Category: English

1 No one in Northwood City’s elite circles knew my husband—the man who supposedly adored me—was the same rugged star of illicit videos driving women wild online. John Hughes, my coldly disciplined husband, had “saved” his assistant Mila after she was forced to shoot 108 erotic films to pay a debt. He became her co-star. I recognized him by the birthmark above his hip. That night, I confronted him in tears. “She was drugged,” he dismissed. “I was her first. No feelings—just physical.” But he lied. He was addicted. Their videos grew wilder, even filming beneath our wedding portrait. Night after night, I lay awake, listening to their muffled moans above me. The final straw? When I showed him my positive pregnancy test, he exhaled cigarette smoke and said, “Get rid of it. Mila’s pregnant too.” I turned away and dialed a number: “Bankrupt Hughes Corp. within a month.” I hung up just as John descended the stairs, cradling a flushed and pliant Mila in his arms. He was wiping her down with a towel, completely oblivious to my presence. Mila saw me and immediately ducked her head, tugging on his sleeve. “John, your wife is still here.” Only then did his eyes land on me, his brow furrowed in annoyance. “I’ve already booked the appointment for your procedure. Why haven’t you left yet?” He didn’t even try to soften the blow. “Don’t worry, you can move back in after Mila has the baby.” Mila’s face bloomed a deeper red. “It’s your fault for not being careful,” she mumbled into his chest. John chuckled, a low, intimate sound that twisted a knife in my gut. He playfully tapped her nose. “You don’t like it when I wear them. Besides, who uses protection for a video shoot? If it happens, it happens. It’s not like I can’t afford to raise another child.” I stood there, numb, listening to their graphic chatter as silent tears traced paths down my cheeks. In five years of marriage, no matter how lost in the moment he was, John never forgot protection. The tiny life growing inside me was a drunken mistake. All his talk about not wanting me to suffer through childbirth was a lie. He just never wanted a child with me. Seeing my tears, John tossed a black AmEx card at me. It clattered onto the marble floor. “That’s enough. There’s enough on that card to last you three lifetimes.” He followed it with a set of divorce papers. “Sign them. My child will not be born a bastard.” “We can get remarried after the baby is older,” he added, as if it were a generous concession. My vision blurred. I remembered the day he’d proposed, sliding the ring onto my finger, his eyes burning with sincerity as he swore to love only me, forever. That was only five years ago. “It’s just a baby,” Mila chimed in, a flash of triumph in her wide, innocent eyes. “It doesn’t matter who gives birth to it.” I tilted my head back, forcing the tears to retreat, and picked up the pen. When John saw me sign without a moment’s hesitation, he let out a cold, humorless laugh. “See? You’re no different from all those other gold-diggers.” He then flashed the signed papers at Mila. “Happy now? Can I finally pay off your debts, little one?” “I just didn’t want things to be unofficial,” she cooed, pulling a blanket around her shoulders. She walked over to me, deliberately letting the blanket slip to reveal a fresh love bite on her collarbone. “Elara,” she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy, “if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just have to ask me or John.” She was already playing the part of the new Mrs. Hughes. 2 A bitter smile touched my lips. I hoped she would enjoy her one-month reign as the lady of the house. “I won’t need anything,” I said, my voice flat. I turned to leave, but a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. Mila. Before I could react, she crumpled to the floor. I stared, stunned, as she lay there. Before I could utter a single word, her eyes filled with tears as she looked pleadingly at John. “John, my love… maybe we shouldn’t keep the baby,” she sobbed. “I’ll pay my own debts. I’ve already been ruined once, what’s one more man…” John lunged toward her, shoving me aside so hard I lost my balance. My head cracked against the corner of the console table, and a sticky warmth trickled down my temple. He didn’t even glance at me. His entire world was the sobbing woman on the floor. He scooped her up, his gaze turning to me, now as cold and hard as granite. “Elara. Apologize.” He didn’t ask. He didn’t investigate. He just condemned me. The tears I’d been holding back finally fell, hot and bitter. I didn’t know if it was from the searing pain in my head or the crushing weight of it all. I remembered the night he’d been drugged by a business rival and had ended up in Mila’s bed. He’d knelt at my door for hours afterward, begging me to forgive him. “Elara, I was drugged, I swear. I’ve already paid her to keep quiet. It will never, ever happen again,” he’d pleaded, his voice cracking. “Don’t leave me. Please.” I had swallowed my pain, convincing myself it was a one-time accident. I’d pretended it never happened. But then he’d hired her as his personal assistant. And now this. The man who was once so above it all, so untouchable, was debasing himself in cheap videos for her. The first time was an accident. What about the second? The third? The hundredth? I tilted my chin up, defiant. “I didn’t push her.” Suddenly, Mila shrieked. She pointed between her legs. “John! Blood! There’s so much blood!” The color drained from John’s face. He swept her into his arms, his voice tight with a panic I had never heard before. “It’s okay, baby, don’t be scared. The doctor is on his way.” In his haste, he snagged the wind chime hanging by the door, and it crashed to the floor, scattering into a forgotten corner. He had made it for me, by hand, after our first date. Our decade-long history, as fragile as the string that held the chime together, snapped under the weight of a one-year affair. A sharp cramp seized my abdomen, a pain that radiated through my whole body, but I barely registered it. I watched his retreating back, a sour burn in my throat. The fabric of my dress was turning crimson with my own blood, but he never looked back. Not once. I remembered a time I’d gotten a small paper cut, and he’d panicked, calling in a team of specialists just to look at my finger. Now, I was bleeding on the floor, and not a single servant dared to help me. Just as the pain threatened to pull me under, a hand reached out to me. I looked up, saw a familiar face, and a desperate flicker of hope ignited in my chest. “John…” I whispered. But it wasn’t a hand of salvation. He hauled me to my feet and dragged me toward the sauna, his face a merciless mask. He shoved me inside and threw the lock. “You misbehaved,” he said, his voice flat. “You need to be punished.” A wave of heat washed over me. Through the glass, I saw Mila take the remote control, her face a picture of feigned kindness. “Oh, John, you shouldn’t be so harsh with her. I’ll just turn the temperature down a little.” But the heat in the small room was already climbing, becoming unbearable. The temperature gauge began to flash a red warning. The scorching air amplified the pain throbbing through my body. I slammed my fists against the door. “John, let me out! I’m going to die in here!” 3 For a second, John’s expression flickered. He started toward the door, but Mila grabbed his arm. She blinked her big, innocent eyes, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. “But I turned it down, John. Seventy-eight degrees is the perfect temperature for comfort. How could she possibly die?” John’s hand dropped. His face hardened into a mask of disgust. “Elara, are you so pathetic you’d lie just to slander Mila?” “You disgust me.” He turned to the maids. “No one is to open that door without my permission.” My heart hammered against my ribs, each breath a struggle. I used the last of my strength to scream, “John, if I die in here, my family will never let you get away with this!” He paused, then slowly turned, his face a canvas of pure contempt. “Your family? You mean the Wiltons?” He let out a short, cruel laugh. “Your father is dead. Your mother remarried the second she could. Do you still think you’re the golden princess of Northwood City?” “If it wasn’t for me,” he sneered, “propping you up all these years, do you really think you’d still be living the same lavish life you were born into?” The moment he turned his back, holding Mila close, my legs gave out. I collapsed to the scorching floor. Tears of blood stung my eyes as I watched them walk away through the glass. “John Hughes,” I whispered into the suffocating heat, “you shattered my heart. I will never, ever forgive you…” When I woke up, John was sitting by my bedside. My gaze was empty, hollow. I saw a flicker of something—was it pity?—in his eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “The doctor said your body isn’t suited for childbirth,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. “Telling you to get the procedure was for your own good.” “The baby’s gone now. It’s for the best. Mila has a kind heart; she said she’ll let you help raise our child.” “And the sauna… the thermostat was broken. She didn’t do it on purpose…” A mocking smile twisted my lips. Every word was a defense of Mila. He hadn’t once asked me if I was in pain. If I was okay. My heart was a dead, cold thing in my chest, but my eyes still filled with tears. I stared at him, then slowly, deliberately, I raised my hands. They were swollen and blistered from the heat. John, who had still been defending Mila, stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened. “What are you doing?” I ignored the searing pain and began to force my wedding ring off my swollen finger. It pulled at the raw, ruined skin beneath. “Are you insane?” he yelled, grabbing my wrist. His touch sent a jolt of agony through me, and my eyes watered, but my voice was calm. “The ring. You can have it back.” This ring. John had crafted it himself. Back then, he was just the unacknowledged bastard son of the Hughes family. I had defied my own family to marry him. He’d spent a month apprenticing with a master jeweler, barely sleeping, just so he could give me a proper wedding ring. For all these years, I had treasured it like a sacred artifact. I never took it off, not even to shower. A storm of complex emotions crossed John’s face, but I was too tired to try and decipher them. His grip on my wrist tightened. I winced. “You’re hurting me.” He finally realized and let go. “Elara, I’m sorry. I—” Just then, a soft sob came from the adjoining room. Without another glance at me, John spun around and rushed next door. “Mila? What is it? Did you have a nightmare?” he cooed, his voice a gentle murmur. Mila’s voice was thick with tears. “John, what am I going to do? They’re threatening me again! I only wanted the money to save my mother, why are they doing this to me?”

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The moment I succeeded in winning over the brooding male lead, I chose to exit the world. I didn’t hesitate for a second, not even when he begged me, broken and humbled, to stay. Later, back in the real world, my life fell apart. The System found me again. It offered me five million dollars to go back into the book and win him over one more time. Just as I was about to agree, a stream of comments flashed across my vision: “Holy crap, the ex who ditched Aidan is back.” “LOL, does she seriously think he’s still in love with her?” “The second ‘Tasker’ not only got his Darkness Value down to negative one hundred, but she also chose to stay, giving him the family he always wanted.” “The happy couple is about to get married. Can the ex-wife please have some self-respect and not bother them?” 1 It took me a long moment to process it. The “ex-wife” they were talking about… was me. Beside me, the System was still buzzing in my ear, trying to sell me on the deal. “All you have to do is make Aidan Sterling fall for you again, and you’ll get five million dollars. Even if you fail, you’ll get fifty thousand for your trouble. How about it? It’s a bargain, right?” It was a bargain. And right now, I desperately needed the money. But the comments echoed in my head. I stayed silent for a moment, then said I needed to think about it. So, the System decided to send me back into the book first. To be precise, it sent me back to the home Aidan and I once shared. The tiny apartment, old but filled with a familiar warmth, was exactly as I’d left it three years ago. Aidan hadn’t moved a single thing. Even the dress I’d accidentally stained just before I left was now hanging in the closet, clean and pristine, as if waiting for me. I remembered that dress. It was from a famous designer, all the rage at the time. When Aidan had secretly bought it for me, I’d chewed him out for spending so much money. He didn’t argue, just lowered his gaze, his long lashes shadowing his cheeks, and waited for my anger to fade. Then, he’d coaxed me, in that soft, gentle voice of his, to try it on. I looked down, the silky fabric cool against my fingers. I took a deep breath. If Aidan had truly forgotten me… then why was this apartment still here? I looked up again, my eyes scanning the small room. My gaze was suddenly caught by a white piece of paper taped to the window. A few large, scrawled words were visible through the glass. FOR SALE. PRICE NEGOTIABLE. URGENT. The sharp, decisive strokes were unmistakably Aidan’s. 2 A fresh wave of tiny text flooded my vision: “Hahaha, look at her face. The ex-wife is stunned. He wasn’t holding onto their past; he just hadn’t gotten around to selling the place.” “She really thought he still loved her like before. Plot twist: now that he has our sweet Sophie, he won’t even give his ex a second glance.” “The only reason the System brought her back is to create some drama for Aidan and Sophie. Get ready for some prime humiliation, folks.” I pressed my lips together. So that was it. The System was willing to offer five million because it was certain I would fail. Its real goal was to cast me as the villain, the obstacle in the main couple’s love story. He was getting my labor for a mere fifty thousand dollars. Fifty thousand. I laughed, a bitter, self-mocking sound. To play the fool for fifty grand… it wasn’t a small amount. It was enough to cover a week of treatment in the ICU. I summoned the System and coolly accepted the deal. The System was thrilled. It deposited a large sum of money into my account for expenses, though it could only be used within the book’s world. Since Aidan was so eager to sell this place, I might as well be the one to buy it. I clutched my phone, my fingers dialing a number I knew by heart. It rang for half a minute before someone picked up. A bright, clear female voice came through the line. “Hello? Who is this…?” I froze for a second, then glanced down to confirm the number. It was definitely Aidan’s. “Hi, I was passing by and saw the ‘For Sale’ sign in the window…” “You want to buy the apartment?” the person on the other end exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement. “That’s wonderful! Finally, someone wants it.” I asked cautiously, “Are you the owner?” “I’m the owner’s girlfriend. You can just call me Sophie.” So, this was the second Tasker. As my mind went blank, a brief murmur of voices came from the other end of the line, like two people whispering. It felt like an eternity passed before someone picked up the phone again. Aidan’s cold, detached voice came through, sharp and clear. “Hello. Is it convenient to meet and discuss this in person?” 3 I waited in the coffee shop, a bundle of nerves. Finally, a sleek, understated luxury car pulled up to the curb. A picture-perfect couple stepped out. I hadn’t seen Aidan in three years, but he was just as striking as ever. The last traces of youthful uncertainty in his features had been replaced by the quiet confidence that comes with power and wealth. He leaned casually against the car door. Sophie said something that made him smile, and he reached out to gently ruffle her hair. From across the distance, his gaze drifted in my direction. It rested on me for a fraction of a second before moving on, as placid and undisturbed as a still lake. I was still lost in a daze when Sophie sat down in front of me. She offered me an apologetic smile. “My boyfriend had to run, he could only drop me off. I’ll be handling the details in his place.” I nodded, my voice genuine. “I can tell you two are very happy together.” Sophie’s smile deepened. “He runs a tech company. The net profit is in the nine-figure range every year. It’s not about the money from the apartment, you know? We just… don’t want to keep it around anymore.” Her tone was laced with a faint, unmissable sense of superiority. I nodded again and, following procedure, asked to see the apartment. Sophie paused, a flicker of awkwardness in her eyes. “I don’t have the keys. If you want to see it, my boyfriend will have to take you himself.” I blinked, confused. “He didn’t give you the keys before you came?” Logically, any property sale involved a viewing. Aidan couldn’t possibly be unaware of that. Sophie sighed, a hint of frustration in her smile. “I asked, but he wouldn’t give them to me. He’s never even taken me there.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “To be honest with you, this is the place he lived in with his ex-wife when he was just starting out. It just… gives me the creeps. That’s why I want it gone, and fast.” “Oh,” I said. “In that case, I don’t need to see it. We can just sign the contract.” Sophie’s face lit up. Afraid I’d change my mind, she immediately pulled out the sales agreement. But she didn’t have the deed, so we couldn’t transfer the title just yet. We’d still have to wait for Aidan. With time to kill, I looked at this woman, a fellow Tasker, just like me. My curiosity got the better of me. “How did you and he get together?” What I really wanted to know was how she had managed to win him over. The System had told me that after I left, Aidan had briefly relapsed into a second darkness. He’d attempted suicide, slit his wrists… his Darkness Value had skyrocketed to a level that threatened the stability of the entire world. Sophie had appeared at his side during that critical time. She not only lowered his Darkness Value but completely replaced me in his heart. Aidan was not an easy man to win over. She must have gone through hell. But Sophie just smiled brightly. “He had just been abandoned by his ex-wife and was completely heartbroken. I was just there for him, comforting him. It didn’t take long for us to make it official.” Was it really that simple? I could hardly believe it. Once again, the screen of my vision was flooded with mockery: “Hahaha, the ex-wife is having a meltdown. Aidan has zero resistance when it comes to our girl Sophie.” “Don’t forget, it took the ex ten whole years to win him over. She threw herself at him countless times before he finally, reluctantly, agreed to be with her.” “Sophie just had a few conversations with him, and all of the ex’s years of work went down the drain. That’s the power of true love, baby.” … I silently watched the jeering words scroll by. They were right. My journey with Aidan had been incredibly difficult. So difficult that I never wanted to live through it again. 4 Aidan’s parents never loved him. At a young age, they abandoned him in a psychiatric hospital, leaving him to the mercy of abusive orderlies. The place was filled with violent, unhinged patients, a veritable prison guarded like a fortress. Even with the System’s help, I nearly died getting him out of there. I took Aidan to a new city where no one knew us. I made sure he went to school, got an education, stayed on the right path. I even arranged for expensive therapy sessions every week. I did all of it hoping he would finally, completely, trust me. But Aidan was too smart. He effortlessly saw through the façade of this world, including my identity and my mission. After graduation, Aidan was the state’s top scholar. I threw a party to celebrate, overjoyed for him. But he quietly pulled me aside, his expression cold, a flicker of self-deprecation in his eyes. “You’re doing all this to win me over for your mission, aren’t you?” After the initial shock, I sighed, my voice catching. “I’m in love with you. That’s my mission.” Aidan scoffed, clearly unconvinced. My heart hammered in my chest. I pressed my head against his chest, my voice a small murmur. “Aidan, please, don’t get hung up on all that. These last few years… they’ve been so hard. You have to hurry up and make my life easier.” My voice broke. “I really, really love you. Please don’t question me like this again. It hurts too much.” … After college, Aidan started his own company. We moved into that tiny, rundown apartment. It had no heating in the winter. I was always cold, and my feet would get so numb they ached. Every night, Aidan would massage them for me, his eyes red with unshed tears, silent but full of pain for me. By then, we were married. His life goal had shifted from building a tech empire to destroy the world to the mundane task of making enough money to buy his wife a house. We hustled during the day and held each other in that small bed at night. I remember being harassed by an investor I was trying to win over; I didn’t dare tell Aidan, so I just walked the streets alone, crying. Another time, when a rival company came after us, I stood in front of Aidan without a second thought, taking the blow that sent me to the operating room. I don’t know how many times I went through things like that before Aidan slowly, painstakingly, fell in love with me. And compared to my decade-long effort, Sophie had done it in just three short weeks. She’d brought his Darkness Value down to negative one hundred and pushed his Affection Meter all the way to one hundred percent. 5 Sophie was still chattering on about the sweet little moments she shared with Aidan. She said it was love at first sight for him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a sip of my milkshake. “Has he… ever mentioned his ex-wife to you?” Sophie thought for a moment, then a triumphant smile spread across her face. “Never. I think he’s completely over her.” I nodded. It was better this way. I didn’t actually want to ruin their relationship. When Aidan showed up, I’d just act like I was full of regret, pathetically throwing myself at him. Given his personality, he’d probably be disgusted and push me away. Once he rejected me, I’d take my fifty thousand dollars and happily exit this world. As I was plotting, Sophie’s phone rang. Her face lit up. “My boyfriend’s meeting is over! He’s coming to pick me up. We have a date tonight, so let’s deal with the apartment tomorrow, okay?” I froze for a second, then forced a smile and a nod. “Okay, I’ll just be going then…” “Where do you live?” Sophie asked, grabbing my arm affectionately. “I’ll have my boyfriend give you a ride.” The smile on my face froze solid. Sophie was just too insistent. Before I knew it, the car door had clicked shut, and I was inside. The cool, clean scent of pine wood hung in the air. I could hear Sophie’s sweet, playful voice as she showed Aidan her new manicure. Aidan was sitting right in front of me. From my angle, I could see his hands on the steering wheel, his knuckles sharp and defined. He kept his eyes on the road, but he responded to her every word. I glanced at the rearview mirror, at the handsome lines of his face, and felt a wave of disorientation. Aidan had never been this patient with me. When we were together, he was always so insecure, so full of dread. He knew about my mission and was terrified I would leave at any moment. He’d wake up in the middle of the night, startled, his hand frantically searching for me on the other side of the bed. I would have to soothe him, again and again, exhausted. “I won’t leave you alone. I love you, and it has nothing to do with the mission.” I kept telling him that lie, right up until the moment I left. He had cried then, clutching my hand, begging me not to go. Begging me to stay just a little longer, just a few more years. I had sighed and refused every plea. His face had gone pale, his eyes swirling with a storm of pain and madness. “Why? Don’t you love me? How can you just leave me like this? You said you’d never leave me alone!” I gave him a bitter smile. “I have someone I love in the real world.” … Aidan’s eyes flickered up, catching my gaze in the mirror. He frowned. The car lurched forward with a sudden, violent screech of brakes. Caught off guard, my forehead slammed against the window with a dull thud, leaving a blooming bruise. “Sorry,” Aidan’s voice was raspy. He turned his head slightly. “We’re here.” It took me a moment to register. “Oh,” I said, managing a “thank you.” When I’d gotten in the car, Sophie had asked for my address, and I’d just blurted out the name of a random apartment complex. I arranged to meet Sophie next time and got out of the car. Aidan kept his eyes down, never once looking back at me. He didn’t linger for a moment; the car’s taillights vanished around the corner almost instantly. At the busy entrance to the complex, I wrapped my arms around myself and slowly sank to the ground. I don’t know how much time passed. Then, the familiar luxury car pulled up again, silent and imposing, right in front of me. The window rolled down, revealing the sharp, defined profile of his face. Aidan stared at me, his expression unreadable. “Get in.” 6 I’d expected Aidan to find a way to see me alone. I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Too soon for me to prepare myself to face him. As we were locked in a stalemate, Aidan lifted a hand and lit a cigarette. I frowned instinctively. I hated it when he smoked. In the past, I would have snatched it from him without a word and stamped it out. And the Aidan back then was always so obedient. When I told him to quit, he never touched another one. He would never have been like this. He would never have sat there, shrouded in a pale haze of smoke, studying me so brazenly. I bit back my words, about to speak. The comments flooded my vision again: “What’s she hesitating for? Does she actually think he wants something from her?” “He’s known she was back for a while. He just didn’t say anything in the car because he didn’t want Sophie to get the wrong idea.” “The only reason he’s seeing her alone is to warn her not to run her mouth in front of Sophie. He couldn’t care less about her.” I stood rooted to the spot, the silence heavy around me. It was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head. The impulsive flicker of emotion I’d felt a moment ago was extinguished completely. I had no right to tell him what to do anymore. The hand resting on the car window, pale and elegant, dropped lazily. Aidan expressionlessly averted his gaze. As if remembering something, he crushed the cigarette with a flicker of derision. “You want to buy the apartment, don’t you? Get in. I’ll take you to see it.” 7 The ride was silent. Aidan showed no intention of speaking. But my mind was a chaotic mess of scrolling text. “Well, at least she knows her place. She took the back seat, knowing the passenger seat is for the girlfriend.” “He’s supposed to be warning her, so why is he taking her to their old place?” “Don’t worry, guys. He doesn’t know her real plan yet. Once she shows her true colors, he’ll be even more disgusted with her.” … When we arrived at the door, I couldn’t help but speak. “Don’t you have anything… to ask me?” Aidan’s hand, holding the key, paused. He glanced down at me, a brow raised, silently waiting for me to continue. I mustered my courage. “Like why I came back. How long I’m staying. Or… why I want to buy this apartment.” “Not interested.” Aidan looked away, his tone flat. “I don’t care who buys it. I’m erasing everything that has to do with you. As for why you’re back…” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and let out what sounded like a humorless chuckle. “You’re not planning to try and win me over again, are you?” I was silent for a beat. “What if I am?”

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I was the vicious fake heiress, raised in a wealthy family. After I died, the man I grew up with, my supposed soulmate, plastered my intimate photos online, calling me a cheap tramp who only knew how to seduce men. Protesters swarmed my family home, cheering that I had gotten what I deserved. To distance themselves from my “taint,” my parents burned our entire villa to the ground overnight. They even fed my ashes to the dogs. Everyone said I deserved to die. But then, on the day of the real heiress’s lavish, live-streamed wedding to my childhood sweetheart… They received a wedding gift from me. 1 The grand wedding of Elle and Elliott was a star-studded affair. In the audience, my parents dabbed at their eyes, whispering, “Our Elle is finally getting married. Our precious girl.” My ghost hovered in the air, a familiar ache twisting in my chest. They used to dote on me just like that. Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed, “They’re a perfect match! Elliott and Elle are made for each other.” “Right? Not like that Vera,” another voice sneered. “She occupied the role of the Vanderbilt family heiress for years, but she was always just a cheap fake. Even in death, she’s considered bad luck.” Elle, on the stage, seemed to hear my name. She paused, a faint, contemptuous smile playing on her lips. It’s true, I thought with a self-deprecating pang. I had stolen twenty years of her privileged life. She had every right to mock me. But then, Elle looked directly into the camera. “Actually,” she said, her voice clear and bright, “I have Vera to thank for something.” “She prepared a wedding gift for us.” A gift? From me? My spectral form froze mid-air. I didn’t know anything about a gift. Before I could even process it, the crowd erupted. “She’s dead! What kind of stunt is this? So manipulative!” “She was arrogant and cruel in life, and now she wants to disgust us from beyond the grave!” “She was so vicious. It’s probably a curse or something.” My mother’s face turned ashen. She shot to her feet. “She spent her whole life trying to steal everything from Elle! Why would she send a gift?!” “Throw it out! Get rid of it! We can’t let something so unlucky tarnish Elle’s wedding!” Elliott frowned, waving a dismissive hand. “Forget it. Let’s not even look. It can’t be anything good. Let’s just continue with the ceremony.” But Elle held up a hand, silencing the uproar. “Really? I, for one, would like to see what she sent.” My parents tried to object, but Elle had already opened the gift box. Inside was a thick journal. I recognized it. It was mine. But… hadn’t my parents burned all of my belongings? How did it end up here? Before I could dwell on it, Elle picked up the journal and began to read aloud. February 1st, 2024. The real daughter of the Vanderbilt family, Elle, is back. She’s dark and thin, and so timid. Mom and Dad said she suffered a lot out there, that I have to let her have her way in everything from now on. As she read, an image appeared on the massive screen behind her. It was Elle, wearing a faded plaid shirt and worn-out jeans. I had secretly taken that photo, hiding in a corner. Her hair was dry and yellowed, her eyes hollow. She was a world away from the radiant woman on the stage today. Elliott tore off his tie. “Turn it off! Who authorized this? The past is the past! Elle isn’t like that anymore!” “Exactly!” someone in the crowd chimed in. “Vera was so calculating! To keep such an ugly photo!” “So she resented Elle from the very first day she came back?” “It makes sense now! All the terrible things Vera did to Elle later on… it was all premeditated!” Hearing this, my parents’ anger boiled over. “If I had known she was so vicious,” my mother seethed, “I would have sent her away that very day!” 2 Their words were a bitter cocktail in my soul. To think a single photograph could brand me so vile. Elle paused, then continued reading. But she doesn’t seem to hate me. She wiped her sweaty palm on her jeans and reached out to shake my hand, but I pulled away. She froze, asking in a small voice if I didn’t like her. I was about to answer when Mom and Dad’s scolding exploded in my ears. Mom said, “It’s Elle’s first day back. Can you please drop the princess act for one second?” Dad said, “Do you have any idea what Elle has been through for the past twenty years? If it weren’t for the mix-up at the hospital, you would be the one who suffered!” I was stunned. Just the night before, they had promised that even with Elle back, they would still love me like their own daughter. I guess all it took was me not shaking her hand for them to reveal their true feelings. But… I only did it because I saw the calluses on her hands. I was afraid she would feel self-conscious. As she read that last line, a flicker of something—confusion? recognition?—crossed Elle’s face. She bit her lower lip. My mother, realizing what was being read, looked up sharply. “I… I might have said that. But she became so unreasonable later, I had to…” “If she was really thinking of Elle’s feelings, why didn’t she explain herself then? It sounds like she’s just making excuses for herself after the fact!” My father wrapped an arm around her, comforting her. “It’s over now. She’s dead. Her debt is paid.” Elliott frowned, cutting in. “It’s obvious she didn’t want to accept Elle. She was probably just scared of losing her position in the family!” Elle smiled faintly, saying nothing. She turned to the next page. March 15th, 2024. The page was accompanied by a photo of Elliott, kneeling on the ground, tying my shoelace. Elliott came to see me today. The first words out of his mouth were that he wanted to break off our engagement. He said now that the real heiress was back, his family couldn’t possibly let him marry a fake. But he used to tell me he wanted to marry me only because he loved me. Twenty years of knowing each other… was it all meaningless compared to a simple accident of birth? Why did he change the moment Elle came back? I ran after him, wanting to demand an explanation. But I overheard him on the phone with a friend. “Vera’s just a cheap knock-off,” he was saying. “She actually thinks she’s something special.” “She was fun to play with, but for a marriage alliance, you need the real thing.” The friend on the other end must have said something, because Elliott burst out laughing. “Yeah, it is a shame, though.” “Five years together, I treated her so well, and she wouldn’t even let me touch her. Acting like some untouchable ice queen.” “But that Elle… she looks like she’d be an easy catch.” So I finally learned. All his past devotion was a lie. It hurts so much. I thought about telling Mom and Dad. But whenever I brought up Elliott’s name, they assumed I was trying to steal him from Elle again. They never gave me a chance to speak. What about Elle, then? I can’t just watch her marry a scumbag like him, can I? But would she even believe me? Elle paused, her eyes darting toward Elliott. He swallowed hard, then blustered, “She must have been jealous that you were going to marry me! She just made all that up!” Elliott’s parents shot to their feet. “If my son really said those things,” his mother roared, “then how do you explain Vera drugging my son, trying to climb into his bed?” Whispers erupted from the crowd. “That’s right! On Elle’s birthday, Vera drugged Elliott’s drink, then had the gall to demand he marry her the next day! She can’t wash that stain away!” Elle nodded slowly. “Yes. Why would she do that?” 3 She turned the page. May 20th, 2024. Today is mine and Elle’s birthday. But Mom and Dad seem to have forgotten about me. They only bought one cake, for Elle. I’m not angry, though. It’s just cake. I don’t even like it. Elle must have seen me standing in the corner. She brought me a slice and said, “Happy birthday, sister.” I pretended to be disgusted and pushed it away. But my heart was pounding. I wanted so badly to wish her a happy birthday, too. Even so, she just smiled and said it was okay. In that moment, I thought she really was an angel. No wonder so many people love her. Later, I saw Elliott slip some powder into her drink. There was no time. Elle was about to drink it. I lunged forward, snatched the glass from her, and drank it all myself. I had just breathed a sigh of relief when Mom rushed over and slapped me across the face. I fell to the floor, but she was still fussing over Elle, asking if she was alright. Me… But Mom, why didn’t you ask me why I did it? In the end, Mom chose not to believe me. She had someone lock me in my room. I don’t know how much time passed. I was dizzy, I couldn’t even stand up straight. Through the haze, I saw Elliott. He pushed me onto the bed, his face a mask of fury. “I was so close to getting Elle, and you had to ruin it! “Since you’re so desperate, I’ll take care of you tonight!” I wanted to fight back. But then a thought crossed my mind. If this happened… could I force Elliott to marry me? Would that keep Elle safe? So, I stopped resisting. Later, I was woken by a splash of cold water. Elliott looked at me with disgust. “Why did you drug me?! And you dared to lie and say you were Elle! You made me…” “But you can forget it. My heart belongs only to Elle.” Mom and Dad wouldn’t listen to my explanation either. They pointed at me, shouting, “You filthy thing! To think you’d use such low-life tricks to stop Elle from marrying into the Willis family!” “Get out of our house! Go back to your real family! You are not welcome here anymore!” I thought being forced like that was the most painful thing in the world. I was wrong. This, right here, was worse. As Elle’s voice faded, someone in the crowd stammered, “So… it was Elliott who drugged the drink? Vera was just trying to save Elle?” “Vera was framed?!” Elliott frantically waved his hands. “Nonsense! She’s delusional! It’s all in her head!” I saw my parents, frozen in their seats, their lips trembling. “Elle… Elle was going to marry Elliott anyway…” my mother whispered, her voice cracking. “It was inevitable. So what if it happened?” “But Vera, that ungrateful wolf! She only wanted to stay in this family for the money!” Elle let out a small, bitter laugh. “For the money?” She turned the page. I didn’t have time to feel wronged. I fell to my knees, begging them not to send me back. There was only my eighty-year-old grandfather there. He couldn’t even afford to buy Elle a decent dress. What could he possibly give me? I really don’t want to go back. Hearing this, my mother seemed to find validation in her own words. A look of relief washed over her face. My father’s expression remained stony. “Vera is a gold-digger. All the kindness we showed her was wasted!” The online comments flooded the screen. “Even if your grandfather is poor, he’s still your family! Calling you an ungrateful wolf is right!” “So disgusted by your own family? Did you ever think that’s the life you were supposed to have?” Elle’s grip on the journal tightened. “Then why was she so desperate for money? Let’s keep reading.” August 9th, 2024. I can’t hold on much longer. I asked Mom and Dad for twenty thousand. Mom asked with disgust where all my allowance went. I told her the truth. I gave it all to Grandpa. She scoffed. “Stop pretending. You didn’t even want to go back to him, and you expect me to believe you sent him money?” “Unlike you, my Elle has been quietly helping him this whole time. Don’t tell me you’re trying to steal credit for that, too?” In that moment, I knew. No matter what I said, Mom would never believe me. When did things get like this? I don’t know. But… I don’t have much time left to live anyway. If the cancer didn’t hurt so much, I wouldn’t have asked. I hope Grandpa never finds out about me. Elle once said he was a good, good man. If he knew, he would probably move heaven and earth to save me. I don’t want that. He’s already so old. It’s so hard. Forget it. I’ll never ask again. Finally, someone in the audience realized the gravity of what Elle was reading. “Did you say… Vera? Cancer?!” “So she didn’t want to go back to not be a burden on her grandfather?!” The live chat exploded, with people starting to defend me. At her table, my mother clutched her chest and shot to her feet. “She… she did say she wasn’t feeling well… but…” Elliott’s parents had had enough. “That’s it! This is a wedding! Why are we talking about a dead person?” Elliott’s father boomed. Elliott tried to take Elle’s hand, to stop her from reading. But she pulled away from his touch, her eyes red as she looked at my mother. There was a hint of mockery in her voice. “Don’t you want to know what she went through? Why she became the person she was?” My mother choked back a sob and sank back into her chair. “What does it matter now… She was just…” Elle took a deep breath. “Then let’s continue. Let’s see how Vera changed.”

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My neighbor abandoned her cat. I adopted him. He was never affectionate with me, but he was always winding around my husband’s legs, a constant, purring presence. That’s when I started paying attention. One night, when my husband, Mark, claimed he was working late, I knocked on my neighbor’s door. She answered, one hand resting protectively on her slightly protruding belly. “Chloe? What can I do for you this late?” The challenge, the sheer triumph in her eyes, told me everything I needed to know. When Mark tiptoed home in the dead of night, he found both our parents sitting in the living room. And on the coffee table, a set of divorce papers. 1. “A divorce?” “Chloe, are you serious?” Mark’s voice was incredulous. “You’re throwing away seven years of marriage because of a stupid cat?” He didn’t even bother to read them. He snatched the papers and threw them at the Ragdoll cat, who was currently rubbing against his leg. “If you don’t sign, we’ll settle this in court,” I said quietly, then turned and walked back to our bedroom. Our parents stared, bewildered. Just last month, we were the picture of a happy couple, as affectionate as newlyweds. How had things escalated to divorce so quickly? Mark hung his head, trying to hide the panic in his eyes, his hands clenched into trembling fists. His parents rushed to block my path. “Chloe, you can’t just accuse Mark of cheating because of a cat! Some cats are just naturally drawn to men. What does that prove?” his mother pleaded. “We’ve all seen how good Mark is to you. When you had that terrible flu, he stayed by your bedside for 48 hours straight. When you had that fall, he sold company shares, moved heaven and earth to assemble the best medical team money could buy.” “Does all of that mean less to you than one cat?” My own parents chimed in, their voices thick with disappointment. “Where are you going to find a husband as good as Mark?” my father asked. “Chloe, you can’t have children after your accident,” my mother added, her words a sharp sting. “The fact that Mark doesn’t hold that against you is a blessing. You need to be realistic.” Suddenly, Mark grabbed my hand, his eyes red-rimmed and filled with a desperate, all-consuming love. “Honey, we dated for two years, we’ve been married for five. We faced down death together and never let go. How can you let a cat come between us?” “Is this because I’ve been so busy with the company crisis lately? Do you feel neglected?” “I swear, from now on, no matter how busy I am, I’ll be home on time every night. I’ll be here for you…” The room was filled with people who, on the surface, all loved me. My in-laws, educated and kind, who had always treated me like their own. My parents, more pragmatic, who saw my marriage to Mark as a ticket to a secure life. But my face remained a mask of cold resolve. I pulled my hand from Mark’s grasp. “Let me say this one more time: if you don’t sign these tonight, we’re going to court.” “This is the last shred of dignity I’m offering you.” His eyes were bloodshot. “Chloe, how can you be so cruel?” “It’s simple,” I said, my voice flat. “Because I don’t care about you anymore. Not one bit.” Done with the pointless drama, I walked to the front door and left. The disappointed sighs of our parents followed me out, but I didn’t hesitate. I just walked faster. The Ragdoll slipped out of the open door behind me. Later, as I sat numbly on a park bench, I saw the cat chasing after its former owner, who was taking out the trash. The woman, Hailey, kicked at its head in disgust, but the cat stubbornly refused to leave. I couldn’t watch. I went over to intervene, but the Ragdoll arched its back and hissed at me, claws extended. Hailey let out a laugh. “You see, Chloe? People are just like cats.” “When someone doesn’t like you, they just don’t like you. You can’t force it.” I saw the taunt in her eyes, the smug superiority. I glanced at her pregnant belly, and it all clicked into place. “You’re right,” I said. “You can’t keep a creature that’s determined to be unfaithful. Whether it’s a cat or a person.” Just then, Mark found us, his face a mask of anxiety and panic. But it wasn’t for me. “Chloe, can you just act normal for once?” he snapped. “I told you, the cat liking me is just a coincidence! It has nothing to do with our neighbor! It’s one thing to throw a tantrum at home, but to come down here and harass a pregnant woman? Have you lost your mind?” He didn’t even know what had happened. He just saw me with Hailey and instantly assumed I was the jealous wife causing a scene. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I realized that even if Mark still loved me, that love couldn’t hold a candle to whatever he felt for Hailey. 2. Afraid I would cause more trouble for Hailey, Mark practically dragged me back to our apartment. His parents’ faces were grim. They had read the terms of the divorce agreement and had already thrown it in the trash. “Chloe, what is the meaning of this?” his father demanded. “We’ve treated you well, haven’t we? It’s bad enough you want a divorce over a cat, but you want to leave Mark with nothing?” “Have we been so kind to you that you think you can just walk all over us?” My own parents were red with shame. “You’ve gone too far, Chloe,” my dad said. “We can’t support you when you’re being so unreasonable.” I offered no explanation, just repeated my ultimatum. “If you don’t agree, I’ll see you in court.” A man who cheats deserves to lose everything. Mark’s voice trembled with desperation. “Chloe, is this about money? You know the passwords to all my cards. You can spend whatever you want. Isn’t that enough?” Not all his cards. Or, it used to be. Now, Mark had a few new cards, and I could only imagine how much he’d spent on Hailey behind my back. I was about to point this out when there was a knock on the door. Hailey stood there, the picture of innocence. “I’m so sorry to bother you all this late,” she said sweetly. “Downstairs, I saw Mr. Crawford and Chloe arguing because of me, and I just felt so terrible.” “Chloe wasn’t really harassing me,” she continued, her voice soft and apologetic. “She was just taking her anger out on the cat. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. It’s my fault. She can hit me or yell at me, it’s okay.” My in-laws’ faces darkened. “Chloe, you abused an animal and bullied this young woman?” My parents looked at me with profound disappointment. “Chloe, what has happened to you?” None of them noticed the one, glaring slip-up. “Mr. Crawford?” I asked, a slow, cold smile spreading across my face. “So, you do know my husband, Hailey. You must have been biting your tongue all those times we passed in the hallway and you pretended not to know him.” Hailey’s head snapped down, her eyes wide like a frightened deer. She darted a panicked glance at Mark, a silent plea for help. Her right hand, adorned with a sparkling diamond ring, went to her stomach. The fear and affection in Mark’s eyes were there for only a second before he smoothed his expression over. “I do know Hailey. She’s a junior employee at my company. We’ve crossed paths a few times.” “I didn’t think she was important enough to mention, and I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea,” he said, his tone placating. “Chloe, honey, don’t overthink things.” I had to laugh. If he had nothing to hide, why was he so afraid of me “overthinking” things? And how could a “junior employee” afford a luxury penthouse in the city center? Seeing my silence, Mark’s father stood up, his voice booming. “Chloe, if you have proof, I won’t say a word about the divorce! But if you think you can clean out my son based on nothing but suspicion, I’m telling you right now, you are dreaming!” Before I could reply, Hailey spoke up, blinking innocently. “Leave him with nothing? Chloe, don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” “Even though you’ve never been to the office, every employee there knows how much the CEO adores his wife. Everyone knows how much he loves you. Chloe… could it be that you have another man? Are you just using me as an excuse to try and take all of Mark’s money?” At her words, I didn’t hesitate. I swung my hand and slapped her hard across the face. “Watch your mouth,” I said, my voice dangerously low. “Mark may put up with your nonsense, but I won’t.” 3. For a split second, Mark’s hands clenched into fists, his eyes burning with a rage I had never seen directed at me. Then, he composed himself and turned to Hailey, his voice full of concern. “Are you okay?” Hailey was already crying, her eyes red. “I’m fine. I shouldn’t have said that. Chloe was right to hit me. Please, don’t be angry because of me.” In seven years together, Mark had never once raised his voice to me. Now, he gritted his teeth. “Apologize to Hailey. Bow and apologize.” I gave a disdainful snort. “Why should I? She deserved it.” Suddenly, Mark raised his hand and, with all his might, slapped himself across the face. The sound cracked through the tense silence. Half of his face immediately began to swell. “I’ll take that slap for her,” he said, his voice strained. “Chloe, I’m begging you. Please, stop this.” “Is that it?” he asked, his voice softening into a twisted kind of sympathy. “After your accident, has being cooped up at home all these years… has it affected you mentally? I promise, no matter what’s wrong, I’ll never hold it against you.” “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Just please, stop talking about divorce, okay?” “No,” I said without a moment’s hesitation. “It’s impossible.” “Mark, being with you for another second makes my skin crawl. It’s suffocating.” His concessions, my stubbornness. Our parents had reached their limit. Mark’s parents stood up, their faces cold with fury. “If you insist on a divorce, fine! We’ll see you in court! But don’t think you’ll get a single penny from our family. We will spend whatever it takes to make sure you are the one who leaves with nothing!” My own parents just shook their heads. “Chloe, you’re the one in the wrong here. When you end up with nothing, you’ll regret this.” But was I the one in the wrong? No. The contact I had cultivated inside Mark’s company soon sent me a video file. I was watching it in the guest room when Mark knocked and entered. To prevent him from seeing it and deleting the evidence, I quickly slipped on my wireless earbuds and put my phone away. “Chloe, what’s the point of this divorce?” he asked, his voice weary. “You can’t have children. No family with my kind of standing will ever want to marry you.” I looked at him and laughed coldly. “Mark, do you remember why I can’t have children?” It was because of an accident two years into our marriage. Mark loved thrills, extreme sports, and he always insisted I join him. One day, while rock climbing, he slipped. I risked everything to grab him, and while he managed to find a foothold, my strength gave out. I was the one who fell. Everyone said Mark was a saint for staying with me. He had literally put my life on the line. Now, he looked away, a guilty silence hanging between us. Through my earbuds, I could hear his voice, intertwined with Hailey’s flirtatious laughter. “Mark, that parachute jump was amazing! I had so much fun,” Hailey’s voice cooed. “But maybe having me move in next door is a little too risky, don’t you think?” A series of soft, wet kissing sounds followed. Then, Mark’s voice, low and conspiratorial. “That’s what makes it exciting.” “Chloe’s gotten so boring these last few years. Only you, Hailey… only you make me feel alive.” 4. Once I had gathered enough evidence, I went to Mark’s company to investigate its financial state, making sure he couldn’t hide or transfer any assets. The senior partners knew who I was and cooperated fully. Only Hailey, emboldened by Mark’s favor, tried to obstruct me at every turn. She had someone lead me to an outdoor smoking area. With no one else around, she dropped the act. “Chloe, why can’t you just be a good little housecat, kept and cared for?” “A useless woman like you who can’t even have children… Mark keeping you around is an act of charity. Why do you have to make a scene and embarrass yourself?” I laughed. “Fine. I won’t divorce him.” Hailey blinked, confused. “What?” My laugh grew louder. “You’re not just a homewrecker, you’re an idiot. You came to provoke me because you wanted me to divorce him as soon as possible so you could take my place, right?” “The joke’s on you. When you do take my place, all you’ll inherit is a mountain of debt. You’ll get nothing.” “Remember that Ragdoll cat? Your fate will be even worse than his.” Hailey must have seen what happened to the cat. Starving, it had come back to my door, begging for food. I shut the door in its face. It was forced to fight with strays for scraps, and was now covered in infected bites, a pathetic, miserable creature. Perhaps the cat’s fate struck a nerve. Hailey’s face twisted in rage, and she lunged at me. “You’re the one who’s not wanted! You’re the useless trash about to be thrown out! How dare you curse me?” Disgusted, I sidestepped her easily. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, clutching her stomach and sobbing. The commotion drew a crowd. When Mark heard what happened, he rushed back to the office, grabbed my arm, and tried to force me to apologize to Hailey. I shook him off. “She fell on her own. The security camera will prove it.” Mark gritted his teeth. “Don’t be ridiculous. There are no cameras in the smoking area.” I was about to tell him that there was one I had installed, but Hailey started crying louder. “Mr. Crawford, it’s not Chloe’s fault! It’s mine! I shouldn’t have moved in next door and caused this misunderstanding.” “Please, can you talk to her for me? I don’t care how she treats me, but she can’t hurt the baby!” Mark’s eyes widened in horror. “Chloe, how could you? You’d attack an unborn child? The baby is innocent!” “Innocent?” I sneered. “We don’t even know whose bastard it is—” Before I could finish, Mark’s hand cracked across my face. “You’re unbelievable!” he roared. “You brought this on yourself, Chloe! Don’t blame me for being ruthless! You want to sue? Fine! I’ll have the court date set for tomorrow.” “My family doesn’t need a twisted, inhuman monster like you!” In that moment, we weren’t a couple anymore. We were mortal enemies. And everyone, including my own parents, was on his side. Before the hearing, they were still trying to talk sense into me. “Chloe, are you sure you’re not the one who had an affair?” my mother asked. “The internet is full of stories about you, saying you’re a gold-digger who cheated on her husband. Your reputation is ruined.” “Please, wake up before it’s too late,” my father begged. Mark’s parents wouldn’t even look at me. “A snake is a snake. You can’t change its nature.” “Mark,” his mother said, “when she’s left with nothing and comes crawling back to you, don’t you dare be soft.” Mark himself looked down at me as if granting a final mercy. “Admit you were wrong now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened.” “Otherwise, you’ll end up homeless and alone for the rest of your life.” I said nothing. I just looked at the judge, waiting for the proceedings to begin. The judge’s first words wiped the confident smirk off Mark’s face and sent a wave of shocked disbelief through the courtroom. “What… How could this be?” “Mark, what have you been doing behind our backs?”

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When my husband’s depression flared up again, I exploded. I smashed every door in the house. Finally, I slammed the hammer down in front of him and spat out two words: “We’re done.” He shattered on the spot, clinging to my leg, his cries raw and desperate. “I’m sorry, Bonnie, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have had an episode. I lost control.” “I’ll get help, I promise. I’ll take my medicine.” “You’re all I have. I’m begging you, please, don’t leave me…” His eyes were red, his body wracked with sobs, so fragile he looked like a gust of wind could break him. A pathetic, love-sick fool who couldn’t live without his wife. A far cry from the confident, commanding CEO of Brooks Enterprises. I felt nothing. I lifted my stiletto heel and drove it into his chest. “Are you deaf? I said I want a divorce!” 1 My shout seemed to snap the swarm of relatives out of their stupor, but none of them dared to intervene. Only my husband’s father, Richard Brooks, stepped forward to take control. “Bonnie, calm down. Even if you want a divorce, you must have a reason.” I let out a cold, sharp laugh. “A reason? The reason is he changed the keypad on the front door to a lock and key.” A murmur of confusion rippled through the room. Richard’s face darkened. “Bonnie, if you hadn’t gotten pregnant with a daughter instead of a son, he wouldn’t have gotten depressed in the first place! He wouldn’t be so insecure!” “This ridiculous excuse for a divorce—I don’t accept it!” My husband, Julian, pointed a trembling finger at me, his eyes rimmed with red. I couldn’t even be bothered to look at him. I snapped my briefcase shut. “Sign it,” I said, my voice flat. “Don’t make me force you.” Ever since Julian changed the lock, he’d started locking himself in the bathroom, even to shower. I had to call him just to get into my own home. Sometimes, he’d be in there for three, four hours. I lost count of the number of times I was eaten alive by mosquitoes, or soaked to the bone in the rain until I caught a fever. Anyone who saw would have thought I’d done something wrong, that I was being punished. The neighbors came and went, their gossiping eyes like daggers in my skin and in my heart. I couldn’t take the humiliation. But every time I brought up divorce, Julian would slap me, hard, his eyes blazing. “Is it so hard to make a phone call? You promised you’d respect me for the rest of our lives!” If I dared to talk back, he’d use his depression as a shield, accusing me of having no compassion for a sick person. And now, today, at this family gathering, in front of all his nosy relatives, he was putting on this act of a devoted, heartbroken lover. It was disgusting. I was done with the abuse. I was done being his punching bag. I threw the divorce papers on the table and walked out. The entire family stared, their eyes darting between a trembling Julian and my resolute back. I could hear their whispers, wondering how I, the woman who had always put Julian first, could leave him over something so trivial. Julian stared, stunned, then reached out to grab me. His father started to rise from his chair. But before I could leave, Julian’s psychiatrist, Dr. Tessa Hale, pushed me back into my seat. “Ms. Davis, your husband is suffering from severe depression. He has extreme insecurity.” “He only locks the door to protect himself! How can you, as his wife, be so cruel?” “It’s because of you, constantly stirring up trouble, that his condition keeps getting worse!” The relatives immediately sided with her. “Dr. Hale is right!” “She’s just taking her own bad mood out on her husband!” “For a gold digger, she sure has a temper. Julian is the only one who would put up with her. She’d be nothing without him!” Julian shot a look that silenced them, then turned his gaze to me, his voice softening into a placating purr. “Bonnie, baby, I’m sorry.” “I know my illness has made you suffer. You never used to raise your voice at me. For the sake of our ten years together, can’t you just calm down?” “Is it your mother’s medical bills again? Don’t be embarrassed to ask. Your mother is my family, too.” The onlookers watched Julian’s groveling performance with murmurs of approval, but their looks toward me grew sharper. “Bonnie, for a sick man, Julian treats you incredibly well. You should be grateful,” one of them said. “Have we ever not taken care of your mother’s affairs? Just tell us how much you need. We’ll find a way,” Richard added, leaning on his cane. I knew what they were thinking. That I was too proud, too principled to ask for more money, so I was resorting to this drama instead. I met Julian’s eyes as he reached for my hand. I sidestepped his touch, my voice cold and detached. “There’s nothing left between us. Let’s end it.” The room fell silent. Julian rushed forward, grabbing me, his voice cracking. “Bonnie, don’t lie to me…” I shoved him away, taking two steps back. “It’s the truth.” “Let’s just end it here. With some dignity.” Julian stood frozen in shock. From the stroller, our daughter began to wail. I ignored everyone and turned to leave. Crash. A glass shattered at my feet. It was Tessa. She lunged forward, slapping the divorce papers against my chest, her finger jabbing at me. “Bonnie, are you even human?” “Julian gave up a scholarship to study abroad just to marry you! He loves you so much! And this is how you repay him?” “Now that he’s sick, you’re just going to abandon him and your daughter?” “You ungrateful bitch!” I looked at the frantic, sputtering woman and found it all rather amusing. “Dr. Hale, my husband and I are getting a divorce. What does that have to do with you?” Tessa’s spittle flew as she grabbed my collar, screaming. “You still call him your husband!” “You don’t know what’s good for you! Do you have any idea how much money the Brooks family has sunk into your half-dead mother?” “If Julian didn’t pity you, didn’t love you, your mother would have been dead and buried long ago!” I kicked her, hard. She stumbled back. “Get lost. A family gathering is no place for a shrink to be meddling.” Julian shoved past me, rushing to help Tessa up from the floor. “Bonnie, why are you taking your anger out on her? She’s innocent!” “I’m taking it out on the bitch who can’t keep her mouth shut!” I shot back, my resolve hardening as I glanced at the tender scene on the floor. The relatives’ accusations grew louder, a chorus of voices negating my ten years of devotion. They called me a thankless viper, moaning about how much Julian had suffered by marrying me. Tessa patted Julian’s hand. “It’s alright, Julian. It was my fault.” “I’m an outsider. I shouldn’t have judged Ms. Davis. Don’t get upset, you’ll make yourself sick.” She shook her head, her voice thick with feigned sorrow. “How could it be your fault?” Julian’s eyes were overflowing with adoration for her. He looked up at me, his voice choked with tears. “Bonnie, must you embarrass everyone like this?” “You know I love you. The family is all here. Can’t you just give me some face? We can talk about this at home.” His tears fell, one by one, onto Tessa’s chest. I could only laugh. He cried harder. The relatives rushed to comfort him. His performance cast me as the villain of the century. “Bonnie, you’ve taken good care of Julian all these years.” “I’ve seen your dedication and your filial piety.” “Just tell us the truth. What really happened? If it’s our family’s fault, we won’t shirk responsibility.” Richard limped over, leaning on his cane, trying to reason with me. But I remained stone-faced, unmoved. “This divorce,” I said flatly, “is happening.” Richard coughed, his face flushing a deep red with anger. Julian scrambled up from the floor, grabbing my hand, pleading. “Bonnie, don’t go.” When I didn’t react, he roared. “You must be cheating on me!” I met his gaze calmly, saying nothing. The cane slammed against the floor. “Bonnie!” Richard bellowed. “Everything you have, every piece of clothing on your back, came from the Brooks family! And you still have a sick mother to support!” “Live a quiet life, or leave with nothing. The choice is yours.” “I suggest you think it over carefully. You have two days.” It was meant to be terrifying. The onlookers’ faces were masks of anticipation, waiting for me to admit defeat. I shook Julian’s hand off me. “I don’t need two days. I can give you an answer right now.” “I, Bonnie Davis, and Julian Brooks, are getting a divorce today. If you don’t agree, then just wait for the special gift I have for you.” With that, I walked out of the Brooks house without a backward glance. The moment I got in my car, my childhood friend, Alex, sent me a few videos. They were all from the security camera at my front door. In the videos, every day, just before I got home from work, a figure would emerge from my house. The figure would then provocatively wave a different pair of lace panties at the camera. This whole drama about the lock? It was all a smokescreen. The real fuse was this endless stream of taunting videos. Two days was too long. I just wanted to send them all to hell as quickly as possible. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, I went back to the house to pack. When I opened the door, Tessa was in the living room, rocking our daughter’s cradle. Julian’s face went pale. He tried to compose himself, but his voice stuttered. “Dr. Hale… we had an appointment… for my… my therapy.” I ignored them and went straight to the bedroom. I was only there for one thing: the jade pendant my mother had given me to present to my husband. Julian no longer deserved it. Before I could even step into the bedroom, Tessa pushed the cradle in front of me, blocking my path, a smug look on her face. “Ms. Davis, I’m so glad you came home.” “The baby is so young. She can’t be without her mother.” “Come and see your daughter.” She tried to pull me towards the cradle. I shook her off, but she grabbed me again. I’d had enough. I shoved her away. “Get lost,” I snarled. I quickly went into the room, pulled open the nightstand drawer, and took out the jade pendant. Tessa followed, relentless, trying to snatch it from my hand, but she missed. “You think you’re worthy of something from the Brooks family?” I shoved her hard. She stumbled backward a few steps. Suddenly, the sound of a crash and a baby’s scream filled the air. Tessa was on the floor. Next to her, the cradle was overturned. Julian rushed in, saw the scene, and immediately rounded on me. “Bonnie! If anything happens to my daughter, I will never forgive you!” he roared, scooping up the baby and frantically checking her for injuries. “Julian, it’s all my fault,” Tessa whimpered from the floor. “I just thought the baby missed her mommy, but Ms. Davis didn’t care. She… she pushed us.” While I was distracted, Julian snatched the jewelry box from my hand and smashed it on the floor with all his might, his eyes blazing red. “For this piece of junk! You’d hurt your own flesh and blood?” My mind went blank. I only cared about the pendant. Thankfully, the box was sturdy. The jade was unharmed. Tessa screamed at me from behind. “You’re not a fucking human being! Your own daughter falls and you don’t even care! You go for a stupid piece of rock! Is that jade more important than your daughter’s life?” Julian righted the cradle, his tear-filled eyes fixed on me. “Bonnie, you better pray our daughter is okay!” “Take your trash and get out of my house!” “And never come back!” “After the court case tomorrow, I’m not just taking everything from you, I’m going to ruin your entire family!” “Get out!” He was like a madman, smashing things as he yelled. I just calmly clutched the box and left that toxic place. I hadn’t even left the neighborhood when Alex called and told me to check the trending topics online. A tidal wave of hate washed over me. They called me a gold-digging slut. A manipulative leech who only preyed on rich men. A monster who would choose an illegitimate child over her own daughter. I was branded with a thousand sins. AI-generated images were woven into the articles, making it all seem real. “Get everything about my mother taken down,” I told Alex. “The rest of it? Sue them.” I hung up and let the storm rage. After lunch, I announced a livestream for that afternoon. Julian called me over a hundred times. I didn’t answer. Finally, he showed up outside Alex’s building with a banner and a megaphone, the noise deafening. “Bonnie, the internet is tearing you apart!” “Going live won’t help! If you just apologize and repent, I’m willing to give you another chance!” I watched him from the floor-to-ceiling window above, my expression cold. Tessa snatched the megaphone, her voice oozing with false concern. “Julian said he’s willing to forgive you! Why make things harder for yourself? A livestream will only make it worse!” “Just admit you’re wrong! Your mother can still be saved!” Richard was there too, sitting under a parasol. “Bonnie,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Young people shouldn’t be so impulsive. What woman in her right mind would divorce her husband for changing a door lock?” Their words were nothing but threats to me. I watched the second hand complete its final rotation. The livestream started. As expected, the comments were a torrent of abuse. Not to be outdone, Julian started his own livestream from his company’s official account and requested to connect with me. The screen split in two. “Bonnie, since you refuse to repent, don’t blame me for what comes next.” On Julian’s side of the screen, a slideshow began: my spending records at high-end private clubs, and a string of fabricated, filthy chat logs. [Wow, what a slut! So dirty!] [Poor Julian! I support the divorce!!] [I’m a lawyer, and this bitch is definitely leaving with nothing!] “Well, let’s let the good people of the internet be the judge today!” Julian said, smugly fanning himself behind a pair of sunglasses. I let out a cold laugh, turned up the AC a notch, and said calmly, “Eight hundred and ninety-one.” Julian froze, his fan faltering. He quickly started fanning himself again, faster this time. “Don’t start quoting legal statutes. You don’t even know any.” “Are they legal statutes, Julian?” Alex, standing beside me, couldn’t hold back a laugh. The gift was about to be unwrapped.

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On the cusp of college graduation, my girlfriend, Sophie, suddenly broke up with me. She gave me a mansion, a Bentley, and a check for eight million dollars, saying it was thanks for my four years of companionship. I was completely blindsided. I needed to know why. But her voice was cold as ice. “Ethan, for people from my kind of family, love and marriage are two very different things. I’m going back home for an arranged marriage. Do you understand?” 1 My girlfriend was getting engaged, but the groom-to-be wasn’t me. When I rushed to the engagement party, I saw her on the stage. Sophie. She was wearing a couture gown and dripping with magnificent jewels, an image of breathtaking, dignified beauty. But the man standing across from her was a different story. He couldn’t have been more than five-foot-three, was grotesquely overweight, and his face was a constellation of greasy, angry pimples that looked like they were about to burst. This was the man my girlfriend was going to marry? My mind flashed back to the night before, and it felt like a lifetime ago. I had just gotten home to the mansion from my internship when Sophie pinned me to the bed. She leaned down, her lips on mine, and her voice was a husky whisper. “Tonight… forget I’m human.” And then, she devoured me. But when I woke up, she was gone. Her number was disconnected. Her social media—all of it—deleted. It was as if she had been erased from my world without a trace, leaving me reeling. Then, her lawyer showed up. He arrived at noon. He said Sophie had given him specific instructions to wait until then, so as not to disturb my rest. He handed me a folder. I read the documents, my mind a complete fog. It was a gift deed. It stated that Sophie Claire Sullivan was voluntarily bestowing upon me the mansion, the Bentley, and a savings account with eight million dollars as a thank-you gift for our four-year relationship. So, she had just dumped me out of the blue, and was now treating me like some kind of kept man, throwing money at me to make me go away? The thing is, I didn’t need the money. Not even a little. I’d told her as much when we first got together. But she had just smiled with that incredible confidence of hers and said, “No matter how rich you are, Ethan, you’re not richer than me.” I never bothered to argue. I was in love with her. But why would she end things? Just last night, she had been so passionate, so fierce, whispering how much she loved me over and over again. How could it all just be over? I forced myself to calm down. I made a few calls, pulled a few strings, and within an hour, I had the full picture. And that’s how I ended up here, at her engagement party. I could see it on her face—Sophie wasn’t happy. Was she being forced into this? “Kiss her! Kiss her!” someone in the crowd yelled. I watched in horror as the fat man reached for Sophie’s hand. She flinched back instinctively, pulling away. His face soured. His thick lips flapped, spraying spittle as he spoke. “Have you already forgotten what you promised me?” Sophie’s face went pale, but she took a hesitant step forward. She was being threatened. I was sure of it. I pushed my way through the crowd, shouting her name. “Sophie! If something’s wrong, just tell me! Don’t do this to yourself!” Every head in the room turned to look at me. When Sophie saw me, a flicker of joy ignited in her cold eyes, but it was extinguished in an instant, replaced by a wall of ice. “Who the hell is this kid?” the fat man sneered, glaring at me. “Calling my fiancée by her first name? Real chummy, aren’t you?” I was about to declare exactly who I was when Sophie cut me off. Her beautiful brows furrowed. “He’s just some pathetic simp. Have security throw him out. Ignore him.” 2 A simp? I could feel the weight of a hundred disdainful stares. Who ever respected a simp? But that wasn’t me. Not at all. Sophie and I met at a club fair. I’d just finished a basketball game and was so hungry I could have eaten a horse. I ended up sneaking some snacks from my roommate’s stash. He gave me some crap for it and dared me to call him ‘daddy’ for the rest of the day. It was just stupid dorm room banter, so I did it. Sophie, who happened to be nearby, immediately stepped in to defend me. She lectured my roommate about picking on people who were less fortunate, then she turned to me and lectured me about stealing. She had this fierce, take-charge personality, always playing the role of the righteous protector. After that, I played up the ‘poor, pitiful me’ angle. I started following her around everywhere, and before long, we were together. The whole campus knew me as the guy she’d “taken in.” People would whisper about her and her boy toy, and I worried it would embarrass her. I told her the truth—that my family was actually incredibly wealthy—but she just shrugged it off, not seeming to care. Our four years together weren’t some epic, dramatic love story, but they were filled with a sweet, deep affection. We barely ever fought. That’s why this sudden breakup was so impossible for me to accept. I had to know the real reason. I looked at her on the stage and started walking toward her. Before I could say a word, the fat man stepped in front of me. He was so short I had to look down to see him, and he had to crane his neck to look up at me. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming up here.” He actually jumped, trying to slap me. I stepped back easily, dodging the blow. I frowned, my eyes fixed on Sophie. “You broke up with me for this piece of work?” “What the hell are you talking about?” Sophie rushed forward and, with a sharp swing, slapped me across the face. When he tried to hit me, I moved. When she hit me, I stood perfectly still. She was wearing heels. I was afraid she might lose her balance and fall. She was about to marry another man, and I was still worried about her. God, I was pathetic. I touched my stinging cheek, my heart aching with a grief so sharp it stole my breath. “So you’re the college boyfriend?” The man, Gus, walked over, a contemptuous smirk on his face. “A kept man who dares to act tough in front of me? Do you have any idea who I am? I’m Gus Coleman. The Colemans are the richest family in Port City!” I ignored him, my gaze locked on Sophie. “You just left. Without a word. That’s not fair to me.” “Fair?” Her voice was laced with scorn. “The mansion, the car, the money—I gave you everything. What more could you possibly want? Stop making a scene, Ethan. We’re over.” She frowned. “You know how it is for families like mine. Love and marriage are separate. Thank you for the last four years, but my husband can only be Gus Coleman. Is that clear enough for you?” “I just want to know one thing,” I said, my voice low. “Do you love me?” I knew all about arranged marriages between powerful families. My own parents were a product of one. But they were lucky; they were childhood sweethearts, and their love story was a natural progression. As for me… I was supposed to have an arranged marriage too, but it wasn’t a requirement. The Hayes family’s position in New York was so secure, we no longer needed alliances to solidify our power. “Love?” Sophie let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t be naive, Ethan. I’ve known since I was a little girl that I would have to marry for duty. I don’t believe in love. I was with you because you were good-looking, and because you were poor enough to be easily controlled.” She smirked. “There. You have your answer. Now go.” 3 So, what I thought was a deep, sweet love was just a fantasy I’d created in my own head. In Sophie’s eyes, I was nothing more than a handsome, obedient boy toy. It was laughable. I nodded slowly. If that’s how it was, then fine. The pain in my chest was a physical thing, but I knew how to let go. I came here to try and win her back. If that wasn’t possible, I would walk away. I gave her a sad smile. “Alright. I wish you happiness, Sophie.” With that, I turned to leave the stage. Sophie’s hand clenched into a fist, but she looked away, refusing to meet my eyes. But Gus stepped in front of me, blocking my path. His laugh was a mocking sneer. “You came all this way. You might as well stay and watch the ceremony. Leaving now would be a personal insult to me, to the Coleman family… to all of Port City!” “That’s a bold statement,” I said with a small, dangerous smile. I’d heard similar lines before. New York is a big city; not everyone knows who I am. It’s inevitable that some idiot would try to puff out his chest in front of me. But after I’d dealt with a few of them, people learned to watch their mouths. Gus didn’t catch the contempt in my voice. He just clapped his hands. Instantly, a crowd of men in black suits emerged from the wings, surrounding the stage. “Listen, kid,” Gus said, his voice low and menacing. “If I’m not happy today, you’re not walking out of this room.” Sophie rushed over, her eyes blazing. “Ethan, get out of here, now! I don’t want to see you again!” “Did I say you could speak?” Gus’s face went cold. “You think I’m an idiot? You think I can’t see you’re trying to protect this kid?” Protecting me? I looked deeply at Sophie and saw a flicker of genuine worry in her eyes. Was it possible… that everything she’d just said was a lie? But she just shook her head, her voice softening as she turned back to Gus. “I just don’t want any connection to my past. Besides, this is our engagement party. What does it look like if my ex-boyfriend is here? How would that make you look?” Her tone was suddenly gentle. “Gus, darling, I’m only thinking of you.” Gus’s expression softened slightly, but he was still puffed up with his own importance. “I’m not worried about how I look. In my little corner of the world, in this city, I am God!” He pointed at me. “Get off the stage and go watch from the audience!” I nodded, gave Sophie a look that was half-smile, half-riddle, and walked down the steps. The moment my feet hit the floor, four men in black suits surrounded me. They escorted me to a table in the far corner and sat me down. They were making sure I couldn’t escape. From the stage, Gus yelled, “Just sit there and enjoy the show, kid. You’re not leaving until I say you can.” I just smiled faintly. “You won’t let me leave now. But when you’re begging me to go later, I might not want to.” “Shut your mouth!” Sophie snapped. I just smiled and said nothing. They wanted to play this game. Fine. They wouldn’t like how it ended. Gus added, “I hear you’re from New York. That’s great. Some very important people from the City will be here later. Real big shots. I’ll introduce you. A little networking for you. Broaden your horizons.” “Why, thank you. I can’t wait,” I said, unable to suppress another laugh. Just then, a group of young men swaggered over. They were all loud, arrogant, and reeked of privilege. Gus’s cronies, no doubt. “Kid, you really should have just stayed home.” “You actually think Sophie can protect you?” “Let me tell you something. Even if you hadn’t shown up today, Gus wasn’t going to let you off the hook. You think he’s going to let the guy who slept with his fiancée for four years just walk away alive?” “I’ve got my phone right here. Want me to call the cops for you?” They laughed, their mockery echoing in the large hall. I just fiddled with my phone, not bothering to engage with them. But one thing was now crystal clear. Sophie was, indeed, trying to protect me.

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On the way to pick up my wedding dress, my fiancé, Finn Sullivan, was kidnapped. He survived, but he forgot me. Every time marriage was mentioned, he would pass out. The doctor diagnosed it as a dissociative fugue, a second personality triggered by the trauma. Then, I found out I was pregnant. “The baby might be the key,” the doctor suggested, “to unlocking the Finn who loves you.” I clutched the ultrasound report, hope blooming in my chest, and went to find him. But instead, I heard him joking with his friends. “Damn, Finn, you’re playing the long game. Faking a whole second personality just to dodge the wedding! What’s next, a third and fourth?” “Nope! I love Elvira. This is the only time I’ll ever lie to her. Once I sleep with ten more girls, I’m done.” “Only ten? That’s not enough to unlock all the achievements, man. I say you keep this charade up for another year. Elvira would marry you even if you were a ghost.” Finn’s voice turned cold as he scolded his friend. “I can’t stand to see her upset for that long! Now hurry up and find me some girls. I want the freaky ones who are still technically virgins. One every three days. Nothing can delay my wedding to Elvira!” I shredded the ultrasound report with trembling hands and walked straight back to the clinic to schedule an abortion. 1 The doctor was surprised to see me back so soon, assuming I wasn’t feeling well. When I told him I needed the procedure, he stared in disbelief. “Elvira, you both struggled so hard to conceive. If you terminate now, it might trigger your fiancé, make his condition worse!” A bitter smile twisted my lips. “If I told him the truth, that would probably kill him.” After all, he was currently luxuriating in the pleasure of playing the field, convinced he was getting away with it. I couldn’t wrap my head around it—the man who had begged me, tears in his eyes, to marry him, was now faking an illness just to cheat. The doctor couldn’t dissuade me, but he insisted on calling Finn before I signed the consent forms. “Ms. Hayes, this isn’t just your decision. Even if his illness makes him say he doesn’t want the child right now, he needs to be here to sign for you, to be with you during the surgery. If there’s a misunderstanding, it needs to be cleared up face-to-face…” I placed a gentle hand on my stomach. I didn’t stop him. I had PCOS; pregnancy was a miracle for me. Finn hadn’t cared about the risks; he’d even fought with his parents to marry me. If this child was leaving us, Finn deserved to be there to say goodbye. But as soon as the doctor explained the situation, Finn scoffed. “How much is Elvira Hayes paying you to stage this little drama? I told you, I don’t know her, let alone want to marry her.” “Tell her to stop trying to trap me with these games. Who knows if the kid is even mine?” The abrupt dial tone and the echo of his cruel laughter hung in the sterile silence of the operating room. I signed my own name and closed my eyes. When I woke up in recovery, my phone was lit up with notifications. All from Finn. [Whatever we were before, now I am me, and you are you. If you have the energy to hire actors to fool me, you should use it to move out of my house!] He was very thoughtful. He’d already rented me a fully furnished apartment in the same complex. He’d even paid the first month’s rent. To avoid suspicion, he’d signed a one-year lease with the landlord. [Consider us even. You don’t owe me for the rent.] I glanced at the blurred, bloody image on the ultrasound printout and replied calmly. [Okay. Thank you.] That rent money would be the last responsibility he ever took for this child. I stayed in the hospital for three days. He never contacted me again. But his social media was a constant stream of flashing lights and flowing alcohol. It was as if he was trying to reclaim all the wild youth he’d missed out on because of me. I knew he was posting it for me to see. I had another, burner account that followed him, and none of those posts were visible there. So I played my part. I “liked” every video. When I was checking out, I saw him and a doctor pushing a gurney down the hallway at a run. The moment he saw me, he quickly looked away, pretending I wasn’t there. But I heard the ER doctor shouting orders. “Prep OR 1! We need O-negative blood, stat! Patient has a ruptured luteal cyst, massive hemorrhage!” “What? We’re out of stock?” The doctor hung up and quickly relayed the situation to Finn. The man who had just ignored me stopped dead in his tracks and ran back towards me. “Elvira Hayes! If you donate blood for Lara, I’ll overlook you stalking me!” I stared at him, dumbfounded. “I’m not stalking you…” “Enough! Save the excuses! This is life or death!” He grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the doctor. “She’s O-negative. Take whatever you need!” I struggled, but his grip was like iron. I asked him, my voice dripping with cold irony, “I thought you didn’t know me? How do you know I have a rare blood type?” I held his gaze, waiting for his answer. 2 Finn scratched his head, snapping impatiently, “Is this really the time to be asking questions? You keep saying we were in love for six years. Isn’t it normal that in a crisis, I’d instinctively remember your blood type?” But I had just had an abortion. I was still spotting. How could I possibly donate blood? And even if I could, why should I help him clean up his mess? “I just had a miscarriage,” I said flatly. “I can’t donate. Find someone else.” Finn’s face twisted in anger. “Elvira, you claim to love me, but when I ask you for a little blood, you refuse? You’d even lie about a miscarriage!” “I can’t believe you’d just let someone die! No wonder I can’t remember ever loving you!” He was right about one thing: if he had truly loved me, he wouldn’t be faking amnesia to cheat on me. He would have seen how pale my face still was. He certainly wouldn’t be forcing me to donate blood for his mistress. A monitor nearby started screaming. The ER doctor, wasting no more time, signaled for the gurney to be rushed to the OR. Finn tried to drag me to the blood bank, but I dug in my heels. Enraged, he swept me off my feet and threw me over his shoulder. “Elvira, willing or not, I’ll owe you for this. Fine! I’ll marry you on the original date!” All the fight drained out of me. He had once risked his life to save mine. I would consider this debt repaid. As I watched my dark red blood flow into the bag, my heart turned to ice, drop by drop. As soon as the bag was full, Finn sprinted off with the nurse towards the operating room. To his retreating back, I whispered, “Finn Sullivan, we’re even.” I walked out of the donation room, a wave of dizziness hitting me. My vision went black, and I collapsed. When I woke up, the doctor looked like he wanted to scold me, but it melted into a heavy sigh. “Take care of yourself. With your condition, you can’t donate blood again for at least six months.” I smiled and agreed. As the doctor left, I overheard a young nurse whispering to him. “Sir, why didn’t you tell her we couldn’t reach her emergency contact? What if she misunderstands…?” “She won’t. That girl sees everything clearly. It’s a shame she fell for the wrong man.” I picked up my phone. The doctor had called Finn over a dozen times on my behalf. Not a single call was answered. Instead, he had texted me a furious message. [Elvira, can you stop being so dramatic? Know your place!] In that moment, I was relieved he hadn’t answered. I couldn’t imagine the vicious things he would have said to humiliate me. I didn’t reply. I lay in bed for a full day before I had the strength to walk. The sun was shining outside. I went to the hospital’s rooftop garden to get some air and unexpectedly ran into Finn’s friends. They were all carrying elaborate fruit baskets and bouquets of flowers. I thought they were there for me and instinctively turned to leave. But they surrounded me, eyeing my hospital gown with amusement. “Well, well, well. Knew Finn was here with his girlfriend, so you decided to put on a little pity play, huh?” “It was just a little blood donation. Do you have to act like you’re on death’s door?” “Gotta say, the pale makeup looks very natural. Seamless. We always said you were manipulative, but Finn never believed us…” Finn’s friends always thought I wasn’t good enough for him. If he hadn’t forced them to treat me like family, they never would have accepted me. Now, playing along with Finn’s charade, they could finally unleash their true feelings. Finn came downstairs to meet them. He froze when he saw me, then his brow furrowed. “Elvira, seriously? I already promised we’d still have the wedding. Now you’re paying doctors to help you fake an illness so you can spy on me? Is this fun for you?” “Do you have any idea how suffocating this is?” “I’m telling you right now, if you keep this up after we’re married, we’ll end up divorced anyway!” 3 “Don’t bother,” I said, my voice steady. “I don’t need you to marry me.” In our six years together, he had always been free. When he wanted to drink, I sat quietly beside him, never rushing him. If I wasn’t appropriate for the occasion, I waited for his call to pick him up, then took care of him without complaint when he was drunk. When he wanted to take a trip with his friends, I booked the tickets and planned the itinerary. Even when he offered me his phone to check, I never did. I loved him, and I didn’t want to repeat my mother’s mistake—her suffocating control had driven my father to divorce. I thought I had maintained a healthy distance in our relationship. Before his “accident,” we were inseparable, still in the honeymoon phase. But now, I understood. My love was suffocating him. Was that the real reason he was faking this illness, seeking a thrill? Our eyes met. I saw no trace of affection in his gaze. The accusations on the tip of my tongue died in my throat. Finn, unsettled by my stare, grabbed a bouquet of lilies from his friend and shoved it into my arms. “Fine. Don’t play the victim after getting what you wanted. Take the flowers and go.” He still thought I was the same girl who could be placated with a small gift. He didn’t believe that the woman who swore she would marry no one but him could ever truly leave. I handed the flowers back to his friend. “These are for your girlfriend. It’s not appropriate for me to take them.” “I donated the blood willingly. You really don’t have to sacrifice yourself by marrying me.” A flicker of panic crossed Finn’s face. Shouldn’t Elvira be ecstatic? Why is she insisting I don’t have to marry her? Is she actually mad this time? Anxiety flashed in his eyes. “Elvira, I…” His friends started coughing pointedly. He quickly corrected himself. “Elvira, I’m a man of my word.” I just smiled. “You should go be with your girlfriend. I’m checking out now.” My generosity seemed to unnerve him further. He felt something was very different about me today, but he couldn’t pinpoint what. His friends, seeing his hesitation, slapped him on the back and dragged him away. “Come on, man, stop staring. Your Lara will get jealous! It’s just the usual drama—first the pity play, now playing hard to get. Same old female tricks. You’re too naive, easy to manipulate.” “Seriously! Look what you did, man. You’re not a teenager anymore. How did you manage to cause her to hemorrhage? Luckily, Lara’s understanding and doesn’t hold it against you, unlike some people who demand marriage just for donating a little blood…” Their words, intentionally loud enough for me to hear, didn’t cause the expected pain. I just felt cold, a chill that settled deep in my marrow, a cold that even the bright sunlight couldn’t warm. I watched them leave and then discharged myself. While Finn was away, I hired a cleaning service to help me pack. The woman looked at the beautifully decorated apartment, ready for newlyweds, and hesitated. “Miss, all this wedding stuff is brand new. Are you sure you want to throw it away?” “Yes,” I said. “The groom died. We won’t be needing it.” She immediately apologized and consoled me. Afraid of triggering me, she started by packing away the wedding photos and dozens of photo albums first. In just half a day, the home I had so carefully decorated lost all its warmth and joy. A cold house for a cold heart. The cleaner looked at the dozen bags filled with symbols of our love, shaking her head with a sigh. “Miss, you have to look forward.” I smiled and nodded. After she left, I made sure there was no trace of me left in the apartment. I deleted my fingerprints from the smart lock and pulled my suitcase out the door.

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My adoptive brother framed me for breaking his jade pendant. As punishment, my sister sent me to be a lab test subject—despite the 95% risk. “Your sacrifice will help River join the lab,” they said. Unknown to them, River had secretly signed to have me converted into a robot permanently. I called our parents. “Stop being difficult,” they chided, while buying River a Patek Philippe in the background. So I told the lab: “Begin the simulation. The android is ready.” Three months later, I returned—perfectly obedient, emotionless. Everyone was satisfied… Until River’s consent form surfaced. That day, both my sisters lost their minds. 1 The day I was released from the lab was also my birthday. Of course, everyone forgot. They had promised me that if I participated in the experiment, they would give me a birthday present, that they would finally accept me. But when the day came, they were too busy showering River with flowers and gifts, holding car doors open for him. I was left in the corner, forgotten, like a true machine. They had doted on River for eighteen years. Everyone in the city knew him as the young master of the powerful Shaw family. And me? I was just the long-lost son, found after eighteen years, an outsider who never truly belonged. I shouldn’t have hoped for a love that was never meant for me. But when I saw my second sister, Celine, I mechanically reached out my hand. The chip in my brain reminded me of her promise. “Celine,” I said, my voice flat. “It’s my birthday. You promised me.” She was startled for a moment, then let out a short, sharp laugh. “I was just saying that. You actually took it seriously? You never learn, do you?” My eldest sister, Nora, frowned and pulled out a diamond-encrusted watch. “Celine, if he wants it, just give it to him. The Shaw family isn’t short on cash.” But River whined from the side, “Nora, you said you’d only celebrate one brother’s birthday.” At that, Celine snatched the watch and dangled it in front of my face. “You want this?” she taunted, a smirk playing on her lips as her eyes fell to my wrist. “Have you looked in a mirror? With hands that ugly, even the finest watch would just make people laugh at you.” A grotesque black tattoo snaked around my wrist like a crawling insect. Celine had told me it was a protective charm she’d gotten specially for me, that I had to have it tattooed on to ensure my safety. I was so happy, so desperate for her affection, that I endured the searing pain of the needle as it etched the design into my skin. Later, at a family banquet, she grabbed my hand and showed it off to everyone, laughing hysterically. “This illiterate doesn’t even recognize Spanish. Look, everyone.” “He tattooed ‘River’s Dog’ on himself. What an idiot.” Only then did I understand. It wasn’t a blessing. It was a brand. I tried to get it removed, but she threatened me. If I dared to touch it, she would disown me. So I swallowed my pride and endured, right up until she sent me to the lab, right up until River secretly had me converted into a robot. Now, my face was a mask. I picked up a sharp piece of gravel from the roadside and began to scrape at the tattoo on my wrist. A robot doesn’t need a sister. This brand served no purpose. The stone tore at my flesh, drawing blood. Celine’s expression changed. “What are you doing?” she hissed, grabbing my hand. “Did you forget what I said? If you get rid of this, I’m done with you.” I curved my lips into a perfectly calibrated smile. “You said it was ugly, Celine. So I’m removing it.” She was stunned. She threw the watch on the ground. “Fine, take it, you psycho.” I ignored her, continuing to scrape away at the ink until my wrist was a bloody mess, all traces of the black letters gone. Nora stood by, watching coldly. Only when I was finished did she toss a tissue at me. “Celine will never accept you,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. “It’s good that you finally see that.” “River is our real family. Even though Mom and Dad brought you back, in our hearts, we only have one brother, and that’s River.” “Letting you stay with the Shaw family is already a great tolerance on our part. Don’t expect anything more. Do you understand?” I stood up, grinding the tissue and the diamond watch under my heel. “I understand.” She smiled, satisfied. “As long as you remain as obedient as you are now, I won’t make things difficult for you.” She had no idea that the obedient brother she was so pleased with was an emotionless robot. No matter how they humiliated me now, I would feel nothing. 2 I was a world-class scientist. To find my family, I had concealed my identity and returned to my home country. But after my biological parents found me, I discovered they already had an adopted son, River, whom they had cherished for years. My two sisters looked down on my humble background and my non-existent academic record. “You didn’t even finish elementary school?” “How could we have a brother this stupid?” “If word gets out, we’ll be the laughingstock of the city’s elite.” I was about to explain that I had been scouted for a special program abroad at a young age and had been involved in classified research ever since, which was why my records were blank. But before I could speak, River ran down the stairs with a suitcase, his eyes downcast, feigning heartbreak. “Celine,” he said sadly, “you have your real brother now. I guess this imposter should leave.” She snorted. “Who dares call you an imposter? I, Celine Shaw, have only one brother, and that’s River.” She tossed my file aside. “This waste of space who didn’t even finish grade school could never be my brother.” I wisely kept my mouth shut. No one in this house wanted me. But I had been alone for over a decade. I craved the warmth of a family. At first, when my parents brought me back, they were kind. My mother held me and cried until her eyes were swollen. My father swore he would make up for the twenty years I was lost. It was only my sisters, afraid of hurting River’s feelings, who were cold to me. I’d spent my life calculating numbers, solving complex problems in a laboratory. I was used to succeeding. I thought family was just another equation to be solved. I wracked my brain trying to please them. When Celine told me to get the tattoo, I didn’t hesitate, despite my fear of pain. I burned my fingers blistering them while making hangover soup for my father and sister when they came home late from business dinners. But I didn’t know that nothing I did could ever compete with a few simple words from River, who had been in this family for twenty years. Fueled by his manipulations, their attitude toward me soured. Then came the day River smashed the family heirloom—a jade pendant his mother had given him—on the floor and burst into tears. “Brother,” he cried, “if you wanted it, I would have given it to you. I would give you anything. Why did you have to destroy it?” Just like that, my sisters sent me to the AI lab. When I came out, I was a robot, incapable of feeling. River had a chip implanted in my brain, forcing me to obey his commands. Just like now. He was lounging lazily on the sofa. “Brother,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension, “go fetch me a basin of water to wash my feet.” Celine was touching up her makeup nearby. She smiled, her red lips curving. “You heard him. Go on. If you don’t listen to River, don’t blame me for kicking you out of this house.” River gave a mysterious smile. “Don’t worry, Celine. My brother’s all better now. He’ll be a good boy. Won’t you? Watch.” I silently fetched a basin of water and placed it before him. Celine looked surprised, then her expression softened into a smug grin. “Shameless. You’d do anything to stay in the Shaw family, wouldn’t you?” River smiled and dipped his feet into the water. The next second, he kicked the basin over. “It’s scalding! Are you trying to burn me alive?” The basin of hot water drenched me. River pouted. “Turned into a robot…” he muttered, then glanced at Celine and quickly cut himself off. Celine put down her lipstick, her brow furrowed. “River, what did you just say? What robot?” He laughed it off. “Oh, Celine, I just meant he’s dumber than a robot.” He thought for a moment. “You think if we actually turned him into a robot, he’d be any smarter than he is now?” Celine’s expression turned serious. “River, he’s still Mom and Dad’s biological son. You can prank him all you want, but you have to let him live.” “And don’t you ever talk about turning him into a robot again. If Nora heard you, she’d lecture you for days.” River’s face darkened, but he forced a smile. “Of course not. I was just joking. With you and Nora spoiling me, I’m more than satisfied. Why would I need to mess with him?” Celine smiled and patted his head. “My sweet brother is the best. No need to waste your time on an idiot.” She tossed a hand towel from the sofa toward me. “Wipe yourself off.” But River hooked his foot around the towel and kicked it away. “Sister, that’s your towel. I won’t let you give it to him.” He smirked. “Besides, the floor is still wet.” “Brother,” he said, his voice sickly sweet, “since you’re already soaked, why don’t you just roll around on the floor and dry it up?” Celine stood up and checked her watch. “Do as River says. I have to go out.” She gently straightened River’s collar. “I know you’re upset, but remember, for Mom and Dad’s sake, do not turn him into a robot. This is not something you can be impulsive about. I’m only saying this for your own good.” River looked up, blinking innocently. “Okay, I’ll listen to you, sister.” I lay silently on the floor. The water seeped through my synthetic skin, trickling through the tiny pores of my circuit boards and into my central processing unit. Celine didn’t know. The little brother she trusted so completely had already turned me into a robot. And a robot, when severely water-damaged, will break down. 3 Perhaps Celine’s warning only served to ignite River’s cruelty. His abuse at home escalated. “Brother, you were lost for so many years. You don’t know how to do anything. How did you even survive?” he taunted. “Did you eat out of garbage cans like a homeless person?” I scanned my robotic database and replied calmly, “I know how to cook for myself.” My placid demeanor seemed to enrage him. His face twisted, and he slapped me hard across the face. “You worthless dog!” “I am your master. You should say that you like eating from garbage cans. Understand?” He forgot. I was a robot now. I only gave a cold, mechanical reply. “I’m sorry, I do not understand your command.” This made him even angrier. He kicked me hard. “Robots are so stupid. Artificial intelligence? More like artificial idiot. The guys at the lab promised me a human-based model would be more responsive, but you’re still so dumb.” He smirked. “Robot brother, go get your little brother a glass of water. Make sure it’s over 195 degrees Fahrenheit.” He pressed my hand down on the table. “Now say it. ‘I like to eat garbage.’” I looked him in the eye. “You like to eat garbage.” His face contorted with rage. He poured the scalding water from the glass all over my hand. The synthetic skin immediately turned red and blistered. “Say it! Say you like to eat garbage!” he shrieked. “Say it, or I’ll burn you to death.” He seemed to have forgotten I was a robot. I curved my lips into a slight smile. “You like to eat garbage.” He screamed and smashed the glass against my head. Then he grabbed a nearby glass kettle full of boiling water and poured it over my head. “Stupid, worthless dog! You defy me even as a robot!” Just then, the door opened, and Nora walked in. She took in the chaotic scene, her brow furrowing. “River, what are you doing? Why are you so angry?” River froze, then his expression immediately shifted to one of pitiful innocence, tears welling in his eyes. “Nora, he insulted me. I… I just lost control. You know I can’t control my temper. I didn’t mean it.” Nora looked at me, lying on the floor, my body covered in burns, and her expression soured. “You’ve made such a mess of him. Now we’ll have to take him to the hospital. It’s so much trouble.” But I pushed myself up from the floor with my raw, bloody hands. “It’s alright, Nora,” I said. “There’s no need to go to the hospital.” She was annoyed. “What are you trying to prove, Caleb? You think you can just walk around looking like a monster? You’ll become the laughingstock of the family.” I was confused. I was a robot. I shouldn’t go to a hospital. Before I could process her words, the steam had seeped deep into my central processor. BEEP. I collapsed. A red light started flashing on my forehead. “System failure. Please initiate repairs immediately.” I saw Nora’s face change, her composure cracking. “Caleb!” She shook my arm, shouting my name. “Caleb, what are you doing? What system failure?” Her voice rose to a hysterical shriek. “Someone call an ambulance!”

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I was the princess of the Phoenix Clan, born with the purest bloodline. On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, when I revealed my true form before the entire clan, I transformed not into a glorious phoenix, but into a wretched, lowly black serpent. Yet the stray jade rabbit I had rescued manifested a true phoenix form, and was hailed by all as a divine being. I was condemned as an impure mongrel, cast down from the altar and into the mire. My lord father, the Phoenix King, declared the rabbit was his long-lost daughter and summoned divine lightning to flay the flesh from my bones. My own brother tore my spiritual core from my chest to present as a gift to his newfound sister. And my fiancé, the man I grew up with, took the rabbit into his arms, the two of them whispering sweet nothings to each other. As I lay dying, the rabbit herself cast my fading spirit into the Chasm of Annihilation, where gods and immortals are extinguished forever. Even in death, one question haunted me: if my blood was truly that of a phoenix, why had I become a serpent? When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn, one day before the ceremony. 1 “Your Highness, the Gown of a Hundred Feathers has arrived for tomorrow’s ceremony! The Emperor himself also prepared a phoenix hairpin for you. He said it would be a perfect match!” Rosalie chattered excitedly, her eyes stealing glances at the magnificent gown. Woven from the plumes of a hundred different celestial birds with threads of pure gold, it shimmered with an iridescent light. Her hand reached out, wanting to touch it. “It has been millennia since the clan has woven a new Gown of a Hundred Feathers,” she breathed in awe. “It is truly beautiful.” The familiar words sent a tremor through my body. The searing agony of divine lightning, the brutal tearing as my spiritual core was carved from my chest—the memories were as vivid as if they had just happened. My eyes reddened. Was I… reborn? In my past life, I had been ecstatic to receive this gown. Ever since my mother, the Phoenix Queen, had perished, no new phoenix had been born into our clan for thousands of years. All their hopes rested on me. I was the only child of the Phoenix Queen and the Golden Dragon King, the princess with the purest bloodline. On the eve of my ceremony, the entire clan had pooled their resources to create this gown, a symbol of my destiny. I had lovingly put it on and gone to my ceremony, filled with joy. But there, before the eyes of thousands, I had transformed into a wretched snake. Horror swept through the crowd. My lord father’s face darkened. “Lyra, this is a sacred occasion! Stop this foolishness and reveal your true form at once!” I was just as stunned, writhing in my serpent form, trying desperately to summon my power. But no matter how many times I tried, I remained a snake. On my ninety-ninth attempt, a clear, piercing phoenix cry echoed from the heavens. I looked up, dumbfounded. It was the jade rabbit I had rescued. A golden light erupted from her body, followed by a cascade of dazzling, multi-colored feathers. She was a phoenix. The clan fell to their knees, hailing her as a divine being and condemning me as an impure mongrel. I looked to my father, tears blurring my vision. But he was looking at the rabbit, his own eyes wet with tears. “I never imagined… my daughter, Sylvana, has been lost to us for millennia, her identity usurped by this lowly serpent! How dare she!” With a wave of his hand, he brought down the heavens’ fury. Divine lightning struck me, tearing my flesh and drenching me in my own blood. Through my screams, my brother, Kael, personally ripped my spiritual core from my body and presented it to the rabbit as a welcome gift. “You have suffered, my dear sister,” he said. “Take the core of this imposter. Though its blood is vile, it may serve as a trifle for your amusement.” I lay dying in a pool of my own blood, my last hope turning to my fiancé, the Celestial Prince Valerius. We had trained together since childhood. He would surely… “Sylvana, you are the true phoenix!” Valerius, who had always been so cool and reserved, was beaming as he swept her into his arms. “Now, we can finally be together, out in the open!” And I, at that moment, was enduring a pain that consumed my very soul. Sylvana shot me a triumphant smile before personally shoving me into the Chasm of Annihilation. Icy, ethereal winds tore through my body, carving wounds so deep my bones were exposed. But even that pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart. In the last second before my consciousness faded, I saw a faint golden phoenix light flicker from within the marrow of my bones. Even in death, I could not understand. The pain of my past life was seared into my soul. This time, I would uncover the truth. 2 Just as I had before, I smiled and accepted the Gown of a Hundred Feathers. But as I lowered my head, a chilling light flashed in my eyes. Rosalie had served me for thousands of years. She was also the one who had first found the injured rabbit. I had saved the rabbit’s life, only to die a bitter death at her hands. In my past life, Rosalie must have colluded with Sylvana to bring about my ruin. I suppressed the murderous urge that rose within me and made an excuse to send her away. “I’ve heard that snow lotuses are blooming on the northern peaks. Go and fetch some for me.” Rosalie’s eyes flickered with panic. “Your Highness, your ceremony is tomorrow! How can I leave for the mountains at a time like this…?” My expression turned to ice. A wave of innate spiritual pressure emanated from me, and my gaze pinned her to the spot. “You will do as I command.” Crushed by the sheer force of my bloodline, Rosalie collapsed to her knees, trembling too violently to speak. She could only bow her head to the floor, over and over. With a wave of my hand, a current of golden energy forcibly teleported her away. If not for the memory of her millennia of service, I would have killed her on the spot. But I had no proof yet, and a flicker of uncertainty held my hand. I would have my justice when the truth was revealed. I tossed the gown to the floor and left my chambers. I went to the grand library and searched for hours until I found a text detailing a secret ritual to test one’s bloodline. I didn’t know if Sylvana had already tampered with my blood, but I had to try. Following the ancient method, I summoned a single, crimson-gold phoenix feather to my palm. It was one of the few things my mother had left me, a true feather from her own divine form. A dagger appeared in my other hand. I reversed the grip and plunged it into my chest. I let three drops of blood from my heart fall onto the feather, then set it alight. Within the flames, a crimson-gold light pulsed. As blood and feather burned away, a sweet, fragrant smoke filled the air. The moment the fire died, a shimmering image of a golden phoenix appeared in its place. I stared, and tears streamed down my face. It was true. I was my mother’s daughter. The blood of the phoenix flowed through my veins. After being slandered and slaughtered, I finally had proof. My true form could never be a lowly black serpent. “Lyra? Are you in there?” A knock at the door. It was Valerius. Hatred surged in my heart, but I forced my voice to be soft. “Valerius, could you do something for me?” He was confused but, as always, utterly obedient. He left without even asking why. When he returned, he handed me a tuft of white rabbit fur and a small jade vial containing a few drops of heart’s blood. I thanked him. The cool, reserved prince looked at me with eyes full of tenderness. He raised a hand as if to touch my hair, then pulled back shyly. “Lyra, after your ceremony tomorrow, we can finally be married.” Looking at this man, so seemingly devoted to me, I felt a wave of disorientation. The man who had discarded me like trash in my past life, and the man who loved me so deeply now—which was the real Valerius? My heart was a frozen stone. I mumbled a perfunctory farewell and closed the door. Immediately, I dripped the rabbit’s blood onto another of my mother’s feathers and lit it with a flame. This time, a pure white light flickered in the fire. When it burned out, it left not a sweet fragrance, but a foul stench. And when the flames died and I saw the image within, I gasped. It was also a phoenix. Sylvana… was truly a phoenix. But my mother had only given birth to one daughter. By all rights, I should be the only phoenix in existence. What in the name of the heavens was going on? 3 I walked out, my face grim. I couldn’t make sense of it. My ceremony was imminent. Was I doomed to repeat the tragedy of my past life? I wandered aimlessly until I bumped into someone. “Lyra? You seem distressed. What’s wrong?” I looked up. It was my brother, Kael. He looked at me with deep concern, reaching for my arm. “Are you not feeling well? Tell me, I’ll get you some restorative pills.” He looked so caring, just as he had when we were young. I was just a nascent spirit when our mother perished. Our father, lost in grief, began to wander the realms, leaving Kael to face the pressure of the clan alone. He handled all the clan’s affairs while raising me. The first spell I learned, the first dress I owned—they were all from him. He had poured his entire being into raising me, spoiling me until I was the undisputed princess of the Phoenix Clan. And yet, it was he who had carved out my core. He who had watched me struggle in agony, watched my heart turn to ash. He had taken that bloody core and presented it to Sylvana with a smile. “Only a phoenix with a bloodline as pure as Sylvana’s,” he had said, “is worthy of being my sister.” The memory made my hands tremble. I forced a sweet smile. “Brother, I don’t like that rabbit. Will you kill her for me?”

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The first time my boyfriend came to my house, my parents prepared a feast. Just as we all sat down, his phone rang. “Bro, where did you put my lacy panties? I just got out of the shower and can’t find them.” A girl’s voice, pouting and petulant, echoed from the speaker. “And when are you coming back to blow-dry my hair? If you don’t come back, I’ll just let it drip. You’ll be sorry when I catch a cold!” My parents and I exchanged stunned glances. But my boyfriend, Dylan, ignored their thunderous expressions and stood up to leave. Frantic to salvage our three-year relationship, I reminded him that this dinner was meant to discuss our marriage plans. His response was cold. “Chloe needs me. If you insist on going through with these pointless formalities, then maybe we should just put the wedding on hold.” 1 “Dylan, this is the first time you’re meeting my parents,” I said, tugging at his sleeve, my voice a desperate whisper. My father’s face was already a mask of displeasure. My mother, ever the diplomat, tried to smooth things over. “Perhaps his sister is still young, and with no other adults at home, it’s understandable to be worried.” Dylan seized the excuse. “Thank you, Mrs. Cross. You understand. My sister is just a kid, really. She’s always been very attached to me.” But I didn’t understand. This was a hugely important day for both of us. His behavior in front of my parents was a direct reflection of how much he valued me. Apparently, not as much as his sister’s hair. Less than a minute later, her call came again, her voice now laced with tears. “You’ve been at her place for two hours and sixteen minutes. If you’re not home in fourteen minutes, I’m not eating dinner!” The precision was startling. It sounded less like a sister’s plea and more like a jealous lover’s ultimatum. I stared at Dylan, waiting to see how he would respond. His tone was full of alarm. “You can’t do that, Chloe. You know you have a sensitive stomach.” With that, he rushed towards the door. “Why don’t you bring your sister over to eat with us?” my mother offered, still trying to salvage the evening. After all, Dylan and I had been together for three years; she didn’t want to see it all unravel over a phone call. “You don’t live far.” “Okay!” Dylan yelled back, already halfway to the elevator. All we got was his retreating back. The three of us sat in silence, staring at the cooling food. The pork belly my mother had simmered for two hours sat untouched in Dylan’s bowl, as cold as my heart. “Aria, you have a weak stomach too. Have a few bites first,” my mother said, her eyes full of pity. “Don’t overthink it, Aria,” my father added, trying to comfort me in his own way. “When Dylan gets back, your mother and I will have a serious talk with him. Some men are just immature before they’re married. They grow up eventually.” An hour later, Dylan arrived with his sister, Chloe, in tow. I was intensely curious about this Chloe. The moment I opened the door, my eyes fell on her. A kid? Please. She looked like she was a 240-month-old baby. Chloe marched past my family and surveyed the table. “Ugh, everything is so bland. I like spicy food. Why didn’t you make anything spicy?” Even my good-natured mother’s face hardened. “My daughter can’t handle spicy food,” she replied, her voice clipped. “So picky,” Chloe muttered with a pout, then turned to Dylan with a coquettish air. “Bro, even if she marries you, you have to promise there will always be spicy dishes at every meal.” Dylan gently tapped her nose. “Of course. Besides, your sister-in-law is a great cook.” Excuse me? So cooking was now my designated duty? And we were expected to live with his sister in our new house? I glared at Dylan, demanding an explanation. He seemed completely oblivious to my anger, stroking Chloe’s hair as he spoke to me. “I’ve already promised Chloe the master bedroom in our new place. We can take one of the other rooms with the baby, and the guest room can be for my parents when they visit. You don’t mind, do you?” 2 I’d have to be a saint not to mind. And more importantly, he had never once discussed any of this with me. “Dylan, my family paid for half of that house. Why is it only your family living in it?” I asked, my voice dangerously calm. He was taken aback, stammering guiltily. “What’s mine and yours? Once you marry me, you’re part of my family, aren’t you?” My parents’ brows furrowed in unison. But before they could speak, Chloe stepped in front of Dylan, her voice sharp. “You’re not even married yet and you’re already obsessed with the house! Once you marry my brother, what’s yours is his, and what’s his is mine.” She turned back to Dylan, pouting. “See, bro? I told you she was no good. She’ll never love you as much as I do.” I love you. Was that something a sister says to her brother? Just as I was about to throw the bizarre pair out, Dylan’s parents arrived, looking flustered. They clearly knew what their daughter was capable of. “Future in-laws, please forgive us,” Dylan’s mother said, forcing a smile. “Chloe is still young. Don’t take her seriously.” My parents exchanged a look. What could they do? The other elders were here now. They swallowed their anger and invited the family of four to the table. The moment I sat down, I felt a pair of resentful eyes boring into me. “Move,” Chloe snapped. “Only I can sit next to my brother.” I gave her a sidelong glance and didn’t budge. “Bro, look at her! She’s already giving me attitude before she’s even married into the family!” Chloe whined. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You can sit on my lap,” Dylan said, patting his thighs as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Chloe shot me a triumphant smirk, then wrapped her arms around Dylan’s neck and settled onto his lap. My parents and I stared, dumbfounded. It didn’t end there. Chloe pointed at the plate of steamed shrimp. “Bro, I want shrimp.” Dylan immediately pulled the entire plate in front of him and began to meticulously peel them for her. Watching him pop the peeled shrimp directly into her mouth, a wave of revulsion washed over me. It was only then that I remembered her first phone call, asking him to find her lacy underwear, and the full weight of its strangeness hit me. “What a close relationship they have,” my mother said, her laugh strained. I let out a cold snort. “Yes, so close they could be husband and wife.” I turned to Dylan. “You know, maybe we should just have a blood-brother ceremony instead of a wedding. Watching you with your sister, I finally realize you treat me more like a buddy.” “No, Aria, that’s not it… Chloe, honey, get down for a minute.” Dylan finally sensed my anger. He reached for my hand, but Chloe slapped it away. “Don’t you touch her!” she shrieked, her face a mask of wounded betrayal. Dylan’s mother quickly came over and tried to coax her. “Sweetie, be good. Let your brother comfort your sister-in-law first. There will be plenty of time to comfort you later.” “No!” Chloe clung to Dylan even tighter, resting her head on his shoulder. “My brother promised he would love me the most, forever.” She looked up at him. “Bro, you’ll wash my underwear forever, blow-dry my hair forever, and peel my shrimp forever, right?” 3 Dylan stroked his sister’s hair, his voice dripping with affection. “Of course, I will. I’ll spoil you for the rest of your life.” Then he turned to me, his confidence baffling. “Aria, when you’re my wife, you’ll love my sister too, won’t you?” I was stunned into silence. Love… this girl who acted more like his mistress? My father, his face flushed with anger, slammed his chopsticks on the table. “I’ve lived for decades, and I have never seen a twenty-year-old woman sit on her brother’s lap like that.” “I don’t care how shameless your family is, but to demand my daughter marry into this madness? Never!” “He won’t even let Dylan touch her hand! What kind of marriage would that be? A lifetime of celibacy?” My father’s harsh words finally spurred Dylan’s father into action. He stood up to pull Chloe off Dylan’s lap. “No!” Chloe buried her face in Dylan’s chest and began to sob. “Bro, does getting married mean we have to be separated? It’s their dirty minds that see everything as dirty! Why are they blaming me?” Dylan hugged her protectively, then turned on me. “Aria, you promised me you’d be a good sister-in-law. How can you let your father talk to us like this?” Their performance was so absurd I couldn’t help but laugh. “My God, I had no idea your ‘cute little sister’ was such a shameless creature.” “Aria! What’s that supposed to mean? How could you say that about Chloe?” Dylan’s voice was sharp with anger. “Are you really going to make a scene in front of our parents over such a trivial thing?” I glanced at the four silent parents, their expressions a mixture of embarrassment and anger. They were only here for our sake. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and made one last attempt. “Dylan, it wasn’t easy for us to get to this point,” I said, my voice even. “If we’re serious about getting married, I need you to focus your heart on our family.” “If we didn’t have a house, I wouldn’t say a word. But we do. And I need your sister to stay out of our lives.” My cheeks flushed as I spoke. Thinking back on our three years together, a lump formed in my throat. “No.” His rejection was instant, without a moment’s thought. “Chloe and I are family for life. I won’t change for you.” “If you love me, you should love my family.” “If you don’t like Chloe, then there’s no point in discussing this further. Let’s take a few days to cool off. When you’ve thought it through, we can talk.” His decisiveness brought tears to my eyes. I had been so excited for this day, never imagining it would be the day we broke up. After a few moments of silence, I wiped my tears away, a cold smile forming on my lips. I stood up and opened the front door. “If there’s nothing to talk about, then take your family and get out of my house.” Dylan, seeing my resolve, started to argue. But my mother, her patience finally gone, roared, “Get out! And don’t you ever bother my daughter again!” As they left, they were still muttering indignantly. “What kind of person gets jealous of a man’s own sister?” My father started to go after them, but I stopped him. “Dad, don’t waste any more time on trash.” I thought that would be the end of it. But a few days later, Dylan and Chloe showed up at the high-end matchmaking agency where I worked. “Aria, I’ve found a way to solve our problem.” “Just give my sister the contact information for a few of your VVIP clients. Once she’s living in a mansion and driving a luxury car, she won’t need to cram in with us. Then everyone will be happy.”

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