on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a smug “I knew it” expression. She even shot a look toward the door, her lips pouting high, and mouthed the words: “See? I told you this toad wouldn’t give up. I yelled at him, and he still wants to be alone with me.” Manager Hayes coughed awkwardly. “Mr. Mercer, Mr. Thorne is…” Robert let out a ragged, heavy breath. “Jessica, shut your f*cking mouth! Do you have any idea who you are talking to?!” Jessica stiffened her neck, looking completely defiant. “Mr. Mercer, how could I not know? He’s the Michael who’s been harassing me!” “I made it very clear to him last night. I told him I have a boyfriend. Even if you’re trying to play matchmaker for him, I’m not going to agree.” “Work is work, and private life is private life. Even if you are the boss, you can’t interfere in your employees’ personal matters.” She turned to look at me. “If you keep doing this, I’m going to expose your disgusting behavior right in the main project channel. Let everyone from both companies judge who’s right!” I was completely speechless. What the hell was she talking about? Her imagination was running wild. What disgusting behavior? Was it just a direct message request? Robert almost roared, cutting her off. “Are your eyes glued to the ceiling?! This is Mr. Thorne from the client’s corporate headquarters! CEO Michael Thorne!” “The biggest boss of our entire project! The eighty-million-dollar deal depends on Mr. Thorne’s approval! Who the hell do you think you are, talking to Mr. Thorne like that?” “His net worth is in the hundreds of millions. He’s the most sought-after eligible bachelor in the city. How many socialites and celebrities are lining up for him? You think he’d look at you?!” “And you dare falsely accuse Mr. Thorne of harassing you? I think you’ve lost your damn mind!” 6. Robert roared until his voice was hoarse, spit flying everywhere. He really couldn’t hold it in anymore. If he let this idiot keep talking, Vanguard Creatives would be shutting its doors tomorrow. “Mr. Thorne from the client’s corporate headquarters?” Jessica’s eyes—which just a moment ago were filled with disdain and impatience—suddenly went wide. Her pupils practically dilated in shock. She stared at me, her mouth slightly open, as if trying to confirm whether Robert was talking crazy. Manager Hayes appropriately chimed in with a low voice. “That’s right, Jessica. This is CEO Michael Thorne from the corporate group. He is responsible for the final review of this project. The project proposal was personally reviewed and vetted by Mr. Thorne.” “The project proposal?” Jessica muttered, repeating the words. Her face started turning from white to red, and then back from red to white. Beneath that shock and disbelief, did I actually catch a hint of secret delight? Her eyes flickered rapidly, and her posture seemed to unconsciously straighten a bit. That shrew-like, aggressive stance she had just a second ago instantly vanished. Her entire aura changed. Hah. I couldn’t be bothered to watch her rapidly changing expressions. I walked straight over and sat in the head seat of the conference table. Manager Hayes and Robert quickly stood on either side behind me. “Sit.” I pointed to the chair across from me. Jessica forced out what she probably thought was her most graceful, even slightly shy smile. “Mr. Thorne, it really was a misunderstanding just now. I didn’t purposely ignore your message request. I just really didn’t expect you to be so young.” “Since you are so sincere, I will definitely give you some serious consideration.” I couldn’t believe it. Even at this point, she still thought I was trying to hit on her. Was her brain broken? I didn’t listen to her nonsense at all. I simply threw the manila envelope in my hand onto the conference table. The sound wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make her jump. I pulled out a printed document from inside. It was the exact file she had uploaded to the main project channel. I flipped to the critical page and tapped my finger heavily on the glaringly incorrect unit. “Jessica. Project Lead Jessica.” My voice was ice-cold. “Is this how Vanguard Creatives works?” “The most basic material data unit possible. You wrote ‘kilograms’ instead of ‘tons’? Moving the decimal point three places?” “Do you know what this means?” “If we procured materials based on this incorrect data, how much would the cost accounting be off on an eighty-million-dollar project?” “How massive of a disaster would the construction materials be?” “The entire project’s timeline, quality, and even safety could have landmines planted in them because of this incredibly stupid mistake!” “Is this the work you ‘love’? Is this the professional competence you are ‘proud of’? Is this the level of someone who is about to become a Project Lead?” I pushed the document forward. “This is why I tried to message you. I wanted to tell you privately, to save you some face.” “But instead of appreciating that, you go full drama queen and imagine this whole theatrical plot.” “And you go around telling everyone I’m harassing you? Desperate? Creepy entitled male? A toad trying to eat swan meat?” “Jessica, tell me. What exactly is inside that head of yours?” My voice wasn’t loud, but every word was a kill shot. Robert’s face turned green listening to this. He violently slammed his hand on the table. “Jessica, you incompetent, blundering idiot! You almost killed the company! You almost ruined all of us!” “And you dare to slander Mr. Thorne? Accuse him of harassing you? Who the f*ck do you think you are! You think Mr. Thorne would look at you? I spit on that!” “Apologize! Apologize to Mr. Thorne immediately!”

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When I was 18, I caught my sister lifting Carter’s shirt, her hands trailing over his abs. The boy’s shirt hung loose, and he simply let her do whatever she wanted. At 22, Carter listened to his family and married me. But everyone knew that even though we were married, he still couldn’t let go of the sister he loved so fiercely. Later, I asked for a divorce. He stayed silent for a long time before finally signing the divorce papers. “If you ever need any help in the future, just ask.” At 28, I came back to attend his wedding to my sister. He glared darkly at the man standing beside me. “You couldn’t wait to divorce me back then. Was it all just for him?” 01 “I heard Maya Hayes is back.” “I remember she was the one who asked for the divorce, right?” “Carter Vance is the CEO of the Vance family now. I bet she’s regretting it.” “What’s there to regret? She stole her sister’s marriage in the first place. This is just returning things to their rightful owner.” … The moment I stepped toward the VIP room, I heard them talking about me. Over the past three years, the rumors about me hadn’t died down. They all said I was just playing hard to get. Even my own parents thought so. On the day of my divorce, my mother specifically warned me: “Since you two are divorced, you are not to contact him anymore.” “Your sister injured her leg, and she needs Carter right now. Don’t do anything to upset her.” Seeing me look down in silence, she added: “This marriage belonged to your sister in the first place. If she hadn’t gone abroad to further her career, it never would have been your turn.” My sister, Serena Hayes, and Carter Vance had been the envy of our social circle. But on the eve of their wedding, Serena ran away. By then, the news of the two families merging had already been announced to the press. Under immense public pressure, the Vance family elders decided to swap the bride and have him marry me instead. I don’t know how they convinced him, but Carter eventually agreed to marry me. For three years, we lived like a perfectly normal married couple. But everyone knew that despite marrying me, he had never let go of Serena. He never let me into his home office. One day, he forgot to lock the door. I peeked through the crack and instantly felt like I had been plunged into an ice bath. The walls of his study were covered in his and Serena’s pre-wedding photos. I had never seen Carter look like that. So vibrant, so doting, so utterly focused. His eyes were entirely filled with Serena. That was the moment the thought of divorce first crossed my mind. On the day I finally made up my mind, I accidentally overheard him on the phone. He was speaking in a gentle, coaxing voice to the person on the other end: “Yeah, don’t be scared. I’ll be there in ten minutes… Don’t try to walk, just wait for me. Be a good girl.” The moment he turned around, he saw me. I spoke calmly, “Dinner is ready. Have some before you leave.” He paused for a brief second, then continued walking toward the door. “You eat. Don’t wait up for me.” Just as he was about to step out, I called his name again. A flash of impatience crossed his face. “What is it?” “Carter,” I said. “Let’s get a divorce.” 02 By the time the news of our divorce reached my parents, we had already signed the papers. Carter didn’t mistreat me. He gave me half of his assets. My parents summoned me home in the middle of the night. They interrogated me like a criminal, demanding to know how I could be so cruel as to take half of Carter’s fortune. “Maya, is this how we raised you? Did you only marry him for the Vance family’s money?” Serena stood to the side on her crutches, shedding tears. “Maya, are you blaming me? Are you mad that I came back and took Carter away from you…” Before she could finish, my parents cut her off. “Carter was supposed to be your husband anyway! If you hadn’t been so stubborn about running away, you and Carter would have kids running around by now.” Serena loved Carter, but she loved ballet more. Shortly after accepting Carter’s proposal, she received an offer from a world-renowned ballet company in Europe. She dumped Carter without hesitation and flew across the world. For three years, she practically cut all contact with him. Until that one night, when Carter received an international call. He had been leaning against my shoulder, trying to catch his breath. He answered the phone right in front of me. Because we were so close, I clearly heard the tearful female voice on the other end. Carter froze. One second… five seconds… ten seconds… It took a full thirty seconds for Carter to react. He quickly grabbed a robe and hurried out of the room. Carter didn’t come back that night. The next day, I found out from my parents that Serena had been in an accident during a performance and shattered her leg. Carter personally flew out to bring her back. Even though she was staying at my parents’ house, Carter handled everything related to her personally. Because of this, my parents even sat me down to “counsel” me. “Don’t take it to heart. Your sister can never dance again. She’s devastated, and Carter is the only one who can comfort her right now.” My parents had favored Serena since we were little. She was beautiful, had great grades, and was incredibly talented at singing and dancing. I, on the other hand, was just a bookworm—boring, and terrible at sweet-talking. Everyone revolved around the injured Serena. Including my husband. He gradually lost all patience with me. One evening, he promised to pick me up, but left me waiting in the pouring rain for two hours. I got soaked and came down with a high fever. Carter had no choice but to leave Serena and come to the hospital to take care of me. But my mother believed it was just a manipulative trick to force Carter to come home. She screamed at me hysterically: “Because you dragged Carter away, your sister almost did something unthinkable last night!” “You are a perfectly healthy person! Why do you have to compete with a disabled woman?” I looked at her in disbelief. “But… Carter is my husband.” “So what? This marriage belonged to her in the first place! You stole her husband!” But back then, she was the one who begged me to marry him. Before Serena went abroad, she came to me, trying to convince me to marry Carter. “Maya, I know you like him. Isn’t this a great opportunity?” “Let’s keep the wealth in the family. You don’t want Carter ending up with some other woman, do you?” I kept my head down, staying silent. Serena got anxious. “Are you really just going to watch our family go bankrupt?” “I’m begging you, Maya. Or… are you worried I’ll come back and fight you for him?” My expression shifted slightly. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry. Once I go abroad, I won’t ever contact him again. I swear!” For the first three years, she actually kept her word. But in the end, she forgot the vow she had made. 03 After getting the divorce certificate, I moved out West by myself. I didn’t contact my family for three years. A little while ago, they reached out to tell me that Carter and Serena were getting married. Serena was the one who called. “Maya, you have to come back for my wedding. I’ll only feel like I haven’t wronged you if you’re there.” I stayed silent for a long time before saying, “Fine.” The day I arrived home, the weather was beautiful. As soon as I pulled my suitcase through the front door, Serena came running out of her room. “Maya!” Her steps were light and quick. It was late autumn, but she was only wearing a thin slip dress. Behind her, Carter strode quickly, holding a coat. “Why can you never remember to put your slippers on? If you do this again, I’m going to…” His voice suddenly stopped. He saw me. This was the first time we had seen each other since the divorce. Common courtesy dictated I should say hello. I turned and gave him a faint nod. After three years, Carter looked exactly as I remembered. Only, the coldness in his eyes had been replaced by a lingering tenderness. He nodded back, shifted his gaze, and draped the coat over Serena’s shoulders. “You two catch up. I need to go handle some work.” Serena stepped up to me and affectionately linked her arm through mine. “I was so worried you wouldn’t come. I’m going for my dress fitting tomorrow, will you come with me?” I pulled my arm away with a blank expression. “I’m busy tomorrow.” Serena looked disappointed. “Is it really important?” “Yes. Very important.” She thought for a moment. “Then let’s reschedule for the day after tomorrow. Come home early tomorrow after you’re done…” “I’m not staying here,” I interrupted. “Tell Mom and Dad I’ll be pretty busy the next few days, so I won’t be staying at the house.” With that, I grabbed my suitcase and walked away without looking back. I hadn’t walked far when a car slowly pulled up beside me. The window rolled down, revealing Carter’s handsome face. “Get in. I’ll drop you off.” I politely refused. “No thanks. I’m fine.” He was stubborn. Since I wouldn’t get in, he just drove slowly alongside me. “It’s hard to get an Uber around here. Get in.” Looking at the endless road ahead, I finally compromised. I got in the car and gave him an address. His brow furrowed slightly. “Why aren’t you staying at The Belvedere?” “I don’t like it.” The condo at The Belvedere was the one given to me in the divorce settlement. But what he didn’t know was that I had already sold it. Carter’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t ask any more questions. When we arrived at my apartment building, I got out, and Carter followed. He grabbed my suitcase, showing no intention of handing it over. “Let’s go.” “I can take it up myself.” I tried to pull the suitcase back, but it wouldn’t budge. He scanned the surroundings. “Are you having financial troubles?” This place was more than a few steps down from The Belvedere. “No.” He simply dragged the suitcase toward the entrance. “Which building? What floor?” Carter was a persistent man. When he wanted to do something, no one could change his mind. I stopped fighting it and led the way in silence. We got in the elevator and went up. Standing at my front door, I took the suitcase from him. “Thank you. It’s not a good time today, so I won’t invite you in.” “Wait.” I looked back. “These past few years… have you been doing okay?” Looking into his sincere eyes, I felt a wave of dizziness. In my memory, he had never spoken to me with that tone of voice. Just as I was about to answer, the door suddenly opened from the inside. A tall, strikingly handsome man appeared in front of us without warning. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, tall and lean—he looked like walking pheromones. He reached out a long arm and pulled me into his embrace. “What took you so long, hm?” He leaned in to kiss me. The moment his lips touched mine, Carter’s furious voice rang out from behind: “What are you doing?!” But the man had no intention of stopping. He laid a deep kiss on me before slowly turning his head to look at Carter, still holding me tight. But his words were meant for me: “I’ve only been gone a little while, and you’ve already found your next target? You really know how to keep a guy on his toes~” I shoved him lightly, but he didn’t budge an inch. I had no choice but to look at Carter. “Whatever it is, we’ll talk next time.” Carter’s hands balled into fists at his sides, his lips pressed into a thin line. It was the precursor to his rage. But before he could explode, I was pulled inside. The door clicked shut. The man in front of me leaned in dangerously close. “If I recall correctly, your flight landed at 11 AM. It’s currently 2 PM. Three hours, and you’re already meeting up with your ex-husband?” I lightly poked his firm waist. “Liam…” He immediately caught my hand. His voice dropped low. “Don’t try to brush this off.” I gripped the edge of his shirt, looking down in silence. A large hand gently lifted my chin. The second our eyes met, Liam let out an exasperated laugh. “I haven’t even started punishing you yet, why are you crying?” I sniffled. “I missed you so much…” 04 After the divorce, I moved out West and opened a cozy little B&B in a mountain town in Colorado. The town had perfect weather year-round, and the locals were incredibly warm and genuine. Spending time with them did wonders for my mental health. Within a year, the reputation of my little inn grew, and business was no longer as bleak as when I first started. Liam Sterling was the most reclusive guest I had ever hosted. Most of the time, he stayed locked in his room, never stepping outside. He only appeared on the terrace when there were very few people around. At first, I was worried something might happen to him, so I unconsciously kept an eye on his movements. Until one day, while I was sunbathing in the courtyard, he walked over to me with a half-smile and asked: “Do I really look like someone who’s about to end it all?” I looked up in shock. He lay down on the lounge chair next to mine, looking completely relaxed and careless. “I heard you on the phone.” I was instantly mortified. The night before, I had called my best friend and mentioned Liam. I had said, “That guy is really good-looking. It’d be a real shame if he just dropped dead.” I never expected Liam to overhear it. While I was dying of embarrassment, Liam suddenly asked, “You don’t look like a local. What made you want to open a B&B here?” I made up some nonsense: “Too much money, too much free time.” A low, incredibly pleasant laugh rumbled in his throat. I couldn’t help but look over at him, and I was met with a breathtaking sight— The man was resting his head on his arm, staring out at the horizon. His jawline was sharp and clean, his side profile sculpted to perfection. Carter was already incredibly good-looking, but Liam was on a completely different level. He must have felt my stare, because he turned his head, and our eyes locked. I don’t remember who looked away first, but from that day on, the atmosphere between us changed subtly. The day we finally crossed the line, Liam and I had gone hiking in the mountains. On our way down, the weather suddenly turned, and a massive thunderstorm broke out. By the time we got back to the inn, we were completely soaked. That night, I developed a high fever. While trying to get up to take some medicine, I shattered a glass on the floor. Liam literally broke the door down to get to me. I don’t know if it was an illusion or my fever-addled brain, but I distinctly saw sheer terror on his face the moment he burst in. And the second he saw me, he visibly let out a massive sigh of relief. The sickness hit me like a truck. I was bedridden for five days, and Liam took care of me for all five. He moved his instruments into my room, which was how I found out he was a musician. “So, are you just ready to pack up and leave at any moment?” I asked, clutching a mug of hot water. He didn’t answer, instead asking, “Do you want me to leave?” I stayed silent. He took the mug from my hands and suddenly leaned in to kiss me. His burning breath seared every cell in my body. I gripped his shirt, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst from my chest. After that day, Liam essentially became the new co-owner of the B&B. Changing lightbulbs, fixing broken chairs—it all became his job. The guests at the inn loved to tease him: “You’re such a good househusband! You should make the beautiful boss marry you already.” Whenever they said that, he would turn to me and ask: “When are you planning to marry me?” I would always just laugh it off. On the surface, he didn’t seem to mind, but the second we were alone, he would find every way possible to torment me in bed. Even when I begged for mercy, he showed absolutely no restraint. I thought those days would last forever. But one day, Liam vanished. I asked the other guests at the inn, and they gossiped: “Where else could he have gone? With a face like that, and being in the music industry? I bet a sugar mama came and scooped him up.” 05 And today, after his sudden disappearance, I finally saw him again. The more I thought about it, the more it hurt, and my tears fell even harder. Liam stared down at me, waiting for me to finish my sentence. But I didn’t say a word. I just kept crying. After a long moment, the man who had looked furious just seconds ago resignedly cupped my face. “I am so fucking hopelessly wrapped around your finger.” “Are you still going to leave?” “Leave? You’re a mess, how could I possibly leave you?” I still didn’t quite believe him. Exhausted from crying, I wrapped my arms around his neck and refused to let go. Helpless, he had no choice but to lie down with me. I slept incredibly soundly that time. When I opened my eyes, Liam was no longer beside me. My phone had been switched to silent at some point, and I had 99+ missed calls—more than half of them from Carter. Aside from that, the long-dead college alumni group chat had suddenly exploded. It was Carter sending a message, saying he wanted to organize a reunion. [If Carter is hosting, we absolutely have to go!] [I heard Liam Sterling is back in town too. Someone invite him!] [Liam? Liam Sterling? When did he get back?!] [It’s really him! I’m a massive fan, I track all his movements. Word is, he came back this time to propose to the girl he’s been secretly in love with for ten years.] Just as I read that, my hand felt empty. My phone had been snatched away. Liam’s handsome face zoomed in close. He ruffled my messy hair. “Sleep well?” I shook my head and slowly shuffled over to rest my head on his lap. “I thought you weren’t going to come.” Before I flew back, I had sent him an email giving him my address. He never replied. I assumed he was too busy to even check his emails. I never expected to see him the moment I got back. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. But behind the surprise was also a bit of a shock. He scooped me up into his arms. “Are you mad?” I wrapped my arms around his waist, buried my face in his chest, and refused to make a sound. His voice softened. “I left in such a rush that day, and I lost my phone, so I couldn’t contact you right away. But I reached out as soon as I could, didn’t I?” “Don’t be mad, okay?” After he left, I had fallen into a deep emotional abyss for a long time. When they said a sugar mama had taken him away, I actually believed it. His phone was disconnected, he didn’t reply to texts—it was like he had vanished off the face of the earth. If he hadn’t finally managed to get a hold of me later, I would have gone to the police. I rolled over in his arms and kept interrogating him: “Then why didn’t you reply to my email?” “The second I saw the email, I bought a plane ticket. I wanted to give you a surprise. Instead, you gave me a heart attack.” Thinking back to how he must have felt seeing me show up with Carter, the impact definitely wasn’t small. I smiled faintly. “But I still haven’t forgiven you.” He lowered his head, a dangerous aura instantly enveloping me. “Then I’ll just have to use that method.” My instinct was to run, but he grabbed my ankle and pulled me right back. Don’t let Liam’s polished exterior fool you—he was a completely different beast behind closed doors. I pressed my hands against his chest. “Liam, I just got off a plane…” “It’s fine. I’ll do all the work, you just lie there.” By the time he was done tossing me around, it was the middle of the night. I was starving and exhausted, pouting in his arms. He seemed to be in a fantastic mood and brought up the alumni reunion. “I’m meeting up with a good buddy of mine. Do you want to go to the reunion together later?” I purposely tried to get a rise out of him: “Carter’s going to be there. Aren’t you worried something might happen between us?” His hand slowly trailed down the curve of my waist, his smile so handsome it made the hairs on my arms stand up. “You’re welcome to try.” What a petty, jealous man!

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I was the billionaire CEO’s tragic first love who died young. Fifteen years after my death, the System resurrected me and told me to save the kid standing on the edge of the rooftop. “He is your flesh and blood. If you don’t help him, he’ll truly have nothing left in this world.” But I grew up with a fiery temper and a spoiled personality. I was used to people serving me, not the other way around. So, I marched over in my stilettos, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him back. “Stop acting like you’re going to jump. You’re just as pathetic and useless as your father.” “Where is he, anyway? Doesn’t he know I’m back? Why isn’t he here to pick me up?” 01 The teenage boy looked at me quietly. For a split second, a look of bewilderment crossed his face, but he quickly recovered, his expression returning to a stagnant, ripple-less pool of water. He tilted his head slightly, lost in his own world. I clicked my tongue impatiently and gave him an order. “Call Arthur Sterling.” It took him a long while to pull out his phone and dial a number. The phone rang for thirty seconds before the automated voicemail prompt kicked in. I narrowed my eyes. “Arthur dares to ignore calls? He’s got some nerve!” Leo seemed used to it. He was just about to put his phone away. I snatched it right out of his hand and dialed the number three or four more times in a row. Finally, the call connected, but it was a crisp female voice on the other end. “I’m sorry, Mr. Sterling is currently in a meeting. Please do not interrupt.” She hung up before I even had a chance to speak. I almost smashed the phone against the wall, but suddenly remembered it wasn’t mine. I forced my raised hand down, grinding my teeth in anger. “Alright, just you wait!” Leo tugged at my sleeve. When I looked over in confusion, he stared at me with those clear, glass-like eyes and softly said two words. “Go back.” 02 On the ride back, I confirmed with the System one more time: “Is this silent kid really my son?” I told Leo the cab’s seats were uncomfortable; he just said, “Mm.” I told him I didn’t like the driver’s heavy breathing because the rhythm was too messy and annoying; he just said, “Mm.” I told him the clothes he was wearing were painfully ugly and dragging down my aesthetic; he still just said, “Mm.” Eventually, I got so mad I started cursing, demanding to know where that bastard Arthur had rolled off to. He finally raised his eyes to look at me, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and whispered two words. “Business trip.” I almost died of anger. Getting a single word out of him was like pulling teeth. He didn’t seem like my son at all. When he was two, he used to scream so loud he’d keep Arthur awake all night. He clearly had my exact fiery temper back then. How did he turn into this silent, closed-off shell? [Host, please try to be a little understanding. The child suffers from severe psychological trauma. Communication barriers are just one of the symptoms.] I pursed my lips, looking at Leo’s thin, frail silhouette and his dull, lifeless eyes. My chest physically ached with anger. In the fifteen years I was gone, how the hell did that bastard Arthur raise our kid?! 03 After getting home, I did a quick tour of my own bedroom. Good. The layout was exactly the same as it was fifteen years ago, and not a single one of my belongings was missing. However, in the shoe cabinet by the door, there was an extra pair of pale green women’s slippers. I glanced at them. They fit my personal style, so I didn’t overthink it. By the time I finished my inspection, I realized that kid Leo had disappeared. His bedroom door was locked. I frowned, grabbed a spare key, and opened the door myself. The room was pitch black. The lights were off, and the heavy blackout curtains were drawn tight, blocking out every sliver of sunlight. As the light from the living room spilled into the room through the open door, I saw a lonely, desolate figure sitting by the window. I stomped over, flipped the light switch with a loud click, crossed my arms, and sat down right in front of him. Leo just sat there blankly, staring unblinkingly in one direction, lost in his own thoughts. His eyes were completely dull and devoid of light. I stared at him and spat out three words. “I am hungry.” Leo finally seemed to register my presence. Hearing my words, he looked down, pulled out his phone, and opened UberEats. “I don’t eat takeout!” “Is this how Arthur lets you resolve your three meals a day?!” Leo put his phone down, lowered his head, and stopped responding to me entirely. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, turned around, and walked out, unable to stop myself from complaining to the System. “With a mess like this, you might as well have let me stay dead.” Behind me, Leo looked up, his eyelashes trembling slightly. 04 I called the System out and demanded a full rundown of what Leo had been through over the last fifteen years. The System told me that after I died, Arthur grew more depressed by the day. There were times he completely neglected his own company, let alone taking proper care of Leo. Once, Arthur got blackout drunk and slept for two days straight. During that time, Leo didn’t eat a single bite of food. He cried from hunger until he passed out, and had to be rushed to the ER to be resuscitated. After that incident, Arthur dumped Leo on a nanny and threw himself entirely into his work. The nanny saw that Arthur didn’t pay much attention to the kid, so her attitude toward Leo was terrible. She rarely cooked for him and occasionally even hit or scolded him. It wasn’t until Leo fainted from starvation again that Arthur rushed back and discovered what was happening. By then, Leo was already severely ill, to the point where he couldn’t even go to school. Arthur fired the nanny, but struggled to find someone suitable to care for the boy. His executive assistant, Sylvia Thorne, volunteered to take on the task. “Sylvia?” I recalled the woman who had answered Arthur’s phone earlier. It had to be her. [Leo hates her very much. Because of her, he had a massive falling out with your husband.] [Three years ago, Arthur planned to marry Sylvia to balance his work and family life. Leo vehemently opposed it. He held a knife to his own wrist and forced Arthur to swear he would never marry Sylvia, or else he would kill himself.] I couldn’t believe my ears. “Arthur actually wanted to marry someone else?” [Please don’t worry, Host. In the end, he didn’t marry Sylvia. To this day, their relationship remains strictly boss and subordinate.] [However, ever since that incident, Sylvia has harbored deep resentment toward Leo, and her attitude toward him is no longer what it used to be.] I frowned. “What did she do?” [Learning from the previous nanny’s mistakes, she didn’t dare do anything too obvious. Instead, she just tells Leo every single day that his mother is never coming back. She tells him he needs to be obedient and not be a burden to his father. She constantly reminds him that Arthur needs a capable wife who can be his right-hand woman, not the ghost of a dead first love.] I let out a cold laugh. “Oh, really? A right-hand woman, huh?” [Host, what do you plan to do next?] “Arthur clearly has water in his brain. I’ll just have to beat it out of him,” I smiled playfully. “And as for this Sylvia… using those kinds of psychological tricks on my son? She’s about to get what’s coming to her.” 05 But even I didn’t expect the confrontation with Sylvia to happen so quickly. The next morning, I was still sleeping in my room when I was abruptly woken up by a loud commotion. I pulled the blanket over my head, intending to go back to sleep. Then I heard the argument outside my door. A female voice, dripping with blame, said, “Leo, how could you just bring a stranger home? And a woman of unknown origin at that?” “I know you’ve always hated me being by Mr. Sterling’s side, but you don’t have to retaliate against him like this. Where does this put Mr. Sterling? And what do you think you’re doing?” But no matter what Sylvia said, Leo’s attitude was resolute. He refused to let her in. Sylvia raised her voice slightly. “Leo, you are being so disobedient. It is truly disappointing.” “Do you want me to tell Mr. Sterling that you brought some shady woman home and let her sleep in your mother’s bedroom?” I didn’t catch what Leo said, but Sylvia’s tone suddenly shifted, becoming incredibly severe. “If that’s the case, then I have no choice but to have Mr. Sterling come back and discipline you personally.” I played with my manicured nails, chuckled to myself, and opened the door. Seeing me step out, Leo frowned slightly. “Did she… wake you?” “It’s fine. It was about time to wake up anyway.” Sylvia looked me up and down. “You are certainly pretty. No wonder you managed to seduce Leo like this.” “But as long as I am by Mr. Sterling’s side, I will never allow someone like you to step foot in the Sterling household. Leo is naive and isolated from the world. You’re just taking advantage of that to manipulate him…” SMACK! A crisp, resounding slap echoed through the hallway. Sylvia covered the bright red handprint on her cheek, staring at me in absolute disbelief. “You actually hit me?” I smiled. “You’re exactly the person I intended to hit.” Sylvia took a deep breath and spoke into her phone. “Mr. Sterling, you heard all of that. Leo has truly gone too far this time, letting this woman run wild in your home…” “Hold on.” Arthur’s voice came through the speakerphone, carrying a trace of undetectable agitation and uncontrollable, overwhelming joy. “Turn on your camera. Let me see her face.” Sylvia froze for a second, but she obeyed Arthur’s command, switching to a video call and pointing the camera right at me. “Get out.” A voice laced with icy hostility rang out. Leo stepped in front of me, blocking the camera lens with his hand, refusing to let Arthur see my face. Before anyone could react, he pulled me back into the room and locked the door behind us. Sylvia banged on the door from the outside, berating him. “Leo, why are you being so rebellious now? Going against your father for some woman—you’re going to disappoint him deeply…” Leo’s tone was indifferent and entirely calm. “None of your business.” Sylvia tried using both soft pleas and harsh threats through the door, but nothing worked. Even when she threatened to complain to Arthur, Leo treated it like white noise. She wasted almost an hour at the door before finally giving up and leaving. Inside the room, I stared at Leo, deep in thought. “Why didn’t you want Arthur to see me?” Leo’s actions were incredibly abnormal. It wasn’t just a kid throwing a tantrum. He seemed withdrawn and antisocial, but his mind was delicate and sensitive. There had to be a reason he did that. Leo slowly looked up and met my gaze. He suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist, a faint tremor in his voice. “Don’t. Leave.” My heart swelled with warmth. I gently wrapped my arm around his back, softly stroking the top of his head. My voice was gentle. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t leave.” Leo buried his face in my embrace for a few seconds before pulling back slightly. He pulled out his phone and showed me a document. The more I read, the deeper my frown became. “What the hell is Arthur thinking? He actually agreed to this?!” The document detailed ten top-performing students Arthur had sponsored over the years. According to the proposal, he was going to select one of these ten to adopt as his stepson and heir. I was so furious I wanted to call Arthur and curse him out immediately. “Is his brain filled with water? Did his brain cells shrink as he aged? What an absolute idiot.” Leo tugged at my hand. “It’s… cousin’s arrangement.” “Don’t… trust him.” I froze for a second. Leo’s “cousin” was Richard Hayes, my own cousin who had grown up with me. Richard and I had a pretty good relationship. Back when I insisted on marrying Arthur, my grandfather vehemently opposed it, and Richard was the one who helped me convince him. I forced myself to calm down and looked at Leo. “What else do you know?” He shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll handle this.” I made a phone call to my grandfather’s executive secretary. I briefly explained the situation and asked him to investigate Richard Hayes, as well as Arthur’s current whereabouts. “Understood. I’ll send people to investigate immediately. You’ll have the results in three hours.” “Wait. One more thing.” “…Miss Chloe, does the old Mr. Vance know you’re back?” “I haven’t told Grandpa yet. Don’t rush to tell him. By the way, is Grandpa’s health doing okay?” “The old man is strong and healthy. He just misses you very much. He talks about you all the time.” I blinked rapidly, my throat tightening. “I miss Grandpa too.” 06 The secretary informed me that Arthur had just flown back into the country. The moment he stepped out of the airport, he was heading straight to corporate headquarters for a board meeting to announce his chosen heir. I told Leo to stay put at home and changed the front door passcode. Then, I drove straight to the highway to intercept Arthur. In the years I was gone, this was how he took care of Leo. He was doing a fantastic job. Following the location data the secretary sent, I tailed Arthur’s car. I was just about to overtake them and force them to pull over when I realized something was wrong. This wasn’t the route to the corporate headquarters. I slowed down, trailing them from a safe distance, wanting to see exactly what he was up to. To my surprise, the car drove straight out into the deserted suburbs. I followed closely behind. Suddenly, the car’s trajectory became erratic, swerving wildly before slamming on the brakes, scraping against the guardrail, and coming to a screeching halt. The car doors flew open, and two men tumbled out, violently brawling with each other. Arthur was clearly losing. He was grabbed by his collar, slammed against the car window, and took a brutal punch to the gut that made him double over and drop to a crouch. The driver pinned Arthur to the ground, picked up a heavy rock, and aimed it right at Arthur’s head, ready to smash it down. I slammed on my brakes, jumped out of the car, and sprinted over in my stilettos. I grabbed a heavy steel wrench I had grabbed from my trunk and brought it down hard on the driver’s head. The driver’s grip on Arthur loosened. He stumbled sideways, turning toward me in a daze. Before he could fully turn around, I delivered a swift, brutal kick, sending him sprawling to the dirt. Arthur looked like an absolute wreck. His custom suit was filthy, and his hair was plastered messily across his forehead with sweat. He gasped for air, squinting as he looked up at me. His attempt to stand up suddenly froze. He stayed frozen in that position, staring at me intently, muttering to himself as if he were sleepwalking. “Chloe? Is it you?” “I haven’t seen you in so long… I thought you’d never want to see me again…” Confirmed. This man’s brain was definitely not functioning properly. I didn’t have the patience to waste time with him. I raised my leg and delivered a solid kick right to his thigh. He let out a muffled groan, and in the next second, he reached out and grabbed my ankle. “Such a familiar force…” Arthur chuckled softly, his eyes never leaving me for a single second. “Chloe. It really is you.” I let out a cold laugh, wrenched my ankle out of his grasp, and slammed my stiletto heel down squarely onto his chest, grinding it in. “Alright, let’s hear it.” “In the fifteen years I was gone, exactly how did you bully my son?” Arthur stared at me in a daze, letting out a confused, “Ah?” I straddled his waist and delivered a stinging slap across his face. “Who gave you permission to dump Leo with a nanny? Who allowed you to let Sylvia Thorne walk all over him? And who agreed to adopt some random kid as your heir?! You think just because I died, you can bully my son?! Do you even have me in your heart? Do you even care about Leo?!” Arthur grabbed my hands, his eyes turning red. “I’m sorry, Chloe.” “The first few years after you left, every time I looked at that child, he reminded me of you… There were so many times I just wanted to end it and go find you. I really… I had no other choice but to entrust him to someone else’s care.” “Later, when he grew up a bit, he completely refused to get close to me. And I was overwhelmed with company affairs…” SMACK! Another resounding slap. I grabbed Arthur by his collar, gritting my teeth and enunciating every word. “What does any of that have to do with him?! Why should a two-year-old child have to bear the burden of my death?!” “He was only two when I left! He was so small, what did he know?! He lost his mother at such a young age, and you just neglected him. Are you even human, Arthur? Do you have a conscience?!” Arthur obediently took the slaps without fighting back, then stealthily reached over to hold my hand. Tears were welling in his eyes, threatening to spill over. His refined, handsome face bore the bright red marks of my fingers. He looked thoroughly victimized. “I was wrong, Chloe. I swear I’ll never do it again.” “What the hell are you and Richard playing at? And what’s going on today? Explain it to me clearly!” “It’s a long story. Chloe, why don’t you let go of me first…” I slowly released his collar, my voice freezing cold. “You’d better have your own master plan, because if you don’t, I won’t spare you today.” Seeing me let go, Arthur leaned in, nuzzling against me as he held my hand. He pushed up his half-rim glasses and flashed me a smile. “Don’t worry, Chloe. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

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Five months pregnant, I was pushed from the third floor. Dr. Schrute saved me, but the baby, like the previous seven, was gone. Desperate for a last glimpse, I overheard my husband Vincent and Dr. Schrute in a corner. “Why harm your own child?” the doctor asked. Vincent replied coldly, “Elara has her needs. This was foolproof.” The truth about my lost children shattered me. My loving husband was the culprit. Behind closed doors, Vincent demanded, “Perform a hysterectomy before Jane wakes up.” Shocked, Dr. Schrute warned, “You’ll have no heir!” “Elara just had my child,” Vincent said. “I’m leaving everything to them. Jane’s uterus is a threat.” “But your child will bear another man’s name,” the doctor pleaded. “Is it worth it? Jane’s chance of conceiving is already low.” Vincent’s voice turned tender yet bitter. “I love Elara. I’ll give her everything I have.” “But…” Vincent frowned. “No ‘buts’! Do as I say!” Vincent was about to stand up when his phone rang. He accidentally pressed speakerphone. “Vincent, I got the money, hehe. Next time, find me for such a good job. I’ve done it seven times now, I know the ropes. And next time, I’ve already thought about it: I’m going to pretend to be a kidnapper and target Mrs. Halpert’s belly…” “There won’t be a next time. Take your money and get out of the city.” Footsteps sounded from within. I stumbled back to my room. Before I could lie down, Vincent walked in. “Jane, when did you wake up?” I was drenched in sweat, my body trembling as I forced myself to appear calm. “Just woke up. I didn’t see you, so I was about to go look for you.” Vincent’s gaze was fixed on me, with a hint of scrutiny. My heart was pounding with anxiety. Just as I thought he had found me out, he gently lifted me onto the bed. “Why are you so careless with yourself? We’ve already lost our baby; you can’t afford to have anything else happen.” He still had the nerve to mention it. Thinking of the child he had deliberately killed, I desperately clutched my chest, tears welling up uncontrollably. It turned out that all those car accidents, robberies, and falls I had experienced were never accidents. They were my husband, putting me in mortal danger again and again for his lover. “The doctor just said your uterus hasn’t been fully cleaned out and requires another surgery.” “Jane, don’t be scared… we’ll definitely have a beautiful baby. He’ll have your eyes, my nose and mouth. Then we’ll treat him even better and make up for all our regrets.” Vincent offered me a glass of milk. As he turned away, I saw him add something to it. He held me in his arms, coaxing me gently, his eyes full of tenderness. But I knew this was just a facade to lull me into a false sense of security. “Do I have to drink it…? Can I not?” Vincent, you’ve already killed seven of my children. Are you going to strip me of my right to be a mother as well? He didn’t hesitate, stroking my head, smiling dotingly. “Such a grown woman, yet still acting like a baby. What if you don’t have the surgery and your body can’t recover? Do you want your husband to die of heartache? Come, I’ll feed you.” He brought the milk to my lips, giving me no chance to refuse. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if what I was swallowing wasn’t milk, but barbed razor blades. My consciousness slowly faded. In a daze, I saw the doctor, complicit with Vincent, walk in. “Proceed with the surgery now. Also…” Vincent’s voice hesitated for a few seconds. “Find a way to paralyze her lower limbs with anesthesia.” “Mr. Halpert, is that really necessary? Isn’t that too cruel?” “Do as I say!” I knew Vincent was always cautious and suspicious, but I never expected him to be so ruthless just because he saw I woke up early. My children, my chance to be a mother, and now he was even going to take away my ability to stand. Vincent, are you trying to carve out my heart? I screamed in despair, struggling to sit up, but plunged into a deeper coma. As the anesthesia began to wear off, I vaguely heard the doctor say, “Mr. Halpert, Mrs. Halpert’s uterus has been removed. Also… she will never be able to stand again.” Vincent was immensely relieved, repeating twice, “Good! Good!” When I fully awoke, his tears fell onto my hand, a genuine expression of pain. “Jane, the doctor says your uterus has become too damaged to ever bear children.” I ignored him, frantically trying to move my legs. But, no feeling… I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, trembling as I questioned, “Vincent, what have you done to my legs?” His tears fell in large drops, choking him several times until he couldn’t speak. “There was an accident during the anesthesia, and your lower body is paralyzed.” “Jane, don’t be afraid… no matter what you become, I will never leave you… I will always love you.” I had never imagined Vincent’s acting was so superb. He dismissed the nurse and personally fed me porridge, wiped my body, and even took care of my postpartum bleeding. He was busy until evening, then he kissed my forehead tenderly. “Jane, you’ve suffered so much hardship with these pregnancies for me. I’ll make it up to you doubly in the future.” I looked at his tired face, coldly averting my gaze. “If you’re tired, rest for a while.” “Alright, your husband will watch over you here. Just call me if you need anything.” After he fell asleep, I picked up his other phone. I had always known Vincent had another phone, but it was his work phone, so I had never checked it. I tried only once, and it unlocked successfully. The password was Elara’s birthday. The moment the lock screen opened, a wedding photo of him and Elara immediately caught my eye. A wedding photo… He actually took wedding photos with Elara. The white dress stung my eyes. Trembling, I opened his messaging app. Vincent intimately called her “Baby.” The endless chat history was increasingly disturbing. It turned out every one of his business trips was just an excuse to be with Elara. I had been silently upset countless times, resenting that he never accompanied me to the hospital. How many times did the doctor ask about the baby’s father, and I could only give an embarrassed smile and say he was very busy. He would always reply after a long delay: “I’m trying to earn money for our baby’s formula. Besides, a check-up isn’t a big deal. My being there wouldn’t help much and would waste time. You can do things on your own.” But he had accompanied Elara through her pregnancies, attending every prenatal check-up, never missing one, no matter how busy he was. He said he was incredibly excited for their baby’s birth, saying their mother and child were the most precious things in his life. Reading further, my heart was viciously wrenched, in agonizing pain. Every time I was pregnant, they were discussing how to kill my child. Even the car accident I had a year ago, when I was pregnant, was orchestrated by Elara herself. She said she wanted to experience the thrill of hitting someone, and Vincent readily agreed. He simply cautioned her, “Go easy.” They casually discussed how to harm me and how to kill my child, as if discussing the weather. My fingertips dug deep into my palm, blood dripping onto my hand. I opened his photo album. Tens of thousands of photos, every single one featuring Elara—joint photos, candid shots, waking up together, walking together, going home together. Vincent thoughtfully prepared nutritious meals for her during pregnancy… And there were over 99 videos. I switched to them, and in an instant, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over me, chilling me to the core. There were countless videos of them intertwined, naked, seemingly deliberately documenting every moment of their intimacy. There was even roleplay, Vincent dressed as a maid, kneeling on the floor… I desperately pressed on my stomach, too nauseated to speak. Besides those videos, there were six more, labeled from the first to the sixth. Realizing what they were, my blood surged, and a metallic taste rose in my throat. I fiercely bit my lip and clicked on—the sixth time. Vincent and Elara were laughing and talking. In front of them was… The knife felt like it was cutting into me, my heart felt like it was being torn into a thousand pieces. The pain caused my stomach to cramp. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and retched violently at the bedside. Sleepless through the night, my clothes were soaked with tears. The next morning, Vincent, as usual, specially bought me an elaborate breakfast. A rich variety, both Eastern and Western: soy milk, fried dough sticks, bread, egg tarts… I used to think this was his doting affection for me, but now I knew it was just indifferent perfunctory behavior. Recalling the video from last night, I retched again. Seeing I was uncomfortable, Vincent was deeply concerned: “Why are you still feeling unwell? It’s all my fault for making you suffer, my dear.” “It’s nothing. I want to go home.” Vincent’s expression froze for a moment. “You’ve miscarried again. Mom isn’t very happy. Going back now would be walking into her anger. It’s better to wait a while before returning, so you don’t have to endure her wrath.” I didn’t speak. From his expression, I roughly guessed what had happened. In the afternoon, he was out. I packed my things and, in my wheelchair, made my way home. As soon as I entered the house, I saw Elara sitting in Vincent’s lap, both of them playing with a child. My mother-in-law came out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of bird’s nest soup, and personally fed Elara spoonful by spoonful. The three of them were laughing and chatting, looking very much like a family. Seeing me enter, my mother-in-law’s eyes sharpened. “Bad omen! You actually have the nerve to come back? My son serves you delicious food and drinks all day, how do you repay us? A jinx like you should just die outside!” “You clearly knew you were pregnant, yet you were jumping around all day. How many lives in our Halpert family have you killed? Why didn’t you just fall to your death, you wretched thing!” “I’m telling you, from today on, Elara is the only daughter-in-law I recognize. Get out of my house right now. You’re staining our floors.” Elara looked over, following my mother-in-law’s gaze, her eyes full of triumph. “Auntie, don’t talk like that. What if Jane gets jealous and spreads rumors that I’m seducing Vincent?” “I dare her to!” I knew my mother-in-law never liked me. She thought I was too capable and difficult to control, and that I would lord over Vincent after marriage. Elara, on the other hand, was beautiful and sweet-talked everyone, always putting Vincent and herself at the center of everything. So, my mother-in-law was determined to have Elara as her daughter-in-law. It was only later that Elara married a wealthy man, and I willingly gave up my career to focus on family. Only then did she reluctantly accept me. Over the years, I had never given birth to a child for the Halpert family, and her dissatisfaction with me had reached its peak. Now that Elara was back and had given Vincent a son, she naturally had no inhibitions and vented all her displeasure on me. But she didn’t know that my seven miscarriages were all orchestrated by her son. Every one of her grandchildren had been… by Elara, her cherished daughter-in-law. Before, Vincent would mediate, but now, holding the child Elara had given him, he acted as if he heard nothing. Elara nestled into his arms, her voice feigning grievance. “Vincent, you’re only paying attention to our son. I feel overshadowed by him. If you keep this up, I’ll be upset.” Vincent dotingly pinched her cheek, his eyes full of tenderness. “Always so jealous, aren’t you? Look what that is.” I followed Elara’s gaze, and the bold words “STOCK TRANSFER AGREEMENT” pierced my eyes. “Wow! Vincent, you’re so good to me.” She happily kissed Vincent on the corner of his lips, her eyes proudly looking at me. I gave her a cold smile. Enjoy your triumph. Soon enough, you and your Vincent will be crying and begging me to come back. “But if you do this, won’t Jane be angry? After all, this is your entire fortune.” Vincent paused, as if just realizing I was present, and quickly said, “Jane, don’t misunderstand. Mom and I discussed adopting Elara’s child as our godson, which is why I’m transferring shares to her.” “This is a last resort. Since your uterus is damaged and you can’t have children, the Halpert family can’t be without an heir. I can only place all my hopes on Little Vincent.” “You understand, don’t you?” My ears buzzed. I looked at Vincent in disbelief. “What’s his name?”

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The day after accepting my crush’s confession, I woke up ten years in the future. A pair of grape-like eyes stared at me timidly, and the little boy called me “Mom.” Later, in a dusty storage room, I found a wedding photo. To my surprise, the groom in the picture wasn’t my crush—it was him. 1. I woke up ten years in the future, sprawled on a bed I didn’t recognize. As I lay there, utterly bewildered, a tiny figure burst into the room. I immediately played dead, pretending to still be asleep. Soft footsteps approached, then a delicate hand touched my forehead. A child’s voice, sweet and innocent, prattled on about what they’d eaten and played with lately. I was still trying to figure out my connection to this child when their next words jolted me awake. “Mommy, you’ve been sick for days now. Why aren’t you waking up? You don’t like Tommy, but Tommy misses you so much. Mommy, please wake up!” Mommy?! This kid called me Mommy! My eyes flew open. A cute little munchkin, with big eyes and a small mouth, was staring at me in wide-eyed terror. Before I could even utter a word, the child dashed out of the room. Oh, my God! Just last night, I’d accepted a confession from the guy of my dreams, and now, I had a child this big! 2. After the child bolted, I immediately grabbed my phone and called my best friend, Quinn. I had no idea what I’d been through in the last ten years; my phone was strangely barren of messages. Old contacts had vanished without a trace. The phone rang for several moments before Quinn finally picked up. “What do you want?” Her voice was colder than I’d ever heard it. I scratched my cheek, her sudden aloofness leaving me speechless. When I didn’t respond, Quinn grew impatient. “Anna Yao, say something! Didn’t you say you’d never contact me again?” Wow, what in the world did I do in those ten years? I thought for a moment. “Quinn, I know you’re playing hard to get, but cut it out for a sec. I just want to ask you something important: who’s my husband?” That was my most pressing concern. Quinn paused. “Anna Yao, did you forget to take your meds today?” Huh? Ten years later, Quinn was calling me crazy in a roundabout way? “I’m serious, Anna! Did you seriously forget your meds? Fine, just wait at home. I’m in line for a COVID test; I’ll be right over!” Quinn’s tone was surprisingly grave. Was I not time-traveling, but actually, well, unwell? And what was a COVID test, and why did she have to wait in line for it? 3. Just as I hung up, a housekeeper-like woman knocked, cautiously asking if I felt better and if I wanted something to eat. It seemed my unseen husband was quite wealthy. I nodded, and soon, an array of exquisite dishes appeared before me. It turned out that in ten years, I’d achieved the life I’d always dreamed of. I cautiously tried to pry for information about my “husband.” The housekeeper looked a little surprised, only saying he was away on a business trip and wouldn’t be back until next month. That was good news; by the time he returned, I’d probably have adjusted to my new reality. I picked up my chopsticks and started devouring the food. I had to admit, it was all my favorite. Suddenly, I caught sight of the child peeking around the doorframe. Realizing this might be my son, my eyes lit up. I waved him over. “Hey, kid, come here.” He startled, then timidly walked to the bedside. Why did this child seem afraid of me? Had I married a rich man and become a stepmother? I scratched my head, trying my best to sound friendly. “What’s your name, little one? How old are you?” The child’s chubby face crumpled with a hurt expression, as if he couldn’t fathom a mother forgetting her child’s name. “Mommy, I’m Tommy Fischer, and I’m four.” Fischer? So, I definitely didn’t end up with my dream guy. I continued, “Tommy, I’m going to test you. What’s your daddy’s name?” “My daddy’s name is…” “Tommy! There you are. Time to go downstairs for your lessons. Don’t bother the madam while she rests.” The housekeeper, who had suddenly appeared at the doorway, cut Tommy off. “Madam, I’m so sorry. I didn’t keep an eye on Tommy. I’ll take him downstairs now.” The housekeeper nervously pulled Tommy away. I was completely confused and could only nod. Since I woke up, the housekeeper’s attitude had been strange, as if I were some kind of monster. Since I couldn’t get his name, I decided to look for clues myself. The bedroom was luxuriously decorated, but there were no wedding photos, no signs of another person living there. Was this one of those situations where the husband just sent money every month but never came home? 4. When I stepped out of the room, I realized it was a two-story villa. Downstairs, Tommy was quietly playing with a puzzle by the floor-to-ceiling window. Sunlight streamed in, highlighting his long, downcast lashes. He looked like such a well-behaved child, completely melting my heart. I practically pounced, startling him. “Hey, buddy, what are you playing? Mom will join you!” Tommy’s eyes widened, and he immediately stood at attention, mumbling, “Mommy.” I pulled him closer and planted a big kiss on his fair little cheek. He touched his face, looking a bit surprised. Seeing his reactions, I could pretty much guess that the me of ten years in the future probably wasn’t too fond of this child. Thankfully, Tommy was young and didn’t hold grudges. I played with him for a bit, and soon he was happily sharing his puzzle with me. “Buddy! Is this all you have to play with?” Kids his age should have tons of toys. Tommy carefully glanced at me and said, “Mommy used to get mad if other toys were too noisy.” What?! Okay, the ten-years-later me really had issues. Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Quinn. 5. When Quinn walked in, I almost didn’t recognize her. Was this really my tomboy best friend? She had grown out her hair, styled it in soft waves, and her eyes were meticulously made up. I exaggeratedly widened my eyes. “Who are you, gorgeous?” Quinn rolled her eyes at me. Tommy, however, seemed very familiar with her, rushing over to hug her and calling her “Auntie Quinn.” Quinn gently patted Tommy’s head and said to me, “Let’s go talk upstairs.” I quickly led her back to the bedroom. Before she could speak, I blurted out everything that had happened. Quinn listened, a frown on her face, then looked me over and posed the million-dollar question: “How do you know you time-traveled, and not just lost your memory?” Uh… “I remember the last meal before I time-traveled was beef stew with tomatoes in the school cafeteria—delicious!” “…” “I remember taking an exam two days before I time-traveled, and I still recall the questions. If I really had amnesia, I wouldn’t remember such specific details for ten years, right?” Quinn raised an eyebrow but remained silent. She knew me like she knew herself. I awkwardly pressed my lips together. “Okay, fine. The day before, I had just accepted Tristan’s confession.” Quinn’s lips immediately drooped, and she let out a cold laugh. Then she launched into a detailed account of the last ten years. 6. Turns out the ten-years-later me really did have a problem: bipolar disorder. The reason for my illness was Tristan, my ex-boyfriend, cheating on me. Quinn said that after Tristan and I got together, he acted sweet on the surface but was secretly gaslighting me. By the time Quinn noticed something was wrong, I was already too far gone. Later, Tristan falsely accused Quinn of trying to seduce him, and in my confused state, I cut off all ties with her. Then, at 27, I was dumped by Tristan. His new girlfriend was my college roommate, and I couldn’t handle it, which is when I developed bipolar disorder. “Holy crap, that’s just awful,” I said, rubbing my forehead. This was basically Anna Yao’s tragic early life story. “So, who’s my husband now?” That was still my most urgent question. Quinn looked at me, paused, then said, “It’s Julian.” “What?!” I never in my wildest dreams imagined that ten years later, I would be married to Julian. 7. Julian, Quinn, and I had practically grown up together. We lived in the same apartment building as kids and went to the same school. Julian was always that “perfect kid” everyone talked about—good-looking, smart, and genuinely kind. He’d help old ladies cross the street and give up his seat to elderly gentlemen. Back then, when I was small, the more my parents praised him, the more he annoyed me. But being a sucker for good looks, I couldn’t help staring at him, often making him blush. After we grew out of our kid phase and started having crushes, I even fantasized about him a little. But there were just too many people who liked him, so I kept my distance. Even if he showed me some special attention, I just thought it was childhood friendship, especially since he went abroad later. Now Quinn was telling me that Julian had married me. The shock was akin to the national soccer team winning the World Cup. In a flash, another question popped into my head. “Quinn, Tommy is four and a half. Tristan and I broke up when I was 27. So, Tommy is…?” Quinn gave me a troubled look. “We had cut ties by then, so I only heard snippets about you from others. I heard… you and Julian were caught in bed by Tristan. As for Tommy, honestly, I don’t know.” The information overload was crushing my CPU. So, it meant I might have gotten pregnant with someone else’s child and then married Julian. The thought made my vision swim. No wonder there were only traces of my life in the room; Julian must really resent me. If that’s the case, why would he marry me? “Wait, Quinn, Tristan cheated on me, so how could he catch Julian and me in bed?” Even if I was capable of such a thing, Julian wasn’t that kind of person. Quinn said, “I’m not clear on the specifics. It seemed Tristan first tried to break up with you, but you refused to let go. Then he somehow caught you and Julian together, and used it to turn the tables on you.” 8. The plot was too wild. I touched my face. “I feel like I’m experiencing a beautiful case of ‘brain stem missing’ right now.” Quinn patted my shoulder. “Accept it, sis. After being gaslighted, you turned into a total mess. But Anna, honestly, whether you have amnesia or time-traveled, I only have one thing to say: be good to Tommy. I can’t interfere with your and Julian’s business, but that child is truly pitiful. Julian is busy with work and is away from home half the year. And you, the ‘old you,’ never liked Tommy and barely paid him any mind.” I wanted to cry. His dad might be a fake dad, but his mom was definitely a real mom. My little angel, Tommy, get ready to feel your mommy’s fiery love! 9. I had just finished my motherly love to-do list. In just a couple of days, little Tommy went off to kindergarten. Turns out he’d been on summer break. Normally, private kindergartens like Tommy’s didn’t have breaks, but most of the kids came from well-off families, and many parents wanted time to take their children on trips. Thinking of Tommy playing puzzles alone downstairs that day, my heart felt like it had swallowed a lemon. I promised myself I’d take Tommy out to play in a couple of days. That evening at dinner, Tommy sat on his chair, swinging his little legs, telling me about his day at kindergarten. After a few days together, he wasn’t so scared of me anymore. At bedtime, Tommy uncharacteristically asked to sleep with me. He lay beside me in his dinosaur pajamas, a perfectly well-behaved child. “Mommy, tell me a story.” I picked up a book and improvised, “Once upon a time, there was a Snow White Prince…” After the story, Tommy giggled, “Tommy is Snow White Prince! Mommy is the princess! Someday, Tommy will marry Mommy.” I teased him, “But Mommy has a Daddy, you know. Tommy can’t marry Mommy.”

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It was late, and the power had gone out. I was just about to step out and check the breaker. Suddenly, a few lines of comments appeared before my eyes. [Don’t go out, lady! You’ll be dead if you do.] [Isn’t this the last victim of the S City serial murders 15 years ago?] [Yep! Experts said the killer was seven foot ten; so terrifying…] 1. My hand snapped back from the doorknob. Words in front of my eyes? Was I working so much overtime I was hallucinating? What was this about the last victim of a serial murder case? Were they talking about me? It was true that over the past three years, our city had seen six murders. All the victims were killed by the same perpetrator, and the case remained unsolved. More comments floated into view. [Whoa, this lady’s got a brain.] [Exactly! The power suddenly goes out at home; you can’t just rush out to check the breaker! My mom always told me that’s a trick bad guys use, and I’m just a middle schooler.] [Right, right, this lady’s not even as smart as the kid upstairs.] Their words made me uneasy. This was a new apartment complex; there was no way the circuits were old. Why would the power trip suddenly? I peeked through the peephole, but the hallway was pitch black. [What’s she doing? What can she see through a peephole?] [The killer’s staking out the electrical room right now!] Seeing them say the killer wasn’t outside my door, I felt a slight sense of relief. I double-locked the door, then quietly retreated to my bedroom and checked my phone for my electricity balance. Initially, I was skeptical of these strange comments. Until I saw my phone screen—it showed I still had over fifty dollars worth of electricity. That left only one possibility: the killer had tripped my breaker, luring me out to murder me. 2. I now fully believed what the comments were saying. [Don’t stall, lady! Get the hero to save you.] [Hope she succeeds in calling for help and changes her fate.] Reading the descriptions, it seemed I had died before because I went to check the electrical room myself? I quickly grabbed my phone and messaged my boyfriend, Kevin: [Power’s out at home, and I’m scared to go out alone.] Kevin quickly replied: [Baby, wait for me at home, don’t go out. I’m on my way.] [Woohoo, she finally messaged the hero! As expected, it has to be the handsome hero.] [I’m shipping them, shipping them! When she died, the hero cried hysterically and kept helping the police find clues.] [This killer is utterly cruel, always luring and killing women living alone on rainy nights. Just watching the AI documentary makes me shiver.] [Too bad this serial murder case still hasn’t been solved to this day.] Through their conversation, I quickly realized two things. My boyfriend, Kevin, was the so-called hero in the AI reconstruction documentary. And I was the last victim in the city’s recent serial murder case. Furthermore, this case remained unsolved even fifteen years later. The killer was also seven foot ten? Shouldn’t a person that tall be easy to identify? 3. Rain pattered outside the window. I curled up in bed, waiting for my boyfriend. About ten minutes later, I heard a sound in the hallway. My phone screen lit up with a message from my boyfriend. [I’m here, baby, open the door.] Only after seeing Kevin through the peephole did I dare open the door. “Baby, are you okay?” The house was dark. By the faint moonlight, I saw Kevin’s anxious expression. [The hero is so handsome!!!] [Right, the hero in the documentary is handsome and smart, and most importantly, deeply devoted.] [I really want to see them happy together. Hope she doesn’t bite the dust, thank you.] Looking at Kevin’s face, I couldn’t deny his good looks. I’d agreed to date him precisely because of his appearance. “Baby, you wait for me here. I’ll go check the electrical room.” I nodded, and Kevin stepped out. The comments in front of me hadn’t updated for a while. Just as I wondered why, they reappeared. [Oh no, the hero went out. The lady’s in danger.] [Lady, run! The killer is on their way.] Seeing the comments, I quickly ran back to the bedroom and locked the door. [Huh? How did she know the killer was coming?] [She can’t hear us talking, can she?] [What are you thinking, upstairs?] I heard a “shuffling” sound outside the door, like something rubbing. Heavy footsteps drew closer. The doorknob rattled, then began to be violently smashed. Before long, the door was broken open. Through the crack in the closet, I saw a towering, seven-foot-plus black figure standing there, clad in a long raincoat. He seemed to have no face; where his head should be, there were only two deep, dark holes… In his hand, he held a curved blade, its silver edge glinting in the moonlight. [This killer is so terrifying! So tense! She must be scared to death!] [So scary. I’d just pass out on the spot.] After a quick scan of the room, he turned towards the closet, a deep voice saying, “Found you!” [It’s over, it’s over. She’s done for.] Then, like a demon, he lunged at me. I had no time to dodge. The closet door flew open, and the curved blade slashed at my throat. I was dead. I still couldn’t escape the fate of being the last victim of the serial murder case. 4. A flash of white light. The next second, my hand was back on the doorknob. I was back? It was like a game, dying and then restarting? I pulled my hand away and again turned into the bedroom. [She didn’t go out, great! She’s got a brain; she’s savable.] [But her health bar is so low! Ridiculous, I suspect her lifeline is only a centimeter long.] [Useless. Her boyfriend came, but she stayed in the room alone and was killed by the killer again.] [Right, the killer is so brutal. He cut off her head, and her body was chopped into pieces.] These comments updated, but unlike last time, it felt like progressing through the main storyline. I realized that the changes I made would affect the development of the plot. Just like last time, after Kevin arrived, the story took a turn, and the comments started updating. I took out my phone and messaged Kevin: [Power’s out at home, and I’m scared to go out alone.] Kevin, just like last time, replied instantly: [Baby, wait for me at home, don’t go out. I’m on my way.] I hid under the covers, trying to piece together the whole situation. From what I remembered, I hadn’t provoked anyone. I hadn’t even met anyone over seven feet tall. When did the killer start targeting me? Remembering the killer’s seven-foot-plus figure, grinning menacingly in the moonlight, a chill ran down my spine, and I broke out in a cold sweat. Nervously, I touched my neck. Good, it was still there. 5. Last time, Kevin went out to fix the breaker. That left me alone, giving the killer an opportunity, and that’s why I was murdered. I’d read news reports that the killer only targeted women. So, Kevin, as a man, wasn’t within the killer’s scope. Kevin knew martial arts; he could protect me, and the killer likely wouldn’t succeed. Together, we might have a fighting chance. I heard a sound at the door, and my phone lit up. I knew it was Kevin. I walked over and opened the door. Kevin came in and hugged me tightly, clearly anxious. “Baby, are you okay?” I shook my head. Kevin’s dialogue was exactly the same as before. After confirming I was okay, he prepared to leave. “Baby, you wait for me here. I’ll go check the electrical room.” This time, I held onto him. “Don’t go, I’m scared to be alone.” Kevin ruffled my hair. “Then what are we going to do about the darkness? It’s so late, the building management won’t send anyone to check.” “It’s fine. If you stay with me, I won’t be scared.” I locked the door, turned on my phone’s flashlight, and led Kevin into the bedroom. [Hahaha! What to do about the darkness? Go to sleep, obviously!] [This lady’s getting smarter. If she doesn’t leave the hero, maybe she can live.] If Julian and I went to the electrical room together, the lurking killer might kill both of us. I didn’t know if Julian could respawn here, and I couldn’t easily alter the path of others in the storyline. The best way to avoid danger was for neither of us to leave the apartment and simply wait for the night to pass. 6. [Oh my god! The killer’s at the kitchen window.] [No way, are they both going to die?] [Nooo! My ship just sailed!] When the comments appeared, I also heard movement outside. Damn it, my kitchen window connected to the fire escape corridor. The killer had already scouted the location; of course, he knew about it. “Someone’s outside.” I turned to warn Kevin. He shushed me, signaling me to be quiet. Kevin pushed me, slowly inching under the bed. He then tiptoed out to investigate. [No, I’m crying, is the hero really that brave?!] [So rational, so brave, and most importantly, so handsome. I want to date him!!!] I lay under the bed, watching Kevin leave the bedroom. A crash of breaking glass came from the kitchen, followed by sounds of a struggle. I couldn’t help but worry about Kevin. [I don’t understand, why isn’t this lady calling the police?] [Yeah! Why isn’t she calling the police? Maybe she’s too scared to think straight.] The comments jolted me awake. I truly had been too scared to think. I only remembered Kevin could protect me, forgetting to call the police. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and immediately sent a distress text. Taking a long shot, I also sent a help message to the residents’ group chat, hoping some neighbors were still awake at this hour. [Why does whatever she says come true? Can she hear us talking?!] [Impossible, she’s been dead for 15 years. How could she see us?] About ten minutes later, accompanied by a muffled groan, someone fell heavily to the ground. My heart seized with fear that something had happened to Kevin, and a vague unease settled over me. Then, I heard something moving into the bedroom. I held my breath, staring intently at the bedroom door. A pair of shoes slowly stepped in. 7. I was trembling all over. These shoes weren’t Kevin’s at all. So the person who fell outside must have been Kevin; he might have been killed. Tears instantly streamed from my eyes. The killer, as if having top-tier foresight, stood directly by the bed. He let out a low chuckle, like a soul-reaping demon. “I’ve got you!” I shrank further back under the bed. The killer was seven foot ten; he definitely couldn’t fit under the bed. Hiding here, I was relatively safe. I didn’t know how long it would take for the police to arrive, so I had to find a way to stall him, to buy myself a sliver of a chance to survive. The killer circled the bed for a while, then walked out of the bedroom. From the sound of his footsteps, he seemed to be heading towards the kitchen. [What’s this killer doing in the kitchen? Why is he even picking up a pot?] [Maybe he’s halfway through killing and got hungry, so he’s cooking something?] [Upstairs, don’t be funny. Didn’t you see him putting oil in the pan? He’s going to…] And then? Why did the comments go silent? At crucial moments, the comments always failed, blocking important information. As I was still pondering, a sudden blast of heat hit me. My skin hissed, emitting a burnt smell. Then came piercing pain; my eyes, mouth, and throat crumpled from the scalding. [Oh my god! This killer is too twisted! I’m in so much pain watching this, I can’t even breathe through the screen.] [So terrifying, to scald someone to death with hot oil!] Spoonful after spoonful of hot oil was thrown at me. I curled up, unable to move, scalded beyond belief. I endured it for who knows how long, on the brink of fainting multiple times from the pain, until finally, my last breath escaped me. 8. I was back again, at the moment I opened the door. The torture before death left me numb, standing dazed in front of the door. I had died twice already; was I destined to never escape the devil’s clutches? [This is the cruelest murder case I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to imagine how much pain she must have been in.] [Being scalded to death with hot oil. If I get a little splatter of oil on my hand while cooking, I’ll howl for ages.] [But it’s so strange! Why didn’t the killer kill the hero? The hero just fainted from a fall.] [This twisted killer, he only kills women. Besides, if the hero dies, who will help the police find clues later?] Seeing that Kevin was unharmed last time, I felt relieved. At the same time, I found it somewhat unbelievable. First time I’d ever seen a killer with such principles. Since going out would kill me, and staying home would also kill me, I might as well fight for more chances to escape. I turned and walked towards the kitchen. Last time, the killer came in through the kitchen balcony. This time, while the killer was still lurking in the electrical room, I would preemptively escape through the fire escape corridor, creating a time difference. [This lady’s getting smart again. How does she know the killer will come in from here later?] [I’m starting to admire this lady’s intelligence. She even knows to create the illusion that she’s in the bedroom.] [That’ll keep the killer busy for a while.] After climbing through the window, I crouched low and slowly moved towards the fire exit of the adjacent unit. I took off my shoes and walked up the stairs. After reaching the top floor, I entered the fire escape again and hid in the corridor. I pulled out my phone, dimmed the screen, and sent an emergency distress text. This time, I should be able to buy more time for rescue. I messaged Kevin: [Come save me, there’s a killer at home, I’m hiding.] Kevin quickly replied: [Where are you hiding? I’m coming to find you now.] 9. I told Kevin I was hiding on the 30th floor fire escape corridor. About 15 minutes later, I heard footsteps in the hallway. Kevin was coming to save me! But why was he making so much noise? What if the killer heard him and my position was revealed? I was about to message Kevin to warn him when the fire exit door swung open. I froze in terror. How could this be? It was impossible! The towering black figure stood before me, emanating a chilling aura. How did the killer pinpoint my location so accurately? [Huh? Did I miss something?] [How did this creep find her so fast?] [I’m wondering too! When did she expose herself?] I died again, thrown from the 30th floor by the killer. This time, I didn’t resist or struggle; I needed to respawn. I found myself in a white light again, a space like a projection room, mapping out all my previous memories. There was definitely something wrong here. Several times, I’d missed something. What was it? 10. My three previous death experiences flooded my mind. No, too many anomalies. In the repeated terror, I had completely overlooked many details. Each time I faced death, Kevin was either not by my side, or, all of this was a smokescreen. What role did Kevin play in this? Was he a key figure, or an accomplice? Why wasn’t he killed the second time? Was the killer really so principled? Why did he directly ask for my hiding place last time? And how was my location exposed? A string of questions made my scalp tingle. My boyfriend of three years might be trying to kill me. All of this seemed to be a trap; Kevin’s appearance only hastened my death. Time, it was time. I finally remembered—the timing was off! It should take at least half an hour to get from Kevin’s place to mine. But the first two times, he arrived in less than twenty minutes. It was raining outside, yet Kevin’s hair was dry both times, indicating he hadn’t just come from outside. The second time, in such a dark environment, how would the killer know where my oil container was? And the third time, I didn’t even tell the police my specific location, only Kevin, yet the killer found me so quickly. All signs pointed to Kevin being the twisted killer. No, still not right. Kevin is five feet eleven, but the killer is seven foot ten. Even on stilts, he couldn’t move that nimbly. Besides, I saw the killer’s shoes under the bed—a pair of black rubber rain boots. Shoes! I know! It’s the shoes! The killer’s shoes looked like a men’s size 8.5 (US), which, if calculated by shoe size to height, would be around five feet eleven. The comments said the killer was seven foot ten, which would mean a shoe size of at least a men’s 16 (US). That’s a difference of 7.5 sizes. How could that be? Height proportion wouldn’t lie, unless the killer had a physical deformity. If it was a men’s 8.5 shoe, then the killer could be Kevin. But then, who was the killer outside the window? Could it be that there wasn’t just one killer?

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My best friend loved playing matchmaker. To proclaim her love for the city’s richest man to the world, she matched toothbrushes and slippers in her home. Even I became one of her paired items. “It’s called matching social status,” she’d declared. “My assistant and my husband’s special assistant—a match made in heaven!” In my previous life, because of this absurd pairing, Lucas was forced to marry me. For three years after our marriage, he treated me wonderfully, doting on me, making me believe I had truly married for love. Until I suffered severe hemorrhage during childbirth after ten months, desperately begging him to come to the hospital to sign for surgery. His contemptuous laughter echoed through the phone: “A beggar’s bastard, does it even deserve my signature?” I was chilled to the bone, listening as he meticulously negated three years of our relationship: “Weren’t you willing to play along with your best friend’s matchmaking games? Dwight and my sweetheart, Clara, are the perfect match! As for someone like you, you only deserve to sleep with a lowlife vagrant from the streets!” The man who shared my bed on our wedding night was a homeless man. He spent three years weaving a web of deceit, setting a trap, all to destroy us and appease Clara. On the operating table, I closed my eyes in despair and hatred. When I opened them again, I was back to this very day, the day my best friend insisted on setting us up. … Liana chattered on beside me. “Chloe, what do you think of Dwight Thorne’s assistant, Lucas Vance?” “He’s Dwight’s trusted confidant, and so handsome. He’d be a perfect match for a beauty like you!” I stared at the scene before me, my nails digging into my palms. The sharp pain reminded me that I was truly alive again. In my last life, Liana, wanting to show off her relationship with Dwight, had insisted on setting us up, talking about “matching social status.” Out of consideration for our long-standing friendship, I half-heartedly agreed to meet Lucas. Lucas was an expert at pretense. He feigned an air of gentle refinement, caring for me with meticulous attention to every detail of my life. For three years of marriage, he was utterly devoted, leading me to believe I was a happy woman. It wasn’t until that horrific surgery that I heard his insulting words about my child. Only then did I realize that the man who had shared my bed on my wedding night was a homeless man. A wave of nausea swept over me. I shoved away the photo Liana offered. “No interest.” Liana froze. “Chloe, you usually go along with me. Lucas is really a great guy.” I looked her directly in the eye. “If you like matchmaking so much, go buy two dogs from a pet shop and match them.” “I refuse to be a tool for you to announce your love to the world.” Liana’s face flushed crimson. Dwight Thorne, sitting beside her, frowned. “Chloe, Liana means well.” I grabbed my bag and strode out. “I can’t quite stomach that kind of ‘well-meaning.’” Pushing open the private room door, I bumped straight into a man. This was Lucas’s scent. In my previous life, these very eyes had deceived me for three whole years. “Ms. Nash, in such a hurry to leave?” He lowered his voice, but I couldn’t help but step back, putting distance between us. “Move.” Lucas raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting my rude attitude. He took a step closer, lowering his voice. “Ms. Nash seems to have a strong aversion to me.” “Have we met before?” I looked up, meeting his gaze. “No, but I don’t like the look of you.” Lucas let out a soft chuckle. “Ms. Nash certainly has a fiery spirit.” “However, for Mr. Thorne and Ms. Miller’s good intentions, refusing them outright might be a bit impolite, don’t you think?” I curled my lips. “Why should I let them trample on my good name?” With that, I walked directly around him and left. Lucas continued to stare at me from behind. Back at my place, I immediately started packing, ready to move out and get as far away from Lucas as possible. Just then, the doorbell rang. Lucas stood at the door, holding a file. “Ms. Nash, I think we need to talk.” I was about to close the door when he reached out and firmly blocked it. “Regarding the company your father left behind, Ms. Nash, aren’t you interested in its current predicament?” I paused. My father’s company was the only legacy I truly cared about. In my previous life, after we married, he took over full control of it, and it eventually became part of Clara Sterling’s dowry. I glared at him and let him in. Lucas tossed the file onto the coffee table. “The company’s funds are depleted. Without an injection of capital within three days, it will be liquidated.” “And currently, only I can provide that money.” I turned to look at him. “What’s the catch?” Lucas leaned in, closing the distance between us. “Marry me.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Lucas, what do you want?” “You. All of you.” He was too good at pretending. Having died once, I would never believe such lies again. I picked up the file and tore it in half. “Let it go bankrupt.” “I’d rather beg on the streets than marry you.” 2. After Lucas left, I quickly contacted the company’s finance department to verify. The situation was worse than he described. Not only was the cash flow broken, but several massive debts were also about to mature. Clearly, someone was sabotaging things behind the scenes. Who else could it be but Lucas? He was truly ruthless in trying to force me into submission, his methods exactly the same as in my previous life. First, he’d strike in the shadows to create a crisis, then emerge as a savior to resolve it, hoping I’d be eternally grateful. This time, I wouldn’t play his game. I put my properties and jewelry up for sale, even tried to approach former rivals to transfer shares at a low price. But everyone avoided me. Dwight had spread the word: anyone who dared help me would be openly opposing the Thorne Corporation. Liana called, trying to persuade me. “Chloe, what’s wrong with just giving in a little? Lucas likes you so much, he even went to Dwight to beg for you.” “If you marry him, the company is saved, and you’ll have a good life. Wouldn’t everyone be happy?” I hit the disconnect button and immediately blocked her. Three days later, a court summons arrived. I sat in my empty rental apartment. The door was pushed open, and Lucas stood at the entrance, holding an umbrella. “Chloe, stop struggling.” He walked over, looking down at me from above. “Just say yes, and all these difficulties will disappear.” I looked up at him. “Lucas, do you really think that if you push someone to the brink and then offer a little kindness, they’ll be grateful to you?” He frowned. “I just want to help you.” “Helping me means cutting off all my escape routes?” I stood up and walked towards him. “And ordering Dwight to blacklist me?” Lucas reached out and fiercely gripped my chin. “Chloe, my patience is limited.” “You will marry me.” I curled my lips. “Fine, I’ll marry you.” Lucas paused, probably not expecting me to agree so readily. He released my chin, his eyes once again feigning gentleness. “That’s better.” “I’ll give you a wedding.” I didn’t respond. The wedding in my previous life and the homeless man on my wedding night flashed vividly in my mind. I wouldn’t repeat those mistakes. My agreement was only to get the capital injection. Once the money was in my account, I’d take it and disappear abroad. On the day we registered our marriage, Lucas was impeccably dressed. He held my hand as we walked out of the civil affairs office. “Chloe, from now on, we’re husband and wife.” His voice was so affectionate. I pulled my hand away and vaguely acknowledged him. A sports car pulled up in front of us, the window rolling down to reveal a face. It was Clara Sterling, the woman Lucas always pined for. In my previous life, he would even sacrifice my life to please this woman. “Lucas, congratulations!” Clara got out of the car, looking at me provocatively. “This must be Ms. Nash? So pretty, no wonder Lucas skipped my birthday party for you.” Lucas’s shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly. He turned to Clara, his voice laced with anxiety. “Clara, what are you doing here?” Clara pouted, walked over, and intimately linked her arm through his. “I came to see Lucas’s new bride, of course.” “Lucas, my stomach hurts. Will you take me to the hospital?” In front of me, his new wife, she didn’t even bother to be discreet. Lucas looked back at me. “Chloe, Clara isn’t feeling well. I’ll take her to the hospital first. The driver will take you home.” The first day after we registered our marriage in my previous life was just like this; he was called away by Clara’s phone call. He left me alone in the wedding apartment all night. Back then, I actually believed he was just going to take care of his sister. I nodded at them. “Alright, take care. Don’t rush back.” Lucas probably wasn’t pleased with my calm reaction. He frowned, looking like he wanted to say more. Clara, however, directly pulled him into the car. After the sports car drove away, I pulled out my phone and called finance. “Has the money arrived?” “Yes, Ms. Nash.” I curved my lips. “Immediately transfer the money to an overseas account. Then, call the police and report the company for suspected illegal fundraising, applying for bankruptcy protection.” 3. Back in that marital apartment, I threw all the couple’s items Lucas had prepared into the trash, then booked the earliest flight out of the country. Just as I was about to leave, the door was violently shoved open. Lucas rushed in, grabbed my throat, and slammed me hard against the wall. “Chloe, you tricked me!” Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes wide and furious. “You transferred the money? And voluntarily applied for bankruptcy?” I was forced to tilt my head back, staring intently at him through the sensation of suffocating. “Yes.” “Mr. Vance’s money, I find it dirty.” The grip on my throat tightened. “You’re asking for death!” I managed a strained smile. “Go ahead and strangle me.” “If you kill me, you won’t get that money back either.” Lucas suddenly released his grip. I slid down the wall to the floor, coughing repeatedly, clutching my throat. He squatted down and pinched my cheek. “Chloe, do you think you can escape?” “Your father’s ashes are still in the cemetery. Do you believe I’ll have someone scatter them tomorrow?” I couldn’t stop trembling. In my previous life, he’d used my father’s ashes as blackmail to force me to donate bone marrow to Clara. I lunged at him, slapping him hard. “Lucas, you beast!” He turned his head, running his tongue over the cheek I’d struck. When he turned back to face me, his face was filled with rage. “Good hit.” “Since you’re so disobedient, don’t blame me.” He stood up and made a call. “Cancel Chloe Nash’s flight, freeze all her bank accounts.” “Also, send people to guard the cemetery.” After hanging up, he looked down at me. “From today, without my permission, you can’t go anywhere.” I was completely under house arrest; he confiscated my phone and identification. I was confined to this villa every day. He went to work during the day and returned at night, finding various ways to torment me. At mealtimes, he deliberately had the housekeeper cook dishes I found revolting. At night, he set the air conditioning to its lowest setting, making me shiver. Later, he simply brought Clara home. They would embrace and show affection in front of me. “Lucas, Ms. Nash is watching.” Clara murmured, nestled in his arms. Lucas merely glanced at me. “Just a disobedient plaything; ignore her.” I sat on the sofa, watching their performance, feeling no stirrings within me. I even found it laughable. In my previous life, I was kept in the dark and suffered immensely; now, only disgust remained. I stood up, preparing to return to my room. Clara suddenly called out to me. “Ms. Nash, could you get me a glass of water?” I ignored her, continuing to walk. Lucas’s voice cut through the air, sharp. “Stop.” “Clara asked you for water; didn’t you hear?” I stopped and turned back. “Did you marry me to be your servant?” Lucas strode forward, grabbed my hair, forcing my head back. “Wife?” “Do you deserve that title?” “Chloe, I married you purely to torment you.” “Your father destroyed Clara’s family back then, and you’ll have to pay that debt.” I froze. My father hurt Clara? That was utter nonsense. My father conducted his business cleanly and would never harm anyone. “You’re lying!” I struggled fiercely. Lucas flung me away forcefully. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it.” “Anyway, you’ll spend this entire life living in atonement.” He turned to Clara, his voice immediately softening. “Clara, how do you want to punish her?” Clara stared at me. “Lucas, I’ve been feeling dizzy lately. The doctor said I’m anemic.” “Perhaps, Ms. Nash could donate some blood to me?” Lucas agreed instantly. “Alright.” He called in a private doctor. Several people forcefully pinned me to the table, directly drawing a full eight hundred milliliters of blood. My vision blurred, my body felt cold, and I collapsed to the ground, lacking even the strength to move. Lucas’s eyes held not a trace of pity for me. “This is just the beginning.” “Chloe, what you owe Clara, I will collect from you, bit by bit.” 4. For days after the blood donation, I suffered from an unyielding high fever. Lucas forbade calling a doctor, only allowing the housekeeper to force bitter herbal medicine down my throat daily. I was too weak to leave my bed. Clara, however, frequently came to my room, gloating. “Chloe, you look truly pathetic now.” She ran her nail along my cheek. “Lucas doesn’t love you at all. Every time he touches you, he feels disgusted.” “On your wedding night, he actually…” She deliberately paused, covering her mouth and giggling. “He actually found a homeless man off the street to keep you company.” “Too bad you ran off. You didn’t get to taste that kind of pleasure.” I opened my eyes and stared intensely at her. Even though I already knew the truth, hearing it firsthand was still nauseating. I propped myself up and slapped her across the face. “Get out!” Clara shrieked and fell to the floor. Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Lucas rushed in. Seeing Clara on the ground, his face changed completely. He hurried to help her up. “Clara, are you alright?” Clara clutched her face, tears streaming down. “Lucas, I just felt sorry for Ms. Nash and wanted to check on her.” “But she hit me…” Lucas turned his head, glaring at me. “Chloe, you’re asking for death!” He walked over and returned the slap with brutal force. Already weak, I was knocked back onto the bed, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth. My ears only rang. “If you dare touch Clara again, I’ll take your life!” I wiped the blood from my mouth, tilted my face up, and laughed. “Just kill me now.” Lucas gripped my chin. “Kill you? That’s too easy.” “Clara’s kidneys aren’t doing well, and your match was successful.” “Next month, prepare for surgery.” My mind went blank. He was going to brutally remove one of my kidneys. “I won’t go!” “That’s illegal!” Lucas scoffed. “Here, I am the law.” In the following days, I was severely restricted. Every day, I was forced to receive various nutrient injections, all to keep my organs in optimal condition. I tried to escape, but the villa was surrounded by bodyguards; I couldn’t even get out the front door. Despair engulfed me. Until one day, the housekeeper forgot to lock my door. I seized the opportunity to sneak out, ran to the landline on the first floor, and dialed the emergency number. “Hello, I need to report a crime. I’m being illegally detained, and they’re going to forcibly remove my organs…” Before I could finish, the phone line was abruptly yanked out. Lucas stood behind me, his face grim. “Chloe, you truly never learn.” He grabbed my hair and dragged me back to my room, roughly throwing me onto the bed. “Since you’re so eager to run, we’ll do the surgery today.” He called in bodyguards who strapped me to a gurney. The surgical lights were blinding. I struggled desperately, my wrists chafed raw with bloody marks. “Lucas, you’ll rot in hell!” “Let me go!” Lucas stood by the operating table, his face devoid of emotion. “Chloe, this is what you owe Clara.” Just as he turned to leave, a violent pain shot through my abdomen. “It hurts…” “So much pain…” The doctor stepped forward to examine me, his face turning ashen. “Mr. Vance, she… she’s pregnant!” “And there are signs of an impending miscarriage. If we proceed with the kidney removal surgery now, both mother and child will be in danger!” Lucas abruptly stopped. He turned around, staring at my flat stomach. “What did you say?” The doctor stammered in reply, “She’s almost two months pregnant.” Two months. That was from the one time he forcibly took me the day we registered our marriage. I was in so much pain I was nearly unconscious, but I still clutched the bedsheet tightly. “Lucas…” “Please… save the baby…” This was my flesh and blood. Even though I hated Lucas intensely, I couldn’t stand by and watch my child die. Lucas’s face was stormy. Just then, Clara was wheeled in by a nurse. Her face was pale as she cried out in pain. “Lucas, I feel so awful…” “The doctor said my kidneys are already starting to fail. If I don’t have surgery soon, I won’t live past tonight…” In my previous life, he’d ignored me when I was hemorrhaging during childbirth. Now, facing two lives at risk, he still walked towards Clara. Lucas coldly gave his command. “Just a bastard, if it’s gone, it’s gone.” “Prepare for kidney transplant surgery immediately. Save Clara first.” I trembled all over. He wouldn’t even spare his own flesh and blood. “Lucas! You’ll get your comeuppance!” I shrieked, tears mixing with cold sweat. Bang!

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1 My daughter was bullied at school so mercilessly that her eye was bruised purple and swelling so badly it looked ready to burst. By the time I rushed into the principal’s office, the other girl still had her hands twisted violently in my daughter’s hair. “You filthy piece of trash. You think you deserve to wear the same necklace as me?” The girl spat, yanking hard. “Tell me where you stole it from!” Lily’s mouth was so full of blood she couldn’t even form the words to defend herself. A blind rage took over me. I shoved the girl away with enough force to send her stumbling back, fully intending to make her feel exactly what she had done to my little girl. But Lily grabbed my wrist. She shook her head, her breath hitching weakly. “Dad, don’t. She promised me… ten thousand dollars for every slap.” Lily choked back a sob. “We need that money to pay for Mom’s treatments.” Tears instantly flooded my vision. The crushing weight of her words hit me right in the chest. My ten-year-old daughter was trying to trade her own life, her own dignity, to save Melora. That was why she had been coming home covered in fresh bruises for weeks. The girl I had shoved was trembling with fury, pointing a manicured finger right at my face. “You cheap peasants actually dared to touch me!” she screamed. “My mother is the wealthiest woman in New York! Just wait until she gets here. She is going to kill you both!” The heavy oak doors of the office swung open. The girl immediately rushed forward, burying her face into the woman’s expensive coat, sobbing and playing the victim. But I stood completely frozen. The blood in my veins turned to ice. The woman standing in the doorway was not a stranger. It was my wife. The woman who supposedly suffered from a severe stroke, the woman who had been bedridden and paralyzed in our tiny apartment for months. “Mom?” Lily’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief, her legs giving out beneath her. For a split second, she didn’t know whether to cry tears of joy that her mother could finally walk, or scream in agony at the utter betrayal staring us in the face. I walked up to Melora. My hand shook violently as I pointed at the spoiled girl clinging to her. “Who is she? Why the hell is she calling you Mom?” Melora didn’t even look at me. She shoved past my shoulder, marching straight up to the principal’s desk. Her voice was pure ice. “I poured millions of dollars into this school so you would protect my daughter!” she snapped. “Not so that any random gutter rat could step on her head!” Her anger boiled over. She grabbed a porcelain teacup off the desk and hurled it at the wall. It shattered into a dozen pieces. One flying shard slashed right across Lily’s cheek, drawing a line of warm, red blood. It was a fresh wound layered over a face already battered and bruised. Yet Lily didn’t even flinch. It was as if she couldn’t feel the physical pain anymore. She scrambled forward and grabbed the sleeve of Melora’s designer silk blouse. “How could you do this to us? To Dad?” Lily cried out, her voice breaking. “Do you have any idea how hard we fought to keep you alive?” To afford the expensive treatments for Melora’s fake illness, Lily and I had starved ourselves. We shared single portions of stale bread. We wore clothes until the fabric grew thin and frayed, terrified to spend a single dime on ourselves. Every day after my grueling shifts, Lily would walk with me through the freezing streets to collect scrap metal and empty bottles. We did it just to scrape together enough cash to buy Melora warm, nutritious meals so she could fight her disease. Melora looked down at Lily in absolute silence. She looked at her own flesh and blood as if she were a panhandling stranger. Then, she let out a scoff. A sound dripping with pure contempt. “Who do you think you are, touching me?” Melora sneered. “The last person who harassed me like this had their hands chopped off.” With Melora backing her up, the arrogant girl grew even bolder. She strutted right up to me and delivered a stinging slap across my face. “Like father, like daughter,” the girl mocked. “You disgusting animals really thought you could claim my mother as your own?” She sneered and unclipped a thick, diamond-encrusted chain from her designer phone case. “Let me show you the difference between us elites and you filthy commoners,” the girl said, dangling the chain. “This little accessory alone costs eight million dollars.” Lily and I survived on eight hundred dollars a month. We didn’t even have a fraction of a fraction of what that trinket was worth. “You need money, right?” the girl laughed. “Get on your knees and bark like a dog. If you do it well enough, I’ll toss you this chain out of pity for your worthless lives.” She whipped the chain right into Lily’s face, laughing as she waited for my daughter to drop to her knees. Throughout all of this, Melora did absolutely nothing. She just watched with cold, dead eyes, as if she were watching a boring television show. Just yesterday, this same woman had held our hands in that cramped, moldy bedroom, crying hot tears of guilt. “I am so sorry I’m a burden to you both,” she had sobbed. “Just take the money and leave me. Go start a new life.” Lily and I had refused, crying and swearing we would never abandon her. We swore we would cure her. Now, the irony was thick enough to choke on. Melora wasn’t sick. She was the richest woman in the city. She had the power to give us the world, yet she chose to watch us drown in misery. All the pure, unconditional love Lily and I poured into her had just been a game. A sick tool for her to manipulate us. Lily bit her lip so hard it bled. Tears spilled hot and fast down her cheeks. She took a step forward, desperate to demand the justice we deserved. But I grabbed her small, trembling hand. I looked down at her and shook my head. “Let’s go, Lily.” If Melora didn’t want to admit who we were, then fine. From this moment on, we were truly nothing to each other. 2 Lily looked up at me, thoroughly confused. But despite the mountain of anger building in her tiny chest, she nodded. She could feel my hands shaking. She knew that my calm demeanor was nothing but a fragile mask. Deep down, my heart had just been pulverized into a million jagged pieces. “Hold on!” The girl’s shrill voice rang out. She wasn’t satisfied. She lunged forward and grabbed Lily by the collar of her worn-out jacket. With a violent yank, she snapped the thin necklace around Lily’s neck and threw it onto the marble floor. She ground the heel of her leather boot into the pendant until it cracked into pieces. “Dare to wear the same jewelry as me again,” the girl whispered venomously, “and next time, I’ll carve the skin right off your neck.” At the sight of the broken necklace, Melora finally reacted. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows twitched. She recognized it. It was the birthday gift she had given Lily years ago. Back then, she hadn’t started faking her illness. We were just an ordinary family, but we were the happiest people in the world. Melora used to spend every spare dollar she earned just to see us smile. If I stared at a tie in a shop window for a few seconds too long, Melora would magically present it to me the very next day, her eyes sparkling like stars. “Do you like it, honey?” she would ask. If Lily mentioned that the other kids at school had pretty necklaces, Melora would walk through three different neighborhoods in the freezing rain to find the perfect one. When I scolded her for spending her hard-earned money on us, she would just smile and kiss my cheek. “I don’t need fancy hair salons or manicures,” she used to say. “Buying happiness for you and Lily is the only thing worth my money.” But standing in that office, the horrific truth dawned on me. From the moment Lily put that necklace on, she was destined to suffer for it. Melora’s love had been split in two. Melora opened her mouth, looking as if she wanted to say something. But by the time she found her words, I had already pulled Lily out the door and down the hallway. I took Lily straight to the hospital to clean and stitch her wounds. She kept her eyes squeezed shut the entire time, biting her lip so hard I had to place my thumb over her mouth to stop the bleeding. “Dad, it hurts so much,” Lily whimpered. “Why didn’t it hurt like this before?” She clung to my shirt, her tiny body trembling with every sob. I patted her back, a bitter, suffocating lump lodged in my throat. She was only ten years old. Yet her body was already covered in scars that would never fade, tied to memories that would haunt her forever. Before today, she could run home, throw her arms around Melora, and beg for praise. Melora would call her a good girl, a brave girl. And every time Lily looked at the growing pile of crumpled bills in her piggy bank, the physical pain of the bullying would vanish. She only felt the overwhelming joy of knowing she was saving her mother’s life. But now, Melora’s cold, venomous words acted like a thousand icy needles piercing straight through our hearts, making it physically painful just to breathe. By the time we returned to our tiny apartment, Melora was sitting on the old, sagging couch in the living room. “Where did you go?” she demanded, crossing her arms. “You weren’t picking up the phone.” She instinctively took a step toward us, but the sudden movement made Lily shriek and scramble backward, hiding behind my legs. Melora froze. Her harsh tone immediately softened. “Lily, sweetie, did Mom scare you today?” She forced a gentle smile. “That was all fake. Mom was just acting for those people.” Once upon a time, Lily believed every single word that came out of Melora’s mouth. If Melora promised to bring home her favorite dessert, Lily would sit by the door for hours waiting for her. If Melora promised a trip to the zoo, Lily would lay out her favorite dress the night before, vibrating with excitement. She knew her mother loved her, and her mother always kept her promises. But now, the past warmth had been entirely replaced by raw terror. Lily kept her face buried in the back of my coat, refusing to speak a single word. Melora’s patience snapped. She stepped forward and reached out to grab Lily’s arm. “Don’t you dare touch her!” I shoved Melora back with everything I had. My eyes burned with pure, unadulterated hatred. I hated her for faking a terminal illness. I hated her for making me stay awake for countless nights, weeping in the dark, paralyzed by the fear of losing her. I had swallowed every ounce of my pride, getting on my hands and knees to beg relatives and strangers for loans to pay her medical bills. And in the end, my agony was nothing more than a casual lie she constructed on a whim. “Arthur, this is your fault! You spoiled her!” Melora screamed, her face twisting in anger. “If I didn’t hide my wealth from her, she’d grow up to be an entitled monster!” I stared at her in utter disbelief. The woman I had loved for a decade morphed into a complete stranger right before my eyes. How could she stand there and blame us? How could she wash her hands of the cruelty and shift the sin onto our shoulders? I clenched my fists, abandoning whatever shred of sanity I had left. I roared at the top of my lungs. “Then you should ask that little bastard you call a daughter!” I screamed. “Ask her how many people she’s beaten! How many faces she’s slapped! And she gets away with all of it because her billionaire mother sweeps it under the rug!” “Just like she did to my daughter!” The moment the words left my mouth, a sharp, ringing slap echoed through the room. My cheek burned instantly. 3 Melora’s chest heaved violently, her eyes bloodshot. “You are a madman!” she shrieked. “Arthur, you are the one ruining her!” With that, she turned on her heel, marched out the front door, and slammed it behind her. The gust of wind from the door felt like a second slap across my face. “Dad, does it hurt?” Lily cried, her small hands frantically trying to wipe the tears from her own face. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. This is all my fault.” “I’m fine, sweetie.” I crouched down and pulled her into a tight embrace. “None of this is your fault. Do you understand me?” Lily scrambled to the bathroom and brought back the first aid kit. She carefully dabbed ointment onto my swollen cheek, blowing cool air on the stinging skin. Looking at her face, so strikingly similar to Melora’s, I was violently pulled back to the past. Melora and I had been together since high school. We had held hands through over a decade of life. She had seen me at my absolute worst, at my most pathetic. Back in high school, I was severely overweight. I was the punchline of every joke in the hallways. Driven by absolute self-hatred, I forced myself to run laps on the track to lose the weight. But my heavy body gave out, and I tripped, slamming face-first into the gravel. The laughter from the bleachers was deafening. It stripped away whatever dignity I had left. But in that suffocating darkness, Melora walked up to me. She extended her hand, helped me off the ground, and wiped the dirt and blood from my face. She was gentle. She was radiant. From that day forward, she was the light that illuminated my bleak, miserable life. For the next ten years, I genuinely believed I possessed the greatest, purest love in the entire world. A thunderous pounding on the front door shattered my memories. The knocks grew louder and more violent, as if someone were trying to break the door off its hinges. “Dad…” Lily whispered, her eyes wide with fresh panic. I forced myself to be brave. I walked toward the entrance, but before I could reach the handle, the door was kicked open with a deafening crash. “So you’re the animal, aren’t you!” A strange man stormed into our living room. He was dressed in a tailored, expensive suit, radiating an aura of absolute arrogance. Right behind him was the girl from the principal’s office. Stella. “Dad! That’s him! That’s the guy and his brat!” she yelled, pointing at us. The man flicked his wrist. A dozen men in black suits swarmed into the cramped apartment from the hallway. They brutally shoved me away from Lily, pinning us down. They bound our wrists and ankles with zip ties and tossed us onto the cold floor like garbage. The man walked over and nudged my face with the tip of his polished Italian leather shoe. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, his voice dripping with superiority. “My name is Marcus. I am Melora’s legal, rightful husband.” He sneered, looking around our tiny, run-down apartment. “And where exactly did a shameless male whore like you crawl out from?” His eyes drifted over to Lily, and a dark chuckle rumbled in his chest. “I have to admit, she really does look a bit like Melora. You hide your little affair in the slums, and you actually have the nerve to let your bastard child run wild in my daughter’s school?” He picked up a heavy wooden plank leaning against the wall. “Since you’ve been careless enough to let me find you, I am going to make sure neither of you ever sees the light of day again.” He raised the plank, aiming straight for Lily’s battered face. “No!” I screamed, thrashing against the zip ties. “Melora and I are legally married! We have a certificate! You are the homewrecker!” Marcus froze. The plank stopped mid-air. He turned his head slowly to look at me. “A marriage certificate? Where is it? Get it for me. Now.” 4 He signaled the men in black to cut the zip ties around my wrists and ankles. I didn’t dare hesitate for a fraction of a second. I scrambled on my hands and knees into the bedroom, pulling out the bottom drawer of the nightstand. I dug out the red marriage booklets I had cherished for years. They had our photos. They had the official red stamps. But the moment Marcus took one look at them, he burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. “I was wondering where those fake certificates I bought for twenty bucks went. So she gave them to you!” Marcus laughed until he had to wipe a tear from his eye. “Arthur, are you completely blind? Didn’t you notice the registration numbers are literally handwritten?” “She only bought these because I was throwing a tantrum and threatened to tear up our real marriage license. She needed a prop to pacify me, and she actually used it to trick you!” My hands shook violently as I stared at the red booklet on the floor. Only now, in the harsh light, did I see how cheap and poorly forged the stamps and writing were. But back then, I had believed her completely. I believed her when she said it would take three days to process the paperwork. When she finally handed me the booklet, I didn’t harbor a single doubt. I was so overwhelmed with joy that my eyes turned red. I had picked Melora up and spun her around the living room. “Thank God,” I had cried. “I finally get to marry you!” The truth was so exceptionally cruel it felt as if a thousand blades were plunging into my chest at once. The pain was so intense my vision went black at the edges. “Dad! Dad!” Lily’s frantic screaming pulled me back to reality. Marcus looked down at her, his eyes darkening with malice. “You’ve got quite the lungs on you, little rat,” he muttered. He looked at his men. “Give the little bastard a lesson.” The men in black immediately surrounded my ten-year-old daughter.

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On a stormy apocalyptic night, my own mother kicked me and my Husky out into the cold. I was burning with a deadly fever. She did it just so my brother could have my share of the food. She spat through the crack in the door, “Take this useless mutt and go die. Stop wasting Tyler’s rations.” I huddled in a dumpster with my dog, certain that my life was over. Who knew my Husky would suddenly speak with a mechanical voice. “Critical host vitality detected. Infinite Supply Search System bound.” “One hundred yards ahead, supermarket warehouse. Three thousand crates of self-heating beef stew detected.” “Five hundred yards left, pharmacy. Five hundred boxes of antibiotics detected.” Three days later, I established a fortress with my dog pack and mountains of supplies. I sat inside eating a hot steak while watching the show outside. My mother and brother knelt beyond my chain link fence, tearing at each other like rabid animals over half a piece of moldy bread. I just smiled. “Careful, Mom. Not even a stray dog would eat that. Swallow slowly.” 1 My head throbbed. My forehead was hot enough to fry an egg. I curled up in the corner of the living room sofa, wrapped in a threadbare blanket, my teeth chattering uncontrollably. “Mom, just give me one fever pill. I am not going to make it.” My voice was terrifyingly hoarse. The back of my throat tasted like copper. Martha sat by the coffee table, her fingers wrapped tight around a white plastic bottle. It was the last bottle of Advil in the house. She did not even glance my way. Her eyes were glued to Tyler, who was busy mashing buttons on his video game controller. Tyler sniffled and let out the quietest, faintest sneeze. Martha leaped up instantly. She poured a glass of warm water and pressed two pills into Tyler’s palm. “Sweetheart, take these quick. That sneeze did not sound right. You cannot afford to catch a cold.” I stared at the scene in utter disbelief. I was running a fever of a hundred and three degrees. I was borderline hallucinating. Tyler just had an itchy nose. I struggled to pull myself up from the sofa and reached a shaking hand toward the medicine bottle. “Mom, I am still burning up. Just save one for me.” Smack. Martha slapped the back of my hand hard. My skin welled up red almost instantly. “Eat, eat, eat. That is all you know how to do. This medicine is for the man of the house. Why should a useless burden like you get any?” Tyler swallowed the pills and slammed his glass down on the table. He shot a look of pure disgust at my Husky, Duke, who was lying by my feet. “Mom, this dog is shedding everywhere. It pisses me off just looking at it. Plus, it eats way too much. We barely have enough rice left. Just throw it out.” Duke seemed to understand. He let out a soft whimper and buried his nose into the crook of my knees. My father left Duke to me before he passed away. This dog had been by my side for five long years. I threw my arms around Duke’s neck, shielding him. “No. Dad left him to me. Nobody touches him.” Tyler let out a cold laugh. He stood up and kicked Duke right in the stomach. Duke yelped in pain but kept his teeth shut. He did not bite back, purely because he did not want to make things worse for me. I lost my mind. I lunged forward and shoved Tyler away. “Stop it.” Tyler used the momentum to throw himself onto the floor, wailing at the top of his lungs. “Mom. Riley hit me. She hit me over a stupid dog.” Martha’s face darkened into a storm. She stormed into the kitchen, grabbed a heavy wooden rolling pin, and started bringing it down on me. “You little rebel. How dare you hit your brother.” One strike. Two strikes. The heavy wood crashed against my back and arms. I curled into a tight ball, wrapping my body around my dog to protect his head. Outside, thunder shook the apartment walls. The rain was torrential. Down in the streets, the guttural shrieks of the infected echoed through the concrete canyons. Martha finally grew tired. Panting heavily, she pointed the rolling pin straight at the front door. “Get out. Take your filthy animal and get the hell out of my house.” “I am not feeding a parasite, and I am sure as hell not feeding a useless mutt.” I looked up at her, my vision blurring. “Mom, the streets are crawling with zombies. It is pouring rain. You want me to leave now? You are sending me to my death.” Martha grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. She possessed a terrifying, frantic strength. She dragged me and Duke across the living room floor, right to the entryway. “Then go die outside. Stop wasting your brother’s rations.” She yanked the deadbolts back, threw open the heavy metal door, and planted a foot in my side. I lost my balance and tumbled out into the freezing stairwell, taking Duke down with me. Slam. The heavy door shut tight. Then came the metallic grinding. Click. Click. Both deadbolts sliding into place. I lay on the freezing concrete floor. Every bone in my body felt like it had been shattered. From the other side of the door, I could hear Tyler’s muffled voice. “Mom, her winter puffer coat is pretty thick. We should have stripped it off her before tossing her out.” Martha spat on the floor. “Bad luck. It is tainted with that dead girl’s sickness. We do not want it.” Listening to that heartwarming family exchange, my tears completely dried up. The stairwell was pitch black. The motion sensor lights had burned out weeks ago. A foul, icy draft blew up the shaft, bringing with it the sound of heavy, dragging footsteps from the floors below. It was the sound of rubber soles scraping against concrete. The rancid stench of rotting meat floated up through the gaps in the stairs. The infected were in the building. 2 My blood ran cold. The blistering heat of my fever instantly morphed into a layer of freezing sweat. I forced my shaking legs to stand and stumbled to the apartment door across from ours. I pounded my fists against the wood. “Mrs. Higgins. Mrs. Higgins, open up, it is Riley. Please, just let me hide inside. I will stay right by the door.” Nobody answered. But I could hear the panicked, rapid breathing on the other side. I heard the scraping of heavy furniture being dragged to barricade the door. They heard me. They just did not want to save me. The dragging footsteps below were getting louder. Closer. A low, vibrating snarl echoed up the stairwell. It was the sound of a wild beast catching the scent of fresh prey. Lightning flashed outside the corridor window. In that split second of blinding white light, I saw it. Down on the landing, a humanoid figure with only half a face was twisting its neck to look up at me. Its eyes were a milky, dead white. Its jaw was moving, still chewing on something unrecognizable. It saw me. My knees buckled. I almost dropped to the floor. It was over. I was a dead woman walking. Suddenly, Duke bit down on the hem of my jeans and yanked me violently toward the upward stairs. “Woof.” He barked. It was short, sharp, and commanded action. He did not charge down to fight. He was dragging me up toward the roof. My survival instinct kicked back in. Yes. Go up. The infected had stiff, rigor-mortis joints. They were terrible at climbing stairs. Ignoring the dizzying spin of my fever, I scrambled up the concrete steps on my hands and knees. The snarling below erupted into a frenzy. The zombie began slamming its body against the handrails, accelerating its climb. I did not dare look back. My lungs felt like they were packed with burning coals. Sixth floor. Seventh floor. We hit the top landing. But the heavy metal door leading to the roof was sealed shut with a massive, rusted padlock. Despair washed over me like a tidal wave. Locked. The frantic footsteps behind me had already reached the sixth floor. Duke let go of my jeans and threw his body against the padlock. It did nothing. He whipped his head around and started barking frantically at a pile of discarded renovation debris in the corner. I looked over. Sticking out of the rubble was a rusted iron crowbar. I threw myself at the pile, grabbed the cold iron, and jammed the wedged end right into the padlock’s shackle. I put the entire weight of my body, all my rage, and every ounce of my will to live into that piece of metal. Snap. The rusty metal gave way. The lock burst open. The heavy door groaned on its hinges. I shoved it open, tumbling out onto the tar roof with Duke right beside me. I kicked the door shut behind us and jammed the crowbar through the door handles, wedging it against the frame. Bang. A massive force slammed against the metal from the inside. It was the sound of a skull repeatedly bashing against steel. The door rattled violently. Dust and rust rained down. I collapsed into a puddle on the roof, gasping for air. The freezing rain poured over me, soaking through my clothes and shocking my fever-hot skin, sending violent shivers down my spine. I had survived. For now. But I was trapped on a rooftop. No food. No water. Just an endless storm above and a swarm of monsters below. I pulled Duke close, huddling under the concrete overhang of the building’s water tank to escape the worst of the rain. Right then, a window opened on the floor below. Martha poked her head out. From her angle, she could see a corner of the roof. When she saw I was still breathing, a flash of genuine disappointment crossed her face. Then, she started screaming. “You little witch. You are still not dead? Are you hiding food up there? I knew it. I knew you were a greedy little rat hiding food while your brother starves.” “Throw it down here right now. Give it to Tyler, or I swear I will curse you to rot in hell.” Her shrill, piercing voice cut through the howling storm. The zombies inside the building heard her. They abandoned the roof door and began throwing themselves against the metal security gate of her apartment. Terrified, Martha yanked her head back inside and slammed the window shut. I stared at that closed window with dead eyes. The very last thread of affection I held for my family snapped. It was completely gone. I stroked Duke’s soaking wet fur. “It is just you and me now, buddy.” Duke licked the palm of my hand. Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in my head. No, not my head. The voice was coming straight from Duke’s mouth. “System alert. Critical host vitality detected. Infinite Supply Search System has been bound.” I froze. Was the fever cooking my brain? Duke looked up at me. His bright blue eyes were flashing with an unnatural, neon light. He stood up, trotted over to an abandoned planter box in the corner, and started digging at the dirt. “System alert. Hidden supplies located. One sealed package of beef jerky. One bottle of mineral water.” I walked over, my legs trembling. I brushed away the wet mud and dead weeds. A red plastic bag was buried there. Inside, exactly as the voice said, was a thick, vacuum-sealed stick of beef jerky and a fresh bottle of water. Someone must have stashed it up here before the world ended and forgot about it. My hands shook as I ripped open the plastic. The smell of spiced meat hit my nose. I shoved it into my mouth, swallowing it down in massive chunks barely chewing. A slow warmth began to spread through my freezing stomach. I was going to live. I had Duke. 3 The rain poured through the night. By dawn, the downpour had faded into a miserable drizzle. Thanks to Duke pressing his warm body against mine all night, my fever had actually broken. Duke was standing near the edge of the roof, his ears pinned straight up, listening to the vibrations of the concrete. “System alert. Three infected gathered on the third floor. Fifth floor secure. Human survivors moving on the fourth floor.” I understood immediately. Someone was coming up the stairs. Before I could even stand, a violent crash echoed from the roof door. My makeshift crowbar lock was not secure enough. After a few heavy kicks, the metal door flew open. Tyler stepped out, gripping a bloody machete. Behind him were two sketchy guys from the fifth floor. Local thugs who had a reputation for stealing even before the world went to hell. Martha trailed behind them, her face twisted in a bitter scowl. Tyler’s eyes locked onto the empty jerky wrapper by my feet. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot. “Mom. I told you she was hiding food. Look.” Martha let out a screech. She lunged toward me, raising her hand to slap my face. “You heartless bitch. Your brother has been starving all day, and you are up here having a picnic. Do you have more? Hand it over.” The two thugs moved in, circling me with dirty smiles. Their eyes roamed up and down my shivering body. “Well, well. The girl is looking a little pale, but she is still pretty enough.” I gripped my rusted crowbar tight and backed up against the roof’s edge. “There is nothing left. It was just one piece, and I found it up here.” Tyler did not believe a word of it. He stepped forward, reaching out to grab me. “Bullshit. Take off your clothes. I am searching you myself.” Duke lunged. He moved like a blur, sinking his teeth right into Tyler’s wrist. “Ahhhh.” Tyler screamed in agony, dropping the machete. “Get this dead mutt off me.” He stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding arm. The two thugs exchanged a look, raised the heavy steel pipes they were carrying, and swung them down hard at Duke. Duke was fast, but he was just a dog, and he was trying to stand between them and me. Smack. A steel pipe connected with Duke’s back leg. The sickening crack of bone was loud enough to echo over the wind. Duke let out a heartbreaking yelp and collapsed to the tar roof, his back leg twisted at a horrifying angle. “Duke.” My vision went red. I raised the crowbar and charged forward, ready to kill them all. One of the thugs simply raised his boot and kicked me square in the stomach. The force sent me flying backward. I crashed hard into the rusted metal railing, curling into a ball as the air left my lungs. Tyler snatched his machete off the ground. He marched over with a vicious look in his eyes. He did not kill Duke. Instead, he took the flat side of the heavy blade and started bashing it against Duke’s skull. “Bite me again. Go on, bite me again.” Duke whimpered, blood dripping from his snout, but his bright blue eyes stayed locked onto Tyler in pure defiance. Tyler turned his head toward me, his face glowing with a sick sense of revenge. “Hey sis. That puffer jacket looks really warm. I think I will take it.” “You are going to die anyway. Be a shame to waste it.” He stepped up and violently yanked the zipper down. Martha stood on the sidelines, not only doing nothing to stop it, but cheering him on. “Hurry up. Stop wasting time. It is freezing up here.” I fought back with everything I had, scratching my nails across Tyler’s face, leaving a deep, bleeding trail. “Get off me. You are a monster.” Tyler wiped the blood off his cheek and backhanded me hard across the jaw. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine. With the help of the two thugs, they pinned me down and physically ripped the winter coat off my body. I was left in a thin, worn-out sweater. The biting winter wind instantly pierced right to my bones. Tyler gleefully slipped my coat on. It still held my body heat. He patted the sleeves down with a look of disgust. “Smells a little like wet dog, but it will do.” He stood over me, looking down at my bruised body and my crippled dog. “Look at you. You are worse off than a stray animal. Just hug your stupid dog and wait to die.” Martha spat directly onto my face. “Let’s go. Leave this jinx to rot.” They turned to head back to the stairwell. But right at that moment, an explosive sound echoed from the floor below. Then another. And another. It was the sound of dozens of decaying hands slamming against metal. The zombie horde had made it up the stairs.

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