Category: English

I returned to the country early to surprise my sister. But when I got home, I couldn’t find her anywhere. By chance, I saw a corner of my sister’s clothes sticking out from a tightly closed dog cage at the entrance of the courtyard. I opened the cage and saw my sister’s small body curled up in a wooden den less than one square meter. I was shocked: “Why are you sleeping here? Come out quickly, I brought you your favorite white chocolate cake.” My sister shook her head repeatedly: “No, no, no, white chocolate cake is for masters, puppies don’t deserve to eat it, puppies can only eat dog food.” My stepmother’s voice came from behind me: “Nina said studying is too hard, not as comfortable as being a dog. She wants to be a dog herself and insisted on living in the doghouse.” I turned around and saw that my stepmother’s belly was at least eight months pregnant. And the seal symbolizing family power, half of which belonged to me and half to my sister, was hanging around her neck. Seeing me staring at the seal, my stepmother touched her belly and said proudly: “The doctor said I’m carrying a boy, so not only Nina’s seal must be given to me, but yours too.” I smiled mysteriously. She probably didn’t know that my father married into the family, and he lost his fertility the year my sister was born. Chapter 1 The second young miss of the Sterling family, who should have been pampered, was now chained in the yard like a dog. Looking at the iron chain around my sister’s neck, my heart ached like it was being twisted. No wonder my sister hadn’t contacted me in the three years I was abroad. Whenever I asked my father about her, he would brush me off with the excuse that her studies were heavy. The room that originally belonged to my sister had long been occupied by others, and the furnishings in the villa had been completely renewed, showing no trace of my mother when she was alive. I pulled my sister out of the dog cage and patted the dust off her body. The dress she was wearing was the one I gave her three years ago, now tattered and barely covering her body. I took off my coat and draped it over her. “Doris Jenkins, you dare treat the second young miss of my Sterling family like this? Are you tired of living?” “How dare you talk to your mother like that!” My dad appeared behind Doris with a group of people I didn’t know. They looked me up and down with malice. “My mom died long ago. What is she?” “Serena Sterling! Doris is my wife, and also your mother, the mistress of this house! Apologize to her immediately, or I won’t recognize you as my daughter!” “A bed-climbing nanny from the countryside deserves to be my mother? And Frank Walker, you’ve forgotten whose family name this house bears!” My mother was the seventy-fifth generation leader of the Azure Dragon Clan, dominating both the black and white worlds, controlling the Azure Dragon Seal, and commanding eight thousand branches across Asia. Such a proud daughter of heaven somehow fell for a phoenix man like my father. To be with my father, she threatened suicide and finally made my grandfather agree to let my father marry into the family. My sister and I both took our mother’s surname and called our grandfather “Grandpa.” My mother split her Azure Dragon Seal in two, giving half to me and half to my sister, instructing us never to use it unless absolutely necessary. Later, my mother fell ill and suddenly passed away. My father said my young sister couldn’t be without care, so he brought his childhood sweetheart from his hometown over. “When I agreed to let Doris enter the door, it was as a nanny, not the mistress of the Sterling family!” Frank raised his hand and slapped me: “I have the final say in this house now! If you’re not satisfied, get out!” I covered my burning face: “Don’t forget, you are living in the villa my mom bought before marriage, it’s the property of our Sterling family. If anyone is getting out, it’s you taking her with you!” “I really gave you too much face!” Frank was about to hit me again, but was stopped by Doris’s fake pretense. “Alright, the child is still young and ignorant, I won’t hold it against her.” “Serena, I really didn’t mistreat your sister. She herself finds studying tiring and wants to live like a dog.” “I certainly didn’t agree to let her live in the doghouse, she even made a fuss at home several times because of this.” “If I didn’t let her live there, she would go on a hunger strike. I had no choice but to let her have her way.” “If you don’t believe me, ask your father, or let Nina say it herself.” Frank snorted: “It’s Nina who doesn’t want to do well herself. To skip school, she’d rather be a dog. Such a worthless child doesn’t deserve to be my, Frank Walker’s, daughter!” My sister pulled my sleeve, her voice hoarse: “Sister, it’s me who doesn’t like going to school. I like being a dog, like living in a doghouse.” “I am a puppy, woof, woof.” “You are not a dog, you are a human!” I looked around and found not a single old staff member in this yard. The original butler, nanny, and bodyguards had all been replaced by unfamiliar faces, staring at me fiercely one by one. “I don’t care what happened before, but since I’m back, my sister Nina Sterling will not be a dog for you here!” Doris put on a fake smile: “Serena, you discipline Nina from now on. We can’t control her.” She picked up a ball at her feet and threw it out casually. My sister immediately got down on all fours and ran to fetch the ball. She bit the ball with her mouth and ran back to Doris. Doris reached out, and she put the ball in Doris’s hand. Doris threw the ball out again, and my sister was about to fetch it again, but I immediately pulled her up. “Nina! You are a human, not a dog. You have to walk on two legs and hold things with two hands! Promise me, don’t act like a dog anymore, okay?” My sister kept shaking her head: “No, I am a puppy, I like being a puppy.” Doris laughed loudly. She shook the ball in her hand: “Do you still want to play?” My sister immediately stuck out her tongue, making panting sounds: “Yes! Yes!” “Enough!” I turned my gaze to Frank, “My mom told you to take good care of my sister before she died, and this is how you take care of her!” Frank looked indifferent: “I can’t help it if she’s worthless herself.” “Get the key and unlock the chain around her neck!” No one moved. I glanced at the servants around me: “Are you all deaf!” “Go get the key.” Only when Doris spoke did someone act. It seems I can’t command the people in this house anymore. After the chain around my sister’s neck was unlocked, she was extremely panicked. She shrank her neck and tried to crawl into the dog cage: “I won’t live in the house, I am a puppy, I have to live in the dog cage!” I quickly hugged her: “Nina, don’t be afraid, sister will take you to see a doctor right now.” Without time to clean up my sister, I took her to the hospital non-stop. After examination, my sister not only had serious psychological problems but also was physically devastated. Large and small scars were concentrated on her chest and back, just covered by clothes. According to the doctor, my sister had been whipped and beaten with sticks, and there were large areas of burns on her body. Several ribs had signs of fracture, and even her skull was damaged. Listening to the doctor’s description, my tears fell uncontrollably. These people are simply scum! I held my sister in my arms: “Nina, don’t be afraid. Sister will protect you in the future, no one can bully you anymore!” I took my sister back to the villa, and Doris greeted us with her pregnant belly. “Serena, where is your Azure Dragon Seal? Is it on you?” My luggage was in the living room, all opened and rummaged through. “Who allowed you to touch my luggage!” “Serena, hurry up and give your half of the seal to your mother. Your mother is pregnant with your brother, and our family’s property will have to be inherited by your brother in the future.” I laughed angrily at him: “The Azure Dragon Clan values bloodline extremely. Only our Sterling family line can lead the Azure Dragon Clan to prosperity. Just with the bastard in her belly, she deserves to covet the successor’s position!” Frank’s face turned green: “How do you speak? That’s your brother, not some bastard!” “She knows in her heart whether it is or not.” Doris leaned aggrievedly in Frank’s arms: “I only had your father as a man in my life, how can you throw such dirty water on me.” “Apologize to your mother quickly!” Ignoring the furious Frank, I dragged my sister straight to the room. Frank was still chattering behind me: “Your mother even asked someone to specially clean up your room and prepared your favorite fruits. Are you worthy of her!” I took my sister into the room and locked Frank outside directly. Frank wanted to call someone to kick me out, Doris pretended to persuade him, and it took a long time for the outside to quiet down. I gave my sister a bath and changed her clothes, watching her fall asleep before going to bed. When my people arrive tomorrow, I will settle this account with them properly. Chapter 2 I slept groggily until the latter half of the night. When I opened my eyes again, my sister beside me was gone. I became alert instantly and got up immediately to look for her. At this moment, my sister was in the dining room, kneeling on the ground serving meals to Doris’s nephew. Zack also saw me: “My aunt said Nina is my wife, she was born to serve me.” “Puppy, you performed well today, here’s a bite for you.” Zack spat a mouthful of bread on the ground, and my sister immediately bent down to pick it up with her mouth. Zack laughed loudly: “You even eat what I chewed, truly a dog!” He got up and rode on my sister: “Run fast, if you run fast, I’ll reward you with another bite!” So my sister crawled on all fours, carrying him all over the room. “Run faster! So slow, do you not want to eat! If you are slow again, I won’t give you dog food later!” My sister sped up, and Zack took out a few grains of dog food from his pocket and threw them in front. My sister went to pick them up immediately. “Dog thing, only knows how to eat!” I couldn’t bear it anymore, went up and kicked Zack off my sister. Zack fell with a thud, got up and immediately shouted at me: “Damn, you dare hit me!” “Someone come, tie her up!” “Who dares!” I pulled my sister up and protected her in my arms: “Zack, if you kneel down and apologize to my sister now, I will consider sparing your life. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not giving you a chance!” “Oh, you’re quite arrogant! You think this is when your mom was alive!” “Now this family is named Walker, and the Azure Dragon Clan is also named Walker! Now my uncle has the final say. What are you, daring to shout at me!” “Catch her quickly!” Those bodyguards swarmed up and held me and my sister down. Doris came over pretending to be a good person: “Serena, my nephew is just spoiled by me. He has no malice, just playing with Nina.” “How about this, you give the seal to me, and I’ll make him apologize to you and Nina.” “Want the seal? In your dreams!” Doris was furious: “Really shameless. Search for it, the seal must be on her!” “You finally stopped pretending. Seeing you smile at me makes me sick.” “Hmph, little bitch, if you were obedient like your sister, I could let you be a dog by my side. But you are too arrogant. Since I can’t discipline you, I have to send you to Myanmar to learn to behave.” “You dare!” “When I find the seal, the entire Azure Dragon Clan will be mine. What wouldn’t I dare!” “Madam, found it!” The bodyguard handed my half of the seal to Doris, and her eyes burst with light. She put the half seal on her neck together with mine: “Great, the Azure Dragon Clan is finally mine! The power all over Asia, countless wealth, are all mine!” I sneered: “You just got a token, isn’t it too early to be happy?” “The Azure Dragon Seal can mobilize eight thousand branches across Asia. With it, I am the helmsman of the Azure Dragon Clan!” “You’re not worthy.” “Still stubborn when facing death! Send her and Nina to Myanmar for me!” I checked the time, they should be here. Sure enough, the next moment, a group of men in black rushed in, surrounding the villa tightly. They knocked down the bodyguards holding me and my sister in a few moves and protected us behind them. Doris had never seen such a formation, scared into hiding behind the bodyguards immediately. “Who are you!” “This is the guard team of my Azure Dragon Clan.” “People from the Azure Dragon Clan, great!” Doris took out the united seal, “The Azure Dragon Seal is in my hand, I am your new helmsman!” “Now listen to my command, arrest Serena and Nina!” None of the men in black moved. Doris was anxious: “Are you all blind? This is the genuine Azure Dragon Seal!” A man in black handed an envelope to my hand: “Eldest Miss, the things you ordered are ready.” I took it and handed it to Frank. “Dad, take a look.” Frank took it suspiciously, and Doris immediately leaned over. After he opened the envelope and saw the content inside, both of them turned pale with shock. Doris snatched the report from Frank’s hand: “This can’t be true!” “You deliberately made this fake diagnosis sheet to provoke our husband and wife relationship!” “Take her down for me!” Seeing the men in black still not moving, Doris held up the seal in her hand. “I now order you with the Azure Dragon Seal, take down Serena and Nina!” My sister was so scared she trembled in my arms. I hugged her tightly and whispered comfort to her: “Nina, don’t be afraid. From now on, no one can bully you anymore.” I looked up at Doris: “You don’t really think that commanding the huge Azure Dragon Clan relies on a small Azure Dragon Seal, do you?” “Otherwise? Doesn’t this Azure Dragon Seal equal the emperor’s jade seal! He who holds the jade seal holds the world!” “Then according to what you say, if any random cat or dog steals the jade seal, they can be the emperor?” Doris panicked a bit: “Anyway, this Azure Dragon Seal is in my hand, I am the new helmsman of the Azure Dragon Clan!” With a look from me, the guards around me immediately understood, stepped forward and knocked down the bodyguards around Doris in a few moves, snatching the Azure Dragon Seal back from her hand. “Now the Azure Dragon Seal is in my hand.” Doris trembled with anger: “Clearly I already got the Azure Dragon Seal, why didn’t you listen to my orders!” “You are really naive. Our Azure Dragon Clan has never recognized inanimate objects.” “What do you mean?” “Since my sister and I were born, photos of every stage of ours have been sent back to the headquarters. All the people of the Azure Dragon Clan recognize this face of mine.” “The Azure Dragon Seal is just a tool representing me. I am the supreme symbol of power in the Azure Dragon Clan.” “You wouldn’t really think that in front of the emperor and the jade seal, the courtiers would ignore the emperor and listen to a cat or dog holding the jade seal?” Doris gasped heavily: “You, you!” She suddenly clutched her belly grimacing in pain: “My stomach hurts so much! Husband, save our child!” Frank hugged her: “Serena, make your people disperse quickly, I want to send your mother to the hospital!” “No one leaves today. Don’t keep calling her my mom. My mom is dead, Doris is a bitch!” “If anything happens to the child in your Auntie’s belly, I’m not done with you!” “Dad, you don’t still think she is carrying your child, do you? You have no fertility at all. Inside her belly is another man’s bastard!” “Hmph, don’t think I’ll be deceived by you just because you brought a fake diagnosis sheet to trick me.” Doris grabbed Frank’s arm tightly: “Send me to the hospital quickly, I can’t hold on.” I looked at her coldly: “Stop pretending. You are eight months pregnant, the fetus is stable long ago, you won’t miscarry just because of a little stimulation.” “And old man, when you were injured in a car accident, you happened to hurt there and lost your fertility. My mom was afraid you would be sad, so she hid this matter with the whole family.” “You know how badly you were injured there back then. You wouldn’t really think there was no impact at all, would you?” Frank looked bad: “I believe Doris wouldn’t betray me, this child must be mine.” “Fine, won’t shed tears until seeing the coffin, right.” I reached out, and the guard put another envelope in my hand. I threw the envelope to Frank: “Look for yourself.” Frank opened the envelope, and a stack of photos fell out, all of Doris and men in various explicit bed photos. “Doris, didn’t you say only my dad was your man? Then explain what this is about?” Doris’s eyes were about to pop out, she stopped Frank. “Don’t look, these aren’t true, not true!” Frank trembled all over, he looked at Doris and threw those photos in her face. “Explain clearly to me, what is going on!” “The person in this photo is not me, these are all photoshopped!” Frank could hardly stand, he looked at me: “You must have hired someone to make these photos. I don’t believe it, Doris definitely wouldn’t betray me.” Doris breathed a sigh of relief secretly, then cried and performed. “Serena created such a big scandal for me, I can’t clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River. I don’t want to live!” Frank quickly held Doris in his arms: “Doris, I believe you, you are definitely not that kind of person.” I shook my head helplessly: “Old man, I think you are really senile. How about this, you go to a public hospital yourself for a check-up, and then do a paternity test with the child in Doris’s belly.” “See if you still have fertility, and if her child is yours. You find the hospital yourself, I can’t fake this, right?” Doris pulled Frank tightly: “Husband, you have to believe me, don’t be provoked by others casually!” “Since you have a clear conscience, why dare not let the old man do a paternity test?” “How about we make a bet? If the child in your belly belongs to the old man, I will kneel and apologize to you, and give up the Azure Dragon Clan.” “If the child in your belly is not the old man’s, you will commit suicide on the spot to apologize, how about it?” Seeing me speak so confidently, Frank’s heart drummed even more. Doris kept crying: “Bet then, who’s afraid of whom, anyway I have a clear conscience!” “You send me to the hospital quickly now, I’m very uncomfortable!” The guards brought two chairs over. I pulled my sister to sit down: “Want to run? The matter with you and the old man is one thing, I haven’t settled the account for Nina with you yet.”

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I’m lazy. So lazy that when my husband had an affair for ten years, I couldn’t be bothered to care. After all, he and his mistress worked their tails off to take my company public, and the annual dividends were more than enough to keep me comfortable. But then they brought their son to me. “He’s starting elementary school,” my husband said. “That school-district house you own? You need to transfer the deed to him.” I looked at the happy little family of three standing before me, and the apathy I’d cultivated for a decade vanished like smoke. I smiled… 01 I was curled up on the sofa, a wilted plant starved of sunlight. Motes of dust danced in the slanted afternoon light. I couldn’t be bothered to move, or even to turn on the air purifier. I just watched them until my eyes ached. My phone buzzed. A notification from my bank: the annual dividend had arrived. A long string of zeros, enough to fund my laziness for another ten years. I turned off the screen, rolled over, and prepared to drift back to sleep. The sound of a key turning in the lock came from the entryway. Leo was home. He brought with him the cloying, unfamiliar scent of a woman’s perfume. I didn’t even open my eyes. In ten years, he’d worn dozens of different scents. None of them were mine. I was too lazy to ask, too lazy to fight. As long as the money hit my account, he was an adequate business partner. “Audrey, are you awake?” Leo’s voice was sharp with impatience. I didn’t answer. A clatter of footsteps approached—more than one person. “Audrey, stop pretending to be asleep. Get up. I need to talk to you.” His tone was that of a CEO commanding a subordinate. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. Three people stood in my living room. Leo Morgan, my husband. Beside him, a woman in a chic designer suit, Vivian White. His mistress of ten years, and the vice president of my company. Between them, they held the hand of a little boy, maybe six or seven years old. The boy had Leo’s eyes. What a perfect little family. My presence felt utterly redundant. “What is it?” I asked, my voice hoarse from disuse. Vivian immediately put on an expression of concern, tinged with superiority. “Audrey, darling, look at you. You haven’t been taking care of yourself. A woman has to know her own worth.” As she spoke, she casually took slippers from the shoe cabinet for herself, then for Leo and the boy, as if she were the lady of the house. I watched her, saying nothing. Leo cleared his throat, a strained smile on his arrogant face. “Audrey, this is Aiden. My son.” He crouched down and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Aiden, say hi to your aunt.” The boy, Aiden, glanced at me shyly before hiding behind Vivian. She wrapped an arm around him, shooting Leo a reproachful look. “You’re scaring him. He’s just a child, don’t force him.” A perfectly rehearsed performance. I sneered internally, my face remaining a blank mask. I thought ten years of this had made me immune. But a fine, sharp pain, long ignored, pricked at my heart. “So?” I asked. “Aiden is about to start elementary school,” Leo finally got to the point, his tone taking on an air of entitlement. “You know how hard it is to get into a good public school these days.” I nodded, waiting. “That old house you have on Crestwood Drive, it’s zoned for Northwood Elementary, right?” He stood up, looking down at me as if announcing an unchallengeable decree. “Transfer the deed to Aiden for now. Once he’s finished sixth grade, you can have it back.” The air in the room froze. I thought I had misheard. I looked at Leo, then at Vivian. A gentle smile played on her lips, but her eyes held a challenge, a raw, undisguised anticipation. She was waiting for me to explode, to cry and scream like a shrew, so she could play the part of the bigger person, the graceful victim. Seeing my silence, Leo grew impatient. “Audrey, did you hear me? It’s for the child. It’s settled.” “For the child?” I repeated softly, the absurdity of it all washing over me. “Yes,” Vivian chimed in. “Aiden is innocent. He deserves the best education. Audrey, you’re such a kind person, surely you can help with this one small thing? Besides, Leo and I are working ourselves to the bone to keep the company running, so you can live this life of leisure. It’s just a house. It’s nothing to you, right?” Just a house. A life of leisure. She was using my company’s money to raise her son with my husband, and now she was coming for my property. The string in my mind labeled ‘laziness’ finally snapped. Ten years. The year my father died, my world fell apart. The company was his life’s work, but I had no strength to manage it. Leo, my fiancé at the time, and his “protégé,” Vivian, volunteered to take over, promising to protect my inheritance. I signed the proxy ownership agreement and handed them the keys to the kingdom. I thought I could be a silent partner forever, lazy for the rest of my life. But a person’s greed is a bottomless pit. They had feasted on my flesh and blood to build their own strength, and now they were coming back to gnaw on my bones. I looked at the three of them, a self-contained family unit. I looked at Leo’s face, etched with the words, You owe me this. I looked at Vivian’s face, which screamed, You have to do this. I looked at the child, who shared my husband’s blood, but was not mine. A chill shot up my spine. And I started to laugh. As they stared at me in stunned silence, my laughter grew louder, colder. Ten years of suppression, of humiliation, of silent rage, all of it coalesced into this one, icy laugh. “Fine.” I stopped laughing and looked at Leo, enunciating each word with chilling clarity. A flicker of triumph crossed his face. The corner of Vivian’s mouth twitched upwards. “But,” my voice shifted, and my gaze swept over them, finally locking onto Leo’s startled eyes, “shouldn’t the shares of my company be returned to their rightful owner?” 02 The temperature in the room plummeted. The look of triumph on Leo’s face froze, then contorted as if he’d been punched. Vivian’s smile hardened, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Audrey, what are you talking about?” Leo’s voice was low, laced with a threat. “Am I not being clear enough?” I stood up and walked toward them. I was taller than Vivian, and as I looked down, I could see the flicker of panic in her eyes. “The company is mine. You two are just my proxies.” “Are you insane?” Leo snarled. “Vivian and I poured ten years of our lives into this company to make it what it is today! What does it have to do with you? What have you ever done besides cash the dividend checks?” “He’s right,” Vivian added quickly, regaining her composure. She linked her arm through Leo’s, presenting a united front. “Audrey, you have to be reasonable. Without us, the company would have gone bankrupt years ago. Don’t you think you’re being incredibly ungrateful?” I looked at them, feeling like I was watching a bad play. Two thieves, indignant that the person they’d robbed wasn’t thanking them for their service. “Reasonable?” I savored the word. “You bring your illegitimate son into my home and demand I sign over my property to him, and you want to talk to me about being reasonable?” “You!” Leo was speechless, his face turning a blotchy purple. “That’s different!” Vivian shrieked. “Aiden is Leo’s son, a Morgan! As long as you hold the title of Mrs. Morgan, it’s your duty to think of the family’s future!” “The title of Mrs. Morgan?” I scoffed. “You seem to want it so badly. You can have it.” Vivian’s face went pale. She had always assumed I refused to divorce him because I was still in love with him, that I couldn’t live without him. She could never understand that I was just lazy. Too lazy to go through the paperwork, to divide the assets, to face the pitying or gloating stares. Divorce was exhausting. Cashing checks from my sofa was not. But now, they had shattered my peace. Leo must have thought I was just throwing a tantrum. He took a deep breath, forcing a semblance of calm. “Audrey, I know you’re upset. Let’s drop the house for now. We can talk about it later.” He reached for my hand. I stepped back, and his hand hung awkwardly in the air. “You’re tired. Get some rest. Vivian and I have to get back to the office.” He was trying to stall, assuming that, like every other time in the past ten years, I would have a fit, sleep it off, and forget everything. Not this time. “Stop,” I said, my voice cold. Leo’s back stiffened. “Did you not understand what I said?” I went to my study, pulled a dusty folder from a drawer, and slapped it on the coffee table. “The proxy agreement we signed ten years ago. It’s all here in black and white.” “Party A: Audrey Ross. Party B: Leo Morgan, Vivian White.” “You two are to hold and manage one hundred percent of the shares of Innovatech Solutions on my behalf. The ownership remains, and has always remained, solely with me.” Leo’s pupils constricted. He stared at the document as if it were a monster. He probably thought I’d thrown it in a corner to rot years ago. He remembered that day ten years ago. My father had just died, and I was a hollow shell of a person. He was a junior project manager, and Vivian was his intern. They stood before me, painting a grand vision for the company’s future, swearing they would build on my father’s legacy. I believed them. Or rather, I was in no state to think. I was just grabbing onto a lifeline. So I signed. And from that day on, they were the masters of the ship, and I was the lazy, spoiled wife who lived off her husband’s hard work. “Audrey, don’t push it!” Leo’s voice trembled, no longer with anger, but with fear. “That agreement is worthless! The company has gone through multiple rounds of funding, we’ve gone public! The ownership structure has completely changed! Do you think this is still the little workshop it was ten years ago?” “Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “No matter how the structure has changed, how did my one hundred percent founding equity get diluted into your names? And whose money did you use for those capital injections?” I advanced on him, my eyes like daggers. “Leo, have you forgotten? After the IPO, I am still the single largest individual shareholder. Your pathetic little management incentives… how much do they add up to?” Leo’s lips trembled. He couldn’t speak. He thought I was an ignorant fool, a recluse completely disconnected from the world. He forgot that while I might be lazy, I wasn’t blind. I read every single financial report. I remembered the exact amount of every single dividend. “Audrey, you can’t do this!” he finally broke, his mask of civility gone. “The company can’t function without me and Vivian! The senior executives, the project leads—they’re all my people! Do you think you can run this place by yourself? The company will collapse, and you’ll be left with nothing!” “Don’t you worry about that.” I pulled open the door to the study and gestured for them to leave. “I’ll be at the office at nine a.m. sharp tomorrow. I expect my chairman’s office to be clean.” “You!” “And,” I looked at them, my voice sharp and clear, “starting tomorrow, neither of you will set foot in that building without my permission.” Without another glance at their ashen faces, I walked into my bedroom and locked the door. I could hear Leo’s furious curses and Vivian’s panicked attempts to calm him. I ignored them. I walked to the window and looked out at the glittering city skyline. This was the city my father had built his life in. This was the company he had left for me. I had been asleep for ten years. It was time to wake up. 03 The next morning, I arrived at the Innovatech Solutions building right on time. The imposing glass tower still stood in the heart of the financial district, but the company logo was bigger and brighter than I remembered. I was dressed in a simple t-shirt, jeans, and flats, with no makeup. I looked like a college student who had wandered into the wrong building. The two young women at the reception desk were gossiping. They gave me a lazy, dismissive glance. “Do you have an appointment?” one of them asked robotically. “I’m here to see Leo Morgan,” I said. “Mr. Morgan?” She looked me up and down with open contempt. “I’m sorry, Mr. Morgan doesn’t see anyone without an appointment.” The other one whispered to her colleague, just loud enough for me to hear, “Another stray trying to claw her way up.” I ignored them. “I’m not here to see him,” I said calmly. “I’m here to work.” The two of them exchanged a look and burst out laughing. “Work? Honey, this is a publicly traded company, not a flea market. You’re in the wrong place.” I was about to call security when the elevator doors opened. Vivian emerged, surrounded by a crowd of executives. She was wearing a couture power suit, her makeup flawless, her presence commanding. She was every bit the queen of this castle. She froze when she saw me, then a flicker of triumph crossed her face. She must have thought I was here to surrender. “Audrey? What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone familiar, her posture condescending. “Are you looking for Leo? He’s in a meeting, he probably can’t see you.” The executives behind her stared at me with curiosity. I recognized a few of them as Leo’s old college buddies. Their expressions were cold and guarded. “I’m here to work,” I repeated. The smile on Vivian’s face faltered. “Work? Audrey, don’t be ridiculous. You don’t know anything about the company. What could you possibly do here?” Her words were soft, but each one was a jab. “I know you were upset yesterday, but you can’t be this impulsive. The company isn’t a playground for you to throw a tantrum.” “The VP is right,” a balding, middle-aged man spoke up. He was the CFO, Mark Peterson, one of Leo’s most loyal cronies. “Mrs. Morgan, we have everything under control. You should just stay home, relax, and wait for your dividends. Coming here will only get in our way.” A wave of suppressed laughter rippled through the group. They all saw me as a joke. A helpless, ignorant trophy wife trying to challenge the authority of the professionals. I scanned their faces, memorizing each one. “Is that so?” I said quietly. “In that case, let’s call a company-wide meeting.” “What?” Vivian thought she’d misheard. “I said, I want an all-hands meeting. Now.” My voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable weight. “I have an announcement to make.” Vivian tried to protest, but I walked past her towards the executive elevator. A security guard moved to block my path. My gaze was like ice. “I am Audrey Ross, the majority shareholder of this company. Are you sure you want to stop me?” The guard froze, intimidated by my sudden authority. Vivian’s face paled. She couldn’t let me run rampant, and she couldn’t let the employees see her being defied by the “chairman’s wife.” She gritted her teeth and followed me. Half an hour later, the company’s largest conference room was packed. Most of the employees were whispering, their faces alight with curiosity. Leo sat at the head of the table, his face a thundercloud. Vivian sat beside him, looking equally grim. I walked calmly to the other end of the table, to the chairman’s seat that had been empty for ten years. I sat down. The room fell silent. All eyes were on me. Leo coughed loudly, trying to reclaim control. “Audrey, what is the meaning of this? Stop this nonsense. We’re all very busy!” I didn’t look at him. I simply picked up the microphone and tapped it lightly. “Good morning, everyone.” “Many of you may not know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself.” “My name is Audrey Ross. I am the founder of Innovatech Solutions, and the sole legal owner of this company.” The room exploded. A wave of shocked murmurs swept through the crowd as everyone’s gaze darted between me, Leo, and Vivian. Weren’t they the founders? Who was this woman? “Silence!” Leo slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his face livid. “She is my wife. She’s been emotionally unstable due to some family issues. Please, don’t take anything she says seriously!” He was trying to paint me as crazy. “Is that so?” I smiled. “If you think I’m being emotional, let’s stick to the facts.” I looked at the CFO, Mark Peterson. “Mr. Peterson, I want to see all financial statements, audit reports, and cash flow records for all major investment projects for the past three years. Now.” The color drained from Peterson’s face. He looked at Leo for help. “Audrey, you don’t have the authority!” Leo yelled. “My authority is not for you to decide.” I stood up, looking down at him. “I’m giving you one day to clear out my office. Starting tomorrow, I will be personally auditing all of this company’s accounts.” “If you fail to comply, I’ll see you in court.” Without waiting for a response, I walked out of the chaotic conference room. I didn’t go back to that cold, empty house. I went straight to the chairman’s office. It had once been my father’s. Now, it was decorated in Leo’s preferred sterile, black-and-white style. The walls were covered with photos of him and Vivian with the other executives. There wasn’t a single picture of me, or of my father. I walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the familiar city skyline stretched before me. Inside, I was surrounded by enemies. I knew this was only the beginning. Leo and Vivian had spent ten years turning this company into their personal kingdom. I was an intruder, alone and unsupported. But I wasn’t afraid. I sat down quietly, watching the people come and go, watching the faces that had once shown my father such deference now look at me with cold disdain. I was watching, remembering, and planning. The war had just begun.

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In my last life, I was the one taken in by the poor family. My sister, Anya, was adopted by the wealthy one. But Anya didn’t even last five years with them. They threw her out, and she died on the streets. I, on the other hand, earned my way into the country’s top university. I went abroad to study with my adoptive brother, Ethan, and together we built a business empire from scratch. Later, with our adoptive parents’ blessing, we married and had children. My life was happy, successful. Now, I’ve been reborn. And this time, Anya made the opposite choice. At the orphanage, she ran and threw her arms around Ethan, calling him “brother.” Then she took the hands of his parents and shot me a triumphant look. “You can have the misery of that gilded cage, sister. I wouldn’t last a day in that backstabbing world.” I looked at the man who had been my husband, waiting for him to say something. But he just pulled Anya behind him, shielding her. His eyes, when they met mine, were ice. “Stay away from my sister.” And so, under Anya’s gloating gaze, I walked toward the stretch Lincoln. … Anya’s words confirmed a chilling suspicion. She was reborn, too. Seeing that victorious glint in her eyes, it all clicked into place. “This way, miss,” the driver said, his voice flat. The Prescotts hadn’t sent anyone but him. It was the same as last time, when the orphanage director told us to choose, and Anya, then named Annabelle, had stepped forward first. It had all happened so fast. “I don’t want to live in poverty,” she’d declared, her chin high. “Sister, you can have that miserable life for me.” She got her wish. She lived the life of a rich girl, but the smile on her face faded with each passing day. I climbed into the plush interior of the limo. As the car pulled away, the driver began listing the rules I was to follow at the Prescott estate. “Did you get all that?” he asked, his shrewd eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror. “I did.” We arrived quickly. The villa was a palace of marble and glass. I followed the driver inside. “Ma’am, I’ve brought her.” A beautiful woman, seated on a silk sofa and sipping tea, looked up. Her eyes swept over me, analytical and cool. She beckoned to me. “Come here.” “What’s your name?” “Serena.” It was the name the orphanage director gave me. It meant peace, tranquility. A wish for a smooth life. The woman nodded. “Good. From now on, your name is Serena Prescott.” She turned to the butler standing silently by the wall. “Take her upstairs.” “Yes, ma’am.” I followed the butler, my steps silent on the polished marble floors. The banister was carved from rich, dark mahogany. Everything screamed of extravagant wealth. But this was nothing new. In my past life, I had earned all of this and more through my own hard work. I wasn’t impressed. The butler glanced back at me, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He opened a door to reveal a bedroom fit for a princess, all pink and white lace. “Miss, this will be your room. Rest for a while. I’ll be back later.” He left, closing the door softly behind him. I walked in, taking it all in. They hadn’t spared any expense on their adopted daughter. The room was a showcase of upper-class taste and luxury. A thrill, sharp and potent, shot through me. In my last life, I had to fight my way up with no connections, no powerful family to back me. I did it all on my own. This time, I had the Prescotts. With their resources at my back, I would forge a path that was entirely my own. . My thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the hallway. The door burst open and a basketball flew through the air, smacking me hard on the head. “Hey, country mouse! Toss me my ball.” The arrogant voice came from behind me. I turned slowly. A boy, around my age but much taller, stood there, chin tilted up, radiating contempt. If I remembered correctly, this was the only son of the Prescott family, Donovan. He was a classic rich kid—into extreme sports like street racing and skydiving, with zero interest in the family business. In my past life, he’d had an accident during a race that crushed his legs, leaving him paralyzed. The disability had twisted his already arrogant personality into something monstrous. “Hello? Are you deaf? I said, give me the ball,” he snapped, his voice laced with impatience. I shook my head to clear it, picked up the basketball, and held it out to him. Remembering the driver’s instructions, I murmured, “Here you go… brother.” He froze for a second. “Already trying to suck up, huh? Don’t think that’ll get you a cut of the family fortune.” He sneered, snatched the ball, and stalked off. Over the next few days, I barely saw Mrs. Prescott, and Donovan was a ghost. The butler showed me around the estate. It was massive. When the tour was done, he handed me a schedule, densely packed with classes on business management, corporate finance, and market analysis. “This is your curriculum, starting tomorrow. Mrs. Prescott has arranged for private tutors. All you have to do is study hard. If you do well, you will be rewarded.” He looked at me expectantly. “Can you handle it?” This was the knowledge I’d had to claw for in my previous life, long after I’d started my own company. To have access to it at fifteen… I was ecstatic. “Of course,” I nodded. Another flash of surprise in his eyes. He said nothing more, just went over a few more household rules. Mrs. Prescott also hired tutors to ensure I didn’t fall behind in my regular schoolwork. But I’d learned all of this years ago. It was a breeze. Within a year, I had absorbed everything they threw at me, from high school calculus to complex business theory. “This child is a sponge,” my academic tutor gushed to Mrs. Prescott. “She’s not only mastered the high school curriculum, she’s comprehending graduate-level business concepts.” I sat quietly, listening. “At this rate,” the tutor continued excitedly, “she could skip the rest of high school and go straight to a university abroad.” But that wasn’t Mrs. Prescott’s plan. She wanted me to go through high school with Donovan, then go abroad with him. Officially, it was so we could “look out for each other.” In reality, she wanted me to be a leash for her wild, untamable son. Mrs. Prescott paid the tutor handsomely and then looked at me, a new flicker of approval in her eyes. “Come here.” She took my hand and sat me down beside her, handing me an acceptance letter. “You’ve done well. Donovan’s grades are a disaster. I need you to help him. I’m not asking for much, just get him to pass.” “Once you both graduate from high school, I’ll send you abroad. What do you say?” She laid her cards on the table, no preamble. I didn’t hesitate. “Thank you, Mother.” Her eyebrows shot up, a genuine smile spreading across her face. She squeezed my hand. “Good girl.” As a reward, she gave me a credit card and a day off to myself. It was the first real break I’d had since arriving. The driver dropped me off in the bustling downtown district. I hadn’t walked more than a block when I saw a familiar figure. It was Anya. She was standing under the blazing sun, handing out flyers. The Harris family was poor. I knew they wouldn’t have any extra money. It was no surprise she had to work. After all, I had lived that life. Juggling three part-time jobs during the summer while trying to keep my grades up. On top of that, there were endless chores. They always said they treated Ethan and me the same, but they would never dream of letting their precious son lift a finger. I only learned later that they’d adopted me not for a daughter, but for a free laborer. “Hello, would you like to—” A flyer was thrust in my face. Anya looked up, and her voice died in her throat. “Serena?” Her eyes flickered over my designer clothes and clear, well-cared-for skin. A flash of jealousy, quickly masked, crossed her face. She forced a smile. “You seem to be doing well for yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. The Prescotts are more dangerous than you can imagine. You’ll find out soon enough.” “Oh.” My flat response seemed to annoy her. She immediately launched into a boast. “My new parents are wonderful to me. I’m so happy. And Ethan helps me with my homework every night. Oh, by the way, we were both granted early admission to Northgate Prep this year.” Northgate Prep… the same school on the acceptance letter Mrs. Prescott had just given me. It was an elite academy for the rich and powerful, with a few spots reserved for exceptionally brilliant scholarship students. Last life, Ethan and I were the ones who got those scholarships. “Our future is only going to get brighter,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension. “But you… you’re going to end up dead on the street.” She said it with such certainty. I opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off. “Anya!” “Ethan! You’re here!” Anya’s face lit up as she ran into his arms. He was holding a lunchbox. “Mom sent me with your lunch. It’s too hot out here. Let me take over for a while.” “It’s okay, I can do it,” she said, though the Harris’s would pinch every penny to send Ethan to expensive tutoring while making her work. I knew that script by heart. “You work too hard,” Ethan said, then he noticed me. “Ethan, this is my sister, Serena. You met her at the orphanage,” Anya introduced me. Ethan’s gaze swept over me, cold and filled with a familiar distaste. He ignored me completely, turning back to Anya. “Stay away from people like that. Let’s go.” He pulled her away before I could say a word. “Ethan, why are you so mean? You might have scared her,” I heard Anya say. “Don’t be naive, Anya. People like her are trouble. You stay away from her, or she’ll find a way to hurt you.” His words were sharp, but they barely registered. I took the credit card Mrs. Prescott had given me and went on a shopping spree. When I emerged from a luxury boutique laden with bags, I saw Anya staring, her face green with envy. “What’s she so smug about?” I heard her mutter. “She’s just going to die anyway. Not like me and Ethan. We’re going to start a huge company one day.” I smiled. She was so naive. I returned to the Prescott mansion with my haul. None of it was for me. It was all for Mrs. Prescott and Donovan. When I got back, Donovan was actually home for once. He saw my shopping bags and sneered. “Wow, haven’t been here long and you’re already hauling stuff in like you own the place. You really think our money is yours?” “Donovan!” Mrs. Prescott’s voice was sharp. “She is your sister.” He rolled his eyes. “Since when? I don’t have a sister who looks like a hick. It’s embarrassing.” He’d always been hostile, so I didn’t bother engaging. I just started unpacking the gifts. “Mother, this is for you.” I handed her a box containing a delicate silk scarf. Then I gave gifts to the butler and the other staff who had been kind to me. I saw a look on Mrs. Prescott’s face I’d never seen before: genuine appreciation. The staff looked stunned and pleased. Donovan’s face soured. “Tch. You think a few cheap gifts are going to buy everyone’s loyalty? As if—” “This is for you, brother.” Ignoring him, I held out the last gift. It was a detailed model of a race car. “I heard Mother say you like racing. I saw this at the mall and thought of you.” He blinked, taken aback. He mumbled something under his breath and took the box. Soon, the first day of school arrived.

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My husband, Captain Ethan Vance, had to make a choice. Me, his pregnant wife, or Maya, “the one that got away.” We were both trapped in the floodwaters. He hesitated. Then he chose me. By the time he went back for her, it was too late. The current had swept her away. He blamed me. He said I delayed him. He said I killed her. For seven years, he hated me. He never even let our son call him “Dad.” The day the commercial Time Jump technology went public, he abandoned everything to go back. “Ava,” he spat before stepping into the pod. “If I hadn’t been worried about ruining Maya’s reputation by saving her first, I never would have touched you.” “I only saved you to protect her good name.” After he vanished into the past, my in-laws turned on me. “If Ethan had saved Maya, they would be so happy right now.” Even my son screamed at me. “It’s your fault Maya died! That’s why Dad hates me! Why didn’t you die instead?” Facing their venom, I made a choice. I stepped into the machine too. This time, I’m saving myself. And I won’t owe Ethan Vance a damn thing. 1 The vertigo from the time jump faded. Bone-chilling cold took its place. I was back in the flood. I felt like I was drowning all over again. I forced my eyes open. There was Ethan, standing on a small wooden skiff, looking at me with cold indifference. Our eyes met. Without a second of hesitation, he turned the boat around. He rowed toward Maya, who was stranded on a submerged rooftop. The current was ferocious. I clung to a piece of driftwood, kicking with everything I had toward the bank. Just as I was about to reach safety, Ethan’s boat passed me. Maya stumbled, nearly falling into the churning water. To catch her, Ethan dropped an oar. The boat swung wild and slammed hard into my side. Crack. Pain exploded in my abdomen. I almost let go of the wood. But Ethan didn’t even look back. He was too busy comforting a frightened Maya as he rowed her to shore. When I finally dragged myself onto the muddy bank, coughing up water, Ethan was already there. Maya was safe and dry beside him. He walked over to me, his voice icy. “Ava, you can swim. You stayed in the water on purpose to force me to save you first, didn’t you? You wanted her to die.” A shiver ran through me that had nothing to do with the cold. He didn’t know I was from the future too. “Planning to tattle to my parents again? Say whatever you want about me, but if you slander Maya, I won’t let it slide.” I pressed a hand against my throbbing stomach and looked up at him. “Let’s get a divorce.” Shock flashed across his face. Then he frowned, impatient. “I have work to do. I don’t have time for your tantrums.” “I’m not throwing a tantrum. I’m serious.” In the previous timeline, before he left, Ethan told me his biggest regret—besides not saving Maya—was marrying me to please his parents. I wasn’t going to let history repeat itself. I was giving him what he wanted. He could fix both regrets. Ethan scoffed. “My parents aren’t here, you don’t need to act. You’re just using divorce as a threat.” “Save your petty schemes. Don’t use marriage as a bargaining chip. Get in the car, I’m taking you to the hospital.” He shot me a warning glare and reached out a hand. The pain in my lower belly was intensifying. Just as I was about to take his hand to pull myself up, Maya shoved me aside. She clung to Ethan’s arm, sobbing. “Ethan! Buddy swallowed a lot of water trying to protect me. He’s not breathing right! Can you take us to the vet first? Please?” Buddy was the golden retriever Ethan and Maya had adopted together years ago. Without hesitation, Ethan agreed. He glanced at me, remembering his offer. Maya dropped to her knees in front of me, tears streaming down her face. “Ava, you’re not hurt. Please let Ethan take Buddy to the vet first. I can’t lose him.” Ethan nodded. “I’ll find someone with a bike to take you to the ER. I’ll come find you after I take Maya and Buddy.” I answered calmly. “Okay. Go.” Ethan looked surprised. But with Maya urging him, he didn’t dwell on it. He drove off in his jeep with her and the dog. As they sped away, I turned to look at the back of my dress. It was soaked in blood. By the time I walked to the hospital, the doctor told me it was too late. I lost the baby. 2 In the original timeline, Ethan saved me first, so the baby survived. But after our son was born, Ethan never held him. He paid the bills, but he was a ghost in his own son’s life. He even threw away a birthday gift our son made for him. Our boy cried, asking why other dads bought their kids presents but his dad wouldn’t even buy him a candy bar. I never understood the depth of his hatred until I overheard him talking to our son one day. “Don’t call me Dad. I will never acknowledge you as my son.” While the boy sobbed, Ethan pulled out a lock of golden dog fur he kept in his wallet. “Because everyone was busy rushing your mother to the hospital, Buddy got lost in the chaos. I failed to protect Maya, and I failed to protect Buddy.” “If I could do it all over again, I would save them. Even if it meant losing you.” I wiped a tear from my cheek, pulling myself back to the present. I had come back determined to divorce Ethan. I hadn’t planned on keeping the baby anyway. I wrote my divorce application in the hospital room. Just as I finished, Ethan walked in holding a bag of trendy toys. “Saw these at the store. Figured I’d grab them for the future kid before they sold out.” He showed me the toys, a rare smile on his face. “Is Buddy okay?” I asked. His smile faltered. He nodded awkwardly. “The vet said he’s fine. Please don’t tell my parents about today. I don’t want them misunderstanding Maya again. If you help me keep this secret, I’ll agree to anything.” So the toys weren’t for our unborn child. They were a bribe. I looked down and saw the label on the toys: For Pets Only. My chest tightened. He bought expensive imported dog toys for Maya’s dog and tried to pass them off as gifts for our child. “Anything?” I turned away so he wouldn’t see my eyes watering. He nodded. I pulled out the divorce paper, covering the text so only the signature line was visible. “Sign this, then.” “What is it?” “A contract. Promise you’ll never fall in love with anyone else.” Ethan always thought I was childish. He signed without reading, probably relieved I was being “silly” instead of difficult. Seeing his signature, I exhaled. Ethan had once been my savior. Now, I was returning the favor. I was setting him free. My mom and Ethan’s parents were best friends. We grew up together. My life was good until my mom died and my dad remarried. My stepmother turned my world into hell. She convinced my dad to cut off my allowance. I wore old men’s clothes to school because they wouldn’t buy me anything new. Kids bullied me, throwing red ink on my rags. Ethan stood in front of me, taking the ink stains. He beat up the bullies. He told everyone his clothes were hand-me-downs too, that there was no shame in it. He picked up my shattered self-esteem that day. Later, when my stepmother had a son and they decided I was a burden, they pushed me into a lake. Ethan pulled me out before I drowned. When my dad and stepmother went to jail, Ethan brought me home. He begged his parents to pay for my tuition so I wouldn’t end up on the street. 3 He saved me from the abyss so many times. I mistook his kindness for love. I was wrong. But at least now I could fix it. “My parents made your favorite dinner. They want to see us.” But as we reached the door, a friend of Maya’s ran up, breathless. “Maya is traumatized from the flood. She’s scared of the water and can’t cook. Can you come help her?” Ethan left immediately. I ate dinner alone with his parents. When his mother, Mrs. Vance, came back from an errand later, her face was dark. “Is Ethan with that woman again?” I didn’t react. Mrs. Vance slammed a grocery bag on the table. “You said he was working late! I just heard Maya bragging in her yard about Ethan cooking for her!” “I don’t know what he sees in her. If I wasn’t worried he’d do something stupid, I’d tell him she’s a divorcée!” I kept eating. I knew Maya had been married. Mrs. Vance told me years ago. Maya hid it well, fleeing to our town to escape an abusive ex. His parents kept it secret because they feared Ethan would ruin his career trying to avenge her. In the last life, I stayed quiet to keep the peace. This time, I was done. “He helped me because he’s kind, not because he loved me,” I said softly. “We forced this marriage on him. If he’s unhappy, we should let him go.” “Let him go?!” Mr. and Mrs. Vance shouted in unison. “Yes. He already signed the divorce papers. Once it’s processed, we’re done.” “Please keep this from him for now. I don’t want him to stay out of guilt.” Thinking of those seven years of cold silence, my heart ached. That night, just as I was drifting off, the bedroom door was kicked open. Ethan stood there, furious. “Ava, you went to my parents again! Are you trying to force Maya out of town?” 4 “Because of you, my parents went to confront her. They argued, the door was left open, and Buddy ran away!” Buddy was lost? Fear spiked in my chest. Can I really not change the outcome? “Think about it, Ava. You’re pregnant. You know how much it would hurt to lose a child. That’s how Maya feels about Buddy. Stop being so selfish.” “This is your fault. You have to fix it. If Buddy doesn’t come back, maybe we shouldn’t keep this baby.” His words were daggers. I knew the pain of losing a child better than anyone. But he didn’t know the child was already gone. “I’ll find the dog.” I walked past him. He sneered. “Don’t pretend to be noble. Finding him is the least you can do. Don’t expect me to forgive you.” I searched near Maya’s house. Her lights were on. Through the window, I saw two silhouettes embracing tightly. It was freezing. I had just miscarried. After an hour, I was dizzy and weak. But I kept looking. I had to find that dog. Then I would owe Ethan nothing. I searched until dawn. I found Buddy in an abandoned yard, tied up with a chain, shivering on a cold stone slab. I untied him and walked him back. When I arrived, Ethan was wiping tears from Maya’s face. “Buddy! Look, Maya!” Maya rushed over to hug the dog. Seeing Ethan turn to me, she immediately started crying again. “Ethan, Buddy is shivering. He might have pneumonia. Dogs die from that! Can you drive us to the vet? Please, I can’t lose him!” I was swaying on my feet, pale as a ghost. Ethan hesitated for a second. I leaned against the wall for support. “I’m fine. Take them.” As they drove off, darkness swallowed me. I collapsed.

1 My mother died from overwork. She worked three jobs to afford the mortgage on our house, the one in the good school district. Before she took her last breath, she gripped my hand. “Clara,” she whispered, “you have to keep studying. Your education is your life.” I was ten. I didn’t fully understand. Six months later, my father brought a new woman home. Her name was Gable, and she came with a daughter in tow named Willow. She was timid, her eyes like a frightened fawn’s whenever she looked at you. My father said, “Clara, this is your sister. You’re older. You need to be mature about this.” I felt the small passbook my mother had left me in my pocket and nodded. It held only five hundred dollars, the last of my mother’s private savings. 2 Our home was a two-bedroom apartment. I used to have my own room. The day after Mrs. Gable moved in, she was stroking Willow’s hair and sighed to my father. “Willow is such a light sleeper. Her room is right by the road, and the traffic… the poor thing woke up startled several times last night…” My father glanced at me, his eyes shifting away. “Clara, you’re the big sister. Let Willow have the second bedroom.” I stared at him. He looked away, pretending to search for a lighter. “Okay,” I said. I moved into the converted storage room on the balcony. It was where we used to keep junk and the washing machine. In the winter, drafts cut through the thin walls. In the summer, it was a sauna. While cleaning it out, I swept up a dry, shriveled cockroach from a corner. I didn’t scream. I just wrapped it in a tissue and threw it in the trash. 3 That night, Willow knocked on the glass door of my new room. She was holding a plate of sliced fruit. “Sister, this is for you.” They were cherries. My mother had never bought them. Too expensive, she’d said. I took the plate. “Sister,” she said, “don’t be mad at Dad. And don’t be mad at my mom.” I didn’t say anything. She left. I placed the plate of cherries on the windowsill. By the next morning, they were covered in mold. Willow started piano lessons, ballet, painting. The money for her tutors came from selling the gold jewelry my mother had bought years ago. My stepmother would say, “A girl needs a bit of polish to land a good husband. Clara, why don’t you sit in on a lesson?” I was scrubbing my sneakers by the door, my hands covered in soap suds. “No, thanks. I have homework.” I started studying relentlessly. I used the old textbooks Willow had thrown out, scribbling notes on the blank back pages. The storage room had no heating. In winter, my hands would get so cold I could barely hold a pen. I’d fill a hot water bottle and clutch it to my chest, relying on that small pocket of warmth to get me through another vocabulary list, one word at a time. My mother told me my education was my armor. 4 When I was twenty-two, the Vance Corporation posted a job opening for an executive assistant to the CEO. The requirements were sky-high. Multilingual, versed in business etiquette, impeccable background, and willing to live in. But the salary was five times that of a typical office job. When my stepmother heard, her eyes lit up. Her first thought was for Willow. She’d heard the Vance heir, Justin Vance, was incredibly handsome and the sole successor to the empire. If Willow could get close to him, it would be the score of a lifetime. But a few days later, she came back with new information. Justin Vance was a cold-hearted demon, with a temper so fierce his last assistant had run out sobbing. The job also required signing a strict non-disclosure agreement and offered almost no personal time. Willow burst into tears, terrified. My stepmother called both of us to the living room. “The Vances are a top-tier family, but they have so many rules. I hear it’s a very demanding job. Willow is too sensitive… I couldn’t bear to see her suffer.” She took my hand, her face a mask of loving concern. “Clara, why don’t you give it a try? You’re steady. You can handle hardship. And with that salary, you could pay for Willow’s graduate program abroad.” My father sat on the sofa, the TV volume turned up loud, pretending he couldn’t hear a thing. I looked at my stepmother’s eager face, then at Willow. Willow was picking at her freshly manicured nails. “Sister,” she whispered, “I’m scared…” “Okay,” I said. 5 The interview at the Vance Corporation was rigorous. They tested my language skills, my logical reasoning, reviewed my medical reports, and ran a background check three generations deep. The interviewer asked me, “With your qualifications, you could get a job at any top international firm. Why apply for this position?” I answered calmly, “Because I need the money.” The interviewer gave me a long, searching look. I was hired. Life at the Vance estate was a different kind of difficult. The rules were more numerous than lines of code. One wrong step was not an option. But the pay was real, the food and board were covered, and there were endless benefits. I was assigned to Justin Vance’s private villa, responsible for his personal affairs and some of his documents. Justin was, as rumored, not an easy man to serve. He spoke little, was relentlessly demanding, and a complete workaholic. He often held international conference calls in his study until the dead of night. I had to be on standby, ready to make coffee, organize materials, or take notes at a moment’s notice. He rarely gave direct orders. He would just glance at something, and I was expected to know what he needed. I learned quickly. I remembered everything. He only drank dark-roast coffee, served at precisely eighty-five degrees Celsius. He had a habit of using a blue fountain pen for his annotations. Within six months, I was the one usually on duty in the study. Once, exhausted from a merger case, he pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “Have you read this file?” “I glanced at it while organizing,” I answered truthfully. “And?” “There’s an issue with the cash flow on their financial statement. The third-quarter accounts receivable are unusually high. It doesn’t make sense.” He looked up at me, then asked nothing more. Two days later, he tossed a thick stack of all-English due diligence reports onto my desk. “Proofread this. Find any gaps.” I took it. “Yes, sir.” The report was dense with technical jargon. I spent hours on it, making detailed notes on sticky tabs. He reviewed my work and said nothing. After that, he occasionally had me handle less sensitive business emails. My salary rose accordingly. 6 Three years flew by. I was twenty-five, a veteran by his side. People in the company called me Ms. Cheng, with a mixture of respect and fear. In October, the Vance Corporation held its anniversary gala. All the city’s elites and top executives were invited. Justin was required to attend, and he named me to accompany him. It was the first time I had appeared with him at such a public social event. I wore the standard high-end professional attire, my hair pulled back in a severe, perfect bun. The gala was held in the top-floor ballroom of the corporate headquarters. The lights were dazzling, the sound of a cello rich and melodic. I walked half a step behind Justin, my head slightly bowed, my job to field unwanted conversations and hand out business cards. The room buzzed with chatter, with flattery. Justin was a man of few words, offering a curt response here and there, his gaze cool and distant. I focused on my task, my senses sharp. Until a familiar, timid voice drifted toward me. “Mom, is that Mr. Vance? He’s even more handsome in person than in the magazines…” My fingers faltered. I lifted my eyes, following the sound. Near the dessert table, on the outskirts of the main crowd, a young woman in a pink gown was on her tiptoes, staring dreamily in Justin’s direction. It was Willow. She had matured, looking even more delicate and lovely. Her dress was from a major designer’s new collection. Not cheap. My stepmother stood beside her, craning her neck, her face glowing with vicarious pride. They hadn’t seen me. 7 Justin was speaking to someone, but his peripheral vision caught my momentary pause. Without turning, he asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?” I immediately dropped my gaze and took a champagne flute from him. “Nothing, sir. A little spilled.” He grunted in acknowledgment. Midway through the evening, Justin stepped out onto the terrace for some air. As always, I followed. We passed through a set of French doors, leaving the noise behind. As we walked by a decorative arrangement of champagne roses, the chatter of a few interns reached us. “It’s so hard to get an internship at Vance, but just seeing Mr. Vance makes it all worth it.” “I heard he has an assistant, a Ms. Cheng, who’s supposed to be incredible…” “Please. No matter how incredible she is, she’s still just an assistant. Does she really think she’s the lady of the house?” It was Willow’s voice. Laughing, but with a sharp, acidic edge. I didn’t break my stride. But Justin suddenly stopped. He turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping past the roses, catching a glimpse of the figures behind them. “You know them?” he asked, his voice even. I stood half a step behind him, my eyes on the floor. A cool autumn breeze drifted over, carrying the scent of roses. I heard my own voice, clear and steady. “No.” “They just look familiar.” “They look a lot like the sister who made me sleep in a storage room, and then sent me here to be your maid.” Justin said nothing. He turned and continued walking. I followed. I didn’t look back at the roses again. 8 After the gala that night, I returned to the villa as usual. Jenna, another assistant who lived there, hurried over, her eyes sparkling. “Clara, did you see? Some of those big-shot CEOs were checking you out all night.” “I didn’t notice,” I said, taking off my earrings. “Seriously! And Mr. Vance…” she lowered her voice. “When he came back from the terrace, I swear he looked at you a few extra times.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, placing the earrings in their box. “Get some sleep. We have to prepare the materials for the morning meeting.” The next day, it was business as usual. Coffee, files, scheduling. In the afternoon, Justin handed me a report. “Review the departmental budgets for next month.” “Yes, sir.” I opened it. It was fresh from the finance department. One line item caught my eye: Two additional full-time positions for interns in the Public Relations department. PR was the most glamorous department in the company. There were no recent plans for expansion. I took my pen and wrote a small note in the margin: No current expansion needs for PR. Roster questionable. Please verify. When Justin took the report back, he glanced at my note but said nothing. 9 Two days later, the head of HR came to find me. Mrs. Vance wanted to see me. A knot tightened in my stomach. The matriarch lived at the family’s old estate and rarely involved herself in corporate affairs. I followed the director to the estate. Mrs. Vance was in the conservatory, pruning an orchid. She was in her fifties but impeccably preserved, radiating a calm, regal air. I bowed respectfully. “You’re the Cheng girl? The one working for Justin?” “Yes, ma’am.” “I hear you took this job in your sister’s place?” “Yes. My family was in financial difficulty at the time. My sister was young and timid, and my stepmother couldn’t bear to part with her, so I came instead.” “A sensible child,” she said, snipping off a withered leaf. “Now that you are with the Vance family, you are one of us. The past is the past. You should learn to let it go.” “I understand, ma’am.” “Good.” She gestured for me to have some tea. “Next month, we’re hosting a small family dinner for some old friends. You’ll accompany Justin. Be meticulous.” “Yes, ma’am.” When I left, my back was damp with sweat. Mrs. Vance’s words were a mixture of praise, promotion, and a clear warning. She knew about Willow. And she knew about our relationship. 10 Life went on. The documents Justin gave me to handle grew in complexity. Sometimes it was a simple itinerary; other times, a summary report from an overseas branch. I was meticulous. I made no mistakes. He never offered praise. When I returned his work, his fingertip would sometimes pause on a certain point, or he would give the slightest grunt. I learned to understand. This part was correct. This part needed more thought. Willow and my stepmother had somehow managed to get jobs at Vance. Willow was an intern in PR, and my stepmother was a supervisor for the cleaning crew in logistics. Once, when I was in the finance department filing an expense report, I saw Willow from a distance, carrying a stack of files. She was laughing with some male colleagues, still dressed in designer labels, her cheeks rosy. She saw me. Her smile froze for a second before she turned away, pretending not to know me. I didn’t linger. I signed my papers and left. My stepmother, however, cornered me in the break room one day. She was beaming, holding a thermal container. “Clara, now that we’re both at this big company, we’re still family…” I sidestepped the soup she offered. “Is there something you need, Mrs. Gable?” Her expression faltered. “Don’t be like that… It’s just, your sister in PR… her intern salary is so low. You’re in Mr. Vance’s good graces now. Could you maybe talk to HR, get her a permanent position ahead of schedule?” “No,” I cut her off. “The company has procedures. I’m just an assistant. I can’t help.” I walked around her and left. As I walked away, I heard her mutter under her breath, “Ungrateful wretch.” 11 The day before the family dinner, Justin had me go to the storeroom to select some gifts for the old estate. The storeroom manager was a veteran employee. He squinted at the request form I handed him. “Well, well, Ms. Cheng in person? Mr. Vance must think highly of you.” I showed him my ID badge. “You’re too kind, Mr. Lee. I’m just running an errand.” He checked my badge and ambled off to retrieve the items. I waited outside the door and overheard two junior clerks gossiping inside. “Did you hear? That new woman in logistics, Mrs. Gable, has sticky fingers. She was caught on camera taking leftover tea bags and pastries from a conference room…” “Tsk. She just got here. Isn’t her daughter in PR? She looks like such an innocent girl…” “Innocent? Please. The other day she tried to get up to the executive floor, but the secretaries stopped her…” I felt nothing. Mr. Lee came out with the items. I checked the list, signed, and left. On my way back, I passed the PR department’s floor. I saw Willow touching up her makeup in a compact mirror, her eyes darting toward the elevators. I walked past, holding the gift boxes. She saw me, bit her lip, but didn’t dare to speak. 12 The family dinner was a much more private affair than the corporate gala. The guests were mostly old family friends and their children. The atmosphere was relaxed. I remained by Justin’s side. He wore a casual grey suit, which softened his sharp edges, making him look more refined. But his expression was still distant, offering only a slight nod to the elders who greeted him. Halfway through the meal, a girl in a white dress suddenly appeared, holding a plate of sliced fruit, and approached Justin. “Mr. Vance, Mrs. Vance had the kitchen prepare some fresh melon for you.” Her voice was soft and sweet. It was Willow. She had somehow managed to join the serving staff at the estate. She was clearly dressed for the occasion, her hair in soft curls, her face made up to look naturally flawless. The chatter at the tables quieted. Several pairs of eyes turned our way. Justin looked up, his gaze falling first on the plate, then on her. Willow’s cheeks flushed, her eyes shimmering. I stood behind Justin, my head down, motionless. Justin didn’t take the plate. He spoke to the head butler standing nearby. “Take this. Distribute it among the children.” The butler stepped forward. Willow’s face went pale. She let go of the plate, flustered. She seemed to want to say something more, but Justin had already turned to speak with an old family friend beside him. She was stuck, unable to move forward or retreat. The butler prompted her in a low voice, “Shouldn’t you be leaving?” She bit her lip, her eyes red, and finally backed away. I never once looked up. As the melon was passed around, I heard one of the ladies laugh softly. “That serving girl is certainly pretty. A little too ambitious, though.” Another murmured in agreement, “Indeed. She doesn’t know her place.” The dinner continued as if nothing had happened. 13 After the guests had left, I was in the private lounge, gathering the documents Justin had left there. He was still there, sitting on the sofa, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest. “The girl who served the fruit today,” he said suddenly. “That was your sister?” My hand paused. “Yes.” “Your thoughts?” I put down the briefcase and stood properly. “Mr. Vance, in my opinion, a formal dinner at the estate has its own etiquette. To approach you unbidden, to curry favor so blatantly, is a transgression. She should be handled according to the house rules.” He was silent for a moment. “You’re impartial.” “I’m stating a fact.” He stood up and walked to the window, gazing out at the darkened garden. “According to the rules, what is the procedure?” “A minor offense would be a pay deduction. A major one would be termination, with a permanent ban from re-employment.” He didn’t turn around. “Then follow the rules.” “Yes, sir.” “You will deliver the message.” I froze. “Me…?” “What?” He turned to face me. “Is it difficult for you?” “Not difficult, but… shouldn’t this be handled by the butler…?” “I want you to do it. Tell them it comes from me.” A knot formed in my chest. I lowered my head. “Very well.”

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1 In the gilded cages of high society, everyone knows you don’t mess with a married man. Except, apparently, for my husband. Not only is he devastatingly handsome, with legs for days and the lean, hard body of a god, but his wife? A total pushover. You could fool around with him right in front of her, and she wouldn’t do a thing. “I heard Mrs. Leech used to be a real tigress. Felix couldn’t even hire a female assistant without her raising hell with the entire Leech family council.” “That was just Felix spoiling her. He’s tired of that game now. Look at her, meek as a mouse.” My best friend, visiting me for the afternoon, overheard the whispers. She was furious, ready to drag me to a lawyer’s office to divorce Felix Leech on the spot. I quickly stopped her. “First,” I said, my voice low, “he has no idea I had him sterilized. He can’t produce an heir to challenge our son’s inheritance.” “Second, the more he plays around, the more power over the Leech empire falls into my hands.” “And third, he’s drinking and screwing his way to an early grave. Why would I divorce a man who’s doing all my work for me? I should be thanking him.” … My friend left, satisfied. But when I walked into my own home, the scene on the living room sofa froze me in place. Felix’s back was to me. The woman straddling his lap was… She seemed to startle, shrinking back into his arms as if she’d just noticed me. Felix’s broad chest enveloped her, and he patted her back reassuringly. “It’s fine,” he murmured. “She won’t dare do anything.” The girl’s eyes were misty, whether from passion or fear, I couldn’t tell. “I… I’m sorry… I didn’t know you had a wife.” “Is that right?” For the first time ever, I interrupted one of Felix’s affairs. Not because my heart was breaking. But because I was genuinely shocked. I could understand strangers not knowing, but this girl? How could she not know? I remembered her in the orphanage, her eyes sparkling as she told me she wanted to be a woman who could stand tall on her own two feet. I took her in. I called in favors, sent her to the best business schools abroad. She grew exactly according to the plan I’d laid out for her. She used to fume with righteous anger whenever she heard rumors of Felix’s cheating. She once spat on a photograph of him. I wouldn’t have cared who was on his lap. But Lily? That was something I couldn’t quite accept. Didn’t she promise me she was going to be a woman who could stand tall? “But I heard… I heard your wife is a notorious tigress. I’m scared…” Lily trembled in his arms. Felix draped his jacket over her bare shoulders, then stood, positioning himself between us. “I’m the one who pursued her,” he said, his voice hard. “If you have a problem, you take it up with me.” My gaze lingered on the girl behind him for a moment longer. I sighed. I turned and walked into the bedroom. As the door clicked shut, I heard his voice, soft and coaxing. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. The whole ‘tigress’ thing is ancient history. She won’t touch you now.” I leaned against the window, exhaling a slow plume of smoke. He wasn’t wrong. When we first got married, I was a different woman. If Felix so much as looked at another woman for too long, I’d make him regret it for a week. Hiring a new female assistant? That was grounds for me to call a full meeting with the Leech family elders. His friends all laughed, saying he’d married a shrew. He would just smile and say a happy wife meant a happy life, and that they were all just jealous. He loved spoiling me, indulging my every whim, and he forbade anyone from calling me a tigress. Under my “strict supervision,” his business flourished. Then, one day, out of nowhere, he changed. “Are you ever going to let up?” he’d snarled, his patience finally snapping. It hit me then. Felix wasn’t that small-time business owner anymore. He was Felix Leech, CEO. A man with his own pride, his own power. He stopped hiding the lipstick stains on his collar. He fired the brilliant executive assistant I’d handpicked for him and replaced her with a string of pretty faces he preferred. The women came and went, a revolving door of faces. And those same friends who once called me a tigress now clapped him on the back. “Now that’s more like it! This is how a man should live!” From the living room, the woman’s moans grew deliberately louder. I hadn’t realized Lily was the type to gloat. I slipped in my earbuds and said nothing. After it was all over, Lily, wrapped in nothing but a towel, knocked on my door. “Aurora,” she began, “I… I want to explain.” 2 “Oh, don’t bother.” I tried to step past her, but she blocked my way. “I used to hate him, I really did! But…” She paused. I stared at her, waiting. She took a deep breath as if steeling herself for a confession. “But one day, I realized that what I could kill myself trying to achieve, I could get just by spending one night in his bed.” “And that,” she added, a new hardness in her eyes, “is something you could never give me.” “I told you I wanted to stand tall, to make it on my own. Well, my body is a resource, too. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to use it?” She finished, watching my face, clearly expecting a reaction. I gave her none. I just held her gaze for a long moment. Then, I nodded. And walked around her. “Aurora!” she called out from behind me. “Are you looking down on me? Is that why you won’t even talk to me?” “You’re overthinking it,” I said, my voice perfectly level, as placid as the day I first saw Felix bring another woman home. That day, I had calmly walked away. I took the expensive gifts he’d bought to appease me over the years and donated them all to charity. Then, while he was under anesthesia for a routine endoscopy, I gave my associate at the hospital a quiet order. A small, secondary procedure. To ensure his infidelity would never threaten my son’s future. If I couldn’t stop people from changing, then I would, at the very least, protect the things that shouldn’t. Like power. Like wealth. Like my son’s inheritance. But this time, Felix went too far. He found me in my office, his expression grave. “I’ve been thinking. I want you to transfer your authority as acting CEO to Lily.” My hand, poised over a document, froze. “Her?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “A fresh college graduate?” “I know she lacks experience. That’s why you’ll stay by her side, guide her. You can teach her what she doesn’t know, and if she makes a mistake, you’ll be there to fix it.” I closed the folder in front of me. Now I understood what Lily meant by what she could get from him that I couldn’t. It was true. This power I held, maybe one night with Felix really was the price. A price Lily could pay. But for me, his wife of so many years, that currency was worthless. The only card I had left to play was our history. So I tried to cry. But the tears wouldn’t come. I had to force them, dredging up memories from a lifetime ago. Me at fifteen, kicked out by my stepfather, and Felix holding an umbrella over my head in the pouring rain. My mother’s funeral, the depression a black fog around me, and Felix patiently helping me dress, combing my hair. The nights my stepfather wouldn’t feed me, and Felix showing up with a hot potato hidden in his coat, burning his own skin just so I could have something warm to eat. A single tear finally escaped, landing with a soft plink on the polished desk. He flinched. I quickly wiped my eyes. “Felix,” I whispered, my voice thick with a broken strength, “how did we get here?” “Aurora?” He looked stunned, taking a step toward me. I dabbed at my eyes more furiously, my tone defiant. “I thought we at least had our past. I thought, as long as I didn’t make waves, I could at least grow old with you. But it seems I overestimated my own worth.” He stood frozen for a long moment. Then he reached out, his thumb gently brushing away a tear from my cheek. “Forget I said anything.” My power was safe. But my relief didn’t last long. Three days later, he burst into my office, his eyes wild and bloodshot. He grabbed my hands, his grip desperate. “Lily ran off! She’s gone! Aurora, I’m begging you, for the love of God, just give her the position!” 3 So Lily had run away. No calls, no texts, location services turned off. A classic move for a girl trying to make a point, and one with a surprisingly high success rate. And it was working perfectly. Felix was a complete wreck. He revoked my position as acting CEO on the spot. This time, my tears were useless. Because wherever Lily was, she was clearly crying much harder. I leaned back in my chair, exhaling a cool stream of smoke. She still didn’t understand. Felix’s approval meant nothing without the family’s. One phone call from Felix’s father was all it took. That evening, thirty or forty members of the Leech family council convened. “If you dare put that woman in charge of Leech Industries,” the old man thundered, “we’ll dare to make sure she has a very permanent, very fatal accident!” Felix might be a fool, but the Leech elders were not. They remembered how, under my rod-and-stick discipline, he’d transformed from a good-for-nothing playboy into a capable CEO. They had also seen how, after he’d reverted to his old ways, I’d seamlessly taken the reins, managing the company with an iron fist. Under the patriarch’s unyielding gaze, Felix knelt on the floor, his hands clenched so tight they trembled. He looked over at me, kneeling beside him as tradition dictated. Through gritted teeth, he spat out a single word. “Bitch.” Even after all these years, even with a heart I thought was long dead, that word sent a shiver through me. If the teenage girl I once was could see this, see the boy she called her protector say that to her, she never would have believed it. I stood up and walked out. It was snowing outside. I passed a street vendor selling roasted chestnuts. Someone called my name from behind. “Aurora!” I stopped. Felix caught up to me, his jaw tight. “I’m sorry…” I didn’t turn around. I just kept walking. No matter how much Felix doted on her, Lily was no match for the entire Leech dynasty. So, I remained secure in my position. But Lily was not one to give up easily. I was working late one evening, and as I walked to my car, she ambushed me. A cloth, soaked in something sweet and cloying, was pressed over my nose and mouth. Rough hands dragged me into a vehicle. Through a dizzying haze, I could see Lily at the wheel, on the phone. “Yeah, we’re ten minutes from the Elysium Club. Get the men ready.” She hung up and her eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “You think you can use the Leech family to bully me, don’t you, Aurora? What do you think they’ll do when they find out you’re a promiscuous whore? Will they still protect you then? And what about your precious son, studying abroad? Maybe they’ll start to wonder if he’s…” She let out a sharp, cruel laugh. “Tsk! Maybe they’ll wonder if he’s even a real Leech.” I was a dead weight in the back seat, with no strength to even reach for my phone. I could only watch as the GPS navigation ticked closer and closer to the Elysium Club. My last resort, my only hope, was the emergency call feature on my watch. Felix wasn’t my emergency contact. He probably wouldn’t have had time for me anyway. I pressed the button, and the world faded to black. Through the fog, I heard Lily’s frantic shrieks. “Who are you! Who gave you the right to stop my car!” SMACK! “Ah! You hit me! You actually hit me!” When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the Leech mansion. My emergency contacts were Felix’s mother and father. I felt weak as I stepped out of the bedroom. Downstairs, nearly the entire family council was assembled. Lily was thrown to the floor in front of Felix’s father, a dashcam recording playing on a large screen beside her. “You dare to lay a hand on the Matriarch of this family? You must have a death wish!” “No, that’s not… I…” Lily had never faced the full, terrifying might of the Leech dynasty. Cowering before their collective glare, she burst into tears. “No! Let go of me! Ahh!” As two bodyguards seized her, she looked up and saw me standing on the landing. “Aurora! Help me! Sister, please!” Just like countless times before, she instinctively cried out to me when she was in danger, completely forgetting that this time, she was the one who had put me there. I turned my head away. “Aurora!” Her sobs were more desperate than I’d ever heard. Just then, the front doors burst open. Felix stormed in, kicking away one of the guards. “Esteemed elders,” he declared, his voice ringing with defiance, “if you want to touch her, you’ll have to go through me first.” “Felix.” I looked down at him from the top of the stairs. “Do you have any idea what she just did to me?” He looked up, his eyes meeting mine. “I’m sorry, Aurora. But… she’s pregnant.” I froze. “It’s mine.” My jaw dropped.

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When I learned that my CEO brother was acting like a total simp for the heroine, I hugged my little blanket and slept at the villain’s door. As he was about to send me back, he noticed the bruise on my wrist. “Did Julian Sterling abuse you?!” I nodded sleepily. After my brother was dumped by the heroine yet again, he finally remembered he had a little ancestor at home. By then, the villain was already attending my kindergarten parent-teacher meetings for me. My brother’s vision went dark: “I only left for a month, I didn’t die! Why won’t you acknowledge me?” The villain coaxed me with a lollipop: “Be good~ How about changing to a different brother?” 1 When I was three years old, I accidentally had a dream. I learned that my brother was just one of the heroine’s simps. He would infinitely lower his bottom line for the heroine. Acting crazy for her, mad for her, banging his head against the wall for her. In the end, he willingly offered his family fortune as the heroine’s wedding gift. And he took me to live in a 30-square-meter cheap apartment, listening to the couple next door arguing three times a day. To change this ending. I used my limited IQ to try a series of efforts, including but not limited to crying loudly when the heroine called him late at night saying she was scared alone, trying to keep him. When the heroine had period cramps, I deliberately spit up milk to make him change my clothes. When the heroine had her graduation performance, I learned to sing “Only Brother is Good in the World” to move him… But I forgot. My family has a nanny, but the heroine is an orphan. My brother threw me to the nanny to coax me. Seeing more and more water entering his brain, I solemnly decided to find myself a new brother. So I picked a little brother in the villa area next door. He is the villain, and also my brother’s nemesis, who would trip up the heroine’s simps. Sinister and cunning. Looking exactly like a dog training master! And he does have a Border Collie. Once my brother bought fruit for the heroine and forgot me at the fruit shop. He happened to be there too. I took an apple from the shelf next to me and handed it to his Border Collie. In return, he had his dog carry me home. I wanted him to punish my brother. Yesterday was my third birthday. The nanny specially put a princess dress on me to wait for my brother to come back. But he went to the movies with the heroine. The nanny coaxed me, saying when Harper Lane becomes my sister-in-law, there will be two people loving me. But I know, she won’t be my sister-in-law. The heroine is destined for the male lead! So, I decided to run away from home! Put some pressure on my simp brother. After nightfall, I successfully dodged the nanny who was chatting on the phone in the toilet and crawled out through the dog hole in the wall. I hugged my little blanket and walked barefoot to the villa area next door. Twenty minutes later, I stood at the door of Damien Darke’s house. This villa was even bigger than mine, but the lights were dim, looking cold. I took a deep breath, spread the little blanket on the steps in front of the door, and curled up to lie down. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly heard barking and footsteps from inside the door. The door opened, and a slipper almost stepped on my face. “What the hell?!” Damien’s voice stopped abruptly. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, meeting a pair of surprised eyes. Under the moonlight, his tall figure loomed over me, wearing a bathrobe, the collar slightly open, revealing exquisite collarbones. “Why are you here?” Damien frowned and asked. Before I could answer, a black and white shadow darted out from his leg and pounced on me enthusiastically. Dumpling’s wet nose sniffed all over my face, tail wagging so hard it was about to fly. “Dumpling!” Damien scolded: “This isn’t a kitten, you can’t keep it!” Dumpling whimpered aggrievedly but stubbornly put its front paws on my shoulders and started washing my face with its tongue. I giggled, taking the opportunity to scramble up and hug Damien’s calf directly: “Brother, hug!” He stiffened all over, like the pause button was pressed. Dumpling seized the opportunity, grabbed my back collar, and dragged me into the house. “Hey! Stupid dog! Stop!” Damien wanted to stop it, but Dumpling had already successfully dragged me into the entryway. I took the chance to let go of my collar and climbed onto Damien using both hands and feet. “Get down,” he said coldly. I shook my head and buried my face in his neck: “Ruan Ruan is cold…” 2 Damien’s body stiffened further, but he didn’t forcefully pull me off. Dumpling spun around excitedly beside us, occasionally nudging my foot with its head, as if saying “Look at me, look at me!” “Does Julian know you’re here?” he asked coldly. I pouted, tears coming instantly: “Brother doesn’t want Ruan Ruan anymore…” My sleeve slipped down, inadvertently revealing a bruise on my wrist. Damien’s eyes changed immediately. He grabbed my wrist: “What happened here?” I shrank my neck timidly: “Ruan Ruan hurts… Brother is angry…” Actually, I bumped it myself when crawling under the table to get a ball. After my brother came back, he threw a fit, blaming the nanny for not watching me properly. The nanny was indeed negligent; she was scrolling through happy short videos. Damien’s face was terrifyingly gloomy. “Julian hit you?” I didn’t answer, just lowered my head, acting out the grievance vividly. Damien took a deep breath, seeming to suppress his anger. Just then, Dumpling ran over with its food bowl in its mouth, put it in front of me, and looked at Damien expectantly. Damien looked at his dog speechlessly: “It’s 2 AM.” Dumpling stood stubbornly still. I touched my belly: “Ruan Ruan is hungry.” Dumpling immediately picked up a piece of dog food, spat it at our feet, wagging its tail even more happily. Damien rubbed his temples: “I’ll go heat some milk for you.” He pointed warningly at Dumpling: “Don’t hide her in your doghouse.” Dumpling tilted its head, an innocent expression of “I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Ten minutes later, Damien returned to the living room with two saucers of milk. Dumpling immediately pricked up its ears, tail beating a cheerful rhythm on the floor. “Sit,” he ordered. Dumpling immediately sat up straight, front paws together, like a well-trained soldier. I blinked and followed suit with a “Woof,” sitting up straight too. Damien’s hand paused in mid-air, milk almost spilling: “What are you doing?” “Table manners,” I tilted my head, imitating Dumpling’s expectant expression: “At home, Nanny Li teaches me like this.” Damien’s brows knotted: “She makes you bark like a dog?” I nodded, recalling: “She said this is noble etiquette. Once I didn’t bark, she told my brother I ate with my hands.” Speaking of this, I suddenly became sad. My brother was very angry that day. At dinner, he deliberately put down his chopsticks and fed me a chicken leg with his hands. He pinched my cheek with his greasy hands: “My Ruan Ruan can eat however she wants.” My brother was good to me, but he didn’t have time to change the nanny for me. Just because Harper Lane said I had feelings for this nanny, and if I changed to a new one, I would definitely be shy. And later, he got busier and busier, never eating with me again. Damien put the milk in front of me and Dumpling, his face terrifyingly gloomy: “Is that nanny still working at your house?” “Mm.” I took a small sip of milk: “Auntie Li also taught me how a pony drinks water. Does brother want to see?” His thumb gently stroked the bruise on my wrist, voice so low it was almost inaudible: “Julian, that bastard…” I finished the milk and looked up tangledly: “Brother, my brother doesn’t want me anymore. Can you take me in? I eat very little.” In my dream, Damien also had a sister, but she had congenital heart disease from birth and later died young due to negligence. He didn’t even have time to spoil her. After that incident, his parents divorced. Coincidentally, my parents also divorced. They had a business marriage. After the divorce, neither wanted the child, each going to find true love. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been left to my brother. 3 Damien’s brows knitted into a knot. He looked down at me clinging to his thigh, then at Dumpling spinning excitedly, veins throbbing on his temples. “I’m usually very busy,” he rubbed his brow: “No time to take care of a kid.” I immediately held up three little fingers: “Ruan Ruan will be very good! Can eat by myself, sleep by myself, play by myself!” As if understanding our conversation, Dumpling suddenly rushed into the living room, dragged its huge dog bed over huffing and puffing to my feet, then barked proudly “Woof,” tail wagging like a propeller. Damien looked at it expressionlessly: “She’s not a kitten, she can’t sleep with you, you’ll crush her.” Dumpling whimpered unconvinced, nudging my hand with its wet nose, as if saying “I won’t.” Finally, he sighed deeply: “…If you don’t cause trouble, I can reluctantly keep you for a few days.” “Thank you brother, thank you Dumpling~” I hugged Dumpling and gave it a big kiss. Dumpling was even more excited than me, running around the house with my small blanket in its mouth, finally frozen in place by Damien’s look. “Sleep.” Damien picked me up by the back of my collar like carrying a kitten into the guest room. I obediently crawled under the covers, watching him turn off the light and leave. The moment the door closed, the whole room plunged into darkness. The wall clock ticked, tree shadows swayed outside the window, casting ferocious shadows on the wall. I clutched the quilt tightly, finally unable to resist crawling out of bed. At the end of the corridor, a ray of light leaked from under Damien’s door. I gently pushed open the door and saw Damien leaning against the headboard reading documents. The bedside lamp cast warm shadows on his chiseled profile. Dumpling discovered me immediately, running over happily wagging its tail. “What now?” he asked without looking up. I twisted the corner of the quilt, whispering: “…Ruan Ruan is afraid of the dark.” Damien looked up then, seeing me shivering at the door. His expression softened under the light, but his tone remained stiff: “Afraid of the dark at three years old?” “Auntie Li said if I don’t sleep, monsters will catch me at night!” I said in horror. Damien stared at me for a full ten seconds, finally closing the file in defeat: “Come here.” My eyes lit up, hugging the quilt and trotting over. Dumpling was faster than me, already jumping on the bed to occupy the best spot. “Not here.” Damien pointed to the chaise longue in the corner: “You sleep there.” I obediently climbed onto the sofa, wrapping myself into a silkworm baby with the quilt. Dumpling whined in dissatisfaction but still jumped off the bed, lying on the carpet next to me to guard me. Damien turned off the main light, leaving only a night light. Although I wanted to pressure my brother to care about me again. But I didn’t expect that I had run away from home for a day, and he still hadn’t discovered I was gone! He took Harper Lane on a business trip. Damien sent someone to check. When Auntie Li saw I was gone, her first reaction was not to tell my brother but to run away for fear of responsibility! “Very good.” He sneered, looking very much like the big villain in cartoons: “Is the Julian Group negotiating the real estate project in the east of the city recently?” Assistant Chen pushed up his glasses: “Signing tomorrow.” “Before twelve tonight, I want to see this project surnamed Darke.” Damien threw the broken pen into the trash can: “I’ll pay double the breach of contract penalty.” I was counting on my fingers how much double was when he suddenly picked me up and put me on the desk. 4 He supported himself on both sides of me, eyes narrowing dangerously: “Kid, does your brother treat you like this usually?” Dumpling barked anxiously at the edge of the table. I took the opportunity to use its paw as a handrail: “Brother is just… busy?” Actually, before he met Harper Lane, he would take me to Disneyland and accompany me on the Ferris wheel. On my second birthday, he even wore a Jojo mascot costume to celebrate my birthday. Damien’s expression became even scarier. Three days later, a card suddenly appeared in my small backpack. Damien was tying my pigtails, although his skills weren’t great. He said casually: “The profit from the third project Julian lost is in there.” “Wow!” I held up the shiny bank card: “How many cheese sticks can this buy?” His hand paused: “…Is that the point?” “Otherwise?” I tilted my head to look at him: “Then… can I afford a Peppa Pig watch?” Damien choked: “At market price, you can buy the cheese stick factory directly and eat for a lifetime!” My mouth opened into an O shape! This is simply a dream come true! Damien is not a big villain! He is Santa Claus! “Hide it well.” Damien stuffed the card back into my dinosaur-printed backpack: “This is your…” “Dowry!” I answered quickly, just learned from TV recently: “Then can I buy teething sticks for Dumpling?” The corner of Damien’s mouth twitched: “…As you wish.” I pounced on him and gave him a big kiss. Damien petrified instantly, not even reacting when I pulled his six-figure tie askew. “Brother Damien is the best!” I hung around his neck swinging: “Better than my real brother!” The tips of his ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. He stiffly pulled me down but reached out to rub the top of my head. I played wildly with Dumpling at home for three days, almost forgetting about kindergarten. Until Damien came home from work and saw the neighbor picking up his son, he realized I had been skipping school for days. He planned to send me to kindergarten. But I didn’t want to go. Early in the morning, Damien’s voice came from outside the bed. “Ruan Ruan, come out!” I shrank further under the bed. From this angle, I could see his polished leather shoes pacing irritably by the bed, already seventeen round trips. “If you don’t come out in three minutes, today’s cheese stick is canceled.” I covered my mouth. Despicable! Actually threatening a three-year-old with snacks! Dumpling’s tail swept across my face. It tilted its head to look at me, its black grape-like eyes written with “Told you hiding here is useless.” “Five, four, three…” When I crawled out using both hands and feet, I met Damien’s squatting gaze. He wore a black shirt today, collar slightly open, looking very much like the big bad wolf that eats children in cartoons. “Reason.” He picked me up by the back collar of my pajamas: “Why not go to kindergarten?” I kicked my legs in mid-air: “…Stomach ache.” “Liar.” Damien narrowed his eyes: “Yesterday you said you liked the plush bunny in kindergarten the most.” I pouted, suddenly my nose soured. That plush bunny named Snowball was cut to pieces by Ms. Li long ago, just because I said it was my only good friend. Damien’s expression changed suddenly. He put me on the bed, kneeling on one knee to look me in the eye: “Someone bullied you?” Dumpling took the chance to burrow out, rubbing my palm with its wet nose.

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When we got our marriage license, Ethan Blackwood told me he didn’t know how to love. So, for five years of marriage, he gave me everything—sex, desire, loyalty—except his heart. It was an arranged marriage between families. I knew I couldn’t be greedy, and I thought what he gave was enough. Until the night of our fifth anniversary. I broke his “bedroom rules” and secretly took off the blindfold for the first time. Only to inadvertently see a name tattooed on the small of his back. In that moment, I realized. Ethan Blackwood wasn’t incapable of love. He had just hidden it all away, saving it for my adopted sister. We had a huge fight, wishing each other dead. Unexpectedly, words became prophecy. We both plummeted off a cliff in a car accident. Before dying, Ethan, his face covered in blood, looked at me and begged: “Serena, if there is a next life, let’s not be husband and wife, okay?” I stared at him and laughed miserably, like a madwoman. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Ethan kneeling straight-backed on the floor: “Uncle, Auntie, I cannot marry Serena. The one I love is Layla.” I froze. But relief quickly followed. Coincidentally, I didn’t want to choose him this time either. 1 “Are you really sure about marrying Julian?” Mrs. Blackwood looked at me with some reluctance, but I calmly exchanged the betrothal documents with her. Confirming the name on the paper was Julian Sterling, I smiled faintly. “I’m sure, Auntie.” Mrs. Blackwood tried to persuade me again, her tone earnest. “The fortune tellers say Julian won’t live past thirty. You…” “Serena, even if Ethan doesn’t agree to the marriage, you don’t have to choose a husband only from the Blackwood family.” In my past life, Julian Sterling did die at thirty. Mrs. Blackwood fainted from crying, and Mr. Blackwood aged overnight. Everyone mourned his passing. He was formidable, becoming the head of the Sterling family at a young age. Beneath his sickly body lay the most steadfast heart. Before he died, I intended to see him one last time. Instead, I heard him say, “I like Serena Jiang.” “She doesn’t need to know what I’ve done. I only hope she is well.” He said not all love needs to be spoken, nor does all love beg for a return. So year after year, no one but his assistant knew. His love was hidden so deep that I never noticed a trace of it until the final moment he left this world filled with regret. So, even if just for that “I like you.” I wanted to help him. At least to let him leave without regrets. After a long while, I raised a smile and gently patted the back of Mrs. Blackwood’s hand. “Auntie, Julian will live a long life, to a hundred years old.” 2 After Mrs. Blackwood left, my mother also came to ask me, “Are you really not just doing this out of spite toward Ethan?” She knew how much I liked Ethan Blackwood. Childhood sweethearts, when love first blossomed, no other boy could enter my eyes. I thought he felt the same, never imagining it was unrequited love from beginning to end. In my past life, when Ethan and I got our marriage license, he told me: “I grew up amidst schemes and calculations. I don’t understand how to love, nor can I love. But whatever I can give, I will give to you.” For five years of marriage, we were the model couple in our circle—talented man, beautiful woman, seemingly deeply in love. To maintain this marriage, I was willing to teach Ethan how to love me. I could even indulge his occasional willfulness. Even his bedroom quirks, I could endure. In my past life, before intimacy, Ethan would always hand me a blindfold or use a tie to cover my eyes. He said: “Serena’s eyes are too beautiful. I’m afraid I’ll lose control and hurt you.” Every time, I blushed to the tips of my ears. Later, once or twice, he forgot to blindfold me. I joyfully wanted to see him overcome with passion, but he just coaxed me into changing positions, then ingratiatingly kissed my back inch by inch. We almost never faced each other. I took it all as Ethan’s habit. Until our fifth anniversary. I secretly took off the blindfold for the first time and accidentally discovered the name tattooed on his lower back. Humiliation and betrayal hit me simultaneously. In that moment, I felt like I had fallen into an ice cave. I went crazy, smashing everything in the bedroom, grabbing an ashtray and hurling it at Ethan. We hurled vicious words at each other, wishing the other dead. Cursing him to eternal hell. But doing it all over again, I found I didn’t want to do anything except stay far away from him. Thinking about it carefully. Ethan treated me well, he just didn’t love me. 3 The engagement party was set for next month. Mrs. Blackwood said the Blackwood family would handle everything; I just needed to wait peacefully. She gave me the chance to back out anytime. I replied with a helpless smile, “That wouldn’t be fair to Julian.” He was just sick. I messaged my assistant at the research institute to prepare the lab equipment. In my past life, after Julian’s heart transplant, I locked myself in the lab researching antibacterial drugs for a while. Later, the drug was ready for production, but he had already died from infection. I hope I can make it in time this life. Suddenly, Ethan sent me a message: “Come to The Ninth Night Club. I need to discuss something with you.” I refused directly. The first thing Ethan did after his rebirth was come to my house to cancel the engagement and confess his love to my adopted sister, Layla. To make Layla happy, he set off fireworks all night. They had been trending at number one, with everyone saying they were a perfect match. Paparazzi caught videos of them walking by the sea. Layla seemed tired and coquettishly asked Ethan to carry her. I thought he would refuse. But he didn’t. He smiled dotingly, knelt on one knee, gently rubbed her ankle first, then carried her on his back. His movements were smooth, gentle, and affectionate. A netizen commented: “Young Master Blackwood really loves Layla to death.” During this time, he stayed by Layla’s side, dutifully pleasing her, spoiling her like a little princess. He was trying his best to make up for the regrets of his past life; he wanted a different life. I didn’t object, as long as it didn’t involve me. But in the end, I went to The Ninth Night Club, though not for Ethan. I wanted to see Julian. His assistant called me back: “Miss Jiang, Mr. Sterling is discussing business at The Ninth Night. If it’s urgent, you can come directly.” I subconsciously frowned and couldn’t help teasing, “Drinking even when sick? Is he afraid he won’t die fast enough?” The assistant on the other end went silent. After a long silence, only a faint cough was heard. Finally, the assistant hurriedly left a room number and hung up. 4 Unexpectedly, Ethan seemed certain I would come and had sent people to watch for me early on. As soon as I showed my face, two bodyguards at the door forcibly took me to Ethan’s private room. After pushing the door open, they pressed down hard on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel. The cold from the floor seeped into my knees. The feeling of humiliation swept over me again. I clenched my fists and stared at the man in front of me: “Ethan Blackwood, are you sick?” The lighting in the room was dim. Ethan took a cigarette from a pack, lit it, took a drag, and exhaled white smoke. “I didn’t want this either.” “It’s you who won’t cooperate. If you’re unwilling to cancel the engagement, don’t blame me for playing dirty.” My mind went blank. The engagement with Ethan had clearly been canceled long ago. Did he not know? I struggled instinctively, opening my mouth to explain. Ethan had already walked up to me. Holding a glass of wine, he pinched my chin: “Serena, don’t blame me.” “I just want to live the life I want for once. As long as you’re ruined, they won’t force me to marry you.” I stared at Ethan, endless sorrow bursting from my eyes. My heart ached convulsively. Childhood friendship, five years of marriage, truly as cheap as dirt. “So you’re going to drug me and send me to whose bed?” For a moment, Ethan seemed dazed. His thin lips pressed tight, his hand pausing for two seconds. But in the end, he forced the wine into my mouth. “The Blackwood family has been busy with our engagement party for the last two days. I really can’t wait any longer.” “I found a young master of equal status for you. He will take responsibility; he will marry you.” “Ethan, you’re crazy, you’re really crazy…” I desperately tried to break free, but the two bodyguards behind me were too strong to resist. The wine poured fiercely down my throat. The intense stimulation made me cough uncontrollably. My face turned red, and spilled wine ran down my chin, wetting the shirt on my chest. Clinging tightly to my skin. “Serena, be good.” His tone was very light as he reached out to wipe the wine stain from the corner of my mouth. The bodyguards had let go of me by now. I panted heavily, my face still showing signs of distress. My hands propped weakly on the floor, physiological tears welling up in my eyes. My red lips curled into a self-mocking arc: “Ethan Blackwood, I didn’t want to marry you, and I won’t marry you.” Hearing this, he smiled contemptuously: “Really? Serena, I know you too well.” “I know how much you like me, so I had no choice but to do this.” He was so confident, so certain. Suddenly, Layla appeared at the door of the private room. She clutched the corner of her dress tightly, her gaze fixed straight on me. Voice trembling: “Sister, Ethan, you…” Ethan’s body stiffened instantly, his smile freezing on his lips. “Layla, why are you here…?” “Who brought you here? It’s so dirty here; you shouldn’t have come.” He walked helplessly to Layla, his voice gentle, movements soft and obedient. At this moment, he was like a devout believer, his eyes filled with sincere love. It was a look I had never seen before. Sure enough, love and lack thereof are truly distinct. I stared at Ethan for a long time, an indescribable sourness surging up. People are truly strange. In my past life, after Ethan and I got married, Layla went abroad and never came back. He regretted the past now, but back then, if he had wanted to marry her, who could have stopped him? If he really loved her that much, a plane ticket to the US… Cost a few hundred dollars. But did Ethan ever go to see Layla? No. Sometimes I didn’t know whether to be glad he was loyal enough to me in my past life, or glad he was cowardly. Ethan coaxed Layla to go home. She pressed her lips together and didn’t say much, looking at me with unclear emotions. Finally leaving me alone in the same spot.

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The video call was grainy, but the terror in Harrison’s eyes was crystal clear. His “Golden Girl”—his perfect ex, Isabelle—had barely been back in the country for forty-eight hours before she was snatched. The kidnappers weren’t just asking for thirty million in cash. They wanted a trade. They wanted me. I pointed at my own chest, genuinely baffled. Why would a group of professional criminals want a girl like me? I was a nobody, a girl from a backwoods town with no pedigree and no social standing. But then I heard Harrison’s voice, thick with a jagged, desperate kind of pain. “I’m sorry, Sera. I can’t let anything happen to Isabelle.” Before I could process the betrayal, his security detail moved in. A sharp blow to the back of my head sent the world spinning into black. When I woke up, I was in the hands of monsters. I watched through heavy eyelids as Harrison traded me like a piece of currency, his arms wrapped around an unconscious Isabelle as he turned his back on me without a second glance. He carried her away like she was a fragile treasure, leaving me in the dirt. Once the sound of his engine faded into the distance, the leader of the group set up a tripod. He started unbuckling his belt, his eyes roaming over me with a predatory hunger. I looked around the abandoned warehouse, my voice steady despite the situation. “Is Harrison gone? Are they all really gone?” The man laughed, a wet, ugly sound. “Not a soul for miles, sweetheart. You must have really pissed off the wrong people to end up as a sacrificial lamb.” As his hand reached out to touch my face, I finally let out a long, weary sigh of relief. “Good,” I whispered. “They’re gone.” In a blur of shifting bone and scales, I shed my skin. Within seconds, a massive white python—thick as an old-growth oak—coiled where a girl had been. I didn’t give him time to scream. I opened my jaws and swallowed him whole. his crew stood frozen, their bravado evaporating into whimpers. I didn’t give them a head start. One by one, I picked them off like grapes until the warehouse was silent. 1 I let out a soft, satisfied burp. I didn’t shift back into my human form immediately; instead, I lay there in the dust, basking in the rare sensation of a full belly and a quiet mind. I hadn’t been my true self in years—not since I met Harrison. My mother had warned me since I was a hatchling: never eat the humans. If you do, you’ll either be struck down by the heavens or caught by a Hunter. My aunt had made the mistake of consuming a man who possessed a “purple aura”—a mark of destiny—and she ended up bottled in a Hunter’s cellar, steeping in medicinal wine. After that, our clan retreated into the deep forests. It was only in the last few decades that we dared to venture out again. My mother insisted that the world had changed; she said being illiterate was the new death sentence. So, she sent me to school as soon as I could hold a human shape. I discovered that I loved human food. By the time I moved from my rural county to the city for university, I realized the world was a buffet of flavors I’d never dreamed of. That was where I met Harrison. The first time we locked eyes, he stared at me for what felt like an eternity. I didn’t know then that it was because I shared a fifty-percent resemblance to the woman who had broken his heart. All I knew was that he pursued me with a frantic, almost obsessive energy. My roommates were envious. Harrison was the city’s most eligible bachelor—handsome, obscenely wealthy, and miraculously scandal-free. They told me to grab the opportunity with both hands. But I didn’t care about the flowers or the designer jewelry he sent. I returned every gift, untouched. Instead, I took a job as a server at a high-end hotel. My appetite was expensive, and I’d blown through my semester’s living expenses in two months. When I called my mother, she told me she was broke and that I needed to figure it out. “You’re a grown woman now, Sera,” she’d hissed over the phone. “If you want to live among the humans, learn to earn your own keep.” Useless old woman. Hundreds of years old and not a cent in savings. So, I worked the hotel shifts. I’d read online that hotel staff could sometimes sneak the leftovers from the banquet halls. It seemed like the perfect plan: get paid and get fed. I was in a private suite, devouring a tray of untouched lobster tails and prime rib, when Harrison walked back into the room. I froze, a giant lobster claw halfway to my mouth. He stared at me in silence for a long moment, and then, to my surprise, he laughed. “Sera,” he said, his voice soft. “Let me take you to dinner.” It was the first time anyone had ever offered to feed me. He took me to a five-course gala. He watched, mesmerized and slightly terrified, as I cleared every plate on the table. His hand trembled slightly as he set down his scotch. “I had no idea you were so… hungry.” He paused, a strange look in his eyes. “But I can afford to keep you full. Sera, move in with me. I’ll make sure you never have to work a shift again. You can eat whatever you want, on my tab.” 2 The moment he said those words, Harrison became the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I wiped my mouth, unable to resist the lure of a lifetime supply of gourmet meals. “Fine. Deal.” I moved out of the dorms and into a sprawling estate Harrison bought for me. He hired two professional chefs who prepared a feast every single night. I called my mother while gnawing on a roasted duck leg. “Mom, look! I have a boyfriend. He bought me a house, and he covers all the catering. I’m retired.” My mother sounded skeptical. “Sera, are you sure you aren’t being scammed? Humans don’t just give away free food.” I pulled a perfectly clean bone from my mouth. “I don’t think so. He’s great. Room, board, and a huge monthly allowance. He’s way more generous than you ever were.” “Watch yourself,” she muttered. “Men have hidden faces. If things get dangerous, you shift and you run. Understand?” “I’ve got it under control,” I said, waving her off. The sunlight caught the diamonds on my new bracelet, nearly blinding her through the screen. She squinted. “He bought that too?” I nodded. A look of realization dawned on her face. “Sera… you’re a kept woman. He’s ‘maintaining’ you.” “Maintaining?” I tilted my head, trying to find the right human term. “Is that like being a pet? Like a… domestic animal?” I wasn’t sure. I was a snake. Being “maintained” sounded a bit weird, but being “fed and housed” made perfect sense for a predator of my stature. “Whatever it is,” my mom said, “if he’s giving you that much money, Venmo me a few hundred. I just learned how to use Amazon, and I need some gardening supplies.” It was pathetic how poor she was after four centuries. I transferred ten thousand to her account. “Spend it. Let me know when you need more.” She practically teared up. “My daughter, the success story.” For four years, I lived a life of pampered luxury. There were rumors at the university about my “arrangement,” but Harrison shut them down by publicly declaring me his girlfriend. He treated me well, so I tried to be a good partner in return. Two years ago, Harrison’s business rivals kidnapped him. I tracked them to an old cannery and took them out single-handedly. His right hand had been crushed in the struggle. To heal him, I exhausted nearly all my spiritual essence—the energy that allowed me to keep my human form. I barely managed to drag him to safety before I felt my skin start to itch and tighten. Luckily, he was unconscious. He never saw me revert to the twenty-foot monster that I was. If he had, he would have been horrified. Now, lying in the dirt of the warehouse, I thought back to a few weeks ago. Harrison had taken me to a high-society gala, claiming he wanted to finally introduce me to his inner circle. I remembered the way they looked at me when I entered the room—like I was a cheap knockoff in a designer dress. They didn’t even try to hide their whispers. “I told you Harrison couldn’t get over Isabelle. Look at that face. It’s a mirror image.” “She’s a total rube, though. No class. Isabelle had grace. This girl looks like she’s just happy to be invited.” “Isabelle is coming back next month. I wonder how fast he’ll dump the placeholder.” I didn’t understand all their metaphors, but I understood the venom. Harrison’s face had darkened. “That’s enough. Sera is my guest. If anyone has a problem with her, they have a problem with me.” The room went quiet, but the atmosphere remained cold. Later, while Harrison was distracted, a woman in a gown that cost more than my first car cornered me near the restrooms. “Don’t get comfortable,” she sneered. “You’re a distraction. A way for him to spite Isabelle for leaving. When the real thing comes home, the counterfeit gets tossed in the trash.” 3 I blinked at her, unfazed. “Who is Isabelle?” The woman gasped, her voice hitting a shrill note. “You don’t even know? Typical.” She took great pleasure in explaining it to me. Isabelle was the childhood sweetheart. The “Golden Girl.” The only woman Harrison had ever truly loved. They’d had a massive falling out, she’d moved to Paris, and Harrison had been a ghost of a man until he found me. “He only chose you because you look like her,” the woman finished, looking me up and down with disgust. “Learn your place.” I felt a strange, sharp pang in my chest. I remembered the nights Harrison would get drunk and pull me close, whispering “Isa” into my hair. I had thought it was a pet name. Now I knew it was just a different name entirely. A month later, Isabelle actually returned. Harrison became a different person. He was distracted, distant. He would stare at his phone for hours, ignoring the feasts I’d prepared. I sat across from him one night, my chin in my hands. “Do you miss her? Isabelle?” I’d spent the week listening to his friends tell stories about them. How he’d skipped school for her. How he’d fought his parents to be with her. How he’d flown her to the Maldives for her twenty-first birthday. His entire youth had been a monument to her. Harrison froze, then shook his head. “Don’t talk about her. That’s over. It’s just you and me, Sera.” He blocked her number. He declined the parties where she’d be present. He acted like a man made of stone, refusing to see her. Until the news broke that she had been taken. Harrison’s composure shattered. He pushed me aside so hard I nearly fell, sprinting out of the house screaming her name. When the ransom video arrived, showing Isabelle tied to a chair, pale and trembling, Harrison looked like he was the one being tortured. The kidnappers’ voice was distorted, demanding the money and—specifically—me. “The choice is yours, Mr. Sterling. Which one matters more?” Harrison let out a choked sound, his fist slamming into the mahogany desk. “It’s the rivals from two years ago. They’re back for blood.” He looked at me, his eyes bloodshot and foreign. “I’m sorry, Sera. I can’t let her die.”

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After the college entrance exam scores were released, I, who ranked second in the whole school, resolutely jumped from a high building. Just because the night before the exam, Mia Song told me she had mind-reading skills, could not only know all my answers, but also score exactly one point higher than me. I didn’t believe in superstition, didn’t think about anything during the exam, but when checking answers after the exam, Mia Song recited my answers fluently backwards. After the scores were out, she suppressed me by a difference of one point, snatching the last quota for Tsinghua and Peking University. She patted my pale face, smiling smugly. “Chloe Su, a low-class bumpkin like you, still delusionally wants to change fate through the college entrance exam? Hurry up and die with your short-lived parents!” I, who didn’t get the Tsinghua and Peking University scholarship, watched helplessly as my seriously ill parents passed away, then jumped from the building with despair. But before dying, I didn’t understand why Mia Song could know all my answers and score exactly one point more than me? Could there really be mind-reading in this world? Opening my eyes again, I returned to the eve of the college entrance exam. This time, I definitely won’t lose again! 1 “Tomorrow is June 7th, the national college entrance exam will kick off…” Listening to the voice from the TV, I woke up with a start. June 7th, college entrance exam? Didn’t I already take it? Not only took it, but also ended up with my family broken and dead. After confirming the time repeatedly, I discovered with surprise that I was reborn! Reborn on the day before the college entrance exam! All nightmares haven’t happened yet. Excited, I wept with joy, but soon I received that message that made me break out in a cold sweat. The sender was my classmate Mia Song. She said: “Chloe Su, although you have always been first in the grade and the only person in the whole school with hope of getting into Tsinghua and Peking University. But believe it or not, I have mind-reading skills. During the two days of the college entrance exam, I will not only know the answers to all your test questions, but also accurately control it, scoring one point higher than you!” In my previous life, I scoffed at receiving this text message. Relying on her family having some money, Mia Song always bullied poor students like us. Also because my grades were good, she hated me exceptionally, always tripping me up. This text message was probably just her playing tricks, wanting to disturb my mood. But unexpectedly, when checking answers after the first day of exams, Mia Song actually recited the answers to all my multiple-choice questions fluently backwards, even counting my composition materials used in the Chinese exam as her own treasures. I was shocked at the time, but Mia Song pulled the corner of her mouth sarcastically: “Told you I have mind-reading skills, why didn’t you believe it?” I really didn’t believe anyone in this world could read minds, so the next day I held my breath, emptied my head, and wrote all steps on paper. But unfortunately, when checking answers again, Mia Song’s answers were completely identical to what I wrote down. She deliberately sighed: “Chloe Su, you were very tangled writing the last big physics question, almost made me have no time to finish writing.” This time, I completely collapsed. But the desperate thing happened after the scores were released. Mia Song, who had always had poor grades, not only scored 700 points like me, but also scored exactly one point higher than me. It was this one-point difference that made me lose the opportunity to be admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University, which also meant the school would not give me that huge Tsinghua and Peking University scholarship. And my parents waiting in the hospital for me to bring life-saving money also passed away in despair. I watched helplessly as my parents were pushed into the morgue. Turning my head, I saw Mia Song’s smug face. She patted my bloodless face and said with a smile: “Chloe Su, a low-class bumpkin like you, still delusionally wants to change fate through the college entrance exam? Hurry up and die with your short-lived parents!” “Don’t curse me in your heart. I know all the thoughts in your heart clearly. Including, that little secret of yours unknown to others…” Mia Song leaned over and spat out the deepest secret I pressed in the bottom of my heart word by word in my ear. My spirit completely collapsed. In despair, I came to the top floor of the hospital and jumped down with all thoughts gray. Fortunately, heaven gave me a chance to start over. This time, I must unveil the veil of Mia Song’s mind-reading skills and take a good look at what tricks she is playing! 2 After receiving the text message of Mia Song’s mind-reading threat, I took deep breaths for a long time before calming down my emotions. Then immediately searched non-stop on the internet how to resist mind-reading. People on the internet said to keep a distance from people who can read minds. I remembered during the college entrance exam, Mia Song and I were not in the same classroom, so distance shouldn’t be a problem. They also said some objects are likely to be mediums for mind-reading. I suddenly remembered Mia Song once gave me a little bear hair clip and a cheap plastic bracelet. At that time she distributed them to the whole class, so I took them all. Now it seems very likely there are ghosts in these two small objects! I brought a hammer and smashed the bracelet and hair clip to pieces with maximum strength. I thought, this time I shouldn’t be read by Mia Song again. The next day, I arrived at the college entrance exam venue early like in my previous life. Seeing me, Mia Song smiled all over her face, pretending to hug me intimately, but actually whispered like a demon in my ear: “Chloe Su, you received that text message yesterday, right?” I was startled violently, hair all over my body standing up. She patted my face and said in an encouraging tone: “Chloe Su, you must take the exam well. If you don’t do well, how can I get into Tsinghua and Peking University?” She left laughing loudly, while my fingernails almost embedded into the flesh of my palms. Because I had taken the exam once, I answered unusually smoothly this time. I have already thrown away the things Mia Song gave me. Now, she shouldn’t be able to write the same answers as me, right? After the first day of exams ended, as expected, classmates gathered together to check answers again. Listening to them reporting the answers to all multiple-choice questions, I remained calm on the surface, but was actually jumping for joy inside. Because my answers were completely consistent with the standard answers! This time, I can not only aim for 700 points, but possibly even close to full marks! This way, I will definitely be admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University, get the scholarship to treat my parents. But just as I was about to leave, Mia Song suddenly grabbed my shoulder. She smiled and said to me: “Chloe Su, you did really well in the exam this time, actually got all multiple-choice questions right! But I think your composition wasn’t written well. What era is it still using Li Bai’s poems as material, old-fashioned.” Hearing her words, goosebumps all over my body exploded, and a drop of cold sweat slowly slid down from my forehead. Why, why does she still know all my answers, even knowing I used Li Bai’s poems in my composition! Clearly for this composition, what I wrote was completely different from my previous life, and the materials used were all new. I asked with teeth chattering: “How do you know?” “Told you, I have mind-reading skills.” She left laughing loudly. Every laugh was an insult to my personality. 3 The next day, I sat in the college entrance exam venue, pursing my lips with a solemn face. After the exam bell rang, everyone around immediately started answering the paper, fearing delaying a second. But I still sat straight without a trace of movement. The invigilator noticed my abnormality, walked over and kindly reminded me: “Student, the exam has started, hurry up and answer the questions.” But I nodded, yet didn’t move my pen a bit. I had already thought it through. Since whatever answers I write will be known by Mia Song, I might as well not write. I looked at the sky and the ground, looked at the leaves outside, just didn’t look at the paper. I don’t believe she can still know what my answers are like this. Sure enough, after the exam ended, before I walked out of the exam room, Mia Song rushed over like crazy. She came up and choked my neck, roaring with a ferocious face: “Why! Why didn’t you write a single word! Are you crazy!” My face was flushed red from being strangled by her, but I showed a victorious smile for the first time: “Yes, I am crazy, so don’t even think about copying a single answer from me again!” Our matter attracted the attention of countless people in the corridor. The invigilator pulled Mia Song away and asked in confusion: “How do you know Chloe Su turned in a blank paper?” Mia Song stopped talking. She flung the invigilator away: “Is it your turn to manage me! Get away!” Before leaving, she pointed at my nose and ordered viciously: “I tell you, for the last exam in the afternoon, you must take it well for me! Otherwise I’ll make you look good!” Classmates beside were talking about it, not knowing what exactly happened between us. I tidied my clothes and left the exam room with a normal expression. She asked me to take it well, I won’t. So for the second exam in the afternoon, I still turned in a blank paper. Although the invigilator persuaded me several times, I remained indifferent. After the exam, not surprisingly, Mia Song appeared outside my classroom door again. But this time, because teachers were protecting me, she couldn’t come over to hurt me. Mia Song could only stare at me from not far away, sneering again and again: “Chloe Su, playing this kind of small trick with me is useless. My family has plenty of money. If I fail the college entrance exam, my parents can send me abroad. And you, if you fail to get into Tsinghua and Peking University, your parents won’t have money for treatment, and your whole family will be finished!” I lowered my head and remained silent. And when I went to the hospital to visit my parents, my mom on the sickbed tightly grasped my hand. “Daughter, your school teacher called just now, saying you turned in blank papers for today’s exams. You, did you really turn in blank papers?” I dared not look into mom’s eyes, falling into silence. My parents are both migrant workers on construction sites. Three months ago, the construction site suddenly exploded, and both of them suffered serious injuries. My dad is still unconscious, and although my mom is conscious, she lies in bed unable to move. The boss of the construction site ran away with the money, and we have to pay all medical expenses ourselves. The whole family pinned hope on the college entrance exam, because the school once promised that as long as I get into Tsinghua and Peking University, they will give me a huge scholarship. With this money, mom and dad can have surgery, so the college entrance exam is crucial to my family, and my mom also cares very much about how I did. Seeing mom’s anxious look and red eyes, I nodded honestly. “Yes, I turned in blank papers for both subjects today. But Mom, don’t worry, I will take out your medical expenses on time.” My mom didn’t understand, but seeing me speak vowedly, she didn’t pursue further. Before leaving, mom said to me again: “Daughter, our family’s lives and property are all on you.” I nodded heavily: “I know Mom, I won’t let you down.” 4 Soon, it was the day the college entrance exam scores were released. The school asked all of us to go to the school’s computer room to check scores. But actually I knew long ago roughly how much I could score. I did very well in Chinese and Math on the first day, approaching full marks in both subjects. But I turned in blank papers for English and Comprehensive Science on the second day, so it was a blatant zero. Adding up to a total score of 750, I scored 295. This result made everyone’s jaw drop. In the classroom, the teacher looked at the computer screen in front of me, refreshing again and again. But no matter how refreshed, it was 295. The teacher issued a desperate question: “Chloe Su, didn’t you say you did well? How can there be two zeros!” “You are our school’s only seedling for Tsinghua and Peking University. You, you are harming others and yourself!” And just then, at the other end of the classroom came the exclamation of Mia Song’s good friend. “Mia Song, how did you only score 296 points!” “Yeah, didn’t you say you would definitely perform extraordinarily in the college entrance exam and sprint for Tsinghua and Peking University?” Hearing this score, my heart thudded again. Why, why can Mia Song always be one point higher than me? Before I could figure it out, Mia Song had already rushed towards me from the other end of the classroom. Like a beast, she pounced on me directly from the chair, then choked my neck tightly, slapping my face. “Chloe Su, you bitch! You harmed me! You will die a bad death!” The crazy Mia Song surprised everyone present. Teachers wanted to pull her away, but her strength was immense, and for a while, everyone couldn’t do anything about her. I lay on the ground, watching Mia Song hysterical in front of me, couldn’t help feeling happy inside. Two lifetimes, I finally can win her once! Mia Song saw me smiling, but laughed loudly herself: “Haha Chloe Su, do you think turning in a blank paper can change your destiny? Idiot! Now let alone getting into Tsinghua and Peking University, it’s hard for you to even reach the undergraduate line! But your pair of short-lived ghost parents are still lying in the hospital, waiting for your scholarship to save their lives! I’d like to see, failing to get into Tsinghua and Peking University, what you use to save your parents’ lives!” And just then, the classroom door was knocked from outside. The uncle from the mailroom asked loudly: “Is student Chloe Su from your class here? A scholarship has been mailed to the school, need her to sign for it.” This time, Mia Song was completely surprised. “How is it possible?! You, a person who didn’t even score 300 points, on what basis can you get a scholarship!” I pushed Mia Song pressing on me away, stood up and tidied my clothes, calmly walked towards the door. Then took the letter from the mailroom uncle. After tearing it open, inside was a check for one hundred thousand. Seeing this check, the big stone in my heart finally landed. With this money, mom and dad can both have surgery. Not only Mia Song in the class, all classmates were shocked. The teacher walked quickly to my side, staring at that check again and again: “Heavens! One hundred thousand scholarship! Chloe Su, you only scored this many points, who gave you the scholarship?!” Mia Song stood up and sneered disdainfully after hearing the scholarship amount. “Mere one hundred thousand, what use can it be?” “Your parents, one vegetable one seriously ill, one hundred thousand isn’t enough for staying in ICU for a day. Poor country folks, don’t squeeze in the city wasting our educational resources!” Mia Song’s words were very ugly, but because she is the school beauty and has a good family background, she usually has many lackeys in the class. Plus before school teachers protected me because of good grades, now I scored less than three hundred points, status plummeted. So many people in the class began to echo one after another. “Exactly! Before Chloe Su was fake aloof in class, ignoring when others spoke. Claiming to be top scholar every day, now isn’t it just a vocational college score? Pretending to be so amazing!” “Also this what one hundred thousand scholarship, where is there a scholarship mailed to school mailroom? I think it’s Chloe Su directing and acting a play herself, just finding some face for herself!” “Country folks indeed have no brains, still stubbornly want face, doing things so full of holes, simply making a huge joke!” … Facing everyone’s doubt and humiliation, I said nothing, just put the check away into my pocket. But the angry Mia Song didn’t plan to let me go. She forcibly snatched the check from my pocket. Just as the mocking expression was put on, it froze. “Mere ten thousand—US dollars?! How can this be a US dollar check?!” Mia Song couldn’t believe her eyes, rubbed her eyes and continued staring at the check: “I didn’t see wrong, it is US dollars!” The teacher was also surprised, snatched the check to his hand to look, following with an earth-shattering shout: “Ten thousand US dollars? Then isn’t that seven or eight hundred thousand RMB!” Not only them two, the rest of the classmates in the class also widened their eyes and opened their mouths. They gathered around, craning their necks and standing on tiptoes to look. Finally discovered with surprise, it really was ten thousand US dollars! I saw Mia Song’s brows pressed down, knowing she was hiding bad water in her belly again, so snatched the check back from the teacher in advance and stuffed it into my own pocket. “Now everyone has seen I have a check for ten thousand US dollars. If anyone dares to damage my check, I will call the police to arrest him to jail!” Although words were spoken to everyone, my eyes stared firmly at Mia Song. Her face changed, seeming annoyed that her little thought was seen through by me at a glance. Soon, a smile rose on Mia Song’s face again, arms crossed over chest, revealing an understanding smile. “Oh I know, fake, must be fake. Really hard for you, even finding the mailroom uncle to act this play with you. Say it, how much commission did you pay the uncle?” After Mia Song finished speaking, the whole class burst into laughter. A few even bent over laughing, unable to lift their heads. “Truly worthy of being a big scholar, the face-saving pretentious method thought of is so special.” “If not for blowing too much, even US dollars came out, I might really have believed it!” “Shh, stop talking, what if the scholar cries? Careful she finds foreign mercenaries to beat us!” The teacher didn’t stop their ridicule of me, even secretly nodded in agreement. Facing everyone’s ridicule, I didn’t have much reaction, just said: “Summer insects cannot speak of ice. I have nothing to say to you. My university admission notice will be delivered in a few days. Then you will know if I was lying and acting.” Mia Song sniffed, while I strode out of the classroom, hurrying to the bank to withdraw money.

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