Author: Momo Chan

To toughen me up, my older brother forced me to hike the Appalachian Trail, completely ignoring the fact that I had severe asthma. It wasn’t long before I suffered an attack. My face turned blue, and I collapsed onto a boulder. Gasping for air, I desperately reached for my backpack to get my inhaler. But Chloe kicked my bag away, her voice dripping with annoyance. “Didn’t you just use a whole can of oxygen? Just because Liam is the expedition leader, you think you can put on a show for us?” She picked up my bag and whined toward my brother, who was walking ahead. “Liam! Maya is throwing another tantrum! I’ll just carry her bag for her, so she doesn’t waste all the effort you put into bringing her out here.” My brother stopped in the distance, looking deeply irritated. “This is embarrassing. You can’t even handle half of what Chloe does!” “You are going to crawl to camp if you have to! From now on, no one gives her any more oxygen!” My breathing grew more and more restricted, until my vision finally went black and I face-planted onto the rock. When I opened my eyes again, I realized I was floating in mid-air. I looked down and saw my own small, frail body, lying face down on the boulder. I’m sorry, Liam. I really can’t walk anymore. “Maya, get your ass up! Stop playing dead and holding everyone up!” One of the hikers, a big guy named Dave, cursed loudly and started jabbing my back hard with his trekking pole. “You are so damn stubborn, you know that? You think if you just lie there, we’re going to carry your useless weight down the mountain?!” “Your brother already gave the order! Don’t push your luck. Get up right now!” With that, he delivered another heavy jab. My corpse shifted slightly under the force of the trekking pole. Losing its balance on the uneven rock, my body tilted to the side, revealing half of my face—bloodless, cyanotic, and turning a dark, bruised purple. The other hikers stood around watching like it was a circus act, their faces full of contempt. “Maya, are you trying to win an Oscar? Because you’re putting on a hell of a performance!” “You really should go to Hollywood. This acting is top-notch!” “Look, even if the leader is your own brother, you can’t play games with everyone’s lives! The weather up here changes by the minute. If you delay the schedule, can you take responsibility for that?!” In the distance, my brother was standing with Chloe. Hearing the commotion, his brows knitted together in a deep frown, the disgust in his eyes practically overflowing. Chloe clung to his arm, her sickly-sweet voice raising in volume. “Liam, why is Maya acting like this?” “All you did was cut off her oxygen for a minute, and now she’s holding a grudge and throwing a fit against the whole team?” “She’s just too spoiled at home. She can’t handle a tiny bit of hardship.” Liam clicked his tongue in annoyance and took long, angry strides toward me. Floating in the air, I saw the rage contorting my brother’s face, and my heart still instinctively clenched in fear. Ever since our parents died in a car crash when we were kids, I had been terrified of seeing that exact expression on his face. Whenever he frowned, I wanted to rip my heart out and prove to him that I wasn’t useless, that I wasn’t inferior to the girl next door, Chloe. But right now, I was already dead. Why do dead people still feel fear? Liam marched up to my corpse, looming over me. He shot me that familiar look—the one reserved for absolute garbage. “Maya, I’m going to count to three. You will stand up immediately!” His tone was ice-cold, leaving absolutely no room for argument. “One!” The mountain wind howled, whipping the hem of my windbreaker. “Two!” Chloe chimed in. “Maya, just stop making Liam angry and get up. We all need to keep moving.” I continued to lie perfectly still on the rock, my eyes tightly shut. “Three!” The word hung in the air. When I still didn’t move a muscle, the hikers exchanged glances, clearly enjoying the drama. Liam’s fury ignited like gasoline. “Fine! Excellent! Maya, you think you’re tough now, huh?!” He grabbed the back collar of my windbreaker and yanked violently. Smack! A sharp, resounding slap landed squarely on my face. My head jerked violently to the side like a broken ragdoll, but my body remained entirely limp. Liam clearly hadn’t expected me to be completely unresponsive. His grip on my collar loosened, and I crashed heavily onto the jagged, rocky ground. The sharp stones instantly sliced my cheek open. “You…!” Liam looked at his own trembling hand, then back at me, lying there like a dead pig. The fire in his eyes burned even hotter. “Maya, you really are something else!” “You’re willing to play dead through gritted teeth just to force my hand, aren’t you?!” He was shaking with rage. “You think this little stunt is going to manipulate me? You think this is going to get you oxygen?!” “Let me tell you right now: Not a chance in hell!” Floating above, watching all of this unfold in silence, I suddenly felt the urge to cry. Liam, I’m really not faking it. And I really can’t feel the pain anymore. Ever since our parents died in that crash, Liam had been my only pillar of support. He never let anyone bully me. But everything changed the day Chloe moved in next door. The brother who used to dote on me suddenly vanished, as if Chloe was his real sister. “Liam, don’t get so worked up over Maya. It’s not good for your health.” Chloe gently blew on his palm, looking at him with exaggerated concern. “Maya, there has to be a limit to your tantrums.” She sighed, looking down at my motionless body with fake exasperation. “Everyone is out here toughing it out in sub-zero temperatures. You can’t make everyone else freeze just because you want to throw a pity party.” The other hikers started chiming in. “Jeez, kids these days really have an attitude!” “Boss, she’s your sister, but you can’t just enable her! She’s an adult, and she’s using cheap tricks to manipulate her own family?!” Liam’s face had turned a furious shade of purple. He pulled his hand away from Chloe, glaring down at me with a cold, terrifying sneer. “Maya, I’m giving you one last warning. Are you getting up or not?!” The wind shrieked. I remained as still as the rocks beneath me, not even an eyelash twitching. “Fine! Have it your way!” Blinded by rage, Liam lunged forward, reared his foot back, and delivered a vicious, brutal kick directly to my shoulder! As luck would have it, I was lying right on the edge of a steep, fifty-foot scree slope. “You want to play dead?! You want to lie down?! Then go roll down there and lie down for as long as you want! Let’s see how long you can keep this act up!” Following his furious roar, my corpse tumbled like a severed marionette, violently bouncing and rolling down the jagged slope. Crack… snap… I watched helplessly as my own body plummeted down the scree. My windbreaker was shredded by the razor-sharp rocks, and I could clearly hear the sickening sound of my ribs snapping as they slammed against the boulders. I couldn’t bear to watch anymore and turned away in the air. It must hurt so much. In the past, if I even slightly bumped my knee, Liam would nervously inspect the scrape. He would carefully blow on it, softly coaxing me: “Don’t be scared, Maya. Liam will blow on it, and the pain will go away.” But now, he just watched with cold, dead eyes as I tumbled down the slope, until my body finally wedged itself into the crevice of two massive boulders. After a brief, stunned silence, Dave leaned over the edge, looked down, and scoffed. “Wow, Maya, you really commit to the bit. I’ll give you that.” The others looked incredibly annoyed. “This is unbelievable! I’m done! We’re all carrying fifty-pound packs out here humoring your little drama. Do you have any conscience at all?” “Seriously, what does she expect? Does she want us to climb down there and formally invite her back up?!” My leg was caught in the crevice, snapped completely in half. The stark white bone had pierced straight through the fabric of my pants. If any of them had bothered to take a slightly closer look, they would have seen that I wasn’t acting. Unfortunately, they didn’t. And neither did Liam. Just then, a violent gust of wind ripped across the mountain. The sky, which had been relatively clear moments ago, rapidly darkened with the threat of an impending blizzard. The temperature plummeted instantly. “Boss, looks like a blizzard is rolling in fast!” Dave pulled the collar of his jacket tight against his neck. “Blizzards up here are no joke. We can’t afford to waste any more time!” The knot between Liam’s eyebrows deepened into a permanent fixture. He stood at the top of the slope, glaring down at my motionless body at the bottom. “Maya!” The temperature of his voice was barely warmer than the approaching storm. “I’m asking you one last time. Are you getting up?!” The only response he received was the shredded, torn fabric of my jacket fluttering in the howling wind. Liam spun around abruptly and barked an order to the team. “Everyone, gear up immediately! We are pushing for camp!” Chloe grabbed his sleeve, looking worried. “Liam, will Maya be in danger down there? It’s getting so cold…” “Danger?! She threw herself down there on purpose, what danger could she possibly be in?!” He waved his hand, cutting her off aggressively. “She’s just banking on the fact that I won’t have the guts to leave her behind! That’s why she thinks she can hold the entire team hostage!” Liam grabbed his trekking poles and marched forward without a single backward glance. “Leave her! Let’s see how long she can keep the act up! Once she realizes we’re actually gone, she’ll come crawling back up on her own!” “She’s been exactly like this since we were kids. If I don’t teach her a lesson now, she’ll never learn how the real world works!” “Move out!” The few hikers who had been hesitating quickly fell into line behind Liam, matching his brisk pace. Floating in the air, I hurried to follow them. Behind me, the snow fell like a white shroud, slowly burying my broken body. The atmosphere at the campsite, however, was a completely different story. Inside the large communal tent, the windproof stoves were roaring. Everyone was zipped into their sleeping bags, laughing, joking, and passing around rations. Liam sat near the tent entrance, his face terrifyingly dark. It had been three hours. The blizzard outside was a total whiteout; visibility was less than six feet. “Liam, eat something first.” Chloe tore open a self-heating MRE and thoughtfully handed it to him. “Maya really is something else. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and she insists on throwing a tantrum over a single can of oxygen. What if she gets frostbite?” The tiny sliver of unease in Liam’s eyes was instantly crushed. He let out a vicious, sarcastic sneer. “Frostbite? How could she possibly get frostbite?” “She has the thickest, zero-degree sleeping bag and a specialized solo tent in her pack. Right now, she’s probably hiding in a snow cave, fully fed and warm, just waiting for me to go back and beg her to join us!” His eyes hardened with absolute resolve. “I’m making this clear right now! When she comes crying back here, absolutely no one is allowed to open the tent for her!” “Only when she knows true fear and learns to behave will she finally drop this toxic, entitled attitude!” Dave swallowed a mouthful of rice and wiped his mouth. “Maya really crossed the line this time! She absolutely deserves a harsh lesson to put her in her place!” Floating near the ceiling of the tent, I didn’t even have the energy to laugh at the irony anymore. Liam. Did you completely forget? My backpack—the one with all my food, my tent, my sleeping bag, and my asthma medication… Chloe took it. Just as Liam finished his speech, and the cheerful mood in the tent was about to resume… Thump. Thump. Thump. A heavy, muffled knocking suddenly struck the outside of the tent. All conversation stopped dead. Every single person instinctively stared at the zippered entrance. Dave was the first to react, letting out a mocking laugh. “Boss, looks like you called it. Look who came crawling back.” Liam visibly relaxed. He leaned back against his pack, raised an eyebrow, and let out a cold smirk. “I told you. She doesn’t have the spine to hold out.” Chloe forced a smile and reached out toward the zipper. “Liam, the wind is so strong out there. I really think we should let Maya in now, otherwise she really will get sick…” “Leave her! Do not open that door!” Liam grabbed Chloe’s hand, pulling it back sharply. His voice suddenly spiked in volume, directed coldly at the other side of the canvas. “Maya, do you finally realize how cold it is? Do you realize you were wrong?!” “Weren’t you acting so tough earlier? Didn’t you prefer rolling down a cliff to walking with us? Why are you suddenly running back now?!” The knocking on the outside of the tent paused. The ice in Liam’s eyes thickened. “You want to come inside? Fine! Get on your knees right now, scream ‘I was wrong’ three times, and apologize to every single member of this team!” “After you scream, you will stay on your knees for another thirty minutes to clear your head! If you haven’t frozen to death after thirty minutes, then I will consider letting you inside!” “Boss, that is brilliant!” The other hikers erupted into laughter. Liam stared at the tent flap with deep satisfaction, waiting for me to drop to my knees and beg for mercy. One second. Two seconds. The outside fell into a dead, horrifying silence, broken only by the shrieking of the blizzard. When no response came, Liam’s brows knitted together again. He opened his mouth, ready to unleash another furious tirade. Riiiiiiip! The heavy-duty, windproof zipper was violently torn open from the outside. A blast of freezing, snow-filled wind roared into the tent, causing everyone inside to shudder violently. “Maya, have you lost your damn mind?! Tearing the tent…” Liam exploded in a blind rage, shooting up to his feet. But when he finally saw who was standing outside the flap, the words died in his throat. It was four or five men wearing bright orange search-and-rescue uniforms. The leader of the team had a face carved from stone. He scanned the people inside the tent, his voice heavy and somber. “Who is the expedition leader?” Liam froze. He instinctively glanced behind the rescue team, swallowed hard, and stammered. “I am… is there a problem?” The rescue leader took a deep breath, his eyes filled with profound tragedy. He spoke slowly, emphasizing every single word. “In the valley directly below the section of the trail you traversed earlier today, we recovered the body of a young woman.”

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After three years in wedding planning, I finally secured the perfect venue for my own upcoming nuptials: The Legacy Ballroom at the Grand Regency. It took months of exhausting negotiation, countless late-night pitch revisions, and draining my entire savings account just to make the non-refundable deposit. My fiancée, Chloe, had even taken a high-stress corporate job across the country just so we could save faster to build our life together. Then came Mr. Vance. He was a difficult client who had rejected five distinct wedding concepts I’d drafted for him. Suddenly, he laid eyes on my personal booking at the Legacy Ballroom and decided it was the only option. “How about you assign the venue booking to me?” he suggested nonchalantly. “I’ll pay you five times your deposit amount.” He gave me a smarmy smile. “My wife and I decided on a date that fits perfectly. I really want to surprise her.” I didn’t even have to think about it. I politely declined. The very next day, Mr. Vance showed up outside my apartment building, and he brought his wife. “That planner is utterly unreasonable, baby,” Vance grumbled, leaning against his luxury SUV. “You have to put him in his place for me!” The woman watched him dote on him with an indulgent smile. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll offer him a hundred times the deposit,” she said smoothly. “Whatever makes you happy. I’ll handle him.” She laughed softly as she stepped forward, looking up at me. Then, her smile instantly vanished. We both froze, staring at each other in total disbelief. This was Chloe. My Chloe. The woman I was supposed to marry, the one who claimed she was working 3,000 miles away because we were broke. … The panic in Chloe’s eyes lasted only a fraction of a second before she masked it perfectly. Instead of explaining, she shot me a warning look—a silent command to stay quiet. Vance, completely oblivious to the agonizing tension, pulled out a checkbook and tapped it against his palm. “Let’s be blunt,” Vance said, sliding a pen from his breast pocket. “Write down whatever number you want. I want the Legacy Ballroom.” He slipped his arm around Chloe’s waist. “My wife is picking up the tab.” I looked up, desperately searching Chloe’s eyes for a hint of guilt, remissness, anything. There was nothing. Just cold calculation. To get this booking, I had camped out outside the reservation office for three days in freezing rain. My face had actually developed mild frostbite. By some miracle, another couple had canceled, and I had grabbed the slot. I had been so ecstatic I couldn’t sleep. I spent the entire night on a video call with Chloe, dreaming together about our future wedding. Looking at her now, it was obvious she had never even opened the wedding planning shared document I sent her. She didn’t realize I chose the Legacy Ballroom because that was where we had our very first date five years ago. I didn’t take the checkbook. Chloe broke the silence, her voice devoid of emotion, framing her words with terrifying significance. “Are you in a rush to get married?” I didn’t know who was asking that question. Chloe Vance, the wealthy wife? Or Chloe, my fiancée? But she, of all people, should know the answer. My family had been pressuring me to get married for five years. Every single time, I had offered a strained smile and told them, “There’s no rush. We’ll get married when we save enough money.” But the anxiety kept me awake at night. I hid my desperation from her because I didn’t want to add stress to her high-powered job. And now… I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Actually, there’s no rush at all.” Chloe’s expression flickered, becoming complicated. Vance, however, beamed and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Good,” Vance said, scrawling a number on the check that I had never imagined seeing on a single piece of paper: One Million Dollars. “Take it,” he said, ripping the check out and shoving it toward me. “Don’t worry about it. I spend more than this on a business dinner.” “My wife and I spent millions on our reception, but after seeing the venue options, we decided the Legacy Ballroom is the only place suitable for us.” Vance looked me up and down, a sneer forming. “Listen, buddy, if you don’t have the cash, don’t pretend you do. Find a nice little diner for your wedding. That seems more your speed.” I was wearing a suit jacket from three years ago. It clashed violently with the luxury designer brands covering both of them. But Chloe had given me this jacket. It was the only “expensive” birthday gift she had ever bought me. Chloe lightly pulled Vance’s arm, and he snapped out of his arrogance. “Right. I’m pretty direct, don’t take it personally.” “Here,” he said, handing me a heavy, gold-embossed business card. “This is my wife’s card. We still need to discuss the details for the bride’s gown revisions.” The card read: [CEO, Sterling Group: Chloe Vance.] The Chloe I knew would wear the same T-shirt until it faded to white and cut her own hair to save twenty bucks. I realized now that every time I excitedly showed her the hundred-dollar gift cards clients gave me as bonuses, she must have been secretly laughing at me. I watched them walk away, their bodies close, their intimacy natural. I closed my eyes. Five years of long-distance. working night and day, sacrificing everything to save money… only to find out I was planning her wedding to someone else. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A message from Chloe: [Meet my assistant at the villa later. We need to talk.] The bitter resentment bottled in my chest exploded. I started typing furiously, sending message after message. [Why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you ever tell me you were married?] [What am I to you?] But my messages vanished into a void. They remained “Delivered,” but never “Read.” Chloe’s assistant ushered me into a luxury sedan, driving us to a remote, gated community on the outskirts of the city. “This is a property the Sterling family owns, Mr. Vance doesn’t know about it,” the assistant said coldly. “Wait for Ms. Sterling here.” Sterling. Her maiden name. The servants surrounding the estate shot me looks of open amusement and disdain. As if the word “Mistress” was tattooed across my forehead. Except, I was a man. I walked into the massive villa, feeling utterly lost. Everything here was alien. Chloe had told me she lived in a small, rented apartment. In reality, just one of her spare properties was a palace. Meanwhile, I had spent five years living in a leaky, drafty basement apartment just to save an extra $300 a month on rent for our future. Seeing Chloe Sterling’s marriage certificate to Mr. Vance displayed prominently on the nightstand crushed my final defensive line. The date they signed the license… was the day my father passed away. I had called her that day, helpless and broken, needing her support. She had told me, “Work is insane, I can’t leave right now.” That lie had stripped away my last source of strength. In reality, that day was her joyous wedding day. Chloe pushed the door open, linking her arm through mine just as she always used to. “Ethan, he’s my childhood friend. It was an arranged marriage. I had no choice.” “I know you’re understanding. Can you forgive me?” I couldn’t take it anymore. I violently pushed her away, my eyes burning with rage and betrayal. “Then what was our five years together? What am I to you?” “I’m a bitch,” Chloe answered instantly, her voice decisive. “That’s why I want to make it up to you. You can live here. Vance never comes here, as long as you keep a low profile.” I looked around the room, staring at everything that didn’t belong to me, and laughed. I had waited for her faithfully for five years. And the only position she had for me in her life now was “Side Piece.” Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door. “Sir…” Vance stood in the doorway, his face twisted in utter shock. He marched forward and, before I could react, planted a brutal punch squarely on my jaw. “I knew that perfume on her smelled familiar!” he roared. “I didn’t expect it to be the Side Piece trying to screw my wife!” Chloe panicked, stepping in front of me to shield me. “Let me explain…” Vance pushed her aside with brute force. He grabbed the collar of my jacket and started violently dragging me toward the hallway. “Get out! Get the hell out!” I struggled desperately, but my foot slipped on the polished marble floor. I tumbled headfirst down the massive spiral staircase. My blood-curdling screams echoed through the entire villa. As Chloe scrambled to run down the stairs after me, Vance suddenly clutched his head in apparent agony. “Chloe, my head… it hurts…” With just that one sentence, Chloe completely forgot about me. She linked her arm through Vance’s to support him and stepped directly over my broken body. I felt like every bone in my body was shattered. I lay in a pool of my own blood, consumed by utter despair. No matter how hard I yelled, how loud I screamed her name, Chloe never looked back. Not once. I begged the servants for help, but they twisted their heads away in disgust, muttering words like “homewrecker” and “Side Piece.” The fantasy I had cherished for five long years collapsed completely in that moment. My mouth was covered in blood. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to crawl up. I dialed a dusty, forgotten international number. “You said you’d always have a position for me. Does that still stand?” The second I hung up the phone, I received a notification from the hospital. Chapter 2 When I rushed to the hospital, my mother was lying in the intensive care unit, breathing her last breaths. “Ethan Miller, why would you become a homewrecker…?” I was paralyzed with shock. “Mom, listen to me…” But before I could even start to explain, my mother turned her head away in absolute disappointment, refusing to listen to another word. As she was wheeled into the operating room for emergency surgery, I finally realized what was happening. Her phone was in the basket of her belongings, publicly broadcasting a news alert. Vance had posted their marriage certificate online, publicly accusing me of being the Side Piece who destroyed his family. Countless hateful terms like “trash man” and “homewrecker” flashed across the screen. The violent rage and heartbreak overwhelmed my system, and I collapsed into a sea of pain. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed myself. Chloe was sitting by my bedside. She had massive dark circles under her eyes, looking utterly exhausted. But her eyes held no sympathy. They held threats. “Post an apology to Vance on social media.” “Vance said that if you’re willing to swallow your pride, he’ll turn a blind eye to us in the future.” I froze. Every drop of blood in my body felt like it was flowing backward. She had deceived me for five years, and now I was the one who had to take the responsibility for her mess? Tears exploded from my eyes. Rage ground out three words from between my gritted teeth: “In your dreams!” Before the words even finished leaving my lips, she silently pulled out a thick stack of my mother’s medical bills from over the years. “You’ve probably figured it out by now. I’m the one who has been paying for your mother’s treatments all this time.” “If you don’t agree, I can always choose to stop paying.” I looked up at her, utterly broken. Once, Chloe Sterling had sworn to me that no matter how hard life got, as long as she was around, I would never have to worry about money. She said she would do everything in her power to give me the best life possible. But that was before. Staring at the mountain of bills on the nightstand, I gave a numb nod. The moment I posted the statement online, a tidal wave of abuse flooded my phone. I didn’t dare open the notifications. I didn’t dare leave my apartment. People actually mailed razor blades and dead rats to my address. Until my wedding planning business app started blasting an emergency alert. When I rushed to the shop, a bucket of red paint hit me squarely in the face. “You shameless bitch! A Side Piece is all you’ll ever be!” “Mr. Vance had a severe depression episode and almost overdosed on sleeping pills because of you!” “You used your wedding planning job to seduce another woman’s wife!” In the blink of an eye, the business I had dedicated my life to building was completely annihilated. “Stop! Stop it!” Just as the crowd was about to get even more violent, Vance appeared. His hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot. “You knew our wedding was coming up, and you deliberately threw my custom tux into the sewer.” “You can punish me, but you can’t punish my wedding…” As he spoke, he carelessly rolled up his sleeve to reveal a few fresh, self-inflicted scars on his forearm. Under the crowd’s pitying gaze, he turned to Chloe to demand justice. “Chloe, if you want to protect him, then we should just cancel the wedding. I’ll give him my spot.” My heart clenched, and I waited for her answer. At the very least, I was her boyfriend of five years who had stuck with her through thick and thin. I was the lover she had promised the rest of her life to. But the next second, Chloe Sterling turned a terrifyingly dark gaze toward me: “So your apology was just a lie, and you were still retaliating against him behind my back!” “Since you refuse to listen, I guess I have no choice but to punish you.” A horrific feeling of dread flooded my chest. Before I could react, three massive bodyguards slammed me into the ground. I felt a violent, blinding pain as they brutally snapped my fingers back. The last image of her gentle smile that I held in my mind shattered along with my bones. My guttural screams did nothing to evoke a single ounce of sympathy from her. “You’re a monster! A monster!” The bodyguards stopped their assault, only for Chloe to turn around and order: “Snap three of his fingers every single day. Do not let him leave this shop until he sincerely begs for forgiveness.” Vance smiled triumphantly as he followed her out. Right before leaving, he turned back to shoot me a look full of gloating and pure hatred. Chloe Sterling locked me inside my ruined shop. Every single day, I lived in agonizing dread, waiting for the torture to begin again. Until finally, all my fingers were broken and twisted, and both my legs had been brutally snapped. They tossed me aside like a rag doll, covered in blood and scars. I don’t know when Vance walked in. He stood over me, sneering down at my pathetic state. “How does it feel to be the Side Piece? Do you finally accept that Chloe loves me?” My heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand sewing needles. It was exactly because Chloe loved him that she was willing to make me take the fall for being a “homewrecker” just to save him from crying. Even though I had faced reality, my heart still cracked open in sharp, exquisite pain. He mocked: “Do you honestly think that if Chloe removes your vas deferens, I’ll allow you to survive?” I whipped my head up, my expression filled with confusion. Vance’s eyes danced with immense satisfaction. He let out a condescending, arrogant laugh. “Oh, you didn’t know? While you were unconscious, Chloe Sterling had your vas deferens surgically removed.” “You’re never going to be a father, you worthless piece of trash.” The man got more and more energized as he spoke, unable to hide his gloating triumph. “The Sterling family will only have one heir.” “Because Chloe Sterling said you were just a toy she used to satisfy her sexual urges. Why on earth would you be worthy of having her children?” My mind went completely blank. I couldn’t process the words. The truth was a thousand times more brutal than anything I had imagined. Every beautiful memory of her love for me that I cherished instantly became ugly, twisted, and grotesque. Next, the man slapped a piece of paper directly onto my face: “Ethan Miller, look! You actually shocked your mother to death!” Catastrophic tinnitus exploded in my ears. Choked-off sobs began to leak from the corners of my mouth. My eyes burned with blood-red rage. I violently spat in his face. “Karma will come for you!” The man ground his teeth in fury. “You honestly think you still have a chance? I will never let that happen.” With that, a sickening, pungent scent of natural gas filled the room. By the time I realized the danger and tried to escape, Vance had already slipped out of the room and locked the heavy door from the outside. I clawed at the door until my fingernails ripped off, leaving ten horrifying streaks of blood on the wood. The next second, with a deafening BOOM, a violent tidal wave of intense heat engulfed me. My vision slowly began to blur. I felt like I was seeing that gentle memory of me wearing a suit, dropping to one knee to propose to Chloe Sterling. But that wedding… would never, ever happen. By the time Chloe Sterling received the call from the emergency responders and rushed to the scene, the horrific image before her eyes caused her to freeze in absolute terror…

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In the chaotic emergency room, the doctor looked at us with frantic urgency. “What kind of venomous snake bit her?! I need an exact species right now so we can locate the correct antivenom!” I opened my mouth to speak, but my roommate cut me off, her voice panicked and shaky. “It was a coral snake! It… it was definitely a coral snake!” The blood drained from everyone’s faces. We had just returned to our dorms after winter break. Without telling anyone, she had smuggled a highly venomous reptile into our room. The snake had escaped its enclosure and bitten our roommate, who slept on the bottom bunk. We had sprinted all the way to the hospital carrying her. A few minutes later, and she might not have made it this far. Now, the doctor desperately needed the species to administer the life-saving antivenom. But my roommate, Chloe, had always possessed a twisted sense of humor. While we were terrified and hyperventilating, she kept changing her story. She absolutely refused to tell the truth. Watching her dramatically massage her temples, pretending she couldn’t remember, my entire body shook with rage. Chloe was notorious on campus for her “pranks.” No matter the situation, she loved messing with people. She wasn’t satisfied until she pushed someone to the point of tears. When people inevitably got angry, she would just brush it off with a breezy, “I’m just messing with you. Don’t be so sensitive.” But this was life or death. This was not a joke. Mia had fallen into a deep coma after the bite. The doctors needed to confirm the snake’s species to administer the antivenom. Every passing second was a step closer to death. Sure enough, when the doctor heard Chloe’s answer, his expression turned grim. “Are you absolutely certain? I need you to confirm one more time. What kind of snake bit her?” Chloe furrowed her brows in exaggerated concentration, then slowly shook her head and crouched down on the floor. I was losing my mind. I lunged forward and grabbed her by the collar of her hoodie. “Stop messing around! Tell the doctor what kind of snake it is right now! Are you trying to kill Mia?!” Her eyes welled up with fake tears. She bit her lip and said, “It’s a cobra! It’s definitely a cobra!” My other roommates and I exchanged a look, collectively letting out a massive sigh of relief. The doctor visibly relaxed and immediately turned to the nurse, ordering her to prep the cobra antivenom. Just as the nurse was about to sprint out of the room, Chloe suddenly spoke up again. “Wait!” “I think I might be remembering it wrong… Was it actually a cobra…?” We stood there, holding the unconscious Mia, our faces turning a ghostly white. “Chloe! Stop playing games! This is a medical emergency!” “The doctor needs the exact species to give her the right medication! If you keep stalling, it’s going to be too late!” Hearing our panic, Chloe actually let out a nonchalant little laugh. “Who’s playing games? I’m just worried that if I give them the wrong name, it might actually hurt her!” “Let me think… Nope, I was right. It’s a cobra!” The commotion was drawing the attention of everyone in the ER waiting area. Whispers broke out around us. “She secretly kept a venomous snake and now she’s playing guessing games? Is she trying to commit murder?” “Joking around at a time like this… that is psychopathic.” My fingertips were trembling. Not from fear, but from an overwhelming, blinding rage. Chloe was flipping her story back and forth, casually playing Russian roulette with Mia’s life. If she stalled any longer, the neurotoxins would completely shut down Mia’s system. It would be too late. Seeing the doctor preparing to administer the medication based on her “cobra” claim, I caught a sick flash of excitement in Chloe’s eyes. A cold chill shot down my spine. I shoved my way past the gurney and blocked the doctor. “Doctor, she is intentionally messing with you! Everything she just said is a lie!” “Please, I’m begging you, ask her one more time! Make her tell the truth!” My eyes were stinging with unshed tears. Mia, lying in my arms, was ice cold. Her breathing was so shallow I could barely feel it against my skin. The doctor frowned deeply, his sharp gaze darting between me and Chloe. The triage nurse immediately sensed the bizarre dynamic. She turned to Chloe, her voice hardening into a sharp command. “I am going to ask you one last time. What is the exact species of the snake? If you are obstructing a medical emergency with a prank, I will call the police immediately!” For years, we had tolerated Chloe’s twisted pranks. We had complained to our Resident Advisor several times, but he was a spineless guy who just wanted to keep the peace. “She just likes to goof off. She doesn’t mean any harm,” he would always say. For the sake of dorm harmony, I bit my tongue and let it slide, time and time again. Until winter break ended, and she secretly smuggled a highly venomous exotic pet into our room. The snake escaped and bit Mia. By the time we found her, she was already slipping into unconsciousness. We didn’t even have time to be angry; we just picked her up and ran like maniacs to the campus hospital. And now, after barely making it to the ER, Chloe was still treating this like a game. My eyes were bloodshot, and my voice shook violently. “Please, Chloe. Mia is fading fast. Can you please just stop this?” “If you just help us save her right now, I swear I will never complain about any of your pranks ever again.” The bystanders in the ER started chiming in. “Young lady, a life is on the line. Stop playing around.” “Save the girl first! If you keep stalling, she’s not going to make it!” Listening to the chorus of criticism, Chloe just rolled her eyes, completely unfazed. “It’s not that big of a deal. I was just pulling a little prank. Why is everyone overreacting?” Seeing that the doctor’s face had turned livid and he was reaching for the phone to call campus security and the police, Chloe finally dropped the smirk. She relented, sounding deeply annoyed. “Fine, fine! I’ll stop joking!” I let out a massive sigh of relief. But then, Chloe looked around at the crowd, her eyes finally settling on us, and she slowly, casually added: “It was a coral snake. Highly venomous. I just remembered.” The doctor’s face went completely pale. Before I could even process what was happening, he shouted at the nurse to stop, physically grabbing her arm to prevent the injection of the cobra antivenom. Seeing Mia’s lips turning a bruised shade of purple, Chloe spoke up again, her tone agonizingly slow. “Jeez, why do you guys look so stressed?” “I mean, the lights were out in the dorm, it was pitch black… I didn’t get a great look at it. I was just worried that if I gave you the wrong name, it would cause a problem!” “I’m just being cautious. I need to really think about it…” “Wait, no, no. It wasn’t a coral snake. It definitely was a cobra.” After delivering that completely contradictory statement, she clutched her chest and let out a dramatic sigh, as if she had just solved a complex math problem. I thought I was going to have a stroke. Holding the dying Mia, my last shred of self-control snapped. I screamed at the top of my lungs: “Chloe! IS THIS A FUCKING GAME TO YOU?! IF YOU STALL ANY LONGER, MIA IS GOING TO DIE!” But hearing my scream, Chloe didn’t look guilty. She looked offended. “How can you talk to me like that? Aren’t we roommates? It’s not like I did it on purpose!” “Oh, so you only care about her? My feelings don’t matter at all, right?” “I knew it! You guys are always ganging up on me! You’re bullying me!” “I can’t believe you’re treating me like this! If I knew you were going to be this mean, I wouldn’t have even come!” With that, she spun around and started storming toward the ER exit. My face went white. I shoved Mia into the arms of our other roommate and sprinted after Chloe, grabbing her arm in a vice grip. “Chloe! That’s not what I meant! Mia is literally dying, I’m just panicking! I didn’t mean to yell at you.” “The hospital has every antivenom in stock. As long as you tell the doctor exactly what kind of snake it is, we can save her right now, okay?” Chloe yanked her arm away and pointed a finger aggressively in my face. “This is your fault!” “If you hadn’t been screaming and making a huge scene in the dorm, maybe I wouldn’t have been so startled and I would have seen clearly what kind of snake bit her!” “It’s just a snake bite! My snakes are usually so well-behaved…” “You know what? I bet you’re targeting me! I bet you secretly let the snake out to bite her just so you could frame me for it!” My eyes went wide. I stared at Chloe, completely incapable of comprehending the sheer delusion coming out of her mouth. When the semester first started, I saw her sitting alone in the dining hall and went out of my way to befriend her and make her feel included. But ever since she got obsessed with exotic reptiles, everything changed. She spent every day in the dorm messing with various venomous snakes, completely ignoring our unified protests and genuine fear. She would bang around with their glass enclosures in the middle of the night, totally oblivious to anyone else’s existence. For the sake of dorm peace, I tolerated it. Until a few days ago, when she smuggled a new, highly venomous snake into the room in a locked box, calling it her “newest baby.” We had gone to the RA multiple times, but he was a coward who just wanted to avoid paperwork. He did absolutely nothing. Left with no choice, we lived in constant terror, reminding her every single day to make sure the latches were secured. But she always brushed us off. Until tonight. Just after lights out, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the bottom bunk. Mia was crying hysterically, saying something had bitten her. Chloe didn’t panic. Instead, she stood by her bed, clapping her hands and laughing. “See? Isn’t my little baby so pretty?” Mia was trembling violently in agony, her face turning a ghastly white. Ultimately, it was the rest of us who practically carried Mia all the way to the campus hospital. Mia had always been frail; her immune system couldn’t handle a massive dose of neurotoxin. She lost consciousness halfway to the ER. When we arrived, my first instinct was to call 911. But the other roommates begged me not to, saying we should contact the school administration first to avoid a massive scandal. Because we desperately needed to get in touch with Mia’s parents, I swallowed my anger and called the RA instead. But I never imagined that our constant appeasement would only embolden Chloe’s psychotic behavior. Even now, with a girl dying in front of her, she was still trying to prank us, refusing to name the snake. Watching Mia’s breathing grow shallower and shallower, the tears poured down my face. The triage nurse looked heartbroken, but medical protocol dictated they had to know the exact venom type before administering the serum. A mistake could be instantly fatal. I clutched Mia, sobbing as I begged Chloe. “Chloe, please, I am begging you, stop the prank. If we wait any longer, Mia is going to die. She’s your roommate!” The other roommate, her eyes red, chimed in softly. “Please. We’re begging you.” But Chloe just flashed her signature, infuriating smirk. “Ugh, relax! Stop rushing me. The more you rush me, the more nervous I get, and the harder it is to remember…” She turned and looked me right in the eye. “Victoria, I know you’re stressed, but you need to chill.” Saying that seemed to genuinely amuse her, and she let out a loud, bubbly giggle. I stared at her, suppressing a volcanic rage. “Chloe, if you intentionally give the doctor the wrong species, you are actively delaying life-saving treatment. You will be legally responsible.” Hearing that, Chloe finally shut her mouth. But her eyes were full of spiteful resentment at being called out. The ER doctor, finally understanding the twisted dynamic at play, spoke with cold authority. “Since the species is unconfirmed, we will proceed with broad-spectrum emergency stabilization. Please clear the doorway…” I let out a massive sigh of relief and nodded gratefully at the doctor, preparing to help wheel Mia’s gurney into the trauma bay. Just as the wheels started moving, Chloe suddenly shouted: “Wait! I remember!” “It’s the new snake I got today! It must have slipped out of the transport box!” She held up her phone, her eyes darting nervously but her posture projecting absolute confidence. “I’ll just pull up my order history right now! The receipt will say exactly what species it is!” Outside the trauma bay doors. Chloe stood frozen in place, holding her phone up, swiping aimlessly at the screen, putting on a highly theatrical show of searching for an email. First she claimed her phone was lagging. Then she claimed the hospital Wi-Fi was blocking the site. She dragged this agonizing performance out for nearly ten minutes before finally shoving the screen in our direction. “See? Found it… I told you guys to stop rushing me…” The screen did indeed show an exotic pet retailer’s confirmation page. The people standing nearby naturally leaned in to look, and their faces instantly contorted in shock. “Oh my god! That is an incredibly lethal species! This is insane!” “And we were actually feeling sorry for her earlier! She literally caused this entire nightmare herself!” Chloe’s face twisted into an ugly scowl. “I’m an exotic pet enthusiast. What’s the big deal if I keep a venomous snake? How does that affect any of you?” “Doctor, look, the receipt is right here! Now you know exactly what it is!” The doctor’s face darkened into a furious scowl. “Nobody move! Let me see that receipt clearly so I can authorize the correct antivenom!” I stared at the glowing screen. Something felt deeply, instinctively wrong. Sure enough, the very next second, she yanked the phone away and locked the screen. I reached out to grab the phone from her hand, but Chloe suddenly slapped her own forehead, looking incredibly annoyed. “Oh, shoot! I totally forgot! I ordered three different snakes in that shipment. Which one was the one that got out?” I was shaking with a rage so intense it felt like my blood was boiling. The dam finally broke. “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!” I screamed. “There is a limit to these sick jokes! Would it kill you to just shut your mouth and tell the truth?!” “You’re intentionally dragging this out! Why do you have to cause chaos right now?!” “If Mia dies because you stalled, I swear to God, I will never, ever let you get away with this!” Chloe seemed to finally realize that I was genuinely, dangerously furious. A flicker of panic crossed her face. “No… Victoria… I was just messing around with you guys. Why are you getting so mad?” At that moment, my other roommate finally snapped and screamed at Chloe. “Chloe! If you don’t have anything helpful to say, then shut the fuck up!” “Is this a time for jokes?! Mia was envenomated! If you delay this any longer, she is going to die!” “I… I didn’t mean to…” Chloe muttered, lowering her head under the verbal assault. But I could clearly see the defiant, unrepentant glare in her eyes. She truly, genuinely didn’t believe she had done anything wrong. But Mia’s body was growing colder by the second. I didn’t have time to entertain Chloe’s psychotic games anymore. I turned to the ER doctor, my voice hoarse and pleading. “I know your protocols require exact confirmation. I’m not trying to make your job harder.” “But if there is absolutely no way to confirm the species, is there anything else you can do? Please, just try to save her. Her breathing is almost gone. She can’t hold on much longer.” I bowed deeply at the waist, a gesture of absolute desperation. The doctor and the charge nurse exchanged a heavy look, and finally, the doctor nodded. As the nurses began rolling the gurney into the trauma bay, Chloe was still muttering in the background. “Why is everyone being so dramatic… it’s just a snake bite. Give her a shot and she’ll be fine. It’s not like people don’t get bit by snakes all the time…” I pretended she didn’t exist. I just held onto Mia’s cold hand, praying silently over and over again that she would pull through. Chloe mumbled a few more complaints, and when she realized no one was paying attention to her, she finally shut up. But right at that exact moment, the heart monitor hooked up to Mia flatlined. I watched in horror as the medical team swarmed the gurney, launching into a frantic, desperate resuscitation protocol. I was pulled to the side, forced to repeatedly review a binder of snake profiles with a toxicologist in a blind attempt to identify the species visually. As I waited for news from the trauma bay, my heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. A suffocating wave of dread washed over me. I stared unblinking at the red “IN USE” light above the trauma bay doors, terrified of what it meant when it turned off. In a daze, Chloe’s voice echoed in my memory. Right before they wheeled Mia in, she had muttered: “I just couldn’t remember clearly, it’s not like I did it on purpose.” A violent shudder racked my body. Did she truly not understand that intentionally being vague in a life-or-death medical emergency was the exact same thing as murder? No! She knew exactly what she was doing. Just like she knew that keeping highly venomous reptiles in a tiny college dorm was strictly prohibited, yet she hid them under her bed anyway, completely disregarding our safety. She also knew that the moment Mia was bitten, she was racing against the clock. Yet she intentionally lied, stalled, and played games with the doctor. The realization made my chest physically ache. And then, from down the hall, I heard Chloe’s shrill, complaining voice again. “Stop trying to scare me! You hospitals just love to exaggerate everything!” “It’s just a tiny snake bite! Why are you making it sound like she has terminal cancer?!” “We’re not doing this! Wheel her back out here right now!” My stomach plummeted. I shoved through a pair of double doors and saw Chloe—who had “volunteered” to go to the billing department—throwing a massive tantrum at the payment counter. The young billing clerk looked completely overwhelmed and distressed. I sprinted over and grabbed the clerk’s arm. “Excuse me! I’m her roommate! What’s happening? Are they not working on her?!” The clerk recognized me from the ER and quickly explained: “Miss, the venom is spreading through your roommate’s system incredibly fast. The doctors ordered an immediate dose of a specialized, broad-spectrum anti-venom cocktail. But this young woman refused to authorize the charge or provide insurance info, and it caused a massive delay in the pharmacy…” Before she even finished her sentence, I felt my knees almost buckle. The months of accumulated frustration and rage detonated inside me. I spun around, my eyes blazing, and screamed at Chloe: “Chloe! If Mia dies in there, are you prepared to carry that charge for the rest of your life?!” Without waiting for her to spout another delusional excuse, I slammed my own debit card onto the counter. But when I checked my banking app, I was hundreds of dollars short. Seeing me panic, Chloe strutted over, looking incredibly smug and self-righteous. “I told you guys you were overreacting. There’s no need for all this expensive medical drama.” “Just listen to me. We’ll take her back to the dorm, let her sleep it off, and she’ll be fine. There’s no reason to throw away money on this scam.” I was shaking so hard I could barely stand. I opened my mouth to scream at her again. But then, the heavy doors of the trauma bay swung open. The lead ER physician walked out, his face utterly grim. “I am so sorry. We did everything we could.” My legs instantly gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold linoleum floor. At that exact moment, our Resident Advisor, Mr. Harris, came sprinting down the hallway, looking frantic. He saw the white sheet pulled over the gurney and let out a trembling, horrified yell: “What happened?! You said you were getting the antivenom! How is she dead?!”

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1. Three years ago, on my wedding day, my husband’s ex-girlfriend took her own life. When he heard the news, my husband merely shook his head, a somber regret etched on his face. “I’m truly sorry, but Lilith and I are ancient history. Seraphina is the one I choose to spend my life with, I can’t let her down.” I was so touched I wept. After we were married, I even offered to go with him to visit Lilith’s grave. That was until just before this year’s All Souls’ Day, when I scrolled past a post online: “After three years as his little ghost, I’m finally stepping into the light.” “No choice, his wife’s family is loaded. He told me to fake my death, marry her first, to throw off her parents’ suspicions. Once her old lady’s cards are maxed out, he’ll come back for me.” “Heh heh, the bitch even visits my grave, cries there too. So funny.” She attached a photo of herself holding a man’s hand in a Porsche. That Porsche? It was the one I’d bought for my husband. Oh, playing dead, are we? Fine. If that’s the game, I’ll give you a send-off the whole town will remember. … I put down my phone and saw Alaric arranging paper money. “Honey,” I began, “we’re going to visit Lilith’s grave in a few days. What do you think we should bring?” “I’m thinking of buying her a few sets of the latest designer dresses. How does that sound?” Alaric’s hands stilled. “Why bring clothes? She can’t wear them.” “No need to make it so complicated. She’s been gone for three years. A bouquet of white chrysanthemums would be enough to show our respect.” I tilted my head, looking at him. “What about some food? Like those little green mochi cakes?” He shook his head. “Really, it’s not necessary. Just flowers. She wasn’t one for bothering people.” I gazed up at him. He avoided my eyes, turning to grab his jacket. “I’m heading out tonight. There’s a work dinner.” Another work dinner. For three years, Alaric had been gentle, considerate, and hardworking—practically a perfect husband. Except for his frequent business trips and ‘work dinners’. Last Valentine’s Day, he said he was at a company party and sent me a huge bouquet of roses. On my birthday, he claimed he was in Havenport signing a contract. He’d sent me a photo of a rainy cityscape from his hotel window, saying he missed me. For our wedding anniversary, we’d already booked a luxurious overseas resort. But a call came in at midnight. He said a client insisted on meeting him, and asked for my understanding. Thinking back, it seems he hasn’t been by my side for a single important day since we got married. Was he truly busy with work, or was it something else? A strange impulse led me to the poster’s profile, and from her bio, I found her video account. The profile picture was a woman’s side profile, with the username ‘Lilith’. The account was filled with video clips and meticulously composed photos. “Today marks our five-year anniversary (also that bitch’s birthday), he flew over to spend it with me, tee hee.” The accompanying image was a Cartier bracelet. “He came to celebrate Valentine’s Day with me! Too bad it rained, so we stayed in the hotel for two days. But being with him, even doing nothing, makes me so happy.” The image showed two glasses of red wine and a nighttime view outside a window. It was the exact rainy cityscape Alaric had sent me that night. The most recent post was from this year’s Valentine’s Day. “Waaah, he spent the holidays with that bitch’s family, but it’s okay, I know he’s just putting on a show. When I finally step into the light, he’ll make it up to me every single day.” The accompanying image was a transfer screenshot: $52,000. Yet, I distinctly remembered Alaric telling me that day he wanted us to act like high school sweethearts for Valentine’s Day, and he transferred me five dollars and two cents. Someone in the comments asked her: “No offense, but aren’t you a homewrecker?” She immediately shot back: “We’ve known each other for seven years; that woman was obsessed with him, that’s why he married her. In love, the unloved one is the homewrecker.” Me, obsessed with Alaric? I am the sole heiress of the Sterling Group. Since childhood, the sons of prominent families vying for an arranged marriage with me lined up from the school gates to the airport. But Alaric and I met at an art exhibition. We clicked instantly and our feelings grew. Lilith tried to cause trouble a few times, but he always gently talked her down. I truly believed his heart was only for me. My parents disapproved of him, finding his humble background unacceptable, and firmly opposed our marriage. For his sake, I had my first major fallout with my parents. To save his pride, I even suggested we skip a lavish wedding. And what did he do? He put on a dramatic show at our wedding, his ‘first love’ supposedly taking her own life. Now, I’m the one who was obsessed with him? I immediately called my lawyer. “Please investigate Alaric’s bank accounts and print out all transactions for the past three years.” “Also, revoke that property transfer agreement.” Hanging up, I looked at the exquisite gift box on the table, containing the deed to a property. It was a luxury penthouse with breathtaking river views, located in the city’s most prime area, valued at fifty million dollars. I had thought Alaric worked hard building his business and deserved a home of his own. Now, it seems he’d be more at home in a grave. 2. The lawyer’s report landed on my desk first thing the next morning. Alaric’s various bank accounts showed cumulative transfers exceeding $23 million to a single account over the past three years. The largest transaction, a hefty $8 million, was made last December, marked as “art investment.” I recalled Alaric mentioning around that time he’d met a promising young artist and wanted to invest in a painting. Knowing his passion for art, I encouraged him to pursue it, telling him to come to me if he needed more funds. I traced the recipient of that sum to a cultural media company. The company’s legal representative was Edward Vance. Lilith’s father. My stomach churned, and I felt a wave of nausea. He used my money to dig a grave for my marriage. He used my resources to build a nest for his first love. Just as I was about to investigate the company further, my food delivery arrived. It wasn’t the iced coffee I’d ordered; it was a steamer of dumplings and a bowl of porridge, courtesy of Alaric. His voice came through gently on the phone, “Honey, are you awake? I canceled your order. Don’t always drink cold stuff, something warm is better for your stomach.” If I hadn’t seen that post, I would truly have believed he was the man who loved me most in this world. Before I could reply, he continued, “Oh, and about that apartment, could you transfer the title to me first?” “Because the client here—” I cut him off. “Actually, I was just about to tell you, I’m planning to sell that apartment.” He paused. “Sell it? Why?” I replied casually, “I think that kind of place has bad energy, not suitable for the living.” “Don’t you think it’d be more fitting as a shrine for the dead?” He clearly didn’t grasp my meaning. He let out a dry chuckle, then gently tried to coax me. “What’s wrong? Are you upset because I haven’t been with you?” “I’ll be back tonight, be a good girl, okay?” “Is it bad feng shui for the apartment? It’s okay, I don’t mind. You forgot, your husband has the strongest destiny.” I didn’t respond, just hung up the phone. I checked Lilith’s account again. She’d posted another update: “This weekend, my first solo exhibition is opening in the Southside Arts District!” The accompanying image showed a gallery, and her back to the camera. Her right hand was raised high, forming a V-sign. This photo was clearly taken by Alaric. He was never good at composition; every photo he took always captured a large patch of ground. I’d joked with him about it many times, but he never seemed to remember to change. I picked up my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t called in a long time. It was Mrs. Vance on the other end, a renowned spiritual medium in our town, famous for her elaborate supernatural rituals. Especially with All Souls’ Day approaching, her schedule was packed. I didn’t tell her the full story, only that a young woman had passed away prematurely, and I wanted to give her a grand send-off. Mrs. Vance readily agreed. “Since it’s Miss Sterling’s friend, then this old woman will certainly pull out all the stops.” “Will it be a proper ceremony? Incantations? Burning paper houses, cars, mountains of gold and silver?” I smiled. “All of it.” “She loved beauty when she was alive, so burn a hundred sets of clothes for each season. Also, replicas of famous paintings, and all four treasures of the study.” “She also loved to travel, so prepare planes, cruise ships, passports, and visas too.” “Hold it on Saturday, right outside her gallery’s first exhibition in the Southside Arts District. Make sure the whole city knows she’s gone.” Mrs. Vance, already eager for elaborate events, was thrilled at the prospect of a grand send-off, excitedly assuring me it was no problem. After hanging up, I sent Alaric a usual message. We were having dinner with both our families tomorrow, and I asked him to check in with the restaurant manager about the menu. But he didn’t know that the so-called restaurant manager was a hacker friend of mine. 3. He’d infected Alaric’s phone with a virus, allowing me to see all his messages. “My little ghost is finally stepping into the light, aren’t you excited?” “Seraphina is acting crazy today, saying she wants to sell the apartment. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her. She loves me so much, she won’t deny it to me.” “Love you, I’ll kiss you senseless when we meet.” Lilith replied: “Oh, actually, I really enjoy her visiting my grave.” “She was crying her eyes out, and I was in the car dying of laughter. Why didn’t you record it? I want to watch it every day.” I looked at the conversation, took a deep breath, and set my phone aside. Laughing, are you? You won’t be laughing for long. The next day, I arrived on time for the dinner. Alaric had suggested this gathering. His father’s kidney disease had flared up again, and he urgently needed a transplant. In Havenport, securing a specialist’s surgery slot at a top hospital without my father’s influence would mean his family waiting until the next lifetime. When he’d brought it up to me, I had, of course, readily agreed. But things were different now. At the dinner table, Alaric’s behavior was almost obsequious. He sat beside me, subtly turning towards me, picking out a piece of boneless grouper and placing it on my small plate. “Try this, it’s very fresh. You haven’t been looking well lately; eat more fish.” I didn’t touch my chopsticks, just watched him. He then spooned a small bowl of chicken soup, gently blew on it, and placed it next to my hand. “This soup was slow-cooked for four hours. You have a delicate stomach, some soup will make you feel better.” I observed him through the rising steam. The man before me was impeccably dressed in a suit, refined and scholarly. Who would have thought that just a few hours earlier, he’d sent Lilith a message saying: “Be good, just a few more days. Once Seraphina sorts out my dad’s surgery, I’ll come be with you.” I just found it incredible. This man, for another woman, could meticulously plan a fake death, weaving lies for three years, siphoning resources from me to fuel his love affair. Now, for his father’s illness, he could so naturally humble himself before me. Every morsel of food he offered, every tender word he spoke, came with a price tag attached. It was my family’s resources, my parents’ connections, my assets that he hadn’t fully plundered yet. Alaric noticed my distraction and gripped my hand, a hint of nervousness in his eyes. “Seraphina? What’s wrong? Is the soup not to your liking?” I met his gaze and smiled. “You eat too, don’t just fuss over me.” He smiled back, his eyes visibly relaxing. I stirred the chicken soup, but before I could bring it to my lips, my assistant called. “Ms. Sterling, I apologize for bothering you, but there’s been a situation at the Riverbend Hotel.” The Riverbend Hotel was one my father had gifted to me. My assistant continued, “Right now, several girls have checked into your presidential suite, taking photos and videos in the private areas. When the hotel manager tried to intervene, they claimed they were friends of the owner…” My assistant sent me photos, asking if I wanted to call the police. I opened the photos and recognized the girls from Lilith’s account. They were all her closest friends; one of them often appeared in the comment section. It seemed she was in a hurry to usurp my place. I glanced at Alaric, who was completely oblivious behind me, still diligently trying to appease my parents. I told my assistant, “It’s fine, let them be.” Let Lilith gloat for a bit. After all, she wouldn’t be making trouble for much longer.

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My twin sister and I both suffered from congenital heart disease, but there was only one suitable heart available. My parents remained silent, then locked me in a dark room. When I emerged, four of my teeth were broken, and I was covered in bruises. Finally, I relented, signing the agreement to transfer the heart. But what they didn’t know was that I didn’t give in because I was beaten into submission. It was because the silver crucifix I wore on my left wrist had cracked without warning. That silver crucifix was a gift from my grandmother, meant only for me. A cracked crucifix, a sign of impending doom. 1 “Sign it.” My father sat on the sofa, taking a deep drag from his cigarette, filling the living room with swirling smoke. I couldn’t quite make out his expression. My eyelids were swollen and bruised from the beating, forcing me to squint. “Mhm.” My hand trembled as I picked up the pen, signing my name. Due to my shaking hand, my signature was shaky and childish, almost comical. My mother stood by the balcony, wiping away tears, then timidly looked back at me. “Rowan, don’t blame your father for being so harsh. There’s only one heart. If your sister doesn’t get the surgery now, who knows when her turn will come again…” Would I get another turn? Wasn’t I your daughter too? Did I deserve to be beaten like this? These words, laced with the metallic taste of blood, were swallowed down with my saliva. In that dark room, I had already cried and screamed these questions over and over again. Meeting my mother’s gaze, she saw only coldness and blankness in my eyes. “Rowan, don’t look at me like that, it makes my heart ache… I know we’ve failed you, but your sister truly can’t wait. If she doesn’t get the surgery soon, she really will…” “Enough,” my father interjected. He glanced at me, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but his authoritative tone remained unchanged. “Your sister needs this heart more than you do! You’re old enough to be a big sister, you should be more understanding of us as parents.” “Mhm, understood.” I gathered my belongings and limped out the door. My quiet acceptance made them even more uneasy. With my old temper, I would have put up a fight for three days and three nights before giving in. But now, I was calm, not arguing, accepting the reality. Outside, I pulled the cracked silver crucifix from my pocket. This was a gift my grandmother had left specifically for me. And without my parents even touching it, it had cracked on its own, without any warning. I still remembered that summer, years ago. Grandma called me into her room, just me, and carefully pulled out this silver crucifix from her pocket. “Rowan, your parents’ favoritism, I’ve seen it, and I remember it. Take this silver crucifix; wear it always. If it ever cracks, remember, abandon everything at that moment.” “Your parents… sigh, Rowan, your grandma isn’t powerful enough to do more, but this is all I can do for you. Remember, abandon everything, don’t fight, something terrible will happen.” After Grandma spoke, there was only the endless chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs. Grandma was actually very capable. She was a fortune-teller, a feng shui master, a well-known enchantress, and she’d raised my father with her craft. On her deathbed, she saw no one else, only me. Because of this, my sister, who had always been our parents’ precious darling, stared at me with cold eyes. I knew exactly what she was jealous of—that Grandma’s final favoritism wasn’t for her, but for me. After I came out, Grandma passed away. My parents and sister gathered around me, demanding to know what Grandma had said. I smiled. “Grandma said for our family to live well, for Mom and Dad to set their hearts straight, and to stop favoring my sister.” At my words, my parents’ faces darkened. They took my sister and left, muttering that I was talking nonsense. I chuckled. Actually, that wasn’t what Grandma had said at all. 2. “Sis, your face was already big, but after Mom and Dad beat you, it looks even more like a flatbread.” My sister sat on the hospital bed, laughing, her body shaking. Her skin was like snow, her teeth bright and even, making her look like a beautiful princess. Even mocking me, she was pretty. And I sat there, like an extra, utterly unremarkable. My parents waited anxiously beside her. My mother tugged at my sleeve several times, repeatedly warning me. “When the doctor comes later, you know what to say and what not to say, right?” I nodded, watching my sister, also suffering from congenital heart disease, sitting on the bed eating fruit neatly cut by our father, while our mother massaged her shoulders. A picture of a loving, harmonious family. When the doctor arrived, my mother immediately handed over the prepared agreement to relinquish the heart, but the doctor didn’t even spare her a glance. The doctor stared at the wounds on my exposed skin, pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his expression grave. “Young lady, are you truly doing this voluntarily? If there are any issues, we can talk outside alone. I’d be happy to discuss your thoughts in depth. You’ve been waiting for this heart for a long time…” I forced a smile, which looked strained with all the bruises on my face. “I am doing this voluntarily, Doctor.” “If you give up now, it might be another three to five years before a suitable heart becomes available again. I think you should consider this carefully. If necessary, we can offer you other services…” I glanced at my parents, whose eyes were shadowed behind the doctor, and my sister, who rolled her eyes. I ignored the doctor’s subtle hints. I lowered my head. “No need, thank you. This is truly my voluntary decision.” The doctor didn’t try to persuade me further. He sighed, then finally took the agreement and left. A triumphant smile finally bloomed on my sister’s face. Even malicious thoughts looked pretty on her. “Sis, you’re so obedient.” There’s a character archetype online called a ‘femme fatale.’ My sister, Lena, fit those four words perfectly. Lena, my sister, first tested my boundaries in first grade. She hit me first, then blamed me, claiming I started it. The reason was simple: her older sister was jealous of her. My parents and teachers, without hesitation, chose to believe her. From then on, my sister successfully established a hierarchy in her mind: she was first, my parents second, and I was third. She stood out among the crowd of runny-nosed elementary school children in puffy clothes, dressed in various princess dresses prepared by our parents, garnering a host of little fans in class. And I, a year older than my sister, could only ever wear her hand-me-downs. Clothes that were one size too small always felt constricting on me, making me look like a freak in the eyes of my peers. I didn’t know why my parents could be so biased. I knew my sister was beautiful and smart, never dropping out of the top five in her grade since childhood. But I was just ordinary. I hadn’t done anything wrong. From beginning to end, I hadn’t done anything terrible; I was just ordinary. “Sis, after my heart surgery, I’m going to be healthy and go to college! Thank you for your heart. I’ll carry your dreams with me, okay?” Lena smiled sweetly at me. My heart stung, a mix of sourness and bitterness, intertwined with an indescribable complex of other emotions. My dream was that university I’d gotten into through an extraordinary effort. It was the same university Lena would attend, having performed consistently well. I also forced a smile. “Alright, you absolutely must be safe, sound, and a-live.” The tone of ‘alive’ was stretched out, sounding somewhat eerie. Lena, your words erased the last shred of guilt in my heart. 3. I carefully wrapped the cracked silver crucifix, bought a train ticket home, and brought it to Grandma’s grave. I looked at the overgrown tombstone, saying nothing. Alone, I hoed away the weeds, then laid out a pile of offerings. When the red candles had burned down a quarter of the way, a voice spoke behind me. “Young lady, has that silver crucifix cracked?” I turned around. It was a tall, spry old man. I didn’t recognize him, and casually replied, “Mhm.” The old man’s eyes were shadowed. He looked me up and down. “You… you’re old Mrs. Sterling’s granddaughter, aren’t you? So she gave you that silver crucifix. This item has quite a history; it can ward off evil and prevent great calamities. Your grandma told you that, didn’t she?” I packed my things and walked away, not saying a word. “A silver crucifix isn’t something you can just wear casually. If the one your grandma gave you really cracked, forget about a bloody disaster, something even worse might happen…” I snapped, “Get lost!” The old man seemed flustered. “You rude young lady! Hey! Did you tell your family about this broken item? It’s a sign of impending doom! I’m not joking with you!” I stopped, turning back with a wary look. I was actually considering whether to make him shut up. The best way to silence someone is to make them someone who can never speak again. Perhaps my gaze was too terrifying. The old man awkwardly shut his mouth. “Alright, alright, these young people nowadays are so angry, they won’t even listen to an old man like me…” I was about to leave, but his words made me turn back immediately. My eyes fixed on the old man’s weathered face. “You… you’re a Miller?” Old Miller nodded, raising his head with a somewhat triumphant look, squinting as he smiled. “That’s right, I’m known far and wide. Everyone in these ten villages knows me, Miller, the Elder!” Miller, the Elder, a witch of my grandma’s generation. He was very famous in the village, perhaps even more so than my grandma. But few knew they were actually fellow apprentices, a senior and junior from the same master. I smiled, revealing my stark white teeth. This graveyard was far from the village. Few people ever came here, which was why it was overgrown. Children in the village were taught from a young age never to go to this graveyard without good reason, because it was wild and remote, perfect for murder and hiding bodies. Although I had heart disease, killing an old man with limited mobility wasn’t difficult. I bludgeoned Miller to death with a stone, dragged him to a secluded dirt pit in a grove of trees, covered him with branches and weeds. If I was lucky, wild animals would find him and eat him. To buy time, I smashed Miller’s face beyond recognition. I did it without a blush or a racing heart, as calmly as if I were gutting a fish. I didn’t return to my hometown just to pay respects to my grandma. It was also for her dying words. “Rowan, after the silver crucifix cracks, if you want to live, kill three people: Miller, Evelyn, and Rose.” “Miller’s tongue, Evelyn’s eyes, Rose’s heart. Otherwise, once they’re gone, they’ll betray you.” “Rowan, Grandma wouldn’t harm you. Go, now.” I pulled a knife from my pocket, pried open his mouth, and cut out his tongue. These three people had one thing in common. They were all fellow apprentices of my grandma.

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Back in Harbor City, I never expected to run into Alexey Volkov at the Christie’s auction house. For a moment, we both froze, just a subtle twitch. Then, with unspoken agreement, we plastered on professional smiles, nodding to each other – a formal exchange utterly unlike what you’d expect from a couple who’d once torn each other apart. His eyebrows were sharp, his eyes keen. Beside him stood the same demure and pretty nanny, Vera. Behind me, my handsome and capable male secretary, Liam, was at attention. Everyone in the room held their breath, waiting. They were anticipating that I’d, as always, rush over to confront his mistress. Even Alexey’s gaze held a covert flicker of eagerness. But this time, I simply tightened my shawl, curled my lips into a faint smile, and turned away. Leaving all the love and hatred tied to my ex-husband far behind. … My heels clicked sharply on the marble floor. I hadn’t even made it out of the main hall when Alexey called out, “Ariel!” People in scattered groups began to whisper: “Mr. Volkov truly is Harbor City’s number one. One moment, he’s showering his ‘little wife’ with affection, the next he’s chasing after his ex-wife. He’s certainly got his hands full!” Alexey frowned, his gaze instinctively darting to me. I paused, turned, and spoke with a smile, “Oh, everyone’s joking. I’m merely Mr. Volkov’s ex. His current wife is standing right over there.” I gestured towards Vera’s position in the hall. Ignoring their reactions, I lifted the hem of my gown, preparing to leave. But Alexey caught up to me in a few strides, grabbing my arm. “Five years, Ariel… Can we talk?” I took a step back, widening the distance between us. “Mr. Volkov, let’s discuss it at the summit.” I pulled my hand free, turned, and didn’t spare him another glance. His eager calls continued, but my pace never faltered. In that moment, my relationship with Alexey seemed to have completely reversed. After five years, he was no longer the man I’d once loved with such fervent passion, the one who’d kept my heart in constant turmoil. My secretary, Liam, was perceptive. The moment we got into the car, he handed me a lit cigarette. I raised an eyebrow. He smiled obediently. “You always like one when you’re troubled, Ms. Summers.” I lost myself in the curling wisps of smoke. In all those countless nights I’d waited for Alexey, I’d gotten through it one cigarette after another. Eventually, I broke free from the man, but the habit of smoking remained. Now, he mattered less to me than this single cigarette. I said nothing, letting the Pagani drive us all the way to the hillside hotel. Liam didn’t intend to let me relax, though. He brought over a stack of files and spread them before me. “Ms. Summers, this is the proposal for Volkov Group’s bidding conference the day after tomorrow…” Opening the folder, I saw reports on the Volkov Group’s projects and financial statements. Whap! I slammed it shut, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Them.” “Volkov Financial is indeed the top firm in Harbor City. I hear Mr. Volkov made it to the Top 3 of international wealth lists at a young age – a true business prodigy. But, he was almost ‘kidnapped’ by his ex-wife later on.” Liam took the folder, his eyes lingering on me hesitantly. “You… were you really… that…” I nodded, my eyelids unmoving, my voice as calm as still water: “Yes, I am that ex-wife. The one who nearly took him down with dynamite.” A long time ago, even the mere thought of Alexey Volkov’s name would leave me gasping for air. But now, I could hold a glass of wine and recount it all as if it were someone else’s story. The Summers and Volkov families were old friends, and Alexey and I had practically grown up together. To call us childhood sweethearts wouldn’t be an exaggeration. The young boy, usually so serious with others, would flash his adorable fangs just for me. If I faked a sore foot, he’d bend down and carry me for miles, never complaining, even when his heels blistered. But the Volkov family was a viper’s nest of intrigue. After his parents died in a car accident, Alexey, being too young, was cut out of the line of succession. His older siblings even tried to orchestrate his demise, nearly leaving him dead on the streets. The Summers family initially wanted no part in the mess. It was I who knelt and begged my parents to intervene, to send Alexey abroad. Just before he boarded the plane, his eyes red, he clung to me, weeping, refusing to let go. “Ariel, you’re destined to be my bride, this lifetime and forever!” “Call me shameless, call me despicable, but you’re not allowed to like anyone else these next few years. I’ll come back, and I’ll marry you!” I choked back tears, nodding. My nails bit deep into my palms as I fought the urge to follow him. While he was abroad, I wasn’t idle. I collected reports on the Volkov empire and tirelessly built connections for him. Five years later, after Alexey had become a top trader on Wall Street, He returned home, laden with honors. In less than three years, he systematically exposed the crimes of his siblings and the old guard who had once scorned him, rooting them out completely. I was so naive, so foolish back then. I’d tugged on his hand and playfully asked, “Alexey, will you ever be so ruthless with me?” That night, the moon hung high. His eyes, it seemed, held an entire galaxy. “Silly girl! How could they ever compare to you?” “Thank you for never giving up on me, for always being there. You are my treasure, my everything, for the rest of my life!” “Whether I’m Alexey Volkov or the CEO of Volkov Group, you will always be my only one!” His sweet words, hot like his touch, seared themselves into my heart, leaving me utterly disoriented. In the end, it was my personal assistant who even told me about his affair. Liam’s wine glass slipped from his grasp and shattered, the crimson liquid staining the entire carpet. He didn’t bother to clean up the spilled wine, his expression urgent as he pressed, “Ms. Summers, you’re the Summers family heir, rich and beautiful. Marrying you meant inheriting the Summers fortune. The news reports back then said you brought hundreds of millions in dowry to your wedding! Alexey must have lost his mind to cheat on you!” I exhaled a smoke ring, smiling dismissively. Perhaps, that was why I was so unwilling to let go back then. I was raised as an heir from childhood. My suitors lined up from across the country to abroad, some for my wealth, some for my beauty. But I poured my heart out only to Alexey. In our circles, having mistresses was commonplace. Some dallied with young models, others with celebrities, and some were even open to both. But they were all fresh, beautiful faces, and none of those men were Alexey. Yet, I took a deep drag. The suffocating bitterness filling my lungs was exhaled along with the smoke. No one could have guessed. The CEO who swore I was his only one, was having an affair with his housekeeper. A demure, voluptuous woman, completely under his control. Liam’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How is that possible? Ms. Summers, wasn’t there some misunderstanding?” I scoffed. See? Another unbeliever. Just like I was back then. How could I, the esteemed Summers heiress, the CEO of a thriving corporation, lose to a housekeeper? I searched through all of Alexey’s properties, but found no sign of her. It wasn’t until I arrived at the Sunshine Mountain Villa—a Volkov family ancestral estate that Alexey had refused to let me use as our marital home. Yet now, it had become a private love nest for his mistress. The moment I smashed open the front door, Alexey happened to be returning from an overseas business trip. He blocked my path, his face etched with a pained expression. “Ariel, let me explain.” Seeing my cold demeanor, he dropped to his knees at my feet, eyes rimmed red, grabbing at the hem of my dress as he began to explain. That year he went to the States, he couldn’t stomach the salads and sandwiches. His stomach had gone bad, bleeding constantly. He was interning and studying at the same time, stretched thin. It was Victoria, the housekeeper who had cared for him since childhood, who quit her well-paying job at the ancestral home. She traveled across the ocean, acting like a mother hen, taking care of him. When he was at his lowest, she was there. When he got his first commission and desperately wanted to share it with someone, she was there too. “I consider Victoria family… Really, you have to believe me!” “Then why didn’t you ever mention her during our video calls?” I pouted, though deep down, I’d started to believe him a little. He sprang to his feet and pulled me into an embrace. His fractured gaze held the sorrow of being doubted. “You were studying and gathering intel for me on the Volkov Group back then. How could I bear to burden you further?” “Victoria has looked after me for over a decade in the old house; she’s like an older sister to me. That’s why I let her live in this house…” Perhaps it was Victoria’s gentle nature. Perhaps it was my inherent self-confidence. Alexey’s few words completely dispelled my doubts. From then on, I treated her like an older sister too. Luxury jewelry sets flowed into her wardrobe as if they cost nothing. Each time, she’d politely refuse, saying she wasn’t worthy. Then she’d express profound gratitude, telling me I was a kind and beautiful wife, and that Alexey was incredibly fortunate to have married me. Pleased, I’d often bring her along, hoping she’d gain some worldly experience. She’d blush with excitement, saying she’d lovingly care for my future children. Later, she kept her word. Except her dedicated care was entirely focused on the marital bed between Alexey and me. The stark, crimson sheets, the dull thud as their bodies separated. Like a bomb, it detonated all my reason. All thoughts of being a socialite. All pretense of composure. Forgotten. I charged at Alexey like a madwoman, scratching and clawing. He stood there, pale-faced, letting me strike and curse him. Until I slapped Victoria several times. He couldn’t take it anymore. Shielding the woman behind him, he glared at me with clenched fists for the first time. “Have you had enough?! If you have a problem, come at me, don’t bully Victoria!” Victoria’s tearful whimpers from behind him completely turned Alexey’s eyes red. He threw caution to the wind, sneering at me, “Since you’ve found out, I have nothing to say. You can either continue to be Mrs. Volkov…” “Or you can leave with your shares. I’ll compensate you!” In that moment. All vows, all those years of childhood friendship. They were all a joke. My eyes red, I grabbed his collar, desperately demanding an answer. He pried my fingers off, one by one, sighing softly: “Ariel, you need to be more understanding.” “Victoria isn’t a threat to you… and I, I can’t live without her.” I had loved him for over a decade. I poured the entire Summers family fortune into helping him reclaim the Volkov Group, only to be met with “I can’t live without her.” I couldn’t swallow that insult. I began to hound them, spreading their sordid affair throughout our social circles. Alexey, heartbroken that Victoria was being branded a “mistress,” secretly stripped me of 10% of my Volkov Group shares. He also colluded with the Summers family elders to remove me from the board. And froze all my bank accounts. I went from being the esteemed CEO of Summers Inc. to a discarded Volkov wife, deemed inept and wasteful. Alexey didn’t stop there. He coldly sent a message: “If you don’t quiet down, I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life!” Having lived a life of smooth sailing for over two decades. Neither my feelings nor my dignity could tolerate his betrayal. I became frantic, hiring paparazzi to track them. My former close friends turned around and advised me. “She’s just a housekeeper, he’s just playing around!” But the next day, all my shares, assets, and positions were transferred to Victoria’s name. He even arranged for the hospital to release a false diagnosis, claiming I had contracted a venereal disease due to promiscuity. Countless high-definition videos and photos flooded the internet. Everyone called me a debauched hussy, a rotten slut who only pretended to be a lady. I finally broke down. Crying, I called my parents, who were abroad. Until their private jet crashed into the sea, killing them both. For a long time after my voice faded, the room remained in dead silence. Liam’s lips were tightly pressed, his eyes burning with anger. “Ms. Summers, how… how did you get through it?” His hands trembled so much he couldn’t light the cigarette. I just held it tightly between my fingers. As soon as the news of my parents’ deaths broke, Alexey’s demeanor completely changed. He played the dutiful son-in-law, helping me arrange their funerals. Everyone in Harbor City praised him. They called him a virtuous man, a wonderful husband and son-in-law, a true rarity. Meanwhile, I was utterly cast as the immoral madwoman in everyone’s eyes. It was then that Alexey, holding a pregnancy test report, softened his stance towards me. “Ariel, we’re having a baby. Let’s stop this… okay?” “This child will take your surname, Summers, to carry on the family name.” After my parents’ accident, I lived with daily guilt. If it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t have chartered a private jet home. I was the one who killed them. The arrival of this child felt like a lifeline. It pulled me out of the despair of losing my parents. I became silent, but day by day, my anticipation for this child grew. And Alexey seemed to have broken off contact with Victoria. He canceled all his social engagements, and after work, he’d stay by my side, smiling as he watched me do prenatal exercises. My smiles seemed to grow more frequent. Our relationship also appeared to be improving. Until three months later, Victoria walked into the Volkov mansion, her hand on her belly. She slammed that pregnancy test report onto my face with a smack. Gone was her former facade of gentle obedience, replaced by a twisted, sharp smile: “Ariel Summers, you truly are a fool! Three months, and you still haven’t realized you’re not really pregnant!” My first reaction was to retort, “Impossible!” She grabbed my hair, rubbing the pregnancy report viciously across my face. The sharp edges poked my eyes, and I trembled in pain, but she laughed maliciously: “Look closely! This pregnancy report is mine! It just has your name written on it!” “You’re lying!” My face was pale, my voice shaking uncontrollably. “I have a child! He’s my parents’ continuation, and he’ll take the Summers name!” I screamed, my voice raw, tears streaming down my face. “Don’t be stupid! Alexey just used my child to trick you!” She pulled out videos, flipping through them one by one for me to see. It turned out Alexey accompanied her to prenatal check-ups every weekend. The humble street food stalls he once deemed beneath him, he now visited hand-in-hand with Victoria. He was no longer the high and mighty CEO of Volkov Group; he’d even roll up his sleeves to massage Victoria’s legs and feet. True love, perhaps. All the experiences I’d missed out on for over a decade, he had given to Victoria. My gaze fell upon my still-flat belly. It felt as if my very core had been shattered. Suppressing the heartache, I laughed through my tears. But it wasn’t over. Victoria suddenly pulled a family tree from her bag, spreading it before me. She pointed to a name with a smile, reminding me: “See this Alexander Volkov? My son! Alexey’s eldest son, whom I bore him overseas!” Then she pointed to her belly: “And this one is the second.” Her laughter was soft and gentle. Yet it struck me like an executioner’s axe. Chopping down from above. My heartstrings snapped. I glared at her, then tilted my head back, spewing a mouthful of dark blood. And softly collapsed. When I next awoke, I was back in my bedroom. Alexey’s eyes were bloodshot, staring intently at me. His lips moved several times, but nothing came out. Ignoring him, I reached for the drawer. I pulled out the tiny bomb I’d hidden for so long, tugged the detonator, and rasped, “Alexey, let’s get a divorce.”

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1 Before the wedding, my adopted sister, Serena Davies, hit my brother with her car, leaving him in a vegetative state. My fiancé, Sam Ford, a lawyer, not only didn’t blame her but actually became her defense attorney. I raised hell, demanding she go to jail, only to become the laughingstock of the city. In my brokenness, my sworn enemy, Harrison Blackwood, proposed to me, promising to be my only support. I said yes. Later, he personally ensured Serena was sent to prison. But in the fifth year of our marriage, I unexpectedly saw him talking to my brother, Ethan, who was supposed to be in a coma. “Bro-in-law, if Serena couldn’t have kids, you wouldn’t have had to orchestrate this whole scheme to trick Ariel into marrying you, making her a surrogate for Serena!” “It’s fine. My marriage certificate with Ariel is fake; the one with Serena is real.” “When Ariel gives birth, I’ll make sure the child calls Serena ‘Mother.’” It turned out the happiness I thought I had was nothing but a deception from start to finish. I’d risked everything to get justice for my brother, only to find it was all one-sided! I was the one who needed to leave. … My hand froze in mid-air as I was about to push open the hospital room door. A chill spread through my body; I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Inside the room, Harrison Blackwood gazed at photos of Serena’s trip on his phone, a deeply regretful look on his face. “Seeing her happy and carefree makes these five years of acting for Ariel worthwhile.” “Once the baby inside her is born, this fake marriage should end.” My brother, Ethan Davies, lay in the hospital bed, snorting dismissively: “Ariel really thinks you love her. She even handed over all the shares Mom and Dad left her. But what if she finds out this was all our plan?” Harrison paused, a flicker of coldness in his eyes: “Then she’ll never know. Five years have passed; Serena should be out of prison soon.” “Besides, plenty of women die in the delivery room.” Ethan froze for a moment, then praised, “Bro-in-law, you’re still the smartest.” I recoiled, my hand clenching, the pregnancy diagnosis I’d just received falling to the floor. Harrison had distinctly told me he’d sent Serena to prison. It was all a lie! Ethan’s car accident was fake, Serena’s reckless driving and conviction were fake too. Everything was just a setup to make me bear a child for her, because she couldn’t! And all of it, orchestrated by the husband I loved to my very core! His tenderness, his loyalty, his devotion to me alone – it was all just a facade for his true love. For five years, I’d been living in the web of lies they’d spun. How ridiculous. Footsteps echoed from inside the room; Harrison was getting up. I quickly spun around, scooped up the diagnosis, and stumbled down the hallway. Tears streamed down my face as I ran. Once far from the hospital, I sank to the ground, taking a long time to compose myself. I don’t know how long passed before I carefully tucked the pregnancy diagnosis into my bag, hailed a cab, and returned home. After telling the housekeeper she could leave, I was alone in the house. I looked at the decorations, each one carefully chosen by us, and let out a bitter laugh. Not long ago, Harrison had held me close, his voice soft, “Ariel, let’s have a baby.” My health wasn’t great to begin with, but for his wish, I sought out specialists everywhere to improve my physical condition. I drank traditional herbal medicine like water, and acupuncture was a daily ritual. I finally conceived, only to discover the truth. I sat on the sofa until dusk. Then, footsteps sounded outside the door. The lights came on, and Harrison walked in. Seeing me on the sofa, he hugged me tenderly, “Why are you sitting in the dark?” I shook my head, subtly avoiding him. “Just woke up. Was waiting for you to come home.” Harrison didn’t suspect anything, kissing my forehead. “Ariel, you need to take good care of yourself, or I’ll feel guilty.” His tone was as gentle as ever. But I felt no warmth in my heart, only that he was an excellent actor. Why could he go to such lengths, for Serena, with someone he didn’t love? I leaned against Harrison’s chest, and his casual words echoed in my ear: “Wife, Serena is getting out of prison soon. After all, you two were sisters for over a decade, and she’s paid her penance. Maybe it’s time to let it go?” My eyes welled up, but I forced myself to speak: “You said it yourself, she and I are sisters. I won’t blame her anymore.” Harrison visibly relaxed, a smile touching his eyes: “I knew my Ariel was the kindest. Tonight, your husband will cook for you personally.” Watching him walk into the kitchen, I turned my head to wipe away my falling tears. Just then, Harrison’s phone on the table buzzed with a notification. I picked it up and unlocked it. The password was Serena’s birthday. On his private messaging app, the message was from one of Harrison’s inner circle: [Blackwood, your wife is returning tomorrow. The guys have prepared all the gifts you wanted.] The image showed acres of rose fields he’d bought out, and a new jewelry collection worth a billion from a top auction house. Scrolling further up, I discovered the truth. Every time Harrison had been away on business or working late, he’d actually been flying abroad to be with Serena. His friends were all in on it, covering for him. I clicked on Harrison’s social media, and what met my eyes were countless photos of Serena and him. Announcing their marriage, travel photos, kissing… The comments below were from people we both knew. Only I had been blocked from seeing them. My heart felt like it was tearing apart. I dug my nails into my arm, forcing myself to stay calm. Five years of marriage, and apart from our wedding photos, we didn’t have a single picture together. I’d always thought Harrison disliked taking photos. Turns out, it was just that he disliked taking photos with me. I let out a self-deprecating laugh, placing the phone back where it was. I didn’t want this marriage anymore. And Harrison, and this so-called family, I didn’t want them either. 2 After dinner, I bought a plane ticket for seven days later, heading out of the country, and booked the soonest possible abortion appointment. Seven days. That was enough time to say goodbye to this marriage. While Harrison showered, I found our marriage certificate. Looking at the vivid red cover, the official seal of the registrar’s office inside. Anyone would think it was real. My eyes grew moist. Just as I was about to put it away, Harrison’s questioning voice sounded behind me: “Ariel, what are you doing with the marriage certificate?” I calmly put it down, smiling. “It was a bit dusty. I just took it out to wipe it.” Harrison saw my reddened eyes, and his own flashed with concern. He came over, took the certificate, placed it in the cabinet, and hugged me. “You should let the housekeeper handle things like this.” I said nothing. Harrison was about to linger a bit longer when his phone rang suddenly. “Wife, I have to deal with something at the office. You go to bed after you’re done showering.” With that, he took his phone and went to his study. After I had showered, I was drying my hair when I passed the study door. I heard Harrison’s soft, cooing voice: “Serena, you’ll be in Capital City tomorrow. Your husband has a big surprise for you.” Serena replied sweetly, her voice soft, “Really? Thank you, hubby. But what about Ariel?” I felt Harrison’s mood instantly darken. He said in a cold voice: “You are my wife. Ariel is just your surrogate.” A chill settled deep in my heart. On the phone, Serena laughed twice, then chided him playfully, “Don’t say that about Ariel.” Harrison’s voice was so soft it could drip with sweetness: “Serena, you’re too kind.” I couldn’t bear to listen anymore. Suppressing the bitterness, I returned to my room. When Harrison came back, he saw I was already in bed. He didn’t disturb me, climbing in and gently holding me as he lay down. But I barely slept a wink that night. Early the next morning, Harrison held me tightly, reluctantly saying, “Wife, the company is very busy today. I won’t be back tonight to be with you.” “Your husband will make it up to you later.” I smiled. “It’s fine.” He had truly planned it well, all to keep me from finding out about Serena. But this five-year deception, I wasn’t going to let it continue. Especially since Harrison intended for me to die in childbirth. After he left, I grabbed the marriage certificate and went out. Arriving at the civil affairs office, I handed the marriage certificate to the clerk: “Could you help me check if there’s anything wrong with this marriage certificate?” The clerk frowned, her expression complicated as she looked at me. “Miss, this official seal is fake, so your marriage certificate has no legal validity.” Even though I already knew the outcome, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. But at least this saved me the trouble of divorce. I then went to the immigration office, applied for emigration, and canceled my identification documents. “Ms. Davies, this means you won’t be traceable anymore.” I shook my head. “It’s fine.” After I finished everything, I suddenly remembered that Harrison was throwing a welcome party for Serena today. I followed the address I’d seen yesterday and found the rose field. As soon as I arrived, I saw Harrison, surrounded by an adoring crowd, kissing Serena. Among those gathered were not only his friends but also company employees. “So this is Mrs. Blackwood! She’s truly beautiful, and so elegant. No wonder Mr. Blackwood is so utterly smitten!” “Did you see the necklace on her neck? It’s one of a kind in the world. I personally saw Mr. Blackwood pick it out.” “I heard Mr. Blackwood and his wife were childhood sweethearts. Such love is truly enviable.” Someone else questioned, “But I’ve seen Mrs. Blackwood before, and she didn’t look like this?” “Heh, I heard it through the grapevine a while ago. That’s the wife’s older sister, and rumor has it she’s been desperately clinging to Mr. Blackwood.” I just found it laughable. Five years of marriage, yet in everyone’s eyes, no one knew I was Harrison Blackwood’s wife. Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard Ethan’s voice: “Ariel, you’re finally back. I missed you so much. You have no idea how disgusting it was facing Ariel Summers every day…” Suddenly, an inexplicable bitterness welled up in my nose. Five years ago, I fought with Serena and my former fiancé to get him justice, becoming the laughingstock of the entire capital city. But in the end, he treated me like a stranger. In the rose field, Ethan was whining to Serena. I walked closer, making my way to the front amidst everyone’s astonished gazes, and suppressing my hurt, asked: “Ethan, why are you here?” 3 Instant silence. Shock flashed in Harrison’s eyes. Ethan, even more panicked, couldn’t utter a word. Once he recovered, Harrison hurriedly asked: “Ariel? How did you come here? Don’t misunderstand, Serena just got out today, and Ethan woke up, so we just thought we’d throw her a welcome party…” Everyone around them had already dispersed. After all, for five years, Harrison, worried that others would know Serena had been to prison, had always claimed she was abroad. I smiled. “Well, that’s just wonderful.” “Ariel, long time no see. I was so foolish back then.” Serena said, choking up, her tearful expression drawing sympathy. She was wearing a high-fashion gown, her makeup flawless. There was no sign she’d ever been to prison. Ethan immediately stepped in front of her, glaring at me defensively: “Don’t you dare target Serena! I don’t blame her for what happened back then, so what right do you have to decide for me!?” Watching his anxious expression, I couldn’t help but laugh. Serena always knew how to make herself out to be the victim. She did it when she was adopted by Mom and Dad, making me look bad at home. As we grew up, she continued to manipulate everyone around me, making them believe I bullied her. I took a deep breath, replying calmly, “I just heard there was a lively event here today. I didn’t realize it was you all. Since it’s a welcome party, I won’t disturb you.” I turned to leave. Harrison, thinking I was throwing a tantrum, rushed after me and grabbed my arm: “Ariel, don’t be angry. I was just worried about Serena, a young woman, suffering in prison…” “Five years have passed, and Ethan is fine, isn’t he? You should let it go too.” Harrison’s self-deceiving justification only struck me as hypocritical. He’d lied so much, he’d actually started believing it himself. Who was he putting on a show for now? “I’m not angry. I said it’s in the past, and I won’t hold a grudge anymore.” I thoughtfully straightened Harrison’s tie. “Go on, I’m heading home first.” Harrison hugged me, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. “I knew my wife was the most understanding. Get some good rest.” He instructed the driver to take me home, specifically saying he’d be back to accompany me tonight. I just nodded and agreed. Once home, I packed away all our couple items, throwing mine into the trash. Then I took down the wedding photos, cut Harrison and me apart, and burned them in the fire. I pulled out my suitcase, waiting only for my immigration application to be approved, then I would leave Capital City forever. That evening, until midnight. Harrison stood me up again. I had already anticipated it, so there wasn’t much of a ripple in my heart. Early the next morning, the obstetrics and gynecology department reminded me it was time for my appointment. I arrived at the hospital and got straight to the point: “I want an abortion.” The doctor looked at my report and frowned slightly: “This pregnancy wasn’t easy for you. If you terminate it, your chances of getting pregnant again might be very low. Please discuss it with the baby’s father.” I remembered seeing Serena’s social media post on the way to the hospital. It was at a hotel. One picture showed their candlelight dinner last night; another showed their hands intertwined on the hotel bed. Even though the man’s face wasn’t visible. The wedding ring on his right hand immediately revealed it was Harrison. I came back to myself, offering the doctor a bitter smile: “No need. The baby’s father is dead.”

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My grandmother is the richest woman in the country, and I’m her only granddaughter. Yet, my two older brothers allowed their trophy girlfriend to impersonate me. Before the start of the group’s centennial celebration, Mia Turner had already taken her place in the seat reserved for the CEO’s daughter, feigning politeness as she spoke to me. “Oh, dear~ if the boys hadn’t insisted on bringing you to see the world, a poor student like you would never step foot inside the Zenith Group’s doors.” “Later, remember to be sensible. Don’t cause me any trouble, or the boys will surely beat you to a cripple.” In my previous life, I was intimidated by my brothers, timid and weak, always yielding to Mia. But now, I’ve been reborn. Watching Mia still spouting nonsense, I simply raised my foot and kicked her back three feet. “What do you think you are? Trash, daring to lecture me!” 1 My audacious act immediately drew everyone’s attention. My elder brother, Alexander, instantly rushed to cradle Mia, his face etched with concern. My second brother, Benjamin, then raised his hand and slapped me twice. Seeing their pampered trophy girlfriend kicked away by me, both brothers were beside themselves with distress. They glared at me, seething. “Alexa Summers, you must have a death wish, daring to lay a hand on our sister!” Looking at my two aggressive brothers, I realized how foolish I’d been to ever imagine they felt any familial affection for me. I pointed at Mia, who was still cradled in their arms, and mocked loudly. “She’s just a little ‘sister’ you’re both keeping as a mistress. Am I, the group’s heiress, the CEO’s own granddaughter, not entitled to hit her?” At my words, Alexander instantly flared up, shoving me back to the ground. “Alexa Summers, Mia was kind enough to fund your education, yet here you are, spouting nonsense.” “Everyone here, listen up! Mia is my grandmother’s true granddaughter, the daughter of Zenith Group!” I looked at Alexander in disbelief. “She’s my grandmother’s granddaughter? The daughter of Zenith Group?” “Alexander, how dare you say such a thing? You truly have no shame!” Benjamin’s eyes darted around, then he looked at me with disdain. “Alexa Summers, did you forget to take your medication today? Are you having an episode?” Mia, meanwhile, began to sob theatrically. “It’s all my fault. I knew Alexa had a mental illness, but I still brought her here.” Their twisted conversation, where they completely inverted the truth, was heard clearly by everyone in the hall. Instantly, everyone around me looked at me with contempt. “So Alexa Summers is just a poor student sponsored by the young lady, no wonder she’s dressed so shabbily.” “The young lady is truly pure and kind, to sponsor someone so mentally ill and twisted.” Alexander then called for the group’s assistant, Mr. Davies. “Take Alexa Summers out of here. From now on, she’s not allowed to step foot in the group’s building without my permission.” I looked at Mr. Davies, who was approaching me with security guards. “Uncle Davies, you were a veteran beside my father. How can you not tell who the real CEO’s daughter is?” Mr. Davies immediately stopped, frozen in place. “I… I…” Benjamin glared at him with clear displeasure. “Uncle Davies, my elder brother is the future heir of the group. Are you defying his orders now, or do you want to pack your bags and get out?” Mr. Davies instantly turned pale with fright. He looked at me uneasily. “Miss, I have elderly parents and young children to support; I rely on this job. Please don’t make it difficult for me. Please come with me outside.” With that, Mr. Davies motioned for the security guards to quickly drag me away. Looking at the several people surrounding me, I picked up a vase from the table and threw it hard. “I am not only the CEO’s daughter of Zenith Group, I am also the group’s sole heiress. Dare to touch me, and you’ll regret it!” 2 The shattering sound of the vase and my furious shout echoed through the entire banquet hall. Hearing my words, everyone around me scoffed. “She must be seriously ill. First, she claims to be the CEO’s granddaughter, and now the group’s heiress? Absolutely ridiculous.” “Exactly. Even if she were the CEO’s actual granddaughter, it wouldn’t fall to a woman to inherit the group. After all, the CEO has two biological grandsons.” Looking at my two still arrogant brothers, I directly challenged them. “Alexander, are you sure you and Benjamin have any claim to inheritance?” Benjamin’s eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his composure, tugging at Alexander’s sleeve. “Alexander, today is a joyous occasion. Later, all the family elders will be here. Perhaps we should just let it go?” Seeing Benjamin’s reaction, I knew he was remembering his origins and was starting to get scared. After all, my grandmother, the richest woman in this country, only gave birth to my mother. After my mother’s passing, I was her only biological granddaughter. My two brothers were merely the orphaned children of my father’s younger brother. After their parents died, my father, unable to bear seeing his nephews suffer outside, brought them into the Summers family. So they shared no blood relation with my mother or grandmother and could absolutely not inherit Zenith Group, which my biological grandmother had founded. But Alexander ignored my words, instead glaring at Benjamin with a deep frown. “She just laid a hand on Mia. Are you seriously going to let Mia suffer this indignity?” “Alexa Summers, it seems your illness has worsened. Should we just have Mr. Davies send you to a mental institution for treatment?” The mention of a mental institution sent a surge of pure hatred through my chest. I remembered the agony of being bled and flayed by Mia in the mental asylum in my previous life. Yes, in my past life, Alexander and Benjamin, in their desperate attempts to win Mia’s affection, had both, without exception, conspired against me and harmed me. Mia, who was studying medicine, always had a peculiar fascination. She wanted to personally observe the differences in anatomical structure between living and dead bodies. And after my two brothers learned of this, they collaborated with Mia to dissect me alive. Despite growing up with my brothers, living together in the Summers family for 18 years. Yet, to please Mia, they not only allowed her to impersonate me, but also daily concocted ways to help Mia torment me. Now, I understood. In my brothers’ eyes, familial bonds were meaningless; only romantic love held true importance for them. But now I was curious, when love and power were placed side by side, which would my two brothers choose? Thinking of this, I let out a cold laugh. “I’ll ask you one last time, who is the CEO’s daughter and heir of Zenith Group?” Before my two brothers could even open their mouths, Chloe Green, the daughter of a partner of the group, rushed forward and slapped me. “This is outrageous! You, a sponsored poor student, dare to act out in Zenith Group’s premises? Look at yourself, you don’t belong!” I knew Chloe Green. She secretly adored my older brother, Alexander, and constantly fantasized about marrying him and becoming the future chairman’s wife of the group. Ever since she heard Mia Turner was the CEO’s granddaughter and the daughter of Zenith Group, she had been fawning over Mia for the past two months, running errands for her. She wanted to establish a good sister-in-law relationship early on, to leave Alexander with the impression of a virtuous wife. Too bad she was flattering the wrong person. Mia was not only not the Zenith Group’s CEO’s daughter, but she was also Chloe’s love rival, my older brother’s secretly kept mistress for years. I wasn’t about to take Chloe Green’s slap for nothing, so I raised my foot and kicked her hard in the stomach. “What do you think you are? The daughter of a third-rate company daring to lay a hand on me! One word from me, and your family goes bankrupt instantly.” Chloe clutched her stomach in pain, looking at me in disbelief. “Alexa Summers, you actually dared to kick me! My mom and dad never even dared to yell at me, not once in my life!” “You just wait, I won’t let you get away with this.” Mia remorsefully took Chloe’s hand. “Chloe, don’t bother with her. She’s not mentally stable. I apologize on her behalf.” I looked at Mia with disdain, sneering. “I think you’re the one with a screw loose. Why act as a common mistress when you could be a high-class one? And why pretend to be the group’s CEO’s daughter at such an important event?” I turned to my two brothers, pointed towards the door, and said coldly. “Oh, since you two insist on playing dress-up with your mistress, then take your little ‘sister’ and get out of my company!” 3 My two brothers’ faces turned ashen as they glared at me. “Alexa Summers, let me tell you, we hold real power in this group. You’re still just a student. You’re the one who needs to leave!” “What’s going on? Why are you all standing here instead of taking your seats?” A distinguished, elegant middle-aged man pushed his way through the crowd. He was Marcus Summers, the CEO of Zenith Group, and my biological father. But he hurried to Mia, raising his hand to wipe away the tears from her eyes. “Mia, don’t cry~ Who’s been bullying you?” “Tell me quickly, and I’ll take care of them right now!” Alexander angrily pointed at me: “Besides this ignorant little brat, Alexa Summers, who else would dare to bully Mia right under my nose?” My father heard him and slapped me hard across the face. “Alexa Summers, I truly gave you too much freedom. You dare to abuse your power and bully Mia.” “Now, apologize to Mia on your knees immediately, or you won’t get any allowance for the next year.” Looking at my father, who was blaming me without any clear understanding, my eyes filled with disappointment. Sure enough, my father was still the same as in my previous life, blindly favoring Mia along with my two brothers. Although I had long anticipated it, my heart still couldn’t help but ache. Before, I never understood. I was clearly my father’s daughter, while Mia was just a plaything for my two brothers. But after my father met Mia, he became obsessed with her, treating her exceptionally well. Especially after discovering both my brothers had been supporting Mia as their mistress, my father exploded in fury, whipping both brothers for an entire day and night. When I saw my brothers being beaten, I even ran over to plead with my father, defending them. But I was accidentally hit with two lashes, and those two whip scars are still on my arm to this day. Afterward, my father not only stopped my brothers from continuing to support Mia, but he also used his connections to send Mia to the best university in the country. What’s more, my father even told my two brothers. If they truly loved Mia, they should compete fairly and try their best to marry her. And the one who successfully married Mia would be the heir to my father’s fortune. In my previous life, my father’s unusual behavior made me very curious, so I secretly investigated Mia’s background. Later, I learned that Mia was actually the daughter of my father’s first love. Mia looked very much like her mother; my father recognized her the first time he saw her. The destructive power of a deceased first love was truly formidable; a similar face could firmly capture my father’s heart. It was pitiful for my mother, who died of illness, never knowing that my father harbored another woman in his heart. Thinking of this, I looked at my father with sarcasm. “I will not apologize!” “But since my two brothers say Mia is their sister and the CEO’s daughter of Zenith Group, shouldn’t Father offer an explanation to everyone?” Hearing this, Mia immediately looked at my father with a pained expression, knowing he hated seeing her cry. Sure enough, seeing Mia crying so beautifully, my father immediately slapped me twice again. “Explain what? They’re right, Mia is my dear daughter, the CEO’s daughter of Zenith Group.” Looking at my father, who was telling blatant lies, I directly yelled at him. “Marcus Summers, do you think this is fair to my deceased mother? Do you dare to lay your hand on your heart and repeat what you just said?” My father ignored my words, turning to my two brothers. “Go throw this trash out, this one who bullied your sister.” Looking at my cold and heartless father, my heart was a mix of emotions. Heh, this was the man my mother loved her entire life? This was my biological father, whom I had admired for 18 years since childhood? I doubt my mother ever imagined, before her death, that the two sons she kindly adopted would harm her beloved daughter for the sake of a mistress. And that her own husband would not only fail to protect his biological daughter but would also drive her out of the house for the child of his first love. In this moment, I truly felt sorrow for myself and for my deceased mother. I lifted my head, meeting my father’s gaze directly, and said coldly. “This is my family’s Zenith Group. It’s not for outsiders like you to swagger around here!” I deliberately emphasized “my family’s” with extra force. The words had barely left my lips when my father completely erupted in rage. He signaled my two brothers to rush forward, holding me down firmly so I couldn’t move. “Yours? That’s utterly ridiculous!” My father then walked behind me, grabbing my hair, and violently slammed my forehead against the glass wall of the hall. “I’ve been managing Zenith Group all these years. Why can’t it be my Marcus Summers’s? Why can’t I decide the heir?” I fought back tears, firmly shouting, “Zenith Group belongs to my grandmother! I am the group’s only heir!” Thump, thump, thump, the moment my words ended, my forehead was shoved against the glass wall again. My father continued to roar at me, “Alexa Summers, stop dreaming! I gave Zenith Group to Mia as a dowry last year! Whoever marries Mia will inherit Zenith Group!” My father’s words stunned everyone present, and their gazes at Mia grew even more intense. Just then, an aged, sharp female voice came from behind me. “Marcus Summers, dare you say that again? Who is the heir of Zenith Group?”

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I was the chosen shield for the ruthless gang lord’s beloved. Three years into our marriage, I was kidnapped by his enemies for the eighth time. Ace arrived with his men to rescue me. The negotiation lasted barely five minutes before the young girl’s call came through. “Ace, my dare game led to a kiss, but I want to save my first kiss for you.” “Can you come to me?” The moment Ace turned to leave without hesitation, the knife plunged into my abdomen, blood gushing out. His men, just like the seven times before, paid them off and then sent me to the hospital. In the ambulance, I vaguely overheard someone speculating if I’d live to see the day that girl could stand on her own. They burst into laughter, while I wept silently. The mission to save the gang lord had failed, and the system was about to erase me. Ace, I won’t make it to that day. 1 The doctor sighed softly beside my ear. “Ms. Spiller, your uterus was already damaged from your last miscarriage, and now it’s been stabbed in that very spot again.” “I’m afraid you won’t be able to bear children anymore.” I stared at the pristine white ceiling, my voice sounding as if it came from a distant place. “It’s fine.” After the doctor left, I heard the system sigh too. “Mission failed. You will be erased.” “Do you want to restart the mission and continue saving him?” I shook my head. “Erase me.” “Understood. Erase protocol initiated. You have 72 hours remaining.” I closed my eyes, the silence around me almost unnerving. But soon, a strange impulse led me to open Chloe Vance’s live stream. Today, she was painting live from the hilltop mansion Ace had bought her. The young girl, in Ace’s oversized men’s shirt, her hair in a messy bun, was mixing colors in front of an easel. In the camera, her cheeks were flushed, and her smile was pure and lovely. “My clothes? Oh, they’re my boyfriend’s. My own shirts were just… impossible to wear.” “It was quite… intense last night, actually.” As she spoke, she glanced back shyly at the person just out of frame. She mumbled, “I never expected my first kiss and first time to happen on the same day…” A man’s deep, gentle voice drifted in. “My apologies. I’ll be gentler next time.” The chat exploded with cheers. [Chloe finally got her man! More daily couple content, please!] “Couple content is a bit tricky. My boyfriend has a special job, so he can’t show his face.” As she spoke, a little red paint stained the sleeve of her shirt. Chloe let out a small “oops,” and the man’s long, slender fingers reached over to roll up her sleeve for her. A cute little peach ring on her ring finger was revealed. “It’s okay if it gets dirty.” Chloe’s blush deepened. She giggled, then was suddenly pulled away by the man. From off-camera, sounds of kissing and heavy breathing, leaving much to the imagination, filled the air. The live stream comments flew by, one catching my eye: [I think I just heard Ace Evans, the gang lord.] The man spoke, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly. “I am not.” The live stream abruptly ended. I put down my phone and drifted back into a heavy sleep. I dreamt of a time I was cleaning and accidentally got dust on his white shirt. I apologized profusely, but he still flew into a rage, scolding me for touching his belongings. He threw that white shirt away like trash, and I never saw any of his clothes in the house again. The last image in my dream was Ace’s back. It was eerily similar to his back over the past three years, each time he’d rushed off because of Chloe, leaving me to my torment. I woke up groggily, and the first thing I saw was a peach ring. My gaze traveled upwards to Chloe, who had changed into a simple T-shirt and jeans. She was cheerfully sipping chicken soup from a thermos. The housekeeper’s face held an apologetic expression: “Mrs. Spiller, it’s all my fault. I only made one serving of soup for you, and it turns out Miss Chloe loves it too.” “Oh dear, I drank it all! Clara, I’m so, so sorry!” Chloe seemed to just realize it was my nourishing meal, and her eyes welled up with tears. When Ace walked in, he saw her clutching her hands, repeatedly bowing to me. “Clara Spiller, what are you doing now?! Chloe came to see you because she was worried!” The housekeeper looked a little awkward, wanting to explain, but Chloe cut her off: “Ace, please don’t be angry. My mouth was just so greedy. As soon as I smelled the chicken soup, I couldn’t help but have a couple of sips, and then I just drank it all… Clara has every right to be mad at me…” She cried so piteously that Ace’s heart ached. “It’s just a bowl of chicken soup. You can have all you want when you’re discharged. Why are you picking a fight with Chloe?” He looked coldly at the housekeeper: “Chloe hasn’t had much appetite lately, and she rarely enjoys your chicken soup. Go back now and make another pot, and deliver it to Chloe’s hilltop mansion.” The housekeeper scurried away. Ace’s expression softened as he bent down to wipe away Chloe’s tears. “Don’t cry anymore, or you’ll be a little mess.” Chloe broke into a smile, throwing herself into his arms. “You’re making fun of me again.” The two left the hospital room, giggling, and silence once again settled around me. To my surprise, the familiar cycle of misunderstandings, scoldings, and accusations, which had played out countless times, now stirred no ripple within me. I no longer wanted to argue, to make a scene, or to explain myself. An hour later, as the doctor was checking my wound, Ace’s henchmen sauntered in, urging me to get discharged quickly, as his enemies were still stirring. One of them, taking pity on me, asked if I wanted more pain medication. I shook my head. “It’s fine.” I’ve grown accustomed to this pain. 2 His men dropped me off at the doorstep, tossing a bag of medicine at me before driving away. Ace treated me as if I were nothing, and his people regarded me like dirt. I unlocked the door, carrying the bag, only to find the house cold and empty; even the cleaning staff were gone. Ace’s call came through, his voice as cold and devoid of warmth as ever. “Chloe’s not feeling well. Your housekeeper is meticulous, so I sent them all over there.” “You’ll have to stay by yourself for a few days. They’ll come back once Chloe feels better.” He said it as if it were the most natural thing, as if the person who had been stabbed five times by his enemies and nearly died was Chloe. “Okay.” Hearing my indifferent tone, he paused for a moment, then continued: “Jot down anything you want to eat, and the housekeeper will make it for you when they come back.” “Okay.” Even through the phone, I could sense his frown. “What’s with the attitude, all for a bowl of chicken soup?” “Clara Spiller, don’t you forget, when I married you, I told you you were just a shield for Chloe. Don’t think that after three years as Mrs. Evans, you can walk all over Chloe!” I nodded mechanically. “Okay.” “You…” Just as his anger flared, Chloe called out to him. “Ace, come quickly and have some cake!” The call ended. 48 hours left until the system erased me. I felt a little hungry, but when I went to the kitchen, I found all the groceries gone, the refrigerator completely empty. Due to Ace’s peculiar identity, he never allowed me to order takeout. I rummaged through the cupboards and drawers, managing to find a single packet of expired instant noodles. The kettle had been broken and unrepaired, so I used hot water from the water heater to prepare them, then placed the bowl on the dining table. My phone chimed, showing Chloe was live streaming. Today, they weren’t at the hilltop mansion. The background seemed to be a hot spring resort. Chloe, in a loose T-shirt, was eating chocolate cake while interacting with her viewers. The man off-camera occasionally speared a piece with his fork, gently feeding it to her. [Can’t you really show your daily romance? Those fingers definitely belong to a hottie!] Chloe stuck out her tongue. “My boyfriend is the most handsome man in the world. Every time he smiles, my heart just melts.” “He chased me first, but I’m a bit timid, afraid of everything, so I dragged it out until now before saying yes.” “The cake is sweet, but not as sweet as we are.” The man stroked her hair, and her cheeks turned crimson when she smiled. Chloe finished half the cake, and I finished my unappetizing instant noodles. In the live stream, her other phone lit up. Her eyes went red as she looked at it, revealing a surprised expression. A few seconds later, she burst into heart-wrenching sobs in front of over a hundred thousand viewers. The live stream abruptly ended. I was still in a daze when Ace’s call came through. He immediately launched into a furious tirade: “Clara Spiller, all for a bowl of chicken soup, for a few housekeepers, you actually posted about Chloe and me dating online!” “If Chloe gets hurt because of this, dying ten times wouldn’t be enough!” I opened my mouth to speak: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. After I got home, I was just eating…” “Still denying it? Chloe said she only accidentally sent those pictures to you, no one else has seen them, not even me!” “Besides, the resort where we’re eating today, you’ve been there before.” “You were just in the live stream. I saw you.” His last few words were laced with a grinding fury. If I were in front of him right then, he would probably have kicked me down, forcing me to my knees to apologize to Chloe. Just like last winter, when Chloe had period cramps and specifically demanded I take care of her. But my body was weak after the miscarriage, and I had barely uttered “I’m sorry” before he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me down. That day, I must have knocked my head ten times, leaving my face covered in blood, before Chloe finally cried and said she forgave me. Ace’s angry breathing from the phone dragged me back from my memories. I looked down at the instant noodle soup and said, “It wasn’t me. I had no reason to do that.” Chloe cried again. “Ace, someone outside seems to be watching me. I’m so scared…” After the call ended, I sat motionless at the dining table, lost in thought. Sure enough, just ten minutes later, Ace’s men punched in the code and burst in, dragging me out like a sack of potatoes. “Hurry, Boss wants you to shield Miss Chloe!” 3 The hot spring resort had an enormous floor-to-ceiling glass window. I was instructed to sit at the dining table in front of the window and read. In the safest corner of the room, Ace was gently comforting a weeping Chloe. “Don’t be scared. I’m here. I’ll protect you.” She buried herself in his arms, her delicate hands clutching his expensive custom cashmere sweater. “Ace, will they kill me? I’m so afraid, I hate pain…” “No, they won’t. It’s safe here. Ace promises you’ll be fine.” Her sobs gradually subsided, and Chloe sniffled. “Ace, what would I do without you?” “Don’t talk nonsense. How could you be without me? I’ll always be with you, until we grow old.” The sounds of their kissing were too obvious. Even if I concentrated on my book, every detail reached my ears. The sounds lasted for half an hour, only stopping at the final stage. “Ace, Clara is still here. She is your wife, after all. Maybe you should find someone to protect her?” Ace glanced at me coldly. “If she hadn’t exposed our photos and location, you wouldn’t be so scared. She deserves this.” I desperately wanted to read the words on the page, but my vision was blurred. Why did tears still fall, when I supposedly no longer felt that agonizing pain? I didn’t understand, and I didn’t want to. After an unknown amount of time, the accumulated pain and exhaustion of the past few days made me drift off to sleep. I woke up to the sound of “24 hours left” ringing in my ears, accompanied by Ace’s slap across my face. “Clara Spiller, how could you be so vicious, sneaking in while I was asleep!” As I quickly stood up, I pulled at the wound on my abdomen, letting out a sharp gasp. “Don’t play innocent. Tell me, where is Chloe?!” It was then I realized I had somehow entered the bedroom. And Chloe was gone. “I don’t know. I remember I was at the floor-to-ceiling window last night…” “Cut the crap. Where did you send Chloe?!” I shook my head. “I don’t know.” “Clara Spiller, you’d better genuinely not know, or I swear I won’t let you off!” Ace said, gritting his teeth, then stormed out, making countless calls until he finally located Chloe. “Get a few men here, and bring her along!” I was bound at the feet and trapped in the back seat of Ace’s car. He drove himself, pressing the accelerator to the floor. In three years of marriage, this was the first time I’d seen him lose control like this. When we arrived at the beach, Chloe was tied by her wrists and suspended from a boat, crying hysterically. “Ace, why did you take so long? I’m so scared, please save me!” “Chloe!” Ace shouted her name anxiously, then glared menacingly at the enemies on the boat. “Let her go. I’ll give you my wife, plus two territories and ten businesses, in exchange.” The leader of the enemies, his face scarred, grinned. “Deal.” As I was slowly hoisted up, Ace was tightly embracing Chloe, whispering soothing words. When I reached the highest point, he turned and walked away with the woman he loved. I saw that back again, but this time, Chloe was by his side. The enemy leader lit a cigarette, then glanced sideways. “Do it.” The searing hot iron pressed against my skin, and I couldn’t help but cry out in agony. “Just kill me!” He shook his head: “If you die too quickly, it would be an injustice to my fallen brothers.” “Better to slowly torture you, so everyone in the underworld can see that Ace Evans isn’t so terrifying after all.” I struggled and twisted my body, but the branding iron always found its mark, hurting me so much I couldn’t even speak. I don’t know how many times he burned me. I was on the verge of losing consciousness from the pain when they finally lowered me. But just as I caught my breath, I felt a sharp sting on my wrist. He cut my wrist with a knife, then plunged it into the sea! Blood flowed into the ocean, instantly staining the seawater a vivid red. I was pressed down, unable to move, but my head was forcibly turned to my wrist, forcing me to watch my own blood drain away. Suddenly, I smiled. Ace, if I die here, will you find another shield for your young girl? Or will you simply marry her and take her home? But either way, it will no longer concern me. My consciousness gradually blurred. Before I completely slipped away, Ace’s men finally arrived, belatedly. I heard muffled negotiations, and then I was lifted onto an ambulance. Inside the vehicle, they were playing cards and laughing raucously, their noise keeping me from sleep. In my daze, I heard someone say: “Boss truly dotes on Miss Chloe. He wasn’t even going to pursue it, but the moment he saw Miss Chloe’s wrist was scraped, he got so angry he personally killed all those people.” “Hey, have you heard? Boss decided to retire from the gang for Miss Chloe.” 4 When I was resuscitated, the system informed me I had six hours left. I suddenly remembered what they said in the ambulance. Ace, because Chloe’s wrist was scraped, was going to retire from the gang. I looked down at the bandaged wounds on my wrist and the countless scars covering my body, a bitter smile on my face. Something that took me three years to achieve was, it turned out, so easily accomplished. Only, the one who completed the task wasn’t me. With four hours left, I ignored the hospital’s protests and, leaning on my fragile body, returned to the villa. Before I left, I wanted to take one last look at that medical report. But when I struggled back, I found the yard in disarray, the house completely empty. The guest bedroom was turned upside down. The things in the drawer were gone. I hastily called Ace. He answered, full of impatience: “I’m going to retire from the gang. All my previous properties will be sold, and I’ll buy new ones after everything’s clean.” “Just find somewhere to stay. Once Chloe’s emotionally stable, we’ll get a divorce.” I opened my mouth: “But the things in my bedroom drawer…” “Clara Spiller, don’t push your luck!” “Chloe’s injuries are all your fault. Sending my men to save you was already more than enough. Are you seriously expecting me to buy you a separate house just for the jewelry in your drawer?” I had nowhere to go, and I didn’t need to find a place to live. With three hours left, I sat on the doorstep, basking in the sun. The sunlight warmed my skin, but it couldn’t thaw my gradually chilling body. The garden gate creaked open, and I looked up to see Chloe, arms crossed, leaning against the gate and staring at me. “You’re truly lucky. You still haven’t died.” I paused, then smiled softly. “Soon. Don’t worry.” She was about to say something when she suddenly heard a sound and immediately dropped her arms. Tears sprang to her eyes. “Clara, I didn’t mean it, please don’t be angry, okay?” “You just got discharged, you shouldn’t get upset. I’ll ask the housekeeper to make you some chicken soup right away…” Before she could finish, Ace burst in, enraged, his phone held up in front of me. The chat log displayed a message someone had sent him. “Boss, your wife is quite something. She mass-emailed your enemies, telling them you love Chloe, and they should go after Chloe from now on, not her.” “Photos and addresses are all there. Chloe’s social media accounts have been exposed.” Ace, in a frenzy, kicked me hard in the chest. “I shouldn’t have sent anyone to save you. You’d be better off dead there!” I gasped for air, and as I looked up, the sun blinded me. A gun was pressed against my forehead, the barrel icy cold, sending a shiver down my spine. “It wasn’t me.” In these three years, I seemed to say those three words often. Chloe ran over and stopped him, crying, “Ace, Clara didn’t mean it. It’s my fault for taking the person she loved. It’s normal for her to hate me, so please don’t hurt her. She just got out of the hospital…” “It’s okay if the accounts are gone. It’s fine if they come after me. I can handle it…” Ace hugged her, his heart aching. He turned to look at me, his teeth gritted. “I really regret ever finding you. You’re restless and vicious!” His men called him: “Boss, several of our enemies are offering bounties for Miss Chloe’s life, what should we do?!” “Maybe you should take Miss Chloe abroad to hide. Someone must have told them Miss Chloe is at the villa, they’re already heading that way!” Ace’s eyes flickered. “I know who told them.” He started a live stream, appearing on camera for the first time in his life, but quickly turned the camera to face me. “I am Ace Evans. As of today, I’m retiring from the gang and will no longer be involved in underworld affairs.” “All of you who have grievances and grudges, come find her. Everything I’ve done in the past was at her instigation. Now, I no longer wish to be with her. She’s yours to deal with.” I gasped for air. “I shielded Chloe for three years. Now you want me to die for you?” Ace grabbed my collar and dragged me all the way to the main road. As he threw me down and walked away, he left a cold parting remark: “This is all your own doing. Whether you live or die is up to fate.” This was the last time I saw his back. Cold, resolute. He disappeared. Not even ten minutes later, countless enemies swarmed from all directions. They unleashed all their pent-up resentment and fury on me, no one holding back. My tendons were severed, my legs broken, and countless knives plunged into my chest. They roared for revenge for their relatives, brothers, and friends, gripping my chin and demanding an apology. But I felt as if I had lost all sensation of pain, only staring blankly at the clear blue sky. It was good. Before I died, I could see a vast expanse of blue, not a single cloud in sight. Just like the day I first entered this world. “Mission failed. Erase protocol initiated.” “In one hour, all your identity information will be erased. Clara Spiller will completely vanish from this world.”

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The lofty Miss Avery Parker of Crown City dumped me, a mere bar host, at my birthday. My sister shut down his bar and planned to send him to a remote mine. Avery stayed quiet. Three days later, my brakes failed, and I crashed into a shantytown. Unconscious, I was dragged into an alley. I woke up bruised, with compromising photos on my phone. Avery used them to break off our engagement. The next day, the bartender, Brandon White, moved into her home. My childhood fiancée, Miss Celeste McDougall, said she’d marry me despite the scandal. At our civil registration, I overheard groomsmen outside: Avery set me up to be with Brandon, and Celeste only married me to stop my family from investigating him. Both their hearts belonged to that one man. I looked at myself in the groom’s suit, disgusted. Tearing off my jacket and tie, I drove to the International Medical Aid Center. Filling the forms with trembling hands, I wrote clearly: “I’m applying for Latin America. I’ll sign the waiver—my life, my responsibility.” … The director flipped through my resume, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly. “Dr. Hart, there’s an ongoing conflict and a dengue fever outbreak in Latin America right now. Two of the three doctors we sent have already been infected, and the armed factions there don’t follow rules. You might genuinely not come back.” I closed my eyes, my heart aching as if squeezed, but my voice was calm when I spoke. “I know. I’ll take Sister Wang’s place; she’s pregnant and it’s inconvenient for her. It’s convenient for me.” The director looked at my expensive shirt and trousers, sighing. “Isn’t today your wedding day? Why are you here?” Tears splattered on the ground. I quickly wiped my face with the back of my hand, saying nothing. She didn’t ask further, directly approving my application. A top surgeon willing to go to such a place, they couldn’t ask for more. “The special flight leaves at seven tomorrow morning.” “If you make it back alive, the organization will apply for the highest honor for you, and your sister’s hospital will also receive international aid funding.” I bowed, then turned and walked out. The white Porsche I’d left at the entrance was gone. Just as I was about to call a taxi, Avery pulled up in that very car, stopping in front of me. She rolled down the window, a slender lady’s cigarette between her fingers, her gaze as indifferent as if she were looking at a stranger: “Allo likes this car. I was just having someone pick it up, and I happened to run into you, so I just drove it away.” I looked at the steering wheel, my throat tight. She had bought this car abroad three years ago, spending forty million, claiming it was my birthday gift. There were only twenty of them worldwide, and the license plate was even my birthday. Back then, she had taught me to drive it herself, saying the car suited me, Allen Hart. Now, for Brandon, she wanted back even things she had given away. I smiled faintly, ignored her, and turned to leave. Behind me, the engine roared, her voice a little impatient. “It’s your big day today, why are you here?” “Get in. I’ll drive you back to the registry office. Don’t waste time, or Celeste will dump you and you won’t even have time to cry.” I didn’t look back. “I’m not getting married.” Avery scoffed, the scent of tobacco wafting on the wind: “Allen Hart, don’t I know your little schemes? You just can’t let go of me, you’re unwilling to be with Celeste.” “Coming here, isn’t it just to get my attention?” “But after what happened to you in the shantytown, my Parker family can’t have you anymore.” “I’ve already had those people who touched you dealt with. Consider it my closing statement.” “Now, Celeste is willing to have you. You should be counting your blessings. Don’t be ungrateful.” I turned to look at her. Her face was still the same beautiful face that was hard to look away from, but what was inside had long since rotted. Counting my blessings? It was just another calculation. Brandon, selling drinks and charming customers in a bar, how much cleaner could he be than me? I opened my mouth, but only one word escaped: “Scram.” Her face instantly darkened. She pushed open the car door, grabbed my wrist, and shoved me towards the car. “Allen Hart, we’re long over. Don’t cling to me like a lunatic.” “Celeste is my childhood friend. You should be celebrating that she’s willing to have you. Don’t mess up this chance.” She sped all the way to the Hart family gates, pushed me out of the car, and then stomped on the accelerator, leaving. My sister was already pacing at the door, her face dark when she saw me. “Where have you been? The McDougall family is waiting for you to sign, and you’re not answering your phone. Do you want to kill me with worry?” I took a deep breath and told her about going to Latin America. My sister swayed, almost losing her balance. “No! Are you crazy? That’s a suicide mission! I forbid it!” 2 I forced myself to calm down and repeated verbatim what I had overheard outside the dressing room. My sister’s face flushed crimson as she listened. She grabbed her car keys, ready to confront Avery Parker and Celeste McDougall. I clung to her arm tightly: “Sis, please let me go. If I really marry Celeste, every day after that will be torture.” “Going to Latin America isn’t just to escape; it’s also to earn some reputation for our family.” “Besides, leaving here is the only relief for me.” My sister looked at me, the keys in her hand falling to the ground. She didn’t speak for a long time. She loved me, but the Hart family had such a large estate, and there were still those relatives from the side branches watching. If I could use this method to bring some benefit to the family, no matter how much her heart ached, she would have to consider it. The motorcade for the wedding arrived at the gate. I hadn’t done my hair, hadn’t changed clothes, and walked straight out. Celeste stood by the car, wearing her usual smile. I looked at her face, my heart feeling like something was lodged in it. She didn’t love me, she was shielding another man, yet how could she act so convincingly? I said indifferently, “I’m not getting married. You should go back.” Celeste’s face changed. She stepped forward, grabbed my hand, and lowered her voice: “Allen, what’s with the drama? Right now, I’m the only one in the entire city who doesn’t look down on you. If you break off this engagement with me, do you want people to talk behind your back for the rest of your life?” “I know you’re still thinking about Avery, but if you truly love someone, shouldn’t you support their happiness?” My nose stung. I tilted my head back, forcing the tears away, and looked at her, smiling: “So you also like Brandon. To make them happy, you’re sacrificing yourself to take me?” “To keep me from bothering Brandon, you’re marrying me to keep me under your thumb, right?” Her eyes flickered, but she stood her ground, her eyes even reddening. “Allen, how could you think that of me? We grew up together, don’t you know what kind of person I am?” Onlookers began to murmur. “Ms. McDougall is being kind to him, and he’s slandering her. What kind of man is this?” “Exactly. Ms. McDougall, since he doesn’t appreciate it, just break off the engagement! Who would want a man who’s been defiled, besides you!” My sister stood beside me, her face dark with anger, about to speak up about what happened that night. I quickly pressed her hand, shook my head at her, and whispered in her ear, “Sis, we can’t say anything. The Parker and McDougall families are allied; we can’t fight them.” “Avery just secured those big projects; she’s riding high. Even if she hired people to harm me, even if she ruined my reputation for Brandon, if she wants to whitewash it, she can make black sound white.” “Right now, no one will believe us. They’ll just think we’re slandering them for sympathy.” My sister’s chest heaved with anger. Finally, she swung her arm and went inside, leaving me alone. Celeste took my hand again, her face full of tenderness. “Allen, you’re not in a good mood today. I can wait. This engagement is forever valid, as long as you promise me not to go after Avery and Brandon again.” I shook off her hand, my eyes turning cold. “I won’t be with you, and I won’t go after Avery again. Never in this life, because I’m about to…” Before I could finish, Brandon, driving the white Porsche Avery had just taken from me, roared his engine and stopped by the road. He was wearing a custom casual suit from a famous brand. When he got out, his body was as soft as if he had no bones. He looked at Celeste with a hint of something different in his eyes. Celeste’s eyes brightened, then quickly dimmed. Brandon walked up to me, his eyes reddening, and he started to cry, looking incredibly pitiful: “Hart, why did you go to see Avery again today? You’re about to get married, why are you still clinging to her?” 3 The murmurs from the crowd grew harsher. “Just now he said he wouldn’t bother Ms. Parker, but then her official boyfriend shows up. Where’s his face?” “Ms. McDougall’s sincerity was wasted on a dog. This kind of man should get out of Crown City.” Celeste, hearing I had gone to see Avery today, her eyes immediately turned cold. She instinctively stepped in front of Brandon, her tone full of reproach: “Allen, I know you look down on Brandon, thinking he’s from a bar, not clean, and not good enough for Avery.” “But he only served drinks in the bar; he never did anything like that. He’s still innocent.” “On the contrary, after that night, you’re much dirtier than him.” I took a deep breath. The hot June wind felt like knives on my face. Yes, Avery, to whitewash Brandon and make him suitable for the Parker family’s prestige, had immediately bought off several media outlets to change their stories, and even had him adopted by a retired female professor as a godmother, giving him a layer of gold. Overnight, I became the scorned outcast of Crown City, while he became the inspirational, pure idol, Ms. Parker’s darling. Brandon suddenly pointed at the diamond-studded watch on my wrist, his voice sharp: “How did you steal my things? This is Avery’s love token for me! How is it on your hand?!” My body stiffened, my eyes reddened as I looked at Celeste: “This watch, didn’t you give it to me last night?” Celeste’s eyes darted away, unwilling to meet mine, but her tone was firm: “When did I ever give you a watch? You’re light-fingered yourself, don’t drag me into this.” My ears were filled with accusations of being a thief, words hitting me like stones. I endured the tearing pain in my chest, my hands trembling as I unclasped the watch and violently threw it to the ground. The watch face shattered, pieces scattering onto Brandon’s feet. I questioned, “I’ve never been to the Parker family home. How could I have stolen this watch?” Brandon clutched his ankle, a flicker of triumph in his eyes, as he wailed to the onlookers: “The Parker family’s servants all saw him come by today! If you don’t believe me, ask them!” Suddenly, a clear, cold female voice came from outside the crowd: “Allo, it’s just a watch. If he wants it, let him have it. I’ll buy you a better one. Allen and I have known each other since childhood, let’s not make a scene on his big day.” Avery parted the crowd and walked over, pushing Celeste aside, and embraced Brandon, her eyes full of possessiveness: “Thank you, Celeste, for looking after Allo for me. You two continue; Allo and I are leaving first.” I called out to her. “Avery, you know very well I wasn’t at your house today. Why aren’t you explaining for me?” She stopped, turned back, her eyes utterly cold. She leaned close to my ear, speaking in a voice only we two could hear: “I just want you to completely give up. No matter how pitiful you pretend to be, I won’t look at you again. If you keep clinging to me, it’ll only disgust me.” My eyes ached terribly, but it felt like my tears had dried up. I remembered when I was a child, no matter who wronged me, Avery would be the first to rush to my defense. She had said I was her little prince, and no one could bully me. And now, to force me away, she indulged the man she loved in publicly slandering me. She didn’t know, even if I wanted to cling to her, I wouldn’t have the chance. After tomorrow, Allen Hart would no longer exist in Crown City.

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